Action Figure Museum won't hit the Bricks

Confronting relocation temptation, fighting the magnetic pull of higher foot-traffic and big-city positioning, the Toy & Action Figure Museum has unveiled its superpower: not moving.

Despite Magneto-like efforts by the Bricktown Association to pull the museum from Pauls Valley to Oklahoma City, the fortress of figurines will stay put " permanently.

In a statement, curator Kevin Stark said that while considering a possible move to OKC, the museum's board was met with a "tremendous response" from Pauls Valley residents, including city and business leaders and local citizens.

"The community pulled together to keep the museum in its original home," Stark said, "and here it will continue to help make the community one of the top tourist draws in the state for many years to come."

The museum began with Stark's personal collection and has since grown to include more than 12,000 toys and action figures. Stark is an artist who has drawn comics and designed toys for "The Simpsons," "Toonsylvania" and "The Mummy." His industry start began in 1990, when he helped develop the action figures for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

The museum, which has been hailed by Time magazine as one of "50 Authentic American Experiences," will celebrate its fifth anniversary Oct. 15. "Joe Wertz

photo Curator Kevin Stark.

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