Where did this FREE GIFT come from???

Post by Al » 22 Oct 2006, 13:00

I've received an Email from someone who wishes to identify a comic title from the free gift that came with it. I'm flummoxed, but maybe you guys will know. Here's the Email.

When i was a lad i purchased every issue since it's inception.From what i can recall the comic was available weekly but only lasted about 2 years. This was, i think, in the late 1960s. early 70s. I'm sure it was mainly TV orientated IE.the avengers etc.The first issue had a free gift what was supposedly a sachet of living organisms collected from the moon which you poured into water and small living organisms would be swimming about.An odd free gift but it captured imaginations for young lads of my age during the moon landing era.Anyway my free gift was never used and it is probably still stuck to the front cover of that particular comic.As you can guess i no longer have these comics as i stupidly gave them away for auction in the early eighties.What a collection they would be now.I cannot seem to find any reference to these comics on any web site,they must be very RARE especially the whole set intact

Thank you

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 22 Oct 2006, 17:56

I remember it well. It was a magazine called Target which was published around 1971/72. It was mainly feature-based (space, sport, motor bikes, boy's fashon, etc) but it did contain three or four strips. (In that respect it was ahead of its time as that sort of magazine/comic format is very popular now!)

It only ran a couple of years I think. (I gave up on it after issue 2 due to it not having many strips in it.) There was another title named Target a few years later, and this is probably where the confusion sets in because that Target was a tv-theme comic featuring Hazel, Cannon, Charley's Angels etc. (It was published by Polystyle and was a rather weak follow up to TV Action).

As for the free gift in the original Target; yes, they were indeed living creatures! Or at least that's what the strange Horlicks-like powder turned into after being in a jamjar of water for a few days, for these microscopic eggs were known in the USA as the fabled Sea Monkeys!

They grew to about 2cm in length max, and in issue 2 of Target you had a free sachet of food to give them. Unfortunately when the food ran out after a few weeks they starved to death! (Back then, Sea Monkeys were not available in the UK so we couldn't get any more food for them.)

Then of course there was the time when Bunty gave away a real live kitten sellotaped to the cover... (Okay, I made that up, but the rest of this reply is true!)

Oh, they weren't from the moon though obviously.

Lew

Post by Al » 23 Oct 2006, 00:16

Thanks Lew,

I've passed on your reply and the guy will hopefully be put out of his misery

Al

Earl · Post by **Earl** » 26 Oct 2006, 20:01

kudos to Lew for remember that.

Earl.

Post by Al » 26 Oct 2006, 23:16

Here's the reply from a happy chappy

WOW,that's great,I thought I was maybe going loopy & imagined it all. great to know that someone has an even better memory than me.Those years seem a bit fuzzy to me nowadays.Now all I need is to see if anyone has any to sell on e'bay maybe,(in search of my lost youth).I've been searching but only the usual target comics are for sale.Mind If I do find some then it would probably cost me an arm and a leg,unless you have some stashed away amongst all your collections.Anyway thanks again for all your help.THE POWER OF THE INTERNET COMES UP TRUMPS AGAIN.

Thanks again Lew

Jimmy Screw · Post by **Jimmy Screw** » 30 Oct 2006, 01:52

THE POWER OF THE INTERNET COMES UP TRUMPS AGAIN.

The power of Lew Stringer's extraordinary knowledge of comics, more like.

I had some of them Sea Monkeys too when I was a child but I couldn't get my head round them so I don't think I even fed them ... ever!

In fact, now that my memory has been jogged, I still cannot get my head around them. What exactly were they? How could they be?

All I remember is that they came in a sachet and you were supposed to breed them in saline water. What the hell was that all about.

Plus, the advertisements in old DC comics were misleading - pink, alien families indeed!

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 30 Oct 2006, 02:44

Jimmy Screw wrote:
THE POWER OF THE INTERNET COMES UP TRUMPS AGAIN.
The power of Lew Stringer's extraordinary knowledge of comics, more like.

All thanks to 47 wasted years reading daft comics.

Lew

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 04 Feb 2007, 23:44

Al wrote:I've received an Email from someone who wishes to identify a comic title from the free gift that came with it. I'm flummoxed, but maybe you guys will know. Here's the Email.

When i was a lad i purchased every issue since it's inception.From what i can recall the comic was available weekly but only lasted about 2 years. This was, i think, in the late 1960s. early 70s. I'm sure it was mainly TV orientated IE.the avengers etc.The first issue had a free gift what was supposedly a sachet of living organisms collected from the moon which you poured into water and small living organisms would be swimming about.An odd free gift but it captured imaginations for young lads of my age during the moon landing era.Anyway my free gift was never used and it is probably still stuck to the front cover of that particular comic.As you can guess i no longer have these comics as i stupidly gave them away for auction in the early eighties.What a collection they would be now.I cannot seem to find any reference to these comics on any web site,they must be very RARE especially the whole set intact

Thank you

As an update to this thread, I've dug out the magazine in question. Cover scan should appear here if I've done this right:

[IMG:255:340]http://i15.tinypic.com/4geqx4m.jpg[/img]

And I've written an article on it here:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/02 ... -1972.html

Lew

Steve Bright · Post by **Steve Bright** » 05 Feb 2007, 00:11

One I'd forgotten about until I saw your scans, Lew, then it all came flooding back, especially Bovver Boy.

Many thanks for that.

moose · Post by **moose** » 15 Feb 2007, 23:54

"your free powder that is going to the moon"

heh heh...well, i guess it was the 70s. far out.

Comics UK