Novel Ideas

A novelty, (noun): a knickknack, a bauble, a bibelot, a curio, a gewgaw, a gimcrack, a trifle, a trinket, a whatnot.

According to Merriam-Webster’s online thesaurus, the above words are synonyms for "a novelty." Novelties like these were a staple of comic book advertising for more than a generation. This is not the good side of "novelty." It is not “novelty” meaning something new or innovative. Nor is this the worst connotation for "novelty," i.e. sexual paraphernalia euphemistically labeled "adult novelties."

"Novelties" as used here, and as sold in comic books, were those cheap, cheesy, somewhat fraudulently advertised objects that have been a staple of comic book advertising since the earliest days. They were offered in ads with their pictures and descriptions scattered randomly across the page, like paraphernalia in a junk drawer.

As you go through the exhibition pages, like in a junk drawer, please rummage away! All the exhibition pages are interactive; hands-on, so to speak, and clicking on the novelties is encouraged. Please enable javascripts and pop-up windows, (there are no ads) if you intended to make use of the exhibits' interactivity.

You can follow your way through this exhibit using the trail we’ve built for you. We offer both low bandwidth and high bandwidth paths to follow. Click on the “next” button provided in each exhibition page to progress through the entire exhibit.

You can also navigate to individual comic book ad displays using the Display Index navigation in the first column on this page (on the left). All the displays in this exhibit are listed and linked in this Display Index.

If you have something to add to this exhibit, or something you would like to share with our visitors, or would just like to chat about what you see here, please write to the Museum of Comic Book Advertising. We hope you enjoy yourself.