Way back in late 1997, a new magazine caught the interest of then-teenage Poe, who was in his first few months of college. Called ToyFare and produced by the folks behind Wizard magazine, it was the first periodical I’d come across that was devoted solely to action figures. Having just come off a years-long obsession with Magic: the Gathering, I found my interest in toys was once again waxing, so ToyFare‘s appearance was fortuitous.

Now, get me talking about the early days of ToyFare and I will always mourn the death of a feature called “Castaway from the Island of Misfit Toys.” Slipped in at the end of the monthly Top 10 Hottest Action Figures countdown, the sidebar always made fun of some lame figure. It was always funny, full of sarcasm and wit, but the one in issue #5 was some sort of bizarre masterpiece.

The figure?

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