Seen here is the original art for the Iceman action figure blister card, released by Toy Biz in 1992.
Flashback to 1992; a young Tommy wearing his X-Men shirt, X-Men hat and X-Men shoes spends months scouring the toy store shelves looking for the final figure he needs to complete his X-team and defeat his collection of evil action figures once and for all. But.......try as he might, no matter how many stores he visits, Iceman is nowhere to be found. Much sadness results. Finally, just as all hope seems lost……"Santa" comes through with Tommy’s very own figural Bobby Drake Christmas morning, which he would latter learn was purchased at a local comic book store at a 2000% markup. Unbeknownst to young Tommy, Toy Biz short packed the figure so that there were limited number of Icemans per case to begin with, and also reportedly recalled the figure because the cheap clear plastic the figure is made of shatters when you try to put it in the kitchen freezer as helpfully suggested by the cardback. As such, Iceman was the figure that EVERY little comic fan needed.
I have NO idea who the artist on this was, or even if they worked at Toy Biz or Marvel. If anyone recognizes it, feel free to drop me a line or post it here though.
In any event, Iceman remains my favorite figure from those first few X-Men lines and probably the most nostalgic. I'm thrilled to own the original art showing the image I never did get to see on a store shelf anywhere.
