Mail-Order Mysteries Reveals the Real Products Behind Comic Book Ads

Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads! is the new book from pop-culture historian Kirk Demarais in which he shares his very cool personal collection of “the real stuff you got when you ordered out of comic book ads.” He has included over 150 novelties in Mail-Order Mysteries such as “100 Toy Soldiers in a Footlocker, Count Dante’s World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets, GRIT, Hercules Wrist Band, Hypno-Coin, Life-Size Monsters, Mystic Smoke, Sea Monkeys, Soil From Dracula’s Castle, U-Control Ghost, Ventrilo Voice Thrower…and many, many more!” And yes, it has a glow-in-the-dark cover.

Generations of comic book readers remember the tantalizing promises of vintage novelty advertisements that offered authentic laser-gun plans, x-ray specs, and even 7-foot-tall monsters (with glow-in-the-dark eyes!). But what would you really get if you entrusted your hard-earned $1.69 to the post office?

Mail-Order Mysteries answers this question, revealing the amazing truths (and agonizing exaggerations) about the actual products marketed to kids in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.

via Super Punch