Mego Hammer Horror -Dracula, Van Helsing, Frankenstein, The Mummy

 I am a fan of the Universal Monsters above any other modern horror characters, but I also admire the more visceral Hammer Films versions of those characters, a few of which I vaguely remember watch on TV as a child. The back of these Hammer Horror cards are unique, showing the actor's photo in character- actor Christopher Lee played all three of these monsters for Hammer Films, often costarring with costar Peter Cushing. I thought Mego solicited a Peter Cushing/Dr. Frankenstein but haven't seen any recent solicitation.

Christopher Lee/Dracula and Peter Cushing/Van Helsing were the big draw for me and did not disappoint. I wish we had snap buttons on these jackets instead of velcro, but Mego did a fantastic job with the decorative buttons, Dracula's feel like beads, while Van Helsing's are more like tampographed  rubber dots. Both have shirts and ties under their coats. Wonderful! There was an earlier release of Van Helsing, but I wanted this newer running change with the candelabra to ward off the Transylvanian vampire ...!

Frankenstein's double-breasted overcoat is fantastic, and his portrait is creepy! And while I like The Mummy's aesthetic overall, the bandaged seem as though they were dipped in paint to give him his muddy look, rendering him stiffly immovable from the way the paint dried into the fabric. I've slowly worked the limbs to loosen him up, even splitting the fabric at his knees, but is really bound up tight.

Below, Hammer Frankenstein and Mummy with Mego Universal Frankenstein and Mummy...

Visit the online Mego Museum to see all the history on Mego action figures, and what's new since the return of Mego in 2018! Every good boy's dream come true! I pick up Mego figures from several retailers, The Mummy and Van Helsing came from Movie Posters Etc. Recommended! 

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Happy Halloween!

Mego Flocked Werewolf & The Fly Collector 2-pk

Both these figures were sold individually but got released again in one of these Mego 2-pks with a collector coin. These two were probably lumped in together due to their flocked bodies- if the characters ever appeared in a movie together, I didn't see it. I'd tell you I don't care about the coin, but such an accessory would be included in toys of the past and I kinda like having it in my Detloff cabinet with my Mego figures.

The Werewolf was the big draw for my purchase of this Mego 2-pk, his flocking more visually apparent to its bristled texture. The Wolfman was probably my favorite childhood monster, and a character I definitely dressed up as for Halloween and had toys of.

I am a little more familiar with the modern 1986 version of The Fly, co-starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, but the head sculpt on this is fantastic. He's pretty simple with lab coat and pants only, but emits that Mego vibe, Sure, a beaker/flask accessory would have been nice, but her really doesn't need much else to tell us what he is.

Of note, these Megos are flocked from head to toe- I can even see displaying your Werewolf shirtless if that's your thing. The articulation doesn't seem hindered, though the Werewolf shed a lot with his coarsely whiskered body.

Below, the Werewolf and Fly with my Mego Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein and his Bride, and the Mummy- a pretty good classic horror line-up if I say so myself! Again, I've employed my Funko Primal Age Batcave for some background- the scale is off, but the mood is right!

I was really looking forward to these, especially the Werewolf, but was delighted with the retro/sci-fi appeal of the Fly as well. There were a few other really fun Mego 2-pks, but this one spoke to me most. There will be more Mego Horror coming up on the Super-DuperToyBox, so keep an eye out for the month of October!

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Happy Halloween!

Mego Wave 6 Dracula (Glow in the Dark)

 I didn't pick this guy up when he was released in the 6th Wave of Mego's triumphant return, but I looked him over closely. Then I grabbed him just this past February at a good price on eBay, as I began collecting 8" Mego Horror figures in anticipation of this coming Halloween. I just loved the Mego alternative to the more popular Bela Lugosi, like some sort of off-model Dracula with a sort of '70s flair with his ruffled shirt and silky purple cape interior. And he glows in the dark, for crying out loud!

Below, Mego Dracula with my Hasbro 1st Appearance Batman, another figure in my collection with a magnificent, lined cape, and a character that runs parallel with the most famous vampire in history of literature, film, and popular culture in general...

My Funko Primal Age Batcave doesn't exactly fit the scale of these 8" Mego figures, but you can fudge it for some photos. Figures Toy Company sells some reproduction vehicles, but I wouldn't mind seeing Mego offer some playsets or carrying case/display sets like I've seen from Batcave Toys and Classic TV Toys on eBay.

Dracula really glows in the dark, his luminescence of his body even showing through his ruffled shirt! There was a glow-in-the-dark Frankenstein released around the same time I'd love to have, but this Dracula is everything! Stay tuned for a lot more Mego Horror and Halloween fun here at the Super-DuperToyBox!

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Happy Halloween!

Mego Universal Monsters Frankenstein, Bride of, Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon

I actually picked these Mego Universal Horror figures up last February in anticipation of this Halloween season, and inspired by Mego's release of 8" DC Comics figures. I had been collecting mostly the 14" line of DC Heroes until then, but my nostalgia for the World's Greatest Superheroes line paved the way for me getting back into Mego's 8" figures. As a kid, I was mad for the Universal Monsters, and though I didn't have any of the 8" Mego Mad Monsters in the '70s, I did have a couple of the 9" Remco monsters, as well as all of their 3.75" monster figures from around 1980.
 

Frankenstein's Monster/Bride of Frankenstein:

The Mummy:

Creature from the Black Lagoon:

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I finally sold my Universal Movie Monsters Aladdin lunchbox from childhood a few years ago, photographing it for posterity before parting with it. All the characters in this post are present on that lunchbox, and a few I will show in other Mego Horror posts in future posts this month. As stated previously, I was fascinated by the Universal Monsters as a grade schooler, checking out books about the movies at the school library, masquerading as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman for Halloween, and collecting the surge of merchandise that came out there in the early '80s. Great memories!

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Happy Halloween!

Detective #622 (Oct 1990)

Another great find in the dollar bins last weekend, just in time for the Halloween season, Detective Comics #622. Golden-Age Batman artist Dick Sprang would have been seventy-four when he produced the cover for this and the subsequent two issues of Detective, in a three-issue story arc, just ten years before his death. The interior of this book isn't what I'm usually looking for, but they worked hard on the art. The styles employed are not the DC house style employed in the '70s and '80s by artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo- the guard was changing, and new art styles were coming onto the scene. This issue is the first of a three-issue arc, featuring a "comic within a comic", written by one of the supporting characters, comic book writer/artist Fred Lasker.

The fictious Batman Fred Lasker has been writing about/drawing in TNT Comics is a Simon Petrarch, a mercenary who sold his soul, transformed by Lucifer into a demonic creature of the night. The comic book art sequences in this book were drawn by Flint Henry, while artists Mike McKone and Jose Marzan, Jr. draw the rest of the issue interior.

Police Commissioner Gordon summons Batman to the scene of a grisly murder, attributed in blood to the Dark Knight Detective himself! When the press shows up to question Gordon and Batman, he quickly realizes the implication of his monstrous characterization in Lasker's comic book, juxtaposed with the mysterious murder scene...

Host of a local radio show "Dead of Night", Jack Hemp, takes a call from someone claiming to be the Batman of author Fred Lasker's unauthorized biographical comic. The caller shares details of a recent murder he is trying to pin on the real Batman, telling Hemp to read all about him in the current issue hitting newsstands. 

Batman catches wind on the street that Fred Lasker's comic book lore has taken root in the public eye, deciding to pay the author a visit to get to the bottom of what's going on in issue #623! Both issues #623 and #624 also feature Dick Sprang covers, and reveal who is behind the murders being pinned onto Batman! Maybe we'll catch up with those later- read more comics!

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More Later- Make It FUN!

Detective Comics #469 (May 1977)

 Jim Aparo drew the striking cover for this issue of Detective Comics, but Walt Simonson penciled the interior story written by Steve Englehart. This is the first appearance of Dr. Phosphorus, created by Simonson and Englehart, and when I saw this well-worn copy in the dollar bins, I knew this terrifying villain would be perfect for an October post! I didn't have this issue as a kid, my interest in comics not having developed quite yet, 1978 likely the year of some of my first spinner rack acquisitions. In that year The Incredible Hulk debuted on CBS, and Superman came to the silver screen, and I was hooked on superhero comics for life!

"...By Death's Eerie Light" begins with Bruce Wayne's trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth, collapsing upon the Dark Knight's return from patrol of Gotham City. After rushing Pennyworth to the hospital, Batman discovers the reason for the mysterious delay in ambulance service- the city's water supply has been poisoned by Dr. Alexander Sartorius, aka Dr. Phosphorus! Batman confronts Dr. Phosphorus at Gotham City Reservoir, where the villain reveals his plan, attacking the Caped Crusader!

After a knockdown drag out brawl, Batman emerges from Gotham Reservoir, having barely escaped Dr. Phosphorus' deadly touch, rendered harmless by water. The villain retreats, vowing to return and savor killing Batman later. The rest of this issue sees Dr. Phosphorus assaulting his former colleague, Dr. Bell, threatening his and the lives of city council if they don't get rid of the Batman. Throughout his tirade on the frightened scientist, Dr. Phosphorus retells the origin of his cursed state... 

If you want to see what happens to the poisoned Alfred Pennyworth and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, or the final confrontation between Dr. Phosphorus and Batman, you'd have to hunt down Detective #470! The great Jim Aparo returns to draw that cover as well, Walt Simonson confidently delivering that DC house style on the inner pages several years before his career defining work writing/drawing Thor in the mid '80s. Special mention goes out to inker Al Milgrom, whose work I like as well. As a Bronze-Age kid, I love this era of comics for the work of artists like these guys and so many more- what a great time to be a kid!

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More Later- Make It FUN!