Tomart's Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles by Carol Markowski & Bill Sikora

Tomart's Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles Cover

I believe that this was the first collectible action figure guide that did more than a very passing job of describing Major Matt Mason toys - this first edition is a 272 page hardcover published in 1991. There were I think 4 or more editions of the book, the 3rd or 4th edition expanded the contents into three paperback volumes and picked up "Toy Encyclopedia" as part of the name. This, the first edition, is entirely black and white with a lot of photography accompanying a list of 1991 prices - besides the color covers there are two 8 page glossy color sections of some of the larger toy lines with packaging grouped together much like the cover. Major Matt Mason is on pages 167 and 168.

Tomart's Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles Page 167

Tomart's Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles Page 168

John's Take:

When I first acquired this book I thought it was basically a copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, in larger format. I immediately felt the pricing was off and the content rather spare - this edition is very focused on 80's and 90's toys. Once it expanded into 3 volumes (and I'll post them when I find the box), it turned into a slick reference series with glossy images and much expanded content. I'd recommended the later editions over this one.

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