Published in 1991, Zap! Ray Gun Classics is a sure-fire nostalgia trip for anyone who grew up in the Space-Age era of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Tom Corbett. Author Leslie Singer has compiled 100 full-colour photographs of toy ray guns, neatly organized by decade. As a reader, it’s fun to see how the toys evolved over the years, in both design composition and complexity.
While Zap! is decidedly gun-focused, Singer also manages to mix in a few non-ray gun photos throughout the book’s 89 pages. Some of the complementary images include comic strips, book covers, movie stills, and one of my favourite board games, Milton Bradley’s Captain Video: An Exciting Space Game.
Zap! is an homage to ray guns past as well as a reference guide for collectors. The book’s final pages include a bibliography and estimated price guide.
