Todd McFarlane predicts the future

OK, this is funny. Or is it creepy? Either/or. (Thanks to Ninersphan for pointing out the article.)

It’s a “Super Bowl XLII: Larry Fitzgerald” limited edition from McFarlane Toys.

And, man, it would really be scary if it had XLIII attached to it.

It captures Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals’ glue-fingered receiver, in a pose very familiar to anybody who watched the Arizona-Carolina playoff game.

fitzgeraldtoy

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

fanmode-copy Corey Tincher reviews the Mattel DC Universe Classics Hawkman figure. Excerpt: “… a magnificent figure.”

Corey Tincher reviews the Mattel DC Universe Classics Mr. Miracle figure. Excerpt: “Mr. Miracle’s weak paint and marginal fun are the only thing holding him back from greatness …”

Action Toy Review reviews the Mattel DC Universe Classics Amazo Wal-Mart exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… other than the problem I had with his ankle, it is generally a good action figure.” (See also.) (more…)

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode) 12/19/2008

Welcome to a new feature here at PGPoA–regular roundups of toy reviews around the Internet, provided by the excellent toy blog Fanmode. My thanks to Fanmode for graciously agreeing to share their content! Be sure to visit  the site (and add it to your RSS feeds) for more toy news, links, reviews, and photos.

fanmode-copy yo go re reviews the Mattel DC Universe Classics Cyborg Superman figure from the Toys R’ Us exclusive Cyborg Superman and Mongol Super Enemies Figure Pack. Excerpt: “Just because there are some problems with the toy, it doesn’t mean he’s not worth buying …”

Steve Pietrangelo reviews the Mattel DC Universe Classics Batgirl figure from the Toys R’ Us exclusive Batgirl and Azrael Batman Figure Pack two-pack. Excerpt: “I’m not a huge fan of the female sculpts that Mattel uses for these female DC action figures but Batgirl is probably one of the better ones …” (more…)

Pic of the day

Snowman by Ryan Brookhart

Poe’s note: While I usually skip McFarlane toys these days due to their lack of articulation, I had to pick up the Snowman. He’s in the running with the Winter Warlock for my favorite holiday action figure. I don’t own any of the other Twisted Xmas figures, but this guy was a must-buy.

Alas, poor Frank!

I knew him, Donnie; a fellow of infinite death, of most excellent prophecy; he hath warned me of the end of the world a thousand times; and now, how creepy in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here is that eye that I have shot out in the future. Where be your Sparkle Motion now? Your threats, your cryptic stares, your disturbing appearances in the bathroom mirror? Not one to mock your own reflections? Quite hallucinatory?

Now get you to Roberta Sparrow’s driveway, and know this: though you cheat jet engines in the tangent universe, to this favor you must come.

Poe’s Point > Twisted Xmas 2: An Xmas Carol

I suggested yesterday that McFarlane Toys create a second series of Twisted Xmas toys, this time based on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Given that it’s a ghost story featuring supernatural creatures, graveyards, corpses, and Victorian-era values ripe for the perverting, I think this is a no-brainer for McToys–and a sure-seller.

Here’s how I envision the line:

Ebeneezer Scrooge — a grotesque, hunchbacked miser, carrying a sack of filthy lucre and leaning on a cane with a death’s head knob.

The Ghost of Jacob Marley — a horrific, zombie-like corpse, completely buried in huge chains, padlocks, safes, shackles and other heavy iron objects. His jaw-wrappings would be in shreds, and his rotten jaw would be dangling by a thread of cartilage over his chest.

The Ghost of Christmas Past — the obligatory hot chick of the line. In the novel this ghost is actually a kind of young/old male spirit, but enough movie versions have made it a woman to make it work in the public imagination. This figure would just be a scantily-clad fairy, probably carrying a big candle extinguisher.

The Ghost of Christmas Present — described as a “giant” in the book, I envision McFarlane’s version as a huge, gluttonous ogre. His base would be covered with half-eaten food and his magic torch would be more like a monstrous flaming club.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come — C’mon, this one’s easy. Personally I’d love something that looked like the thing from Scrooged, but I have faith that McFarlane would come up with something suitably monstrous.

Tiny Tim — This one would probably be the most tasteless (and there’s always one in these Monsters lines). In the novel he wears those Forrest Gump-style leg braces and carries a crutch. I envision McFarlane’s Tiny Tim as a hulking, deformed teenager with giant robotic braces on his legs–and a crutch like a claymore.