Toy Aisle Trolls > Ow, Man

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 AT poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: Pendragon’s Post

The Problem: Owlman has become Iron Man

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: Here

Location: Walmart in Garfield, NJ

Happy Snout Spout Day!

I’m not sure I would ever have thought we’d get to today, when Snout Spout, Eternia’s answer to Joseph Merrick, is added to everyone’s Masters of the Universe collections.

Of course, this is also the first time since…man, I don’t even remember, maybe the Eternian Palace Guards?–that I have to go onto Mattycollector and order something, namely, Bubble Power She-Ra. If I don’t, I apparently won’t own a She-Ra who can ride Swift Wind. The question is, did Mattel make as many BP She-Ras as they made Swift Winds? Color me skeptical. I just hope I survive the experience.

For those of you without subscriptions, Swift Wind, the tough-talking, incredibly girly-looking unicorn/pegasus hybrid, is also on sale, along with all the DC Universe Classics Wave 18 figures; the JLU 7-Pack of Gypsy, Crimson Avenger, Johnny Thunder, Thunderbolt w/stand, Dr. Mid-Nite, Speedy, The Creeper; and all of the DC Universe Retro Action figures at the not-so-low price of $20 each. I suspect the Retro Action figures will show up in a sale at a substantially lower price before Christmas, so you might want to wait on that.

There’s also a big JLU deal going on for the remaining stock over the next few days–you can read all the details here.

Odds ‘n Ends > Poe’s Neglect, Selling Out, Battle Babies, Skyrim

  • I swear this paucity of updates is not going to go on forever, or even my choice. Bachelor parties to Vegas, new pets, sick pets, and other non-toy-related responsibilities have been cropping up consistently, but I think things will be able to settle down now. I’ve got lots of ideas for posts, I just need to find the time and energy to get them written down.
  • Mattel unveiled the first four figures in their new DC Universe All-Stars line, the retail replacement for DC Universe Classics. The figures are the previously-revealed Larfleeze, Superboy Prime, Flashpoint Plastic Man, and a reissue of Batman Beyond. I think I can safely join most fans in a collective “…huh.” My understanding was the new direction of the line was to be synergistic with the current depiction of the DCU and would feature the better-known characters. Flashpoint Plastic Man is a relatively minor character from a very brief storyline wearing an outfit he’ll never wear again. Larfleeze is fine, if not exactly better-known, but Superboy Prime seems a both obscure and dated…does he even exist in the Brand New DC? Doesn’t he represent everything they’re trying to get away from? Still, at least he’s a new sculpt. As for Batman Beyond…it’s nice they’re reissuing him for those who missed him, but couldn’t we get some wings this time? Or at least a properly-colored batarang? To be honest, this is probably a better line-up than anyone was expecting for the new line, which makes me wonder if these particular figures had been slated for DCUC, not DCAS–much as the all-unique Demon and Penguin from wave one of DCUC seemed better suited to DC Super Heroes than the reuse-heavy DCUC.
  • New toys I’ve picked up recently: the Arkham City Robin/Joker 2-pack, the 6″ Walmart Captain America (movie version). Reviews forthcoming.
  • Check out this awesome guide to creating custom action figure backgrounds and dioramas by Matthew K at the Fwoosh. I tried to get Matt to write this up for PGPoA, actually, but the Fwoosh one was already in progress. Thanks to Battlegrip for the tip.
  • You may have noticed some new ads on the sidebar…or maybe you didn’t, if you use Adblock. Anyway, after several years of running this site entirely at my own expense (aside from some associate accounts and Google Ads, neither of which are particularly lucrative), I’ve decided that if I want to be able to support my hobby and keep up this blog, I’m going to need some sponsors. The one thing I can promise you is that I’ll only have advertisers whom I use myself and support. So please welcome BigBadToyStore and Thwipster, and welcome back EnchantedToyChest (who have a great-looking new site). If you would be kind enough to turn off Adblock on PGPoA I’d really appreciate it (I do that for the sites I visit regularly, believe it or not), but I’ll totally understand if you don’t want to.
  • Weirdo Toys has a great article on Brad Rader’s Battle Babies. Battle Babies are a line of custom toys featuring babies writing cyborg animals, Dino Riders-style. You can see more at Brad’s Flickr account, and even buy them at his Etsy page. Incidentally, Brad’s wife, the Geeky Vixen, is the editor-in-chief of Pendragon’s Post.
  • You may recall my cousin Ed and his reviews of Bif Bang Pow!’s Lost figures. What you may not know is he’s also a videogame reviewer for the Adrenaline Vault. He’s got a new review of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim out today–check it out! I’ll be getting my copy tomorrow. I hated Morrowind, but I got really into Oblivion, and it sounds like Skyrim only gets better.

Odds ‘n Ends > November 2, 2011

  • Yesterday Warner Bros announced they had extended their master toy license deal with Mattel. Hardly a surprise with Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel on the way, but good news for those of us who love Four Horsemen sculpting on DC toys. Speaking of, I sincerely hope the Horsemen will be working on the DKRises Movie Masters toys. Not sure if that’s been confirmed yet.
  • BigBadToyStore has the next (and final?) wave of Batman Legacy figures up for preorder. Enchanted Toy Chest should have them soon as well.
  • Pics of the upcoming G.I. Joe Zombie-Viper surfaced yesterday. (And some guy named Edwin “Lifeline” Steen.) The zombie looks incredibly awesome. This is how it’s done, Todd.
  • I hadn’t even heard about this until yesterday, but NECA is offering an incredible in-scale Da Vinci Flying Machine from Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. It doesn’t come with an Ezio figure, but if you have one it will fit in the machine. It’s only available via preorder from Gamestop.
  • Due to NYCC, I forgot to submit a Q&A to Mattel for November 1, but you can see a roundup of the rest of them here. I didn’t find any answers particularly earth-shattering, but it’s interesting to see they’re committed to continuing Ghostbusters past 2012. The prop replicas are selling out and are apparently pretty cool, but the figures seem to be tanking.
  • The fully-painted “Infinity Edition” of Outer Space Men phases three and four will go up for preorder on 11/11.

Happy Icarius Day!

Link to the all-in-one sale page.

My NYCC write-up is coming soon (probably tomorrow), but in the meantime, we can celebrate/discuss the arrival of Icarius. As discussed at the Mattel NYCC panel on Saturday, the name “Icarius” was used for the vintage figure in Europe because the name “Flipshot” didn’t translate well. When it came time to name the Classics figure, the team chose Icarius because it was, well, cooler-sounding than “Flipshot.”

I have to say I think he’s a great-looking action figure, and I can’t wait to get mine.

Also available in today’s sale is the massive Legion of Super Heroes 12-pack for $180. I’m not a Legion fan and I can’t afford that thing anyway, but it looks awesome.

This is a big sale; there’s also the prop replica Ghost Trap and Battle Cat is back, along with Mer-Man, one of the finest MOTUC figures. Finally there’s Ray Stantz w/ Slime Blower and a number of DCUC figures available. I’ve got Icarius coming by subscription, so the only thing I might pick up is Ray.

Odds ‘n Ends > Good News and Bat News

  • Warner Bros finally announced their new Batman cartoon for 2013, Beware the Batman. Apparently instead of Robin, Batman’s sidekick will be Katana, and the bad guys will include Professor Pyg, Mister Toad, and what looks like maybe Harley Quinn?
    • I agree with most of the comments from Bat-fans: Bruce Timm’s art style does not work in CGI, Batman’s head looks like a bug, and while I don’t mind the idea of making Alfred a more active badass, arming him with guns is just wrong. Yes, Alfred sometimes picks up a rifle to protect Wayne Manor, but Batman allowing or encouraging the butler to carry guns as part of his crimefighting crusade is painfully out of character.
    • Also, I have to say that I find Grant Morrison’s work on the Batman comics very hit and miss, and in my opinion Professor Pyg and Mister Toad are big whiffas. Pyg’s gimmick (he performs unnecessary cosmetic surgery on his victims to make them “beautiful”) isn’t exactly something kids will find compelling, while Mister Toad is just…Mister Toad, apparently. Except evil. Oh, and he’s dead in the comics. I suspect these characters will be very different in the show. Professor Pyg will be some sort of generic crime boss and Mister Toad will be his Slythe-like lackey.
    • All that said, I applaud the obvious effort to do something new here. Let’s face it–Batman: The Animated Series is the definitive animated take on the classic Batman. I really don’t know how you can top it without waiting for a few generations to pass. So I guess we’ll see how the kids react to this one. If they love it, then I’ll concede that maybe the people behind the show know what they’re doing. Except for Alfred’s guns. That is just so wrong.
  • In more Bat-news, two new characters have been revealed for Arkham City: Nightwing and the Mad Hatter. Both are looking great, especially Nightwing. I hope we get an figure of him from DCD or Mattel. I’m sure we will.
  • On another Bat-related note, there is now a dedicated Batman Ask Matty forum on Mattycollector.
  • Apparently people still don’t know what the deal is with the 1970s Batman Arkham City repaint figure, which is supposed to be free if you preorder Arkham City at Toys R Us. Details are allegedly coming soon.
  • Also, we may getting a DCUC-style First Appearance Batman, which would be awesome. I’ve always loved that early look.
  • I mentioned this elsewhere, but that mystery prototype Joker is in fact an NYCC exclusive. Which I’ll be getting, since I’ll be at NYCC (along with Poester MisterBigBo). The figure still kind of grosses me out, though.
  • Mattel is going to have another Mad Matty Monday on October 10. Three mystery packs–DCU, MOTUC, and Ghostbusters–for $40.
  • The Four Horsemen have announced where and how you can buy their NYCC-exclusive Outer Space Men Beta Phase Waves 3 & 4 figures, if you’re at NYCC. They’ll also be selling some on their website after NYCC, but if history repeats itself, those will sell out right quick.

Ask Mattel > Answers for October 1

1.) As I understand it, the first Four Horsemen-sculpted Arkham City figure will be Harley Quinn. Will the Horsemen be sculpting any future Arkham City figures as well?

Yes, they will be sculpting future figs.      

(more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > September 22, 2011

  • Toynewsi has links to new pics of the Square Enix Play Arts Kai Batman Arkham Asylum figures. I’m really looking forward to these. A lot. A lot a lot. All I need is a preorder link.
  • You may or may not have heard of the campaign to save the 3 ¾ Venture Bros. toy line. If they don’t hit a certain pre-order goal, Bif Bang Pow can’t make the line. So they’ve teamed up with Entertainment Earth to try and get those pre-orders through, and I heartily comment their effort. You can do me, EE, Jackson Publick, Bif Bang Pow, and yourself a solid by pre-ordering (via my affiliate link) right here.
  • Another day, another Arkham City Batman skin–this one for Sinestro Corps Batman. What interests me here is that here’s wearing the same suit as the DCUC figure, which, to my knowledge, has never appeared in the comics.
  • As I’ve mentioned  here and on Twitter a few times, I commissioned another custom from MasterEnglish, maker of 339/1. MasterEnglish is going to reveal said custom, which looks awesome, at PowerCon this weekend…but I couldn’t resist this little, tiny preview hint.
  • It appears that the Wind Raider has been delayed and will not be in the October 17 Mattycollector sale. No word on when it will be sold.
  • I’ve been messing around with some DCUC figures lately, and I have to say that losing the rocker ankles really hurts their poseability. I never knew how much I loved that joint until it was gone.

Mattel Subscriptions Open Again (+ MOTUC Anniversary)

Just a reminder, the MOTUC, MOTUC 30th Anniversary, DCUC and Voltron subscriptions are now open. Again. Except for the 30th Anniversary One. (Side note: Why no second shot at Ghostbusters? I was actually considering adding that one.)

FYI, subs ordered separately will ship separately in January, then ship together after that.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Ow, Man

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items.

Submitted by: Bill White

Bill writes:

At the lovely Wal-Mart in Hanover, MA, some scum has substituted the Qwlman in the DCUC 5-pack with a DC Direct cheapo. Not shown in the picture, but they really hacked through the bottom of the box, and did a really poor job of patching it back together with scotch tape. How some customer service person accepted this as a return is a mystery. I have long suspected this Wal-Mart location as a center of toy collectin’ scum activity, and now I have my proof! For the record, I brought this to the manager’s attention, and he couldn’t have cared less.