The Unofficial Archie Hostess Snack Ads Collection

We all know that during the 1970s and 80s, the heroes of DC Comics and Marvel fought crime with the assistance of Hostess Twinkies, cupcakes and fruit pies. But did you know that the teens from Riverdale used snack treats to improve their love lives?

Archie and his pals, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats all manipulated the objects of their desire to fall head over the heels for them thanks to creamy vanilla frosting and delicious fruit filling. The most frequent purveyor of the delights was Josie, trying to either win over the muscular blonde roadie, Alan B. or attempting to outmaneuver her ditzy drummer who won all the hunks, Melodie. Sabrina mostly used her powers for good, conjuring tiny cakes for hungry kiddies she was babysitting. Meanwhile, Archie scored with both Betty and Veronica, thanks to Hostess, while Jughead was actually pretty chill, using an amazing withstand to not eat all the treats being advertised.

This unofficial collection was published by Trident Studios. They keep surprising me with these mini comics that pay homage to the advertisements disguised as comic books from my childhood. Included in this collection are several comic ad one-pagers that used Archie characters as four-colored pitchmen. Archie, Jughead and Betty went on a trio of three-part adventures in search of Capri Sun. Fruit snacks, make-at-home slush packs and even a universal video game controller were hawked by members of the Archies. 

I can't believe that I paid money for a bunch of old ads. I also cannot believe how much I enjoyed this trip through my childhood. The scans were vibrant and clear as crystal and the font size was big enough to enjoy without severe eye strain. I hope Trident has some more offerings up their sleeves. Though I can't imagine what else from the realm of commercial comic books is out there in need of collection and publication. I guess only time will tell.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Unofficial Marvel Hostess Ads Collection

From 1975-82, the heroes of the Marvel Universe had a secret weapon: baked goods from Hostess! To battle the bad guys, the stars of the House of Ideas used Twinkies, chocolate iced cupcakes and the ever arresting Hostess Fruit Pie in ways more effective than your run of the mill Spidey-sense or enchanted Asgardian hammer. 

It's a theory that I would love to test out now. You have a villain plotting destruction or theft. You first try your super powers to overcome the antagonist. But it doesn't work. So using your wits and a large amount of sugar, fat, flour and real fruit filling, you fling a couple dozen goodies from Hostess (then owned by International Bakeries) at the enemy and the day is saved!

Trident Studios has done it again! This time, the Esty seller and publisher, has collected over 80 one-page ads starring your favorite Marvel superheroes as well as some of the most iconic baked goods to ever be sold at your local convenience store!

The malefactors that peppered these advertisements were generally generic rogues. A zany costumed cad with a gimmick was the typical character who couldn't resist golden sponge cake or tender, flaky crust. Characters such as Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Daredevil would occasionally take on space aliens, inter-dimensional monsters or even the militia of a banana republic in these ads. However, on more than one occasion, the heroes took on legit enemies, such as the god of mischief Loki and the Red Skull, complete with Cosmic Cube! The combined might of Abomination and the Wendigo actually beat the Incredible Hulk to a pulp in one ad which sees ol' Mean Green having to be revived by some kids carrying Hostess pastries with them.

There was even some a-list help for the good guys in these ads. The Lady Sif and the Voluminous Volstagg give the Mighty Thor a hand in a couple of ads. Nick Fury appears in no less than 3 ads with Captain America and the Agent of SHIELD actually saves the Sentinel of Liberty with some fruit pie know-how of his own! Peter Parker's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson appears in several of the Spider-man ads. She often makes comments about how Petey always disappears when criminals arrive on the scene. Yet, Mary Jane never makes the connection that Spider-man comes about during those moments of 'cowardice.' 

3 of the Fantastic Four go it alone in a series of ads. Mister Fantastic, The Thing and the Human Torch all have solo adventures. I'm thinking either Marvel or Hostess--- OR BOTH!, didn't think women would make good sales people for boys and their need of fried dough. Personally, I think She-Hulk or Spider-Woman would have made great spokes models for Twinkies. Don't feel quite so bad for Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. She, along with son Franklin Richards, do make an appearance in one Fantastic Four team ad with Marvel's First Family going on a canoeing trip somewhere in the American mid-west. 

I greatly appreciate the efforts made by Trident Studios to bring as many of these ads together as possible. Once again, the print job on these pages are just amazing. Whatever remastering that was done on the ads was well worth the effort. The coloring was so brilliant. 

I don't think I can judge this book on the ads themselves. They were hokey then and they are hokey today. Don't believe me??? Those Hostess ads are still the thing of parody and satire in memes and modern day comics, such as Deadpool. The plots were really far out, as was the dialogue. Yet, how much of a story can you do in just 1 page? The artwork was always superb, though I am not sure who was really behind which work. I know that Sal Buscema, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito crafted some of these ads. Just don't ask me which ones that they did. 

These ads brought back a lot of memories. Oh, to go back to a time when all our problems could be solved with cake. I only wish that I had a couple of those fruit pies on hand as I read this book. That would have made this sugary trip back in time all that more the sweeter!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

(Note- The Unofficial Marvel Hostess Ads Collection is not an officially licensed product. It is a labor of love that saves collectors hundreds of dollars if they were to try and collect the 80 plus comics from which these ads were culled.)

Secret Origins: Collecting All Eight Mini-Comics Included With Leaf Candies

Trident Studios triumphs again. After presenting fans with a pair of beautiful collections of the Super Powers mini comics that came with waves I and II of Kenner's awesome action figures, there are more minis for fans! This set contains the 8 mini comics that were packaged with Leaf Tart n' Tangy Comicbook Candy!

There were 8 mini comics in the Leaf candy line that was released in 1980. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Hawkman's secret origins were examined. Book #8 reports on the creation of the world's greatest super hero team, the Justice League of America! 

The quality of these reprints are absolutely stunning. Vibrantly colored and as crystal clear as possible, based on the fact that the originals used for this book are over 40 years old! Once again, due to publishing and binding requirements, the reprints are 20% bigger than the original minis. Generally, when you increase the size of an image, it gets all smudgy and pixelated. The necessary enlargements have no evidence of poor quality here!

The only real crime of this volume is something that is more Leaf or DC's fault. In fact, I don't think you can blame any of my single grip on Trident Studios. The sole qualm I have is that whomever were the geniuses behind the writing and artwork of these mini comics appear to be lost in time. 

While Trident Studios does provide credit to the creators of all 8 stars of this book, along with notes to their first appearances, that's all the reader gets. When it came to this type of promotional work, DC and other comic book publishers didn't give writer and artist credits. From what I see, I think Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Gil Kane were probably some of the artists of these books. But I'm not 100% sure and I am glad that Trident Studios didn't try to make any sort of assumptions either.

Just as I thought that was it from Trident Studios, I received another surprise. Trident has a 3-volume set that collects all of the DC mini comics released by Post cereals from the late 70s. Will I be getting my hands on those? You betcha! Stay tuned!

As for this book and the Secret Powers collections, fans can find them on Etsy. Just be sure to look for the creator under 1 single word, without spaces: TridentStudios.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers Mini-Comic Collection, Volume 2

This fan made edition from Trident Studios contains all of the mini comics issued with the 11 figures released by Kenner in the Super Powers Collection, Wave II. This book is very heavy on characters from Jack Kirby's Fourth World along with several superheroes who made their toy debut in 1984-85. On the side of the angels, Firestorm, Dr. Fate, Red Tornado and the Martian Manhunter were released for the first time ever along with Green Arrow (who debuted in the 70s thanks to Mego). The New God Darkseid lead an army of villains that included the demented Desaad, bumbling brute Kalibak, the energy-draining Mantis, the immortal Steppenwolf and army fodder Parademon. 

Series Two of the Super Powers Collection is a fan favorite mostly because of its connection to comic book legend, Jack Kirby. It's a thing of legend that one of the few times Jack Kirby was properly compensated for previously licensed work was for the re-designs he made on Mantis, Steppenwolf and Parademon. Kirby also reworked the design of Darkseid's estranged son, Orion, released in 1986's Series Three to much controversy. But that's a story for another day...

Of course to a 7-8 year old Madman, all of the villains of Super Powers were considered all-new characters. I knew who all the heroes were thanks to my dad's comic book collection. But I had yet to be properly introduced to Kirby's Fourth World. Thankfully, each action figure came with a mini comic to help explain a little bit of the motivation of Darkseid, which when you think about it is fairly simple- total world domination.

The Anti-Life equation, Highfather and New Genesis, and the whole truce in which Scott Free and Orion were switched at birth aren't covered at all in the minis. In fact, Darkseid is kinda a weenie in this series of 16-pagers as his Omega Beams don't incinerate anyone. They just send you to limbo. 

You won't see the Series One villains in any of these books either. The minions of Apokolips act alone. But I think if Darkseid had recruited at least Lex Luthor, Brainiac and the Joker into his plans, the lord of Apokolips could've at least conquered the entire Eastern seaboard.

One of my all-time favorite characters is Firestorm. So getting to revisit his adventures in mini-comic form was pretty cool. The inclusion of Red Tornado, GA and J'onn J'onzz to the line-up were no-brainers as they had all been members of the Justice League at some point. But Dr. Fate doesn't really make any sense being here. Fate has always been a member of the Justice Society and stuck on the parallel Earth designated #2. Did the JSA lend Fate in some sort of cross-dimensional trade in order for the Justice League to have a magical warrior to fight against Darkseid's forces? 

Series Two was the last series of the Super Powers Collection to be issued with mini comics. Was the omission a way to cut costs? The inclusion of Cyclotron and Golden Pharoah, two all-new for the toy line heroic characters were definitely produced to avoid licensing fees to creators. So it's possible. But with the inclusion of Orion and Mister Miracle in wave 3, a chance to better introduce the Fourth World characters to children through mini comics was sorely overlooked. I think had mini comics been released with the third wave, a fourth and fifth wave of characters, which were in the planning stages, would have become a reality.

Since Kenner is defunct and DC doesn't seem to have any plans to release the mini comics officially in some collected form, I'm glad I found this offering by Trident Comics. Over at Etsy, they've got a couple other editions of mini comics that were released with popular toy lines of the past. As long as there doesn't appear to be any direct conflict with copyright, I'll be adding one or two of those other books to my collection sometime soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers Mini-Comic Collection, Volume 1 (Family Comic Friday)

I'm not one for buying bootleg material. If there's a legitimate version of something, I will buy that version and not the knock-off. If I have to wait to buy it used or at a steep discount to save money, I'll do it. But if the original owners go out of business or just never cash in on the copyright (I'm looking at you George Lucas with the Star Wars Holiday Special), then if something is fan made, then I have no ethical qualms buying it. That's the case with the book I am reviewing today... 

One of my most beloved memories of my mom is her taking me to K-Mart just to find the new Super Powers action figures. The store only had Robin and Aquaman. But oh what a start! To my absolute delight, both figures came with a 16-page mini comic! A toy AND something to read??? Yes on both!

Years have passed and the quest of finding the 12 minis that came with the original line and the 11 of Series II has been on my to-do list for decades. I've never come across any in person unless I plopped out $50 to $100 on one of the figures mint on card. While online shopping, I've seen the minis for sale just by themselves. But it's not worth a $20-35 dollar per mini comic price tag. Needless to say, DC has never stopped to take the time and collect these in some sort of collection.

About 2 months ago, while on Facebook, the metaverse itself made a suggestion of joining a group of like-minded Super Powers fans. A fan of the art of Jose Luis-Garcia Lopez and Dick Giordano, who did much of the packaging and figure design, I've enjoyed joining this digital time capsule of Kenner/DC. Recently, one intrepid member asked if the minis had ever been collected to which someone responded that they thought there was something 'fan made'. 

Well, the prospect of such a volume peaked my interest and I went to etsy and later eBay to which I found this book. Published by Trident Studios, this pocket-sized collection is a beaut! All of the books come from the publisher's personal collection of minis collected when they were a child. They did an amazing job keeping the books in great shape. Only 1 page looked smudgy. (Doing some quick math. 12 books times 16 pages... roughly 192 pages. I'll take it!)

The likes of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman take on the dastardly quartet of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, The Penguin and The Joker in a dozen stories. Just who were the authors and illustrators of these minis have become the subject of much debate as DC and Kenner didn't give any sort of credit to the art team behind these comics. The stories are a little clunky as it's hard to tell a full-fledged story on a sheet of paper roughly 2.8" x 4.25". But the art is of that unparalleled 80s era DC style! 

As I mentioned, the mini comics really were minis. However, these books are slightly larger (about 20%) than the original. Thus is due minimum requirements of the printing and binding. Whether this determination was made by Trident Studios or publishing contractor is unclear. I was afraid that the books were going to be massively large thus hurting the visual quality of the originals. But the slight increase does nothing to hurt the eye appeal!

It's always great when the older generation gets chance to share their toys with the next. It's even better when you get to share your books! Up till now it has been darn near impossible and totally expensive to share the Super Powers mini comics from the 80s with the children of the 2000s. But now grandparents, guardians and parents have a chance with this vibrant collection from Trident Studios!

A second volume featuring the Wave II collection of mini comics is also available. Check etsy and eBay for your copies!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.