Top 5 Worst Promotional Comics
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Promotional Comics are rarely good. Maybe it's because they're designed just to sell something or maybe the creative team rarely cares about the job. Here are five examples that are especially bad, from Avengers to Batman to X-Men to eBay.
/ comictropes
Folks, you’re mentioning so many amazing comics. Remember that I have the Comic Tropes Crappy Comics Contest happening now. Watch the video a few weeks back about Marvel’s toilet paper comic for details!
Chris, I'm sending you one this week, along with a letter. It's not a promotional comic, but definitely weird subject matter for a DC comic. What will it be?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Edit - I'm going to hold off a bit and add another one to the package. Double the fun!
We all know Batman used the bat-credit card to pay for Onstar
The Bat-credit card is the black one, in the shape of a bat symbol!
After all, be rich is a superpower.
Radio Shack had a comic book in 1982 about the TRS-80 computer. With Shanna and Mike.
WAIT......Batman has email?
Never leaves home without it!
The Onstar comic was given to the kids of someone who bought Onstar. They had a whole batman gift bag for your kids.
It's more likely the X-Men killed him. Wolverine has his claws popped, so he's got him impaled through the spine. Since he just vanishes, I'm assuming Cyclops gave him a full-power blast and disintegrated him as he lay paralyzed and dying.
@ロボット鳥山 Well they all looked ready to killed him with all of them in battle poses, so I'm guessing they didn't want to show the guy getting killed
I thought the same thing. In my made up head canon, that's exactly what happened.
Idea: Make him a Batman villain. BATMAN vs. THE DIDDLER!!!
+Mark Mark Batman already has a paedophile villain in his rogue's gallery: Mad Hatter. And there's also Scavenger, an Aquaman villain, who rapes and murders children and is eventually killed by Hawkman.
But why was Beast a TV?
Your intros crack me up every time.
One of the reasons why I love this channel!
Captain citrus is the most powerful character in the marvel universe i cannot wait for his appearance in the mcu
I genuinely can't wait for (some) Grant Morrison(-type writer) to bring him back in about 20 years in some black comedy way.
Hes got the secret infinity stone, that glowing orange he ate was actually the orange flavoured one 😂
Oh hi, you've caught me still enjoying this joke every damn time.
They should have had A.I.M. and M.O.D.O.K promote that Northrop comic.
That would be awesome
How do we know that nothrop isnt secretly apart of A.I.M. in the marvel universe, developing and selling drones, missles, planes ect to fund A.I.M.s plots
holycrap. I was surfing through your channel looking for a new one to watch and then boom a new video comes down from the heavens.
At 3:30am too!
SAME!
I have a promotional Supergirl comic from Honda, that promotes seat belt safety and the Radio Shack Superman issue for the Tandy computer.
I remember there being a Daredevil comic book that promoted safety towards gasoline, and it involved the titular hero fighting a villainous gas vapor named Vapora.
Reminds me of the old one-page Hostess ads. Villain of the month is committing a crime and hero of the month can only stop him with Hostess snacks. In the end villain is hauled off to jail, but is happy because he got his cupcakes/fruit pies/Twinkies.
*Captain Citrus appears*
Iron Man: "What the f***k smells like floor cleaner around here?"
The biggest mistake behind most of these(apart from existing) is they take themselves too seriously, if they were a parody they would be much easily to digest. But trying to make it like the real comics it's just too much , it's an insult to anyone's intelligence , even little kids.
Actually destroying comics to make your own collection rarer makes some odd sense.
P.S. Citrus Man's arch-nemesis is Doctor Scurvy! LOL
Turns out Batman the master of gadgets just buys his gadgets from retailers 🤣🤣🤣
The Collection Eater Guy was probably destroying comics to “preserve the value” of his collection.
"Jubilee, aren't you a vampire?"
"I wasn't one then."
"Oh...Hey, doesn't your son become some kind of X-Iron man guy?"
"Yes."
"Wow...your life is WEIRD."
Another great video! But I don't think Beast was using a hologram to disguise himself as a TV - he says he was using a hologram "projector" which projected a hologram of Beast through the boy's TV screen - that seems to make more sense from the panels you showed, but heck that comic is crazy enough maybe the panels you didn't show were even more muddled (how would a hologram projector send the hologram through someone's TV???)
But still, h'e was watching a young boy in his room...just as creepy.
@@alanbear6505 - well, PLUS it's still nonsensical - how does a hologram "projector" allow you to see through a TV, and how did he know to look through THIS kid's TV at the right second?!? Ridiculous!
The Beast is the ultimate creepy crawler . . .
@@Ektalon - and here we thought it was Gambit that was the lewd one...
@@Ektalon Watch Pryde of the X-Men and pay attention to Nightcrawler...you may just change your mind about that.
Reminds me of those Hostess snack ads in the later 70s early 80s comics
Kinda wish Captain Orange was instead named something stupid like “Orange Torch” to parody Green Lantern
I vaguely remember Superman and maybe Wonder Woman shilling for Tandy computers.
But I just loved the Big Boy comics that the fast food chain gave away. Also the cool Atari comics. I have the collected Swordquest comics which featured art by George Perez. The recent Swordquesr comic was actually also really great. I didn't read the Centipede series, but I heard good stuff.
And I'm really hoping that Atari Force comes back into print. I loved that book as a kid.
Lol, I love his opening jokes.
Rosena Mann I'm currently working on a compilation of them
@@miffedakko9312 pls do
@@miffedakko9312 Hook me up with that stuff once you're done with it.
Another awesome video, Chris! I agree with the points you made but the one that always turned me off was the "dumbing down" of the main heroes. I guess times were tough and even the comic industry had to whore themselves with other corporate entities to turn a buck. I didn't read too many promo comics but I remember the one-page ads for Hostess cupcakes or Twinkies back in the day. I always wondered how Spider-man fit into his suit after eating as many Twinkies as he did HahA! Thanks for posting, Chris!
Commenter: Who wants to watch a Comic Tropes episode at 3:30 in the morning?
Me: Oh Boy 3:30am
Could you do a video on Brian Michael Bendis? I feel he's the writer I see people hate on the most, but remains extremely successful.
"You caught me engaging in the Purge" :P I'm very glad I randomly discovered your channel thanks to your Phoenix Jones interview. Speaking of pervert info-comics, there was an even more difficult to read one featuring Power Pack. I don't recall how I came across it, yet it happened. In the very same comic Spider-Man revealed some tragic elements to his backstory that I believe have never since been acknowledged.
Also... "...that really old movie - the Empire Strikes Back..." Man, I love how you don't even pause to acknowledge you're referencing something.
But also, Combo Man and the Avengers/military promotional comics belong on this list... especially Combo Man. He's a kid who gets pretty much every super power from eating radioactive combos. In the various military promotional comics, basically what happens is Captain America, Thor, etc. end up stymied, so then a junior member of the armed forces has to step in and be "the real hero."
I've got an old Jones Store Co promo comic that was released in Kansas City. It features Spiderman and the Hulk... can't recall who they were fighting, but basically it's Peter Parker taking Bruce Banner clothes shopping after he turns back to normal from the Hulk.
Totally spot-on! Love your commentary on things comics!
One miss, though, IMHO, is your eBay comment. It's the best place to get an obscure comic book (my black and white indie comics from the '80s collection is growing bigger every month!) and keep track of comic book prices.
After that mascot taught me how to use the web-site, I'm a pro!
"Instead of calling the CDC, he eats it." lol...
Mad respect for your channel. Just one question... how do you keep track of all these different universes?
I love how every intro to Comic Tropes is the "so bad its good" feel.
“I’m pretty that sure rape isn’t a super power.”
- Our host, Chris
Oh Hi! You caught me wondering if you'd cover the 70's Hostess adverts that seemed to be in every Marvel & DC book in the late 70's?
The FAn Art work sections and the tie-in promo to the prize were well-done.
I think we've tittered at how buzzed you got during the old episodes. They kind of split by when you added the new intro, roughly.
Great video! I think it would be fun to see a "Best Promotional Comics" video, although it might be hard to find more than a couple. I recall a Marvel sexual-abuse awareness comic from the 80s featuring Spider-Man and the Power-Pack that, if memory serves, was actually pretty decent.
www.dccomics.com/blog/2017/06/28/back-by-popular-demand-dc-and-kfc-re-release-critically-acclaimed-comics-tease-new
Jesus, I just (briefly) talked about the On-Star Batman comic being my first comic book ever in a video, about a month ago, and RUclips now recommended this video to me. It's like it doesn't want me to ever forget...
I remember those citrus fruit comics being handed out at my school for no apparent reason. I also remember visiting a friends' house seeing he has a copy, and then reading it 4 the lulz.
I read a Harley-Davidson tie-in Avengers comic once. It was ok. It basically just had Captain America and Black Widow use Harley-Davidson bikes in a couple of the panels. They didn't even talk about them or anything.
Don’t forget the DC/Subway promotional comic where Superman shakes hands with Jared Fogel
It's not really comparable to what you've got here, but Lego had a really good comic book in the early 2000s that went along with their "Bionicle" line of sets. It was written by Greg Farshtey and had a couple of different artists, all of which are pretty great imo. I don't know if it's the type of thing you'd review, but if you want something fun to read on the side that's meant to promote a bunch of Lego sets it's really great. One of my favorite comic books that I read as a kid. They have all the books on biomediaproject.com/bmp/comics/ if anyone wants to take a look.
The bionicle comics were better than any promotional comic had the right to be lol
darth salad I’d say the bionicke comics belong to the larger grouping of licensed properties like GiJoe and Transformers when it comes to comics, and a lot less than these promo throw away books
The bionicle comics are the best promotional comics, hands down.
Not gonna lie, Captain Citrus seems like a wholesome comic rather than shilling a specific product. Reminds me of those classic "Don't forget to take your vitamins, kids!" types of comics.
Real life Riddler spotted at 6:31.
I have a special place in my heart for Chick-fil-A's super hero cow comics.
On the other end of the spectrum, you could do a video on the awesomeness of the old school Hostess ads!
Thanks for all you do to educate us. You come off as a good guy
eBay on its way to dying? What
I always loved the Hostess ads in comics that had some hero taking out a villain with cupcakes or Twinkies.
The Onstar Batman actor was Bruce Thomas, not ”nobody”.
C’mon he even has a name combining two generations of Waynes.
He was in ”Legally Blonde 1 and 2, Hall Pass” and ”Army Of Darkness-Evil Dead III”.
I sometimes feel Americans conflate ”actor” and ”celebrity”, you can, but dont have to be both.
I have never seen the commercial,but i have seen him in the movies.
I like how they put "not for resale" on these issues. I think that goes unsaid.
dude I’ve been watching your channel from the start. Wow when did you get to 32,000 subscribers. That’s great. You look much happier. I’m glad for you.
Captain Citrus! The secret weapon to defeat Thanos in Avengers Endgame!
It would have been funny if that millertary contractor was actually apart of A.I.M. and they stop red ronin because it could hinder one of their future plans
For that orange one, why didn’t they do something like having one of the younger kid heroes have a vitamin C deficiency (temporary or chronic) and be advised by an older hero to eat better foods, including oranges? It’s not great, but it fits a lot better than a superhero who got his power from eating glowing fruit and then instantly being better than the battle-hardened Avengers.
Also, don’t these people know the comic book community? Don’t they know that a lot of us find those old, ridiculous Hostess Fruit Pie ads dumb fun? They (the creators nowadays) could’ve played to that by, for instance, having Captain America fighting some enemy and saying, “You may think you’ve won, but I bet you can’t resist the sweet, refreshing taste of a nutritious FLORIDA ORANGE!” and then just chuck a bunch of oranges at the bad guy, who’s distracted long enough for the good guys to get the drop on him, and when the cops are carting him off to prison, the bad guy says, “As long as there’re plenty of FLORIDA ORANGES in prison, I can stand getting locked up!”
That is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever written, but at least, going in, you know the thing is dumb as opposed to the creators playing it like it’s even remotely legit.
This is pretty obscure and forgettable but I specifically remember there being a promotional comic made by Williams sonoma around the mid to late 2000's about Spider-Man and the Avengers having a cook out with a bunch of childeren and Giant Man used some Pym Particles to make the ingredients and the tools bigger or something. Then the frightful four attacked them and the avengers and spiderman fought them while Jarvis and the childeren continued baking with all this giant stuff. And so after Spider-Man LITERALLY murders Klaw, the avengers aand spiderman eat cookies shaped like their faces. And I remember at the end Giant man says something like "Jarvis, thanks to you, and these Williams Sonoma™ baking trays, these kids will never go hungry again." That's my worst pick for a promotional comic anyway. I'll try and find my copy and put some scans online because right now you can't find it anywhere but I swear it exists.
Imagine a future where the only remaining evidence of Bluckbuster is a promotional cartoon
If anyone is interested, there are actually two Batman/Onstar comics. The second one featured Mr. Freeze, I think. That was a big deal with GM and DC. You can imaging a lot of dealers received promotional material.
And yes, ebay is definitely facing more competition now. Partially due to how ebay and PayPal have policies that allow buyers to scam sellers through fraudulent claims.
If I was home alone as a kid and suddenly my TV turned into a hairy blue man wearing speedos I would probably still be in therapy dealing with PTSD
In the third grade, we were given a Supergirl comic book about seatbelt safety. I remember it being pretty dark...and wishing it was a Superman comic instead. I still own a Batman comic book about landmines.
Chris thanks for another great video presentation. Entertaining, informative, and funny! I was wondering... Do you think any of these kinds of comics will ever be worth money in the future given that they are also sign of the times?
“You just got citric acid in my eye!”
If I come back and somebody gets the reference, I owe you a coke.
Did you really say ebay is on the way out??? Did you say that as a joke or are you serious? You seriously think eBay which had billions of dollars of sales last year is on the way out? Ah, no one considers ebay on the way out so no dude, no one would agree.
In my collection, I have not one, not two, but three different copies of Spider-Man, Storm and Power Man Battle Smoke-Screen, a PSA comic that I believe was paid for by the American Cancer Society, and which was a school giveaway for... 30 years maybe?
Ohhh man...bust out the Sangria.
Literally Lol'd at Matthew Lesko pic, nice one.
Chris likes comics AND wrestling! (He was wearing a Bullet Club shirt in the intro) THIS IS AWESOME!!!
Can you try finding the best promotional comics
I bet you can’t
😁
Well he did mention that Robin getting anti-allergies comic
When spiderman was abused by an alder guy, it was good i guess
I would like to see that too.
By far and away the KFC ones that DC comics made featuring Col. Sanders is the best promo comic.
I believe there was a little known issue where Ms. Marvel was introduced to the benefits of Vagisil
Hilariously, that elderly couple showed up as kidnapping cultist cannibals in a recent comic.
OnStar must've seriously been in love with the Burton Batmobile. Not only did they use it in their commercials, but also in their crappy tie-in comic. Bearing in mind this was a decade past the Burton era films, that's pretty specific.
I mean, it is the coolest Batmobile.
I still own a copy of the Claritin comic. Was pretty good, like you said. A promotion, sure, but with Bruce Timm-style art and enough sense and flow to be fun.
My comic books was destroyed by " The Incinerator", Which my pop threw 4,999 of them away because I miss 355 days of school. Playing Hookie cost me a lot.
Captain Citrus with the power of Vitamancy. :)
Although I still have a few promotional comics, I used to have alot more. In fact, at one time I had at least 10 copies of a Radio Shack promotional comic produced by DC. It had Superman on the cover, and the story involved TRS-80 computers saving Metropolis. I eventually gave them all away. Anywho, eBay dying? News to me. I buy back-issues via eBay quite alot.
How does Batman have a car phone without giving away who his secret identity is? Doesn’t his name or company have to be on the contract?
I'll be honest
Having read that comic, Captain Citrus is unironically one of my favorite marvel characters. There's just something very sweet and genuine about him, and I seriously wish he could have stuck around in the canon.
Time to dive into another great Comic Tropes episode. I love the evolution of the set Chris!
Watching this video makes me long for the days when every Marvel and DC hero caught the villain with the aid of Hostess Fruit Pies, Twinkies and Cupcakes. :P
Judd Winnick's "Hilo" graphic novels are really fun
Man and I thought NFL SuperPro was bad
"Especially powerful" "14% alcohol"
Don't mind me, I am just trying not to spit out any of my Wild Turkey while I laugh.
Oh a big boy. Yea because given its sangria and can be enjoyed a bit more rapidly (compared to whiskey which is meant to be sipped, but who the help sips wild turkey and doesn't just go blackout drunk) 14% is high alcohol content for that type of beverage. What, someone who enjoys beer isn't as manly either? Last I checked, need isn't high on that list either but people seem to enjoy it for taste and "mindnumbing" properties as well.
NorthropGrunman sponsored a modern Avengers comic?
Im surprised Disney let them, since they dont even let McDonalds crosspromote their products
More promo comics need to take a page from the KFC comics that DC did.
9:13 I saw what you did right there!
All northrop grumman needed to advertise in a comic was make a comic of their company making a new xjet to replace the blackbird with beast consulting. Have a battle with some xmen defending the engineers from being taken out by the brotherhood or whoever might not want the xmen to have a new jet, probably the ones who destroyed it earlier
spidey did some child molestion PSA thing too. my buddy sent me a page pete tells some kind he was molested too. black panther recently did a car promo comic for lexus i think it was for lexus since there was a lexus right in the middle of the cover. it was called soul of a machine
12:04 Maybe the Comics Eater is destroying comics so that the comics in his collection increase in value. Basically making the comics in his collection more rare. It's just a theory for a stupid promotional Ebay comic.😆
There was one Onstar Batman commercial that had Booger from Revenge of the Nerds playing Joker.
Yo, can we get a history of blue beetle to go with the new movie? Definitely a character that has changed drastically over the years
My sister gave me a comic based upon the regional supermarket chain she used to work for.
Most tarps have supervillain hideouts under them. If your neighbor has a tarp, don't touch it yourself. Alert the nearest superhero isntead.
Spider-Man fights Ignorance! A promotion comic for sylvan learning center
When I was a kid DC had Superman needing help from a TRS-80 computer and kids.
Pretty sure nycc still gives out the same comic where the justice league teams up with the Gillette razor robot
Maybe for a future episode, you can talk about the rare Avengers JLA crossover? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JLA/Avengers
It’s funny how most of these products and services are just completely irrelevant with modern technology. I don’t even remember the last time I heard of Onstar before watching this video.
I feel the most awkward promotional comic I have ever seen is the anti-molestation comic starring the Power Pack...it feels weird reading a comic about 4 pre-teens heroes talking about child-molestation to their friend who's baby sitter is the abuser. I don't remember the title because it was in a tote of old comics my dad had that I was rummaging through as a young teen from time to time.
My favorite ones are the ones where spiderman and some d list xman talk to a kid about alcoholic and abusive parents. Anyone remember that? It was in my public school nurse office
Wait, so Batman, not Bruce Wayne, has an email account which the Riddler knows the address for?
Weird you know red Roman was once a robot build to battle against giant monsters and now it’s a villain well a giant robot that is basically destroying everything and confuse the fuck out of me
Comictropes: R*pe isn’t a superpower
Star fox: ......................Oooh..............