Fleer’s Pumpkin-Face Bubble Gum and More!

Today I’d like to turn my Halloween-focused lens onto a Fleer offering that for many years was a perennial favorite – Fleer’s Pumpkin-Face Bubble Gum.   Not only that, I’ll showcase a pair of similar Fleer products that made their way onto Halloween shelves as well.

Pumpkin-Face was most likely introduced in the late 1970’s.   Here’s an example of an early Pumpkin-Face pack wrapper:

Fleer – Giant Pumpkin-Face Bubble Gum – 1970’s

The 1970’s were a creative period for Fleer’s novelty bubble gum division, and it seems like they were constantly dreaming up new shapes and forms to deliver gum product in.   Similar to a Razzles gum piece, Pumpkin-Face was a large single piece of molded gum, and the Razzles-like composition allowed for very specific molding to take place.

Here’s a photo of a vintage Pumpkin-Face pack that I opened some years ago:

Fleer – Giant Pumpkin-Face Bubble Gum broken candy/gum – 1970’s

Pumpkin-Face was a part of Fleer’s annual Halloween line-up for well over a decade.   It would lead to similar products for Christmas and Easter over the years.  In the 1990’s, the packaging for Pumpkin-Face received a contemporary refresh.  Here’s an example:

Fleer – Pumpkin-Face giant bubble gum – Halloween candy gum package – 1990’s

Last year I discovered something I’d never come across before, a Fleer product that appeared to be the same type of confection as Pumpkin-Face, also targeted at the Halloween season;  Amazing Count Von Bubbles.   Here it is:

Fleer – Amazing Count Von Bubbles – bubble gum – package – 1970’s 1980’s

I’m not certain if Fleer’s Count Von Bubbles was one of the many spinoffs of Pumpkin-Face gum, or if it was the predecessor.  For now, I only know it’s another cool part of the puzzle.

One last piece to share today may have not been created just for Halloween, but since it’s New York Comic Con weekend, I though it was appropriate to share.  Once again, this was the same candy/gum product as Pumpkin-Face sold in a similar package, but this one was branded with Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider (Note the back side of this package is nearly identical to the 1990’s Pumpkin-Face pack):

Fleer – Marvel Comics – Ghost Rider – Bubble Gum Skull – candy package – 1995

That wraps up the story-so-far on Fleer’s Pumpkin-Face Bubble Gum.  I will be bringing together a post later this year on the other seasonal versions of Pumpkin-Face that Fleer released for various holidays.  For now, that’s everything I’ve got.

See you next time!

———————————

Today’s post has been part of CollectingCandy.com’s Countdown to Halloween.  To check out other sites celebrating Halloween all month long, check out the official Halloween Countdown site.