Promotional Comics

About that February 1969 Esquire magazine, with the Spider-Man mini-comic attached, it seems probable that it doesn’t exist. There definitely IS an Eye magazine dated February 1969 which definitely does have the Spider-Man mini-comic attached. I bought a copy of that issue at the local newsstand when it was released, and have it still. The comic was attached with adhesive at the lower left cover of the magazine, under a cover blurb and arrow that invites you to read the magazine’s inside contents “if you can tear yourself away from reading our outasight comic book.” The mini-comic cover was reformatted from Amazing Spider-Man #42. There is also an article about Marvel Comics inside this issue of Eye. Eye ran only a couple years, 1968 to 1969. It was over-sized, like Life magazine, but jazzed up to appeal to a younger, hipper audience (who apparently weren’t too interested). In terms of collecting, this Eye magazine has all the disadvantages of odd-sized, odd-formatted books. The magazine itself is too big and floppy to store conveniently, and it has an under-sized attached mini-comic, so anything you would stack on top of it would sit on a somewhat uneven pile, and the comic itself is odd-sized, too, with a horizontal format.

I have found a couple of the detached mini-comics in collections I acquired over the years, with no accompanying Eye or Esquire magazines in the bunch. Could those mini-comics have been affixed to the covers of Esquire magazines as opposed to Eye magazines? I suppose so. But here’s an interesting note lifted from an Ebay seller (moremagazines, feedback today of 48,567) who offers that particular February 1969 issue of Esquire (and lots of other magazines) for sale, with a handy list of all its contents. At the bottom of the listing moremagazines notes: “There is NO “Spiderman” comic included or attached to this issue. I’ve received many questions about this. I’ve bought and sold multiple copies of this issue, none of which have had this comic. If anyone can give me more information about this, confirm that there was ever one really attached when published, or a photo of it, this would be extremely helpful!” So, when it comes to the question of whether there is an issue of Esquire with the Spider-Man mini-comic attached to it, count me a doubter. For what it’s worth, Esquire and Eye were both Hearst publications.

As to other promotional comics, I recall reading at some point that the Overstreet Price Guide was not really trying to list them all, but rather only those that had particular interest for collectors. The easy calls would be the familiar characters (Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, as well as comic strip favorites), those with sought-after artists, and some esoteric titles (for example the anti-communist themes). I am confident that thousands of comic-format promotional books are not listed in the Guide. For me, that adds to the fun when I find them. I recently acquired “The Adventures of Manuel Pacifico, Tuna Fisherman” #’s 1 and 2 (1951). I mean, how can you not be blown away by the fact that a comic book with that wacky title exists in the first place. And brought to you by Breast-O’-Chicken Tuna, too. My best guess is that #2 is the tougher of the two. Another recent delightful addition is “On the Air” – a 1947 NBC promotional comic, apparently given away during tours at NBC’s New York Studios in the RCA Building. When a family listens to a radio adventure story, little Jimmy dismisses the effort it takes to “put on a show like that,” saying “Aw, it’s a cinch.” A really animated and very peeved anthropomorphic radio microphone appears, shrinks Jimmy, and drags him back through the radio to the NBC Studios where he schools that ignorant lad on the effort and cost involved in putting together all that programming. The living microphone is a real scene-stealer.

One other comment about promotional comics would be to note that some of them are premiums, available for having purchased products (boxtop redemptions, boxes of Wheaties with comics taped on, etc), or for having shopped at a particular store (Buster Brown Shoes, Robin Hood Shoes (seek out the Robin Hood Shoe Store giveaways, if you can – the “Adventures of Robin Hood” issues [7 of them, I think] with amazing Wilner/Crandall art), March of Comics and others. Usually for these comics the promotional aspect is basically incidental. You got that promotional comic because you came into the store, bought the right product, or sent in the right redemption materials. And you have been rewarded. Other promotional comics, though, are actually selling a product or pushing a point (anti-smoking, anti-drugs, anti-communist, political candidates, etc), where the comic is actually about the promoted topic. And some of the promotional books were probably some of both. Kool-Aid Man, maybe? Anyway, while promotional comics have never been my primary comic book interest, they can be a lot of fun, and are often worth the hunt.

Hmmmm Walt… maybe we can make a trade one day….