Poe’s Point > Obligatory Club Infinite Earths Post

A few fellow collectors have asked me to promote Club Infinite Earths. I recommend you read NoisyDvL5’s thoughts on the matter, as he’s much more passionate about it than I am.

Thing is, the Club isn’t doing so well. As of this writing it hasn’t even hit 20% of the subscriptions needed to put it into production. And as I imagine the majority of these subscriptions are sold in the first day or two of the sale, I have to say this seems like a lost cause already.
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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.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Tex Vex

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: DC

The Problem: The Lizard has been replaced with, of all things, Wave Rider Nemo; Mary Batson has been replaced with a DC Direct Deadshot.

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This and this

DC writes:

I found these at my local Wal-Mart, here in Arlington Texas, across the street from where they had the Superbowl. There were two more I didn’t take pictures of. Oh, One of the DCUC, Hourman I think, had a Marvel Legends Nick Fury in it.

I turned them over to the toy dept. manager and asked to speak to customer service and someone in returns and tried to explain the scam, how someone was taking the BAF parts, and most likely selling the full BAF figure on ebay, not too mention the loose figure alone would recoup their cost, not to mention making money back on the return. I explained how to easily check on figures what the actual figure is (I mean deadshot in a Mary Batson? C’mon. I didn’t even get into how it was not even a DCUC Deadshot)

Anyway I was treated to a LECTURE about how I was wrong because collectors do not open figures, so no one would open a figure to take out a BAF piece. I got this from the Toy Dept. manager, and the Returns Department Manager.

I’m a 45 year old Recruiter and Trainer and I was stunned at how they treated me like an idiot, in the face of proof. I mean, they literally treated me like I was wasting their time, and I was HANDING them proof of theft, and explaining a pervasive scam.

Amazing.

P.S. After it was all said and done, I bought the DCUC with the Nick Fury, because, hey, Marvel Legends Nick Fury…

Odds ‘n Ends > July 26, 2011

  • 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

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.