I was never interested in supplemental advertising/promotion type stuff when reading my comics; I would only ever skim them, if not skipping over them entirely... They're largely shameful, not funny, and/or uninteresting. I remember reading the Marvel Cool-o-Meter and then wondering why the fuck I just read the Marvel Cool-o-Meter. Stuff like Stan's Soapbox, Bullpen Bulletins, Daily Planet, DC Universe... I just never found any of them worth reading. (Okay- the Bullpen Bits comics were great!) The checklists of that months comics were handy enough at first- but became rather pointless once you were into Wizard and/or Previews, or had a file at your LCS. Even the letter-columns; I would mostly skip. A lot of fake praise, stupid questions, stuffy replies, and inserted straw-man arguments. Really; The Maxx and The Savage Dragon were the first comics I ever read to make the fan letters / responses a truly genuine, comical, and engaging experience. They even made the copyright small-print in the front worth reading!
 |
| (Right-click/View Image to embiggen) |
I'll also admit that while- as a kid- I did not give a crap about any of the artist or writer profiles, now I love coming across them in my old books...
What features like this do you remember actually enjoying reading in your comics? -Some I didn't like? Some I maybe didn't mention??? Let me know what supplemental/promotionals/mailbag you always got a kick out of, or even hated, reading below!
yeah what you described as the "supplemental advertising" was something I've always pretty much skipped as well and I've mentioned at least a few times on the Rom blog how back in my teens I never paid much attention to any of the biographical writings about artists and writers rather it was in Marvel Age mag. or the Bullpen Bulletins. these days obviously it's a very different story as you know although house ads with upcoming titles did at times interest me back in the day depending on what characters/teams were being promoted. i'll be posting some videos from this weekend's con in a couple of hours on the Rom blog.
ReplyDeleteI did not know how else to phrase it...
DeleteBut, yeah- as a young reader: I pretty-much said "fuck it!"
Now, though; I check that shit out. -I was never into the Marvel Age book...
for me i like it when its a character im interested in like Spider-man 2099 when they promoted it on ASM #1
ReplyDelete~I am SO pumped for the continuing adventures of Spider-Man 2099!!!!!!
DeleteYeah, I remember these. Whether you liked em' or not, they were still something extra for the kids, and free. Can't beat that. Plus, free art tips too?
ReplyDeleteAlso it was kind of some sort of insight into the bullpen/behind the scenes that Stan started back in the day. And while everyone and their momma, stole that format or used similar formats, at least it was something extra of you were interested. Hell, in most cases back then, before he internet, how else were they gonna' try to squeeze much-deserved props/praise for certain staff members.
I think whenever the King has time, he should make a fake house ad for this site ot just as a funny fake. Hmmmm. might do one for The House maybe;)
But what kids actually read them? ...is the point I was trying to make.
DeleteLike, I did not give a fuck at all about behind the scenes info when I was a kid. Now- sure, it's fun to read about... but as the target audience back then? -Fuck all that bullshit.
A fake "House-Ad" you say, ehh???
I just got an issue of Spectre with that Guy Gardener in it! I had one with Robin before so they must of done a series. I've always loved the Bullpen Bulletins, or Meanwhile... or whatever they are called anywhere else. Except when Marvel did the coolometer. That just robbed them of any ability to judge, right from the start.
ReplyDelete~Jeah! I pulled it from a Spectre issue with a glow-in-the-dark cover... Never seen the Robin one, though. That "Whaddaya think you are? An Artist???" bit cracked me up! Guy is just that kind of dick.
DeleteThe Cool-'O-Meter was ridiculous dumb, right? But for some reason- I'd always read/try to make sense of it...
I gotta tip my hat to the new thing DC is doing with The Ambush Bug. That's a nice little bit for the new readers...