Time is Running Out

Okay, time ran out.

A long time ago.

January 31, 1986, to be exact.

No matter, this in-house ad is still a time capsule. First of all, this baker’s dozen issues for $6.50 – “only 50-cents an issue” – when on-stand prices were $.65 is amazing. As of this writing, fans are paying at least four bucks a pop for their favorite heroes.

Secondly, the artwork takes us back to a time when the Hobgoblin was still a mystery to most of the Marvel U. First introduced in Amazing Spider-Man 238, March 1983, no one was privy to his private identity for years. It was unveiled in AMS 289.

Not only does it bring back memories of the Hobgoblin, but the Green Goblin, too. The illustration is a homage to Amazing Spider-Man issue 39, the issue that revealed the (original) Goblin was Norman Osborne.

The Hobgoblin is a derivative of the Green Goblin, anyway. He came about when one of the original Goblin’s hideouts was discovered. Guess it’s only fitting the advertisement resurrect one of Marvel’s best covers.

It also showcases the titles published in 1985; from Alpha Flight to X-Men. Special books, at varying prices, included Marvel Age, G.I. Joe, Sectaurs, Elf Quest, Transformers, Groo the Wanderer, Dreadstar, Alien Legion, Swashbucklers, Conan the King, Marvel Saga, Marvel Fanfare and Savage Sword of Conan.

The last book was the last of Marvel’s magazine line that played in the periphery of the 1970s.

Though time has run out for the ad, it doesn’t stop us from turning the hands of time back to relive comic book history.