Lady AVENGERS Week: vintage customego box art

In the past week, I've been reading a lot online about the next Marvel's The Avengers film, and about lady super-heroes. I've been stewing but I can't hold back my opinions any longer!

In other words, welcome to lady Avengers week!

We'll start off with some vintage art, from my customego boxes: as you may recall, I used to customize Mego action figures...hundreds over the years! Among them, fewer Marvel, and fewer Avengers, and fewer still, lady Avengers. 

But I did do a few versions of the Scarlet Witch (earlier drafts sold, final draft is still in my collection). I always liked the Scarlet Witch and my custom was pretty much an early triumph of mine, turning a corner from "ugh" to "wow."

I also customized an impressive Tigra. I LOVE Tigra...not because she's a sexually charged anthropomorphic diva, but because her tagline was "...the were-woman!" So if a werewolf is a man who turns into a man-wolf, is a were-woman a man who turns into a man-woman? Anyway, I sold the custom in my big custom purge.

Let's not forget She-Hulk...but I customized her in her Fantastic Four uniform, so let's forget her for this entry.

Lastly, I customized a Ms. Marvel. Primarily because I stumbled upon a minty Mego Health Spa Dinah-Mite for $5, where on eBay the very rare figures fetched over $50 at the time. To not put the figure to waste, presto, Ms. Marvel. The custom turned out horribly, but, the figure is rare, so I won't give it up.

By 2001, I was also drawing comics a lot as well, having decided to give it my all. The more serious I became about comics, the less time I had for customizing for fun. I had several customs mid-finished, but then sold off most of the parts. Among the abandoned projects were the Black Widow and the winsome Wasp.

I'm kind of in the mood to remake Ms. Marvel circa 1977, which would be more Mego-appropriate...love the giant scarf and exposed midriff. But I don't think I have any material left and I doubt I could even operate the customizing machine any longer!

As far as box art goes, it's pretty weak. I was struggling with photoshop coloring mixed with apathy...driven by some force to complete the customs, as if anyone cared.

So, Tigra, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, and Wasp all have not-great drawings for me at the time, with lousy coloring. I can tell by looking back at these drafts my heart wasn't in it any longer. The She-Hulk (which I think I also sold) and the Scarlet Witch each had a better showing from me...good for me at the time figure drawing, with much improved digital coloring.

In case you're wondering about the man Avengers, I also customized a Hawkeye (sold), Vision (sold), Black Panther (sold). In fact, the only Avenger I officially have left in my collection is Scarlet Witch, whom I deemed an "essential" Avenger for reasons I'll explain later in the week. True, I still have the Ms. Marvel, but only because I won't yet part with the rare figure.

My goodness, you're not still reading, are you?

Vintage art: customego New Mutants box art

Canonball

Magma

Dani Moonstar

Sunspot

Ilyana

I didn't customize again until after I finished Trust/Truth and wanted a creative break, my 2009 xmas break if you will. At that time, I remade the artwork and boxes for my Teen Titans customs and significantly improved the actual custom jobs of Green Lantern, Black Canary, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Speedy, and Wondergirl.

Several months later, I customized several New Mutants for a fan of mine. I'd never read the series until preparing for these customs. I loved the demon bear saga, and the art of Bill Sienkiewicz. I knew the custom of Ilyana would be most beloved, followed by my beloved Dani Moonstar. I followed up with Canonball (a natural choice, given he was the subject of my first Marvel gig), Sunspot, and Magma. 

While my drawing, coloring, and technical skills had improved significantly in the past decade, my customizing skills had most definitely deteriorated, so after over 200 customs, enough's enough.

I only have about 25 of them. Most have been sold off or given away... I wonder if anyone will ever have me sign a box or ask for a "certificate of authenticity." Ha. 

Vintage art: customego LSH box art

vignettes of Legionnaires for sides of boxes

Duo Damsel

Light Lass

Saturn Girl

Shadow Lass

Phantom Girl

Over the years, my parts collection grew (for making new customs) as my skill improved and my pace quickened. It was addictive to think, "oh, how would this character look as a custom Mego action figure? How would that one?"

By 2001, I was also drawing comics a lot as well, having decided to give it my all. The more serious I became about comics, the less time I had for customizing for fun. I knew when I began planning my Legion customs that I had gone too far. I got 5 deep when I pulled the plug. The Legion customs were the last I did for fun, and the first I sold to purge (up til then, I had sold my "first drafts" only and kept my better second drafts). As you know, the Legion by 1985 even had over 30 members...

I continued customizing until 2003, primarily for the income. Fans were willing to spend money on them, I wasn't bad at customizing, and it was more lucrative to make a custom of my spare parts than it was to sell off the raw parts. But as comics really kicked into high gear in 2004, the customizing ceased.

Vintage art: customego box art

I've revealed before that I used to create custom Mego action figures. It started in 1998 after I completed my vintage Mego collecting and I wanted to add the "essential" characters. I'd say realistically, that would have been Green Lantern, Flash (as true Mego oversights) and Black Canary and Scarlet Witch as "you need a better M/F balance."

The list of essentials grew and grew... I made and re-made them as I got better... JLA... JSA...Teen Titans... X-Men... Avengers... villains... obscure characters... it was really addictive. At first I would pull art from comic books for the custom boxes I made. But then I converted fully to my own art.

It was early days for me... still figuring out scanning, coloring, printing. Since the boxes are roughly 3" x 10", the "canvas" is set and since the art is supposed to show basically the character in a pose, it was fun  basic drawing. Here are among my earliest box art renditions of my customs.

Might not be art week: Customego Teen Titans (Series I)

Mego action figures were popular when I was a boy, and very popular with me in particular. They were 8" and had fabric outfits and accessories. Let's face it, dolls for geeky boys.

I had nearly the whole line-up leftover from my childhood, but when eBay entered my life, the collection furthered. I also discovered the huge, strange world of customizing figures (taking parts and creating characters Mego never made, or making them better than Mego did).

From 1999-2001, I made nearly 200 customs! Yes, I learned to sew (hand- and machine- ) and I could sculpt parts, accessories, and some basic heads such as robots or the Golden Age Sandman). Often, I would sell off early versions on eBay when I my draft 2 or 3 turned out great. Ultimately, I sold off most of my customs, keeping only the "essential" characters, or characters I really loved.

Among the keepers were my Teen Titans. Mego's Titans were 7" and more "teen scale" compared to the rest of the line up. However, Mego's Robin was 8". I definitely prefer 8 inchers... and the parts were easier to come by. I made most of my Titans toward the end of my customizing career, so they were among my finest work.

However, last year between xmas and New Years, I decided to clean up the last of my shoddy work on Black Canary and the Titans. Here, they are posed and await visitors as they entered my apartment.

Mego figures int he early years came in boxes, which I like to protect and display in or out of the box. Making boxes is fun for me, as I can draw the characters—I can also take a lot of creative license with them, so they look more like my customs than they do in the comic books themselves (cheater).

My Titans boxes were actually really bad—let's agree the digital printing has come a long way in the past decade, as has my skills in production (as well as drawing!). While I redrew the figures while I was in Europe in early 2009, I never got around making new boxes until just recently.

Jumping back into customizing is a bit frustrating...what poor sewing skills I had are gone...and even box making is a new challenge. I could only find super lightweight posterboard or super heavy weight for the box backing (you spray mount the color printouts to the posterboard). I totally forgot that medium weight is best...b/c heavy weight cracks when you fold it. So, these boxes, around the edges, the cracking posterbard has pulled apart the the color printouts. From a distance, it looks like the boxes are well worn from childhood play.

At first, I was irritated, but then I thought, (1) they are vastly better than the first set I made 10 years ago, and (2) Who really cares?!?

And yes, as the post title suggests, there is a Series II of Customego Titans figures. And, uh, yes, a Series III (yes, dork).

For more info check:
http://www.megomuseum.com/
http://www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/teentitans.html
http://www.megomuseum.com/custom/customblog.html