I wouldn't doubt that Sandlantern. But according to Beau Smith several years ago Eclipse worked up an ashcan promo with the Atlas characters under the assumption that the characters were public domain. They did offer the Goodman's some money, but as you said, the price was too high.
But I would imagine that the copyrights still hold. It hasn't been that many years since they were first published. I have no idea how Eclipse came to the conclusion that the properties were in the public domain.
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Actually, I had made some inquiries a while back regarding the Atlas characters, and they are NOT public domain. Apparantely someone in the Goodman family still owns them, and is asking for (purportedly) RIDICULOUS sums of money for the rights.Leave a comment:
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Atlas comics make me think of 70's Doctor offices and chewable orange aspirin.Leave a comment:
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I have a big stack of the old 70's Atlas books.
They were an amazing contrast to the Marvel and DC books that were dominating at the time.
Fun stuff.Leave a comment:
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Hey! You might be surprised! There's even a web site dedicated to Atlas/Seaboard. I bet they'd get more than a few orders. Especially if someone relaunched the line with some new comics!Leave a comment:
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I stand corrected thanksI don't believe so. Last I heard, these characters were in the public domain. Beau Smith says when he worked for Eclipse they worked up an ashcan demo for a planned relaunch of the Atlas characters. For some reason it fell apart, unfortunately.
I've also heard that some individual out there is claiming ownership of the characters. And I've heard that Seaboard still maintains ownership.
Probably wouldn't take too much to sort it all out if anyone was really serious about relaunching the characters. The comics should probably be launched first, with the Megos following shortly there after.
Least that's how I'd do it if I had deeper pockets.
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Where is this quote from? Did I miss it?Here's a quote from the Man Himself...Doc Mego!
"There will be more Treks, and I will not rest until the super-heroes are hanging on store pegs. "Leave a comment:
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I don't believe so. Last I heard, these characters were in the public domain. Beau Smith says when he worked for Eclipse they worked up an ashcan demo for a planned relaunch of the Atlas characters. For some reason it fell apart, unfortunately.
I've also heard that some individual out there is claiming ownership of the characters. And I've heard that Seaboard still maintains ownership.
Probably wouldn't take too much to sort it all out if anyone was really serious about relaunching the characters. The comics should probably be launched first, with the Megos following shortly there after.
Least that's how I'd do it if I had deeper pockets.
Last edited by WilRadcliffe; Oct 22, '07, 3:15 PM.Leave a comment:
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Whoo hoo! Maybe while they're waiting for the Marvel/DC licenses, Doc & Diamond can secure the licenses for some other publishers. Valiant/Gold Key would be nice. Or, my personal preference, Atlas/Seaboard! I'd love to see Grim Ghost, the Brute, Tarantula, and Destructor get the Mego treatment! :DLeave a comment:
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Old Megos will still be king
I collect WGSH and I prefer loose figures. I'll definitely finish up my collection whether or not the figures are released. A couple years ago, I purchased a boxed Batgirl because I couldn't find a better condition loose figure. About a decade ago and before I knew how much they were worth, I opened a Batman (US Card, probably cost about $50), Hulk (US card, I used to buy these any time for $20 or less), Thing (Chose card, probably $20 or $30) and Human Torch (French card, probably cost the same as the Thing). I don't really regret doing it, but I regret not saving the packaging. Though I would like to still have that nice Batman on the card...
When/if the WGSH line comes out, I will buy one of each (at a minimum) just to have them, but I still plan to finish my original loose WGSH collection. I would do this even if a rerelease is available for the same figures that I don't yet have.
In part, it is because I like that they are old. Same reason I like old comic books, Big Little books, movie posters, etc. It is a piece of history that one can't just replicate. This isn't to take away from EMCE toys and Dr. Mego. I think it is great that these are being made. I guess my point is that I don't think this will hurt the market for loose or boxed figures very much. People will still want them. Think of all the different reprints of key comic books. This hasn't been a negative for the market for orginals. I think it will increase demand for the original figures b/c more people will be exposed to Megos.
For some reason there is something special about this toy company. I'm 30 and didn't have any megos as a kid. I played with Star Wars, GI Joe, Transformers and He-Man. And a bit later Secret Wars and Super Powers. I first saw Mego WGSHs when a friend in my neighborhood showed me the boxes of his older brother's toys in their basement. I remember being transfixed by the cloth costumes and the "Silver Age look" to the figures. (As a kid, I usually preferred beat up silver age or golden age comics to recent issues too.)
I bought my first mego (a beat up spiderman) at my first comic book show when I was in junior high. Through the years since, I've collected Megos and put them away, usually depending on the living space that I had available.
I bought a condo with enough room to display them and then chanced upon the Mego Museum online. Since then I've had the chance to buy Megos and trade with a number of you. I've been offline for a while as I lost my extra room that I used to house my toy and comic collection b/c a friend dating back from elementary school needed cheap rent while looking for a job in Madison. So the Megos went back in the boxes...
For the last couple months, I've been working in Afghanistan. I don't spend any money over here, so I'm tempted to splurge on a few more figures in the WGSH line, but I know I won't see them for a while...
Anyway, that's my Mego story. I'm really glad that Dr. Mego is so passionate about the re-releases. I think it is especially great for those that aren't aware of these classic toys.
As for me, I've never liked Star Trek. But I'm debating about picking up the re-releases anyway...Leave a comment:
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