The Saga of Crystar

What's the ad for?

Crystar- Crystal Warrior action figures
Year
1984

Spotted in...

The Scoop

 In 1982, Remco released a line of action figures and vehicles under the name The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior. A year later a comic book series featuring the toys was released by Marvel. One would think that the comic book was based on the toys when in fact it the entire line was created and owned by Marvel comics.

The series lasted for 11 issues but it was issue 8 that interested me, or at least the cover. Glen Danzig swiped the Michael Golden drawn skull on the cover for the logo of his band. (see below)

The Power of Karate At Your Fingertips

What's the ad for?
Karate Kid Tri-Action Figures and playsets
Year
1987

Spotted in

The Scoop

Check out the site Metal Misfit for some great photos of the toys. Meanwhile here is the commercial that aired in the Eighties.

Heroes In Action! Command 'Em! Collect 'Em!

What's the ad for?
Marvel Character Halloween costumes
Year
1975

Spotted in

 

The Scoop

I can't imagine war toys released in the mid-seventies would be that popular. You know with the Vietnam war and all. Nonetheless Mattel offered us Heroes in Action. Below is a catalog page featuring photos of all the heroes. Image courtesy of www.plaidstallions.com

Sgt Rock Action Figure

What's the ad for?

Sgt. Rock action figure
Year
1982

Spotted in

The scoop

I don't remember seeing these figures in the store. I wouldn't have noticed them anyway sitting beside G.I. Joe figures and vehicles. A description from www.virtualtoychest.com

With the exception of Sgt. Rock himself, most the action figures were released under generic names as simply "Marine", "Ranger", and "Medic". The recurring characters from Sgt. Rock's Easy Company in D.C. Comics did not appear. Rock himself differed somewhat from his usual comic book attire, where he was often drawn wearing a short-sleeved or sleeveless shirt and ammo belts, the action figure wore a long-sleeved shirt and no ammo belts.

Despite the fact the Sgt. Rock comic took place during World War 2, Remco including noticeable post-war items. Among them were M-16 assault rifles and helicopter gunships.

In the comic books, Sgt. Rock usually fought the Axis powers, primarily the Germans. For whatever reasons, Remco chose to create a new enemy for the toy series. Sold on their own packaging as "The Bad Guys: the Ultimate Enemy", Remco's packaging pitched them as foes of Sgt. Rock, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.H. (who were non-combatants!) and "all mini action soldiers". The toys were almost entirely recolored Sgt. Rock products, but did not include kid-scale dog tags. The Bad Guys' logo featured a black and yellow cobra snake, an obvious attempt to connect to G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero's arch-enemy Cobra.

Power Lords

What's the ad for?

Power Lords
Year
1983

Spotted in

The scoop
Power Lords were a line of action figures designed by science fiction and fantasy painter Wayne Barlow and released by the model company Revell. Barlow also created character concepts for the third Harry Potter film. I remember a friend of mine having the twisty blue and orange figure shown in the ad above. I never really liked the toy...too creepy for my young self. DC also released a three issue mini-series about the toys too.

Super Powers Collection

What's the ad for?

Super Powers Collection of action figures
Year
1985

Spotted in

The scoop
The cool thing about the Super Powers Collection was the secret moves each figure had. For instance if you squeeze Superman's legs together the figure performed a super punch. If you squeezed Hawkman's legs together his wings would flap! Squeeze Wonder Woman's legs together and her arms raise up to block invisible bullets. If you squeeze my legs together you just hurt my nuts...


A note of trivia, Jack Kirby received one of the few royalties in his long career from the redesigning some of his characters.