Some of those inserts make me really mad, especially the ones made from stiff card. It can make it really hard to read the comic. Also, the comic sometimes doesn't close flat. Plus, the thick card can put stress on the staples. Ah, what a picky little purist I can be. But I recently had a bit of an epiphany. It happened while I was reading one of my older Amazing Spideys, and was gazing nostalgically through all those classic adverts.

It occured to me that the in-yer-face advertising that I was getting so annoyed about was merely the classic advertising of the future. The only difference between a 1960's "own your own nuclear submarine" ad, or a 70's "I can't resist Hostess Cupcakes" was just a matter of time. Wait a few decades and you'll be laughing about the clunky old "Playstation 2" games, as you think of your brand-new fully holographic sensation feedback Playstation 7.

Very zen, I'm sure you'll agree. And when two years from now you open one of your back-issues to discover that the bundled sugar-free kool-aid packet stapled as a marketing gimmick into your Uncanny X-Men has leaked out and ruined the entire comic book, I hope you'll be just as sanguine!