Each Sold Separately
and
Action Figures Not Included
by Phil Reed
Phil Reed is the CEO of Steve Jackson Games and the driving
force behind Battlegrip.com, one of my
favourite toy-related sites. In his spare time (and honestly, I don’t know
where he finds it – with his day job and the sheer number of posts he puts up
on Battlegrip the man must only sleep about 2 hours a night) he finds time to
publish books centred around his interests.
Today, we look at two of those books – Each Sold Separately and Action
Figures Not Included. I’ve chosen to review them together, as they really should be read in conjunction with one another. During the initial Kickstarter for Each Sold Separately, Phil announced
that he had put together some extra pages beyond the original book – and suddenly,
one book became two. I contributed to the initial campaign, and Phil was kind enough
to also send me a .pdf of Action Figures Not
Included when the two books were finalised earlier this year.
Ostensibly based around the 1980s but self-admittedly
touching on plenty of the 1970s and 1990s too, these books are great reading
for anyone who remembers the childhood toys of this era fondly. Rather than
being a comprehensive assessment of the toys of the era, it’s more of a look at the unusual and creative ways they were marketed. The usual suspects, such as TV shows and
comics, are encompassed, while light is also shed on more obscure promotions
such as cereal and “Book & Record” sets.
While the two books may not delve terribly deeply into most
of the toy lines covered, that’s not really their purpose – we tend to remember
the toys fondly, while often forgetting the huge amount of ephemera that were
used to promote them in the first place. It’s great to see some of them rescued
from total obscurity, as many of them had a great deal of time and creativity put
into them, belying their blatant cash-in origins. As someone who works as an
advertising copywriter by day, it’s an interesting insight into the way
marketing has evolved – and also how much modern-day marketers could learn from
these early-80s mavericks!
My big find was that there used to be G.I. Joe-based Find your Fate
books – at least one of which was written by R.L. Stine of Goosebumps fame!
How I missed this as a kid is something I may never understand. I may have to investigate further on eBay...
Transformers and Star Wars get a lot of coverage, which
is appropriate given both the enormous marketing success of the two properties
at the time, Phil’s personal fandom and the sheer fact that both brands are
still going strong today. However, plenty of others get a look-in too. Famous
names like He-Man and The Masters of the
Universe and G.I. Joe: A Real
American Hero sit comfortably alongside comparatively obscure names like Power Lords, Crystar and ROM. A few
names pop up that I’d never even heard of, which is always exciting for an 80s
buff like myself. The main name which stands out as curiously absent is Thundercats.
These books serve as a great jumping-off point for
people who are interested in learning more about toys or marketing, and a bibliography
is provided for those who are looking to broaden their own reading on either subject.
Overall, it’s a fun coffee table book for toy and broader 1980s fans.
You can also purchase
the books reviewed here today on Amazon,
as well as Phil’s other currently available books, which look at the world of
third-party Transformers. Phil is currently working on a book based on the
late-1990s Star Wars Expanded Universe action figure series. It’s being funded
via Kickstarter, and looks like it will be another great read – I’d strongly
suggest backing it if you get the chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment