World’s Greatest Toys!

In the spirit of yesterday’s Blog about Christmas catalogs and Mailer Boxes, I have a wonderful opportunity to continue discussing Christmas memories. Back in the 1970s, Christmas was a rare opportunity for most kids to finally get the toys they’d been pining over — and begging for — all year long.

I devoted an entire chapter of World’s Greatest Toys! to Christmas catalogs, this wondrous time of year, and the joys-’n-toys the season brought. Here’s a snippet from the book (page 54, for those reading along), followed by a scan of the cited page-spread:

Mego World’s Greatest Super-Heroes toys appeared in a variety of Christmas catalogs between 1973 and 1981. 1976 marked the last time a retailer promoted new characters; Montgomery Ward added Green Goblin and Lizard from the 3rd Wave, but passed on any of the 4th Wave heroes, including Thor, Conan and the Fantastic Four. Introducing Isis as a “special” in 1976, Montgomery Ward opted against promoting the Teen Titans in 1977. While no American retailers promoted the line past 1980, the Canadian arm of Sears featured four of the remaining characters in their 1981 catalog.

Want to read more? Buy Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys! Just $32.97 (save 34%)

I think it’s safe to say that all Mego-heads have vivid memories of Mego and Christmas. However, few of us actually have childhood photos to supplement our recollections and collections. Mego super-collector Mike Armes is incredibly fortunate to have both memories and pictures! As you will see in the forthcoming series of Photo Blogs, Mike enjoyed a particularly Mego-centric childhood. When Mego implored consumers to “Collect ‘em all,” Mike’s parents really took it to heart!

Without further ado, I present Part 1 in a series (woo-hoo!) I am calling:

The Mego book includes three photos from Mike’s family photo album, including this shot of Mike holding his RC Batman on Christmas morning in 1973:

Here’s a detail of Mike’s Mego goodness:

What the book didn’t include is a picture from the night before this picture was taken… Christmas Eve 1973. Mike’s parent allowed him to open one toy that night. Mike chose wisely, but before going to bed, he put the toy back in its original packaging and placed it under the tree, to enjoy on Christmas morning:

Dig that vintage Speedaway sled! Here’s a detail of the Mego goodness underneath the Christmas tree, an RC Batman in the 2nd Version box (issued shortly after the original Solid box, which Mego revised to add an acetate window):

I want to thank Mike for sharing these incredible mementos with us.

Mike and I were intrigued by the large, yellow price sticker afixed to the box front. Mike’s father told him the toy was likely purchased at either “Weston’s” or “Jamesway” in upstate New York. I have no memories of either retailer, so I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to post your thoughts and comments on the Mego Museum message board (NB: links to a specific thread about this subject). If you’re not already a member of the Mego Museum, now is the perfect time to join!

I have more great blogs lined up for the near future, including more “Mike Armes’ ’70s Christmas Spectacular” entries. Until then, I’ll see you on the boards!

Benjamin

Blog Credits and legal stuff: Images published by Benjamin Holcomb, Mike Armes and TwoMorrows Publications. All rights reserved. Images may not be reprinted or published without prior written consent from the publishers.

We now continue our series of Mego Memories blogs from yesterday, which revealed pictures of the Armes family Christmas in 1973. Today, we skip forward one year, to 1974.

In the book, there are three photos from Mike’s family photo album, including this one:

The caption in the book reads:

Young Mike Armes enjoys the spoils of a Mego-centric Christmas morning in 1974. Mom Jerri Lyn proudly displays boxed Batman and Robin figures (note the box variants and the mini-catalog inside the Batman box) while Mike prepares to open the boxed Batcave behind him or the Platform carded Batmobile in front of him. Mike confirmed he never owned the Batcopter or Batcycle, the only other vehicles Mego distributed on the scarce Platform card.

Here’s a detail of that photo:

The third and final photo in the book:

The caption in the book reads:

Late Christmas morning 1974, and Mike has already manged to lose the green cardboard insert to his boxed Robin figure.

Want to read more? Buy Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys! Just $32.97 (save 34%)

Here’s a detail of that photo:

Later that same day, Mike changed out of his pajamas and into a blue NASA-style jumpsuit. Mike, who is now a professional musician and television editor, demonstrated an early aptitude for guitar:

Mike also displayed an early passion for Mego packaging, as evidenced by this photo of Mike and his little brother. While Mike’s brother enjoys his loose, Kenner “Duke The Super Adventure Dog” toy, Mike is content to keep his Mego Robin mint in box!

Of course it wasn’t ALL Mego for Mike that year. Earlier in the day, he opened his Playskool “Familiar Places” McDonaldLand playset.

In the foreground, note the super-cool Amazing Spider-Man playset, which featured cardboard stand-ups of Spider-Man characters.

I think the Spider-Man playset was manufactured by either Amsco or Milton Bradley Ideal, but I’m not sure (UPDATE: Mike tells me it was manufactured by Ideal, in 1973). If you have anything to add, please post your thoughts and comments on the Mego Museum message board (NB: links to a specific thread about this subject). If you’re not already a member of the Mego Museum, now is the perfect time to join!

I have more great blogs lined up for the near future, including more “Mike Armes’ ’70s Christmas Spectacular” entries. Until then, I’ll see you on the boards!

Benjamin

Blog Credits and legal stuff: Images published by Benjamin Holcomb, Mike Armes, Mike Armes, Sr., Jeri Lyn Armes and TwoMorrows Publications. All rights reserved. Images may not be reprinted or published without prior written consent from the publishers.

Having covered 1973 and 1974 in previous Blogs that begin to reveal Mike Armes’ wondrous family photos, we skip forward yet another year. 1975 was a stellar year for Mego.

In World’s Greatest Toys! I discuss the success Mego experienced that year, and the impact it had on the company. Here’s a snippet from the book (page 145, for those reading along), followed by a scan of the cited page-spread:

Along with the new Fist-Fighters, Mego introduced two new vehicles during 1975: the Mobile Bat Lab and the Joker Mobile. According to Sol Harrison, then Vice President of DC Comics, the Joker Mobile was developed in the pages of Batman comics with an eye toward toys and merchandising. “I’ve been able to talk to the editors and get them to think in terms of products for merchandise using our characters,” said Harrison in a January 1976 interview. “The Joker Van was created and Mego Toys [sic] made a vehicle similar to it.” Mego sold the Joker Mobile for three consecutive years before cancelling it in 1977 and reintroducing it in 1979 (see price sheet, below right). “We are now working on a Wayne Foundation building, which could become a playset,” Harrison concluded. Later that year, his prediction came true; the Wayne Foundation was first available on December 16, 1976, and nationally solicited at Toy Fair in February 1977.

According to Mego warehouse manager Ray Demato, 1975 was the year that the WGSH exploded. If 1974 was lucrative (it was the first year the revamped Mego was in the black), 1975 was colossal. Mego’s third quarter net earnings vaulted from $1.9 million (in 1974) to $4.5 million by the same period in 1975. Mego, publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange (AmEx), sold at 3¾ per share at the beginning of 1975. By February 1976, the price jumped to 14 ⅝.

Want to read more? Buy Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys! Just $32.97 (save 34%)

Mego’s tremendous success is largely attributable to families like the Armes. Today, Mike is an avid monster/horror fan. I think his choice of Halloween costume that year provides a little insight into his adult tastes, so let’s get this picture party started in October 1975:

(Above: Mike (right), dressed as the monstrous shark, JAWS, while Mike’s little brother (left) makes cool like coooool, as Fonzie from Happy Days)

By the time Christmas rolled around, Mike had evidently compiled a massive Wish List for Santa… who delivered. Big time.

(Above: Mike cracks a minty fresh, Mego Star Trek Spock from its Mego Mailer Box)

(Above: Needing a play environment for his new Spock figure, Mike cracks a crisp Mego Star Trek Enterprise playset from its Mego Mailer Box, which is visible in the lower right corner)

(Above: Mike with his little brother, father and grandfather, enjoying some quality time with the freshly opened Mego Star Trek Enterprise playset. Is that Cookie Monster chillin’ on the couch?)

(Above: Later that Christmas morning, Mike mugs for the camera with his Planet of the Apes mask and generic Tommy Gun.)

The incredible photo above reveals all kinds of Mego goodness, including:

(Above: Details of Mike’s MIB Shazam, MIB Mad Monster Castle, loose Mobile Bat Lab and loose Joker figure)

Mike and I laughed at the fact that, just like his MIB Robin from Christmas 1974, the Shazam box insert is already missing! We were also intrigued that Shazam has a Mego mini-catalog stuffed into the front of the box. Commenting to Mike that I have never seen that particular packaging variation (the 5-digit/Old Logo) with a Mego mini-catalog, Mike theorized that his father may have taken the mini-catalog included in the Mad Monster Castle playset, and tucked it into the Shazam box. It’s interesting to note, regardless. And you’ve gotta love that poor Joker figure, just slammed face-first into the righteous, ’70s earth-toned shag rug!

Even more Mego goodness from 1975:

(Above: Presents all opened, the Armes boys dig into the spoils of the season)

This final picture from 1975 is incredible. It’s a shame that it’s torn, but closer inspection reveals some wonderful visual treats, including:

(Above: Mike prepares his Mego Batman and Robin for adventures in the Mego Mobile Bat Lab)

(Above: Now we know what happened to Shazam’s blue box insert. At this point, the insert hadn’t been discarded… but it was well on its way to a trash bag)

Feel free to post your thoughts and comments on the Mego Museum message board (NB: links to a specific thread about this subject). If you’re not already a member of the Mego Museum, now is the perfect time to join!

I have more great blogs lined up for the near future, including at least one more “Mike Armes’ ’70s Christmas Spectacular” entry. Until then, I’ll see you on the boards!

Benjamin

Blog Credits and legal stuff: Images published by Benjamin Holcomb, Mike Armes, Mike Armes, Sr., Jeri Lyn Armes and TwoMorrows Publications. All rights reserved. Images may not be reprinted or published without prior written consent from the publishers.

Here is our Daily Mego Adoration for Thursday, March 20, 2008.
Let’s talk about 2nd Issue Cards!

Mego developed a wide variety of packaging styles for their “World’s Greatest Super-Heroes” toy line, so collectors have embraced nicknames to define each style. The earliest packaging style, which Mego introduced toward the end of 1972, is known as the “Solid” box. Mere months later, Mego modified the “Solid” box by adding a thin, acetate window that allows a view to the toy inside. Such packaging is known as a “Window Box.”

Around the same time, Mego developed a blister card-style of packaging, called “1st Issue” cards. This tall card (6″ x 12″) features a plastic blister that is sealed to the bottom-center of the card.

Some collectors still refer to “1st Issue” cards as “Kresge” cards, simply because the term was coined at a time when collectors believed such cards were available exclusively through S.S. Kresge and Kmart stores. Nowadays, collectors know Mego produced plenty of “1st Issue” cards, available through other retailers, that lack any reference to S.S. Kresge. Thus, “1st Issue” is a more accurate nickname for any card that measures 6″ x 12″.

In Spring 1977, Mego ceased production of all boxes and “1st Issue” cards, introducing a new blister card-style of packaging that is wider and shorter than the original card. Measuring 7″ x 10″, the plastic blister is sealed to the bottom-right of each card. Not surprisingly, these cards are known as “2nd Issue” cards.

Collectors once referred to “2nd Issue” cards as “Standard” cards, a term that does not recognize the numerous, seminal “1st Issue” card variations. Collectors also once referred to these packages as “U.S.” cards, presumably unaware of the myriad ‘foreign’ packages — available outside of America — which utilize the same packaging style. Thankfully, neither term is used much anymore.

Between Spring 1977 and December 1982 (when Mego cancelled the WGSH line), Mego produced five different “2nd Issue cards” for DC characters in the United States… six, if one includes the truly unique Wonder Woman card, which many collectors assume was developed for the Australian market. While marked “©1977,” the solitary “2nd Issue” Wonder Woman card was evidently produced sometime between Spring 1978 and Spring 1979.

One feature I could not fit into the Mego book (but really wanted to include) is an expository breakdown of the different “2nd Issue” cards. I have received a lot of questions about the different packaging variations Mego produced, so I will use this blog to expand on the information… using tons of pictures, of course.

Today, I will introduce each of the “2nd Issue” DC cards. Of all the DC characters Mego produced, only Batman and Robin represent each of the five U.S.-issued “2nd Issue” cards. I present all five cards in the Robin chapter of World’s Greatest Toys! (page 40 and 41), but now I will add the “2nd Issue” Wonder Woman card, too!

Here are Mego’s “2nd Issue” DC cards, in chronological order of release!

2nd Issue DC Card Variations: ©1976, ©1977a, ©1977b, ©1977c, ©1977 (1978) Wonder Woman, ©1979
Above: ©1976 card front	Above: ©1976 card back
Above: ©1977a card front	Above: ©1977a card back
Above: ©1977b card front	Above: ©1977b card back
Above: ©1977c card front	Above: ©1977c card back
Above: ©1978 Wonder Woman card front	Above: ©1978 Wonder Woman card back
Above: ©1979 card front	Above: ©1979 card back

Want to learn more? Buy Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys! Just $49.95

Stay tuned: Tomorrow, I will post a blog explaining the defining aspects of each “2nd Issue” DC card. After that, I will post a pictorial blog, demonstrating the differences.

Benjamin
Blog Credits and legal stuff: Images published by Benjamin Holcomb and TwoMorrows Publications. All rights reserved. Images may not be reprinted or published without prior written consent from the publishers.

Here’s our Daily Mego Adoration for Friday, March 28, 2008:

Removable Mask Robin!

Perhaps the finest WGSH Mego I have ever owned — and by that, I mean both the toy and its condition — is a Removable Mask Robin, packaged in the rare “1st Window” box (discussed on page 58 of World’s Greatest Toys!). I acquired the piece during my ‘crunch’ period of preparing the final book for the printer in Hong Kong.

Due to time constraints, I could not include this exquisite specimen in the book. The book does feature a very high-grade Robin in the same box variation, but it is the more common “Painted Mask” version.

I regret not including this particular RM Robin in the book, but at least I can show it to you now.

Pretty cool! Just look at how tightly that mask fits! The whole figure just has the ‘crispness’ you all know and love… the untouched perfection of a “new” Mego. Yum.

I don’t own this piece any more, but it went to a REALLY good home, and that makes me happy. The new owner absolutely adores it.

Benjamin

Blog Credits and legal stuff: Images published by Benjamin Holcomb and TwoMorrows Publications. All rights reserved. Images may not be reprinted or published without prior written consent from the publishers.

Here’s our Daily Mego Adoration for Friday, April 18, 2008:

Mego Price Stickers - JC Penney!

This week is all about vintage 1970s Mego price stickers, so today we keep on rockin’ memories of retail toys in the good ol’ days.

Courtesy of extraordinary Mego-head Don Cassetori, we have this vintage JC Penney price sticker, which is affixed to a “4-Panel” 1st Issue/3rd Version Batman box (for more information about this Mego packaging variation, please see page 61 of World’s Greatest Toys!):

The sticker reads:

• JC Penney
• 655 2B
• 15869-1
• 3630 144
• $2.99

I don’t know much about Penney’s internal item code nomenclature, but I noticed the price sticker illuminates one interesting fact about catalog sales during the 1970s:

Retailers felt compelled to offer products at reduced prices in their Christmas catalogs.

In other words, in the ’70s, it was actually cheaper to purchase a product through a retailer’s Christmas catalog than from their actual ‘brick-and-mortar’ stores.

I find this selling paradigm eerily consistent with today’s internet sales. Jeez, I desperately miss those big, fat printed Christmas catalogs, arriving in my mailbox every winter. But I suppose the internet is the new Christmas catalog.

Sigh.

It’s just not the same thing. At all. Anyway, I digress. I discuss this issue on page 52 of World’s Greatest Toys!, in an interview with Linda McNett, who was Mego vice president Neal Kublan’s Personal Assistant during the 1970s:

Working directly for Kublan, McNett had plenty of experience working to appease each store. “Everyone hated doing catalog items,” she declared in a 2006 interview with the author. “Retailer demands would often force Mego to minimize regular items, in order to sell them at a price in the catalog that allowed retailers to maintain their margin. Sometimes a plain brown package could be enough to make the difference. More often, pieces or equipment from the original retail items were subtracted until the cost came out to what the buyer expected.”

“So how, exactly, does this price sticker illuminate that little factoid?!” you might ask.

Simple: Mego issued this particular box variation around Fall of 1973, and the price sticker reads, “$2.99.” However, JC Penney didn’t offer any Mego WGSH toys in their catalog until the following year’s Christmas catalog (distributed in late 1974):

The price of a Mego Batman in the 1974 JC Penney catalog shown above?

$2.77 ea. figure, any 2 for $5.00

If anything, Mego prices should have gone UP between the Fall 1973 release of this packaging style and the Christmas 1974 JC Penney catalog… but, in fact, JC Penney reduced the price by $0.22!

Cool stuff!

Incidentally, JC Penney was actually pretty expensive at the time! Future blogs will demonstrate that several of Penney’s competitors offered Mego Super-Heroes in the same “4-Panel” box for much less money: West-coast department store chain Mervyn’s offered Tarzan for $1.88 and Canadian retailer Simpson’s offered Spider-Man for $2.49.

Big thanks to Don Cassetori (AKA “DCSting” on the Mego Museum message boards)! More great “DCSting” price sticker blogs are coming soon.

I am actively seeking more contributions to my Price Sticker Library, so if you have access to vintage price stickers affixed to Mego toys, I want to hear from you! Please post in the comments below, or send me an Email.

Benjamin

Our collection of Mego Christmas photos is growing!

Scott Tipton is an author and scholar — a life-long comics N’ toys geek — who operates Comics 101, which includes his amazing “Comics 101 with Professor Scott Tipton” blog. These fun, informative sites are definitely worth bookmarking, if you haven’t already.

Thanks to Scott Tipton, we now have these wonderful memories of his Mego Christmas in 1976. Below, we see Scott (with red hair), holding the Mego Supervator playset, the Mego Robin box and the Mego Batman box, while his brother, Dave, opens Kenner’s Six Million Dollar Man and a Mego Spider-Man box.

When Scott sent these photos, he wrote:

“The great thing was, my entire interest in comics and toys was all kicked off by my getting the Mego Batman and Spidey, and the fact that it was captured on film is amazing.”

Indeed.

I like the fact that Mego’s Supervator playset, issued in 1974 only, was still hanging around toy stores in 1976. I guess it really WAS a peg-warmer toy!

Thanks for the great memory pics, Scott!

With thanks to Mego-head Don Cassetori, here are two intriguing “Children’s Palace” price stickers to compare and contrast (and this is just plain weird!).

Don sent me a price sticker detail of his 1st Version (”Error”) Lizard box (below left, see page 170 of World’s Greatest Toys), which is strikingly different than the price sticker on my 1st Version “4-digit” Supergirl box (below right, see page 63 of World’s Greatest Toys):

What intrigues me is the fact that (based on prices alone) the $2.77 Lizard box seems to have been available BEFORE the $2.97 Supergirl box. However, Supergirl (in this particular box) was first available around December 1973, while Lizard was not offered until approximately June 1975… a year-and-a-half later!

So, what’s the deal here?

Did Children’s Palace have differing (perhaps regional) pricing?

Was Supergirl such a ‘peg-warmer’ that Children’s Palace was still digging out unsold specimens in 1975?

Did Mego distribute early-edition Gals boxes for several years (remember, Mego subsequently issued the “5-digit” box)?

Did the Children’s Palace toy wholesaler (assuming they didn’t buy directly from Mego) simply dole out Mego toys randomly, rendering my Supergirl box a late-distribution anomaly?

Post your comments below. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Benjamin

Want to learn more about Mego and the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes?
Pick up a copy of Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys from Amazon.com today! All sales support the author and help finance the blog. How cool is that?!

Back in the ’90s, I worked as a Graphic Designer (for the “In-Store Marketing” department) for Mervyn’s California, so this price sticker is especially cool to me. It is affixed to a 3rd Version (4-Panel) Tarzan box:

The sticker reads:

• MERVYN*S
• 878 10 3
• 83
• $1.88

I just wish that, while I worked there, I’d had the sense to investigate whether the company had any archival photos of their stores back in the ’70s. Can you imagine seeing a vintage photograph of a Mego end-cap at Mervyn’s?! Sigh.

Post your comments below. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Benjamin

Want to learn more about Mego and the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes?
Pick up a copy of Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys from Amazon.com today! All sales support the author and help finance the blog. How cool is that?!

Simpsons was a Canadian retailer. After merging with U.S.-based Sears, Simpsons became Simpsons-Sears LTD. In 1978, the retailer was further modified, becoming Sears Canada. Here’s a cool shot of a Simpsons price sticker (from the pre-merger days), affixed to a 3rd Version (4-Panel) Spider-Man box:

The sticker reads:

• SIMPSONS
• 158-6
• A9
• $2.49

Post your comments below. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Benjamin

Want to learn more about Mego and the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes?
Pick up a copy of Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys from Amazon.com today! All sales support the author and help finance the blog. How cool is that?!