Fans of Marx Toys and Jonny West morn Noah Coop

[Sarah Ehrett]

Noah Coop, 10/10/2014

The PopCult Toybox: Remembering Noah Coop


The toy collecting world lost one of the good guys over the weekend. Noah
Coop, known as Marxman to fans of Johnny West and the Marx action figures,
succumbed to injuries suffered almost five years ago in a freak accident.

I never got to meet Noah in person. He and his wife Terri were mainstays at
JohnnyCon, part of the Marx Toy Convention held each year in Wheeling, but
the first year I attended in 2009, Noah stayed home to work on new
projects. So I just met his wife, Terri.

Those new projects were new head sculpts and reissues of older Marx
products, giving us new Marx style action figures for the first time in
over thirty years. Terri and I hit it right off and Noah and I became fast
friends via e-mail after the convention. We continued trading emails after
his accident, and his spirit never wavered.

His enthusiasm for the twelve inch tall Marx action figures was boundless.
He had sculpted new heads and he and Terri found ways to use new, more
durable plastics with the original body molds. Noah’s custom figures were
legendary and I really regret that I didn’t purchase more of his custom
heads before the accident.

Noah and Terri revived the Marx Toy Company and secured trademarks on
Johnny West and many of the other key characters from the line. In fact,
they had pretty grand plans for the company, but sadly, Noah was working on
remodeling the building they had purchased to be their home/factory when he
fell two stories.

Noah was left a quadraplegic and he and Terri had to endure a lot of
physical, legal, and emotional trauma in the ensuing years. This has been
an ongoing tragedy since the accident.

Now Noah is at peace and his suffering is over. Melanie and I send our
deepest condolences to Terri and to Noah’s family and we take this week’s
PopCult Toybox to celebrate Noah’s life, the positive influence he had on
the hobby, and the wonderful artistry that he brought to his craft.

I knew him as an e-mail buddy and an enthusiastic toy collector. But he was
also a loving husband, son, brother, uncle, artist, and just an all around
great guy. The world needs more people like him and it’s always a shame
when we lose one.

On what would have been your fifty-third birthday, I wish you a peaceful
journey, my friend.

http://www.emptyglass.com/local-scene/blog/the-popcult-toybox-remembering-noah