Made Of Durable Plastic!

Adorning most of the comic books of my early years were copious ads enticing money from the pockets of youngsters already ensnared in the imaginative adventures of some hero or other. They fed on the notion that the impulses demanding action which fed the bristling imaginations of youth would extend yet further. These ads were often well crafted, sometime by the same talents which made the comic story itself, a published variation of the 80's action hero cartoons which blended commerce and entertainment in arguably less than purely fair ways for fanciful youngsters. The classic Roman soldiers ad above by Russ Heath is the most exquisite example. I for my part was made immune to these cries for more money because I simply did not have any more to give. As paltry a sum as a buck ninety-eight seems today it was nearly a full month of comics back then.

Above are many of the classic ads which decorated the comics, the Revolutionary soldiers ad again made by Russ Heath. For all the adventure and excitement they promised to naive youngsters, the truth of them was something else again.

The secret of these ads, the thing which made them viable was that the soldiers whether Roman, Medieval, modern, or Revolutionary were all two-dimensional -- they were flat and so being were easily crammed into small boxes and so delivered on the numbers promised. Was it a cheat?  Far less than many of these ads found in comics I think, you got soldiers and being toys they could be played with. That's fair enough I suppose, though sleight of hand is involved still. 

These ads are fondly remembered by folks of my vintage, so much so that parodies such as the one above give a neat chuckle and a warm feeling in the nostalgic heart.

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