Odds ‘n Ends > July 26, 2011

July 26, 2011 | Poe

  • Saw Captain America with Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and Red Kryptonite this past weekend. I enjoyed it–more than Thor, and probably more than any Marvel flick since X-Men 2. We knew Joe Johnston could direct period pieces, and this was sort of a sideways sequel to The Rocketeer anyway. Chris Evans was great, Tommy Lee Jones did a great job being Tommy Lee Jones, and the Red Skull was Red Hulk to Jim Carrey’s The Mask. (I did find the Red Skull make-up a bit too cartoony, but I realize that–as well as the German-accented English among the foreign bad guys–was done to make the film accessible to kids, and that’s fine.) Did I think it was better than Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? No, but it was unquestionably more fun than those movies, and a nice set-up for The Avengers.
  • Speaking of Nick Fury & the Avengers, this spoof is cute. Love the slow clap.
  • As you may know, Mattel is bringing the DC Retro Action line to a close soon. Some fans have a petition up to save it. I wish ’em luck!
  • I received an email from a company called Geek Design, who create high-end furniture for storing and displaying collectibles.
  • Looks like I’ll be attending NYCC this year. I keep hoping more of SDCC’s hype will spill over into NYCC as SDCC becomes more crowded; maybe that will start this year, with the show moving back to October. The Tuesday after the show, incidentally, is the release date for Batman: Arkham City, the Arkham City trade paperback, and the Blu-Ray of Batman: Year One. Busy day for Bats.
  • In case you missed it, there were a couple small MOTUC news bits out of SDCC. First off, the Wind Raider will have real box art, painted by the same artist who did it thirty years ago.
  • Also, here are all the new bios that were revealed. Battleground Evil-Lyn’s is a doozy; Demo-Man’s disappointingly contains nothing about Demo-Man himself, nor explains what happened when Keldor merged with him (i.e., did any of Demo-Man’s mind merge as well, etc.).
  • Finally, it looks like there very well may be an exclusive at PowerCon: a pedestal for King Grayskull’s Orb of Sparkle Crest Toothpaste. The PowerCon part is speculation but seems likely.

“The Toy Masters” Documentary Trailer

July 25, 2011 | Poe

Shows how out of the loop I am–evidently some enterprising He-Fans have made a documentary about the controversy surrounding who invented He-Man. I’ve touched on this before, but to my knowledge it’s never been examined as deeply as these filmmakers have gone about it.

I’d like to hope that it will settle the Roger Sweet/Mark Taylor debate once and for all, but that seems unlikely. Regardless, the documentary looks great, particularly for the stuff that doesn’t involve the who-invented-He-Man question and focuses on the franchise as a whole: there are interviews with Larry DiTillio, J. Michael Straczynski, Alan “Skeletor” Oppenheimer and Lou Scheimer, among many others.

Visit the film’s official website (warning: it’s noisy), and follow them on Twitter here.

Bastards of the Universe: > “Tweeters and Followers”

July 22, 2011 | googum


 

So, I signed up for Twitter; pretty much just to follow Poe and Warren Ellis. Didn’t even get ‘googum,’ either!

I have yet to send a tweet or whatever myself, since mine would be the worst ever: “Now I’m at work!” “Now I’m at home!” “Now I’m at work!” Unless I tweet when I’m walking my dog, that might be about it…Actually, I do intend to start tweeting on the rare occasions when I pick up a new figure in stores; even though that seems few and far between lately.

Meanwhile, Poe has tweeted his goal of getting a thousand followers, which is as good a way to keep up with what’s going on here as any. Follow him now!

Mattel gives us one last fakey list

July 22, 2011 | Poe

Just for laughs/to rub salt in the wound, depending on your perspective:

  • Purchase a membership to Club Eternia for $20 and you’re guaranteed to receive all of the monthly Masters of the Universe Classics figures released during the year. You’ll also receive club-exclusive Fan Choice Create a Character – 100% sculpt (update based on SDCC panel vote: Sorceress, Ram Man, Rokkon) and an all-new bonus map poster of Future Eternia Under the Reign of King He-Man!
  • Starting January 2012, you are automatically shipped the Club Eternia Monthly Figure every month for a total of twelve months (January through December). For 2012, you will also be shipped four beast figures or multi-packs and four character variant figures at various intervals throughout the year. You are billed as figures ship. Figures revealed to date are Eldor(January), Sweet Bee (February) and Stinkor (March). Also in March is the beast/multipack – Classic Movie 3-Pack featuring Julie, Kevin and Det. Lubic ($60.00).

I don’t even understand the joke about the fan create-a-character–wasn’t the original 1980s create-a-character contest all about creating new characters like Fearless Photog? Why the list of established characters? Even their jokes are confusing.

At least we can rest assured there will definitely be no Classic Movie 3-pack. They (almost certainly) don’t have the rights, and that would be the most boring set ever. No one, not a living soul, needs a Kevin figure.

Anyway, again, this mess will all be over by 3pm PT, when the Mattypalooza panel should be over (it starts at 2).

Odds ‘n Ends > SDCC Day 1: Super-deformed MOTU, 6″ Star Wars(!?)

July 21, 2011 | Poe

  • Not quite as much awesome toy stuff revealed today–preview night is always the big one, aside from panels–but apparently Mattel did put the above figs in their display case today. They appear to be super-deformed MOTU toys in the style of the DC Action League (or Galactic Heroes or Superhero Squad or whatever line you prefer). Mattel certainly seems interested in trying some new styles with MOTU–and that can only be a good thing. Anyway, I’m definitely in for these. The above pic was taken by Pixel Dan, who’s covering SDCC for PopCultureNetwork; check out this link for a larger pic of the minifigures.
  • DC Direct had their panel today. I was primarily interested in their Arkham City figures, but they still haven’t revealed anything beyond Harley. I’m speculating this is because the other figures are of characters who haven’t been revealed yet, i.e., Nightwing. They’re also making figures based on the JLA in their Brand New DC looks. I have to say the figures look rather uninspired, and what’s more, you won’t be able to buy the first one for another thirteen months.
  • In Poe-Could-Go-Bankrupt news, ThreeA toys had some 6″ Star Wars prototypes that they’re evidently trying to pitch to Takara. Why Takara? I don’t know. I only know I don’t want these to be made because I want to have a house and kids and so forth someday, and I won’t be able to afford it if I’m buying these. Head over to ActionFigurePics for more info and photos. Poester and Star Wars pedant misterbigbo informs us that apparently the Stormtrooper head sculpt is based on the F/X 501st helmet and is not screen-accurate; I’ll take his word for it.
  • Marvel Legends are back! And…could it be true? Am I finally getting the 6″ Constrictor I’ve wanted since I read a backup story about him in Marvel Comics Presents #74? I find it a bit amusing they’ve got Steve Rogers there in his “Super Soldier” costume–has Marvel really not got him back into the red, white and blue for the movie release? Good for them for sticking with story over marketing, I guess. Anyway, check out ActionFigurePics for pics and info on the ML relaunch.
  • Evidently Mattel’s WWE line is becoming a Mattycollector exclusive for 2012. That’s–kind of weird, right? WWE figures seem to have been perennial sellers for the last decade. Is this a.) due to waning popularity of the WWE and wrestling in general; b.) due to the waning popularity and market oversaturation of wrestling figures in general and the WWE in particular; c.) due to the waning popularity of action figures in general among youngsters, the WWE’s main demographic; or d.) Mattel actually managed to bungle a surefire seller like WWE? Anyway, the good(?) news for wrestling fans is that they get to vote on five of the figures to be released in 2012. UPDATE: Commenters correctly pointed out to me below that it’s only the Legends sub-line that’s going Mattycollector-only. The regular line still sells well.
  • Should I be covering Voltron? Do people care? I never watched the show, and the only toys I had were the old diecast 6″ figure and, believe it or not, the vehicle Voltron.
  • The Mattypalooza panel happens at 2pm PT (5pm ET) Friday, thus bringing this farce to a close (I hope). The DC panel is two hours later–here’s hoping for some more Batman Legacy awesomeness. Apparently Matty himself might stop by! To quote Hudson, “He’s coming in. I feel safer already.”

MOTUC Sub List #4 (+ complete list of figs so far)

July 21, 2011 | Poe

I said I wouldn’t post about this bullcrap anymore, but whatever, right?

Here’s the latest MOTUC sub list:

  • Purchase a membership to Club Eternia for $20 and you’re guaranteed to receive all of the monthly Masters of the Universe Classics figures released during the year. You’ll also receive club-exclusive Fearless Photog and an all-new bonus map poster of The Tri-Solar System!
  • Starting January 2012, you are automatically shipped the Club Eternia Monthly Figure every month for a total of twelve months (January through December). For 2012, you will also be shipped four beast figures or multi-packs and four character variant figures at various intervals throughout the year. You are billed as figures ship. Figures revealed to date are Snake Face (January), Slush Head (February) and Mosquitor(March). Also in March is the largest Beast/Multipack item for the year – the Jaw Bridge of Castle Grayskull! First in an annual series to build-up pieces to the mighty fortress of mystery and power!

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