UNCOVERED AT LAST…
…proof that someone once subscribed to Punisher 2099:
Okay, calm down there, I know you all had subscriptions to Punisher 2099 and are just itching to tell me so in the comments section. Just a joke, pals.
But, really, Punisher 2099? You subscribed to th…no, no, no, I didn’t say that. Just ignore it.
Anyway, we picked up a collection recently where the seller had apparently, abruptly, stopped reading comics, to the point where he had about a half-dozen comics received via subscription, still sealed in their mailing bags.
I seem to recall some ballyhooing, by either Marvel or DC, or likely both, that their subscription comics were shipped in protective bags with backing boards, and I’m assuming this is what they meant by that. I don’t remember the exact wording of those ads, and I’m going entirely off memory since I’m writing this at about midnight and I’m too tired to go digging through the vast Mikester Comic Archives for research. But as backing boards go, this piece of paper sealed in there with the comic barely counts…it flops around like uncooked bacon. You can’t argue with success, though, since most of these comics look like they’re in pretty good condition. Some minor spine wear, of course, since the board doesn’t prevent bending in the slightest. It’s certainly a vast improvement over how my one comic book subscription, circa the early ’80s to Amazing Spider-Man, was packaged…one thin strip of paper, with mailing label, around the middle of the comic, leaving three-fourths of the comics naked, exposed unprotected to the harsh elements, with nothing between it and inclement weather, a mailman’s spilled coffee, nibbling by otters, et cetera.
But these comics from the recently-acquired collection, what with their fancypants bags and boards, were from seventeen years ago. How are they mailed now? Is it about the same…sealed in a baggie, with a thin board inserted to hold the mailing label/subscription info?
I do like the look of the boards, so here are a handful of images of them from the collection:
