Star Wars or Kingdom of the Spiders?

Had to share one more item from the same issue of SUPERMAG as seen in our previous post. Yes, Gwen Anne Barret's "Super Scoops" feature was THE place to find up-to-the-minute news and info on all that was cool in every area of entertainment in '77! And I've always loved Kingdom of the Spiders starring William Shatner, so it was neat to time travel back and read an early mention of it, hypin' up all of us monster kids to some creepy, weird web action coming soon to the big screen! Also of recommendation, a suspenseful adventure film that Gwen thought we should definitely not miss, which I will admit sounds pretty interesting, but seriously now, only the test of time will determine if out-of-this world fantasy films with robots and evil empires can stand up to Captain Kirk vs. tarantulas! Good luck to that little sci-fi flick from a galaxy far, far away, anyway...

Nancy Drew / Hardy Boys SUPERMAG '77

Back in December we saw some swingin' 70's King Kong pages from SUPERMAG kids magazine (HERE!), and this time around let's take a look at the mysterious highlights of Volume 2 No. 1 which also just so happens to be the Nancy Drew / Hardy Boys Detective '77 issue! Yep, as if articles about Super Custom Vans, O. J. Simpson, and Electric Light Orchestra weren't enough, this issue seriously had it all and more! See, I read nearly all of the Hardy Boys books obsessively back in those younger days, barely batting an eye at the Nancy adventures. But once they both got their own respective TV series', well, those Hardy Boys just didn't stand a chance against the lovely charms of perfect Pamela Sue Martin anymore! This is a fun issue of SUPERMAG though, and the Dick Bennett illustrations on the games 'n puzzles pages is, simply put, the ominous icing on the cake! And let's not forget the awesome "Photo-Mystery" section too, as it's up to our gang of pre-teen super sleuths to tackle the existence of yet another late, great 70's staple-- BIGFOOT! So whip out your over-sized magnifying glass, and don your deerstalker cap-- it's time to go seriously 'n mysteriously 70's!!!





















And if that isn't enough-- how about a pic of Mr. Karswell rockin' one of his first axes! Do you believe in magic, people? Yes sir, THAT'S Rock 'n Roll!

Fangburger Mobile vs. Krazy Kreature Window Stix

Added a few more 70's Fun Meal items to my ever expanding Burger Chef collection-- this very cool and unused / unpunched-out Fangburger Mobile from 1974, as well as a complete set of 6 Krazy Kreature Window Stix from 1971 (and check out the original TV commercial for these by clicking HERE!) Needless to say, 70's Burger Chef artwork was nothing short of incrediburgable!













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Devilman デビルマン 70's Storybook and Record

Another incredible item I've recently aquired directly from Japan is this Devilman storybook and record produced during the 70's at the height of the insanely awesome manga and animated TV series of the same name, created by master Go Nagi. (Those unfamiliar with this hellacious hero / anti-hero demon character please click HERE.) The semi-clear, blood red, and somewhat floppy record, though the size of a 45, actually plays at 33 1/3rd, with full-on action packed sound FX, dialogue, (plus the opening and closing theme song to the TV series), and tells the tale of Devilman vs. the ferocious, flying, fighting she-demon, Sirene, sent from Hell to destroy him! The read-a-long booklet is equally exciting and features 14 colorful pages of mind-blowing battle art, as Devilman squares off against evil to save not only innocent Miki, but all of humanity as well!



















To hear some examples of 70's music from Devilman click HERE! I need to get this album next!

Skreel the Galaxy Bat

I've slowly, and obsessively, been building up my sofubi ("soft 'n light Japanese vinyl toy") collection over the years, and a recent fun, and somewhat frightening addition is Skreel the Galaxy Bat. Apparently made in Japan about 3 or 4 years ago by Galaxy People, I totally love anything batty, so after stumbling upon this fine furry, fanged freak on eBay, I instantly knew I had to have him! He comes in a variety of colorfully wild paint jobs, but the simple, true villain black, chrome, and red was the obvious choice for me. I love his awesome slick wings too-- and is there a more perfect example of illustrated designer toy header card art anywhere else in the galaxy?









Get more Galaxy People toy info by clicking HERE!

Inventions Wanted / Mimi Wanted!

I've been posting highlights from a few early 60's issues of Mechanix Illustrated over the last week, and by golly, here are a few more. Inventions Wanted was basically an ongoing shout-out in each issue from the MI editors to their readers, asking them to send in their own ideas for clever new concepts, or even improvements on old ones. Some of them ain't too shabby, while some need more work-- but the neato accompanying illustrations definitely make for a fun article none the less! Also fun, was the attractive appearance of "Mimi" in each MI issue as she bats her eyes and shows off her legs while showcasing something newly conceived and constructed from deep within her own "testing workshop." And now you no longer have to read Mechanix Illustrated just for the articles, Mr. C, as Mimi definitely puts the X into MechaniX!

Chiselers

There's a funny article in the June 1962 issue of Mechanix Illustrated called How Chiselers Beat the Phone Company. It's basically about people milking, bilking, and basically taking advantage of the telephone system. There's even some great illustrations by David Lockhart, one of said diabolical milker loading his pockets with change pouring from a pay phone. But my favorite is the half page, central piece featuring scrambling masked bandits literally chiseling away at a giant phone. Other topics in the article cover (and remember, this is from a time well before cell phones and answering machines) the aggravation of late night calls, and also how people purposefully used to call home and let it ring and ring and ring forever because they knew back at home the ringing noise was giving their obnoxious pet some exercise. And did you know when old time phones went out of fashion, people used to use them in the kitchen to make doughnuts instead? No foolin'...


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Backyard Monorail, or Twin Sails for Your Bike

As winter winds down, and spring time approacheth, the need for (outdoor) speed arises! Ehhh... that's about all I can muster this morning for an intro, as my need for other indoor things far exceeds anything spring or speed could provide. Annnnd I guess these two pages from the June 1953 issue of Science and Mechanics (the magazine that shows you how) are probably self explanatory enough. I totally love those bug-eyed boys on the cover though...

Cartoon the Easy Way!

We've all seen the ads in the pages of old comic books-- luring you with frisky female curves-- enticing you into the sexy, lucractive world of cartooning and art! Kits! Booklets! Amazing Inventions! Talent? Who needs talent?! Didn't you know it's easy as pie to become Alex Raymond on Day One? Come on! Do you have a dollar? Do you have $10? Hell, you don't even need any money in some of these, you just need to be enthusiastic and totally ready to start rolling in all that cartooning dough before you can even utter the words "Milton Caniff!" So actually, none of the ads in today's post are from the funny books. Nope. These come from a variety of Science and Mechanics mags, like Mechanix Illustrated for example... you know, those square bound, do-it-yourself from your own home shop class collections that teach you things like building a backyard monorail system out of wood planks, or adding twin sailing ship sails to your bicycle. And please note that in these magazines the ads are printed so incredibly small that I was actually forced to scan them in at 600 dpi for full affect. A few of them might be familiar, (and a few aren't even about becoming a cartoonist!), but the focus of this post was to find relative ads that haven't already been blogged to death by all the other comic book and cartooning sites out there which are also making easy peezy boo-koo bucks thanks to the world of art. Enjoy!