Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2014 January 31 • Friday

The more specific and quirky a reference book is, the more I like it. A current favorite is Mail-Order Mysteries by Kurt Demarais.

This book is an examination of the products advertised in the pages of comic books in the '60s and '70s. They usually appeal to adolescent power fantasies, to greed and lust and the like.

Demarais goes through a large number of these items and shows the reader how they were advertised, what was promised and what you got.

The stories behind the manufacture and sale of these things is often very interesting. I never bought any of this stuff but I sure thought about it and it's fascinating to find out what I missed—or what I was wise not to spend money on.