In Search of the "Holy Grail" of Hulk
A fanatic's story
By John "Mego Stretch Hulk" Cimino

In Christmas of 1977 I was 4 years old. I can remember my older brother Carlo opening up a present and getting this cool looking new toy called Stretch Armstrong. Then I would rip open one of my presents and it contained a creature called the Stretch Monster (Mr. Armstrong's arch-enemy). I loved how he felt and stretched, he was so much fun! These two toys left a big impression on me at this time because I really can't remember anything else that we got that day. As it turned out, these two toys didn't last very long. My older cousin Bill stretched Mr. Armstrong a tad to far and my uncle Salvator tied Mr. Monster a bit too tight (I remember crying to my father). I would soon go onto other toys, but I always remembered those stretch figures being very, very cool.

Two years later in 1979, superhero toys were everywhere you looked (this was the greatest year for toys ever IMHO). And the leader of this superhero toy revolution was Mego Corp and their "World's Greatest Superheroes" toy line. Kids went nuts for these toys and ate up everything that was put out. There were a ton of figures (Hulk, Spider-man, Superman, Thor, etc.) and accessories to choose from. All the kids in my neighborhood had at least one figure.
During this time while watching Saturday morning cartoons I came across a commercial that showed a brand new toy line out in stores by Mego Corp, the "Elastic" Superheroes! I can remember kids on the tube stretching Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Plastic man and my favorite superhero of all…the Hulk! They looked so awesome, so chubby, so cute and they stretched (years later I thought they reminded me of drawings by Jack Kirby with their soft, pudgy bodies and overall look)!! I was literally in awe by these toys! Just then, I remembered my Stretch Monster from a few years earlier and thought, WOW!! A stretch Hulk now exists?? I can't believe it! I had to have one.
I would go with my mother Orietta from time to time to department stores (Zayers, Caldors and Bradleys) and never come across them.
One day my aunt Connie came by for a visit and took my brother and myself to Osco Drugs to spoil us on some toys. When we got there, I ran down to the toy aisle in hoping to find those blasted stretch figures that seemed to elude me. And there they were (my heart began to race) the Mego Elastic figures for only 11.99; Superman, Batman, Plastic man, Spider-man and…What? No Hulk? For some reason he was the only one missing. I couldn't believe my luck, I was disappointed but I had to have one so I got a Spider-man figure.

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