Memorabilia: 1975

• For the majority of my childhood, I played with the classic Mego action figures which were first produced in 1972. Each was 8" tall and had more joints than the super-jointed Spider-Man figure by Toy Biz. Basically Mego had two body molds (male and female) and changed the heads and removable cloth costumes for each character. Some figures (e.g. the Thing and the Hulk) had special body moldings. Mego not only produced super heroes, but they also had licensing rights to: Star Trek, CHiPs, Happy Days and Welcome Back Kotter! The FF figures they produced were Human Torch, Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic, and Thing.
• Topps released a set of 40 "humorous" Marvel stickers. The nine checklist cards, when put together, form the cover to Fantastic Four #100. FF related stickers include:
  • Human Torch - "Tan... Don't burn!"
  • Human Torch - "When you're hot, you're hot!"
  • Luke Cage - "I was a 98 lb. weakling!"
  • Medusa - "Darn that cheap hairspray!"
  • Mr. Fantastic - "I'm the long arm of the law!"
  • Thing - "It's clobberin' time!"
  • Thing - "I'm going to pieces!"
• The Fantastic Four were used as part of a 7-11 promotion. Four cups featuring each of the heroes were distributed with Slurpees. A cup depicting Crystal was also made.
• The Marvel Comics Radio Series began its short-lived career in 1975. It was originally intended to include all of the Marvel heroes, but the Fantastic Four debuted and the show did not last long enough to make others. Each episode lasted for five minutes, and aired five days a week. Each week was a different story based on a different issue. Bob Maxwell voiced Mr. Fantastic and Cynthia Adler was the Invisble Girl. Bill Murray (Yes, THE Bill Murray) was chosen to play the Human Torch and, although John Belushi was up for the Thing, Ben was played Jim Pappas. (Belushi was not chosen because producer Peter Lewis did not want the show to mistaken for a National Lampoon spin-off.) Stan Lee narrated and Jerry Terheyden did nearly all of the villains. The show cost $47000 to produce and only earned $22000, hence its demise.
  The stories that I know of are:
  • The Fantastic Four Meet the Mole Man
  • The Menace of the Miracle-Man
  • The Sub-Mariner Strikes
  • Prisoners of Dr. Doom
  • Pawns of the Puppet Master
  • In the Clutches of Dr. Doom
  • The Super-Skrull Walks Among Us
  • At the Mercy of Rama-Tut
  • The Menace of the Red Ghost
  • The Fantastic Four Meet the Incredible Hulk
  • The Horrible Harrassment of the Hate-Monger
  Four (the first four most likely) of the stories were later collected on a vinyl record album called "The Adventures of the Fantastic Four." The cardboard sleeve was simply white with a cut-and-paste set of black line art.
• I have no information on the manufacturer, but an inflatable pillow featuring the FF was produced. The front bears a "classic" FF pose with the rest of it being entirely clear.
• Marvel released their Mighty Marvel Calendar for the year. The interior features various Marvel heroes, including the FF.
• Best Seal Corporation released a Fantastic Four button using a "traditional" FF graphic.