Anytime I saw a comic-book prank like the Joy Buzzer while I was on vacation, I would definitely snatch it up. I wasn’t allowed to get any of it until I grew up and eBay came along, with the rare exception of the items I would come across in souvenir and toy shops. That’s when I approached my dad, asking for that stuff, and he informed me that most of it was a rip-off. Of course, X-Ray Spex caught my attention because I loved the idea you could see through things like that. Adams’ Snake Nut Can and spooky stuff like monster hands and a skull key chain. I was uninterested in the story itself, but the ads were so mysterious and amazing: Gorilla masks were across the page from a hovercraft. But it was definitely not made for first-graders to read. I was in the first grade, and I decided to spend my candy money on a “Micronauts” comic book instead. Kirk Demarais: The first time I ever saw comics for sale was in 1979, when the place we called “the Icee shop” got a comic rack. Collectors Weekly: How did you first come across comic-book ads?

This May, Demarais will have his first two-man art show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. Recently, Demarais has also made a name for himself with his color-pencil drawings depicting TV and movies families, like The Cosbys and The McFlys, as if they’d gone to Sears and had a portrait done, earning him famous patrons like Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill. Adams novelty company’s catalog and writing a 2006 book on the gag-maker’s 100-year history called “ Life of the Party.” The film led to his dream job: redesigning the S.S. The impact these ads had on his imagination is spelled out in his 2004 short film, “Flip,” about a boy who dreams of the wonderful life such $1 products could bring him. “Harold von Braunhut, who pushed X-Ray Spex and Sea-Monkeys, was the guru of comic-book mail order.”ĭemarais, who is 39, became fascinated with mail-order comic novelities as a kid in small-town Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where he’s lived most of his life. Last fall, he published Mail-Order Mysteries, a book that reveals what you really got when you ordered any one of 150 supposed marvels. Six years ago, artist and historian Kirk Demarais, who runs the brilliant Gen X nostalgia site, Secret Fun Blog, became determined to uncover the truth behind these comic-book ads published between the 1950s and late ’80s. At least, that’s what vintage comic-book ads would have you believe. All of this could be yours for a dollar or two. Scary seven-foot tall ghosts that do your bidding. Lifa app store.Amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable! Eyeglasses that let you see through clothes.

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