Super7: Pre-Code Horror Comics ... as Action Figures!

I have to hand it to Super7. After they decided to keep the 3.75” scale action figure standard alive, it has become clear that they are willing to pick up ANY merchandising license from which to make 3.75” scale action figures. As such, their latest line of action figures is one I certainly did not expect them to do: a four-figure line of characters based on covers of controversial horror comics that were printed during the 1940s and 50s before the Comics Code Authority in 1954.

The selection of figures Super7 is releasing as part of this line are based on the covers from the pre-code horror comic titles Baffling Mysteries, Black Cat Mystery, Chilling Tales, and Ghostly Weird Stories. The cardback art features reproductions of the original covers, and each of the figures also have glow-in-the-dark versions. I'm not sure why these four particular covers were selected by Super7, although the Radium Man figure represents one of the more shocking covers from that time. 

Super7's Pre-Code Horror figures, in both regular (above)

and glow-in-the-dark versions (below).

As a horror nerd, I'm always glad to see when this particular chapter of American comic book history receives some recognition. I've previously reviewed books about pre-code horror comics and their enduring legacy after they were removed from the shelves. These comics were the R-rated horror movies before R-rated horror movies existed, before special effect artists could create the ghastly images on the silver screen that artists had already drawn on the printed page. However, I'm not sure who else would be interested in buying these figures outside of die-hard horror fans. At $20 per figure ($25 for the glow-in-the-dark versions), it would be cheaper for fans to buy reprints of the original comics than it would be to collect this line.