Friday, February 22, 2013

More Red Cards...

 



 
Spidey and Hulk: the only two Marvel characters released on red cards







.
The rear side of a Marvel red card. Captain America and Green Goblin were not released on Red Cards, but did see release in the line's final wave



Pictured above are two examples of international red card packaging.  Note the Airfix (Britain) and Harbert (Italy) logos...




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Wave 1: The red cards

The first release saw the heroes packaged on somewhat generic looking red blister cards.  Collectors have long speculated that the drab, unimaginative appearance of the packaging is due to the fact that Mego was "rushing" the line to toy store shelves in an attempt to cash in on the Superman movie merchandise boom.

Red cards are the most commonly found of the three packaging versions.  Luthor, Zod, and Jor-El are the figures most easily obtained on the secondary market, with Robin being the most difficult.  Robin appears to be prone to a phenomenon known as "Mego Fuzz" or "Head Frosting".  This refers to a mold like growth most commonly seen on figure's heads. 

Pictured below are two examples of figures packaged on red cards...


The Superman figures...


The backside of a "DC" red card...

Small enough to fit in your pocket...

In 1979, Mego revamped the Comic Action Heroes into the straight-legged Pocket Super Heroes (PSH).  Gone were the hunched-over stances, as well as several characters.  Though Shazam, Joker, and Penguin were not reintroduced as PSHs, the new line introduced several new figures; General Zod, Lex Luthor, and Jor-El  (Superman's father).  The new character additions were clearly chosen to capitolize on the merchandise boom initiated  by 1978's "Superman: The Movie."

The photo below features a very early PSH Catalog advertisement.  Note the prototype (and straight legged) Superman figures.  Also note the rest of the characters pictured are actually repainted Comic Action Heroes!  It's interesting to see the inclusion of Shazam, Penguin, and Joker.  Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Captain America, and Green Goblin all received the PSH treatment, but not until later releases.



Just as they had with the Comic Action Heroes, Mego offered the Batmobile and the Spidercar for PSH line.  The pictures below depicts the packaging for an early Spidercar.  Note the inclusion of Comic Action Hero figures.


 
 
 
 Later versions of the Spidercar utilized the correct, straight legged figures...
 
 
 
 
 
 
The packaging for the Batmobile and the Spidercar was redesigned in the early 1980's and featured newly created end of run packaging.  
 
An example of a late model PSH Batmobile.  Note the updated box design and graphics.  Examples of the Spider-Car have also surfaced, but are extremely scarce.
 
 
 
 


Welcome...

Welcome!  The purpose of this page is to celebrate (and document) the  Mego Toy Corporation's 3 & 3/4" figure line known as "Pocket Super Heroes".

PSH History...

With their 8" line of Super Hero figures proving to be a success with children around the world, Mego released a smaller, less expensive alternative to their larger sized super hero figures - the "Comic Action Heroes".    Introduced in 1975, Comic Action Heroes (or CAHs)  featured heroes and villains from both of the major comic houses (DC and Marvel).


DC CHARACTERS: Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Penguin.

MARVEL CHARACTERS:  Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, Green Goblin.

There are two versions of backing cards that were sold in the US.  The photos below show both variants, with the non-picture card  believed to be an earlier release.  All CAH figures saw release on both styles of cards.





Comic Action Heroes enjoyed worldwide success and were distributed internationally.  The line was released in Canada by Grand Toys, who also distributed the rest of Mego's "World's Greatest Super Heroes" lines.  In the UK, distribution was handled by British toy maker Denys Fisher.  Packaged examples have also surfaced in Germany.

The line spawned several different vehicles and playsets, and even a British board game.  Vehicles included the Spider-Mobile, Batmobile,  and Bat Plane.  Playsets included The Mangler, Fortress of Solitude, Exploding Bridge, and Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane Tower.

The figures adopted the same bent leg pose as Mego's truck driving figure line "C.B. McHaul".

Charming and somewhat simplistic in appearance, Comic Action Heroes helped pioneer the small format action figure craze of the late 1970's and early 1980's.