VALENTINES 1966

Holy heartthrob! Spy Vibe returns to those elementary school days, when friendships were solidified over valentines cards and candy hearts. February brought a crop of card-packs to stationary stores around the country, luring young buyers with designs based on the pop icons of the day. In 1966, kids were in the throes of Batmania. Sales of the Batman comic book had dwindled to an all-time low by the mid-1960s. But the Adam West TV show conquered the airwaves, reinvigorated DC publishing, and became a merchandising phenomenon. Children were soon brushing their teeth with Bat-brushes, waking up to Bat-alarm clocks, and carrying their peanut butter sandwiches to school in Bat-lunch boxes. Valentines Day quickly fell under the Bat-spell. The TV series made its debut on January 12th, 1966.  By February 14th -one month later- little shoppers found cards designed by Doubl Glo and Hallmark. The Doubl Glo set sold for .59 and included envelops and a "special card for teacher." Thanks to cartoonist Mark Anderson for posting these (and more!) on his site. Spy Vibers might also want to check out our post yesterday about Saturday Morning Cartoons and the official DVD release of Marine Boy here and our New Years post about cards from Cold War Russia here. Enjoy!

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Saturday Cartoons: Marine Boy, Mary Quant, Patrick Macnee, Gloria Steinem and Denny O'Neil on MOD Wonder Woman, Win Scott Eckert interview, Siegel and Shuster's SPY, David McCallum: Son of Batman, Jon Gilbert talks Fleming, Barbarella TV series, Meet the Beatles 50th, Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Batman Strips, David Bowie at 67, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.