January 2008 – Page 3 – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

5 Questions with: OB1

January 14, 2008 | Poe

Codename: OB1
Base of Operations: OB1og
History: Grumpy and intimidating software/web developer by day, whiney and sassy Xbox gamer by night, OB1 is a semi-closeted toy geek. If it weren’t for the huge amounts of cake he already blows on comic books every month, he’d probably be blowing it on toys. In fact, it is due to the G.I. Joe toys and cartoons that he finds himself buried in stacks of yet-to-be-read comic books and presumably thousands upon thousands of dollars poorer. Paper route earnings were put into G.I. Joe comics and that led to the rest of the Marvel Universe. It circled back to toys with the release of McFarlane’s original Spawn figure (which he still believes is one of the best he’s ever seen). Neglecting his blog and comics at the expense of increasing his Gamerscore at night with Poe and Mistah Plow, he dreams that his toys never come to life and exact revenge for being boxed up in the basement.

What was the first action figure you remember owning?

I got a Spider-man figure for my seventh birthday (second grade). He was probably eight to ten inches, had a cloth costume and a knob on his back, which when turned, would spin his arms around (I’m guessing for some kind of punchy motion). Some time around my last few years of high school I found out from my friend that gifted him to me that he was forced into it. Spidey was supposed to be one of his Christmas presents, but his mother wrapped it up as a gift for my party when he needed one. He never got a Spidey of his own and apparently still held some resentment. That’s too bad too because since my birhtday is just a few weeks before Christmas, Spidey ended up at the bottom of my toybox after Christmas (see Question 5).

Oh, and for first action figure memories (because I didn’t own them), it is some original G.I. Joe dolls. You know, the twelve-inch suckers where you could put different clothes on and outfit with weapons, etc. My grandmother’s house had a few of them and I laid claim to them when I would visit.

What was your favorite toy fad growing up, and why? (Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers etc.)

This is a tough one. Ultimately, I’d have to say LEGO, but that wasn’t really a fad and since this is an action figure-centric site, I’ll go with Star Wars, just because it lasted past childhood. Of course, I was into G.I. Joe and the Transformers a lot–thanks to the cartoons–and I amassed a decent collection of those toys, more Joes than Transformers, but those also came later in my *childhood* years and I started feeling funny about wanting to play with toys as a kid in high school. Of course, now, it ain’t no thing, right?

I have fond memories of my Joe’s. I had the hovercraft and I used to take it with me when my Mom would work nights at our athletic club. I’d take that sucker into the locker room and play with it in the jacuzzi. That all seems very wrong these days. Transformers don’t lend such fond memories as they caused my juvenile run-in with the law. I was the unfortunate bag man accomplice for my friend boosting the Autobot that turned into a microscope. We got busted at the Hanover Mall Zayre’s by security as we exited the store. A call to the parents instead of the fuzz was our reward.

Anyway, back to Star Wars, I think I have to go with that because I was big into them for the first two films–I don’t think I owned any toys from Jedi–and it caused a resurgence in my toy buying when those films were re-released 10+ years ago. I found myself buying a lot of figures and vehicles I used to have when I was a kid. I still can’t explain why, except maybe it was because I was already having a toy buying resurgence due to McFarlane’s Spawn figures.

Too bad there weren’t Star Wars LEGO sets when I was a kid, that would have been right in my wheelhouse. Instead, I settled for the first Space sets, which at the time, were pretty cool too.

What’s the last toy you bought?

A Star Wars Galactic Heroes two-pack with the middle-aged Obi-Wan Kenobi and a Clone Trooper. We had a little bowling tournament at work this past Spring and our trophies were a Galactic Hero (or their Marvel equivalent) glued onto a Jenga block (we played it during team building/status meetings). Anyway, I had Yoda for being on the first place team and a Clone Trooper for having the lowest individual score (yeah, my team was really good). Well, me being me, I wasn’t satisfied with the Yoda, so I had to replace him with an Obi-Wan if I was going to display them at work. (No one would know the difference.)

Last toy I received was McFarlane Toys’ Manny Ramirez. I believe Poe (or future Mrs. Ghostal) stole him from me during a Yankee Swap and the person that bought it gave me a replacement for my birthday a week later. Now I might need a Big Papi and worry this may snowball…

If they made an action figure of you, what would it look like, what would its features be, and what accessories would it come with?

Well, to look at me, you have to go with a figure looking something like Jack “The Pumpkin King” Skellington because I’m tall and almost as pale. I’m not quite as lanky as I used to be, but it is still a good fit. As for accessories, I think you’d have to have a DSLR and a laptop for sure, then let’s throw in a ray gun of some sort for fun.

What’s your fondest toy-related holiday memory?

Christmas of ’78. I’m a fresh seven years old and am somehow rewarded with a huge bounty of Star Wars toys under the tree. Coming from a single parent home, we didn’t have a whole lot of money at all and I probably had a haul that was on par with a rich kid. It’s a vivid memory because that year I remember asking Santa simply for an X-Wing, Tie Fighter and a few figures, probably Luke, Vader, Han and Chewie. After Santa laughed at me and I got booted down the slide, my Mom asked what I asked Santa for and I refused to tell her. She calmly explained that I had to tell her and of course I didn’t know why. (I think we’ve all had that moment.) Well, I relented and told her.

Come Christmas morning, I stumbled out into the living room and saw those same toys I asked Santa for staring back at me from under the tree. All of them. That’s before I started opening anything wrapped. (In my family, Santa leaves things unwrapped under the tree.) Once I started unwrapping, I added the Landspeeder, a Dewback, Stormtrooper, Leia, Obi-Wan, R2-D2, C-3PO and an action figure case. I’m pretty sure I have never been as happy in the 29 years since that morning. I was just blown away by that take and to this day, I still don’t know how my Mom pulled it off. I mean, that was just after the toys came out–remember that the toys dropped a year after the film did–and everyone had to wait in lines before stores opened to get their mitts on these things.

Anyway, I hope to do the same thing to my own future spawn and it would be super cool if it were by way of the action figure.

Dark Knight photos leaked

January 13, 2008 | Poe

Some good photos of the “Movie Masters” 6″ Dark Knight line (sculpted by the Four Horsemen) have leaked (intentionally or not?) to the Web. For now, I’m just going to link to another site that has them, until I’ve got confirmation from the Horsemen or Mattel that it’s okay to post them here.

Dark Knight figure photos

Also, Entertainment Earth has a bunch of Dark Knight, including the Movie Master figures, up for preorder. There are some new photos, but I’m skeptical about how much information EE really has–for instance, the photo for the Movie Masters figures is the old prototype photo that came out last week, and the product description says “Each case includes 4 individually packaged Action Figures which may include: Batman, The Joker. (Subject to change.)” Hmmmm…

I do believe the May release date, though. That’s the usual release date for a July blockbuster toy line.

Got back?

January 12, 2008 | Poe

The DC Universe Classics Info Archive has got their hands on some cool new photos of DCUC wave three, including rear views. I’m happy to see Nightwing has back-sheathes for his Eskrima sticks, and the close-up of Solomon Grundy highlights the Horsemen’s excellent head sculpt.

Contest! > Everybody into the Pool

January 11, 2008 | Poe

Mattel has come up with a pretty cool option for comic shops that order DC Universe Classics. Customers can pre-order their own six-figure case, which guarantees one of each character and just one extra. I had an extra Batman in my wave one case that I gave to Toys for Toys.I’ve already pre-ordered a case of DCUC wave two (from Corner Store Comics). The case will include one of each figure and one extra (probably Superman Blue/Red). This time, I’m going to give the extra figure–to one of you!* (more…)

5 Questions With: Michael Crawford

January 10, 2008 | Poe

Codename: Michael Crawford
Occupation: Pop Culture Collectible Reviewer
Base of Operations: Michael Crawford’s Review of the Week
History: Michael has been reviewing various forms of pop culture collectibles (including action figures, busts, statues, games, and various toys) for more than 12 years now. He started back in the Usenet group days of rec.toys.misc, and started his own website at the beginning of 2000. His style of review has been adopted by dozens of other reviewers, and he’s well known in the industry as a fair and honest critic. In the last eight years, he’s reviewed thousands of items, and also regularly writes a column called The Toy Box for director Kevin Smith’s entertainment website, Quick Stop Entertainment.

Your toy review site is one of the most popular on the Web. Why did you start it way back when?

I had been writing reviews on several Usenet groups, but they weren’t all that I wanted them to be. They needed to include photos, and I also wanted there to be a historical record, so folks could go back and see reviews from months–and now, years–earlier. And so was born Michael’s Review of the Week.

Why the weird name? Because that’s what it had been called when I was doing reviewers for the Usenet groups, and I wanted consistency. Since then, folks know it better by it’s url, www.mwctoys.com, or just “Michael Crawford’s site.” A few years ago, I had a friend do an updated design for me, and he labeled me “Captain Toy” at the time, which has sort of stuck as well.

How much of your daily life does managing the site take up these days?

Well, I try to keep a very regular schedule–that’s the trick to being able to get new content up consistently. I have reviews go up every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday night, and I’ve missed that schedule maybe once or twice in the last five years. I also do the Quick Stop column mid-week each week, which means I do about four reviews a week. Each one takes two to three hours, depending on the complexity. That’s the whole shebang–photos, writing and so forth. I try to spread the work out over the full week though, and get as much of the reviews done in advance. That means the Thursday night review is always half done by the time I’m posting the Tuesday review, for example. Of course, that doesn’t always work, and there are plenty of occasions where I get something new and want to get the review up ASAP, so there are some marathon writing sessions. But I’d say that I spend about fifteen hours a week specifically on the site.

What’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you as a result of running the site?

The coolest thing is getting to know the wonderful people that are involved in the hobby, both the collectors and the folks in the industry. Oh, occasionally you meet a complete moron, but that’s few and far between. The vast majority of the people I’ve come to know in the industry and the collecting community have been friendly, considerate and helpful.

Let’s talk about the Poppies. What are they, and how did you come up with them?

Last summer I started the process of thinking and planning for my own yearly best and worst picks for 2007. Every site does their own picks, but there isn’t any cross industry type awards for pop culture collectibles. I figured it was time to do something about that, and thus was born the Poppies. The inaugural year has over ninety judges from five categories–Companies, Retailers, Websites, Collectors, and Artists. They’ve come together and nominated their top picks in each of ten categories–Best Company, Best Overall Line, Best Male Figure 18″ and up, Best Male Figure 12″ – 18″, Best Male Figure under 12″, Best Female Figure (any size), Best Statue, Best Mini-Bust, Best Vinyl, and Best Misc Item. They’ll start the final vote this week, and I’ll be announcing the winners on January 15th. There’s also a contest for readers to enter. They can try to guess which items will be the winners, and I’ll draw one name from those that match the judges final choices the closest for a cool prize.

What’s your fondest toy-related holiday memory?

Hmmm–that’s a tough one. But I think it was getting Eric The Viking, the Marx figure. I was very big on the Marx stuff as a kid, but I remember that Eric was one that I really begged for, and finally got one Christmas. It was pretty exciting, and I still own that Eric with almost all his accessories.

Cleatus the Fox Sports Robot

January 9, 2008 | Poe

When it comes to toys, I’ve always tended to be “into” one franchise or another at any given time. Right now it’s DC Universe; before that it was Halo, and before that, Hellboy, and so on. But I’m always on the lookout for cool toys, even if they don’t fit my current obsession. And once in a while, you come across a real gem like Cleatus, the Fox Sports Robot, produced by Foamheads, a sports collectible manufacturer.

From the packaging:

Last year’s revival of the NFL Robot on FOX marked the beginning of a new era for America’s favorite spectator sport. This 10-inch posable action figure features the highest quality and greatest attention to detail available in an action figure. The FOX Sports Robot utilizes its fully articulating joints to evade defenders and score touchdowns. A must-have piece for every sport fanatic’s collection. (more…)

Transformers (2007)

January 8, 2008 | Poe

For much of my young life, I was a diehard Transformers fan. I have distinct memories of receiving my first Transformer, Jazz, as well as Soundwave, Hot Rod, and of course, Grimlock, my favorite toy of all time. Heck, one Christmas Santa brought me Fortress Maximus–probably the most enviable toy I ever owned as a kid. FM was the equivalent of the aircraft carrier for G.I. Joe fans, or the Eternia playset for Masters of the Universe.

At the age of fifteen, I wrote a fan fiction novel about Transformers. It’s now out there in the wild of the Web, and not hard to find. I lost most of my interest in Transformers in high school, when my attention turned to even geekier pursuits such as playing Magic: the Gathering and reading The Lord of the Rings.

Still, I’ve always had a lingering fondness for ol’ Optimus Prime and company. Which is why I realize it’s a bit odd it took me so long to see the recent Transformers movie. I mean, I like science fiction blockbusters, and among everyone I know, I was probably the biggest childhood TF fan–so why the apathy? A few reasons, I think. A certain dislike for the flashy but insubstantial filmmaking style of Michael Bay; the ugly robot designs; and a genuine lack of interest in Transformers these days.

Anyway, I finally watched the movie over the weekend. As I’d suspected, it was entertaining, but it didn’t make me want to go out and buy any Transformers toys; which, frankly, represents a pretty big thumbs-down from me (I’m the guy who wishes he could get a Horatio Caine action figure, after all–my standards are pretty low). Again, I thought the Transformer designs were much too complicated and cluttered, especially in the faces, which made it impossible to empathize with them as characters. To me, they were big piles of metal that looked like they’d fly apart at the slightest bump.

What there was of a plot was confusing. Why, at the end of the film, are Megatron and Optimus Prime discussing the relative merits of humanity? At that point, Megatron has spent all of twenty minutes around humans, so his wanting to destroy them all–to say nothing of his understanding how important their continued existence is to Optimus Prime–sort of comes out of left field.

That’s only one minor point, really, but it’s indicative of my general feeling watching the movie. I enjoyed all the little asides to fans of the original cartoon, but most of it was just weird. Why the bizarre John Turturro character, who acts like a G-man version of Stanley Spadowski and somehow gets more lines than Megan Fox? Why the moment where Bumblebee pees on said G-man? The so-called “humor” of the film generally left me cold, especially the scene where the Autobots scurry around the house of human friend Sam (Shia LeBeouf) like Keystone Cops. Having looked up to the staid, respectful Optimus Prime of the original cartoon as one of my childhood role models, it seemed a bit undignified for Peter Cullen to have to deliver lines like “Oops, sorry, my bad” and fret about being spotted by Sam’s parents.

I want to be clear–I’m not criticizing the movie for not being a direct cartoon-to-meatspace translation of the original cartoon. I might have gone even farther from the show’s premise to up the realism of the flick, though I also would have ratcheted back the Transformer designs.

I watched the movie less as a Transformers adaptation and more as a standard science fiction movie–this year’s heir to Independence Day and Armageddon. And on that level, I still think the film fell a little short. The action sequences were confusing, the characterizations with wafer-thin, and Michael Bay’s odd and yet, somehow clich

New DCUC site

January 8, 2008 | Poe

Action Figure Insider forum member Vader has created an information website for DCUC. It’s pretty cool–and thorough.

DCUC.info

First pic of the 6″ Dark Knight figures

January 8, 2008 | Poe

Toy News International has posted a photo of the Batman figure from the upcoming six-inch line based on The Dark Knight. The line’s sub-title is apparently “Movie Masters,” which presumably means it will cover more than just this one film (and possibly non-Batman films such as Superman Returns and Justice League).

Over on their FANtastic Exclusive forums, the Four Horsemen are a bit uncertain whether the photo is definitely of their prototype or not, but they do offer this tidbit about the figures: “They match up in both scale and articulation with the DC Universe Classics figures. The articulation is really well hidden in that figure.”

More details about the Movie Masters line will be revealed at Toy Fair next month. Along with DCUC and the NECA Ninja Turtles, this is one of my most-anticipated lines for 2008.

ToyFare #127: first pics of Mezco’s Heroes figures

January 7, 2008 | Poe

ToyFare has posted a scan of the cover for issue #127, featuring Claire and Sylar from Mezco’s upcoming Heroes action figure line. Click the image for a larger version.

My first impression: these appear to be as realistic and non-cartoonish as Mezco’s popular Hellboy movie line from 2004, so fans worried about a Warriors or Miami Vice redux can relax. However, Sylar’s features still look a bit exaggerated, and the Claire likeness needs a lot of work, particularly around cheekbones and the eyes. Hayden Panettiere has very distinctive eyes; if you can get them right, the rest of the likeness will fall into place.

These are almost certainly prototypes, so there’s plenty of time to work on them.