Contest > Win a Play Arts Kai Joker! (Sponsored by FigureoftheDay.com)
In celebration of their two-day sale of the Arkham Asylum Play Arts Kai Batman and Joker starting tonight (March 13, technically) at 3amET/12amPT, Figure of the Day has graciously offered up a Play Arts Joker as a contest prize here at PGPoA! (Read a review here.)
So here’s how to enter: Post a comment below in which you invent a funny new Batman villain. I don’t want you to try to pitch some serious grim ‘n gritty supervillain – I want something so goofy it makes me laugh (although, feel free to pitch an over-the-top grim ‘n gritty supervillain based on something ridiculous, like a serial killer who’s obsessed with Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus or something).
Then I’ll pick my favorites. Three runners-up will get a Poe Prize; one grand prize winner will receive the Play Arts Joker! (more…)
Figure It Out #6 – Winner
Many people correctly guessed last week’s Figure It Out – it was a drill from the G1 Transformer Twin Twist. The winner, selected at random from two dozen correct answers, is Scorpion Delta.
This week’s FIO #7 will be pushed to next week to make way for a special contest I’ll be revealing within the hour.
FigureoftheDay Has the Play Arts Kai Batman Arkham Asylum Figures Starting 3amET/12amPT Tonight
Here’s a Batman review and a Joker review.
Mattycollector/Digital River hacked?
As for now this remains a rumor, but at least one He-Man.org member posted that he received a message from his credit card company that Digital River had been compromised and they were cancelling their card and issuing a new one.
This comes on the heels of Fun Publications’ recent fraud issues.
NOTE: The following paragraphs are wild speculation. As of right now, there is no official confirmation that this is a real or widespread issue. (That’s not meant to question the original poster’s veracity – I’m sure he’s correctly relating what he was told – but he’s not an official source, obviously.)
If it does turn out to be real and widespread, I think it’s safe to say it spells serious trouble for Mattel and the various subscriptions, especially Club Eternia.
Shadow Weaver, the sub incentive, has already shipped. The temptation to cancel one’s credit card and not enter a new one will be very strong for many fans, and Digital River’s terrible customer service will ensure no pressure is placed on anyone to enter a new card (since they already have a cancel – the – sub – first – and – ask – no – questions – later policy).
Of course, if the cancellations do happen on a large scale and Mattel or Digital River don’t have a sufficient insurance policy to cover the cost of the cancellations, it wouldn’t surprise me to see MOTUC end in 2012. If enough people cancel the sub as a result of an error, I just don’t see the upper management signing off on another year.
If this turns out to be a tempest in the teapot, I hope it will at least help Mattel realize just how dangerous it is to work with Digital River, and perhaps rethink the entire subscription program.
Voting Begins for OMFG Series 2
Voting for OMFG Series 2 (series 1 review) has started over at October Toys. First check out all the entries on this page, then vote here (you’ll need to register for their forums to vote).
My submission – for a Poe figure (drawn by MechaShiva) – is #354. It’d be pretty cool if everyone voted for it, but follow your heart and all that. Still, you get to pick five, so…
Pic of the Day > K-O Cruiser by Prfkttear
Odds ‘n Ends > New DKR Movie Masters, Hot Toys Arkham City, Weekly Roundup
- Mattel revealed two new Dark Knight Rises Movie Masters figures: Alfred and Officer Blake. I remember being very excited for the MM line in 2008, but I’m not quite as enthused this time around – maybe because I’m just not as into Batman at the moment, maybe because an action figure of Joseph Gordon-Levitt wearing a cop outfit just isn’t that exciting. It’s great that we’re getting Alfred, though, and the new packaging looks a lot more dynamic than the DKMM stuff.
- It seems the Flash and Larfleeze have been removed from DC All Stars Wave 1 and the new lineup is JLA Superman, JLA Batman, Red Robin, and Superboy Prime. No word on why this has happened; perhaps they’re just shuffling around the lineups.
- On a related note, you may or may not have noticed that Hot Toys is doing Arkham City figures. Given that I can’t think of a single Hot Toys figure that wasn’t based on a movie character, I’ll be interested to see how these turn out. I won’t be getting them, though, because I don’t make enough money. Or collect 12″ figures.
- I didn’t put up a post about the passing of Ralph McQuarrie, mostly because better tributes have been posted elsewhere and this isn’t really a Star Wars site. But it definitely deserves to be noted, given the legacy Mr. McQuarrie’s designs have had for all of us, especially toy collectors.
- This somehow flew under my radar until now, but C.S. Moore is apparently getting back into the action figure business. First up is a line of articulated 6″ figures based on the Zenescope comic Jurassic Strike Force. You can see in-design pics here and preorder them from BBTS here. They’re also making articulated Monster Hunter figures from the Monster Hunter Survival Guide. I am all aboard for a 6″ articulated Sasquatch. ALL aboard.
- Weekly Roundup: This week in PGPoA, Doc Thomas reviewed the Star Sisters, Poe reviewed Hurricane Hordak, Shadow Weaver and the Mutant Gorilla from Papo, and discussed the bios of Megator and Leech. Toy Aisle Trolls here and here, Odds ‘n Ends here, and Figure It Out here.
Toy Aisle Trolls > BeachHead & Wild Bill’s Bogus Journey
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@poeghostal.com.
Submitted by: makelittlesharks
Found this amalgamation of Marvel Universe and G.I. Joe Comic Packs at a Toys’R’Us in Florida. I read alot of Marvel G.I. Joe comics back in the day but somehow missed BeachHead and Wild Bill’s “Greatest Battle.” This took some thought on the Troll’s part, considering how the transplanted figures slightly resemble BeachHead & Wild Bill, who are from two different Comic Packs. He wasn’t brave enough to put the comic book in facing the right way, though.
Karmic Curse: May you grow so wealthy you can afford the finest hospice care.
Review > Shadow Weaver (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)
Almost every great toy line has a few major gaps. The 1980s Star Wars line lacked Grand Moff Tarkin (who finally got a figure in 1997, and will get a new one later this year). The vintage Masters of the Universe needed a Queen Marlena (last year’s SDCC exclusive). Perhaps most famously, Playmates never produced a Maude Flanders for their late-1990s Simpsons line.
The 1980s Princess of Power had Shadow Weaver.* Shadow Weaver was the antithesis of Eternia’s Sorceress: a powerful wizard who worked with the bad guys instead of the good guys. With her vast powers, mysterious appearance, and hefty role in the cartoon (she appeared in 52 of 93 episodes), Shadow Weaver was a very notable absence from the 1980s toy line. And since she was created by Filmation and never had a vintage figure, Mattel didn’t have the rights to produce a toy based on her until the deal with Classic Media came through last year. (more…)