Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads

Comics-reading kids of a certain age wasted away many an idle afternoon and/or rainy Saturday with friends, passing around the latest issues of their favorite 4-color heroes and wondering - often aloud to one another - just how amazingly cool (or unbelievably dumb) the junk in those goofy, weird, wonderfully tempting splashy ad pages in the back of those comic books might be. If you were one of those kids, then MAIL-ORDER MYSTERIES will have you INSTANTLY time-tripping back to those cherished days of your misspent youth. Regrettably (or happily I suppose?), I never actually ponied up my tiny allowance to purchase any of those cleverly mis-advertised baubles... but I willingly confess to spending many an hour reading and re-reading those funtastic ads, wondering... wondering...This terrific must-own book solves the mouth-watering mysteries of most of those mail-order enigmas from the good old days, most with head-shaking, hope-deflating, bittersweet "I just KNEW it was a gyp!" moments. LOL. Seriously, this has to be one of the most fun and interesting books I've gotten my hands on in YEARS. What I wouldn't have given to have had this back then. I would have been a genuine Criswell jr.! MAIL-ORDER MYSTERIES is the real-world comicbook equivalent of Marty McFly's Sports Almanac!If you even pondered taking a chance and plunking down your hard-earned allowance on such mysteries as "7ft monsters YOU control" or your very own "Polaris Submarine" or those quintessentially perverted girl-peeping x-ray gogs, then you simply gotta buy this book. It will instantly become a touchstone tome, eagerly passed between you and your old grade school chums. Unlike those perplexing too-good-to-be-true items taunting you from the dusty backpages of Marvel & DC (and Harvey, and Charlton, etc.) comics, this book, MAIL-ORDER MYSTERIES, is absolutely worth... Every. Single. Penny.

The book is in sections. Super Powers and Special Abilities, War Zone, House of Horrors, High Finance, Better Living Through Mail Order, Top Secret, Trickery and Oddities.In each, the ads from cartoon books are reproduced and there is commentary on what a customer REALLY gets.I will just focus on a few.Superpowers and Special Abilities covers Aqua-Spex, Hypno-spex, Hypno-coin, etc and also in this section are ads for jiu-jitsu, ketsugo, and other combat styles plus muscle building programs such as the one ran by Charles Atlas.The War Zone section includes little plastic figures such as "132 Roman Soldiers", "204 Revolutionary War Soldiers," "104 King's Knights," "100 Toy Pirates" with color photos of sample figures. The 100 Little Dolls collection is in this section for some reason.The House of Horrors is where to find the Monster Size Monsters (a green Frankenstein's monster and Boney the Skeleton), Monster Ghost, 7 Foot Life Size Ghost, Life Size Moon Monster, How to Draw Monsters, 7 Gigantic Dinosaurs, Genuine Soil from Dracula's Castle, horror records, rubber masks, vampire bat and other goodies, and there are photos of what one really gets.Overall, a fun book.

I IMAGINED: A cool collection of pictures and descriptions of assorted novelty items that were heavily advertised in old comic books.THEY SENT: An awesome book featuring page after page of pictures, trivia, and entertaining evaluations of mysterious, suspiciously cheap products that always seemed WAY too good to possibly be true. I fondly remember being fascinated by the ads from mail-order giants Johnson Smith, Fun Factory, etc. which could be found throughout the comic books I was reading back in the late 1970's through the early 1980's. I placed several orders back in the day, so it was a nostalgic treat to see these products included in this book, along with many, many others that I was too wise to get suckered into buying (alright, it was actually because I didn't have enough cash at that young age!)I couldn't stop reading this book! It's very hard to put down; I found myself wanting to keep turning pages to see what was next (Sea-Monkeys? Hypno-Coins? Secret Martial Arts lessons? They're all here!). I recall the same ratio of occasional gems amidst a sea of rip-offs as the author finds. In fact, it's a bit odd to feel such nostalgia about companies whose business model largely seemed to be finding ways to cheat naive children out of their allowances. I guess you could argue that it was a relatively inexpensive way for kids to learn about becoming more cautious consumers... it taught them to be wary of something that seemed too good to be true (an important life lesson that many adults have yet to learn). However, as the book notes, there were some really fun items available for low, low prices (plate lifters! magic tricks!). In fact, part of the excitement of the whole experience was the mystery... what would you actually get? How would it compare to the description, and would it actually work? For a few bucks, you'd have your answer (in four to six weeks, of course!)CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: I recommend this book to anyone who remembers these novelty advertisements, or is just curious about the merchandise they offered. "Mail-Order Mysteries" throws new light on a mysterious collection of goodies (and if you throw some light on the book's cover for a few moments, it even glows in the dark.)Unlike many of my purchases from the aforementioned novelty houses, this book was even better than I dared imagine!

I loved this book! I was a huge comic book reader as a kid (of the Archie Andrews and Casper the Ghost variety) and I remember lovingly eying the ads presented so enticingly in them. Like the author, I was burdened with parents who refused to shell out money for sea monkeys and other "amazing" products and have caught myself over the years wondering from time to time whether or not the items lived up to their exciting advertising.As a child of the 80's, a lot of the items in the book were unfamiliar to me (it focuses more on the 60's and 70's), but there were more than enough familiar items to make me feel extremely nostalgic. Not just sea monkeys, but the ACTUAL soil from Count Dracula's castle, the fake flies in the ice cubes, the bodybuilding program that guaranteed you'd never get sand kicked in your face by a bully at the beach again.I loved that the original ads were put side by side with images of the actual products; it was so great to finally see what these things were actually like. Surprisingly, some of them really did live up to their hype. Most fell horribly flat. Beautiful pictures, great reproductions of the ads, and witty commentary laced with nostalgia made this a highly enjoyable read.

When I was a youngster, one of the great joys of my childhood was ordering things through the mail and then waiting in great anticipation for the products. This book offers a wonderful, nostalgic glimpse back into that wonderful time of anticipation for wonders through the mail. Thank you very much for the prompt delivery. The item was in good shape. No damage. I always enjoy buying from Amazon and it's third party vendors.

Back in the 70s and early 80s I was an avid comic book reader, and the ads presented in "Mail-Order Mysteries" were a ubiquitous part of that scene. I convinced my mom to order me some of the stuff, but now and then I've wondered what most of the products were like in real life. Now, thanks to "Mail-Order Mysteries," a small but important gap of my childhood knowledge has finally been filled in.As a lad I coveted the small toy soldier sets, such as the 100 Toy Soldiers, 132 Roman Soldiers, and my favorite, the 204 Revolutionary War Soldiers. The first two products were disappointing because they were made of brittle, flat plastic, but the third was garrisoned with the three-dimensional softer plastic troops that I wanted. I used to spend hours setting up huge battles around building-block forts and then dropping flaming bits of melting plastic on them (I still have a scar on my leg from a misfire).The above dilemma was the big problem with ye olde comic-book mail-order ads: there was no way to actually see what you were buying until it arrived in the mail (or unless a friend had gotten one first). Remember, this was back in the days of no Internet and four channels of TV. So you sent your money and took your chances, and as Kirk Demarais and Jesse Thorn show here in glorious full color, more often than not what you got was, to put it mildly, cheaply made junk.The book is broken down into sections based on the product type, such as "House of Horrors" for scary stuff like the 7-Foot Monster-Size Monster posters, "Superpowers and Special Abilities" for gaining skills like the World's Deadliest Fighting Secrets, and my favorite due to the above mentioned toy soldier sets, "War Zone." Each product gets at least a page containing a picture of the original ad, a color photo of the actual product, and some interesting background information.I don't buy comic books anymore (I stick to graphic novels and trade paperback collections), so I'm not sure what they're peddling these days on the back covers. But if you, like me, are a chap of a certain age then "Mail-Order Mysteries" will clear up one of the bigger questions of your idyllic youth.

This is a fascinating book that collects mail order advertisements that appeared in between the stories in popular comic books during the 60s and the 70s.The advertisements reflects a time when there was a charm for simple things, yet mysterious and fun. The products included anything and everything that would kindle the wild imagination of the mostly young adolescent readers, and wanting them to order them right away.Be it a larger-than-life monster, or an army of toy soldiers, spy pens, gags, magic tricks or an instant money maker(!) or the ultimate gadget the X-ray specs, these ads had everything a kid ever wanted.This book collects almost all of such ads, in a rock solid hardbound cover. The pages inside are very thick and this book is made to last. The style brings back the pulp comic book look and feel, yet in a rugged fashion. Very well made.The author classifies the ads nicely into a few interesting categories..Super powerswar ZoneHouse of HorrorsHigh FinanceBetter LivingTop SecretTrickeryOdditiesEach ad is presented with the picture of the ad along with following nice and hilarious analysis,'We Imagined''They Sent''Behind the Mystery' (for some items)'Customer Satisfaction'This is an awesome recollection of the days gone by, for those who read those books and were part of the pulp comic book era, and a fascinating read for those who came in late.

For those of us of a certain age, this book will fill you with nostalgia. Kids growing up in the '60s, '70s and '80s would remember those fascinating ads found within the pages of our comic books; items like X-Ray Specs, ventriloquist dummies, dog whistles, onion-flavored gag gum, Sea-Monkeys and Hypno Coins were pitched to us, using crude line drawings and making grandiose claims about their wares. "Send us $1.50 in the mail and in 4 to 6 weeks from now you'll have a pair of plastic X-Ray glasses that will enable you to see under women's clothing!" Well, maybe they didn't actually come out and say that, but it was heavily implied. I guess that was part of the fun, though; you never really knew what you were actually getting. As for me, I'd pour over the ads with enthusiasm, ready to believe in them, my youthful imagination clearly stoked.Truth be told, I never sent away for any of these items. I would have liked to, but I had very little pocket money as a kid and my Mom was always quick to point out these items were a "rip-off" anyway. I suspected she was probably right, but that didn't stop me from being intrigued by them. Who WOULDN'T want a 7 foot tall Frankenstein monster with glowing eyes?! (Spoiler: They sent you a big poster.) Who WOULDN'T want a Polaris Nuclear Sub that seats two kids, has rockets that fire and a real periscope for only $7.98?! (Spoiler: They sent you a bunch of cardboard that you'd have to assemble into something vaguely resembling a sub.)Childhood me would have been pretty devastated if I spent my money on this junk, but the adult me loves having my many questions about these mysterious items finally answered after several decades. We all saw the ads, but what did you REALLY get when you sent your money to these novelty companies? At long last, I have the answers and most of them are every bit as underwhelming as my Mom told me they would be.I definitely recommend picking this book up if you get a chance. People my age and older should appreciate the nostalgia for this era that has sadly passed, but don't worry, you can still get scammed by misleading ads these days too, thanks to the likes of Wish and Temu. Also... and I can't stress this enough... they gave the book a glow in the dark cover! How cool is that?!

Bought this out of interest. Excellent new condition upon arrival and delivery was prompt. No problems and its good for laughs. Definitely recommend it.

Ich legte mir vor einigen Jahren mehrere Hundert Groschenromane zu, auf Flohmärkten usw.- Flash Gordon, Horrorgeschichten usw. keines davon las ich, ich wollte nur die Anzeigen gucken, die es hinten in solchen Heftchen immer gab. Bestellt habe ich nie irgendetwas davon.Dieses Buch versammelt nicht nur solche Anzeigen aus amerikanischen Heftchen und Comics, sondern auch gleich noch Bilder und Beschreibungen der dort angebotenen Gadgets, Gimmiks und Spielzeuge. Immer schon wollte ich wissen ob und wie die Röntgenbrillen funktionieren- dieses Buch erklärt es.Es ist ein Riesenspass da reinzulesen, Nostalgie pur für mich. Man bekommt hier ein knallbuntes, liebevoll geschriebenes Bilderbuch voller kleiner Wunderdinge. Und als wäre das nicht schon genug- der Einband leuchtet im Dunkeln. Ich liebe es.Dieses Buch ist bislang mein Highlight des Jahres- besser geht eigentlich nicht. Schon der Blick ins Buch hier bei Amazon ist ein Spass- und zeigt recht gut, was den Käufer erwartet. Wer des Englischen nicht mächtig ist, bekommt leider die sarkastisch- ironischen Beschreibungen nicht mit, aber auch als Bildband taugt das Ganze schon.Für kleines Geld bekommt man hier ein Buch voller kleiner Wunder in passendem Layout, aufwändig farbig gedruckt und gebunden. Unbedingt kaufen. Hier gefiel mir einfach mal alles, Thema, Stil, Aufmachung, Verarbeitung, Preis. Toll!

Just ordered this - am in a fever of anticipation....ironic perhaps ?As a kid in the sixties I was thrilled by Ditko, Kirby and even some D.C. titles - comics were a fantastic escape into colour from the sepia smog of late sixties into early seventies.I used to envy the American kids who had easy access to these epics, and also to saturday morning cartoons..and..and these - Charles Atlas muscles and sea monkeys, an ant farm, or X-ray spex, boxes of soldiers and ..and...this book will be a thrill and a buzz...and yet..as burnt-out adult in the middle aged dregs of disillusion and the first intimations of despair...to see what these ads actually really meant...a loss of nostalgic innocence...and here I am...anticipating with mounting excitement the wonders this book will reveal..delightful treasures, but be careful what you wish for

Un libro bellissimo per chi, come me, è attirato da trucchi, magie, attrezzi curiosi e insoliti. Veste tipografica eccellente

少年時代のワクワク感を、思い出しました。内容も濃いのでとても楽しめました。お薦めです。