ToyFare: In Memoriam (Updated)

January 26, 2011 | Poe

I wasn’t quite sure how to memorialize the end of ToyFare. I can’t say it was a surprise; I’ve been hearing rumors of Wizard’s financial troubles for years now, and given the increasing prominence of the Internet as a source for you news, it was less a matter of if and more a matter of when. When I say that, I don’t want to diminish the hard work of the people who made the magazine, especially Justin Aclin, who poured his heart and the contents of a few other organs into every issue (I was thinking his spleen, pervs. Or maybe his liver). (more…)

Bandai Thundercats revealed

January 25, 2011 | Poe

Some sneaky Thundercats fans snapped some pics of Bandai’s new 3¾” line at the London Toy Fair. Follow the link for the pics–I’m not going to post them here, mostly because I don’t see any reason to get Bandai miffed at me.

Of particular interest to Poesters, I imagine, is the promo pic of a 20cm (8″) articulated Lion-O from what is referred to as a “Collector Figure,” and appears to be based on the original cartoon and not the new one.

Bastards of the Universe > “Road Movie to Eternos”

January 25, 2011 | googum



The Bastards hit the road to Eternos, to stop the Golden Pharaoh from selling 339/1’s gem. You might ask, why do we sometimes have two pages, and sometimes five? Um…don’t really have a good answer for that one, honestly.

I also have no particular idea who the Golden Pharaoh’s men are either, even though I know I’m the one who bought them for my Oldest son, the wrestling fan. One’s the Great Khali, if I’m not mistaken. The Mattel wrestling figures aren’t bad, although it kills me that they’re cheaper and more available than Masters of the Universe Classics and DCUC. There’s something wrong with that, tell you what…

In other news, I did order a Vikor! Actually, the order process was painless the second time around. He’ll end up here at some point, but I need to go through my year-end totals, since I think he’s the most expensive single figure I’ve purchased in some years. (Counting postage, I suppose.) Next week, the conclusion of 339/1’s first strip!

Show & Tell > What’s on Poe’s desk at work?

January 25, 2011 | Poe

(click for larger version)

Just for fun, here are the toys on my desk at work right now. (Apologies for the crappy cellphone pic.) From left to right:

  • Toynami Bender
  • DC Retro Action DC Superheroes Batman and Two-Face
  • MOTUC Skeletor
  • Funko POP Heroes Batman
  • Tower Records Exclusive Knuckle Bear
  • Batman Cake Topper (from my 30th birthday cake)
  • Samurai Leonardo
  • Glyos Rig

Two-Face’s pistol comes from the Disney Exclusive Indiana Jones figure. Didn’t I read recently that they’re going to be making another of those?

Review > Winston Zeddemore (Retro Action Real Ghostbusters, Mattel)

January 25, 2011 | Poe

We’re having an unofficial Review Week here at PGPoA (I don’t know why it has to be unofficial since it’s my own website…look, never mind), so let’s move on to the next one: Retro Action Real Ghostbusters (RARG) Winston Zeddemore!

I’m not going to go into my spiel about my general feelings on Mego-style figures–you can read that in my Flash/Captain Cold review from yesterday.

Instead, let’s talk about Mattel’s handling of the Ghostbusters line. Mattel recently stated they would not be making any 6″ Real Ghostbusters figures in their Ghostbusters Classics line, so for RGB fans, the Retro Action line is the only game in town (well, not really). (more…)

Review > Flash, Captain Cold (Retro Action DC Super Heroes, Mattel)

January 24, 2011 | Poe

I’ve often mentioned I don’t like action figures with soft goods–fabric capes, clothes, anything. Such figures could never be my “definitive” figure of a character. However, there’s something to be said for what you could call simply “fun” figures–odd, unusual, or just plain goofy figures who have a certain charm, despite not being at all what one would consider a “definitive” version of a character.

Take Mego-style figures. While Mego arguably represented the most state-of-the-art versions of characters as action figures in the 1970s, they’ve been long surpassed by the works of Kenner, Mattel, Hasbro, and DC Direct. But while your “definitive” Batman action figure might be DC Direct’s Hush version or Mattel’s Crime Stopper Batman, there’s something to be said for the appeal of more cartoonish lines like Mattel’s Retro Action DC Super Heroes–or, for that matter, Funko’s POP Heroes, any of the myriad Hasbro Heroes-style lines. I view these nuveau-Mego figures (Megeau?) more like stylized collectibles than action figures. (more…)

Pic of the Day

January 24, 2011 | Poe

DC Universe Classics Batman

DC Universe Classics Batman by Clarkent78

Vikor to return this Monday, 12pm ET

January 22, 2011 | Poe

Vikor, who already appears to be a sleeper hit for Masters of the Universe Classics, will go back on sale this Monday at 12pm Eastern Time.  The shipments were evidently split, as happened to Mer-Man a couple years ago.