June 13, 2012 | Poe
This is the third in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.
Today’s piece was written by Julius Marx of ActionFigureInsider.
For me personally I do features rather than reviews on AFI. There is no shortage of review sites out there, and even more when you include the youtube reviewers. I don’t value my opinion over anyone elses and I’m not vain enough to think that anyone else cares what I think. 🙂 And I have found in all my years doing this, often times when I get something that I have read a bad review online for, often times I will like the item better than they did. Different folks like different things. (more…)
March 2, 2012 | Poe
Following up on yesterday’s post, a few responses from the comments:
GeneralsJoes:
Stories like this make me very thankful for the always awesome guys (and girls) at Hunter PR who handle Hasbro’s PR stuff at Toy Fair and various other conventions. I have literally NEVER had a bad experience with them, and they treat even us small potato folks with respect and courtesy.
I think many collectors make comparisons between Hasbro and Mattel, and while Hasbro has certainly made its share of missteps, I think it’s demonstrably clear the company values the fans of its brands (particularly the homegrown ones, G.I. Joe and Transformers, but also Star Wars and Marvel). Mattel inevitably suffers by this comparison, which baffles me, since they’ve made it clear they want to establish a TF/GIJ-like media franchise in Masters of the Universe. (more…)
February 18, 2010 | Ed Humphries
You all know me. Know what I do. So, you’re probably asking yourselves, why does Poe keep inviting his videogame enthusiast, Lost-obsessive kinfolk round these parts to offer up n00bish takes on something he clearly know next to nothing about? That’s akin to bringing a Master Sword to a Hammer of Dawn fight… wait, that’s a gaming reference. I’ve got to remember my audience.
It’s akin to modeling a new Weeble with 98 points of articulation. It just don’t make sense, son. (more…)
February 9, 2010 | Ed Humphries
Poe’s Note: I started to write up a Poe’s Point about Big Bang Pow!’s upcoming Lost figures, done in the style of the 1970s Mego lines. But then I realized that, as someone who doesn’t watch Lost and as a lifelong action figure collector, I didn’t have any idea how much these toys would appeal to BBP’s target, the Lost fan who’s only a casual toy collector (if at all). As such, I’ve invited my cousin Ed Humphries, owner of The Ed Zone and columnist for the Adrenaline Vault, to offer his perspective. In part one, I asked for his knee-jerk reaction upon seeing the photos of the toys. Here’s the second part, written after Ed read the press release and took into account what BBP is trying to do.
Earlier I offered up my first blush observations of a new line of Lost-based action figures from Bif Bang Pow! and EMCE Toys. While I’m not an action figure collector, aside from a smattering of beloved trophies that adorn my desk and Man Cave, I was invited to lend my eyes and record my first thoughts at observing this new line and its very particular design choice. I may not be the action figure expert but I do come with an encyclopedic knowledge of Lost. Simply put -I’m here to call em as I see em. (more…)
February 8, 2010 | Ed Humphries
Poe’s Note: I started to write up a Poe’s Point about Big Bang Pow!’s upcoming Lost figures, done in the style of the 1970s Mego lines. But then I realized that, as someone who doesn’t watch Lost and as a lifelong action figure collector, I didn’t have any idea how much these toys would appeal to BBP’s target, the Lost fan who’s only a casual toy collector (if at all). As such, I’ve invited my cousin Ed Humphries, owner of The Ed Zone and columnist for the Adrenaline Vault, to offer his perspective. I asked him to write the piece in two parts: first, his knee-jerk reaction upon seeing the photos of the toys; and then, tomorrow, I’ll post the second part, written after Ed read the press release and took into account what BBP is trying to do.
When Poe Ghostal hit up his favorite Lost obsessive looking for someone to provide an expert opinion on a new line of character action figures, I figured why not. While I have found my own web-based soapbox to offer up a weekly column spinning wild and crazy theories about what I think is really happening on that fantasy island, I realize that my powers are going to waste if they are restricted to one tiny slab of online real estate. As someone’s dead uncle once said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Well – I’ll be damned if I’m gonna’ let all this intellect languish on feverish, imagined queries like “Who Would Win in a Jello Fight? – Kate or Juliet.” That doesn’t help anyone – least of all my marriage. (more…)
February 13, 2009 | Rustin Parr
Note: the opinions of Rustin Parr do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Poe Ghostal.
With NYCC a few days behind us and Toy Fair a few days ahead, I find myself caught up in the tumultuous whirlwind of being a collector and fan of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics toy line. Wave 9 was revealed at NYCC, which is actually quite darn remarkable considering the series only launched little more than a year ago. However, despite its clear success, DCUC has been plagued by two issues almost from the get-go. In riffing on Toybiz/Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line, not only did Mattel come up with some inventively clever nomenclature (Classics vs. Legends, Collect-n-Connect vs. Build-a-Figure – “what marketing whiz came up with that one,” asks Mr. Seinfeld) they took up the mantle of poor Quality Control. And while I often must buy and return multiple figures before I get a decent enough paint job to open/keep, the real thing that’s got me going tonight is their so-called distribution. (more…)
