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The Mego Corporation was a toy company founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys,〔Steinberg, Shirley R., Michael Kehler, and Lindsay Cornish, editors. ''Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, Jun 17, 2010).〕 in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed action figures (including the long-running "World's Greatest Super Heroes" line), celebrity dolls, and the Micronauts toy line. For a time in the 1970s, their line of 8-inch-scale action figures with interchangeable bodies became the industry standard. The company dissolved into bankruptcy in 1983; today, Mego action figures and playsets are highly prized collectibles, with some fetching thousands of dollars in the open collectibles market. ==Corporate history== Mego was founded in 1954 by D. David Abrams〔 and Madeline Abrams. The company thrived in the 1950s and early 1960s as an importer of dime store toys,〔 until the rising cost of newspaper advertising forced Mego to change its business model. In 1971, the Abrams' son Martin, a recent business school graduate,〔 was named company president.〔("Marty Abrams, Chairman, Co-Founder," ) Abrams Gentile Entertainment website. Accessed Dec. 21, 2014.〕 Under Martin Abrams' direction, the company shifted its production to action figures with interchangeable bodies. Generic bodies could be mass-produced and different figures created by interposing different heads and costumes on them.〔 Mego constructed their figures primarily in an scale. Sixty percent of their products were manufactured in Hong Kong.〔 In 1972 (represented by Howard L. Mann of Schwartzman, Weinstock, Garelick & Mann, P.C.), Mego secured the licenses to create toys for both National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) and Marvel Comics. (Mego later relinquished their rights and surrendered the trademarked name to both DC and Marvel Comics to maintain licensing privileges.) The popularity of this line of 8" figures — dubbed "The World's Greatest Super Heroes" — created the standard action figure scale for the 1970s. Mego also created the first carded packaging for action figures. Initially, Mego figures were released in boxes, but S.S. Kresge's (later the Kmart store chain) did not have shelves on which to place them, so they requested something be designed for their peg board displays. To satisfy the need, Mego created a card which is now referred to as a "Kresge-style card". The earliest style of Mego cards placed the clear plastic bubble containing the action figure in the center of the card (as opposed to subsequent cards, which placed the bubble toward one side). Mego began to purchase the license rights of motion pictures, television programs, and comic books, eventually producing action figure lines for ''Planet of the Apes'', ''Star Trek'', and the ''Wizard of Oz''. Mego also obtained licenses from Edgar Rice Burroughs for his creations, such as Tarzan. Beginning in 1974 Mego released the ''Planet of the Apes'' action figures, the first such toys sold as film tie-ins. 1974 also saw the release of figures from ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', which was steadily gaining fandom in syndication. The ''Planet of the Apes'' and ''Star Trek'' figures proved popular and inspired the rise of action figure series based on popular culture franchises. During this period, Mego was known for the lavish parties the company threw at the annual New York American International Toy Fair. In 1975, Mego launched its ''Wizard of Oz'' film dolls with a gala whose special guests were every surviving member of the film's main cast. Mego's party at the Waldorf-Astoria with Sonny and Cher introducing their dolls drew a thousand people.〔〔Stern, Sydney Ladensohn Stern & Ted Schoenhaus. (Toyland: the high-stakes game of the toy industry ), p. 235 (Contemporary Books, 1990)〕 Both dolls were formally unveiled on ''The Mike Douglas Show''.〔 The Cher doll was the number-1-selling doll in 1976,〔Cherry, Rona (19 December 1976). (Toying with a name ), ''The New York Times'' ("This year's No. 1 selling doll, for example, is Cher, introduced by Mego at a suggested retail price of $6.94 to rival the famous Barbie ..."; article includes large picture of Cher doll)〕 helping to make Mego the sixth-ranked American toy manufacturer, based on retail sales.〔("Business Day: Toy Selection Undid Mego," ) ''New York Times'' (June 16, 1982).〕 In 1976, Martin Abrams hashed out a deal with the Japanese toy manufacturer Takara to bring their popular lucite 3" fully articulated Microman figures to the United States under the name "Micronauts." David Abrams, meanwhile, rejected a deal to license toys for the upcoming motion picture ''Star Wars'', reasoning that Mego would go bankrupt if they made toys of every "flash-in-the-pan" sci-fi B movie that came along. This decision seemed of little consequence to Mego at first, because the Micronauts figures initially sold well, earning the company more than $30 million at their peak.〔Mego VP of R&D Neal Kublan, (quoted in "Mego Micronauts," ) Mego Museum. Accessed Dec. 28, 2014.〕 On the other hand, the ''Star Wars'' film was extremely popular and competitor Kenner Products sold substantial numbers of ''Star Wars'' action figures. Following ''Star Wars'' In the late 1970s, Mego was earning about $100 million in sales.〔 Around this time, Mego began shifting their focus toward electronic toys like the 2-XL toy robot and the Fabulous Fred hand-held game player, but sales were not commemsurate with the company's investment, and Mego went deeply into debt.〔 In the fiscal years 1980 and 1981,〔 Mego reported combined losses of $40 million.〔 In fiscal year 1982, the company reported losses of between $18 and $20 million.〔 In January 1982,〔 Martin Abrams and a few other Mego executives were indicted〔 on charges of wire fraud, tax evasion, and defrauding the company of more than $100,000 over a 10-year span.〔〔("Federal Jury Convicts Abrams, Other Mego Executive in Fraud Trial," ) (Oct. 1982). Archived at Mego Museum website.〕 Abrams ended up serving four months in prison.〔〔("UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Leonard S. SIEGEL and Martin B. Abrams, Defendants-Appellants," ) Open Jurist (Aug. 24, 1983).〕 In February 1982 the remaining staff was let go and the Mego offices were closed.〔 On June 14, 1982,〔 Mego filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy;〔("Business Day: Mego in Chapter 11," ) ''New York Times'' (June 15, 1982).〕 the company officially went under in 1983.〔 In 1986, Martin Abrams co-founded Abrams Gentile Entertainment (AGE),〔("Company Overview: Abrams Gentile Entertainment LLC," ) ''Bloomberg Businessweek''. Accessed Dec. 21, 2014.〕 in order to retain and manage Mego’s licensing contracts, rights and deals. In October 1995 AGE attempted to reclaim the Mego trademark.〔("MEGO by: Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, Inc.," ) Trademarkia.com. Accessed Dec. 21, 2014.〕 In March 2002, they abandoned the effort.〔 In early 2009, Martin Abrams announced that AGE had reclaimed the rights to the name Mego; no specific future plans for Mego products have been disclosed to date. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mego Corporation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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