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The Incredible Hulk in Up a Tree! (Hostess Ads #107)

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On a site dedicated to making a wiki history of all things comics, comics ads should not be forgotten. Especially the ads for Hostess Fruit Pies, Twinkies, and other snacks. Starting in 1975, Marvel and DC heroes (and the Harvey,Archie, and Gold Key/Whitman characters as well!) spent seven years throwing Hostess snacks at a bizarre line of villains to stop their crimes. Although many of the villains were completely silly, they were created specifically for these ads, and in many cases, not even the names have been used again, since the ads stopped in mid-1982.

So I thought I'd show an ad here, and make a list of the comics I find it in, as I run across them. This list features: The Incredible Hulk in Up a Tree! As noted on the Hostess Superhero Advertisements page:

A tribe of forest-dwelling muscle men, the Rock People attacked the Hulk for venturing into their territory. Attempting to "civilize" the rock-throwing troop, Hulk offered his stash of Hostess Twinkies and returned peacefully to his rock-gathering escapade.

The Hulk has a rock collection? Well, I guess everyone needs a hobby.

Actually, this ad is kind of boring on its own, but it makes me laugh when I think about the writer coming up with this idea. Something I heard over and over again coming up in school was that when it comes to writng, "The idea is to get your main character up a tree...then you throw rocks at them." I picture the ad writer completely stuck for an idea, so he starts giving himself the drill: "Okay, what's the purpose of any story? To get your character up a tree and throw rocks at him, right? Okay, so the Hulk is up a tree. Why? He wants to be left alone, just like always. So somebody throws rocks at him. Who would do that? Hm. Rock People, of course! Better make 'em strong- this is the Hulk we're talking about. Okay, okay, so then what? Well, Hulk's going to win of course, but that's kinda boring on its own. Maybe Hulk takes all their rocks for his rock collection. Yeah, I like that! Let me call my editor..." and now we have this ad.

You Get A Big Delight In Every Bite <106 (Hostess Treats) 108> Enjoy.

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cbishop

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lykopis

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I was going to say something about my feelings being hurt every time I read the Hulk saying he "no like humans" and point out his hypocrisy, but your commentary just killed it. I laughed so hard.

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cbishop

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@lykopis: Yeah, I always think, "Y'know, the Hulk doesn't really try to like humans. He's kind of a whiny jerk."

The more I thought about that scenario with the ad writer, the more convinced I became that this is how we got that ad. Sometimes, it just makes so much sense. Just like I am completely willing to believe that the events of Shakespeare in Love are how we got Romeo & Juliet. I get a kick out of that movie every time. :)