Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads! [Hardcover]

Kirk Demarais (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 20, 2011

Rediscover your sense of wonder!

Generations of comic book readers remember the tantalizing promises of vintage novelty advertisements that offered authentic laser-gun plans, x-ray specs, and even 7-foot-tall monsters (with glow-in-the-dark eyes!). But what would you really get if you entrusted your hard-earned $1.69 to the post office?

Mail-Order Mysteries answers this question, revealing the amazing truths (and agonizing exaggerations) about the actual products marketed to kids in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Pop-culture historian Kirk Demarais shares his astonishing collection, including:

100 Toy Soldiers in a Footlocker
Count Dante’s World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets
GRIT
Hercules Wrist Band
Hypno-Coin
Life-Size Monsters
Mystic Smoke
Sea Monkeys
Soil From Dracula’s Castle
U-Control Ghost
Ventrilo Voice Thrower
...and many, many more!

With more than 150 extraordinary, peculiar, and downright fraudulent collectibles, Mail-Order Mysteries is a must-have book comic book fans everywhere. Trust us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kirk Demarais is a freelance creator and author of Life of the Party, a visual history of the S.S. Adams Prank and Magic Company. He wrote and directed Flip, an awardwinning short film inspired by mail-order novelties, and he codirected Foot, an animated film distributed by bobblehead maker FunKo.

In addition to neglecting his retro culture website, SecretFunSpot, Kirk’s pop-surrealist artwork is regularly shown at L.A.’s Gallery 1988. Kirk enjoys life in the hills of Arkansas with his wife and son and a ghost.

Jesse Thorn is the host and creator of The Sound of Young America radio show on Public Radio International, where he has interviewed such guests as Mark Evanier, Weird Al Yankovic, and Judd Apatow. He is also the founder of production organization Maximum Fun, as well as the host of The Grid, a cultural recommendation program on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Theresa.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Insight Editions; First Edition edition (August 20, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160887026X
• ISBN-13: 978-1608870264
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.8 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Business & Professional

More About the Author

Kirk Demarais's fascination with vintage toys and novelties has inspired "Life of the Party," a visual history book of the S.S. Adams Prank and Magic company, as well as "Mail-Order Mysteries" which offers a rare look at mail-order products from old comic books.

Mail-order of yesteryear is also the focus of his award-winning short film "Flip." (See it here: http://vimeo.com/979599) Kirk also co-created "Foot," an animated film distributed by bobblehead maker FunKo.

In addition to neglecting his retro culture web site, SecretFunSpot.com,
Kirk's pop-surrealist artwork is regularly shown at L.A.'s Gallery 1988. Kirk enjoys life in the hills of Arkansas with his wife and son, and a ghost.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a bike ride down memory lane...circa 1972 October 12, 2011

By crawdad mcgoo

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This one is a lot of fun, and has an engaging format in which the authors acknowledge the youthful high expectations
we all had for these cheap crap items when we sent in our carefully saved paper route money, and then they detail the
crashing reality of the dashed hopes which arrived 4-6 weeks later in our mailboxes...amazing that a lot of
this junk now resides in the "collectible" category, but I understand why! Nostalgia is a bewitching mistress...
They hit most all the main ones I remember with the glaring exception of the "411 pc, 3 complete fishing outfits"
which was a standard on the back cover of practically every comic in the late 60's early 70's, it cost a whopping
12.95 as of this 1968 Gold Key Twilight Zone comic I am using as a reference, so maybe no one ever bought it! That was a lot
of dough! I always wondered about that one...

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Better Than I Imagined! October 27, 2011

By Adam Richter

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I IMAGINED: A cool collection of pictures and descriptions of assorted novelty items that were heavily advertised in old comic books.

THEY SENT: An awesome book featuring page after page of pictures, trivia, and entertaining evaluations of mysterious, suspiciously cheap products that always seemed WAY too good to possibly be true. I fondly remember being fascinated by the ads from mail-order giants Johnson Smith, Fun Factory, etc. which could be found throughout the comic books I was reading back in the late 1970's through the early 1980's. I placed several orders back in the day, so it was a nostalgic treat to see these products included in this book, along with many, many others that I was too wise to get suckered into buying (alright, it was actually because I didn't have enough cash at that young age!)

I couldn't stop reading this book! It's very hard to put down; I found myself wanting to keep turning pages to see what was next (Sea-Monkeys? Hypno-Coins? Secret Martial Arts lessons? They're all here!). I recall the same ratio of occasional gems amidst a sea of rip-offs as the author finds. In fact, it's a bit odd to feel such nostalgia about companies whose business model largely seemed to be finding ways to cheat naive children out of their allowances. I guess you could argue that it was a relatively inexpensive way for kids to learn about becoming more cautious consumers... it taught them to be wary of something that seemed too good to be true (an important life lesson that many adults have yet to learn). However, as the book notes, there were some really fun items available for low, low prices (plate lifters! magic tricks!). In fact, part of the excitement of the whole experience was the mystery... what would you actually get? How would it compare to the description, and would it actually work? For a few bucks, you'd have your answer (in four to six weeks, of course!)

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: I recommend this book to anyone who remembers these novelty advertisements, or is just curious about the merchandise they offered. "Mail-Order Mysteries" throws new light on a mysterious collection of goodies (and if you throw some light on the book's cover for a few moments, it even glows in the dark.)

Unlike many of my purchases from the aforementioned novelty houses, this book was even better than I dared imagine!

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Boy, do I remember October 23, 2011

By Roger Farnham

Format:Hardcover

A lot of the stuff shown here was around way back in the 1940s and 50s. I spent many a hard earned penny on this junk, waited with wild anticipation until it arrived and then was usually disappointed in what came. The "Remote Controlled Ghost" for example was a tissue paper "ghost" cutout that you fastened to a thread that was stretched between a doorpost or some other attachment point and your hand. When you jiggled the thread the "ghost" moved. As I recall it cost me 34 cents. The 411 piece fishing outfit that another reviewer mentioned had 150 lead sinkers (each of which was counted), 30 cheap hooks, the pole came in 3 pieces and each was counted and so was the 100 or so salmon eggs for bait. I caught one fish and the pole broke. Still, I remember buying all this junk with fondness since it gave me something to look forward to. Great book about some awful trashy crap.