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Major Matt Mason Comics

Single Page MMM Ad from DC Comics
This section is to aggregate all the Major Matt Mason comic book images into one place - note that there are already links to several of these images from other areas of the site. The first hint of a Major Matt Mason comic book first appeared as a series of ads in DC comics in the US. These ads would be either a half-page or full-page of product images (above) or a full-page that includes an additional page of comic story:

MMM Ad with Comic Page

DC issues that I think include the ad and/or the comic include the following. I've identified those I believe have an ad less titles directed at girls with the assumption that the ad is directed at boys. Please take this list with a grain of salt, it's a mix of half, full and full+comic - those in Bold, underlined with page numbers (with links to the cover) are in my possession and verified but I'm not sure about the others:

  1. September 1967 Releases in Green (most have a 2-page)
  2. Confirmed by Grand Comics Database (GCD) or others in Bold
  3. Confirmed and Verified September 1967 Releases
  4. Underlined and Bold are in my possession and verified. These are linked to the issue cover.
Unfortunately I don't yet own an example of the half-page ad. Looking at the examples I own, this appear to be the publication order:
  • September 1967 Two-page ad
  • October 1967 One-page ad
  • Half-page ad?

MMM Half-Page Ad

The DC Comic Page

Mattel MMM AD Comic

The extra story page somewhat implies that a regular comic story would follow, of course it actually points to the facing page of equipment but all us kids were waiting in anticipation of a comic book story that never happened. 

DC Comics Story: "Earth Shall Not Die"

Turns out that one was planned but according to Mark Waid "A true MMM fan (greatest-toy-EVER) would know that DC actually prepared the first issue of a licensed comic for the Major ... but when MMM toy sales peaked so very, very quickly and then tanked... well, we don't know for sure if DC opted out of the license or if Ideal** pulled it, but either way, the astronaut's name was changed to "Glenn Merritt" and run in From Beyond The Unknown #7-8." This was in response to a DIAL B for BLOG post #167 and detailed in DIAL B for BLOG post #236 (now, unfortunately defunct but you can view the blog post on archive.org). 

**(there was some controversy regarding the DC Comics Captain Action Comic book as it had become more and more political as the issues ran)

DC Comics From Beyond the Unknown #8 Page 7

In the blog post the alien ally is identified as Quasar and the blog author assumes that this is Scorpio. I actually think this is a combination alien as he's a giant - sort of a mash-up of Lazer, Callisto and Scorpio with the name "Quasar" a transition from "Lazer." The two-part story is fairly interesting - the first part shows the two astronauts butting heads (typical officer vs non-com interaction) but by the second issue they come together to defeat the alien threat. Here's part 1:

DC Comics story "Earth Shall Not Die" originally published Oct 1970 in "From Beyond the Unknown #7"

The Italian Comic Story: "Gli Esploratori dello Spazio"

In Italy in 1969 Major Matt Mason was incorporated into the anthology Comic Book "Corriere dei Piccoli with 15 two page segments of 'Gli Esploratori dello Spazio' ("Space Explorers" in English). 

Comic anthology albums (real hardcover books) exist in many European countries - esp in the UK where they're called 'annuals' while CdP is simply a magazine after all. This eBay.uk search should give you some idea of UK anthologies (I've included specific titles in the search because else there's lots of modern anthologies of vintage US material). 

While short the story incorporates many of the Space Mission Team (including Jeff Long and Capt. Lazer) - it's quite the read.

Along with some of the 2-part comic story in each issues, there's also an Italian Ad:

Italian Major Matt Mason Comic Story Issues and Ads

Many ads appeared in Italy within TOPOLINO (the Italian Mickey Mouse magazine) and Corriere dei Piccoli (Italian comic)

UK Rosebud Mattel Ads in Weekly Comics

UK equivalent of TV Guide "Christmas isn't Christmas without Rosebud Mattel" multi-page insert with color, full-page of MMM toys.

French 1969 MMM "Soyes Les Premiers Sur Lat Lune..." campaign in comic magazines

Adverts in two sizes for MMM appeared in French-language comic magazines in the late Spring of 1969.

 

 

 

All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2024 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton
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