Marvel Solicits - November 1984

Even today, Aurora from Alpha Flight still makes me a little uncomfortable in that "adolescent boy just discovering girls" kind of way. But if there was any sure-fire way to get me to pony up for a Marvel Comics subscription as an early teenager, I suppose the tingly hint of four-color sex was the way to do it. And late summer 1984 would have been right around the time I was re-upping my subscriptions to titles like G.I. Joe and Uncanny X-Men.

There is something to be said for the way Marvel has always positioned itself in relation to its customers. Just like the Bullpen Bulletins used to make us feel like insiders wandering the hallowed House of Ideas halls, using a quartet from the pages of John Byrne's Canadian team to frame this as a "Special Subscriber's Club" is well within the grand tradition of all things Marvel. Here, your 26 quarters and the completed "Enrollment Certificate" will practically buy you a membership into the greatest comic book club on the planet along with that 16 issue subscription!

I came across this Byrne-drawn ad (signed just below Sasquatch's right shin) in the back of issue #2 of Tom DeFalco's Machine Man four-issue limited series (and run again in the December 1984 issue #3). Around the time of this subscription solicit, Sasquatch and Aurora were struggling to find their way in a relationship while dealing with Aurora's multiple personality disorder, but it's obvious from that grin on Sasquatch's mug that things are good here as he hoists his best girl and teammate Marrina above his head. And check out that authentic Canadian flair the ad copy gives Puck. Good stuff all around, eh?