The 1980s

In 1983, about thirty years after Bazooka Joe was introduced, the comics get a complete overhaul! New jokes, some new characters (others are retired) and new art appear, courtesy of Howard Cruse. The new series do get redundant however, as they all contain the same 45 comics over and over. Some series have only 42 comics. Still, it's nice to see a fresh look to Joe and his gang. At this time, I've identified around 18 different variations of basically the same set. There may be more. Below are most of the major style variations to look for.


83 value 3
series
83 value 5
series
83 value 10
series
84 value 10
'yellow stripe' series

84
gum stick series
84
gum wrap series
85 value 3
series
85 value 10
series

85 value 10
gum wrap series
85 value 50
box back series


If you want to take your variation collecting to the next level, then you are as bad as I am. Anyway, through the magic of photoshop, I've combined 3 variations of the same comic below, to give you an idea of what to look for.
#1 - Contains the normal wax paper version of 83-7(value 3).
#2 - Contains a version on thicker wax paper and the blue printers dots are much larger and darker.
#3 - Contains a version on thicker wax paper (like #2) but all the color dots or 'screen' is much finer, giving the colors and flesh tones a very smooth look.


Three versions of the same comic to collect.

Next, the 1990s.
Main Bazooka Joe page.

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