Odds ‘n Ends

March 3, 2009 | Poe

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It’s Tuesday, and here in New England we are buried another yet another foot of snow. God, I hate snow right now. Snow is a nice surprise in November, charming in December, and a tolerable nuisance in January. By early March, it’s the thing you hate the most in this world. Yeah, The Waste Land is a great poem, but Eliot’s whole thing about winter keeping us warm, covering us in forgetful snow–sorry, Mr. One of the World’s Greatest Poets, but I’m not buying it.

  • The geek universe is on the edge of its seat for Watchmen, and I’m just not feeling the excitement. I think because of my reservations about Zack Snyder; I thought 300 was overrated, and his Dawn of the Dead, while entertaining, was just a horror-fied action flick compared to the original film. Up to now, I’ve seen Snyder as a somewhat better version of Michael Bay. It’s entirely possible Watchmen will change my mind–I kind of hope it does. I didn’t expect to like the Wachowski Bros’s V for Vendetta (I’m not a fan of The Matrix), but I did. We’ll see about Watchmen soon enough.
  • A lot of geeks piled on Warner Bros last week for floating the idea of a Suicide Squad movie. One prominent blogger who will remain nameless suggested the movie would flop because mass audiences wouldn’t know who the characters were. I told him to go ask any friend of his who doesn’t read comics who Dr. Manhattan was. Lest we forget, Marvel’s recent run of great superhero flicks probably wouldn’t exist without the success of Blade, featuring one of its most obscure characters. I think a Suicide Squad film could be successful as long as it was grounded in the “real world”–like Wanted or Blade–and not the DCU.
  • Had quite a geek weekend of movies–the Mrs. and I watched Flash Gordon, Get Smart and Iron Man. I saw Iron Man in the theater, but the other two were first times for me–yes, I’d never seen Flash Gordon before, I know. I loved Brian Blessed as the Hawkmen’s leader, and I still think he would have made an even better Gimli than John Rhys-Davies. As for Get Smart, it was better than I thought it would be, but it made me wonder–why has Dwayne Johnson apparently given up on being an action hero? The Rundown is one of my favorite action flicks ever.
  • Have you guys heard about this movie The Expendables? Holy crap, check out that cast. This will either be the greatest movie ever, the worst movie ever, or turn out to be a hoax and not made at all. Between this and Inglourious Basterds, are we seeing a return of the balls-out wall-to-wall action film?
  • CSI Miami keeps trying to sell me on the idea of P. Diddy as a big-shot lawyer, and I’m just not buying it. However, I do enjoy watching Caruso’s scenes with him–Caruso can make anyone’s acting seem subtle and nuanced. Also, what happened to the cold open one-liners? It’s like the show became really self-conscious about them. Thanks a lot, The Soup.
  • Anyone catch last week’s Batman: Brave and the Bold? It’s amazing how creatively mismanaged a lot of DC’s comics are these days, yet their cartoons are consistently great. Brave and the Bold has gotten better and better each week.

Odds ‘n Ends

February 24, 2009 | Poe

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Poor Odds ‘n Ends–I keep forgetting you!

  • I’ve got a few more reviews in the pike…both Superman variants from DCUC6, Big Barda from Wave 7 (which I got via a trade), and Stratos. Look for those over the next week or two.
  • Speaking of Stratos, I still think it’s amusing he sold out before I even got mine in the mail.
  • As you may have noticed, I’ve got a new ad there in the upper left corner. PGPoA gets a commission every time something gets ordered from EE using my affiliate link, so feel free to go through that link whenever you need to order something from them. Really. Feel free. Of course, when it comes to ordering full sets of figures, I recommend Enchanted Toy Chest.
  • Great White Snark pointed me to the Internet Movie Firearm Database. If you like action movies and guns, prepare to be distracted for hours!
  • If you’re into Masters of the Universe Classics, He-Man.org is currently running a series of polls regarding what fans would like to see in the future.
  • If any of you come across an extra DC Universe Wave 7 Flash anytime over the next couple of weeks, pick it up for me and I’ll make it worth your while. Cool?

Odds ‘n Ends

February 10, 2009 | Poe

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  • I realized I completely missed last week’s Odds ‘n Ends. It didn’t even occur to me until yesterday. My apologies! I’m sure I had much more pressing business involving saving the world from diabolical forces or some such.
  • For those of you wondering whether the DCUC Wonder Twins are fake, all signs point to them being real. That’s all I’ve got right now, though.
  • Kastor’s Korner has a clearer pic of the NYCC panel Joker reveal. The mallet definitely has the Joker face.
  • Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I saw Coraline over the weekend. It’s a lovely, creepy story–I haven’t read the book, but I want to now. It’s a worthy successor to The Nightmare Before Christmas, and probably a better heir to Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal than Mirrormask (which was designed to be an heir to those movies) was.  The 3D aspect is mostly low-key, making the film a more immersive experience without being distracting. Also, DMG was quite taken with the tiny knitted items used throughout the film, such as the sweaters and gloves.
  • As a Red Sox fan, I should probably be taking some measure of schadenfreude in A-Rod’s admission yesterday. But honestly I’m just kind of sad. While I’m genetically wired to hate the Yankees, I did hope A-Rod would surpass Barry Bonds’s home run record–and do it clean. Now A-Rod would have to surpass it by as many home runs as he hit between 2001-2003 in order to avoid the dreaded asterisk (at least in my mind). Shine on, Hank Aaron.
  • To get back on topic, I should have the rest of my DCUC6 figures today, so look for reviews the rest of the week.

Odds ‘n Ends

January 27, 2009 | Poe

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Welcome to another weekly installment of Odds ‘n Ends. I’m your host, Poe Ghostal.

  • PGPoA now has a fan page on Facebook–become a fan today! I’m thinking about ways to make it worth your while, such as Facebook-exclusive content or contests and such forth.
  • February has always been “Retro Month” at OAFE, and this year PGPoA is getting in on the fun (but totally not just ripping it off) with Vintage Month. Look for a few design tweaks and a focus on classic toys from back in the day.
  • It’s been a rough week for Mattel. There’s no question the DCUC Wave 6 issues are a major problem, but at least Mattel did finally admit fault and absolve online retailers of any blame. Now bring on wave 6…I need me a Hawkman.
  • I still owe you a review of Adam Strange and Starfire. I have a question for you all: do you often read multiple reviews of the same figure? Time and again it’s been made clear to me that people love reading reviews on this site, but it sometimes feels like a waste of time when, say, Michael Crawford or Articulated Discussion has already done a good review of the figure.
  • While I don’t follow Marvel comics these days, I have to say the Hulk Vs. direct-to-video movie looks great. I’ll be checking that one out for sure.
  • Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I have gotten through B:TAS, Justice League, and just last night, Batman Beyond. All we have left now are the final season of Justice League Unlimited and a few of the movies, like Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and Superman: Doomsday. I’m a little surprised DC hasn’t been trying to mine the DCAU further with more direct-to-video titles based on those series. While the original productions, like New Frontier and the upcoming Wonder Woman, are great, I still think some direct-to-video films based on Justice League Unlimited and so forth could only help the brand.

Odds ‘n Ends

January 20, 2009 | Poe

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  • I’m trying to get my mind off the possible weeks-long wait that may be in store for my DCUC6 order. The good news is, my Skeletor and Starfire/Adam Strange set should arrive tomorrow. That will help salve the pain.
  • Have I mentioned I’m rooting for the Gargoyle?
  • This weekend, I went on a toy hunt with fellow Massachusetts collectors PrfktTear and Ed Lee, who produced this awesome video. We didn’t find much, this being MA, but we did get to see several different Walmart layouts and enjoyed being guided on our tour by KITT. According to Ed, my possession of said gizmo makes me a King Nerd, a title I humbly accept.
  • Before this weekend, I’d never watched an episode of The Office–until Dr. Mrs. Ghostal decided it was time to watch what seemed to be every episode of the series via Xboxflix. It’s a funny show, though the episodes start to run together around the twenties or thirties. I love the one where Jim and Pam who aren’t not dating pull the prank on Dwight by getting Michael to awkwardly discuss Phyllis’s fiancee’s ex-con past while walking across hot coals.
  • I came across NECA’s Aliens Warrior yesterday and decided to pick it up. This was a figure I’d been waiting for years to get and…well, I’ll have a review up soon.
  • You know, the wait wouldn’t be so painful if Hawkman didn’t look like the coolest DCUC figure since Deathstroke…

Odds ‘n Ends

January 13, 2009 | Poe

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  • While you can’t order MOTUC Beast Man or He-Man off Mattycollector.com anymore, on Mattel’s Facebook page they wrote, “with only a few hundred units left, we wanted to close down sales so we can have just handful for NYCC and SDCC to help spread the word on this amazing toy line at the summer conventions.” I’m glad Mattel appears  to have met their sales goals with this line–it bodes well for its future.
  • The wait for my shipment of DCUC6 is just starting to get to me. After my ordeal with DCUC5, I knew I’d be OK for a while after wave six start popping up at retail. But now with the news that all we’re waiting on is for Mattel to get one last figure in, I’m getting a wee bit impatient, especially when I see all the great photos.
  • Just as the coolness of the Deathstroke figure got me buying some Teen Titans trades and back issues of his eponymous 1990s series, I grabbed Showcase Presents Hawkman and The Greatest Shazam! Stories Ever Told. I have to say, though, Hawkman has the most convoluted continuity issues of any character in the DCU (and that’s saying something).
  • There’s been a ton of speculation as to what the mysterious new Mattel 6″ property will be, but we now know a few things for certain: it’s not any of the Horsemen’s original properties, and it’s not Thundercats or WWE. Nonetheless, the Horsemen “can guarantee that there will be a LOT of excited fanboys.” They also say they bet we won’t guess it. According to Mattel, the first figure will be available at SDCC. I thought perhaps it might be Movie Masters Watchmen, but that wouldn’t really be a new line, since Movie Masters is pre-existing. After looking over Mattel’s previous licenses, I think it’s…I don’t know. But just to throw out some guesses: The Simpsons, Harry Potter, Captain Power, Universal Monsters.
  • Wow–quite a dogfight going on in this month’s poll. Everyone’s had the lead except poor Tytus (Megator led very briefly when I picked him after creating the poll). I do think the only way the Sorceress would work as an exclusive is if she came with Zoar, though–otherwise it would feel too much like a “regular” figure, which isn’t Mattel’s MO for SDCC.
  • Just forty-eight until Skeletor and the Starfire/Adam Strange two-pack go on sale!

Odds ‘n Ends

January 6, 2009 | Poe

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  • I spent about an hour on the new Odds ‘n Ends pic, so I hope you like it–’cause you ain’t gettin’ anything else! I decided to go with a more vertical look this time around. You’d be amazed at how much I mess around with the positioning of the items until I’m satisfied with the look. As it is, I think there’s too much red/orange, but it’ll do.
  • DCUC Wave 6 seems to be arriving everywhere–except here in the Northeast, of course. An eBay search within 200 miles of my zip code comes up with nothing. Of course, I have these pre-ordered through Corner Store Comics anyway, but seeing all the pics on the Web–especially this one–doesn’t make the waiting any easier.
  • We’ve got an HDTV at the Chez Ghostal household, but no Blu-Ray player. I’m one of those people who thinks Blu-Ray is the new Laserdisc and within five years everything will be available via HD on-demand. But it still bugs me that I have to buy the regular ol’ DVD of The Dark Knight. I do like the digital copy it comes with, though, because…
  • …I can watch it on the new Ipod Touch I got for my birthday. I also downloaded Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, which I hadn’t seen because I am a lazy geek.
  • Speaking of being a lazy geek, every day I get more and more worried that I should be watching the new Doctor Who. But there’s only so many hours in the day, y’know? I still have to get around to watching the last season of Buffy and the last season-and-a-half of Angel.
  • This week’s question: What toy line will be the main focus of your collecting in 2009?

Odds ‘n Ends REVEALED!

December 31, 2008 | Poe

Odds N Ends

Now that Newt’s won, here’s the full list:

Odds ‘n Ends

December 30, 2008 | Poe

Odds N Ends

  • To answer the burning question first: yes, I’ve got MOTUC He-Man and Beast Man and I’ll be reviewing them this week. I’m waiting/hoping for a particular birthday present (my family exchange is tonight) before I take the photos. Let’s just say, though, that I can’t wait for Skeletor.
  • I had lunch with fellow toy collector Rustin Parr (who really needs some sort of Facebook page or something I can link to; otherwise people are going to think I’m making a bizarre, obscure reference to The Blair Witch Project) on Saturday. ‘Twas fun. We had pizza and discussed how we would run DCUC were we the brand managers.
  • Word to the wise: if you’re going to order any figures off Mattycollector.com, including Skeletor and the Starfire/Adam Strange two-pack (both on sale Jan. 15), make sure to pick UPS ground shipping, not economy postal. Trust me. UPS will be a bit more expensive but far more reliable.
  • I found a giant pile of DCUC wave 2 at my local Target yesterday. My local Target has been a frickin’ DCUC wasteland for over six months, so I was a bit shocked to see all those figures, particularly the five long-haired, modern Aquamen. I decided to pick him up, only to remember once I got home that DC had already reverted Aquaman back to his classic costume. Bastards.
  • Just a reminder–Toy Bender’s “Joes for Tots” contest is still going on. Enter. Now.
  • This will be the last you’ll see of this particular Odds ‘n Ends pile this year–I’m going to shoot a new one for 2009. Anyone care to try and identify all the stuff in it? I’ll give the first person to post a comment correctly identifying at least five (5) of the 12 items a prize…hmm, let’s see…how about a Satellite Iron Man?

Odds ‘n Ends

December 23, 2008 | Poe

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  • Congratulations to PGPoA reader Griffen, winner of the Odds ‘n Ends holiday contest! Kyle correctly identified almost every item in the pile, even beating out Michael Crawford by recognizing the little red present as being from the NECA NBX Cyclops. I’ll be sending him the Santa Spud as soon as I get back from the holidays.
  • Thanks to OB1 for creating this cool little trick that automatically generates these “odds” and “ends.”
  • Just two more days before I finally get my MOTUC He-Man and Beast Man…from Santa, of course.
  • Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I watched Rudolph in HD over the weekend–like Grinch, it looked excellent. They really must have scrubbed up that print sometime recently.
  • So, all you Los Angeles residents, any cool toy stores I should hit up while I’m here? I’m hoping to link up with Rustin Parr sometime before I leave for our bi-annual visit to Puzzle Zoo…
  • For those of you familiar with Twitter (and those of you who aren’t), I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that PGPoA has an account (link). Twitter is sort of like sending text messages to the world at large via the Web. If you’ve ever wanted to know when I was at the airport, or what YouTube link I just found mildly entertaining, your time has come.