Before Amazon. Before the internet. Before comic book stores became a thing. I am talking the mid to late seventies. If you wanted something specialized, you would need to go through mail order. You wouldn’t go online, but instead order out of a catalog.
A friend of mine showed me a catalog, if I had to guess, in 1979. It was for a company out of Morristown, NJ. Since he knew I was a fan of Marvel superheroes, he thought I would love this company. He believed I would appreciate what they had to offer. I bet he never would’ve guessed that I would be writing about it over forty years later!
The company was called Heroes World. They were based out of New Jersey. However, they also had locations in Colorado, Florida, California, Michigan, Georgia, Connecticut, and New York. I can only imagine what this store must’ve been like then. Though comic book stores are commonplace now, back then they really didn’t exist. A store like Heroes World would’ve been a unique location. Any superhero lover would be in awe of it.
Putting the image of your favorite Marvel or DC character on items was popular in the seventies. It is just as popular now. This trend continues, especially with the resurgence in popularity of these amazing characters.
Heroes World Distribution Co. was originally named Superhero Enterprises. It was an American comic book distributor. Ivan Snyder founded it during the growth and consolidation of the direct sales market. Heroes World was later acquired by Marvel Comics in late 1994 to act as the publisher’s sole distributor. This ill-fated move led to financial failure for many comics distributors and retailers. Other marketplace factors of the time contributed to this outcome. It nearly caused the collapse of the entire North American comic book market.
In the early 1970s, Ivan Snyder was head of licensing in Marvel Comics Group’s merchandising department. He was in charge of selling various Marvel-licensed products through mail order. After a change in management in the mid-1970s, Marvel discontinued the mail order service. Snyder purchased the business in 1975. He renamed it Superhero Enterprises. Snyder initially ran the business out of his basement. He shortly thereafter moved into a storefront in Morristown, New Jersey. The new location had a catalog showroom store format. A second store was later opened in a Livingston shopping mall, with DC Comics products added to their product mix.
The catalogs themselves, representing so many comic book heroes, were put together like an actual comic book. It was the same size as a standard comic book. The inside featured a combination of four-color scans and original art. This included work by comic book artist Joe Kubert and students from his School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
In addition to everything Marvel and DC, other toy lines were also included. Toys from manufacturer Mego were very popular. Not only was their Micronauts line included, but other action figure lines were included as well, beyond the World’s Greatest Super Heroes line. Other licenses could also be found as well, such as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers. There was also a small offering of comic book back issues as well as books too.
Just like the toys and comic books of the day, The Heroes World Catalog, as well as its sister publication, The Superhero Catalogue, were a huge part of my childhood. I remember vividly looking through these catalogs constantly, wondering what it would be like to have so much of what was offered inside. I recently brought these catalogs back out (yes, I still have them) and it was like being a kid again looking through them. The pictures in this blog are from the actual catalogs so for those of you unfamiliar, you will get a great idea of how extensive and fun these were to have.
~David Albaugh