We’re not even sure what $1.2 million dollars looks like, but it’s must have a lot of these!
“Almighty Heroes” Line Fizzles… Investors File Suit Against Levine… Settlement Reached.
In our previous article about Don Levine, aka ”The Father of G.I. Joe,” (HERE), we reported that Levine’s most recent toy venture was the creation of a new line of action figures, DVDs and story books based on Biblical characters called the “Almighty Heroes.” Sadly, sales of the new line were very poor. As a result, a lawsuit was filed against Levine by investors, and after much legal wrangling, a settlement was finally reached. In a recent article published in Lawyers USA Weekly (LAW), it was announced that Levine must now pay the plaintiffs a whopping $1.2 MILLION dollars. According to the post-case summary…
“The inventor of the iconic G.I. Joe action figure has agreed to pay $1.2 million to end a lawsuit filed by the backers of his follow-up venture, a line of toys based on Old Testament biblical heroes that never quite took off.”
In this early publicity still, Don Levine poses with a variety of merchandise from his ill-fated, “Almighty Heroes” toy line. (Photo: CBN)
This closeup of “Sampson,” probably the most popular figure of the line, reveals the severely limited articulation of the figures, essentially making them little statues with limited play value. (Photo: FV, LLC)
Ouch. “Never quite took off.” What a disappointment that must be for all concerned. Indeed, even after 6 years online and in the stores, unsold AH merchandise can STILL be found for sale at blowout clearance prices, but with few interested buyers. Ironically, most GIjOE collectors will tell you they saw this coming. Many decried the AH line as poorly designed and “uninspiring,” foreseeing that its overly simplistic figures lacked adequate articulation, severely limiting their playability and desirability. The LAW article went on to point out another interesting GIjOE-related twist…
“When Donald Levine, who invented G.I. Joe for Hasbro Toys in 1963, went looking for funds to launch his Almighty Heroes line, he turned to noted collector Stephen Geppi Sr., owner of Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. Geppi was a logical choice, as his $200,000 purchase of Levine’s hand-made G.I. Joe prototype in 2003 set a Guinness World Record for toy soldiers.
One of the plaintiffs, Diamond Comic Distributors founder and President Stephen Geppi Sr. (Photo: Daily Record)
Bottom Line: Clearly a sad story all around. But wasn’t it interesting how a huge fan of GIjOE like Mr. Geppi purchased the iconic, one and only (handmade) prototype of GIjOE; then, he became an investor in support of Levine’s new AH line; and finally, he became a plaintiff in a major lawsuit AGAINST Mr. Levine? How ironic! If you’re interested in learning more about the now defunct AH line of toys, here’s a link to the original CBN VIDEO. Enjoy!
