Reviews – Page 22 – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Review > Ghostbusters Minimates, Part II

August 24, 2009 | Poe

A few weeks back I reviewed the Ghostbusters Minimates Toys ‘R Us exclusive two-packs. Today I’ll be taking a look at the two multi-packs released so far: the series 1 set and the set of ghosts from Ghostbusters: The Video Game. I’m also throwing in the SDCC-exclusive blank Minimate with the twenty-fifth anniversary logo.

You should be able to find the Series 1 set at most comic shops, specialty retailers and online at places like Amazon. The videogame set was available at SDCC and can be found (along with the Series 1 set) on Diamond Select Toys’s website. The blank logo Minimate was an SDCC-exclusive; your only option for that one is eBay now. (more…)

Review > He-Ro (Masters of the Universe Classics)

August 13, 2009 | Poe

Poe’s note: You may have noticed I’ve started using larger photos in my reviews. I thought people might enjoy the higher resolution and detail, but if they’re proving to take too long to load or see all at once on your screen, please let me know in the comments.

Spend any time reading various toy-related blogs and forums and you encounter a lot of complaining, nitpicking and so forth. It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture: we finally got He-Ro! (Oh, and movie-based Ghostbusters figures.)

In 1987, Mattel’s Masters of the Universe, once master of the action figure boys’ toys aisle, was on its last legs (due as much to corporate mismanagement as any true waning of popularity). Mattel’s designers tried to inject some life back into the brand with the Powers of Grayskull concept, set in a prehistoric “Pre-Eternia” (nicknamed Preternia by fans) long before He-Man’s time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and evil stalked the land in the form of the Snake Men.

Some of the Powers of Grayskull toys made it into stores, such as the incredibly awesome Tyrantisaurus Rex (which I owned and, later, painted red to make it into Devil Dinosaur…man, I wish I still had that thing), but none of the human figures made it to retail, including the main character, He-Ro. However, photos of these figures did appear in product catalogs, which eventually made the rounds among fans, and thus He-Ro passed into MOTU legendry.

According to the licensing guide for Powers of Grayskull, He-Ro’s real name was originally “Gray,” and as a teenager he was granted mysterious sorcerous abilities after an adventure in a cave (paging Dr. Freud!). There was also some hints among the various materials and from interviews with designers that He-Ro was intended to be He-Man’s ancestor, a role that was changed to King Grayskull in the 2002 cartoon series.

The brand managers at Mattel are slowly developing a new canon for Masters of the Universe Classics, incorporating bits and pieces from every incarnation of MOTU to date. To make his story fit–particularly when the mythos (muthos?) incorporates the very similar King Grayskull–they created a very different bio for He-Ro. (more…)

Review > Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man Bank

August 10, 2009 | Poe

As a kid I had a few Real Ghostbusters toys, including the ‘Busters themselves, but I didn’t love any of them as much as I did Slimer (originally called “The Green Ghost”) and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man (SPMM).

The original Kenner Stay-Puft figure was about 7″ tall and made from rotocast white vinyl with a smooth finish. He felt a lot like a dog toy, but I think that was part of his appeal.

In 2004, NECA released a titanic, 18″ SPMM. I was lucky enough to get one of these as a Christmas present just a couple years ago. It was rotocast but made from solid material, with a stucco-like texture, a far more pissed-off expression than the Kenner version, and mildly more articulation, though his arms were still stuck jutting out to either side. (more…)

Review > Egon Spengler & Slimer SDCC Exclusive

August 7, 2009 | Poe

egon When I came across NECA’s Slimer a few years back, I was excited–here at last was a Movie Maniacs-style Ghostbusters figure. The Ghostbusters themselves had been requested for ages by fans of McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs line, which by then (2004 or so) was more or less defunct, but NECA was already picking up the slack with their Cult Classics.

While NECA produced excellent versions of Slimer, Gozer, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and Gozer (I own Slimer and the SPMM, but man, do I wish I had a Terror Dog), they were unable to secure the likeness rights to the four main actors.

Enter Mattel, who–five years later–are finally offering the realistic, movie-based Ghostbusters action figures fans had been clamoring for since the days of the cartoon-styled Real Ghostbusters. Thankfully, Mattel appears to have thrown the weight of the largest toy company in the world behind getting Bill Murray to sign off on his likeness. (more…)

Review > April O’Neil (TMNT, NECA)

August 6, 2009 | Poe

Most casual fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will remember April O’Neil as the buxom reporter who somehow retained her high-profile TV news job despite never changing out of her yellow jumpsuit (perhaps her inability to button it up all the way had something to do with it, I don’t know). But in the original 1980s comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, April was quite different.

The original April was a computer programmer and research assistant working for mad scientist Baxter Stockman. She got mixed up with the Turtles when she discovered Stockman was using his “Mouser” robots to rob banks.

It’s been more than a year since I reviewed NECA’s Ninja Turtles back in April ’08. Since then, the line has been declared dead several times. But April popped up at SDCC, and soon she’ll be available in specialty stores in green or yellow outfits (the yellow outfit hopefully drawing in casual fans who only know the cartoon). (more…)

Review > Ghostbusters Minimates, Part I

August 5, 2009 | Poe

I am way late getting on board the Minimates bandwagon, and from what I can tell it seems I’m not alone–the Ghostbusters Minimates seem to be selling very well, which suggests to me that it’s attracting casual collectors as well as Minimate diehards (no doubt to their chagrin–I was lucky enough to score a the Ray/Marshmallow Man 2-pack shown in yesterday’s It Figures, while longtime Minimate fan Rustin Parr has yet to find one).

In general, I’ve never been very interested in “non-realistic” action figure lines–block figures, vinyl figures, and so forth. It was only my resurgent interest in Ghostbusters, along with a strong recommendation from the aforementioned Mr. Parr, that got me to consider picking up a set. (more…)

Review > Man-At-Arms (Masters of the Universe Classics)

July 27, 2009 | Poe

After He-Man and Skeletor, the most iconic Masters of the Universe characters is Man-At-Arms, King Randor’s faithful military advisor and friend to Prince Adam, a.k.a. He-Man. Man-At-Arms, whose “real name” is Duncan, was also the earliest example of the more science fiction-oriented aspect of the Masters’ universe. While He-Man and Skeletor would fit perfectly in any sword and sorcery setting (for example, both have counterparts in World of Warcraft), Duncan is clearly a character not of the past or even the present, but the future.

In his original 1980s incarnation, MAA came only with his distinctive asymmetrical armor and iconic mace. Many kids remember how Duncan had a distinctive mustache on the Filmation cartoon, but his figure was bare-lipped. MAA’s 2002 figure offered a much more detailed sculpt and added an oversized anime-style gun, as well as finally giving him the mustache he deserved.

Like the rest of the MOTU Classics figures, the new Man-At-Arms owes much more to his original look than his 2002 figure. However, there are some nice new touches, including two heads (one mustachioed, one bare) and more weapons, so that Duncan can finally boast of being a master-of-arms. (more…)

Review > Darwin (G-Force)

July 24, 2009 | Poe

The only reason I picked up this figure is because Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I own two guinea pigs (Tribble and Nibbler), and the novelty of owning a guinea pig action figure–particularly one who looked a lot like Nibbler–was too much to resist.

The figures are based on Jerry Bruckheimer’s new Disney action movie G-Force, featuring an elite team of guinea pig spies (the plot seems to involve some sort of Mission: Impossible-style double-cross by their agency, I think, but that’s really neither here nor there). In any event, I’m not here to discuss the movie, just the toy. (more…)

Review > Jason Voorhees (Cinema of Fear, Series 4)

July 17, 2009 | Poe

A few years ago, I did a “Halloween Month” on my other blog where I wrote a review-length post every single day of the month–mostly movie reviews. The following year, the theme was going to be slasher movies–I would review my way through every single Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween movie. (more…)

Review > Peter vs. Giant Chicken

July 16, 2009 | Poe

I hope to have a review of an actually-new figure tomorrow, but in the meantime, please enjoy this short-lost review from my days with The Toy Pirate, a short-lived Web venture between myself and Shocka of OAFE. It was originally published on July 9, 2005.

My photos are gone, but the kooky pirate method of grading the figures remains. Also, please remember that the thoughts written here reflect Poe circa 2005; opinions may have shifted during transport.

fam-2pk-002-1

When it first came out, Family Guy kind of flew under my radar. I was in the middle of my college career and hardly watched any television. I remember catching it once or twice and thinking Stewie was pretty amusing, but it didn’t become a must-see for me. It wasn’t until last summer, when I moved into an apartment with two television-addicted roommates, that I caught the show regularly on Adult Swim.

I found the show funny, but to me, it didn’t have anything to distinguish it from other cartoon sitcoms like The Simpsons–until the infamous Chicken Fight in the episode “Da Boom.” Spoilers for those who haven’t seen the show: the fight occurs during one of the show’s many cutaways (“Remember that time…”) when Peter gets a bad coupon from a giant chicken (or maybe a guy in a chicken suit–it’s not clear). Peter attacks the chicken, and for the next two minutes (an eternity in cartoon sitcom time) Peter and the chicken duel it out, parodying many action-flick cliches in the process. (more…)