Just a reminder, the Mattel SDCC exclusives go on sale at 12pm ET (9am PT) today.
Here’s the all-in-one page. Good luck all!
Power-Con/ThunderCon Update
The folks behind Power-Con/ThunderCon send along this press release. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it–thus is the price of living on the other side of the continent. But it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
July 18, 2011 – Three of the 1980s most blockbuster properties are joining forces for their first ever fan convention. Power-Con, LLC is proud to present POWER-CON / THUNDERCON — a celebration of Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power, and ThunderCats all together for one great fan convention.
The convention is being presented at the Four Points LAX in Los Angeles, California, on September 24th and 25th 2011. Reduced ticket pricing is available through September 1st 2011 (1-day pass: $20/person, 2-day pass: $30/person) and kids 12 and under get in free with paying adult. For fans wanting more, a Power Package bundle is available that includes exclusive convention memorabilia. There is also a Roast Gooble Dinner Package which offers a limited number of fans the rare opportunity to dine with celebrity guests from the show.
Guests include Larry DiTillio, writer of numerous He-Man and She-Ra episodes and developer of She-Ra; Don Glut, writer of the original He-Man mini comics; Michael Halperin, writer of the original Masters of the Universe series bible; Larry Kenney, the original voice actor for ThunderCat’s Lion-O; Roger Lay Jr., filmmaker of the upcoming Toy Masters documentary; Ted Mayer, one of the original designers of the Masters of the Universe toy line; Mattel, creators of the original He-Man and She-Ra toy lines and current producer of MattyCollector.com’s Masters of the Universe Classics; Earl Norem, painter of the iconic He-Man magazine; and Dean Stefan, lead story editor of the 2002 He-Man series on Cartoon Network. But, that’s not all! Our complete guest list can be found online at: http://www.thepower-con.com/guest-list/
For more information on Power-Con / ThunderCon 2011 and all of its offerings, please visit http://www.thepower-con.com
A Big Announcement from Spy Monkey Creations
Spy Monkey Creations has some big news:
Fans,
The time has come for Spy Monkey to take the next step in our evolution. We started in 2009 and since then our fanbase has grown to heights we couldn’t dream of. However, both our designs and the level of demand for our products have finally outgrown the “garage” style resin production methods we utilize.
Effective immediately the Spy Monkey Creations Store is on hiatus.
All standing orders will be processed and shipped but no new orders will be accepted. The reason for this is that we finally have plans in motion to move to full mass production. If all goes as planned 2012 will usher in an all new era for Spy Monkey with familiar and all new items, the durability of injection molded ABS and PVC and an all new way of using SMC items to accessorize and expand your collections that puts YOU in charge.
MANY of the existing items will return in injection molded plastic at a much lower price point. Those that do not will return in 2012 as limited run resin items.
You’re probably asking “Why the hiatus? Why not continue the resin items until the new items are ready?” The reason is simple. We are a very small company. There are only 3 of us and the time commitment it will require to move to mass production precludes continued working in resin at full capacity.
We know how much you all love the current items, but we firmly believe that injection molded mass produced product is what SMC needs to grow and evolve. Again, resin items are not gone forever, but they will no longer be our main focus. We will still have some 2011 items like Convention and Partner exclusives but ideally when the store fully re-opens it will have our all new mass produced line.
Thank you so much for making all of this possible, SMC would not be where it is without YOU.
Jeremy Sung, Bill Murphy, Brian T. Stevenson
I have a few inklings of what the SMC guys have up their sleeves, and I think you’ll all be pleased when they kick back into production.
“The Toy Masters” Documentary Trailer
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.
Live-blogging the Mattypalooza Panel
Update: images from the panel available at TNI.
Thanks to the texting efforts of Rustin Parr, I’ll be live-blogging the Mattypalooza panel. Click your refresh button (or F5) for updates. (more…)
Mattel gives us one last fakey list
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).
MOTUC Sub List #4 (+ complete list of figs so far)
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!
SDCC Preview Night Pics
Here are a few pics from SDCC, courtesy of Rustin Parr. Not as nice as you’ll find on other sites of course, but something to talk about.
First up, it appears Mattel is indeed expanding its Arkham City figures–here’s the Joker and Harley:
I can confirm that Harley, at least, was sculpted by the Four Horsemen. The Joker looks a little off, though–the head looks too small, and the hair looks too short. (more…)
New MOTUC Subscription Info: Damage Control or Ill-Advised Gag?
In an intriguing (and annoying) twist, the MOTUC subscription page has now been updated with an entirely different line-up. Spoilers(?) after the jump. (more…)
Big Kev’s Stolen Stuff
You may be aware of Big Kev’s Geek Stuff, a geek-oriented podcast that covers toys, movies and gaming. It’s one of the best geek podcasts out there (alongside Roast Gooble and Robot’s PJs, of course), but it’s on hiatus at the moment because their studio was robbed.
Earlier today Studio B was broken into. Though it has always been a long running joke of the show, the studio has always been a personal space for myself or Kevin. In this case Studio B was Kevin’s home. Along with some personal items of great value, all of the show equipment was stolen. Literally there is next to nothing left aside from the mic stands. Due to this we are sad to announce that the show is suspended. Until such a time as we can replace the equipment and the the lost files, production, etc… there will be no new full episodes of Geek Stuff. There may be some smaller shows, or maybe some content here and there but until further notice consider the show suspended. I’d ask that you keep in mind Kevin and his wife thru this terrible ordeal.
In light of this, BKGS is asking humbly for donations to help get the show back on the podwaves. Here’s their PayPal donation link. You can find a PayPal donation link on the upper right portion of their website. Please consider sending a few dollars their way–even $5 can help.