D
Dan Kelly
Guest
Hi All,
I'm a writer (and a martial arts student) currently at work on an article (which might possibly blossom into a book) about comic book and magazine ads for martial arts courses in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Older comic readers might remember them. They usually involved blurry clip-art of one guy shoulder-throwing another guy, or a comic strip of some dude in a suit and fedora kicking the butts of two thugs harassing his girlfriend—all followed by promises to teach you how to break bricks with your bare hands, take on multiple attackers, and so on. Karate, kung-fu, jiu jitsu, and judo were usually promoted, but I've also encountered books and courses for other systems I've never heard of before (like ketsugo, yubiwaza, and the like).
I'm interested in contacting people who might have worked in ad sales or the like at Marvel, DC, Charlton, etc. Especially, I'd like to track down the people who sold these books and courses. Finding the books themselves has been elusive, even on eBay. Any leads would be appreciated. Scans of ads are also sought. I've been buying up poor-condition comics and magazines to cut out the ads and collect them in a scrapbook. If you have a lot of poor-condition comics or mags from the 60s, 70s, and 80s containing these ads to sell, let me know.
Ads I'm interested in:
* Particularly, Count Dante and the Black Dragon Fighting Society. I sense he's a figure of controversy on forums like these. Living in Chicago, I have a hometown angle for this part of the article.
* Ketsugo
* Yubiwaza
* Karate, kung-fu, jiu-jitsu, judo, savate, and the like.
* "Kung-fu" or "Karate" weapons (collapsible batons, tonfa sticks, and so on) ads that promise almost instant proficiency. For instance: I have a vague childhood memory of an 70s ad in a Warren Eerie comic for a collapsible baton called the kiyoga, "steel cobra," or some similar hyperbole. It promised that its blows could be felt "even through leather," and I recall it having art showing a woman whacking an attacker with it, and a John Q. Public dude with a mustache pounding on two screaming street punks. I'd love to find that again.
* Anything else touching on martial arts, using fear of being attacked and promises of ultimate fighting power to sell courses, books, et cetera.
Responses from Marvel and DC's publicity and ad departments to my e-mail inquiries were pleasant but not terribly helpful (though one recommended that I hit forums like these). I have no illusions that many of the folks involved in these ads have since passed away (something borne out by my research so far), but I thought I'd try anyway. I'm not restricting this to Marvel and DC ads, by the way. Ads in Charlton, Warren, and other comic publishers, as well as detective mags, armpit slicks, and the like are also appreciated.
I'm posting this query to various comic and martial arts forums, so please excuse the cross-posting. Since this is a martial arts forum, I'll stress that I'm not attacking or defending any of these styles or instructors or their effectiveness or their validity, as yet. I'm still in research mode. What I'm more interested in are public perception of martial arts as seen through popular media. It probably won't suprise anyone that karate and jiu jitsu ads abounded in the decades immediately after WWII, but when Bruce Lee and David Carradine had their time in the spotlight in the 70s, suddenly all the ads were promoting kung-fu. Dan-Te, Ketsugo, and so on seemed to be wild cards. I assume they were blends of other styles largely promoted by charismatic/self-promoting personalities.
Feel free to comment here or contact me at this e-mail address: karate@mrdankelly.com
Thanks!,
Dan Kelly http://www.mrdankelly.com
P.S. Web links are great, but I'm also trying to track down back issues of Black Belt and similar MA mags, local newspaper ads, telephone books, and similar media from the 60s and 70s. The local library is no help.
I'm a writer (and a martial arts student) currently at work on an article (which might possibly blossom into a book) about comic book and magazine ads for martial arts courses in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Older comic readers might remember them. They usually involved blurry clip-art of one guy shoulder-throwing another guy, or a comic strip of some dude in a suit and fedora kicking the butts of two thugs harassing his girlfriend—all followed by promises to teach you how to break bricks with your bare hands, take on multiple attackers, and so on. Karate, kung-fu, jiu jitsu, and judo were usually promoted, but I've also encountered books and courses for other systems I've never heard of before (like ketsugo, yubiwaza, and the like).
I'm interested in contacting people who might have worked in ad sales or the like at Marvel, DC, Charlton, etc. Especially, I'd like to track down the people who sold these books and courses. Finding the books themselves has been elusive, even on eBay. Any leads would be appreciated. Scans of ads are also sought. I've been buying up poor-condition comics and magazines to cut out the ads and collect them in a scrapbook. If you have a lot of poor-condition comics or mags from the 60s, 70s, and 80s containing these ads to sell, let me know.
Ads I'm interested in:
* Particularly, Count Dante and the Black Dragon Fighting Society. I sense he's a figure of controversy on forums like these. Living in Chicago, I have a hometown angle for this part of the article.
* Ketsugo
* Yubiwaza
* Karate, kung-fu, jiu-jitsu, judo, savate, and the like.
* "Kung-fu" or "Karate" weapons (collapsible batons, tonfa sticks, and so on) ads that promise almost instant proficiency. For instance: I have a vague childhood memory of an 70s ad in a Warren Eerie comic for a collapsible baton called the kiyoga, "steel cobra," or some similar hyperbole. It promised that its blows could be felt "even through leather," and I recall it having art showing a woman whacking an attacker with it, and a John Q. Public dude with a mustache pounding on two screaming street punks. I'd love to find that again.
* Anything else touching on martial arts, using fear of being attacked and promises of ultimate fighting power to sell courses, books, et cetera.
Responses from Marvel and DC's publicity and ad departments to my e-mail inquiries were pleasant but not terribly helpful (though one recommended that I hit forums like these). I have no illusions that many of the folks involved in these ads have since passed away (something borne out by my research so far), but I thought I'd try anyway. I'm not restricting this to Marvel and DC ads, by the way. Ads in Charlton, Warren, and other comic publishers, as well as detective mags, armpit slicks, and the like are also appreciated.
I'm posting this query to various comic and martial arts forums, so please excuse the cross-posting. Since this is a martial arts forum, I'll stress that I'm not attacking or defending any of these styles or instructors or their effectiveness or their validity, as yet. I'm still in research mode. What I'm more interested in are public perception of martial arts as seen through popular media. It probably won't suprise anyone that karate and jiu jitsu ads abounded in the decades immediately after WWII, but when Bruce Lee and David Carradine had their time in the spotlight in the 70s, suddenly all the ads were promoting kung-fu. Dan-Te, Ketsugo, and so on seemed to be wild cards. I assume they were blends of other styles largely promoted by charismatic/self-promoting personalities.
Feel free to comment here or contact me at this e-mail address: karate@mrdankelly.com
Thanks!,
Dan Kelly http://www.mrdankelly.com
P.S. Web links are great, but I'm also trying to track down back issues of Black Belt and similar MA mags, local newspaper ads, telephone books, and similar media from the 60s and 70s. The local library is no help.
