Tomland Morlock card variations, am I missing any?

[raycastile]

Who is Savee?  I looked back over the posts, but didn't see his name mentioned before this reference.  Did he create the FMOL glow art?

I'm a pretty big fan of Savee's illo's, even bastardized, and while the airbrushed close up of the glow cards is beautiful, I'm a bigger fan of the dirty trace versions on the non glow.  In many ways these represent the change of a age.  FMOL first appeared in the '70s, and have that sensibility to them.  The FMOL Glow were released in (or at least copyrighted to) 1980, and have much more of a '80s look:  full-bleed unframed graphics, modeled color and design which interacts with the figure by highlighting it.  Both the illustrations of the Mummy and, with greater dynamism, the Fly lead your eye directly to the figure, at once presenting it and bowing to it.  I can't think of another series which has such reverent to the object artwork.   

The Glow series are certainly designed higher.

sts

[darkmonkeygod]

Who is Savee?  I looked back over the posts, but didn't see his name mentioned before this reference.  Did he create the FMOL glow art?

Hey Ray,  Mark Savee is the artist who illustrated the Troubadour Press Monster Gallery coloring book that the Famous Monster of Legend art work was copied and, in my opinion, copped from.  FYI, Amazon lists him as both Savee and Sovee, but it is Savee.

sts

P.S.  Keep the nails.

[darkmonkeygod]

Does anyone have a Famous Monsters of Legend card with Tomland on it?  I'd like to see a front and back comparison of the Kresge, Combex and, if it exists, Tomland cards.

sts

[Roback]

I have yet to confirm its existence Shannon. Maybe somebody else can take a look? Can anyone confirm that a FMOL card came with Tomland on it?

[darkmonkeygod]

Hey Robert,

Would you post a photo of the bottom of the Kresge card showing the addy and control number?

As often as I've read that Tomland released the FMOL, I've never come across anyone who's ever seen a FMOL w/ Tomland on the card.  I've also been told that the 4 FMOL were released BEFORE the Space Raiders by a year or so (1976?), which would fit in with personal suspicions about the line.  Do you have any loose ones to compare to your carded examples?

[raycastile]

When I saw the "Cantina Kooks" in that Christmas catalog (Ward?), I recognized them immediately as Famous Monsters of Legend.  So if that catalog came out in 77, the FMOL had to have been out by then.  But the catalog might have been 78.  I did not see Star Wars until 78, but I knew what the Cantina creatures were when I saw that catalog ad, and I knew those were not genuine Cantina creatures!  I received a Yeti for my birthday, but I don't remember which year.

[darkmonkeygod]

I suspect that the FMOL line came out first and were then used, perhaps as the linchpin which Star Raiders was built on.  I've got NOTHING to support this beyond a couple of people saying they got FMOL monsters in '76, however more have told me they saw them later.  Seeing none on Tomland cards adds to my suspicion, and I've got only the fuzziest of memories of FMOL in stores, mainly just "No Creature, so who cares?" frustration. 

I would love to know for sure if the FMOL figures are marked Tomland on the backs. I suspect they are (what else could they be?  Is there any 8in figure marked "Combex"?), but I have no way of knowing if my loose examples are from FMOL cards.  Anyone got some from childhood or on open cards that can find out?

Still looking for info on Combex / Tomland.  Brian over at megomuseum replied w this when I asked there:

Combex and Tomland were a part of Marx. Somewhere in the stacks I have a UK toy magazine that explained this.

Combex was based in the UK if I recall correctly. Seems to me a lot of cool figures come from there.

and said he'd try to find it. (Yep, I cross posted quotes from another board.  Feel the fabric of the universe unravel.)

Anyone seen that magazine or know more about the history of Tomland?

[raycastile]

My loose FMOL are my childhood toys.  They all came on FMOL cards.  Yeti was a birthday present.  I bought the other three at one time using my allowance money.  It was quite a coup, walking out of the store with three monster figures instead of having to spend months begging my parents to buy them.  Yay!  All of my figures have the Tomland bunny logo on their backs.  I suspect the cards said Kresge, since I bought them all from Kmart.

[Roback]

Hey Robert,

Would you post a photo of the bottom of the Kresge card showing the addy and control number?

As often as I've read that Tomland released the FMOL, I've never come across anyone who's ever seen a FMOL w/ Tomland on the card.  I've also been told that the 4 FMOL were released BEFORE the Space Raiders by a year or so (1976?), which would fit in with personal suspicions about the line.  Do you have any loose ones to compare to your carded examples?

Shannon, What I do know is that this FMOL Morlock and Fly came directly from an S.S. Kresge store from a woman who worked there at the time of their closing. I've also never seen a FMOL card with Tomland on it. No loose figs Shannon as of yet but I'm sure somebody here must have a few loose specimens?

[TomlandMummy]

We are created by the great Lord Tomland.  On our backs he imprinted his image - a bunny rabbit.

[darkmonkeygod]

Thanks Robert.  Anyone know if the C0ombex cards were sold in America?

And thanks, uh, Tom, for sharing your 'mark' of the rabbit god.

[raycastile]

If I may attempt to clarify where I think Tom is coming from, the Tomland company logo is an Easter-style bunny rabbit.  The rabbit is on the back of every FMOL figure.

[darkmonkeygod]

Heh, It's funny, but because I know Tomland's service mark and all, it didn't occur to me in the least that someone unfamiliar with these would have no idea what the hell we are discussing.  I mean, monster toy 'archeology' is very obscure anyway, but when you get into the short hand of it (T1 vs T2 Megos, the Pacifist Ape Sky Diver) it truly leaps over the edge.

[fmofmpls]

Yeah .. I must admit that I wasn't privy to the bunny logo at all. In fact, I had to read Ray's post over and over just to make sure that there wasn't a joke somewhere that I missed.

Who'd a thunk .. an bunny rabbit logo on a monster toy? Monster toy indeed. 

[darkmonkeygod]

Oh, but it's an EVIL rabbit to be sure.