This is the outer box for a Batman "Superhero" Watch, made by the Dabs company in 1977.
As you can see, the box features stock art shots of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Joker. But open the plastic case holding the watch inside, and:
As you can see, the box features stock art shots of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Joker. But open the plastic case holding the watch inside, and:
Holy Moley--I mean, Great Neptune!--what are Aquaman and Captain Marvel doing in there? Despite the Dabs company not offering Aquaman or Captain Marvel style watches, there they are on the inside of the package. Curious, no?
When I saw that Aquaman and the Big Red Cheese were pictured, it gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, there was an Aquaman Dabs Watch out there, but if you take a look at the ad they ran in various comics at the time:
When I saw that Aquaman and the Big Red Cheese were pictured, it gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, there was an Aquaman Dabs Watch out there, but if you take a look at the ad they ran in various comics at the time:
...we can say for sure they weren't produced. Maybe Dabs couldn't put Spider-Man on the packages, so they had some space to fill. Like I said, curious.
I could be wrong, but this might be one of the last times you saw the DC and Marvel heroes intermingling on merchandise. Mego got there early, but as the 70s wore on, you saw it less and less.
The watch I bought (Batman style) does come with a 90-day warranty, but I think we're past that by, oh, 31 years or so.
(I scanned this ad off the back of Aquaman #60--oh, the bitter irony)
I could be wrong, but this might be one of the last times you saw the DC and Marvel heroes intermingling on merchandise. Mego got there early, but as the 70s wore on, you saw it less and less.
The watch I bought (Batman style) does come with a 90-day warranty, but I think we're past that by, oh, 31 years or so.
(I scanned this ad off the back of Aquaman #60--oh, the bitter irony)
4 comments:
I still have my Batman watch. It quite working long ago, but that was my first real watch, not counting my Marx play Superman watch.
For years my Mom kept that box. Wonder where it is now? I do remember Aquaman and Captain Marvel now that you mention it!
Love that ad too. Always seemed odd to see Spider-Man on the back cover of a DC comic!
Chris
"...times you saw the DC and Marvel heroes intermingling on merchandise. Mego got there early..."
But Ideal had been there first.
Happy Thanksgiving,
-Craig W.
I found the Superman watch at a thrift store years ago, and this finally explains where it came from!
I had the Batman watch as a kid. I have all of these watches now. My Joker, Spiderman, and Hulk (yes, he came out two years later in 1979) are all mint with perfect packaging. The remaining watches are all mint, and still have very nice packaging. The Joker only came in adult size, and the Hulk only in kids size. I have a couple of duplicates, and it would be cool if someone would make some custom Aquaman and Captain Marvel watch faces to match the others. I have always wondered if they planned to produce the other two, but just never got around to it. The cool thing about the Marvel characters was that they each had their own unique packaging. The DC characters all shared the same generic blue packaging with a label to distinguish each model. Very cool watches and it's hard to believe that they could still be in perfect condition after 33 years.
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