One of the interesting things about ordering books on-line as opposed to getting them in brick and mortar bookstores is that the books can surprise you when they make it into your home. Such was the case with Bazooka Joe.
I had read a couple of reviews in various nostalgia magazines and web sites and decided to give the book a try. When I opened the box, I was greeted with a book about half the height of a regular book. It's shape mimics the shape of a slab of penny Bazooka gum. But it doesn't stop there. The dust jacket is made of a material that imitates the wax wrapping of the gum. Now I remove dust jackets when I read a book so as not to damage them. And what a treat I found below the jacket. The book cover is a Pepto pink with little white dots duplicating the corn starch that was put on the bubble gum slabs.
Inside there are several essays about the formation of Topps and the different sizes and shapes that Bazooka went through. Did you know that the cartoon characters Henry and Archie used to be featured in Bazooka (and its sister product Blony) comics? That was news to me and thankfully there are a couple of the comics reproduced here.
Another fun aspect of the comic is that there are photos of many of the premiums you could get for Bazooka comics. As a child, I would look at the offers and dream of receiving them (never ordered one, though). There are lots of photos of the premiums, the shipping boxes they came in, and the catalogs that featured them.
My only complaint (and it's a minor one that does not move my "star" rating) is that the type on the pages with the essays is very small. Even with my glasses it was a little difficult for this sixty year old man to read some of the text. Oh, well, I guess that's why they make magnifying glasses, huh?
All in all, this book is great fun and fabulously presented. Nostalgia books could take a lesson from "Bazooka Joe and his Gang" for its completeness, its mission to amuse and entertain, and the general sense of satisfaction that it brings to the reader. Highly recommended.
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As the ad says, "Good Times Begin With Bazooka!"
My kids were cracking up at the Bazooka Joe puzzle we assembled recently, so I bought this book to get them up to speed on Joe and his crazy gang. It was really interesting to read about the history of Bazooka gum and learn the backstory in regard to the selection of illustrator Wesley Morse for the comics. The charming introduction by the illustrator's son Talley Morse even answers the age-old question "Why does Bazooka Joe wear an eye patch?" Best of all, the book has loads of Bajooka Joe comics---including the "ads" for items that could be sent away for using Bazooka Joe points. What kid wouldn't want to save gum wrappers to get knives, goggles, a wallet, a telescope, even a bike? No way could comics get away with all the politically-incorrect stuff you'll find here, Bazooka Joe and his gang are from a bygone era. The book itself is really unique as a gift. The outer dust jacket feels like gum-wrapper paper, and the front hard cover of the book is patterned to look like a pink stick of gum. The inner cover has a place to inscribe a name and note, and the opposite page shows metal plates used to print the comics. Much nicer and more creatively done than just a standard "book" on Bazooka Joe.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017
My kids were cracking up at the Bazooka Joe puzzle we assembled recently, so I bought this book to get them up to speed on Joe and his crazy gang. It was really interesting to read about the history of Bazooka gum and learn the backstory in regard to the selection of illustrator Wesley Morse for the comics. The charming introduction by the illustrator's son Talley Morse even answers the age-old question "Why does Bazooka Joe wear an eye patch?"
As the ad says, "Good Times Begin With Bazooka!"
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017
Best of all, the book has loads of Bajooka Joe comics---including the "ads" for items that could be sent away for using Bazooka Joe points. What kid wouldn't want to save gum wrappers to get knives, goggles, a wallet, a telescope, even a bike? No way could comics get away with all the politically-incorrect stuff you'll find here, Bazooka Joe and his gang are from a bygone era.
The book itself is really unique as a gift. The outer dust jacket feels like gum-wrapper paper, and the front hard cover of the book is patterned to look like a pink stick of gum. The inner cover has a place to inscribe a name and note, and the opposite page shows metal plates used to print the comics. Much nicer and more creatively done than just a standard "book" on Bazooka Joe.
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2018
- Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2013
Top reviews from other countries
- RobinReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2013
Hey kids! Get this swell book about your favourite chew!
One again Abrams ComicArts delivers a lovely warm glow of nostalgia with this latest Topps title. The same size as the two 'Wacky packages' titles but this book is turned sideways to better accommodate the Bazooka Joe comics. Unlike 'Wacky packages' it delves into Topps Company history especially as it relates to the origins and marketing of BJ, so there are plenty of historical pack shots of counter display boxes, trade ads, artwork of the comics and those premiums that kids could send off for.RobinHey kids! Get this swell book about your favourite chew!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2013
Eight writers reveal all you need to know about Joe. Len Brown and Bhob Stewart with their essays look at Wesley Morse who drew the comics from the start in 1953 and though he died in 1963 he had produced enough art to last another twenty years. The company updated Joe in 1983 using the art of Howard Cruse for forty new strips. Jay Lynch, in the last essay in the book, looks at Joe's eye patch: the comic started in 1953 and that was the year the Ogilvy & Mather agency created a huge media stir with their ads for Hathaway Shirts featuring a model with an eye patch, so Joe got one too.
Among the several hundred illustrations in the book you'll see the first series of forty-eight comics published, reproduced 5.75 by 4 inches, most of them have an illustration of a toy to be sent off for with some comics (you needed 375 of 'em to get the Bazooka camp knife) but I was interested to see that they all had the same expiry date of June 30, 1955. Oddly there's no mention of how the premiums were chosen or who handled the hundreds of thousands of orders, counted up all comics and checked the right cash had been sent with each order.
The last pages in the book have a Topps-Bazooka timeline showing the little square of gum (originally five flavours but just called Topps) from 1939 to 2013, the Bazooka name started in 1947. Inside the back cover there are the four bonus cards reproducing the first four BJ comics from 1954 (if you are buying book used it's worth checking with the seller that the cards are there).
Overall the wonderful look back at Bazooka Joe and anything connected with him in a handsomely designed book.
///LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
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SËFO!!Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2021
Qu'est-ce qui est le plus important à savoir?
!!Meilleur avec une gomme.SËFO!!Qu'est-ce qui est le plus important à savoir?
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2021
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