Colin Farrell has been busy collecting awards for his recent turn as Oz Cobb (a modern spin on the original comic-book name Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot), aka The Penguin, in the television miniseries spin-off from The Batman (2022), starring Robert Pattinson as the man in the cowl. It’s fair to say this gritty crime drama is a far cry from the Penguin of my childhood! While I’m also a fan of the downright creepiness of Danny DeVito’s portrayal in the Tim Burton reimagining of the Batman … [Read more...]
Mego
The Mego brand name was synonymous with action figures during most of the 1970s. The Mego Corporation displayed enormous business acumen in its purchasing of the licensing rights to many successful movies, television shows and comic books, such as classics like Planet of the Apes and Star Trek, as well as their bestselling The World's Greatest Superhero line which featured Marvel and DC Comic book heroes.
Production features of interest:
- the Mego Bubble Card placed the clear plastic bubble containing the action figure in the middle of the card;
- action figures were made with interchangeable heads so that generic bodies could be more easily mass produced then transformed with the addition of only different heads or clothing;
- in 1976 founder David Abrams turned down an offer to license toys for a certain upcoming Sci Fi flick...that film was Star Wars!
The Mego Corporation closed shop for good in 1983 and vintage Mego action figures have since become highly collectible.
‘I am Dracula … I bid you welcome!’ The Dreadful Dracula from Mego’s Mad Monster Series
Could there be a better occasion than Halloween for reviving a blog from the dead? So here we are again folks … weeeee're back!!! Mwahahaha!! Anybody who has followed this blog in the past will know that I'm a huge fan of Mego 1970s action figures. I'm also a huge fan of the old monster movies that were produced by Universal Studios from the 1920s through to the 1960s, so the Mad Monsters line by Mego comes top on my list of all-time favourite action figures. They may not have been officially … [Read more...]
Robin Hood and Mego’s Super Merry Men
Who doesn’t love Robin Hood? He’s everybody's favourite Medieval subversive, known for his archery skills, noble acts, and his commitment to robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Despite being a fictional character, Robin Hood has become a cultural icon, inspiring numerous adaptations in literature, films, and television shows. The legend of Robin Hood continues to captivate audiences around the world and Hollywood revisits his tale with regularity, although the last attempt to revamp … [Read more...]
It’s Clobberin’ Time with The Thing by Mego!
Nobody could deny that Ben Grimm got a tough deal in life. Sure, he gets to be a superhero called The Thing, who together with Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman and the Human Torch, is one of the founding members of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics Universe, but his monstrous form is far from glamorous… and unlike his fantastic cohorts, he is stuck that way! The Thing, however, remains one of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s enduringly popular … [Read more...]
Up, up and away! Comic version 12-inch Superman by Mego
On the very last day of 2019, inspired by the release of the last Star Wars reboot movie, and some successful forays into local street markets, I decided to relaunch this blog with a post dedicated to Princess Leia. Within a few short months the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy (where I live) was in lockdown, and my plans for this blog (not to mention everything else!) got pushed to the back burner. Toyissimi, Rome's huge action figure collector's fair, was postponed, and … [Read more...]
It’s Alive! The Monster Frankenstein from Mego’s Mad Monster Series
With Halloween nearly upon us this seems like an excellent time to take a look at a recent vintage find that combines of two of my favourite action figure collecting passions – Universal Monsters and Mego. This wonderful Frankenstein Monster was released in 1974 as part of the Mad Monsters series, an offshoot of the hugely popular World's Greatest Super-Heroes 8-inch figure line. The set also included the Dreadful Dracula, the Horrible Mummy, and the Human Wolfman, and while they may have been … [Read more...]
Ming the Merciless – The evil emperor of Mongo by Mego
Every super-hero needs an arch-nemesis, and every toy manufacture knows that too! Action figure giant Mego, the company behind some of the most collectible action figures made during the 1970s, even released an 8-inch “Super Foes” line in 1974 to mirror its Super-Heroes line. And when Mego launched a new 10-inch figure design in 1976 with a stunning Flash Gordon playset, one of the finest characters in the series, aside from Flash himself of course, was the big baddie in all three of the 1930s … [Read more...]
Flash Gordon – A Mego Masterpiece!
For kids growing up in the UK during the 1970s Saturday morning picture shows at the local cinema were a highlight of the week! This was a long time ago, of course, and it certainly feels like we were living in a galaxy far, far away...Indeed, in those distant, pre-Star Wars days a staple of kids programming was the 1936 sci-fi film serial Flash Gordon, starring Olympic swimming star Buster Crabbe in the title role, and Charles B. Middleton as his arch-enemy Ming the Merciless. A forerunner of … [Read more...]