Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe@poeghostal.com.
Submitted by: MG
Found at: A TJ Maxx somewhere in Los Alamitos, CA.
This Starman is based on the Kingdom Come version of the character.
I’ve always been a Marvel man. Sure, I’ve been a fan of the Batman since Miller’s seminal graphic novel, and I’m apparently one of the only sane people who loves Superman Returns, but I was always much more fond of the Marvel universe than the DC. This can be in part attributed to Bryan Singer’s excellent X-Men films raising the bar for comic book movies back before the 90’s ended, and then in part due to the phenomenal Marvel Legends action figures that redefined the way we collect today. But that line ended, and although Hasbro took the baton from ToyBiz it hasn’t quite been the same.
When Mattel decided to apply DC characters to that same formula the result was a great series of toys, but one that was incredibly hard to collect in Australia; while Marvel Legends were plentiful in Oz across their early run, the DC Universe Classics were barely available, if at all. Fortunately friend Poe was able to help me acquire basically the entire series, and since then I’ve been reading a lot of the great DC arcs, currently knee-deep in Blackest Night. I’m a convert; for all their mistakes and baffling choices, especially with the sad reboot last year, I’d argue DC can rise to the occasion with stories just as strong as Marvel’s.
I jumped at the chance to subscribe to Club Infinite Earths, to continue collecting characters from the DC universe, and I feel like I’ve been rewarded for it: the DC Signature Collection has offered both entirely new, and fan requested, characters, like John Constantine and Saint Walker, as well as excellent new versions of figures that have previously seen toys, like Atrocitus. Metron was an excellent incentive to subscribe – as was previously reviewed on here, he’s an excellent toy and a great centrepiece for your New Gods display. I’m happy to continue subscribing; even though I’ve fallen off the MOTUC wagon courtesy of the $75+ Fearsome Foe Whatsits, CIE’s figures are all interesting to me, even characters I’ve previously never stumbled across like Starman. (more…)
“The Lost Knight”
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Howard Porter
Inker: John Livesay
Colorist: Carrie Strachan
Letter: Sal Cipriano
Assistant Editor: Sarah Litt
Editor: Kwanza Johnson
“The Lost Knight” is the first of a digital-first online miniseries, titled Masters of the Universe, that ties in to DC’s main MOTU miniseries He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It will feature a series of character one-shots.
The digital series will debut new chapters twice a month on Saturdays. The second chapter (7/14) is written by Mike Costa with artwork by Jheremy Raapack and it tells the story of He-Man’s most trusted companion, Battle Cat. The third digital chapter (7/28), written by Kyle Higgins with artwork by Pop Mhan, is an adventure with the captain of the Eternia guard, Man-At-Arms. —DCcomics.com
The first issue focuses not on any classic MOTU characters like He-Man, She-Ra or Skeletor, but on a brand-new character, Sir Laser Lot, who was created by Geoff Johns in his childhood and will be one of the 30th Anniversary figures in Masters of the Universe Classics this year.
There be spoilers after ye olde jump!
Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I got into the A&E show Storage Wars a few weeks ago. I’ve never been one for these reality shows – I’ve never watched Antiques Roadshow or Pawn Stars or American Pickers and hell, even that one Toy Hunters episode has been sitting on my DVR, unwatched, since January or whenever it aired. But after a comment from Power Pal Ben Leach, I decided to watch a few eps of SW and got hooked.
Of course, like many such shows, you can find no shortage of Internet commentary claiming it’s entirely staged – particularly an episode in which some buyers, Jarrod and his wife Brandi, discover an extremely valuable cache of vintage Mego Super Heroes. There’s a thread about it at the Mego Museum and the consensus is that it was entirely staged; one fellow claims to know the collector who “donated” the figures to the show. (more…)
From Mattycollector.com…
Masters of the Universe Vykronâ„¢ ($30)
If clothes make the He-Man, then this pitch prototype for the 1982 lineup is destined to be the star of the MOTU 30th Anniversary celebration thanks to a choice of three outfits: barbarian, spaceman, and military warrior! You’ll get him in-package dressed as a barbarian only at SDCC , but you can find him here at MattyCollector.com after the show packed as a spaceman or military warrior (all three outfits are included regardless of where he’s purchased). Want to know more about this multi-purpose warrior? Set includes one “buck,” or figure, with three different outfits/helmets to interchange between space, military and barbarian looks. Check back for the history of Vykronâ„¢, soon to be disclosed… (more…)
I’ll admit I’ve been remiss in covering this, but Mattel’s DC toy lines are in trouble. Young Justice’s 4″ and 6″ lines have been cancelled; JLU ends this year. But what about the DC Universe 6″ lines? To quote the Magic 8-Ball, “Outlook not so good.” (more…)
Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story!
The basics: it will be a six-issue miniseries written by James Robinson, with pencils by Phillip Tan and inks from Ruy Jose. For the full scoop, including an interview with James Robinson, visit MTV Geek.
I want to say I called this years ago when DC and Mattel joined forces for DCUC and the like, but I had set it aside when Dark Horse produced this year’s minicomics. Apparently that didn’t matter, and after thirty years, MOTU has returned to DC Comics. The 1980s DC is remains my favorite MOTU-related media of all time, so I’m curious to see whether this new series can match it.
The question is, does DC really think it can get away with not giving us a rematch for He-Man and Superman? A one-shot is all I ask.
Anyway, in short: great news. Also: man, the things you miss when you leave your computer for an hour to commute home. But why would MTV Geek release this at the end of the day, instead of the morning so that the blogs/Twitter/Facebook can discuss it all day? Internet usage plummets over the weekend.