To me, the crucial turning-point in the licensing of superheroes, post-Mego action figures in the 1970s, was the first Marvel Comics float at the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, circa 1987. Watching this short segment on my TV as a comic collecting teenager was a rare and unexpected thrill.
First, a little background. The licensing of superhero characters took a sharp nose-dive after the demise of Mego Toys in the early Eighties. Sure, in the early-to-mid 1980s we had the Secret Wars and Super Powers toy lines. But they were relatively slim pickings, with not a tremendous amount of ancillary products or TV adaptations.
Furthermore -- as an X-Men fan, things were even more slim pickings for me. The Wolverine and Magneto action figures from the Secret Wars line. That was it, the only acknowledgment outside of two "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" cartoons that the X-Men existed outside of the comic books I was dutifully collecting on a weekly basis.
But enter the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Marvel float. For the first time, I saw an X-Men character "in real life" -- an actor dressed up like Wolverine. This was *huge* for me.
Plus: Emma Frost(!), Luke Cage (!!), and even Robocop (!!!)!
Was Marvel's deal with New World Studios the impetus for this float? Was this, and the float in 1989, the publisher's attempt to stick its big toe into the wider world of media and gauge the popularity of these characters?
Whatever the reasons, by 1990 a whole new golden age of licensing and TV and movies dawned for both Marvel and DC superheroes. Toy Biz in a way became a more successful version of Mego, producing tons and tons of toys, dolls, playsets, and other products starring Marvel characters both popular and obscure.
Fancy a Wolverine figure? (from Radapaw's Wolverine Figure Gallery)Some might point to the success of the first Batman movie as the beginning of this new "age of superheroes" -- but I think it started with that very first Marvel Thanksgiving float.
Wow, I'm a nerd.
1987 Float
1989 Float
I miss it. That balloon was the best part of the parade for me. I remember flipping back and forth between the Parade and Sci-Fi Channel's Mighty Marvel Movie Marathon. Sure, they were the cheesy bastard step-kids that most comic fans condemn and would rather forget, but ya know what? Who cared!
ReplyDelete"Wow, I'm a nerd."
ReplyDeleteVal, one of my most cherished memories as a kid was seeing the Marvel Rose Parade float at the Pasadena Rose Parade. It was a great float, though it left me wondering why thy had Miss America with modern super heroes. Madeline Joyce wasn't too common in the 1990's...
I remember the 1989 float. I remember the woman singing Holding Out for a Hero.
ReplyDeleteAh... the 1980s... when ANY hint of comics in other media was gleefully cheered. The poster in the Billy Joel video. Roseanne. The Legion comic and Captain America figure in Princess Bride.
ReplyDeleteWhen did the Spidey balloon debut? When did comicbook stores start selling t-shirts and toys? What was the first hot Marvel toy?
I'd say it was Batman that made comics mainstream. Movie companies saw that success and started to produce movies which weren't patronizing. Superman was the last movie made before the Direct Market. Batman was the first after. The next was Spider-Man, coupled with the first Free Comic Book Day.
The Marvel Float was cool, but it didn't affect the general populace's opinion about comicbooks. Maus, Dark Knight, Watchmen was much bigger, convincing book publishers that maybe there was profit in the medium.
Sorry to prune your evergreen memory, Val. Here, watch these DVDs of the Electric Company...
Good points Val. Things were different after New World stepped in. I remember reading about the 87' float in the comics bulletin pages and knowing to tune in to the parade. It was pretty awesome considering there was absolutely nothing before that. To see Daredevil and Wolverine was special back then. Thanks for posting those videos.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's awesome on a multitude of levels. Thanks for posting these!
ReplyDeleteStrangely, the second float video made me wonder how Spidey and Emma Frost would actually interact in the comics. I think it'd be both hilarious and painful all at once.
Oh gawd is that painful to watch... I bet some of those actors were glad to be wearing masks...
ReplyDeleteIt's like those live action Batman and Robin shows at Great America...
However, I beg to differ about the importance of this float. I remember that period, when ANY appearance of a comicbook in any medium was something to latch on to. Roseanne... Billy Joel's video... set dressing in Princess Bride...
This float didn't popularize comics for a mainstream audience. Batman did. I think that Superman was the last "newsstand" comicbook movie, and that Batman was the first "direct market" comicbook movie. Maus, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns did much more to popularize comics and graphic novels, gaining national attention and convincing book publishers to market titles to bookstores.
After Batman, the next big mainstream event might be the Spider-Man movie, which also initiated Free Comic Book Day. (Perhaps the Death of Superman would be considered as well.)
Oh, and Super Powers had a strong TV presence. (23 figures) While it was cool to see various Marvel characters animated on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, there wasn't much licensing. Secret Wars had 16 figures (two Spideys, no females). That Doom Cycle was SWEET. (And I won't mention the X-Men pilot with the AUSTRALIAN Wolverine...)
Sorry to prune your memory evergreen, Val. And be careful with those Wolverine dolls. You'll poke your eye out!
Hey,
ReplyDeleteThere was a reason why Toy Biz came out with so many action figures in the 90s. The guy who bought Marvel sold the licensing rights in exchange for a chunk of Toy Biz stock. This led to Marvel going bankrupt in the 90s and having to restructure.