Review > Ray Stantz (Ghostbusters Classics)

November 5, 2009 | Poe

Just in time to be too late for Halloween, here’s my review of the 6″ Ray Stantz from Mattel’s Ghostbusters Classics line. Ray is only available via Mattycollector.com for $20 plus shipping. But is he worth a Jackson (or two Hamiltons, or one-fifth of a Benjamin, if you prefer)?

Ray Stantz is the heart of the Ghostbusters–a brilliant scientist who’s nonetheless quick to jump to the more outlandish or supernatural-based explanation for anything peculiar. His unbridled enthusiasm for the job often overrides fellow Ghostbusters Peter Venkman’s cynicism or Egon Spengler’s cool logic, sometimes getting them into trouble, but just as often getting them out of a tough spot with his creativity and quick thinking. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends

November 4, 2009 | Poe

Odds N Ends

  • I recently got a new job. It’s a step up in a lot of ways, but starting next week, I’m going to be a hell of a lot busier. That means there are going to be some changes at PGPoA. Mostly, it means there will be a lot less news, since I won’t have the ability to respond as quickly as I have been over the last few years. Unless something is newsworthy enough to deserve its own post, I will be posting most of the news I come across in my Twitter feed, so you might want to consider bookmarking it. I hope to balance the lack of news with more features such as reviews, interviews, Show & Tell (about which I’m hoping to have something to announce soon), vintage line retrospectives and so forth.
  • Fwoosh contributor Ibentmyman-thing (which is no doubt his pen name when he writes for the New York Times Book Review as well) has an editorial titled “The Appeal of Masters of the Universe.”
  • This is only tangentially toy-related, inasmuch as videogames are toys, but I recently completed Assassin’s Creed (which, for all its flaws, I did like a lot) and am hoping for good reviews for the sequel, due out this month. But what really impressed me was this live-action short film based on the new game, the first of three. It’s being made using the same green screen/CGI technique used for 300, and yet I already like this 14-minute film more (which is to say at all).
  • My review of the 6″ Ray Stantz will be up later this week, but in the meantime you can check out Michael Crawford’s review. Michael makes a great point in his review: Mattel should have put Peter Venkman much earlier in the line. Too many fans are holding off waiting for him. I think MC is right: if Mattel had released Peter first (or at least early on), they would have hooked more casual fans who might then decide to pick up the rest of the Ghostbusters. I think there will be fewer diehard fans who pick up the rest of the Ghostbusters while waiting for Peter.

Happy Teela Day!

October 15, 2009 | Poe

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Easy order page: http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/DisplayShopperDefinedBundlePage/OfferID.3198617709

I’m curious–due to the bonus figures, Ghostbusters, DCUC and so forth, how many of you have actually been able to avoid logging on to Mattycollector thanks to the subscription? As of right now, the only month in the foreseeable future that I’ll get away with it was…last month. Next month I have to get the He-Man reissue, then in December there’s the Green Goddess and Winston, January has Battle Armor He-Man, Battle-Cat in February and Walter Peck in March…sigh.

Oh, and Bank Robber Joker is on sale today, too. Also, don’t forget, the MasterPOEce voting ends tonight at midnight!

Odds ‘n Ends > Armed and Fabulous

September 28, 2009 | Poe

Odds N Ends

  • The Fwoosh has a first look at the DCUC Karu Sil/Romat Ru two-pack. That “dog” thing is awesome, and even better, it can serve double-duty as a bad guy for your Ghostbusters figures.
  • DST’s latest Q&A is up, this time focusing on Minimates. Our own Rustin Parr has a question in there, sacrificing his dignity to beg for a Minimate Delorean.
  • If you miss the toy review roundups I used to post here (via Fanmode), The Articulated One has picked up the slack over at Articulated Discussion. You can check out the latest roundup here. They’re pretty damned thorough.
  • Reading the first book of Glen Cook’s Black Company series right now. Has anyone else read these? Does anyone else actually read anything longer than a hundred and forty characters anymore?
  • Grades for the shows I watched last week: [How I Met Your Mother: B] [Big Bang Theory: B+] [NCIS: B+] [NCIS Los Angeles: B] [Warehouse 13: A-] [Psych: A] [Simpsons: B-] [Cleveland Show: C] [Family Guy: A-] (Haven’t watched Dollhouse yet)
  • Seriously, last night’s Family Guy was great. The Disney sequence was amazing (and no doubt incredibly expensive). The Stewie/Brian episodes are almost always gold.

The Great MOTUC Debate, Revisited

September 16, 2009 | Poe

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You’ll recall back in December of last year, I posted a series of articles with quotes from various high-profile collectors regarding their thoughts on Masters of the Universe Classics. (You can read them here and here.)

Well, it’s been nine months, and at this point it’s safe to say that MOTUC has been a success. However, a financial success does not always equal an artistic success (see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), so I thought I’d contact some of the contributors from last time and see whether their thoughts on MOTUC have changed since the line debuted.

There are a couple more contributors I was waiting on–I’ll add their comments if/when i receive them. (more…)

Ask Mattel Roundup for Sept. 1

September 2, 2009 | Poe

My favorite bit of news is from AFP’s round:

10. It looks like Mattel has likeness rights from Sigourney Weaver – at least for the Avatar line of toys. Do those rights also apply to the Ghostbusters line?

We have the rights to create figures based on Sigourney Weaver’s characters in Avatar and Ghostbusters. They are completely separate agreements that happen to involve the same actress.

So–a Dana Barrett figure is undoubtedly coming. In fact, I bet it’s the July 2010 figure–or maybe the SDCC exclusive as a two-pack with a Terror Dog.

Ask Mattel > September 1 edition

September 1, 2009 | Poe

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1.) Are there any plans–tentative or otherwise–for 12″ figures beyond the four Ghostbusters?

That remains to be seen!

2.) Will all the ghosts be pack-ins with human figures, or will there be ghosts who get their own release (as a possible example, the Library Ghost from the beginning of the first movie)?

Some ghosts will be full-sized figures. As to what scale the library ghost is, that remains to be seen!

3.) The first 6″ Peter Venkman, in May 2010, is a slimed version. Will it be long before we get an unslimed version (i.e., a year or more)?

Not too long. The first 12″ Peter will be unslimed!

4.) Will there be any 6″ figures from Ghostbusters II in 2010?

Too early to tell. Hang in there!

5.) Are there any plans yet in place for 6″ figures from The Real Ghostbusters, or are those way down the road right now?

We do have plans for the Real Ghostbusters but additional details have not yet been revealed.

Real Ghostbusters: The Collect Call of Cthulhu

August 24, 2009 | Poe

H.P. Lovecraft’s birthday was last week (August 20). I’ve been a fan of HPL’s eldritch fiction since I was a teenager, and share with him an affinity for all things weird, cosmic and New England.

In honor of HPL’s b-day, I present to you with the Real Ghostbusters episode “The Collect Call of Cthulhu.” It was written by Michael Reaves, who went on to write many of the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles and numerous other T.V. shows and novels. The episode is crammed full of Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos references–the kind that would probably be old hat nowadays, but back then I imagine it would have been quite a thrill for Lovecraft fans (I was a bit too young for HPL at the time, but a few years later I would have gotten the in-jokes). I should add that the depiction of Cthulhu himself is quite true to Lovecraft’s description.

And to keep things toy-related–I would have loved a Cthulhu RGB figure. The closest we got back then was Tendril.

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Review > Ghostbusters Minimates, Part II

August 24, 2009 | Poe

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A few weeks back I reviewed the Ghostbusters Minimates Toys ‘R Us exclusive two-packs. Today I’ll be taking a look at the two multi-packs released so far: the series 1 set and the set of ghosts from Ghostbusters: The Video Game. I’m also throwing in the SDCC-exclusive blank Minimate with the twenty-fifth anniversary logo.

You should be able to find the Series 1 set at most comic shops, specialty retailers and online at places like Amazon. The videogame set was available at SDCC and can be found (along with the Series 1 set) on Diamond Select Toys’s website. The blank logo Minimate was an SDCC-exclusive; your only option for that one is eBay now. (more…)