Man–it’s hard to believe I’ve been chronicling the amazing toy line that is Large James for almost eight years! As you know if you follow this blog regularly, I hold a special place in my heart for the weirder corners of the BJ mythos. Whether it’s the mid-70s P,A.C.K. (featuring package artwork by none other than Jack “King” Kirby) or
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The Big Jim series from Mattel is endlessly interesting to me. What started out in in the 70s as a toyline in a pure adventure/sports vein morphed into a spy series full of crazy characters (with some package art provided by Jack Kirby!) and continued well into the 80s with heavy sci-fi elements. If you dig into its history, you’ll
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As we’ve often covered on this blog, GI Joe has not been without its imitators over the years. While it’s easy to see such things as me-too cash grabs by competing toy manufacturers, I am impressed when the imitations carve out their own niche. I am particularly fond of the subjects that get weird. Such was the case of Big
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In 1973, while the GI Joe line was well into its Adventure Team period, competitor Mattel introduced Big Jim, a less militaristic adventure and sports based 10 inch figure, as an alternative. Unlike Joe, Big Jim from its beginnings incorporated action features into the figures. The toys’ biceps bulged when arms bent at the elbows. In 1975, Big Jim’s image
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