Hello, Earth Station One readers!
Let me preface my post here by introducing myself. I go by the name Phantom Troublemaker and do most of my writing over at Needless Things or on my Tumblr page, but the fellas here at ESO were kind (or foolish) enough to invite me to provide some content for you lucky folks.
I write about toys, movies, comics, music, or any other dorkery that interests me and I always try to keep things honest and maintain my own personal perspective. I love Doctor Who, Star Wars, GI Joe, and Batman; but if I think anything having to do with any of those is terrible I’m going to tell you all about it. At length. Also, I don’t restrain myself in my own environs, so be warned that your eyes may be assaulted by some colorful metaphors if you click on either of those above links. Stick to my ESO posts for the sanitized, mostly family-friendly versions.
I cover Toy Fair every year despite the fact that I do not attend. I’ll usually post the coolest stuff over on my Facebook page or on Twitter and then do a big recap at the end.
This is the recap, and this year it is really big. And I don’t even cover everything – this is purely the stuff I collect or find interesting. It just so happens that a lot of the toy makers totally brought it this year.
If I don’t mention something you’re into, be sure and poke around the sites I link to and I’m sure you’ll find some coverage. Each header will (should) link to the site that had the best info about that line or brand.
Naturally The Venture Bros. and Doctor Who were big points of interest here.
The Venture Bros.: Nothing new here. Not a sausage. But I guess with so many Mego-style and 3 ¾” figures still waiting for release there really wasn’t a whole lot available that hadn’t already been shown.
Classic Battlestar Galactica: A new line for BBP! And one that fits the retro style very well. This might be BBP!’s best-looking Retro line yet. The Cylon is outstanding.
Six Million Dollar Man: This was also announced and shown (in theoretical form) at Toy Fair. BBP! Is going after old-school license like a ravenous shark, man. The first releases here are Mego-style figures of Oscar Goldman, Steve Austin, a Fembot, and the Yeti(!). All I know is you had better be able to look through Austin’s eye.
Doctor Who: In what is possibly the coolest move by a toy company ever, BBP! is making a Classic TARDIS playset for the 8” Retro Cloth figures. It’s vinyl and folds up and everything, just like the old Mego playsets. There’s also a Dalek, Scaroth, the First Doctor, and more. I so don’t need to collect another Doctor Who scale, but I want these really bad.
My Favorite: That TARDIS. Holy cow.
Mattel
Mattel didn’t exactly set the world on fire in 2011. I’m not getting into it, as I’ve bagged on them enough in the past year, but let’s hope 2012 is a little better.
My buddy Evil called me up Sunday afternoon and said that Matty had already posted galleries from Toy Fair and that the Geoff Johns 30th Anniversary figure was terrible. Naturally I had to get online ASAP and check it out. The first paragraphs below are from that stuff; anything else is from after Matty’s Sunday night presentation.
Also, kudos to Toy Guru and Matty for going ahead and making the last of the JLU figures available. I don’t collect them, but I totally get how passionate people are about them. It’s been ten years. That’s a huge investment in time, money, and – let’s face it – love.
Masters of the Universe: I’ll go ahead and get Mr. Johns’ contribution to the 30th Anniversary out of the way. The character is “Sir Laser Lot” and is – as you might imagine – a knight. With lasers. I think he’s rad. The name and look both fit perfectly with the feel of the vintage MOTU line and I can’t wait to get this guy. Also revealed were Spikor, Frosta, and a 2-pack of Snake Men. Spikor looks awesome and exactly like he did in the comics. Frosta is fine, but another one I will hand off to the missus. The Snake Men 2-pack is great. It appears to have some customization options (2 extra heads are included) like the Palace Guards, so I will probably buy two sets. Mattel also mentioned that the Tower of Darkness Sorceress will, indeed, be available on Mattycollector.com later in the year. Horde Prime looks absolutely amazing. Shades of Jack Kirby in that one, folks.
Also, the Mighty Spector still looks stupid. But I do want to mention that I have a lot more respect for ol’ Toy Guru after reading his Behind the Scenes posts. I had no idea that he was pretty much the guy that got this line rolling.
I’ve now seen that everybody hates Sir Laser Lot – even more than Mighty Spector, somehow – and thinks Frosta’s face is bad. I’ve got news for you people – Laser Lot is the bomb and Frosta looks pretty much exactly like Frosta.
My Favorite: I like the Snake Men a lot, but Sir Laser Lot might actually be my favorite.
Ghostbusters: Nothing new. This line is dead. No pun intended.
DC Universe Club Infinite Earths: We finally got a look at some more figures and I have to say I’m back to being happy about subscribing. There isn’t a single figure I don’t want to own so far. Starman is probably the one I’m least excited about; but he’s made of clear, sparkly plastic so he’s still a win. Mirror Master looks great, the fact that Platinum and Tin (of the Metal Men) are packed together as a single regular figure is amazing, Black Mask looks awesome and means I’ll be able to ditch my DC Direct version. And finally, Poison Ivy looks pretty great. I’m glad she’s a modern (but non-New 52) version.
My Favorite: Platinum and Tin. While Metron and his chair look awesome, the Metal Men 2-pack fulfills Matty’s promise that this line would be packed with value. Platinum looks amazing and Tin may be limited in articulation but looks great. This truly is the sort of thing I was expecting when I subscribed. Now I just need to find a Gold, darn it.
WWE Legends: I have mostly stopped collecting wrestling figures, but I’ll still buy from time to time. And I will definitely be on Mattycollector.com on April 2nd to buy Diamond Dallas Page.
My Favorite: DDP! DDP! DDP! BANG!
Voltron: Everything looks heart-wrenchingly awesome. I want these so bad, but I just can’t spend the money on them. Too many other things out there.
My Favorite: They’re a bunch of robot lions. They’re all cool.
Back to the Future: They’re doing a replica hoverboard. Crazy. It goes up for preorder in March and will ship in November/December if they get enough orders. I’m not buying one or anything, I’m just curious to see if it happens. I like BTTF just enough to have bought one of the Diamond DeLoreans and no more. Rumor has it the price on this thing will be about $120. That’s being reported as fact in some places, but I wouldn’t trust it until your card is charged and the product is in your hands.
There wasn’t nearly as much here as there was last year. I almost wonder if the companies aren’t holding more back for San Diego Comic Con now that it’s such a big deal.
Young Justice: I’ve basically avoided this line except for Artemis, but there was a Superboy in this year’s initial display that I liked. This one is in his regular gear rather than the white suit and looks pretty cool. I wish they’d get around to a Miss Martian in one of the 6” scale lines because she is easily my favorite character on the show. Oh, and they’re doing a Sportsmaster, who is the dumbest character ever.
My Favorite: Superboy. I might actually buy that one.
Action League: Mattel is releasing a number of Flashpoint 2-packs, which seems stupid. We’ll definitely get Cyborg and Element Woman, but if Lil’ Troublemaker (my four-year-old son) actually sees them I’m sure we’ll end up getting them all. 2012’s second series packs a single figure with a large accessory, which I’m not so sure about. Although Atom w/Plastic Man glider does sound cool.
DC Universe All-Stars: New 52 Superman and Flash look great, but I really don’t plan on buying them. And I certainly don’t need another Supergirl. There was a Rocket Red on display, but I have no clue which line he is from. He does look really good, though.
Dark Knight Rises: I may have sold off my Green Lantern Movie Masters, but I still have all of my Batman MM figures. And I couldn’t be more excited about the six new Dark Knight Rises figures with the buildable, functioning(!) Bat Signal. Bane was the only one I saw as of this initial writing and he looks great.
Okay, now I’ve seen Catwoman and Batman. Batman looks like every other movie Batman and the Anne Hathaway Catwoman look pretty much exactly like Julie Newmar, which is tremendous. The Bat Signal looks very cool and apparently each figure comes with blueprints from the Wayne Industries Applied Science division, which is much cooler than tiny masks but equally as useless.
My Favorite: Catwoman.
Batman Legacy: A couple of new Arkham City figures were shown. I will definitely buy the variant black-and-white Batman and Catwoman. They look really cool.
WWE: There are some very nice figures coming in the Elite Collection. An old-school Edge looks great, Sin Cara (even thought he sucks) and Yokozuna are nice, and there’s a Bella Twins set that for some reason impressed me. There’s also a figure of Triple H in some kind of insane costume that I don’t remember ever seeing. And yes – it’s way more insane than his Conan getup from a few years ago.
My Favorite: Insane-o Triple H. I’ll probably buy that.
Hasbro
What can you even say about Hasbro? They make the best toys on the planet. The combination of sculpt and playability they produce is unmatched by anybody else in the industry. Plus, they have the best nerd licenses with Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe, Marvel, and now Star Trek.
Star Wars: I have a harder time spending money on Star Wars lately, mostly because I either have most of the figures and toys I could want or because Hasbro just won’t make characters and vehicles I want. But there were a few neat things shown this year.
The SDCC Carbonite Chamber figure set is a cool idea, especially the exclusive Jar Jar in carbonite. I’m not sure which six figures are included, but I’ll probably pass on it like I did the Death Star last year. I am a sucker for neat-o packaging ideas and I really want that Jar Jar, but there is a limit to my financial irresponsibility.
The big vehicle for 2012 is the giant Battle Droid deploying tank (MTT or Multi Troop Transport). I think it looks really cool and is a solid idea for a toy vehicle. It even comes with 16 stored Battle Droids and 4 fully articulated ones. But this just isn’t something I need. Not until it goes on clearance, anyway. Which is how I recently got last year’s Republic Assault Shuttle.
As far as figures go, we’re getting some great stuff in the Vintage line. Hasbro displayed Leia in her Bespin clothes, Doctor Evazan (I still haven’t found Ponda Baba), a properly scaled Nien Nunb, the long-awaited Nom Anor, Hoth Luke, Grand Moff Tarkin (who looks amazing), a new Galen Marek, some redheaded Mandalorian chick, Pash Cracken, and some kind of super-armored-up mega-clone that looks rad. Surprisingly, Hasbro is also producing movie-style versions of Clone Wars Anakin, Obi Wan, and even Asohka!
There is a new line of toys called “AMP’D” that is a sort of build-your-own-vehicle kind of thing. You start with an X-Wing or TIE Fighter and can rearrange and add parts to make new, souped-up vehicles. They actually look pretty cool, but I’m not sure I see them doing too well. I’ll probably buy at least one just to check it out. I’m pretty sure Lil’ Troublemaker is going to want them and they don’t appear to be complete pieces of garbage like Mattel’s TRIO line.
My Favorite: Redheaded Mando chick. I don’t even know who she is, but that is one awesome figure. And a redhead.
GI Joe: In what seems like unbelievable news, we are getting GI Joe figures of Bruce Willis, The Rock, Ray Stevenson, and RZA. This is completely insane.
The new movie figures all look really good. The likenesses are fantastic, particularly on Willis and Stevenson. Hasbro hasn’t done anything drastic to the design or the sculpt of this line, so it will fit in with your existing collection. These guys look to be packed with just as many accessories as the recent Joe releases, but of particular note to me was the fact that everything comes with zip lines.
I was a huge fan of any kind of rope accessories when I was a kid, but it always seemed like the rope was never long enough (except for the Air Raiders line). But it looks like all of the rope gadgets with these Joe figures have plenty of line. Yes, this does make them unwieldy and impractical for the figures to carry around, but you’re not going to care about that when you’re re-enacting the mountainside ninja battle from the trailer on the back of your sofa. Uh, I mean when your kid is. Yeah.
Here’s a brief breakdown:
Wave 1
Cobra Commander – looks awesome, great helmet, love the fire-breathing snake staff even though it’s big and goofy
Duke – blech
GI Joe Trooper – looks cool, another great generic greenshirt with lots of customization possibilities, awesome head sculpt, why the blue cape? Looks like Boba Fett’s
Red Ninja (or maybe Arashikage Ninja) – meh, okay – not bad but I don’t need it
Roadblock (basic version?) – great head sculpt, otherwise kind of bland, he doesn’t seem to have the Arashikage hexagram that’s on all the box art
Snake-Eyes (basic version?) – very slick, cool glider accessory, NO MOUTH! HOORAY!
Storm Shadow (basic version?) – also slick, no hair sticking out of mask (hooray),
Zartan – creepy looking and cool, clear Snake-Eyes head is cool but why clear Snake-Eyes head?, demon Storm Shadow head is cool but why demon Storm Shadow head? ALL WILL BE REVEALED! (I hope)
Wave 2
Roadblock (more clothed version) – same head, much better figure, holsters!
Snake-Eyes (more realistic version – think the Ninja Commando figure) – I really like this one, but no glider!
Wave 3
Red Camo Guy – is this Firefly? I don’t even know if he’s Joe or Cobra but he looks cool
Cobra Armored Mustache Guy – Is Tony Stark working for Cobra? Is this Wraith maybe? Whatever, he looks awesome
Black Ninja – excellent, I will buy ten
General (I assume) Joe Colton – Bruce Willis, what more do you need?, I will buy ten
Lady Jaye – good head sculpt, weird paint – looks like she was dipped in poo, I like the sculpt of the body a lot
Wave 4
Blind Master – This is a GI Joe figure of the RZA, AMAZING sculpt overall, great figure
Kim Arashikage (they can’t call the figure Jinx) – awesome lady ninja figure, I’d rather have the red SDCC version but I doubt I’ll be able to get that one
Wave 5
Crimson Guardsman – he looks okay, not too exciting – I’ll have to see him in person, apparently has rank decals – cool idea if they actually stay on (they won’t)
Greenish Cobra Guy – awesome sculpt, lame color, rest assured they’ll do lots more colors though
As far as vehicles go, there’s a thing made from the tank treads of the new model HISS that I thought looked stupid at first but is actually pretty clever. I’m not going to be buying it, but it’s not as bad as I thought. There’s a new plane that looks fantastic and will definitely be hanging from my ceiling come June. The repainted AWE Striker with the Arashikage hexagram on the hood is kind of silly, but I do dig the updated Water Moccasin… er, Fangboat (seriously? Fangboat?). The HISS they updated for the movie is pretty cool. I like the blue better than the turd color of the ones I own and the transparent canopy is a massive improvement, although it looks like the treads may be plastic and stationary which is a huge letdown.
One thing that perplexes me is all of the packaging shots of Roadblock (The Rock) with the Arashikage clan tattoo on his left bicep. I totally get wanting to use the likeness of one of the most recognized celebrities in the world on every single bit of your toy line. I don’t even really have a problem with Roadblock being a ninja if that’s the way they want to go. Whatever. It’s just weird and I’m curious to find out what the deal is.
My Favorite: The SDCC Exclusive metallic purple Shockwave HISS tank that includes a purple Destro, a briefcase full of money, a purple and green BAT, and a tiny little Soundwave in tape deck mode with three cassettes(!) is obviously the greatest toy of all time. I say that without a trace of hyperbole.
Transformers: There’s a Bruticus from the new game that looks outstanding. But I’m avoiding Transformers after finally selling most of mine off on eBay.
Marvel Legends: FINALLY! Marvel Legends have come back… to retail!
I am so stoked and irritated at the same time. Marvel Legends is one of my favorite lines ever, but I had finally accepted that it was basically done, with the odd release or multi-pack from time to time being the exception. Now they’re back with at least three more waves and they look as good as ever.
Waves 1 and 2 will be hitting retail pretty much any day now and there are three or four figures from those I know I want, with a couple more that will probably catch my eye once I see them in person.
Wave 3 was sort of shown at Toy Fair. Hasbro revealed that USAgent, Blade, and Mystique will be included. Blade looks awesome and is a definite buy for me. USAgent looks cool too, but I’ll pass on him. Mystique was not shown, but I’m hoping it’s the black leather version (found out later it is) because I’ve already got the classic style one Toy Biz did.
My Favorite: Even though we saw her back at SDCC, Hope Summers is my favorite so far from the line with Fantomex coming in a very close second.
Superhero Adventures: (Sorry, you guys – I can’t find the gallery for these. Nobody cares about them but me, apparently) No longer Superhero Squad, the line for younger kids features articulation like Mattel’s Imaginext toys. As a matter of fact, Lil’ Troublemaker refers to them as Imaginext. There’s a whole range of new vehicles and figures coming, mostly based around Spider-Man for some reason…
Amazing Spider-Man (Movie): Oh. That explains it. With figures from Sam Raimi’s Spidey films still readily available for next-to-nothing, I just can’t get excited about new ones. But I’m sure I’ll end up buying a Legends-style Spidey if they offer one. Not so sure about Lizard. Don’t tell anybody, but I think he looks kind of stupid.
Oh, and let’s not forget…
Star Trek: HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen – two of the very biggest nerd properties of all time will be produced by the same company – Star Wars and Star Trek. It’s completely mind-blowing and makes my head hurt just to think about it. Not much was said at Toy Fair since the products really won’t start coming out until next year when the new Trek movie releases. But holy cow is this a big deal for Hasbro and for Trek fans.
In 2013… KIRK WILL FIGHT SOLO.
Everybody Else
Character Options/Underground Toys
There was nothing on display here that I hadn’t seen before. I wish I had something exciting to say. I still need an Idris, darn it. If you didn’t already know, there are some very interesting role play toys coming out that no American company would ever dare produce. Some totally made up items in the form of a personal TARDIS and a steampunk-looking sonic screwdriver are on the way later this year. These have no place in canon as far as I know and are totally some “hey, this would look cool” items from the manufacturer.
The Rocky line looks outstanding. I particularly like the beaten up versions. But I won’t be buying any. C’mon, NECA – get Rambo (oh – they did).
There are a couple of new Freddy Kruegers that look very cool. I really don’t need ‘em, but I might not be able to resist the one with the hypodermic hands from Part 3. There was also a replica of the Freddy marionette on display, but I don’t know if it was there for show or as a future retail item. I sure hope they’re going to sell it.
And then, of course, there are the next two Evil Dead 2 figures. The floating Deadite hag and Ash with the chainsaw hand. They are outstanding. The hag comes with a crazy extend-o-neck head and Ash, well – get ready, folks – Ash comes with the laughing deer head. Oh. Heck. Yes.
There’s also a cool battle damaged Robocop that looks awesome. I might get him.
Some new Jason Voorhees figures are coming, but until we get to Jason X I don’t need any more.
I hate E.T. and want to murder his stupid face, so I’m not going to mention the fact that NECA is making figures of this terrifying little monster.
All the new Gremlins toys look good and the chick one is hilarious. With rooted hair, even.
The Horsemen are always a noteworthy presence at Toy Fair, not only because of their contributions to Mattel’s lines, but also because of their own, independently produced licenses. More Outer Space Men are coming, as well as an Outer Space Woman. I bought a couple variations of the first four releases and I dig them a lot, but I’m honestly not sure I’ll go after 2012’s offerings. They are fantastic toys, but just not enough of a “must-have” for me to keep up with them.
The Horsemen also had new Gothtropolis figures to show – their own line of creations. I have heard time and again how awesome these toys are, so I might have to pick one up just to check it out for myself. I’m very curious to see what the Horsemen do without corporate interference or limitations. Naturally, the purple and green lady they’re making really caught my eye.
I have now purchased a few of the Thundercats toys due to the annual post-Christmas toy slow down. They are deeply flawed (thanks to the hideous screws and mismatched joint pegs) but very fun toys. I can’t bring myself to collect them, and it looks like others can’t either because this line is apparently dying. There was no new product at Toy Fair and I can’t imagine that bodes well for the Thundercats. I can’t blame the consumers – there really is no excuse for Bandai’s lazy production methods. I guess people don’t care when it comes to Ben 10 and Power Rangers. Thundercats fans must be much more discerning.
The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line might be my pick for Best In Show this year. The line looks amazing, the vehicles are great, and the playset is mind-blowing. HUGE. I do not want to start collecting this line, so I am going to spend the next few months convincing Lil’ Troublemaker that Ninja Turtles are his new favorite thing.
Playmates is also releasing a line of 6” collector figures based on the old TMNT cartoon. They look fantastic and have tremendous articulation, but I won’t be buying them. I watched the cartoon religiously, but much like the GI Joe franchise, the TMNT comic books were my preferred canon. I’m still trying to track down a set of those NECA comic-styled figures for a reasonable price. I would totally buy a collector-style Krang, though.
I mostly hate Mezco for their terrible handling of the modern horror properties a few years ago, but they do fine work with more cartoony stuff. Like their new Earthworm Jim and Mars Attacks! lines. They’re also producing some stylized Universal Monsters that look pretty cool. The big surprise to me was the Spongebob stuff. I suppose adult collectors want Spongebob. I don’t. Lil’ Troublemaker loves the little yellow bastard, but I hit a wall with the show a few months ago. I can’t stand it anymore.
RETRO CLOTH GILLMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! DST’s Retro Cloth Universal Monsters have all been great, but this one is the cream of the crop. The Bride looks good, too. But not nearly as good.
Their Star Trek line (which I am woefully behind on) had Mirror Universe Spock and Kirk on display. They both look great, but I need to get the rest of the regular crew before I branch off into alternate realities.
Diamond also got The Expendables license and are producing Minimates, 6” figures, and at least one 8” retro cloth figure. Also, the new movie is going to be rated PG-13 at the request of Chuck Norris and I think that’s just awful. Do it without him.
And then there’s DST’s big, huge, crazy acquisition (to me, anyway): MAD MONSTER PARTY! They’re producing a whole line of figures, starting with Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and Baron Von Frankenstein. They look outstanding. I sure hope they’re out in time for Halloween.
I’ve never been a huge fan of DC Direct. Well, not a huge buyer, anyway. I love that they take specific artists’ looks and turn them into figures, but those figures tend to break more easily than a would-be actress from Iowa trying to hit it big in L.A. DCD also can’t seem to make up their mind on articulation. They have produced quite a few figures with joints that really don’t serve any purpose given how the thing is posed, but have also made some figures with lots of points of articulation that just happens to be hideously ugly.
But all in all I like DCD for staying true to the same goal for over a decade now – making toys of DC’s biggest stories. And if we’re all honest about it, there is no bigger story out of DC in that past decade than Batman: Arkham Asylum/City. This is the one line where I am picking DCD over Mattel. For the most part I have been sticking with Mattel figures due to their uniformity and articulation(though I have held onto my Batman-related DCD figures), but DCD is producing the most characters the fastest with the video game franchise. And don’t get me wrong – Mattel’s Arkham toys look great. But DCD’s are works of art. They look like they could be the models used for reference. And in this case I do like the character-specific poses.
Now that I’ve rambled for two paragraphs, I’ll just say that DCD’s offerings look fantastic. 2012 is going to be a great year for Arkham City toys. We’re getting Mad Hatter, Azrael, Catwoman, Hush, Ra’s Al Ghul, and a couple of Joker’s goons (in the form of a new figure and a repaint). They all look outstanding with the exception of Catwoman. Her face is a bit weird in the game as it is, but the toy looks outright bizarre. The final product may not look as crazy in person, but we’ll see.
There are also a couple of Batman variants being offered because you can’t have a wave without a Batman. I get that. And I actually really like the Detective Mode version. I might buy him if he catches my eye in person.
And then there are the amazing oversized figures they’re offering – Titan Joker, Mr. Freeze, and Killer Croc. I wasn’t too crazy about the look of that Joker in the game, but Croc and Freeze look amazing and are some of my favorite designs. I’ll be buying those two.
The company that is traditionally known for once being the two greatest publishers of role-playing video games ever also makes incredibly pricey action figures based on video games. Their licenses include Arkham City, Metal Gear, Drake’s Fortune, God of War, and Street Fighter. Oh, and Final Fantasy for some weird reason. I mention Squenix’s offerings only because they look amazing and because they’re making a Meryl Silverburgh that I would punch my sister to own. I am a little surprised to find out that I would rather assault my sibling than pay $60 for a 6” scale action figure (no I’m not).
I haven’t reported on these guys in a while, but they had some interesting items on display at Toy Fair. First up is their line of 2.5” unarticulated superhero figures. These are nothing special – they look fine, but we’ve been seeing this sort of thing for years. What’s of note is the fact that JAKKS has the license to produce both Marvel and DC in this scale and style. That and the price point will determine just how hot these little things end up being. With the lucrative Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and Dark Knight Rises movie licenses being included I think they might do rather well if they come in at $4.99 (or less) per 2-pack. JAKKS also had some plushes and what look for all the world like licensed buttplugs on display.
There was also a large display of toys from the forthcoming Men In Black III. I don’t care much about the movie and the toys all basically look like crap. Except for the role play items. There were a bunch of guns and devices that actually looked really neat. I wouldn’t mind having a Noisy Cricket.
JAKKS also had Pokémon, Smurfs, and some kind of BMX crap; but of major interest to me is the fact that JAKKS appears to be attempting to revive gross toys. Gross toys were a big deal back in the 80’s and JAKKS has a pretty respectable lineup coming with the already available revival of Creepy Crawlers and new properties S.L.U.G. Zombies and Scatter Brains. The S.L.U.G. Zombies look basically like M.U.S.C.L.E. figures except they’re zombies and I even spotted some familiar faces in the lineup like Abe Lincoln, Colonel Sanders, and Crocodile Dundee(!). The Spartacus one might be in poor taste, though. The cool thing that I realized about the line is that, like M.U.S.C.L.E. the figures are all monotone, but the zombies are green and the survivors are pink. Nicely done, JAKKS. I will buy these.
Scatter Brain appears to be some sort darts-like game that involves throwing little characters with sticky, exposed brains. Each dart is a different, cartoony-looking weirdo. Upon further inspection, I realized that you can throw these gross little guys or buy a gun that shoots them. I will buy these as well.
I’ve got to say, JAKKS has rocked it with some interesting stuff this year. Nice.
Note: What the heck ever happened to that attractive $4.99 price point? I know we’re not going to get 3 ¾” scale figures for that, but there doesn’t seem to be anything for the five dollar bargain. It looks like $6.99 is the new low-level toy price. Suck-o.
Toy Fair was very solid this year. Lots of new and exciting stuff from the little guys and strong showings from the big boys. I’m taking out a second mortgage.
I hope you guys enjoyed my first article or at least got the urge to go take a look at some of the cool toys I mentioned. In the future there’s no telling what kind of content I’ll end up posting here. My writing moods tend to be erratic and unpredictable. Stay tuned.
Oh, and if you want a slightly different, saltier version that also includes my Best In Show picks; go check out Needless Things. Be sure to follow me there and on Facebook for lots of brilliant and entertaining content. Not that I’m biased.
-Phantom
