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MEGO Meet In Columbus This Weekend

The PopCulteer
June 14, 2019

The MEGO Toy Corporation is in the midst of a major renaissance, and this weekend an annual convention devoted to their toys happens in Columbus. Mego Meet is the annual toy convention for Mego Collectors and fans. Put on every year by the members of the Mego Museum, Mego Meet is meant to not only be a toy show but a community gathering., or so they say.  This will be the first MEGO Meet that I’ve been able to attend since they stopped having them at The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum in Wheeling. After three years in Skokie, Illinois, they moved to Columbus last year, but the show was held on a weekend when your PopCulteer was in New York City. This year MEGO Meet overlaps with The Marx Toy Show in Wheeling, so we’ll be splitting our time between the two cities.

June 14 and 15 at the Courtyard Columbus in West Hilliard collectors of a certain age will converge to celebrate the cheesy, delightful and cool eight-inch action figures that dominated the toy world in the 1970s.

Last year at MEGO MEET, MEGO’s president, Marty Abrams, announced that his much-loved company, which ruled the action figure roost in the late 1970s, was returning. Abrams was accompanied by Paul Clarke (AKA Dr. MEGO), who I know has been twisting Marty’s arm for years to get him to jump back into the game. With the help of some well-heeled investors, his dream has finally come true. The first fifty-plus figures were exclusive to Target, and were a pretty significant hit. The Target exclusivity ended on January 1 of this year, but the line continues to grow with dozens of new figures released so far in 2019, and more to come.

Last week at the Licensing Expo in New York, MEGO announced that they will be producing figures of Rocky Balboa and The Mummy. I would expect that several more upcoming figures will be announced by Marty and Paul this weekend.

The MEGO Museum is a major source for info about this beloved toy company, and you should bookmark them to keep up with all the latest details as they come to light. Brian Heiler, who runs the MEGO Museum is also the man behind this convention, and we are extremely grateful for his efforts (but we hope that next year he can book the show on a different weekend than the Marx Toy convention). The MEGO Museum is also where we swiped the photo at left of Marty and Paul. Thanks again, Brian!

As this post goes live your PopCulteer is waking up in Wheeling, preparing to check out of the hotel, spend the day at the Marx Toy Show, stop by The Marx Toy Museum late in the afternoon, and then make the trek to Columbus for MEGO Meet. It’s a busy and hectic day, but my mission to bring my readers news about cool stuff knows no bounds.

You can read about The Marx Toy Show HERE, and learn about MEGO Meet right here in this post that you’re currently reading. Isn’t that convenient?

MEGO MEET METAL

We made a video at the last MEGO MEET we were able to attend five years ago. Here it is…

The PopCult MEGO Index

Over the years we’ve covered tons of MEGO stories in PopCult, and we’re going to give you a handy guide to it right here. Keep in mind that many of these links have outdated information, and in the oldest post, from 2006, all the graphics were eaten by the internet. We’ve covered MEGO Meet in the past, and we’ve also posted reviews of MEGO and ReMEGO toys, and recommended stuff in our annual gift guide. Presented here is a huge list of links to PopCult posts, in no real coherent order. Go read yourself silly about MEGO:

MEGO MEET Coverage

The Return of MEGO!

The PopCult Toybox: MEGO Meet X

The PopCult Toybox: MEGO Meet Photos

MEGO Meet 2012 In Photos

Modern Millie and Magnificent MEGO

MEGO MEET PART ONE: VINTAGE

MEGO MEET PART TWO: CUSTOMS AND NEW FIGURES

Previews of MEGO MEETS past:

Sunday Evening Video: Vintage MEGO Commercials

The PopCult Toybox: MEGO MEET This Weekend in Wheeling!

The PopCult Toybox: We Go MEGO

The PopCult Toybox: Ghosts Of MEGO Meets Past

The PopCult ToyBox: MEGO Meet Preview

Sunday Evening Videos: Star Trek: The MEGO Picture

Reviews of MEGO and MEGO-like action figures:

More On The MEGO Revival and a quick look at Action Jackson

Venture Brothers ReMegos Reviewed

The Sea Ghost Enters The Realm of MEGO

MEGO History and news of ReMegos and the rebirth:

MEGO Storms Into 2019 With New Action Figures

MEGO Figures at Target

More MEGO Details Revealed at SDCC

MEGO DETAILS REVEALED!

The Return of MEGO!

ToyLanta 2017: Earth Station One and MEGO Mania

Sunday Evening Videos: MEGO Action Figures

Toy Fair 2019: Retro Toys and Links

Random Items Fill Up Weekly Column! Read All About It!

The PopCult Toybox News Round Up

Short Notes From The World of PopCult

Updates and Coming Attractions

GI Joe’s Biological Father Passes Away

The History of Star Trek Toys at ShockaCon

PopCult at Toy Fair: Bif Bang Pow!/Entertainment Earth

The History of Science Fiction Toys

Diamond Select Toys at Toy Fair

The PopCult Toybox: ShockaCon presents the History of Monster Toys

The PopCult Toybox: Figure Reviews

The PopCult Toybox: A Brief Update

The PopCult Toybox: Cast-a-Way Toys Kickstarter

The PopCult Toybox

Random Time Again

Cool Toy Of The Week: Classic TV Toys

PopCult Gift Guide Entries:

Gift Guide: KISS Demon Action Figure With Blood-spitting Action

Gift Guide: Santa Claus 8 Inch Retro Action Figure

Gift Guide: Mego 8 Inch Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys!

Now that you’ve read all of that…well if you did, MEGO Meet is probably already over by now. Still, you should try to make it to Columbus if MEGO is the toy what tickles your fancy.

And that is this week’s PopCulteer. Remember to listen to the RFC marathon on The AIR, and check PopCult for all our regular features.