Comic Ads - rrRumblers are Here! - by Ian Baker

Rumblers are Here! - an appreciation of comic ads by Ian Baker

I was a great Hot Wheels fan from the early days, when having a Hot Wheels set involved 5 or 6 pieces of orange track and a plastic clamp affixed to the side of the dining room table. The sets available in the UK seemed very limited when compared to the magnificent layouts and amazing accessories shown on the back covers of DC comics in those years at the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s. 

Seeing this ad for Hot Wheels' RRRumblers in the July 1972 issue of "Beyond The Unknown" send me scrambling to find the last two remaining remnants of my collection. I suppose they were inspired by counter-culture films like Easy Rider, which made folk heroes of social misfits. 

Interesting that the RRRumblers were equipped with training wheels, which while ensuring they performed on the Hot Wheels circuit, also punctured the cool image they were trying to promote.

Comic Ads - Sherman Tank - by Ian Baker

Amazing value - an appreciation of comic ads by Ian Baker

As the lockdown continues, my eyes turn once again to this blog, co-written with my good chum Nigel. Ive been working my way through DC Bat Lash comics from the late 1960s, and came across this ad for a Sherman Tank for $6.98! 

What value! and presumably less chance of drowning in than the working submarine previously advertised a few blog posts back. Obviously the price will have risen with inflation, but I think the UK Government should take a close look at this as it negotiates post-Brexit trade deals with the US administration.