Comic book and toy artists unite to support Power-Con / ThunderCon and the CAAF

September 20, 2011 | Poe

I don’t usually post press releases, but this one’s for a good cause.

Comic book and toy artists unite to support Power-Con / ThunderCon and the CAAF

Power-Con / ThunderCon will be working with The Big Toy Auction to host an auction during the show’s after-hours fan and talent mixer on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Half of all proceeds will be donated to the Children Affected By AIDS Foundation.

The after-hours fan and talent mixer is open to the general public. Bids can be placed by registered in-house participants at the auction beginning at 10:00pm PST in the Woods Rooms at the Four Points by Sheraton LAX. There will be a number of floor-bidding-only items, so we invite everyone to come out for a night of fun!

If you can’t make it to the auction, you can still bid online for many of the items at:
http://www.TheBigToyAuction.com/Power.html

The online gallery will be continually updated with what is available for auction. Online bidders can register ahead of time at:
https://www.proxibid.com/asp/CreateBidder1.asp

Registration is free and any information required at sign-up is for verification purposes.

Contributing artists include Ed McGuinness, Tim Seeley, Tony Washington, Tone Rodriguez, Kevin Sharpe, and more! If you are an artist or know one that would like to contribute a piece to the auction, please e-mail info@thepower-con.com.

For more information on The Big Toy Auction, please visit http://www.thebigtoyauction.com/

For more information on the Children Affected By AIDS Foundation, please visit http://www.caaf.org/

Contact:

Christopher Noon, Auctioneer PA LIC #AU005664

TheBigToyAuction.com

Bethlehem, PA  18018

Phone: 610-997-0165

http://TheBigToyAuction.com

http://www.thepower-con.com

news@TheBigToyAuction.com

Odds ‘n Ends for September 20, 2011

September 20, 2011 | Poe

  • Mattel has cancelled the Ghostbusters subscription for 2012. The announced figures will still be sold on Mattycollector, but they won’t be shipped to subscribers. Bummer, but is anyone really surprised? In an ideal world, each Ghostbuster would have had a unique body type and a head sculpt by the Horsemen (and every figure in the line should have been fully sculpted by the Horsemen); each Ghostbuster would have come with a proton stream; there would have been more cool ghosts and fewer repaints; and Mattel would have added 6″-scale Real Ghostbusters figures by the second year. I suppose that all would have been too expensive, but I don’t know that they really tried, either–Mattel always seemed to treat Ghostbusters like an afterthought (with the exception of Stay-Puft). I suppose it’s just as well they’re not doing Back to the Future figures. (Thanks to Action Figure Blues for the tip.)
  • DC Direct finally announced their Arkham City figures, due to arrive on the shockingly early (for DCD) date of December 2011 (April 2012 if you factor in the standard DCD delay). They look pretty good but a.) Batman had better come with an alternate cowled head, b.) Bruce Wayne looks like Archer, c.) Harley had better have a ball jointed neck this time, and d.) there’s too much gloss on Robin’s hood.
  • Don’t forget that Power-Con/ThunderCon is this weekend. Should be interesting–I really do wish I could have made it. Are there any Poesters going who would like to report back on what they find?

Guest Review > Captain Pike and Salt Vampire (Star Trek Cloth Retro, Diamond Select)

September 19, 2011 | Rustin Parr

“Retro Cloth Figures” have made a surprising come back in the last few years. I’m not sure if it’s because fans of them are now working at toy companies, they’re easier to produce with minimal tooling costs, or that there is a substantial market for them, but most lines can get a couple waves out before disappearing (which is better than a lot of Action Figure lines do these days). The fascination all began back in the sixties when toy manufacturer Mego introduced what was essentially Barbie for Boys – a generic body with cloth clothing and different heads. The twist was ample articulation and a wide berth of licenses, so basically this is what you collected before Star Wars came along and changed the toy industry. (more…)

Review > Faceless One (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

September 19, 2011 | Poe

 Note: The cartoon screen captures in this review are from 200X Screen Grabs by MegaGearX.

The 2003 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon (often referred to as “MYP,” short for Mike Young Productions, the company that produced it) added a few new characters, some quite important, to the MOTU mythos. Few were more interesting than the Faceless One, an ancient sorcerer who protected a powerful jewel called the Ram Stone in the realm of Zalesia. The show revealed that the Faceless One was in fact the father of Evil-Lyn herself.

(more…)

Mattel Subscriptions Open Again (+ MOTUC Anniversary)

September 16, 2011 | Poe

Just a reminder, the MOTUC, MOTUC 30th Anniversary, DCUC and Voltron subscriptions are now open. Again. Except for the 30th Anniversary One. (Side note: Why no second shot at Ghostbusters? I was actually considering adding that one.)

FYI, subs ordered separately will ship separately in January, then ship together after that.

Guest Review > SpudBob SquarePants

September 16, 2011 | PrfktTear

I have never been been much of a SpongeBob SquarePants fan. At most Ican only admit to having seen just a few episodes. The show itself is the only surviving Nickelodeon cartoon from the ’90s, having made its debut in May 1999 and is still in production today. I am however a huge fan of Mr. Potato Head, a passion that was reignited in my early adulthood and since then I have on and off collected all things spud. (more…)

Ask Mattel > Answers for September 15

September 15, 2011 | Poe

1.) Chrissy asks: Could the next Skeletor variation (Terror Claws, Dragon Blaster, etc.) use Kobra Khans forearms and shins? This would alleviate some of the fatigue of getting another standard Skeletor body with new gear. And it would look great with Demo-Man’s freaky Alfredo Alcala styled Skeletor head.

This is something we have discussed with the Four Horsemen. Only time will tell!

2.) Wally2974 asks: Is there any chance with the Batman Legacy line being so popular that we might se some sort of re-release of BatSignal Batman? At the very least I’d love another crack at getting my hands on a working Bat Signal. (more…)