John Stewart Retro Action

[LOU]

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My goodness man! I was in high school chasing women around when comics were 75 cents! No wonder I'm not too familiar with these characters! Comics were long gone from my life by this time. Likewise, so were Megos though! I guess that's why I frown upon characters that existed after Mego was long gone being made into "Retro" figures (which are homage to Mego.) It's clear to me now that the "Retro" moniker refers more to the Mego toy style and design and less to the Mego era characters themselves...this seems to be the source of my personal displeasure. So I guess I was hoping the line would also remain true to the Mego era of comic characters as well as the actual figures' style. It seems that is not going to be the case. Darkseid should have clued me in on that I guess. I did still watch Galactic Guardians during this time though so I did know who Darkseid, Kalibak, and DeSaad were. Did Darkseid exist in the comics during the Mego era? I can't remember ever seeing him appear anywhere but on the Galactic Guardians series.
As I said, if it keeps the line going then I hope a trillion JS GLs sell.

[samurainoir]

Darkseid should have clued me in on that I guess. I did still watch Galactic Guardians during this time though so I did know who Darkseid, Kalibak, and DeSaad were. Did Darkseid exist in the comics during the Mego era? I can't remember ever seeing him appear anywhere but on the Galactic Guardians series.
As I said, if it keeps the line going then I hope a trillion JS GLs sell.

He was created by Kirby just prior to the dawn of the Mego era in the seventies. 1971?


Given the cancellation of Kirby's New Gods titles, he was pretty obscure during the seventies until he was tapped as the big bad for the Superfriends and Super Powers toylines, during a period where Kirby was working in animation down in California. He did the designs for the New Gods characters in the Superfriends and toylines, and that was a kind of way for him to get paid for the usage of his creations without DC having to buckle much.

He also did the tie in comic book, which was where I first discovered the character as a young 'un.

[LOU]

He was created by Kirby just prior to the dawn of the Mego era in the seventies.

Really??!!! Very interesting! So technically Darkseid is a Mego era character then? So that would mean that this GL line is the first Retro assortment to stray from the Bronze Age characters (unless you count Wonder Woman's "W" on her chest.) correct?

[LOU]

Oh WOW! I was posting myself when you posted that Darkseid comic! Fabulous! Thanks samurainoir!

[The Toyroom]

So that would mean that this GL line is the first Retro assortment to stray from the Bronze Age characters (unless you count Wonder Woman's "W" on her chest.) correct?

Nope...you'd be wrong....John Stewart first appeared in Green Lantern #87 (December 1971/January 1972)...So he too is a Mego-era character.

I like this figure and really dig that 'fro...So I'll be getting one.

[LOU]

Really Anthony? That character is that old? I have absolutely no recollection of any other GL than Hal in the 70's. Every appearance of GL I'd ever seen as a kid was the image of Hal Jordan whether it be comics, posters, stamps, cartoons, etc. Is this true about the red-headed GL too? Maybe I just didn't read as many comics as I thought I did. All I remember from GL was Abin Sur, Sinestro, and Hal. I always picutred these other GLs as 80's characters.

[LOU]

WOW!!!!! Whodathunkit!

[samurainoir]

Really??!!! Very interesting! So technically Darkseid is a Mego era character then? So that would mean that this GL line is the first Retro assortment to stray from the Bronze Age characters (unless you count Wonder Woman's "W" on her chest.) correct?

If we really want to get technical with out comic-age terms, I think the toy industry back in the day stayed fairly conservative when it came to the characters translated into action figures...

Most of DC Superheroes were characters originating from the Golden and Silver age for the most part, with the exception of Green Arrow and Wondergirl, who wore their Bronze age costumes. I think Green Arrow's bearded look might have been included because of his Superfriend's appearance? I'm not going to count Isis.

Marvel had Conan and Falcon as Bronze age reps.

It wasn't until Super Powers that they tapped the Bronze age satellite era Justice League, including the missing Silver Age trio of Flash, Green Lantern and Martain Manhunter. So you've got seventies guys like Firestorm and Red Tornado (as his earth 1 version), the New Gods like Mister Miracle, Orion et al, and arguably the one Copper Age (eighties) character included was Cyborg.

[samurainoir]

But I get what Lou is saying... Sinestro in his Corps outfit is definitely Modern Age, and Guy Gardner is Copper Age. I'm looking forward to seeing DC characters from all eras get the 1/9th cloth outfit translation.

Kudos to Matty for their choices... after all there are already a billion JLU John Stewart's available. I am really delighted that they pulled out the plugs for Guy Gardner and opted to make his Crisis/GL Corps/JLI look, since that is arguably the most popular incarnation.

[Mego Milk]

buying two.

[LOU]

Wow samurainoir! You know your stuff when it comes to the comics! I'm really surprised with my ignorance actually. I've always considered myself a fairly avid comic reader as a kid but I immersed myself in all things Super Hero (non-comic too) when I was a boy. I guess I was too selective in what I chose to read back then. Since every Mego Super Hero that was made back then was a character incarnation that I was very familiar with in the comics I read at that time, I never really explored any other characters. Of course I wondered where the staples of Green Lantern (Hal) and Flash were in the Mego line but I certainly wasn't wondering where Darkseid, John Stewart, or the other Green Lanterns were because I simply don't recall reading their exploits in any of the comics I used to read. So essentially I grew up with Hal Jordan as THE Green Lantern in the way that Clark Kent is Superman. To me, that's just who they were. There were no other Green Lanterns and there were no other Supermans. That's probably why I can't get my head around these lesser-known characters being made before the many more obvious ones that should be. Perhaps it's because in 1976, I was one of the few who never heard of John Stewart before. I simply never knew he was that big of a character in the DC Universe as it was in the 70's.
I must say your comic knowledge is MOST impressive! This has really been entertaining for me to read all this today! I'm trapped indoors due to a snowstorm/ice storm here in MA and I am finding myself in the mood to go dig out and read some of my childhood comics again! I am most impressed with your knowledge samurainoir!

[samurainoir]

No worries. I'm stuck at home today as well, and it's been pretty darn cold lately too.

I think it's understandable that for many older folks, Superheroes began and ended with the ones they were most familiar with as kids. I'm probably just a few years younger than you, so that is how I remember John Stewart taking over the GL title as a kid and Darkseid via the Super Powers.

Often a character (even one created by Kirby) can be relatively obscure until outside media like toys, movies, TV or video games brings them to a higher prominence... which is definitely the case with John Stewart and Darkseid (who's also the villain in the Supeman cartoon from the nineties and this season's Smallville). Arguably the Wally West Flash as well, who was also featured in JLU, but no one really cares about the difference in character really because he's more or less got the same costume as Barry.

[Meule]

Not bad, but I'll pass. Don't like exclusives and it's just an easy way to rehash an existing suit

[The Toyroom]

Really Anthony? That character is that old? I have absolutely no recollection of any other GL than Hal in the 70's.

At the time, John had a one-off appearance as Hal Jordan's back-up in case he was every incapcitated...It wasn't til the 80s where he became more of a character in the mythos.

Same thing for Guy Gardner...his first appearance was a one-shot and it wasn't really 'til the 80s when he became a true part of the Corps.

So Hal WOULD be all you saw back then in the 70s because he WAS the GL for Sector 2814. It wasn't til later on when a sector was allowed more than one GL.

[The Toyroom]

Perhaps it's because in 1976, I was one of the few who never heard of John Stewart before. I simply never knew he was that big of a character in the DC Universe as it was in the 70's.

He WASN'T a big character in the DCU back then....just a minor plot point.