The Legion of Super-Heroes Subscription ad

 

I'm running short on time this week as I prepare to head down to the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. So I am giving you an old DC subscription ad to The Legion of Super-Heroes. I was fortunate as a kid to always have a local comic store. Even when I moved up to Northern Canada as an early teen, the town had just opened a new comic shop. I never had to get a subscription.

I would be curious about others experience with it. Did you have a comic book subscriptions back in the day? Did they arrive in good shape or were they ever mangled? Just curious...leave a comment if you've have any stories to share.
 

Double Dragon 3 - Deadly Weapons!

What's the ad for?

Double Dragon 3 for the Sega Genesis
Year
1993

Spotted in...

The Scoop

The third but not the last game in the Double Dragon franchise was not a well received game. Interesting to note the differences between the Japanese and Western versions of the game. In the Japanese version you could choose characters while in the Western version there were weapon shops where you could purchase weapons and extra moves. I wonder why they make regional differences in games like these? Why, Why?

The insult that made a man out of "Mac"

What's the ad for?

Bodybuilding books by Charles Atlas
Year
1972

Spotted in...

The Scoop

So apparently the story featured in the ad is based on the life of Angelo Siciliano, a young Italian immigrant. After getting sand kicked in his face, probably over at Coney Island, he decided that enough was enough. No more being a 97 pound weakling. So Siciliano joined the YMCA and became obsessed with working out. He won competitions and in 1921 was named  "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man". He then got a job as the strongman in the Coney Island Circus Side Show. The year after that he changed his name to...Charles Atlas. I bet you didn't see that coming.

Altas told "Half Alive" scrawny teenagers that they didn't have to toil away in the YMCA gym to become the next  Angelo Siciliano. All they had to do was buy his book and perform "15 minutes a day of pleasant practice- in the privacy of your own room". I'd have to guess but I think they were already doing that pleasant practice everyday in the privacy of their own room. Probably involved more pulling than lifting.

Arch Rivals- Basket Brawl

What's the ad for?

Arch Rivals for the NES
Year
1991

Spotted in...

The Scoop

Unlike other basketball video games, the appeal of Arch Rivals was that you could punch your opponent in the face to steal the ball. It was the Road Rash of the the basketball set, albeit a first-gen predecessor. One of the characters from the game, Tyrone, was even featured in the animated Power Team segments that appeared in Video Power TV series.

WWF Superstars for the Gameboy

What's the ad for?
WWF Superstars for the Nintendo Gameboy
Year
1991

Spotted in...

The Scoop

One more ad for the week and another wrestling themed one to boot. From what some would call the glory days of wresting (some being anyone who was 12 years old in 1991) comes WWF Superstars. Featuring all your favorite wrestlers; The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, "Macho King" Randy Savage, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, and Mr. Perfect. Check out the sweet graphics and game-play below. 

I beat the @!#! out of Dad last night!

What's the ad for?
Wrasslin by Avalon Hill
Year
1991

Spotted in...

The Scoop

Wrasslin' was a card game released by Avalon Hill in 1990. Avalon Hill was a board game company better known for it's complex war games, although they did have a small stable of non-war games like this one in their catalog. This ad is pretty funny...and I quote " Why did you drop kick your mom when he crawled over to tag her." The type of humor definitely appeals to young buys, so I guess they knew their target audience.

You can find a fun review of the game over at the Fortress AT website.

Below are some images from www.boardgamegeek.com

Image by BGG user Gialmere

Image by BGG user mrbeankc

Four Color Promises is now on Twitter...

I thought I would give this Twitter thing a try. You can now follow me on the Twitter. @4ColorPromises. I will tweet about new posts as well as enlighten you all with things I find interesting, both comic related and non-comic related. It might take a bit for me to get a hang of it...luck for me I have zero followers to disappoint!

That is all...

Splatterhouse....It's only a game

What's the ad for?
Splatterhouse for the TurboGrafx 16
Year
1991

Spotted in...

The Scoop

 I remember that when Splatterhouse came out 22 years ago, it caused a small stir. It was violent and bloody and...not much of a big deal when you look back at it. It was one of the first games in North America to receive a Parental Advisory sticker. Of coarse the game looks pretty crappy compared to today's standards (see video below). This is no Dead Space. The TurboGrafx version was a toned down version of the arcade original. Maybe the arcade version was scarier. 

You can play a browser version here.

 

Monster bone(ers) and Shi(f)t Happens

 

What's the ad for?
Kemco video games for Nintendo systems

 Year
1992

Spotted on the back cover of...

The Scoop

Kemco was best known for their Top Gear driving games, but that's besides the point. What were they thinking with these ads? Who was the target audience? I guess they weren't kids, or perhaps they thought they could hit both the kids and the teen/adult comic reader. "Shift Happens" is okay, kinda funny. "Get a Monster Bone"? That one missed the mark in my book. The copy is full of puns. Ghoulfriend, Bone Voyage. Perhaps it fits with the theme. They certainly grabbed your attention with the large, provocative black text.

What do you think? Do these ads work?

Target: Renegade

What's the ad for?
Target: Renegade for the NES
Year
1990

Spotted in...

 

The Scoop

Wow. That dude looks intense. This ad boasts "Sound effect so real you can feel the punches" and "Graphics so real their looks could kill." I'll let you judge for yourself. To me it looks like a Double Dragon rip-off. It was however, popular enough for a group of individuals to create a Windows-based remake entitled Target; 2006. Also interesting is the box cover art.

It's a total ripoff of the cover to Joe Lewis's book "World's Greatest Fighter Teaches You How To Master Bruce Lee's Fighting System". I wonder if Lewis ever received any money for that?