Ode to SDCC 2012 – Fleer’s X-Men Tattoo Bubble Gum!

Today marks the end of another San Diego Comic Con, and while I couldn’t attend this year, I did endeavor to follow the fun online.   To tip my hat to this year’s event, I wanted to write up something from a time when I was heavily involved in the comic book biz: 1995’s X-Men Tattoo Bubble Gum.

As some of my readers know, I spent the bulk of the 1990’s working professionally in the comic book business, first with DC Comics and then most notably, as a member of the X-Men editorial team for Marvel Comics.   Getting to spend my days helping produce stories about those characters was quite a thrill, and I’ll always treasure the years that I got to do so.

Just before I joined the X-Men editorial team in 1995, Fleer released X-Men Tattoo Bubble Gum.  The mid-1990’s were a time when the X-Men were being licensed all over the place, having become a bonafide pop cultural phenomenon years earlier when X-Men #1 broke all previous comic book sales records (it remains the best-selling comic book of all-time).   There were X-Men pajamas, X-Men fishing rods, as well as just about anything you could slap the cool X-Men logo upon.

And so, in 1995 – we got gum:

Marvel-Fleer X-Men Tattoo Bubble Gum trade ad – January 1995

Here’s a scan of a flattened wrapper:

Fleer – X-Men Tattoo Bubble Gum wrapper – 1995

I am pretty sure I recall having loads of this stuff around when I was working in the X-Men office.  Either that or it’s just that I saw it every time I walked into a store back then.

Fleer gave the tattoo-bubble-gum treatment to Spider-Man that year as well, and I thought I’d include that wrapper in today’s post:

Fleer – Spider-Man Tattoo Bubble Gum wrapper – 1995

And that’s all I’ve got for you today, with regard to X-Men Tattoo Gum.  I don’t really recall what the tattoos were like, though I’m confident I applied one or two to my arm back then… just for fun.

For all of my old friends and readers who did make it to the convention; I hope you had a blast and I hope to join you out there next year for SDCC 2013.

See you next time!

About Jason Liebig

A New York City based writer, editor and sometimes actor. After spending much of the 1990′s in the comic book business helping tell the stories of Marvel Comics’ X-Men as series editor, he has since split his time between developing his own entertainment properties while still consulting and working on others. Having been described as “the Indiana Jones of lost and forgotten candy”, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted with New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and has also been a featured guest on Food Network’s Heavyweights, France’s M6 Capital, and New York’s TheActionRoom.com. My Google Profile+
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