Last Friday I was lucky enough to attend the opening of our latest pop culture destination, All Star Comics Melbourne.

The brainchild of a couple of old mates of mine – Mitch and Troy – ASCM has been lovingly crafted using the combined wisdom of 28 years in the comics-trade.

Ascending in an ultra-modern lift from the inconspicuos Lonsdale St entrance, your smile will be unhidable when the doors open up onto a red, black and white themed fit-out designed (and mostly built) by the guys themselves, with cool fixtures influenced by comic book staples including a gothic-tower bookstand and a huge art-deco counter. Apart from the latest weekly new-release comics, the guys pride themselves on their huge range of graphic novels and trade paperbacks, as well as three glass cabinets filled with vintage toys for sale including Star Wars, MEGO, Hot Wheels and LEGO, some from your author *insert hard sell here*

Like happy Mitch above, All Star is friendly, clean, fresh and welcoming so drop in next time you’re in town and tell’em the Toltoys Kid sent you.

All Star update on facebook, twitter & blogger daily.

Australia’s Newest Comic Store Experience – All Star Comics Melbourne is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Licensed Australian Ice Creams
Part Two – Comic Heroes

Last year I carried on a bit about the wonderful licensed ice-creams and icy poles we had in Australia in the late 70′s and early 80′s. It seemed for a time that any film or television show, character or concept that could be licensed as an ice-treat was, someties regardless of the suitability.

I’ve been pulling together bits of information and obtaining examples of the boxes, wrappers, premiums and advertising for these over the last couple of years, and if all goes to plan (and when doesn’t it?!) I will have a database availble on this site in the near future.

While we’re waiting for that, I’ve whacked together another showcase of some of the more interesting stuff. I’ve cobbled today’s lot together under the broad church that is “Comic Heroes”. Nice tie-in with Spidey 3 ‘s release this week ehh?

First up is my favourite, it’s the Paul’s Ice Cream tie-in to the hugely popular Buck Rogers TV Show from 1979 I’ve always loved that front panel graphic, but the killer for this item is the “Star Stick” promotion on the rear panel.

If you know me or have followed the blog for a while you’ll know I’m a bit of a Mego nut, so when I saw the back panel I knew I was on a winner. Although it isn’t mentioned on the box, the Buck Rogers action figures pictured there are Mego’s three and three-quarter inch line.

The whole gang is there, and as you can see below, if you found a “Star Stick” you could send it in (after you’ve washed it mind you, I think they may have learnt that one from expereience) and you would be sent a Buck figure, plus three other random figures!

Were they sent they carded? Were they baggied? Do any of you Aussie readers remember these? Anyone have a “Star Stick” per chance? Send me an email and make us all happy

If seeing these Mego figures has re-awakened a collecting giant in you, make sure you visit the Mego Museum Forums for help. They’re like a support group, without the billable hours.

If you liked Buck in ’79 chances are you loved Flash in ’80! I challenge anyone to think of the Sam Jones incarnation of Flash and not follow it with “Ah Aaah… He’s a miracle!” This flick was more camp than a row of tents and didn’t we love it all the more for it!

No premiums for this release I’m afraid, just a reasonably lame Snakes & Ladders cut-out game on the back panel. Lucky for me the kid that had this box thought it was lame too!

The end panels are not too shabby though, Peter Wyngarde’s Klytus always freaked me out, and Melody Anderson’s Dale Arden looks great. No Ornella Muti, but great none the less.

Coming in from the Marvel Universe were two guys who seemed destined for icy poles, Spidey and The Hulk. This treat was a relative late comer to the licensed party arriving in 1982, although Spidey had made an appearnace on his own back in’79 as you’ll see below.

It’s a nice piece of art, and I’m sure I’ve seen both of them many times over the years, some of you comic gurus should be able to help me remember where. This release did feature an in pack premium, a glowing super-hero sticker. The example below is actually from my childhood collection, and had to survive neglect, a house fire and 25 years of spring cleaning to be with us today, take a bow my glowing jade friend! (Yes he still glows, I think they printed these things with some kind of radioactive isotope!)

Finally today I bring you one of the coolest premiums from these Aussie ice cream days, Spiderman Stickers!

You’ll recall that last year I posted a pic of the store diplay for the ’79 Spidey ice-cream, see below.

It mentions that “Free Stickers” were to be given away with each in-store purchase of icy-poles.

I’m happy now to be able to bring you some examples of these, check ‘em out below:
Clearly inspired by the wonderful Topps Marvel Superhero stickers from the mid 70′s, these icy pole ones feature sayings so bad they could only have come from the marketing department of of an ice-cream manufacturer! This isn’t the full set, if you know of any more I’d love to add them.

Anyway that’s it for today, more ice cream stuff coming sooooon.

Cheers,
Will

Licensed Australian Ice Cream Super Heroes is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Licensed Australian Ice-Creams

It all seemed so natural. You went to see the latest summer blockbuster. You became obsessed overnight. You had to buy the toys, the posters and the swap-cards. You cut out articles about the movie from magazines and newspapers and kept them in a folder. You bought the cereal and tried to collect all the little bits and pieces you could find. But something was missing.

It’s a long hot summer and you need to keep cool. You walk past your local milk-bar, they have a colourful sign in the window – “Return of the Jedi – 30c”! The sneaky marketeers have married you needs and desires, you can now eat your favourite movie, you are sold, sold, sold!

One advantage of being the driest vegetated continent on the planet is that you often have an excuse to eat ice cream. Or icy poles, ice blocks or any other type of child’s ice treat. When I was a kid we had an embarrasment of riches on the ice cream front, for whatever movie, TV show or other fad came along there was a licensed ice cream.

The golden age of ice cream was 1975-85. I remember ice creams promoting Kiss, Star Trek, Star Wars, Spiderman, Masters of the Universe and a dozen others. Often the ice creams featured competitions and premiums, like the Star Trek stickers, or Toltoys action figures. Anyway I’m sure you’ve all stopped reading by now and have skipped down to the pics, so I’ll finish up.

(Above) Rear of the Jedi Jelly box showing the Toltoys competition prizes (Amazingly the actual speeder-bike mock-up shown in the photographs was recently found here in Melbourne, that’s a story in itself believe me!)Empire Strikes Back wrapper front (Above), and rear (Below)

A Jedi-Jelly wrapper (Above) , and Star Wars wrapper (Below). These two are the corresponding wrappers for the boxes shown above.

The Toltoys competition details on the rear of the Star Wars wrapper (below).

Finally the best stuff (in my opinion anyway!) the store displays! All are around 40cm x 25cm and made of cardboard. First of all the Jedi Jelly display (below)

(Below) Star Trek and Spiderman displays, both from 1979.

Finally as the golden era came to an end, a Masters of the Universe display from 1985. (Below)

I’m on the trail of more ice-cream items, so stay tuned for future updates!

Will

Licensed Australian Ice-Creams is a post from: Toltoys Kid