Apr 17, 2011

THE HEROES WORLD CATALOG

What I've got here is the first issue of HWC inc.'s The Heroes World Catalog. The cover states, "See the greatest collection of superhero games, books, toys and superwear ever assembled!" There's also Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Lord of the Rings, KISS, etc.

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This was put out in 1979 and was published by Superhero Enterprises, Inc. Like a good handful of comic ads from this era, this catalog was made by a bunch of people from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon & Graphic Art.

Okay, let's dive into the thing. Gee, I'm not even sure where to begin. There's some good silliness in this comic-sized catalog. Let's start with everyones' favorites: the action figures. They've got all your favorite Star Wars characters!

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That's right, just check out the list below. They've got everyone from "Hans Solo" to "Luke Sykwalker". They mention Luke Sykwalker twice. I think they meant to have one of them be the "Xwing Pilot". It seems ironic that at the bottom of the two page spread it announces, "All these Star War toys available now!" and then at the end of the figure list it adds, "Please list alternate selection in case your choice is not available".

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Some of the illustrations are goofy, in fact, one of them was goofy enough to make it onto this blog's banner. Take a look at hooded Darth Vader. Seems he lost the top of his helmet! The makers of this ad probably only used a few resources for this, one being the vintage Kenner figures. I guess Vader does sort of look like he's wearing a hood. Another supporter of this theory is Kenobi. Man, dig that crazy disco collar!

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Snagg's chillin' with R5, watching the Land Speeder cruisin' in space.

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Later in the catalog we see a variety of t-shirt iron-ons. This was the seventies, after all. One of them is "Darth Vadar". Three A's and no E. Vadar's looking the other way and doesn't see the Hulk's about to stomp him! The Hulk's always been known for hating incorrect spelling.

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In the book section of the magazine, there's a description for the various SW books you can purchase with all that milk money you saved up. It starts, "STAR WARS - Here" then directly after that it goes "STAR WAR - Here is our array of Star War books." It's like they couldn't decide if they should call it Wars or War. It seems after that they made up their mind because all six books are labeled "Star War". Take a look for yourself.

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Lots of funny mistakes, but the prices and great selection make up for them all! Wait, whattaya mean I can't order from this thing anymore?!? Dang, I wanted those Spider-man curtains!

5 comments:

  1. I have one of these for sale. email me if you're interested (very good/fine) soundsymbol@gmail.com

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  2. If your comment is directed towards me, then thanks but no thanks. For any other Super Hero collectors or strange Star Wars fanatics, though, I have to recommend this catalog; it great fun to look through!

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  3. The hooded Darth Vader was a cheesy costume the sold.
    It had a cheap plastic mask and a black vinyl poncho with a hood, that was meant to be a cape.

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  4. You're right, I found a photo of it on Google. Don't you love those old costumes that have an illustration of the character you're trying to be on the front of a smock?

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  5. This particular costume had an all black hooded cloak (poncho).
    The only markngs were the words "Star Wars" on the upper right chest, about the size of a name tag.
    This amazing costume really did look like Darth Vader,,,if you squinted really hard , through foggy glasses, in low light, at a distance of about 90 feet.

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