I Go for MEGO!

If you were a kid in the 1970's and very early 1980's, you probably had MEGO toys. MEGO made 2Xl, Micronauts, and an endless array of TV and movie property action figures from Star Trek to Dukes of Hazzard. But to me, the single greatest contribution MEGO ever made to toys was its World's Greatest Super Heroes line. In a rare turn of events, one toy company got the licensing rights to make a line of action figures that encompassed both DC and Marvel properties. Starting in 1972 with a basic assortment featuring Superman, batman, Robin and Aquaman, the line continued to grow and stayed in production up until 1983.

The last 8" DC hero added to the line was Green Arrow. And believe me, he benefited by the wait. Green Arrow is one of the most faithful and most detailed figures in the whole line.


images taken from "MEGO 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!" by Benjamin Holcomb

In 1977, MEGO introduced a 7" line of Teen Titans. Now Robin could hang out with Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash (ironically, MEGO never made the Flash) and *drumroll*.... SPEEDY!



For some reason, Speedy was issued with short pants and long sleeves. Also, his new-style molded, plastic gloves make him completely incapable of wielding his bow.

For more information on the World's Greatest Super Heroes line or any other MEGO toys, please be sure to visit the MEGO Museum.

I Promised You More Fun

Last Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the day More Fun Comics#73 hit the newsstands. You wouldn't know it to look at the cover, but MFC #73 was significant for two reasons. No, not the "two-fisted exploits of Doctor Fate", the debut of both Aquaman and Green Arrow. Both heroes were co-created by Mort Weisinger, both were blonde (trust me, Post-crisis re-coloring aside, G.A. was blonde) and both would go on to stay in continual publication through the 1940's and 50's, a feat only three other DC heroes managed.

So, string your bows, smooth your feathered caps and enjoy Green Arrow's debut:




I'm not sure that crashing through a window in a non-emergency situation seems all that practical.








And there you have it. Eight pages of awesome. The Arrow Car (nee' Arrowplane), the catapult, the trophy case, all introduced from the start. The ArrowCave has yet to appear.

I love how completely unconcerned G.A. and Speedy are about the villain dying in a car crash.

Saturday Morning Cartoons!

Okay, so it's almost Sunday morning at this point. But better late than never. Here's Green Arrow's one and only appearance on Super Friends. Enjoy!

Stuff to Spend Your Green On

This nifty looking drinking glass was spotted by "rob!" Kelly of The Aquaman Shrine who had this to say:

"here's a pic of the (relatively) new GA drinking glass by Toon Tumblers. You can rail about social injustice while getting your drunk on!"

Thanks, rob!

I also received this from BubbaShelby:



"I first picked up Speedy, Green Arrow's teen sidekick, a couple years ago. He was part of the Teen Titans series of figures from the recent cartoon (apparently he made an appearance or two.)

I picked him up with the intent of displaying him with Green Arrow from the Justice League figure series, but only recently, FINALLY, picked up Green Arrow. I found him on sale at Longs for 50% off (as previously noted) - so it all worked out nicely!"

Bubba's complete post can be seen at:

http://toyriffic.blogspot.com/2008/02/green-arrow-and-speedy.html

For sending in these nifty pics of Green Arrow merch (and thus saving me the trouble of coming up with something to post) rob! and BubbaShelby have just become the first inductees into S.H.A.F.T. the Super Hero Archer Fan Team. Gentlemen, I will e-mail your certificates once I have the design completed.