The first toys I remember my parents getting me for Christmas were the Mego Batman, Robin, Superman, Spider-Man, Joker, the Batmobile and the Hall of Justice. And “remember” is far too light a word. These toys are ingrained in me, and still pull and tug at me to this day (they’re also sitting on a shelf in my bedroom, which has a lot to do with that, no doubt).

Now, Mattell (!!!) is coming out with their DC Universe Retro-Action Figures series, which are unaplogetically based on the Mego aesthetic.

In the Set One (the first of many, I hope) only one figure (Superman) was ever produced by Mego; the others (Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, and Sinestro) were rumored to be in production, but never made it to the assembly line before Mego went bankrupt in 1981 (thanks a lot, Kenner!). They look like the real thing and are going to be packaged to look like Megos (along the same lines as Diamond Select’s Star Trek re-issues) , but that $85.00 price tag is enough to give an enthusiast like myself pause.

Looks like I may be selling some less desirable things on eBay to cover the bill. Maybe my Dark Tower…?

Hey! If for no reason in particular, you might be thinking, “I want to get Sean something special, but, what? Whatever could I get him?” You might want to consider this, the RENT, Roger Davis bear from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS:

And he comes with all this cool stuff:

Roger wears an exact duplicate of his Broadway costume. First seen at the top of ACT II during the emotionally charged “Seasons Of Love”, this faithful re-creation consists of Roger’s black and white geometric-print sleeveless button down shirt, straight leg pin-stripe pants (both cut from the cloth of the original costumes), green hand-knit scarf and black leather biker jacket with the portentous and tragic hand-painted “Only Good Die Young” logo on the back. His brown leather “New Rock” boots have been eternalized in miniature form, and his grunge-cut, frosted blonde wig has been perfectly styled. Finally, Roger comes with his very own (working!) acoustic guitar and stand, which will certainly help as he finds “…the power to ignite the air” and write his “One Song Glory”. Once he looks into “Your Eyes” you’ll know that he can’t live “Without You”!

Included in this lot is a hand-signed “eviction-notice” prop from the 2005 film RENT, signed by Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal as well as a set of Roger’s “old rock and roll posters, advertisting gigs at CBGB’s and The Pyramid Club” used in the final days of RENT’s Broadway run.

Did you see that? SIGNED BY ANTHONY RAPP AND ADAM PASCAL!!!!

All the iconic Broadway Cares bears up for auction can be seen here. All proceeds go to help people living with AIDS.

Thanks to Joe Jervis!