Let's See Your Bazooka

[BigShadow]

Some Bazooka Joe Items I just grabbed.  I'm only missing #1 for the comics, but the seller said he's sending it, so we'll see.
These of the first in my collection.  Let's see yours. 

Untitled by Joe Pav, on Flickr
Untitled by Joe Pav, on Flickr
Untitled by Joe Pav, on Flickr

[Sir Masksalot]

I've never been a gum-chewer but somehow ended up with one of these clever little comics in my scrapbook >

[Kidagain]

Well, did your fortune come true !

[BigShadow]

Did you ever send $1.20 plus 90 comics to get the Binoculars? 

[Sir Masksalot]

Well, did your fortune come true !

'Too early to say. I'm still collecting.

Did you ever send $1.20 plus 90 comics to get the Binoculars? 

Naw, I just used my Dad's.

[Hepcat]

I've never been a gum-chewer....

Me I've been a bubble gum chewer (and monster kid) all my life and will hopefully continue to be so for the rest of my days.



 

A regular 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" card with a Bazooka Joe strip was included in Ton 'o' Gum packages:





A number of different series would have been printed. Here's a scan of some of the cards from the 1978 set that I have in my collection:





 

[Sir Masksalot]

some of the cards

The lone comic I have is one-sided and printed on what seems like wax paper. It may even have been
part of the wrapper. How far back would that date mine?

[Hepcat]

The lone comic I have is one-sided and printed on what seems like wax paper.... How far back would that date mine?

Not far. Topps I think is likely still including such comics with what were once penny slabs of gum. Such comics are still included in Dubble Bubble.

Invest the nickel or the dime for one such slab and tell/show the rest of us what kind of comic you got.





From the look of the characters and the price of the binoculars, the one you pictured looks as if it might have originated in 1975-80. The numbers on the upper left which I can't make out would probably include the year of issue.

 

[Hepcat]

Some Bazooka Joe Items I just grabbed.  I'm only missing #1 for the comics, but the seller said he's sending it, so we'll see.
These of the first in my collection.   

So the seller indicated that yours are from 1971. Is the Bazooka book helpful when it comes to such questions?

 

[Hepcat]

So this is some further info I've gathered about Bazooka Joe comics:

Beginning in 1953, Topps changed the packaging to include small comic strips with the gum, featuring the character "Bazooka Joe". There are over 1,535 different "Bazooka Joe" comic-strip wrappers to collect.

In 2012, Bazooka Candy Brands announced they would no longer include comics, instead using brain-teasing puzzle wrappers in an attempt to modernize the brand.

The Bazooka brand of bubble gum was produced and marketed under licence from Topps by O-Pee-Chee of London, Ontario since at least 1957. O-Pee-Chee was unfortunately acquired by Nestlé in 1996 and the last time I can remember buying Bazooka bubble gum from a convenience store was about twenty years ago in a multi-pack very similar to these:



Each of the six cubes of gum was wrapped in a Bazooka Joe comic. The last time I remember seeing Bazooka gum sold was 10-15 years ago in 100 count or so Halloween treat bags but shaped as cylinders(!) with twist wrappers instead of proper little bricks. Moreover there were grape, watermelon and perhaps strawberry flavours as well as the original. All this of course put me off since it wasn't "right" so I turned up my nose at the offering.

Meanwhile I'd still like to know in what kind of wrapper Bazooka "penny" brickettes of gum are sold in American convenience stores these days. I've discovered five possible variants:











And are Bazooka Joe comics once again included? I'm surprised that nobody has been able to provide an answer yet.

 

[BigShadow]

So the seller indicated that yours are from 1971. Is the Bazooka book helpful when it comes to such questions?

 

Somewhat, haven't had the chance to really go through the book yet.  Each comic has a date and number on the top.  Here's a few good websites that help:
https://www.bubblegum-comics.com/BazookaJoe70s.html
http://www.bazookajoecomics.com/

[Hepcat]

Oh man! Great sites! Very informative.

 

[BigShadow]

Some Bazooka Joe and vintage bubble gum goodies I just got in the mail!

Untitled by Joe Pav, on Flickr

[Hepcat]

Those Dubble Bubble wrappers have to go back to at least 1958. I remember Dubble Bubble being sold in white wrappers with this type of logo from about 1959 and on through the 1960's:





Dubble Bubble and Bazooka dominated the penny gum market when I was a kid. Bazooka Joe comics were far superior to the Pud comics found in Dubble Bubble. But as far as taste was concerned, I preferred the sweet spice flavour of Dubble Bubble. It was also much longer lasting than was the flavour of Bazooka. Dubble Bubble is still widely sold in convenience stores in Canada in this wrapper:



Even better are these gumballs:



I've not seen them sold in cellophane rolls in convenience stores though. I've only found them in vending machines priced egregiously at either $0.25 or $1.00! Yes, a dollar for a gumball. Imagine that!

 

[Hepcat]

Here are scans from my collection of a couple of Bazooka Joe inner wrappers to the Topps Flags of the World cards from 1956: