Twisted ToyFare Theatre: Behind the Scenes Week 6

Continuing our behind-the-scenes look at the making of Twisted ToyFares, here’s TTT # 129: Smurf City. This is one of the darkest strips we’ve ever done…literally! It was presented almost entirely in black and white!

Zach Oat did the storyboarding honors here, and the first thing you’ll notice is that he had to leave notes in the storyboards telling our designer, Jairo Leon, which things in the strip needed color, like the blue Smurf blood and the gold Smurfs.

This was a tricky strip in any number of ways. It originally started life as Smurf Heroes (Smurf the Cheerleader, Smurf the world), but too many of the writers hadn’t seen Heroes at that point to make it work, and I forget whose brilliant decision it was to do Sin City instead. But there was much hand-wringing in the early stages that the strip would basically end up being exactly like Sin City, just with “Smurf” dropped in every third word.

To avoid that comedy pitfall, we decided to adapt the story so it uniquely fit the Smurfs’ world, including having Smurfs that turn into gold (Gargamel’s actual original intention for capturing the Smurfs, which ends up making a ton of sense when you consider that a Smurf named Goldie Smurf would HAVE to be made of gold), and having the mastermind be a red-hatted authority figure. Of course, in our version, the ACTUAL mastermind is Jokey, which doesn’t make too much sense if you think about it too hard. But the point is that we TRIED to put a bit of thought into it.

It’s also worth noting that the Yellow Bastard was nearly just a yellow Smurf, and then we remembered that there was a yellow Snork. Also, in honor of Jon Gutierrez’s last week as ToyFare Price Guide Editor next week, I have to mention that the Peyo line (which he suggested, although his was worded slightly more rudely) is my favorite thing he’s ever written.
-Justin

Rejected Big Shots: Week 3!

Justin here! Now that Big Shots are back in the magazine, I’m going to be posting a new “new” Big Shot photo every week and running down some of the rejected (but still funny) captions our writers cooked up for them. Here’s this week’s:

KLANG: Well, his sign says ‘STOP,’ so I guess we have to stop.
COSTNER: Yeah, that’s right. Now sit tight while I go get my ‘MATE’ sign.

KLING: “Collaborate…”
KLANG: “…and listen!”

KLING: I say we curb him.
KLANG: Sounds good to me.
COSTNER: Uh, “stop”…please.

COSTNER: I’m…researching. Researching a film role.
KLING: Sure thing, Mr. Costner.
KLANG: See you here tomorrow, then?

Steven Seagal: The Wallpaper (plus a fake He-Man ad)

Because we know when you got to the end of Twisted ToyFare # 134, your first thought was, “Holy crap! I’ve gotta get that panel as the wallpaper on my computer!”

BONUS! The last page ad from the same issue. Print it out and slip it into a He-Man fan’s copy of GQ to watch him flip out!

Would you like to see more back page ads as content on the FarePlay blog? Let us know on the Wizard Universe Message Board!
-Justin

Big Shots: Week 9

Welcome to our ninth 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 5

JON: Continuing our regular series peeking behind the scenes of TTT, here are the storyboards for The Rambo Connection part two, as storyboarded by me, Jon Gutierrez (and not a drunk five year old, as you might’ve thought).

JUSTIN: This episode appeared in ToyFare #135, which went on sale last week in comic shops. Rush out and buy it now before you attempt to read any more of the behind the scenes, because it’s not going to make much sense otherwise. This strip went through a lot more changes than your average TTT, including going from a two-parter to our very first three-parter, so the behind-the-scenes write-up is going to be a little longer than normal as well. Let’s start off with the storyboards themselves.

JON: Exactly as you’d expect from our first three-parter, this was a pretty tough one to figure out. Especially since we were writing it with the intention that it be a two parter and that we’d wrap everything up here. Justin came up with the idea to do a third part and stretch out the Seagal fight. In our original version, it was everyone fighting in one place and each would only get one beat for their individual jokes.

This is the first strip that I really started adding in visual jokes in the storyboards, rather than just figuring out how figures would be in each panel. For example, I was trying to figure out what Seagal’s house would be like and combing his ego and Buddhist beliefs, that he’d have a giant gold Buddha in front with his own head on it. It’s really weird to have a random thought like that and later get to see our Dylan Brucie (our photographer) and Jairo Leon (our designer) really make it look amazing.

And if you read our part one post, you may remember that I was beating myself senseless for my crappy looking storyboards. I’m still not an amazing artist, but I’m not as ashamed to show these as the last one. I actually prefer my version of Dolph painting the tiger to the finished strip as, in my mind, the tiger should’ve been really confused. It’s hard to convey that with a toy tiger.

JUSTIN: Here’s how this whole thing went down, and it should prove once and for all that I’m a massive control freak. Like I said, this strip had gone through a number of changes (I could probably write a novel on this, but I’ll try to keep it reasonably brief). It was originally pitched out by TTT contributor Chris Ward this way:

“Somewhere Over the Rambo: Rambo enlists fellow washed up action stars like Ah-nuld, Van Damme and Bruce Willis to go on one last mission together, to try and find out why the Manly Men of Manly Movies just aren’t in demand anymore, and why shrugging, mop-top nerds like Jim from The Office have taken their place. They’ll get to the bottom of this….by using exploding tip arrows and giving each other high fives whenever the best punny one-liner is given. In the end, the answer lies with “The Wizard of Jaws,” who turns out to be the glorious
visage of Patrick Swayze at his peak.”

This idea was in turn inspired by the Manly Movie Mamajamas, massive semi-regular movie nights that the men of Wizard Entertainment past and present hold to watch dumb action movies starring some of these guys (but that’s a post for another day).

In a very long email I actually outlined a whole story based on the assumption that these guys would be trying to figure out why they don’t get movie roles anymore, and where it turns out the villain is the shape-shifting entity known as CGI, and then the writers began tossing ideas back and forth based on that. But, as often happens in TTT meetings, when the main writers actually sat down in the meeting to finalize the outline they ended up walking out with something very different than they walked in with.

This meeting took place during my “sabbatical,” and I wasn’t in the finalization meeting. The outline that they ended up going with was very much like the part one that you read in ToyFare #134, except the identities of the villains weren’t revealed at the end of the first part. The Manly Men spent much of part two trying to figure out who the kidnappers were, which involved a crime computer, a blonde hair belonging to Brigitte Nielsen, and accosting Flavor Flav. When I came back to ToyFare they were about to shoot part one, and when I read the outlines, I really thought it needed to go in a different direction.

Particularly I thought that we needed to beef up the action, especially in part two. This was a strip about four action stars who kidnap four other action stars from four OTHER action stars, and as the outline was written, nobody threw a punch until maybe the second-to-last page of the entire shebang…and even then it wasn’t our main characters doing the fighting.

We went back to the writers and asked for more ideas with only one goal – make it as over-the-top violent as possible. When we actually sat down in the meeting (after part 1 was complete), we realized that we had enough beats that squeezing it all into one part would make it feel very rushed. We decided to make it a three-parter (mirroring the three-act structure of the action movies we were parodying) and save the climactic battle with Seagal for next issue.

So how does that all go down? You’ll have to pick up ToyFare #135 (on sale September 10th in comic shops) to find out!

(Like Jon, I also want to specially call out Dylan and Jairo for their work on this issue. Dylan really went to town on the smelting factory, and the idea for having the arm wrestling match happen over a stream of molten metal was all him. And Jairo’s work on the last splash panel was fairly heroic – I’m hoping to make it available on the blog as a wallpaper soon. Finally, I would like to point out that I’m personally most proud in the final script of Jean Claude Van Damme’s accent, which has never been spoken aloud by any human being.)

Rejected Big Shots: Week 2!

Justin here! Now that Big Shots are back in the magazine, I’m going to be posting a new “new” Big Shot photo every week and running down some of the rejected (but still funny) captions our writers cooked up for them. Here’s this week’s:

Hoover (Army Men, Playing Mantis) and the Zanti Ant (Outer Limits, Sideshow Collectibles)

HOOVER: Nope, still no trace of the Sarge. What could have happened to him?
ANT: Beats me!
ANT 2: Um, could you put that down and come over here for a second? I have to ask your torso a question.

HOOVER: I dunno, maybe Sarge had a point. Maybe I AM crazy. What do you think?
ANT: Listen, Hoover, even if the Sarge COULD see and hear me too, would God have wanted you to kill him any less?
HOOVER 2: Aw, you’re right. Anyway, here’s where I buried his skull.

ANT: …and that hack Roddenberry RUINED “City on the Edge of Forever” completely!
HOOVER: Mr. Ellison, why did you even BOTHER getting a World of Warcraft subscription?

HOOVER: So let me get this straight. Your father…
ANT: …Banged uglies with a Spider-broad. What is it you’re not understanding here?

HOOVER: *Sigh* OK, I’ll humor you. “What has six appendages and feeds its larvae through trophallaxis, or regurgitation.”
ANT (BIG TEXT): THIS GUYYY!

Grundy’s Gang: A DC Universe Classics Wave 3 Review

This week, Mattel sent us a box of the currently available DC Universe Classics Wave 3 figures. The set includes Nightwing, Robin and Green Lantern Hal Jordan in their current costumes, Sinestro in both his classic and Sinestro Corps costumes and Deathstroke with masked and unmasked head, plus a Solomon Grundy build-a-figure.

Full disclosure time, I am a big DC fan and a huge fan of this line and Wave 3 does not disappoint whatsoever. Before I get into the individual figures, I’ve got to say that this wave has excellent playability right out of the box (assuming you buy the full set…in a box). You’ve got archenemies Hal Jordan and Sinestro who can fight right out of the package along with the tag team duo of Nightwing and Robin taking on Deathstroke the Terminator. Or you can have everyone throw down with Solomon Grundy, newest member of the Sinestro Corps (though that might involve some paint customization).

SOLOMON GRUNDY

Okay, usually I’d start with the individual figures, but I’m super-jazzed about this build-a-figure. Grundy looks like he crawled right out of the swamp on Monday with his huge fists and boots. I’ve noticed with some previous snap-together figures that the joints don’t feel right and don’t really move in the way that I like when I’m playing with a figure (right now, Nightwing and Robin are doing the best they can to topple Grundy on my desk), but Grundy doesn’t have that problem. He moves a bit stiffly, but once you get the joints worked he’s a great figure. And HUGE. He stands at just under 9.5 inches and 11 with his fist pumped proudly in the air.

NIGHTWING

Good old Dick Grayson makes his first DCUC appearance here in his current costume accompanied by those two small bars he throws at people. You can snap them neatly on his back when he’s not doing that whole beating the crap out of bad guys thing. LIke the rest of the figures, Nightwing is super-flexible. Heck you could pose him in all your favorite Scott McDaniel stances. My only problem with the figure is that the face looks a little dull. There’s not a lot going on there. I’d like to see maybe a smirk or something, showing that he’s not as dark and brooding as his former partner.

ROBIN

Speaking of former partners, Tim Drake makes his first Mattel action figure appearance in his current costume with this line. I actually had the pleasure of getting this figure early before the First Annual ToyFare Hall of Fame awards and have been staring at him on my bulletin board ever since. as he hangs from a peg by his trusty bo staff (he also comes with a batarang). Another highly poseable figure (I’m going to stop saying it because they all could rollerskate under a really low limbo bar), Robin’s face captures some of the seriousness of the character (his mom, dad, best friend and, for a while, girlfriend were all murdered). He’s also a little bit shorter than Nightwing which is a great touch.

DEATHSTROKE

We got the mask-less version of the Terminator in our case, though I think I would have preferred the masked (I’m just a big fan of that half and half look). Deathstroke comes decked out in those cool boots that only pirates and superheroes/villains wear, plus he’s armed to the teeth with a sword and hand gun that slide into his (evil) utility belt, a big honkin’ rifle and bandoleer of bullets that you can sling over his shoulder and his famous shock staff that attaches to the bandoleer. The unmasked version shows of the weariness and sharpness that characterizes Slade Wilson and, of course, he comes with enough pouches and leg belts to make Liefeld proud.

HAL JORDAN

Earth’s number one GL come with a just-a-bit-too-fluorescent GL battery and the confindence the comes with being Hal Jordan. You can pose him in cool action poses both on the ground and in the air. My only complain is that the paint work on the ring comes off as a little sloppy. Yes you can see the indent of the GL symbol, but the paint around it kind of bleeds off the edges. It’s a small gripe, but hey, I’m a big GL fan.

SINESTRO

Like with Deathstroke we only got one version of this figure in house: the Sinestro Corps version. I’ve always thought his other costume is a bit goofy and you can’t go wrong by referencing the best GL story in years (maybe ever). I do have to say that the figure leaves me just a little flat. Part of it is that the thigh joints don’t seem to match up in the right way to get him to stand properly. I mean, you can get him to stay erect if you fiddle with the joints enough, but the lines aren’t super-clean. His bicep joints also don’t seem to line up quite right and I think he should be taller than Hal, but I might be mis-remembering my comic history there. Besides these minor cosmetic (and in-my-head) flaws, I do like the figure, he’s got a great look that says “You will bow before me” and I like seeing him throw down with Hal Jordan. He also comes with a an actual Yellow Power Battery that’ll look great sitting with the Green ones.

–TJ

Big Shots: Week 8

Welcome to our eighth 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.

The Savages: A Savage Land SDCC Box Set Review

Today we’re taking a slightly different approach to the toy review section. Instead of one person writing up the San Diego Exclusive Marvel Legends Savage Land box set, we split the contents of the box among three of the ToyFare ranks. Managing Editor Kate Napolitano got beefcake Ka-Zar, Associate Editor TJ Dietsch got the cheescake Shanna and Designer Jairo Leon got…uh, tigercake Zabu.

Before we get into it, a little background info. The cover of the Savage Land box set was drawn by Frank Cho, who loves drawing jungle girls (including his own Jungle Girl character). It seems as they Marvel Legends took a bit of a cue from his work when producing these figures as well. For the super-uninitiated, The Savage Land is a prehistoric jungle in the middle of icy Antarctica in the Marvel Universe. Ka-Zar’s the king of the jungle, Shanna’s his wife-slash-partner-slash-queen and Zabu is their faithful pet sabertooth tiger.

So, away we go, have at it Kate.

KA-ZAR

If you’ve gotta have a belligerent diapered jungle man glaring down at you from your shelftop, Ka-Zar’s totally the way to go. Not only is he self-sufficient and won’t bug you for late night White Castle, but he’s in with celebs like Spider-Man and the X-Men, so you know the parties are going to be off the wall (in Spider-Man’s case) or off the hook (Spidey again, I suppose—at least after One More Day).

So, go ahead, invite Ka-Zar’s new Marvel Legends figure into your life. And, heck, I’ll even throw in a few reasons below to do it that aren’t quantifiable in the DSM-IV as “aural/visual hallucinations symptomatic of schizoid disorder(s).” Bleh bleh bleh. What was Chucky—a movie prop? I rest my case, you alleged scientists!

Ahem. Ka-Zar, for those who may not know, is actually an amalgam of three Ka-Zars that first appeared in comics between 1936 and 1939 for a couple of companies that quickly assimilated into Marvel (resistance being futile). Because of his healthy tenure in comics to date, finally getting a Marvel Legend of our Savage buddy is arguably a decent comics-history footnote (as is his luxurious blond mane, which could decidedly rival his wife’s).

From a pure plastic perspective, Ka-Zar is as superbly constructed as any Legend to date. With finely sculpted features, fluid articulation and a sturdy body that free-stands easily, it’s just gosh-dern Hasbro quality all over. He comes adorned with three sheathed daggers, only one of which—his bowie knife, of course—is an actual accessory you can pull out and stick in his hand (Like this or dislike this as you will).

Compared with wife Shanna, he is shorter, but lacks at least what I think is Shanna’s awkward head angle (she looks a little hunchbacked to me, but he’s fine). Next to Zabu, though, he is perfection—lookin’ ferocious and totally fit to fight. I think in general Hasbro does an excellent job of giving Legends characters genuine expressions, and Ka-Zar is no exception. They gave him a face that agrees with plenty of poses, so feel free to mix him up with his box-mates however you like. I will say, though, that his loin-cloth is a little clunky: at least on my figure, the waistline of the loincloth doesn’t meet his body and you can see where his torso is glued in place. Forgive me, but I truly dig the illusion that my figures are all just frozen little people about to come to life, and don’t appreciate being rudely awakened by the sight of dried Elmer’s.

But I really am being picky—picky for all you toy lovers out there, true—but maybe harshly so. I leave it up to you—because as I said, this Ka-Zar is comic-accurate, long overdue, and devilishly crafted (to go with his She-Devil wife of course). It’s at least worth a good perusal, if not outright buy.

What say you TJ?

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL

Okay, I’m going to get the obvious out of the way right up front. Yes, this figure is almost naked and yes, it did feel strange when I was trying to loosen all the joints up to get her to pose her on my desk. See, even that last sentence just sounds wrong.

Anyway, once you get past whatever your initial response to the voluptuous, scantily clad She-Devil you can see the craftsmanship that went into making this figure. At first, I wasn’t sure about the joint in the abdomen. Like Kate said up above, it kind of makes her lean forward a bit, giving off a thuggish vibe. But, after thinking on that one (it’s been kind of a slow day) I realized that it makes sense. She’s a bad ass woman living in the jungle with her husband, a tiger and a thousand other weirdos. She’s going to take on a few animalistic qualities. And when your surrounded by so many dangers (read: weirdos) it’s good to have your trusty rifle and big honkin’ knife to keep yourself safe.

I’m also impressed with the poseability of the figure. At first, it felt pretty awkward, but that’s because it took a while to loosen up the joints and now she poses great and will look great alongside Ka-Zar and Zabu on your shelf. Do be careful when it comes to her neck joint though, Justin accidentally popped it off, but luckily it’s a ball-in-socket type thing so you can pop it right back on with no problems.

And finally, I appreciate the detail given to the feet. I can’t really think of another action figure I’ve seen that is barefoot, but Hasbro did a good job with them (though I’m not sure how her toenails stay so white in the jungle, but I digress). Well done folks.

And last but not least, Jairo:

ZABU

Every team needs a saber-tooth tiger. One would expect a two pack Ka-zar and Shanna, but Zabu as well? Now that’s what I call a triple-threat blond crew. Zabu is very similar to the Sigma 6 Storm shadow boxed set, which makes for a cool bonus figure that compliments the set. How else are Ka-Zar and Shanna going to get around the Savage Land? This three exclusive three-pack from Hasbro is a must have for those who are engrossed in the current Secret Invasion storyline.

Well there you have it.

ToyFare # 134: On sale 8/13!

It’s that time of month again! There’s a new issue of ToyFare on sale tomorrow! You might have already seen the cover (above) posted around the Net since it’s mankind’s first look at Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics Skeletor figure, but there’s a lot more to the issue than just that awesomeness!

Contained within these pages you’ll find:

An in-depth feature on the aforementioned Masters of the Universe Classics, featuring interviews with the Mattel team and the Four Horsemen who are making the whole thing happen!

Part two of our Twisted ToyFare Theatre epic, “The Rambo Connection.” See how the cover proclaims it’s the most action-packed TTT ever? It ain’t lying.

The long-awaited return of Big Shots to the price guide!

A look at the design of the new theatrical Star Wars movie, The Clone Wars.

A guide to the hidden geek references in CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory.”

Plus, Bond’s greatest gadget’s Japans cutest toy designer, fiction’s most violent sports, and the secret rules of “Office Quidditch.”

Oh, and a plug for this blog you’re reading!

Remember, ToyFare # 134 is on sale 8/13 at comic shops, and 8/26 at all other newsstands! Go get it!

And because I love you all and don’t mind embarrassing myself for your amusement, check out the sketch I did of the cover to send to our designer. My dad and brother are both professional artists. Me? …not so much.

– Posted by Justin