Set The WayBack to 1973 Sherman

Wayback 1973

1973 Bullwinkle ComicIf I haven't proven to you what an Ultimate-Uber-Geek I am by now, this will clinch it.

Cause this U.U.G. she loves her comics.

Daily comics, color comics, even stand-up comics.

But the best of all are old comic books, like this musty-scented acquisition hailing from MY childhood. Over 35 years ago some U.U.G. youngling grabbed this October, 1973 issue of Bullwinkle and Rocky off the shelf and pried it open for the first time.

Today, waves of nostalgia sweep over me when carefully flipping through the yellowed pages; but I don't just read the stories.

Oh no.

Some of the best memories are from old advertisements that in those days, didn't outnumber the pages of actual storylines.

So it was a blast to read again offers from the Lucky Products Inc. for a 100 piece set of "durable plastic" green soldiers for $ 1.25. Or ads for child labour "Sales Leadership" schemes to hawk greeting cards for a chance to win valuable prizes like Dacron sleeping bags or Jumbo AM/FM Radios.

But I don't recall this one:


Yep. Apparently back in the Seventies, all you needed for a snowstorm was a lit cigarette and a "nearly invisible" tablet...

Let the drug-related jokes commence.

22 People would rather be commenting:

Irene said...

People had a very strange sense of morals back then. It's very amusing to us to see what they found amusing. We sure don't laugh about the same things, thank goodness. We have evolved.

Brimful Curiosities said...

Very strange. Old ads are fun to browse.

Daisy said...

You can get some real cool stuff from the back of comic books. Like Sea Monkeys! And they wear little crowns.

Swubird said...

Maureen:

What a fabulous post. Really well done. It really brings back old memories. Of course, it takes me back a lot farther than you, but whatever. It was a time when it seemed that everyone smoked. In fact, it's a wonder there are any people left to talk about it.

Super illustrations.

Also, your site is really looking good.

Happy trails.

Babs-beetle said...

Ha ha! I remember those. They're way older than the seventies, and came in the same group as stink bombs, itching powder, imitation boils and all sorts of ghastly stuff!

Anonymous said...

I love old comics, they're such a fine barometer of morals and attitudes, aren't they?

Incidentally, I happened to catch an 'antiques' programme on TV today while I was in a shop, and this guy paid £100 for the first ever Eagles annual. Good heavens, I was practically tripping over the darn things on a daily basis when I was young - my two brothers had the Eagle delivered every week!

Anonymous said...

Awesome memories, I think I love you but Im just too lazy to pursue the feeling.

JoJo said...

Nice. I actually DO remember that b/c I asked my mom if we could get them (she smoked).

Anonymous said...

I keep trying to set my Wayback Machine for the 70s, so I can get the comics that went missing around that time. Fortunately, there are PDFs of many of them floating around the Web now. And they are still fun.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Daisy... those sea monkeys always looked like they could be way cool. Mum never let me order some though... grrr...

If you like piggies in comic strips, then perhaps you might like mine... or not. :p

Ed & Jeanne said...

I believe every word of it. That's why back in the 60s and 70s when I was a kid we had to walk barefoot through the snow in the house...

Unknown said...

a blast from the past. I am old enough to remember this one. It was nice to get hold of enough roadside bottles cashed in to send away for these little tricks that were good for all of five minutes of fame in the neighborhood.

JoJo said...

We got sea monkeys when we lived in San Francisco. Let me be the first to tell all of you, they don't smile and they don't wear crowns. All they are, are tiny brine shrimp. With ginormous testicles. Seriously. Couldn't believe how hung they were.

Maureen said...

The Finely Tuned Woman: Evolved, yes. And they could never get away with anything like that now, tis true!

Brimful Curiosities: They are fun; and it's great to read them in a completely different light as an adult.

Daisy: I was going to follow-up with a post about Sea Monkeys! Yes, that ad was in there too!!

Swu: Well, coming from a great storyteller like you, that's high praise indeed! Thank you so much! And yes, I HAVE been tweaking the site; I've been teaching myself CSS so I've been able to fix a few glitches I had. Thank you for noticing!

Beetle: Popular on BOTH sides of the pond, eh? Well, kids will be kids....

Jay: Isn't that always the case? If you hang onto things long enough, SOMEONE will want it. At least, that's what I keep telling myself when I look at all the crap I have hoarded downstairs.

Chris: Aw, what a nice thing to say... but I won't tell hubby ;)

JoJo: Ha! Really? I wonder if they really worked...

Aoi: PDFs eh? But there is nothing like the SMELL of old comics, no?

Tony! I LOVE your little piggies! (Wow, that sounds weird). So much so, I have added your site to my blogroll... I shall return to read more and comment. You are very talented! I always wanted to be a cartoonist.

VE: Ha! Your family must have smoked A LOT.

JoJo: What, no crowns? And hung?? THAT I would never have imagined, and now I am trying to get that image out of my head.

Jeff and Charli Lee said...

I bought a package of exploding cigarette tablet thingys when I was a teenager and put them in my mom's cigarettes. Then the first time she lit one up it blew up and sent a hot spark into her eye. Needless to say I felt like an idiot. But hey... I can laugh about it now!

No I can't.

JD at I Do Things said...

That's hilarious. I wish I'd saved my old comic books. I don't remember the cigarette "snow" ads, tho. I was probably too busy stocking up on my durable green plastic army.

Maureen said...

Oh Noes Jeff! Your poor mom! And you wonder where your son gets his mischieveness (okay, that's probably not a word) from....

JD: Ha! Every time I see one of those green army men now, I think of Toy Story and those guys "marching" by hopping from side to side on their little plastic stands.

robkroese said...

Ah, the 70s. That's when comics were a quarter and they were made of paper that was a step below industrial paper towels.

Cupcake Blonde said...

I am sure there was a post here tlaking about womething witty and fun because that is what you do. But I couldn't read it because the first thing I saw when opening your blog was that picture of a certain cartoon. A certain cartoon I have an unnatural and unexplainable fear of. So I have no idea what you wrote about because your post scared me too much.

Maureen said...

Diesel: How true... I'm surprised they even last this many years. And the smell; gad it's horrible.

Vegas Princess: Really? Bullwinkle? You afeered of talking mooses or flying squirrels with hats????

Janet said...

Unbelievable! That does make me feel old....

Bruce Johnson said...

First of all, Rocky and Bullwinkle where the first intellectual children's cartoon. They were the SouthPark of their day and if I can ever catch the animated series on television, it continues to make me roll with laughter.

I actually had the little army men for $1.25. Needless to day, they weren't quite what they were advertised as, but I never recall the snowing cigarette tablets.

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