Atlas or not to Atlas?

[Earth 2 Chris]

There seems be a scramble among toy/collectible companies to gobble up any possible nostalgia IP out there and get new product on shelves. A nearby Walmart has had the full range of the Nacelle figures (Sectuars, Robo Force, etc.) since mid-fall. I don't think a single one has sold. These IPs may be of some value to a VERY niche market, but I don't think they have enough cache to sell at regular retail stores. As B-Lister said, Mego was approached by the owners of the Atlas characters and Walmart, so I understand why they went ahead with it. But based on the lack of success with other obscure IPs, I wonder how this venture is going to go. I find the history of Atlas more interesting than the comics and characters themselves, personally. The figures do look nice, but there are too many other things out there vying for my dollars to jump in on these. That's just me.

[palitoy]

That's an interesting point, I'm such a fan of niche toys but these seem to be catering to people who already collect them. I'm not sure how that's going to work at mass retail......

[KingKickass1983]

To be honest...I've never heard of Atlas comics until this colab was announced...

[palitoy]

To be honest...I've never heard of Atlas comics until this colab was announced...

Yeah, that's to be expected; this was a cult line at best. I admit I'm in that cult, but it's not that big.

[Sonneveld]

There seems be a scramble among toy/collectible companies to gobble up any possible nostalgia IP out there and get new product on shelves. A nearby Walmart has had the full range of the Nacelle figures (Sectuars, Robo Force, etc.) since mid-fall. I don't think a single one has sold. These IPs may be of some value to a VERY niche market, but I don't think they have enough cache to sell at regular retail stores. As B-Lister said, Mego was approached by the owners of the Atlas characters and Walmart, so I understand why they went ahead with it. But based on the lack of success with other obscure IPs, I wonder how this venture is going to go. I find the history of Atlas more interesting than the comics and characters themselves, personally. The figures do look nice, but there are too many other things out there vying for my dollars to jump in on these. That's just me.

The Nacelle-verse looks dead in the water, unfortunately. The toys haven't been selling at either of my Walmarts, and one even had the entire series clearanced out for $10, and nobody, not even myself, bought anything. I couldn't believe it, so I even took a picture. Maybe if the Sectaurs villain had been made, I probably would have bought that one. But as for Robo Force, Garloo, and Biker Mice From Mars, these are I.P.'s I did not pick up when they came out, and have no emotional connection to, then or now.

Maybe things will pick up with their Robo Force TV series I read about debuts.

[Earth 2 Chris]

The Nacelle-verse looks dead in the water, unfortunately. The toys haven't been selling at either of my Walmarts, and one even had the entire series clearanced out for $10, and nobody, not even myself, bought anything. I couldn't believe it, so I even took a picture. Maybe if the Sectaurs villain had been made, I probably would have bought that one. But as for Robo Force, Garloo, and Biker Mice From Mars, these are I.P.'s I did not pick up when they came out, and have no emotional connection to, then or now.

Maybe things will pick up with their Robo Force TV series I read about debuts.

Yeah, I don't know what Nacelle or Walmart were expecting. You can't expect retail numbers out of these properties. The best thing to do, in my somewhat uninformed opinion, would be to make a deal with one of the online collector retailers (BBTS, EE, etc.) and offer a preorder. If the preorder numbers are met, go into production. If not, move on.

As soon as I saw these, I thought "Oh, these will never sell here". I can't imagine someone along the way didn't suspect the same thing.

Maybe Walmart has enough money to burn to just try wild experiments like this?

[zeedox]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mego-Hands-of-the-Dragon/11966470500?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1102&from=/search

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mego-Phoenix-nbsp/11969056009?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1102&from=/search

Shipping Arrives ASAP!

[shaunaconda]

Apparently if you purchased the presale they are delayed. But if you add them to your cart and repurchase them, they’ll be here by Monday.

[shaunaconda]

I did get the figures today and they do look great!

[warlock664]

I did get the figures today and they do look great!

Did you get all four ?
I pre-ordered the set but that order still hasn’t shipped. I placed an In Stock order for Phoenix and Devilina Thursday and they arrived today; Hands of the Dragon also shows In Stock, but Grim Ghost is OOS. If Grim Ghost comes back in stock, I’ll order the final two and cancel my preorder.
Walmart is so frustrating with their exclusives; why wouldn’t they ship the preorders first ?
Count me among the few who actually purchased some Atlas titles off the stands back in the mid-70s, and in the early 90s I put together a near-complete run in high grade of the entire Atlas output, mostly from quarter boxes. Only lacking Vicki #4, three issues of the Movie Monsters mag, and the Gothic Romances mag, which is pretty rare and pricey.
The figures look really nice, but the character choices are a bit head-scratching. Devilina? I can imagine that selection causing an uproar were these a bit more on the radar. They certainly de-sexed the costume, although the included comic displays it in all its salacious glory front and center.
My personal selections would’ve been Tiger-Man, Destructor, Scorpion and the chosen Grim Ghost (very nicely done, and doubtless the most popular of the four produced).

[shaunaconda]

Yes I did get all four. I guess people are wanting the Grim Ghost more than the other figures. It does have a great costume. I do really like the Devilina figure too. I think she looks great!

[powersthatbe]

:( I read this post late and would have ordered now and canceled my preorders but grim ghost is already sold out. Walmart has a tendency to cancel, they canceled a few of my wrestling figure preorders so I don't trust them on that.

[Sonneveld]

:( I read this post late and would have ordered now and canceled my preorders but grim ghost is already sold out. Walmart has a tendency to cancel, they canceled a few of my wrestling figure preorders so I don't trust them on that.

Wally World did the same to me on a wrestling figure (WWE Superstars Piper). I think it eventually ended up back on the website, and I had to buy it again. SEVERAL months later, it even appeared at my nearest store. Other figures that sold out on the site, appeared in the store for a fleeting afternoon. Some, like the WWE Superstars Muhammad Ali never even went for sale on the website, the listing was immediately sold out/out of stock, and never appeared in stores I shopped at.

My hope for collectors in this forum is that at least Ghost and others will appear in the stores. I just don't know what appeal the Atlas characters would have outside of Mego collectors. There are plenty of items from various companies in the Walmart collectables section I thought would sell out, but have not moved.

[darkbros]

My choices would have been my favorites in the original comic line: Son of Dracula, The Cougar, Demon Hunter and Man-Beast. Grim Ghost and Devlina were distant runners-up.

Since Grim Ghost and Phoenix were part of the 2000's revival comics line, they make sense as having the most public recognition, and getting a release. the other two are kinda head scratchers. Visually Tiger-Man or Man-Beast would be more eye appealing to both super hero and monster collectors.

Not in a mad rush to get these, if I stumble upon them I make pick them up.

[PNGwynne]

Wondering about a custom:

If anyone has The Phoenix and opened it, I'd love to see detail pix of the head (front & side).

Thank you@