Big Shots: Week 5

Welcome to our fifth installment of classic Big Shots from ToyFare Magazine’s past. Got a particular fondly remembered Big Shot you’d like to see here? Let us know on the Wizard Universe Message Board.

San Diego Wrap-up

Well, I’m back home on the East Coast, and I obviously didn’t end up blogging every day from San Diego like I wanted to. But once again I’ve gotta put the blame on how overwhelmingly busy I was and how much there was to do. Here are my show highlights and lowlights:

HIGHLIGHTS
* My favorite moment of San Diego has got to be the live Rifftrax session Wizard Conventions Programming Director (and former ToyFare Managing Editor) Adam Tracey and I went to on Saturday night. For those who don’t know, Rifftrax is a series of downloadable commentary tracks from some of the minds behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 (specifically Mike Nelson and his posse), which you can play at the same time as a movie and get the MST3K experience for films like Revenge of the Sith and Roadhouse.

I missed the big MST3K reunion panel, but the event I went to see Saturday night was Mike, plus the actors behind Tom Servo and latter-period Crow, riffing on the justifiably notorious Plan 9 From Outer Space. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in several years. Thanks, guys!
* One of my perpetual favorite things about cons is meeting the actual people who like what we do. While there wasn’t a concentrated WUMBer presence like there was at Chicago (though I had an all-too-brief run-in with Tripper McGee), I did get to meet some folks who told me they dig ToyFare. One of them (who I met at Hasbro’s very neat “Lucasfilm Happy Hour”) was Kyle Newman, the director of Fanboys, which you probably know as “the movie about the people who try to break into Lucasfilm so their friend who’s dying of cancer can see Episode I but then they tried to take the cancer plot out but then the fans got pissed off and now it’s back in and finally coming out.” I always like when famous people tell me they like ToyFare, but Kyle did one better by actually emailing me after the show to reiterate how much he digs ToyFare. As a result, everyone should go see Fanboys when it comes out in September. Yes, I’m that easy.
* Seeing new toys is always a highlight, of course. I was pretty impressed by Hasbro’s new 3 3/4-inch Marvel Universe line, definitely the biggest toy announcement at the show. I’ve never been a huge Joe-scale collector, but these guys might just make me start, especially if they get as obscure with the character selection as the Marvel team was telling me they’re itching to do.

On the opposite side of the company largeness spectrum, this was my first chance to check out GoHero’s upcoming 1/6-scale Buck Rogers figures, and they’re amazing to look at (and each contain an MP3 player, which is a pretty nifty gimmick). While I was sitting there talking to the company president, Tom “the other Punisher” Jane walked up and was so blown away he signed up for their mailing list. Yes, it’s going to be one of those name-droppy kind of blog posts. Deal.
Just about everything Sideshow was showing off, from their own internally developed stuff to the items they import and distribute from other companies, looked uniformly fantastic. But boos to whoever walked off with some of their items overnight. The toy gods hate you.
Kotobukiya’s new comic-based Marvel statues are jaw-dropping. It’s at least partially a testament to Ed Brubaker’s writing, but every time I see a piece of Winter Soldier merchandise I want to open my wallet.
My wife and I share a lot of interests, but toys aren’t really one of them. But I bet I could get her to proudly display Diamond Select’s Chef Duff MiniMate (known from Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes”) in the house. Could reality TV toys expand the audience of our hobby like casual gaming has for video games? I don’t know, but I do know that cake is delicious.
Plus way, way too many more toys that I saw to mention. Square’s new PlayArts figures, all the crazy Bandai Japan stuff that Toynami’s going to be importing, SOTA’s new (long-awaited) Robot Chicken toys…it was an embarrassment of riches for toy fans. And if you didn’t see something you liked…customize it! That’s why I was happy to sit on Joe “Jazwares” Amaro’s toy customizing panel with a bunch of really talented people, even though I have no talent myself. Maybe some of that talent will rub off on me. Speaking of that panel, check out the amazing designs of my fellow panel-mate Matt Doughty at Onell Design. I know the indie toy movement can seem kind of impenetrable to mainstream toy fans, but Matt does indie toys that I think action figure fans can definitely get behind.
* I was thrilled to get to see panels for two of my favorite cartoons of all time - Futurama and Venture Bros. Big ups to Cartoon Network for getting me into the Venture panel even though I was in the middle of a 1,000-person line that seemed to stretch all the way around the building.
* I got Twittered by my buddy, Marvel’s Agent M. Right back atcha, man. Also, special thanks to Mezco Toyz’ Jesse DeStasio for sharing with me the best con exclusive you can offer a busy reporter: a couch in their booth to sit on for a few minutes at a time. Holy crap, did that help.
* Hanging out with 100 other people, and probably 1,000 other things I’m forgetting. My brain hasn’t recovered yet.

LOWLIGHTS
* The crowds, specifically costumed people who pose for photos in the middle of crowded aisles. Take it to the side, people, or stick to the lobby!
* Being away from my family for basically a week when all was said and done.
* Sitting cross-legged for 20 minutes to blog on Saturday, having both my legs fall asleep, and then having weird pains in my leg all of Sunday and Monday, resulting in me hobbling around the convention for the last day.
* Having to miss the Watchmen panel due to a scheduling conflict.
* Whoever at the show decided to put the Venture Bros. panel in a room that held about 300 people, resulting in literally about 1,000 people left waiting in the cold (uh…pleasant warmth, actually - San Diego’s weather was another highlight). The MST3K panel was held in the same room later that night and I can’t even imagine how many people got shut out.

So, except for the 1,000 things I’m forgetting, that was San Diego Comic-Con, or at least my experience of it. Everyone has a different experience. I know the Wizard and Anime Insider staffers who got sent out got to meet entirely different amazing people than I did.

What was your experience like? Anything else you’d like to know about the show? Let me know on the Wizard Universe Message Board!

- Posted by Justin

San Diego Comic-Con: Day One-ish

Justin here in sunny San Diego, in an apologetic mood. I had promised you guys I’d be blogging from the show and here I am, nearly full two days into the show, and this is the first blog post. What gives? Simple.
It’s
too
damn
busy.

Words cannot describe how much stuff there is to see and do here. So I’m going to try to recap what I’ve seen, but beware: it’s gonna be a little rambley. If you’d like a straightforward rundown of what’s happening at the show from the men living it, check out Wizard’s Con Report blog.

So toy-wise, we’ve seen a few new and exciting things making their debut here at the show. Hasbro unveiled a Wal-Mart-exclusive Marvel Legends wave with a Build-an-Ares, and they’ve got a panel in about half an hour where some more stuff might get revealed. Mattel’s DC panel featured a ton of exciting revelations, including new JLU and Infinite Heroes, and a new Build-an-Atom Smasher wave of DC Universe Classics that features Blue Beetle and Booster Gold and should bring joy to even the most cynical heart. Mezco showed off their new figures from the Spirit film, and DC Direct let out a piece of news fans have been waiting for for 30 years - they’re making a Christopher Reeve Superman statue. Over at NECA, their Coraline prototypes showed off our clearest look yet at the look of the film, which is shaping up to be fantastic.

So far my favorite thing about the Con has been getting to step out of my semi-professional Editor mode and truly geek out like the dork we all know I am. I don’t think I’ve geeked out in years as hard as I did when I walked up to the Owl Ship from Watchmen at the Warner Bros. booth and peeked inside the window. I literally felt like I’d left my body and floated into a comic book.

Then there’s the other aspect of the con that a lot of people don’t get to see - the after-hours con of parties and bars where pros, press and even some average joes get to interact together on a level you just can’t do on an (insanely) crowded con floor. I’m definitely relishing the opportunity to get to catch up with old friends and meet new people without feeling like I’m holding up a 400-person line trying to buy exclusives.

Speaking of 400-person lines, I stood on the longest line I’ve ever seen (it was out the convention center and down two flights of stairs) to get into a panel. And it wasn’t the Watchmen panel (regrettably there was no way I was getting into that)–it was a panel for Spaced, the semi-obscure BBC sitcom from the makers of Shaun of the Dead that was just released for the first time in the U.S. on Tuesday. (Go out and buy it right now). There’s no doubt that Hollywood has found Comic-Con, but it just goes to show you–something that’s truly made for and loved by geeks still has the power to go up against the mightiest movie panel here.

So that’s the scene from San Diego. The next couple of days bring more toy reveals, more TV panels I’ll have to wait on really long lines to get into, more parties, and more exhaustion. And I promise I’ll have at least one more blog post, so check back this weekend.

- Posted by Justin

Collector’s Corner Part 1

Ask and ye shall receive. We’ve heard your calls for a showcase of fan toy collections and now we’re delivering. Up first we have Jason Knize (a.k.a. Silent K on the message boards), who offered up his collection and answered our questions. So enjoy the interview along with the gallery pics of Jason’s collection. Want to show off your collection, drop us an E-mail or head on over the ToyFare message boards and show us what you got (in the topic called “Show Us What You Got”)

TOYFARE: Do you know how many figures are in your collection? Can you give an estimate?

JASON: I would venture to guess 500+, that includes those on display and others in storage.

TF: Do you have your full collection displayed?

J: I do not currently have my entire collection displayed. The pictures shown were taken in January of this year, so I’ve undoubtedly made some additions since (Iron Man movie figures, some eBayed Legends, Mezco’s Heroes, DC Universe Classics Series 1, more GI Joe 25th Anniversary figures and The Dark Knight Movie Masters series). On top of that, I still have my old Star Wars, Super Powers, Ninja Turtles and Toy Biz Marvel collections in storage.

TF: How do you decide what makes it to the shelf?

J: Besides those figures I have in storage (and plan on selling away on eBay), most everything gets displayed, one way or another. Space is always an issue.

TF: What room in your place is your collection displayed?

J: My massive Marvel Legends diorama, as well as my “Clown” collection and G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary figs are all located in my home office. I did, however, convince the girlfriend to allow the NECA/McFarlane Movie figures in the Family Room/Entertainment Room, as well as my Marvel Legends Icons. Our collection of NECA 18-inchers have a home above our kitchen cabinets.

TF: What got you into collecting and how long have you been at it?

J: I’ve been collecting since I was a kid. My parents kept me flush with Star Wars, G.I. Joes, Masters of the Universe, Super Powers, etc., then I eventually moved onto Ninja Turtles and later the old Toy Biz X-Men/Marvel line, and now into my late 20s, Marvel Legends, NECA, DC Universe Classics, etc.

There’s a cute story involved with my parents’ helping me collect as a child. Whenever I was a good kid for an extended length of time (which was common), we would come home from going out, and there would be a brand-spanking-new action figure sitting in the middle of the carpet. My parents dubbed this phenomenon “The Carpet Fairy”. I always imagined a crusty old man with wings and a wand hiding out in the basement with peg-hooks filled with the latest toy-goodness.

TF: What’s your favorite current line?

J: As for my favorite current line, I would have to go with Marvel Legends, even after the move from Toy Biz to Hasbro. My collection of Legends is displayed the most prominently and intricately out of everything I own. The articulation, sculpts and diorama bases got me hooked on the line, the build-a-figure concept kept me around, and now my yearning of some of the more obscure characters Hasbro has coming down the pike is keeping my interest.

TF: All time favorite?

J: At the risk of getting weepy, I would have to say my all-time favorite line was G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. The scale of this line really lent to Mattel being able to do some awesome things with accessories and vehicles. Also, the figures themselves, at the time, were pretty inexpensive, so it was much easier for a kid like me to amass an army. Alas, I recently sold off my entire RAH collection on eBay, and while it snagged a pretty penny, it left a hole in my heart. Enter Hasbro’s 25th Anniversary line.

TF: If you could only keep one figure from your collection what would it be?

J: Choosing only one figure to keep from my entire collection, although cliche, would be like choosing my favorite child (that is, if I had any children). Let me talk this out. Out of my Marvel Legends, I would probably keep either Juggernaut or The Blob, two of my favorite characters, and awesome representations to boot. My 18-inch Marv from the Sin City movie was a birthday gift from my (ex) girlfriend, and he is pretty brutal. I really love my Rancor Monster from the old Return of the Jedi line. But because it is so fresh in my mind, and the performance was so captivating, I might have to hang on to my Mint In Box Movie Masters The Joker. RIP Heath.

TF: Where do you get most of your figures? Stores? eBay? Flea markets? Stealing?

J: I attain most of my collection from your Targets, Walmarts and Toys’R'Us’, and sometimes my local comic shop has some things I need, but when I was first getting heavy into the Marvel Legends line, I did have to fill some holes by searching eBay, and I still do to this day.

TF: How much would you say you spend on figures a month?

J: I would venture to guess that I drop an estimate of fifty bucks a month.

TF: What’s your Holy Grail? That one figure you want, but haven’t been able to get just yet?

J: I really love the highly detailed movie versions of The Joker, Batman and Iron-Man from Hot Toys. I’ve only seen pictures, but if The Joker figure is under $300 and I can snag him, I would. Also, where the hell is DCUC series 2 around here!? Someone needs to come out with a Venture Bros line, already.

Thanks again to Jason for showing us his collection, who’s up next?

–TJ

ToyFare Specialty Price Guides?

Hey Guys,

ToyFare price guide editor Jon Gutierrez here with a question for all you readers - are there any specialized price guides you’d like to see?

You see, we’re going to be adding a specialty price guide to the price guide starting in 135, which will spotlight one of three things: hot, new lines, older lines that aren’t in the guide or the complete works of different toy creators. (Issue 135’s will be a complete list of everything done by the Shiflett brothers.)

So, is there anything you’d want a guide to? If so (or even if not), please let me know on the Wizard Universe Message Board.

Thanks!

-Jon Gutierrez
price guide editor

Fan Poll Results! The new Koto ArtFX Theatre Statue is…

Several issues ago in ToyFare, we put a question to our readers: Now that Kotobukiya is expanding their extremely awesome 3-D statue line Art FX Theatre (check out some of the Indiana Jones pieces in the line here) into the Marvel Universe, which epic Marvel storyline would fans like to see represented.
Now, on the eve of San Diego Comic-Con, Kotobukiya and ToyFare finally have your answer.
The winner of the first Kotobukiya Marvel ArtFX Theatre fanpoll is…

INFINITY GAUNTLET!
The classic cosmic storyline was running neck and neck with Marvel’s recent Civil War, but it pulled off a victory in the end (possibly due to omnipotent glove intervention). Koto will have a prototype on display at the con, and look for the debut of the full-color image in an upcoming issue of ToyFare!

Twisted ToyFare Theatre: Behind the Scenes Week 3

Continuing our regular series peeking behind the scenes of TTT, here are the storyboards for The Rambo Connection part one, the first strip storyboarded by me, Jon Gutierrez, unfortunately.

I say unfortunately, because…well, look at them! I’m profoundly embarrased by them now and I have to say I’ve gotten much better at drawing these (and drawing in general) since this strip, even though it was only a couple months back. That’s right, keep reading this blog and you will witness my people slowly look more and more like…um, people. (Although I’m not sure why Arnold suddenly looks like Guile in part 2, but it seemed to work. You’d think I would’ve done Van Damm that way, though.)

This strip really went through more changes than any other TTT I can think of. The original idea was one, six-page strip with the Manly Men of Action recruiting the new action heroes - only to get wimpy actors like David Schwimmer. It went through a bunch of rewrites and reworkings before we got to the Segal conflict. If you look closely at the storyboards, you’ll see a bunch of panels that are darker or off-angle to the rest. We changed the script around so I had to draw some new panels and if I had to move some, I just photocopied them and taped them to the page. (I’m lazy!)

Consequently, we also lost a LOT of jokes along the way. My most missed one was the MMA gathering around after their meeting to watch the new action film they found “There will be blood,” which they found horribly dissapointing.

Well, until next month - please don’t judge me on these drawings!

-Posted by Jon

San Diego bound!

Good morning, FarePlay fans. (You guys need a name. Playmates? Monkeyhousemates? Something without “mates” in it?)

Tomorrow I’m heading off to San Diego Comic-Con. I’m thrilled because I’m going to be checking out a ton of cool new toys that will be on display (I’m particularly excited for Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics reveal…even though I’ve already seen some of the figures for our August issue cover story!), as well as a heaping helping of comic book goodness. I might even try to sneak in a couple not-expressly-ToyFare related panels if I can find the time. I can’t make the Watchmen panel or the Lost panel, but I’ll be damned if I’m getting on a plane home without being in the same room as Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright at least once.

The good news for you guys is you can follow along with all the new toy pictures (courtesy of ToyFare staff photog Dylan Brucie) on the main page at wizarduniverse.com. Then, Internet access and five minutes of quiet time here and there permitting, I’m also going to be blogging about my experiences amongst the beautiful yet nerdy people right here on FarePlay. Keep checking back all week/weekend. I’m going to try to post as often as possible.

One more housekeeping note before I got polish off the script to Twisted ToyFare Theatre #135 (The Rambo Connection Act 3–It’s a doozy!): While you are able to leave comments on the blog, they’ll never be visible to your fellow man. All of us here at ToyFare can read them (and we appreciate them–thanks for reading!), but for reasons that I can’t fully explain, they’ll never be visible to the general public. If you want to get into a discussion about something you read on the blog with the staff and with fellow ToyFare fans, your best bet is to hit our comments thread on the Wizard Universe Message Board.

- Posted by Justin

Big Shots: Week 4

Welcome to our fourth installment of classic Big Shots from ToyFare Magazine’s past. Got a particular fondly remembered Big Shot you’d like to see here? Let us know on the Wizard Universe Message Board.

Twisted ToyFare Theatre: Behind the Scenes Week 2

Continuing our regular series peeking behind the scenes of TTT, here are the storyboards for Just Say Nova part two, the last strip storyboarded by the much-missed former editor Zach Oat.

This was one that we really had trouble coming up with an ending to it. Puppy trees, giant soups - those things came quick and easy, but we couldn’t get the ending right. We knew we wanted Hulk’s ship to explode, but we couldn’t come up with an interesting reason for it to do so. Finally, at the end of the day and very tired, I suggested that maybe Hulk had put a metal can in his microwave and that exploded it. I definitely didn’t think anyone would go for it, it being the silliest thing I could think of…but I’d kinda forgot that, hey, it’s TTT!

Oh, and the Green Intern Corps is one of the greatest things Justin’s ever come up with. We’ll see them again, despite all perishing in this strip. (Note: I have no idea if we will or not, despite what I just typed.)

-Posted by Jon