Comic book readers are wimps...I mean, real cream-puff Caspar Milquetoasts!

So I'm still working my way through the Doctor Strange review, but I did notice something odd while reading through the issue a couple of times.

There are quite a few ads for body building training courses.

First up is an ad for everybody's favorite body builder, Charles Atlas and his DYNAMIC TENSION bodybuilding method.

I'm curious as to how much of the comic book reading population in 1977 had potbellies. I have zero facts to back this up, but conventional wisdom has it as a younger audience than today's readers, not to mention the fact that the obesity epidemic is decades away from hitting America's youth.

If you missed that little ad, have no fear as a full pager comes a little later in the issue.

Take your choice, you can either double or triple your strength in record time! Hell, sign me up for triple if it's just that easy!

Finally, we have a half page ad for STRONG ARMS!

Check out that sales pitch. If "Almost like a miracle" doesn't hook you, I'm sure the prospect of "Motionless Exercise" will. In fact I'm so into the concept of motionless exercise, that I'm going to start right now by not getting up off the couch to mail in my No-Risk Trial Coupon.

I feel stronger already.

Normally, the fact that there are so many ads for body building courses in comic book doesn't strike me as all that unusual. But Marvel had to go and rub it in my face that I'm a weakling.

Take a look at this picture of Stan "The Man" Lee that they're using to promote one of their spin off magazines.

My memory can be spotty and unreliable sometimes at times, but somehow I don't think Stan Lee ever looked that virile.

I wonder if any of these addresses are still good. If they can work that kind of magic on Stan, I'll be kicking sand into the faces of weaklings on beaches across America in no time!