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| 1988 San Diego Comic Con |
Hi Everyone,
I'm 37 and have been collecting MMM for the past 5 years. I've collected comic books, magazines and any related paper since I was a kid. I've sold my comic collection several times (the first was when I was in college and the X-Men became super valuable...I actually financed myself for a year at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville by selling my collection in 1982), and most recently sold everything except my magazines, my Conan collection and my Flaming Carrot Comics three years ago.
My interest in comics began to flag around 5 years ago...just too much crappy writing and too many speculators destroying the collect-ability of the medium. Around this time I began picking up Mego Star Trek figures (I had never had them as a kid (I was too old) but always thought they were cool) and Shogun Warriors (I never had these either but always loved the TV commercial showing Godzilla's fist firing off!).
Right around that time, my girlfriend and I were traveling to Clarksville, Tennessee (where I grew up) and made a pit stop right outside of Monteagle, TN. We walked through an open air flea market and I looked and found a small Shogun Warrior toy for $.25. We became separated and later when she walked up to me she says..."Look at this cool astronaut that I just bought for $3...did I get a good deal?" My heart almost fell out of my mouth! Here was something I hadn't seen, nor realized that I missed, since I was 6 or 7 years old! A Major Matt Mason wearing a Talking Back Pack! I begged her to sell him to me and after a little coercion (which cost me a beautiful 60's "Combat" bagatelle) we managed to work a trade.
The MMM was a C7 figure with unbroken wires (most of the paint loss was around the belt from the strap), the Back Pack had melt marks but still worked. This discovery led to the infatuation I have with the little Major today.
Naturally with my working in the graphics/design industry, I began to research the web and site creation. I found Patrick Storto's site, Virtual Vikki and Super Marketing (a site featuring old comic book ads."). This got me started on my own MMM "statement."
I started my website about 4 years ago and was one of the first to post and buy on eBay (I remember when there were only 5-10 items on eBay under Matt Mason...and sometimes the search returned zero! In fact, the first few months of eBay were a real joke...I stopped looking until one day when Larry Chinn told me about something that was for sale on it). The activity on eBay kept increasing until a few people got smart enough to form the e-mail list as it is today.
So am I trying to recapture my childhood? I really don't know how to answer that. I'm the real completist (it probably comes from collecting comic books) and have the need to own everything. I've taken it to the extreme and look for print ads, industry magazines and Christmas Catalogs. I'm probably about as nuts as a collector can be, and I know I'm not alone! I know of at least 10 others who are as crazy as me! I'm lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend (and yes, it's still the same girl from 5 years ago...we've been together a long time and fortunately, she collects toys too!).
I hope I haven't put anyone to sleep...John
John is a member of the Major Matt Mason Facebook group and regularly contributes to discussions about toys. You can contact me using the link below.
All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2023 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton.
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