G.I Joe Advertised On TV! (In 1982)

One of the things I touch on in Each Sold Separately (Kickstarter page) is Marvel’s commercials promoting their toy-related comic books. It was just one of the ways in which toymakers revolutionized marketing in the eighties, and to go a little deeper into the newness of it all we need only look at this “Bullpen Bulletins” from Conan the Barbarian #137 (published in 1982).

“Have you noticed the national television advertisements for our new G.I. JOE comic book? I believe that this is the first time in history that a comic book has been advertised on network TV! That alone makes our $1.50 special 48 page first issue, printed offset on deluxe paper, a collectors item! Besides that, I happen to think the concept is terrific! It is about a super-special anti-terrorist unit of the U.S. Army code-named “G.I. Joe,” which uses the latest in computerized, laser-guided, high-tech weaponry and equipment. Imagine a gun which automatically aims wherever you look and destroys any target your eyes are focused on when you say “bang” into your helmet-mike. It’s real — and you’ll see it and other sophisticated gear in action in G.I. Joe. I promised you no hard sell in this column, so I’ll refrain from giving you the “rush right out and buy lots” line. It’s probably too late anyway. I can’t help being excited about G.I. JOE and Marvel’s first TV advertising for it, however. The ad was prepared by Marvel Productions, our own television production studio and run with the help and cooperation of the super terrific people at Hasbro Toys. It seems to us that this could be the single biggest event in comics history, marking the beginning of a new era of wider exposure for Marvel Comics and the Marvel Universe. I wanted you to know about it.”

For not giving us the “hard sell,” Jim Shooter sure pushed G.I. Joe pretty hard in this massive wall of text. Hey, kids, did you realize that the entire “Bullpen Bulletin” is marketing for Marvel books and projects, or were you too young at the time this was published to truly understand what was happening? Thinking back on it I remember loving editorials like this; in magazines and comics the editorial was often one of the highlights for me. I guess I’ve just always loved those “behind the scenes” peeks at stuff.

And I really love that I ran across this comic and this bit of info from 1982 on the G.I. Joe comic.

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