Images for FW PRESENTS - WHERE DOES HE GET THOSE WONDERFUL GAMES - SUPER HEROES CHECKER SET! Leave your comments over on the podcast post by clicking here!
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Thanks for listening!
Wow! Black Canary really is vamping it up here.
I have never seen this set until now, but I know exactly how you felt in the late 70s and early 80s when most Superhero products only featured the “big guys”. Superman, Spider-Man, Batman and The Hulk were just about everywhere, but2md and 3rd tier heroes where hard to find outside the comics.
My personal favorite “deep dive” childhood superhero item was a Marvel lunchbox that had not only Spidey, Hulk and Captain America, but characters like The Wasp and Yellow Jacket as well.
I had that lunchbox! Yes, I loved it for the same reason–when did you ever see YELLOWJACKET on merch?!?
Great episode Rob. I haven’t had rhubarb for years, so we’re good. This just makes me want to get off my duff and get back to TWT. Maybe this summer.
I remember seeing ads for this checker set in a Heroes World catalog, but I didn’t get it until the mid 80s, long after its publication. The sheer breadth of the characters is indeed shocking! Green Arrow did have a Mego, of course (strangely over Flash and GL) but yeah, Metamopho? Dr. Light?
I think that Catwoman is by Sheldon Moldoff if memory serves right. The image comes from a giant portrait of her hanging in a museum where Batman and Robin are giving a tour. I believe Supergirl is by Bob Oksner. I have never been able to identify that Wonder Woman artist either. It was everywhere on merchandise back then, though. Flash looks Novick to me too.
Chris
How awesome would a Mego Metamorpho have been?
Never would have guessed that was a Moldoff Catwoman. Oksner doing Supergirl makes total sense. Thanks!
Ah, the product art of my childhood! I grew up with that Superman, Batman, Catwoman and Joker on most of the products my parents bought me back in the late 70’s and early 80’s! (Unfortunately, not this item). Seeing these images makes me feel like I’m in my basement, playing with my Lite Brite and listening to STACKED DECK on Power Records…..good times…..
Love things like this. I love tracking down childhood toys. My favorite “childhood track downs” are my Superman Match game, die cast Superman figure, and Batman Alarm clock. Things I’ve always wanted but can’t find cheap- Mego Arrow car and magnetic Batman and Robin. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing the memories
“Refinding your joy”
I’ve only ever seen or heard about this set from you talking about it, but it looks delightful!
Thanks for doing this episode, Rob. This was a lot of fun to listen to.
Thanks for the show. I really enjoyed it. I have never seen this game, but I enjoy seeing these super hero toys that I had no idea existed. I had a similar Marvel one called Super Hero Strategy, but it had far fewer characters. If this came out in 1980, where is the Hulk?
https://gobacktothepast.com/fabulous-find-1980-marvel-comics-super-heroes-strategy-game/
I really enjoyed seeing the photos of the pieces from your game. I don’t know who drew the Wonder Woman or Supergirl images, but they look like the same images of them that were on the Supercase. Makes we wonder if maybe they were Continuity Studios merchandising images. The case also had that same image of Catwoman. It is from the 50s but I saw it on other merchandising I have, and it was on the cover to Batman 266. Of course, Dave Stevens’s homage to the image is probably more well known than the original drawing, now.
http://www.sanctuaryantiques.co.uk/product/dc-comics-supercase-1976-washable-record-and-toy-carrying-case/
I had that Marvel lunch box you guys mentioned earlier. Rob, have either you or Chris done a show on Super Hero lunch boxes?
Oh, one thing I forgot. Since you mentioned it was weird that Dr. Light was included on some merchandising, he also appeared in one of the Post Cereal mini-comics in the 1980s.
I’ve never seen that Marvel game, rad!
And Chris and I have talked about doing a luchbox-themed episode, just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
As a child of the 1970’s I was starved for merch of the more obscure comic book characters. I never knew that this game existed but if I had one back then I probably wouldn’t have played checkers with them. I would’ve more than likely used them like paper doll-like action figures.
My only sources of merch in the 70’s that represented the depth of DC’s cast of characters were the Pepsi Moon Glasses and Slurpee Cups. They were great for some Kool-Ade or Hawaiian Punch but not so good for reenacting the latest episode of the Super Friends.
That photo of sleeping Rob is adorable.
1. No DC logo. They weren’t officially DC Comics yet. Green Arrow’s piece shows the trademark as NPP, National Periodical Productions. Did Jeanette Kahn initiate the change or was it already in the works?
2. Wonder Woman. That looks like a Ross Andru pose to me. Probably a Murphy Anderson face, and simplified stars on the shorts?
3. I don’t want to disagree with Ryan, but I don’t think that’s a Nasser drawing of Black Canary. This would precede his tenure on her strip. This photo is summer ’76, right? So, the game was in production well before that. Perhaps in time for Christmas ’75? Grell was drawing the Canary in backup stories in Action. Could it be an Anderson embossed (a Murph-morph) Grell illo? I doubt it’s Toth, or Morrow. Dillin/Murphy?
4. Brainiac. That’s bizarre. Only Bob Rozackis may know how this came about!
5. Checkers. How do these pieces get “crowned?” Did you remove the character from the game piece and stack that empty piece under the character who crossed the board?
6. Let’s brainstorm a chess set! Especially the pawns. For the villains we could use identical Weaponers of Qward, identical TV Batman style thugs, eight Amazos… For the heroes, eight non-powered sidekicks (Olsen, Gordon, Trevor, Kalmaku, Lane, Candy, Vulko, Myles ), eight Snapper Carrs, eight non-humans (Krypto, Ace, Topo, Itty, Zook, Streaky, Mopee,), I’ll leave the Red Tornado abuse to others.
Tengo uno pero no se donde los consigo porque perdi dos fichas?