Art Day - Who doesn't love ROM? 0

[PhilipB2k17]

7 hours ago, delekkerste said:

 

Just as there is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, allow me to present...

                            

So, now you know!

 

Although not a toy line, Marvel also licensed Godzilla during that same era, and that 24 issue run is pretty beloved by a lot of collectors. 

[ESeffinga]

5 minutes ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

Although not a toy line

Shhhhh. Nobody tell Bandai.

[vodou]

2 hours ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

Although not a toy line, Marvel also licensed Godzilla during that same era, and that 24 issue run is pretty beloved by a lot of collectors. 

 

2 hours ago, ESeffinga said:

Shhhhh. Nobody tell Bandai.

Yes Bandai more popularly known in toy circles by their subsidiary Popy. Mattel's Shogun Warriors was a (much weaker) American license of Popy's Jumbo Machinder line.

Mattel's Godzilla was boldly identified as being "Shogun" right on the packaging.

Seeing as how my geekdom is now accidently showing, I'll now readjust my skirt and go back to running silent

[ESeffinga]

FWIW I had that Godzilla. To this day, still elicits my nostalgic toy feelings. It went away in a yard sale upon moving from my childhood home. 
By that point, the little fire “tongue” lever had snapped. The tail extension always fell off, and the fist was pretty gnarled from giving been launched over so much pavement.

 

[comicwiz]

12 hours ago, delekkerste said:

 

Just as there is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, allow me to present...

                            

So, now you know!

 

Harsh!

[comicwiz]

1 hour ago, vodou said:

 

Yes Bandai more popularly known in toy circles by their subsidiary Popy. Mattel's Shogun Warriors was a (much weaker) American license of Popy's Jumbo Machinder line.

Mattel's Godzilla was boldly identified as being "Shogun" right on the packaging.

Seeing as how my geekdom is now accidently showing, I'll now readjust my skirt and go back to running silent

Indeed.

A large part of the toys released in North America were modified re-releases of toys that were produced by companies such as Popy and Bandai, as these were the first companies to take advantage of marketing the toys adapted from overseas Anime programming.

Sometimes the translation to N.A. markets was successful, other times not so much. The early history of these lines though is pretty fascinating, and chasing some of these early versions down now is both a difficult and expensive venture.

Edited February 8, 2020 by comicwiz

[ESeffinga]

Don’t forget the Remco He-Man knockoff line that brought you Warlord, Arak and a bunch of guys you didn’t even know.

https://www.dallasvintagetoys.com/images/view.aspx?productId=11383

 

[Garf]

14 hours ago, MYNAMEISLEGION said:

Ummm,

Micronauts > G. I. Joe 

a few more obscure ones here:

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/rubicon/lists/marvels-licensed-titles/58780/

 

 

Transformers > ... all the others.

[Michael (OML)1]

On 2/7/2020 at 12:46 AM, rsonenthal said:

ROM is definitely one of my guilty pleasures.  A comic based on a toy that was never really successful?  Really? 

Yes.

ROM was a Parker Brothers toy that had red LED eyes that lit up.  At the time (1979), it was considered cutting edge and even made the cover of TIME magazine. In spite of that, it wasn’t really successful in the marketplace.  At Bill Mantlo’s urging, MARVEL made a play for the comic rights and then Bill created an entire backstory for the space knight from Galador.  Sal Buscema handled the art chores and established ROM’s look and feel. 

The comic outlasted the toy, running for some 75 issues.  The world that Bill Mantlo created contained not just ROM, but also the Dire Wraiths, the balance of the Space knight corps, and concerned human authorities who didn’t understand that ROM was there to protect them.  Seriously, it was good stuff.

Anyway, when I came across the opportunity to purchase the entire third issue, I jumped on it.  I’m a sucker for complete stories and am thrilled to have such an early example.

The link:   http://cafurl.com?i=24301

As always, feel free to look around at anything else that looks interesting.

Ron
 

Great story and so glad for you to get an entire ROM story

 

[comix4fun]

17 hours ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

Although not a toy line, Marvel also licensed Godzilla during that same era, and that 24 issue run is pretty beloved by a lot of collectors. 

Godzilla getting rolled into the Shogun Warriors toy line was brilliant....and Shogun Warriors is BY FAR the best toy line in Gene's hierarchy of toys.

Edited February 9, 2020 by comix4fun

[RockMyAmadeus]

Rom is the greatest comic ever published.

There.

I said it.

[RBerman]

52 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Rom is the greatest comic ever published.

There.

I said it.

Bold statement! Tell us more.

[comicwiz]

9 hours ago, comix4fun said:

Godzilla getting rolled into the Shogun Warriors toy line was brilliant....and Shogun Warriors is BY FAR the best toy line in Gene's hierarchy of toys.

I agree. The early adopters of these concepts who had the vision to introduce them to the North American market absolutely saw this genius and appeal. How it carried over at times was really left to far too many variables to properly cover in one post. Everything from certain aspects of the super-robot culture not always translating well across other cultures, to an unyielding observance to consumer safety (particularly from the standpoint of target audiences being children) that led to the television programming and toys being altered for North Americans. Learning about the history and finding some of these unknown variations from foreign markets is still one of the coolest thrills to even the most dedicated collectors, and there is no question their toyetic genius extends well beyond lines on paper and comic panels.

@delekkerste is wrong, there's a first time for everyone

Edited February 9, 2020 by comicwiz

[RBerman]

This one freaked me out as a kid.

[PhilipB2k17]

4 hours ago, comicwiz said:

I agree. The early adopters of these concepts who had the vision to introduce them to the North American market absolutely saw this genius and appeal. How it carried over at times was really left to far too many variables to properly cover in one post. Everything from certain aspects of the super-robot culture not always translating well across other cultures, to an unyielding observance to consumer safety (particularly from the standpoint of target audiences being children) that led to the television programming and toys being altered for North Americans. Learning about the history and finding some of these unknown variations from foreign markets is still one of the coolest thrills to even the most dedicated collectors, and there is no question their toyetic genius extends well beyond lines on paper and comic panels.

@delekkerste is wrong, there's a first time for everyone

I remember visiting Ghirardelli Square in the late 1979’s in San Francisco, as a kid, and seeing these incredible imported Japanese super robot toys with moving parts, missiles, fists you could fire, and that they could be broken down into a smaller group. This was before transformers, & shogun warriors were introduced in the US. 

I remember my father buying me one, and I loved it. 

[christosgage]

Congratulations! Super cool to own an entire issue. And since I was never a big Firefall fan I can genuinely be happy for you instead of seething with jealousy!

[ESeffinga]

1 hour ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

I remember visiting Ghirardelli Square in the late 1979’s in San Francisco, as a kid, and seeing these incredible imported Japanese super robot toys with moving parts, missiles, fists you could fire, and that they could be broken down into a smaller group. This was before transformers, & shogun warriors were introduced in the US. 

I remember my father buying me one, and I loved it. 

Dairugger

[comicwiz]

2 hours ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

I remember visiting Ghirardelli Square in the late 1979’s in San Francisco, as a kid, and seeing these incredible imported Japanese super robot toys with moving parts, missiles, fists you could fire, and that they could be broken down into a smaller group. This was before transformers, & shogun warriors were introduced in the US. 

I remember my father buying me one, and I loved it. 

Would you recognize it if you saw it?

34 minutes ago, ESeffinga said:

Dairugger

This is an IRWIN Toys (Canadian release) Dairugger - 15 vehicle combining robot from the Voltron series. In North America, this robot would appear in the second season of the Voltron animated TV series, featuring the "Vehicle Team Voltron", which was adapted from the unrelated anime series Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. For a wide range of reasons, he is nowhere near as recognizable as the GoLion or Lion Force, but he was definitely meant to be the first combining robot to be syndicated in a North America animated TV series. I have a feeling though that if it isn't the Dairugger that @PhilipB2k17 is referring to, that it might be Godtron or Acrobunch.

Edited February 9, 2020 by comicwiz

[ESeffinga]

Have an original one in the guest room. Lifelong fan.  

Edited February 9, 2020 by ESeffinga

[PhilipB2k17]

19 hours ago, comicwiz said:

Would you recognize it if you saw it?

This is an IRWIN Toys (Canadian release) Dairugger - 15 vehicle combining robot from the Voltron series. In North America, this robot would appear in the second season of the Voltron animated TV series, featuring the "Vehicle Team Voltron", which was adapted from the unrelated anime series Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. For a wide range of reasons, he is nowhere near as recognizable as the GoLion or Lion Force, but he was definitely meant to be the first combining robot to be syndicated in a North America animated TV series. I have a feeling though that if it isn't the Dairugger that @PhilipB2k17 is referring to, that it might be Godtron or Acrobunch.

I don’t think that was it. I’m pretty sure it’s not, in fact.