We are embarking on a new year and a new installment of Check Out Those Ads! This year will be a running theme of comics celebrating their 30th Anniversary, comics published in 1991. Seems like yesterday…
The first comic on the list is an all time favorite property of mine, Dungeons & Dragons! DC published a comic set in the Forgotten Realms universe starting in August 1989.
The Forgotten Realms setting was introduced in 1987 and is arguable the greatest campaign setting of all time! It’s certainly the one I like playing the most.
The story follows a band of adventures led by Dwalimar Omen a human wizard. He is joined by the regular cast of D&D characters; a halfling thief (aren’t all halflings thieves?), a human fighter, an iron golem, a paladin and a cleric.
There was an earlier D&D comic series called Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, also published by DC which ran from December 1988 until December 1991.
Unfortunately the Forgotten Realms series only lasted 25 issues. The final issue, #25 hit the shelves in September 1991. I enjoyed the comic series and have re-read it a few times over the last 30 years. If you haven’t read it you should. You can find the entire series on Comixology.
As good as the comic is you’re not here for that. You came for the ads! Let’s see what DC was pushing back in January 1991.
The first ad is one we’ve seen before in Lobo #1 released in November 1990. The Atari Lynx taking shots at the Game Boy. The Lynx didn’t stay around long and the Game Boy had the last laugh.
The next ad is for a super cool Batmobile Remote Control car! I wonder how well it worked? Coming in over $200 there’s no way I was buying it! I would have loved to have it though, screaming down the street at 20 miles per hour, look out!
This ad also hits one of my pet peeves…advertising after a due date. This issue was published in January 1991, but if you order today you can have the Batmobile before Christmas. I hope so, Christmas is 11 months away! This was obviously supposed to be used prior to Christmas 1990, not January 1991.
Ohhhh, a Batman graphic novel. I never read Batman: Bride of the Demon, a ‘long-awaited sequel’ to Batman: Son of the Demon. I did read Son of the Demon, it was pretty good. Not sure I was sitting around waiting for the sequel though.
Ah yes, The Books of Magic. This as is for Book 2. We saw the ad for Book 1 in Lobo #1 as well, strange. Written by Neil Gaiman this was the second book in a 4-part series before getting a monthly run. If you like Neil Gaiman you’ll like this series.
Wait, Batman was in the newspapers?!? Man that would be awesome. I loved reading the newspaper comics growing up. My favorites were Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, Hagar the Horrible and Peanuts, but I would read them all while eating breakfast.
I can’t imagine opening the paper everyday to read a Batman comic. The good news is this baby is still for sale. You (and I) can still pick it up for a decent price. This may be a late Christmas present to myself!
Another DC title advert. This one for the Flash. An impressive 288 page hardcover book covering 50 years of Flash stories. I’m not a big fan of the Flash, this book wasn’t for me. But anyone who is a fan of the Flash would surely love owning this.
It also pushes the new Flash TV show, starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen/Flash. I enjoyed the TV show but it only lasted one season before it got the axe.
The Environmental Defense Fund was founded in 1967 and is still around today. In the 1980s they pushed McDonald’s to change their packaging and encouraged them to use biodegradable containers.
In 1990 McDonald stopped using their Styrofoam containers; sadly the McDLT was part of the purge…
Starman has been around for a long time. He made his first appearance in 1941! Over the years there were several different Starmen. In 1991, it was David Knight. David is the son of the original 1941 Starman. He first appeared in Starman #26 in September 1990 and took over the mantle of Starman.
David remained Starman for the remainder of Starman Vol 1, which ended in April 1992. He reemerged in Starman Vol 2 Issue #0 in October 1994 where he was (spoiler) assassinated and his brother Jack Knight took over as Starman.
Starman #30 starts a 4-part arc titled “The Seduction of Starman.” I never read Starman but it looks like a good story arc. Maybe I’ll hunt around for the series.
Hi-YAH! Phantom Fighter is a great game! It hit the USA in April 1990 for the Nintendo. It has a simple premise…fight your way through towns filled with supernatural vampires. At the end of each town is a big, bad boss monster, defeat him and move on.
It’s Castlevania meets Big Trouble in Little China! If you haven’t played Phantom Fighter you are in luck. It’s available to play, for free on oldgameshelf.com
The back cover is an ad for the 1990 movie The Rookie. It came out in December 1990. I remember seeing it in the theater. It was a decent buddy-cop movie. Clint Eastwood plays the veteran cop stuck with the new guy, Charlie Sheen.
Eastwood even directed this movie, in fact this is the 16th movie he directed! Can you believe that. The next movie he directed was the Western powerhouse Unforgiven.
Eastwood is a living legend, starring in over 72 movies and TV shows, directing over 40 movies and winning four Oscars!
Before Charlie Sheen became a punchline he was a decent actor as well. Starring in Wall Street, Major League, Navy SEALs and Platoon. He’s probably best known these days for his stint on Two and a Half Men.
The Rookie wasn’t an Oscar winner, but it was a fun movie nonetheless. It’s not streaming anywhere so you’ll have to take my word for it.
That ends our look at Forgotten Realms #15 Published 30 years ago, January 1991. The ads were decent, not great.
Until next time, keep your comics bagged and boarded…unless you want to thumb through them to check out the great ads!
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