You all remember when you could buy comics sealed up in those bags in sets of three for super cheap? You used to be able to find them in convenience stores or on a rack at truck stops and gas stations. One of my favorite parts about taking a family road trip was when we'd stop at this one "highway oasis" and I'd always get to pick out three or four packs because they were hella cheap, would guarantee my parents several hours of peace and quiet from the back seat, and would add a whopping stack of 12 new comics to my collection.
I always tried to get the cooler ones, usually from comic companies like Dell or Whitman, so I'd scour the racks for titles like The Phantom, Turok the Dinosaur Hunter or the Boris Karloff horror comics. Every now and then, the pickings would be slim and I'd have to settle for some Bugs Bunny or or Donald Duck comics. But I never, never in all my days, saw a three pack of Conan the Barbarian comics, especially one containing the famous Conan #100, which ended the Queen of the Black Coast issues with Belit's tragic demise!
But it appears that they existed! I found this little treat on eBay and had to post it here. Look at that single color half-tone screened thermographic packaging! (Sorry, I'm a graphic designer and sometimes slip into designer speak.) If I would have found this at the rest stop back then, my parents would have died of embarrassment as I bellowed out, "By Erlik's black beard!" and then held the three-pack up in victory, yowling Cimmerian war cries. ;)
