Monday, September 26, 2011

Evel Knievel Week, Day 1: Deliver Us from Evel

The Mid-Day Matinee this week, all week: Evel Knievel! You couldn't read a comic book in the 1970s without seeing an ad for the daredevil of the day...not Matt Murdock, the man who jumped the shark when it was still cool to do it, the all-American hero who defeated Doctor Doom and Galactus and...whoa, I think I went one too far. Anyway, as likely an American folk hero as we got in the 1970s until Billy Carter came along, the death-defying, cycle-challenging, swagger-sticking Evel Knievel!


Back cover ad of [Uncanny] X-Men #103 (February 1977)

We were so nostalgic for the incredible edible Evel that Marvel reminded us recently: Evel Knievel ads are part of our national heritage by reprinting the whole meshuggah ad all over again!


Ad in Captain Britain and MI13 #13 (July 2009)

Evel, won't you?

4 comments:

Velocity DeWitt said...

..."your neighborhood ditch"?

SallyP said...

What on earth does he do with the swagger stick?

Dave said...

Evel later broke his arm and four ribs trying to surmount encyclopedia volumes X, Y, and Z.

BillyWitchDoctor said...

Hey, now, don't laugh. THIS TOY CURES CRIPPLED CHILDREN. In "Viva Knievel!"---and the most astonishing display of ego I've ever witnessed in a movie---Evel Knievel (as "Evel Knievel") creeps into an orphanage in the middle of the night to deliver his own action figure to the kids. One of them, inspired by Our Hero, proceeds to throw his crutches away and walk across the room to give Evel a big hug.