Kool-Aid Man has been a proven advertising star for longer than I thought possible. Here is a refreshing history of the living pitcher of fluid, the anthropromorphic jug of tasty juice who has been around since 1954.
Star of TV and print, Kool-Aid Man had his own comics of course, first from Marvel for three issues and then over at Archie Comics for many more. The artist most closely associated with the comics is proven Archie veteran Dan DeCarlo. Some see the hand of John Romita (or his "Raiders") on a few of the Marvel covers. The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man are weird artifacts from a weird time when entertainment and advertising were the same thing, it's a time in which we still live alas.
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Yep, and who can forget the Ronald McDonald / Kool-Aid Man one-shot (Giant-Size Childhood Obesity Team-Up, I think it was called) – where they battled the Keebler Elves for the Cosmic Insulin Cube? Those were the days...
ReplyDeleteA Multiverse indeed! My mind tumbles with the possibilities!
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You'll notice Marvel didn't submit their K-AM books to the Comics Code Authority, which is why they're full of profanity, drug abuse, and gratuitous nudity.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the public is not more fully aware of this scandal. I do disagree that the nudity is "gratuitous".
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