Fathom (Moore Action Collectibles)

Fathom
Moore Action Collectibles
1999

Fathom was created by Michael Turner, and produced in the comic series of its own name for Top Cow Comics. The series launched in 1998, but was suddenly halted when Turner was diagnosed with cancer. After a long battle with it, he launched his own publishing company, Aspen MLT, Inc., and resumed publishing Fathom - After a legal battle of the rights of course.

Since then, the comics have been developed in both a monthly and mini series fashion. The popularity of the books led to the development of a feature film by director James Cameron, but unfortunately those plans fell through.

Prior to the majority of all of this, Moore Action Collectibles developed a small series of figures based on the main character, Aspen Matthews. The line was strictly limited to the title character which was released in four different versions - Three of which were exclusive to various outlets.

 Fathom

 Fathom (Metallic Toyfare Exclusive)

This is definitely a series of figures geared towards a niche collector. Most casual toy collectors don't know what Fathom even is, and thus would more than likely pass her up on toy shelves.

 Fathom (Translucent Coluccybo Exclusive)

Fathom (Wizard Exclusive)

With how many characters that have been developed for the Fathom series, it was somewhat of a disappointment to see that focus was only on Aspen. There was certainly room for this series to grow, but we suppose a lot of the issue goes back to what we said above - A series based on Fathom figures is targeted towards a very niche collector.

If you're looking for these figures these days, rest assured you can nab all of them fairly cheap. Even the exclusive ones sell for as little as three to four dollars a piece, mint on card - Or in the box in the case of the Wizard one.

Join us next time when we take a look at The Magical Burger King!

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Vampirella (Moore Action Collectibles)

The character Vampirella is often times mistaken to have been created in the mid 1990's. This was due to the character seeing a massive resurgence in popularity, thanks in part to adult screen actress Julie Strain who hit the road for several live appearances during this era at various comic book conventions across the nation.

However, she was actually created in 1969 by Forrest J Ackerman and costume designer Trina Robbins. The character was mainly utilized as a horror-story hostess (such as the capacity of Elvira) until issue number eight were she was developed by writer-editor Archie Goodwin to a more dramatically leading character.

Since then, stories under the title of the character have been produced by multiple companies such as Warren Publishing (1969-1983), Harris Publications (1983-2007), and Dynamite Entertainment (2010-2011). The various mini series that were produced by Harris Publications from 1991-2007 are what brought about the largest resurgence of the character.


In the year 2000, Moore Action Collectibles attempted to capitalize on the Vampirella image with a small toy line based on the character. In fact, it was only based on the character as the only figures produced were of her.

To date, this series goes down as the only one we know that produced an intentional variant figure that was packaged backwards. Obviously there are some fans out there who simply enjoy plastic behinds, and this variant was very appealing to them.

A second version known as "Harvest Moon" was also produced. This depicted the character in a white and black outfit, as opposed to her typical red one. The packaging was also changed from the initial blue cardboard backer to an orange/peach one.

Despite the success of the comic book, fans actually enjoyed the live appearances more. Something about a skimpy outfit on a slim woman with nothing to apparently hide got the blood flowing for a lot of "men". This is where Julie Strain comes into the picture. Ms. Strain was not the first model to dawn the Vampirella outfit, nor was she the last. She is however one of the most well known persons to do so.

As a result of this combined popularity of both the character and model, a couple "Julie Strain" based figures were produced. Both were made exclusive to Fandom and Tower Records. The first being the purple carded version, and the second being a boxed version.

A third exclusive, "Golden" Vampirella was produced for various toy shows in 2001. This would also be the last figure produced for the line.

The character Vampirella never saw the success of characters such as Spider-Man, Superman or Spawn, but the series produced under her name do have a loyal fan base. A film was produced in 1996 staring Talisa Soto, Roger Daltrey, Richard Joseph Paul, and Corinna Harney, directed by Jim Wynorski that went straight to video. Despite there being an announcement of a sequel in the credits, the second film never came to be.

Join us next time when we take a look at Video Game Super Stars - Resident Evil!

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Futurama (Moore Action Collectibles)

There's not much we can say about the show Futurama that we didn't say already in our prior post based on the Toynami brand figures.

Prior to Toynami's Futurama toy line a smaller series was released by Moore Action Collectibles in 2002. The line covered the basic of basic figures - Fry, Leela, and Bender. It also included a smaller version of the Planet Express ship, which was shrunken down to fit into the packaging size that the figures were in. It was obviously not designed to be interactive with the figures themselves.



During the series, two exclusives were produced - Chef Bender (Previews Exclusive), and Leela in a swimsuit (Toyfare Exclusive). The Leela figure can be found in both a carded and boxed edition.



The Futurama line was discontinued shortly after the two exclusives were released. Moore Action Collectibles hasn't been heard from or seen since 2004 when the company released its final Buffy the Vampire Slayer toys. The companies lines of toys such as Beavis and Butthead, Kabuki, Fathom, and more were definitely unique, but unfortunately without a strong leading line, could not compete with today's fast paced action figure world.

Join us next time when we take a look at 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas!

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Beavis And Butt-Head (Moore Action Collectibles)

When Mike Judge brought Beavis and Butthead to life on MTV in 1993, it was a pretty risky venture. Sure, shows had been getting a lot edgier those days. Long gone were the years of The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and The Facts of Life. In their place, The Simpsons, Married with Children, and now Beavis and Butthead. Was the world ready for two of the most idiot teens ever depicted in animation form?

It seemed so. The series was an overnight success, and soon Mr. Judge found himself at the helm of the show for five years, as well as having the opportunity to develop the full length feature film, Beavis and Butthead Do America.


In 1999 Moore Action Collectibles produced a small line of figures. Sadly by this time the series was off the air, and people didn't seem eager to revisit it. The MTV generation had appeared to have grown up.

All three of the basic figures; Beavis, Butthead, and Cornholio were also produced in exclusive glow in the dark versions (known as "Radioactive" versions).

This is actually a series I would have liked to see grow into something much larger. There are so many iconic characters from the series that would have been wonderful to capture in plastic form. Perhaps with the series being revitalized, this opportunity is just around the corner.

Join us on May 1, 2012 for an announcement of a special all new month long event for the month of May, and on Monday the 4th for the first of many new posts that month! We won't spoil the surprise here.

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