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.)