Post Your Promotional Comic Books Here!!!! 7 7

[BOOT]

Adventures in El Dorado Land (1959) published by Braniff, produced by Custom Comics, with art by Kurt Shaffenberger.

 

 

Another earlier (1956) version of this beauty...

[Tri-Color Brian]

Wow, I need to get one of those nifty little heaters so I can melt the snow off my sidewalk here in Phoenix...

[Dr. Love]

Adventure Series - General Electric Co, 1945-1947

 

Includes Adventures in Electricity (1945), the Adventure Series (1946), the Adventures in Science Series (1947), and America's Astronauts (1961). All told there are 29 distinct covers. A very common giveaway, easily obtainable for the most part, understandable given the prominent publisher (GE), the distribution channel (schools at a national level), and the number produced (68 million). This series was my introduction to giveaways. It sets a high bar in terms of production value - thanks to George "Inky" Roussos.

 

Over a career of 60 years, Roussos worked for nearly every major publisher and in every aspect of comic production: as an inker, background artist, letterer and most notably a colorist. He was associated with almost no major characters.

 

Some of his most memorable work was on this series. As one blogger put it: "It's one of the finest and most painstaking jobs he ever did. Good figure drawing is surpassed by even better background work, and the sheer effort he put into some of these pages is impressive...this is an exciting old-school art job."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Love]

 

[Dr. Love]

 

[Dr. Love]

[Tri-Color Brian]

Gosh...

[BOOT]

Anderson?

[Dr. Love]

Anderson?

 

According to Jerry Bails' Who's Who, Harry Anderson is credited with this one issue of General Electric's Adventures in Science series. And I would have to say it looks like him to me, too.

 

This was THE book that sucked me in.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Dr. Love

[Dr. Love]

Bobby Gets Hep (1946)

 

Bell Telephone Co promotional that instructs on proper telephone party-line etiquette. That's your Golden Age, right there.

 

Versus Bronze Age: Speedy Gets Hep C. I'm pretty sure there's a promo about that...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Love]

The Bible and the Working Man (1944)

 

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a labor based organization, formed in 1938, when they broke away from the American Federation of Labor.

 

The CIO produced a number of publications, mostly available via subscription. The Bible And The Working Man is their only known comic book. In 1955 the AFL & CIO reconciled their differences, reforming as the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations.

 

 

 

[Dr. Love]

Bulb Magic! (1956)

 

Distributed by the Associated Bulb Growers of Holland and produced by ACG comics. Bulb Magic! shows how ornamental planting can enhance the look and value of a home. Drawn by one of the promo world's go-to artists: Kurt Schaffenberger. As if you needed to be told.

 

One thing about Kurt. It's all Lois and Clark, all the time. It's Kurt's world - we just get to live in it. Not that that's a bad thing.

 

 

[Dr. Love]

Speaking of hard working...

 

Some guys got chewed up pretty bad by the Four Color world. It was rough and tumble, especially in the beginning. Others thrived. They made it up as they went along and everything they touched turned to gold.

 

Will Eisner was one of those. His life story is inspirational. After the war, in addition to his continuing work on The Spirit, he founded American Visuals Corp. AVC produced comics for the business world (Fram Motors, RCA, a number of utility companies, Remington, Baltimore Colts) as well as holding onto a sole source contract with the Army for PS Magazine for 20 years.

 

To me this cover is iconic Eisner. It demonstrates in a simple straightforward way his mastery of a term he coined: "sequential art". It also strikes me as a self-portrait. Eisner, moving forward with determination, head down, stiff arm, the competition far behind or left clutching their heads: who was that truck that run me down?

 

Baltimore Colts (1950)

 

Edited January 7, 2015 by Dr. Love

[comick1]

Speaking of hard working...

 

Some guys got chewed up pretty bad by the Four Color world. It was rough and tumble, especially in the beginning. Others thrived. They made it up as they went along and everything they touched turned to gold.

 

Will Eisner was one of those. His life story is inspirational. After the war, instead of going back to comics or strips, he founded American Visuals Corp. AVC produced comics for the business world (Fram Motors, RCA, a number of utility companies, Remington, Baltimore Colts) as well as holding onto a sole source contract with the Army for PS Magazine for 20 years.

 

To me this cover is iconic Eisner. It demonstrates in a simple straightforward way his mastery of a term he coined: "sequential art". It also strikes me as a self-portrait. Eisner, moving forward with determination, head down, stiff arm, the competition far behind or left clutching their heads: who was that truck that run me down?

 

Baltimore Colts (1950)

 

 

 

 

Yo, DL, didn't know you collected these!!! That's an awesome commentary about Eisner. I'm bookmarking this thread just cuz of that cool write-up!

[Dr. Love]

Thanks Mick! btw the high point of the year (literally) was seeing you, the Lord of War, grabbing that OAAW 112. Like one of Heath's ace fighters swooping in, when just a second before it was clear skies. It was awesome +1000!

[vaillant]

This is wrong on so many levels... who thought it was a good idea to have a devil represent their product in a comic book? And then to fill it with weird innuendos...what kind of man wants the devil to make his wife warm?

 

Oh well, it’s a good ol' devil probably…

 

 

 

Wow, love it! the artwork on this one is beatiful! – more information?

[Dr. Love]

Hey Vailant! more info - if you smoke pot, you'll end up doing heroin. You'll soon start stealing from your girlfriend to keep your habit going. Eventually she will get hooked as well and start prostituting herself so you can both get your heroin. This miserable life will continue until one day she overdoses and dies. This is known.

 

Now if you're looking for more info on the artist or maybe the publisher...well, this is not known. The only other thing I can tell you for sure is this book was not meant as a joke, it was actually distributed in methadon clinics in New York briefly in 1966. There are a couple of slabs out there, and one copy with a split spine on Ebay.

 

Ciao, buddy!

 

 

[Sqeggs]

Speaking of hard working...

 

Some guys got chewed up pretty bad by the Four Color world. It was rough and tumble, especially in the beginning. Others thrived. They made it up as they went along and everything they touched turned to gold.

 

Will Eisner was one of those. His life story is inspirational. After the war, instead of going back to comics or strips, he founded American Visuals Corp. AVC produced comics for the business world (Fram Motors, RCA, a number of utility companies, Remington, Baltimore Colts) as well as holding onto a sole source contract with the Army for PS Magazine for 20 years.

 

To me this cover is iconic Eisner. It demonstrates in a simple straightforward way his mastery of a term he coined: "sequential art". It also strikes me as a self-portrait. Eisner, moving forward with determination, head down, stiff arm, the competition far behind or left clutching their heads: who was that truck that run me down?

 

Baltimore Colts (1950)

 

 

 

 

Yo, DL, didn't know you collected these!!! That's an awesome commentary about Eisner. I'm bookmarking this thread just cuz of that cool write-up!

 

One impossibly cool book after another!

 

You got me hooked on Bakers and now this!

 

Wait, is that other promo about me?

[jpepx78]

Still haven't be able to get Overstreet to acknowledge that this Variant

Edition even exists.

mm

It's hard to believe this comic is considered scarce since it had three printings with over a half million copies printed.

If it was so popular why weren't more copies saved?

I guess it wasn't saved since it was a non-standard comic without a popular character.

From the New York Times Apr 7, 1948:

 

 

[Dr. Love]

You got me hooked on Bakers and now this!

 

Wait, is that other promo about me?

The First Step is the hardest, and the most important. I'll be your sponsor. Let's get those books out of your house.