All of the angst I'm suffering from regarding the re-launch of the Mego Corporation is NOT the fault of Mego or Target or even Topps. It's my fault. I'm responsible for lessening the joy I've find in collecting.
I've always tried to be positive about the fact that after all these years, my beloved Megos were returning to the shelves and websites (it is the digital age, after all) of retailers. I was fine with Mego releasing a bunch of figures I could care less about (I'm looking at you Tootie). Maybe they didn't make AJ in different outfits (it would've been too costly to exactly recreate the cheap quality of the 70s, anyway) I get why they exclusively released them through Target and even Meijers only getting the DC heroes (Thanks, Frank Wojo, for hookin' a brother up). If anything, it's an embarrassment of riches!!
What I've come to realize is that my conflict is not with any of these things, but rather with my desire to collect 'em all. When I started collecting back in '99, I quickly went from only collecting WGSH to going after everything Mego post '71. Yes, I have Wee Woodies, Puppet Love and way too much Candi merch. When Mego was revived, I decided to take Brian's advice and collect what I love. That meant no Peg Bundy or Alice but that was OK. Or was it...
I soon surrendered to my collect 'em all urges and started grabbing more and more. I was ordering entire waves! Plus the trauma of having missed out on 14" Black Manta was a dark period I didn't want to re-live (exaggeration?). It quickly became apparent, however, I just couldn't financially keep up with the release rate. I settled into the idea that I'd buy the must-haves now and settle into imaging the fun of the hunt for other figures later on. But I couldn't resist anything "exclusive"!! My collector-itis would burst back with serious symptoms of FOMO (fear of missing out). I got the Amazon exclusives whose exclusivity was short-lived. I had t have the SDCC 14" Batman exclusive. And yes, I have pre-ordered sweat-suited Rocky and both GI Joes. It is KILLING me to pass on the Topps figures. Not necessarily because I love the figures (though I have LOVED several already), but because I hate the idea of NOT getting these golden exclusives for my collection. Topps made me stand up and say, "Hello, my name is Bill and I am a Mego addict."
AND I know I will continue to pass on and NEVER GET most of these glorious figures!!! I get that all these moves by Mego or Target or Topps it what they believe makes business sense for them. I understand that their decisions can't be based on what serves me and my particular desires. But that means, at this rate, I will likely NEVER OWN ABOUT 100 TOPPS MEGO FIGURES!!! ONE HUNDRED!!!
I'm currently sitting in a dark room, softly stroking the plastic hair of peace sign-belt Dinah, quietly repeating everything will be alright. Everything will be alright.
I've always tried to be positive about the fact that after all these years, my beloved Megos were returning to the shelves and websites (it is the digital age, after all) of retailers. I was fine with Mego releasing a bunch of figures I could care less about (I'm looking at you Tootie). Maybe they didn't make AJ in different outfits (it would've been too costly to exactly recreate the cheap quality of the 70s, anyway) I get why they exclusively released them through Target and even Meijers only getting the DC heroes (Thanks, Frank Wojo, for hookin' a brother up). If anything, it's an embarrassment of riches!!
What I've come to realize is that my conflict is not with any of these things, but rather with my desire to collect 'em all. When I started collecting back in '99, I quickly went from only collecting WGSH to going after everything Mego post '71. Yes, I have Wee Woodies, Puppet Love and way too much Candi merch. When Mego was revived, I decided to take Brian's advice and collect what I love. That meant no Peg Bundy or Alice but that was OK. Or was it...
I soon surrendered to my collect 'em all urges and started grabbing more and more. I was ordering entire waves! Plus the trauma of having missed out on 14" Black Manta was a dark period I didn't want to re-live (exaggeration?). It quickly became apparent, however, I just couldn't financially keep up with the release rate. I settled into the idea that I'd buy the must-haves now and settle into imaging the fun of the hunt for other figures later on. But I couldn't resist anything "exclusive"!! My collector-itis would burst back with serious symptoms of FOMO (fear of missing out). I got the Amazon exclusives whose exclusivity was short-lived. I had t have the SDCC 14" Batman exclusive. And yes, I have pre-ordered sweat-suited Rocky and both GI Joes. It is KILLING me to pass on the Topps figures. Not necessarily because I love the figures (though I have LOVED several already), but because I hate the idea of NOT getting these golden exclusives for my collection. Topps made me stand up and say, "Hello, my name is Bill and I am a Mego addict."
AND I know I will continue to pass on and NEVER GET most of these glorious figures!!! I get that all these moves by Mego or Target or Topps it what they believe makes business sense for them. I understand that their decisions can't be based on what serves me and my particular desires. But that means, at this rate, I will likely NEVER OWN ABOUT 100 TOPPS MEGO FIGURES!!! ONE HUNDRED!!!
I'm currently sitting in a dark room, softly stroking the plastic hair of peace sign-belt Dinah, quietly repeating everything will be alright. Everything will be alright.
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