Return of a Classic Comic Strip
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Sixty-five years after they first debuted in 1954, Bazooka Joe and His Gang returns.
Bazooka Candy Brands announced the arrival of its Bazooka Throwback pack on Thursday, April 4. According to a press release…the new nostalgia-inducing pack has an ’80s-themed design that was inspired by the gum’s original packaging.
As you can see, the front of the Bazooka Throwback pack features a blue bottom and a red top. In between the colors, “Bazooka” is written in the brand’s classic font in both red and blue lettering. The top lefthand corner of the pack says “THROWBACK,” so keep that in mind when you’re scanning the shelves for pack of your own.
According to Bazooka’s press release, not much has changed between the OG packs and the new ones. If you give the nostalgic case a try, you’ll notice that there are six sticks of gum inside of it. Per Bazooka, those sticks of gum have the “Original” flavor, so don’t worry about chewing on something that tastes totally different.
Earlier this decade Bazooka Joe comics disappeared.
“A few years back, we re-launched Bazooka Bubble Gum, reinvigorating the brand for kids who may not have been familiar with the eye-patch wearing Bazooka Joe or the brand’s place in America’s pop culture landscape,” Matt Nathanson, Bazooka Brand Manager, told me. “Yet even as Bazooka continued to thrive with its new look, we have never stopped hearing from our passionate consumers who longed for the Bazooka bubble gum of their past. Those classic Bazooka Joe comics clearly have a special place in the hearts and memories of so many fans. We are always listening to our fan, and are incredibly excited to bring back the Bazooka fans remember!”
Nathanson says that a lot of effort went into choosing which comics to bring back as well. “We began by diving into the Topps vault to find the original Bazooka Joe & His Gang comics… Believe it or not, some of these assets hadn’t been seen for decades,” he explained. “We selected 48 of the best comics from the 1970s and 1980s—all with Bazooka Joe’s trademark (and maybe a bit off-beat) sense of humor — to include in our new throwback package.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to break into a Bazooka Throwback pack of my own. If you are, too, rest assured that they’re now available at various retailers nationwide. Some of those stores include Cracker Barrel, Kroger, Party City, and Family Dollar. However, more retailers should be stocking up on Bazooka Throwback packs throughout the year, according to Bazooka.
News of the release of 1970s and 1980s reprints came from two sources –
Amanda Fama reported for Elite Daily and Mike Pomranz for Food & Wine.
The above comic strip images came from the Bazooka Joe Comics site.
An incomplete history of Bazooka Joe and His Gang is at Bubble Gum Comics.
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