December 10, 2008 on 5:39 pm | In Toy Review | No Comments
One of my very first duties for ToyFare was attending the New York Toy Fair at the beginning of this year. It was an overwhelming experience as I met a legion of people who I now talk to every day and saw hundreds of toys expected to come out in 2008. But of all the toys I saw, the ones I was most excited about were these Planet of the Apes Mego-style figures produced by Diamond Select Toys in conjunction with EMCE Toys. I’m a big POTA fan (proof: I actually own the box set that came in the limited edition ape head), so these seemed right up my alley. The only downside? I had to wait until a few weeks ago to get them in hand and check them out, but I’ll tell you what, the wait was worth it.
First off, these are the very first Mego-style figures I’ve ever encountered. I got a Marvel Famous Covers set of Spider-Man and Electro a while ago, but I don’t really count them. The POTA Cornelius and Soldier Ape are actually based on the original Mego molds and cloth costumes. You can check out what the originals looked like at the Mego Museum, a great site for checking out Megos. So, let’s get this time traveling rocket ship through space off the ground shall we? Blast off!
CORNELIUS
In the first three POTA movies Cornelius, played mostly by Roddy McDowall, saw everything from a man who could talk(!) to proof that humans evolved before apes to the destruction of his planet to time travel (POTA continuity is pretty wonky) and this figure looks ready to do all that and more. Features-wise, it’s a pretty basic figure. You’ve got a cloth tunic and stretchy pants (both removable), plastic shoes and furry sleeve cuffs. The real bonus here is the poseability of the figure. As you can see from the pics, Cornelius here can really get down if you want him to (I’ve got him knee-sliding across my desk with a Gene Simmons bass right now). As far as negatives go, I’m having trouble thinking of any (aside from the fact that if you don’t like POTA or 8-inch Mego-style figures, this obviously ain’t the toy for you).
SOLDIER APE
The Soldier Ape, a generic “bad guy” has a few more features. He’s still got the cloth clothes, but he’s also got a bandoleer (is that what that’s called?) strung across his shoulder and a gun that you can place in his hand with surprising success. Now, one thing that it took me a while to figure out that I want to pass on to you is that those weird “I have to wear oven mitts otherwise I’ll burn things” gloves he has on actually come off. At first I thought it was all one piece until I actually dropped the figure and the glove popped off. Soldier boy here is just as poseable as Cornelius and the only real problem that I see is that I would have much preferred to get my hands on another well known character (Bright Eyes, anyone?) over general ape cannon fodder.
I have no idea how the rights work for this kind of thing, but I’m hoping that Diamond and EMCE are able to put out all of the figures that were originally produced in the Mego line (go check that link out above if you haven’t yet, there’s some great stuff there) and possibly even new figures from the later movies or even the remake. I can’t wait to see the next to figures, which will be Dr. Zaius and Zira. Hey, what can I say? I’m a fan and my ape head DVD could really use some more figures surrounding it.
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December 9, 2008 on 4:43 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
Holy crap, you guys. Justin here, and if you only buy one issue of ToyFare this year…then it has to be this one, because it’s the last issue of the year. BUT, it also happens to be a SUPER-FANTASTIC issue totally loaded to the gills with awesomeness.
ToyFare #138 hits comic shops Wednesday, December 10, and here’s what you’ll find inside…
* It’s our special 2009 Preview issue, meaning the entire thing is full of next year’s hottest toys, movies, comics, video games and other entertainments. Check out a world premiere of new DC Universe Classics figures, Clayburn Moore’s epic new Conan statue and more!
* An interview with Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner (recently named CEO of the Year, but we knew him when…)about this summer’s gigantic Hasbro blockbuster films: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra!
* Our cover story on Hasbro’s hot new 3 3/4-inch line, Marvel Universe! Get the behind-the-scenes scoop, and also get the inside story on what’s in store for Marvel Legends in 2009.
* We talk to Futurama co-creator David X. Cohen about 2009’s epic new Futurama DVD “Into the Wild Yonder. Could this be the end of Futurama…again? Also, check out your first look at the DVD’s infamous “shot of everyone.”
* Twisted ToyFare! After a long two-year absence, it’s the return of the Troopers to the pages of our magazine! But, uh…whose bright idea was it to put them to work at a retirement home for elderly Clone Troopers?
* Comics! We’ve got interviews with the guys behind 2009’s hottest events – Geoff Johns (DC’s Green Lantern sci-fi/super-zombie epic Blackest Night) and Brian Michael Bendis (Marvel’s Dark Reign)!
* Video games! An interview with the developers of some of next year’s hottest games – Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and DC Universe Online!
*2009 is the 25th anniversary of the Transformers and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Check out our look back on 25 years of Transformers through the lens of Hasbro’s new 25th anniversary toy line, and talk to two guys who made us love the Turtles – co-creator Peter Laird, and original Playmates toy sculptor Steve Varner!
And, of course, much more.
And now, in case you were wondering, “What would that cover look like if it were drawn really terribly by Justin?”…
December 2, 2008 on 8:14 pm | In TTT, Twisted ToyFare | No Comments
Justin here. Now that it’s been out for almost a month, I think it’s safe to discuss the creation of one of the most shocking Twisted ToyFares of all time – ToyFare #137’s “Invasion of the Mego Snatchers.” AKA (SPOILER WARNING) “The one we where reveal that everyone’s a Skrull.”
I’ve decided to do things a little different this time – instead of posting Jon’s storyboards for the strip (because I’m lazy), I decided to post the entire email conversation between the TTT writers, so you can see how the strip evolved. Enjoy!
JUSTIN WROTE ON 5/12/08: So I know it’s sort of a foregone conclusion that we’ll do a Secret Invasion TTT, but…it’s a foregone conclusion that we’re going to do a Secret Invasion TTT. I was thinking we might as well strike while the iron is hot and do one closer to when the event is going on. So here’s an idea I had for a framework for the strip.
We start with Spidey and Hulk on the couch and Hulk is holding a bizarre object. Spidey asks him what it is and Hulk announces that he
is, in fact, a Skrull, and he’s infiltrated as the Hulk so that he can take over Megoville. Spidey looks at him for a moment, then says, “Klax, what the hell are you doing?” Hulk looks at Spidey and says, “Vlix? I thought you were supposed to be minding the prisoners.” Spidey says, “No, that was Vlax.” “No, Vlax was supposed to be infiltrating the X-Men,” etc. etc.
Long story short, it turns out that the Skrulls have actually replaced every single person in Megoville, and there is no one left in the town who isn’t a Skrull. (The problem, it seems, is that the Skrull who was supposed to be coordinating everything took on the form of Spider-Woman and hasn’t left his apartment since).
At that point, I was thinking that maybe the Skrulls have stashed all the Megos on the Skrull homeworld, and they’ve just been carrying on living their lives there. So maybe the Skrulls have to secretly invade their own planet to get it back (maybe they have better potato chips and public schools so the Megos don’t want to leave?) or maybe the Megos have infiltrated their society with fake green chins and the Skrulls have to suss out Who They Can Trust.
I just like the idea of a team of Skrulls who’ve totally blown their plan and following them as they try to rescue it.
Thoughts? Sounds like something we might wanna do? Should we wait a few more issues so there’s more distance from the Annihilation two-parter?
ROB BRICKEN WROTE ON 5/14: • At some point, a ship should land with all the little used TTT characters; Thor, Mr. T, Iron Chef, Snowball Ice-Man, etc. The Skrulls are ecstatic that they have someone to secretly invade, until those guys also reveal themselves as Skrulls, a second wave of the invasion.
• Maybe the Skrulls invaded way back in ToyFare issue #19, destroying even the precious little continuity used in TTT?
• If you do decide to wait, might it be funny to suddenly have a Mego Spider-Woman show up in TTT, and everyone act like she’s been part of TTT continuity forever? As she acts completely mysterious and/or clearly someone who does not know Earthling ways? It’d be a pretty good set-up to an actual Invasion TTT.
• Might the Skrulls have plugged are the real Megos into a Matrix, where they lead their exact same lives in a perfect replica of Megoville? I like the idea of the strip ending with Spidey waking from his Matrix pods, seeing hundreds of arguing Skrulls, and immediately going back to sleep in the pods, where all TTTs effectively take place from then on.
JUSTIN WROTE ON 5/14: Regarding Rob’s point on continuity – it actually is in TTT continuity that the Skrulls invaded Megoville and took over the entire town waaaaay back in ToyFare #70 (when Redwing attempted to blow up the town to stop the invasion but Cap stomped on him).
I think it would be funny is we establish that every strip since then (and probably even a few before) we’ve been following Skrulls, while the real Spidey has been sitting in a couch on the Skrull homeworld. Man, that would piss people off. 
The idea with the ship full of people is really funny too.
TJ DIETSCH WROTE ON 5/14: There’s gotta be some kind of Super Skrull involved. I think the last issue revealed that there are actually Super Skrulls for every team, so we should have the lamest one of all, whether it be Great Lakes Avengers, Power Pack, The Defenders, X-Treme X-Men, something along those lines.
ALEX KROPINAK WROTE ON 5/14: Skrull Officer: “Okay, Fr’rt, you’re assigned to be our Illuminati Super-Skrull.”
Fr’rt: Sweet!
Skrull Officer: “Aaaand Bc’ch…you’re assigned to some of the left-over subjects: Mojo, Doug Ramsey, and Swarm. Try to come up with something by tomorrow, huh?
Bc’ch: “…F–k…”
Skrull Officer: “Yeah, maybe next time you’ll bring more than a pack of ‘Juicy Fruit’ to our office potluck picnic.”
ADAM TRACEY WROTE ON 5/14: Or maybe a Super Skrull with all crappy powers, or at least the crappy parts of powered individuals. For instance, he’s part-Wolverine so he’s short, part-Sasquatch so he’s hairy, part-Deadpool so he’s got cancer, part-Xavier so he’s bald on top (or in a wheelchair?) and part-Doop so he’s…whatever Doop is.
ROB WROTE ON 5/14: I was trying to imagine what a Super Skrull for the Defenders would be, and between their group obnoxiousness, stupidity, lack of talent and egomania, I pretty much came up with Dane Cook.
RACHEL MOLINO WROTE ON 5/14: I love the idea of all the Megos having been stashed on the Skrull homeworld. The question is (as I think you’ve already pointed out) would you rather that mean that: TTT has been taking place with the real Megos on the Skrullworld this whole time; or that TTT has been composed by Skrulls the whole time? I really think the second option is funnier, and maybe I don’t have a good perception on this, but I don’t see why it would piss many people off. It’s a joke poking fun at the concept of retconning, and I think its brilliant. Especially if we ignore the retcon (or retcon the retcon) and call it out a little in a following TTT.
Now, if you were to make a plot of the Skrulls trying to take back their homeworld from the Megos, I think it would inevitably be a 2-parter.
Rob’s ideas are really great alternatives. I love both the ship of little-used TTT characters who turn out to be Skrulls, and the Matrix-style ending. These are probably even integrate-able with each other, but still, it sounds like a 2-parter, no? (not that we’re trying to avoid one)
JUSTIN WROTE ON 5/14: I think that when the Skrulls discover that the “Skrulls” they’ve been hanging out with all this time have really been Megos in disguise (if we go in that direction), they should get really incensed. “But…that means that everything I’ve done for the past four years hasn’t had any meaning!”
As for the end, we could always just have Dr. Strange magically make it so that it never happened and we really HAVE been reading about the Megos this whole time. Or we could have Bendis suggest that Dr. Strange do that. Or we could have Bendis do that.
ROB WROTE ON 5/14: No no no—you have to leave it as is, meaning Skrulls have been in TTT since issue whatever. Yes, that’ll piss some readers off, and yes, that’s totally hilarious. In fact, I like my Matrix ending, because it’s a slap in the face that all future TTs will effectively not be real as well. HAHAHHAHAHA
I’m drunk.
Justin here again now (in the present). So, as you can see, a lot of what ended up in the final script came out of that initial flurry of emails. (The idea that the real Megos who have been living on the Skrull homeworld are hopelessly lame came out of the finalization meeting, and was basically so fans would never, EVER ask us to make TTT be about the real Megos.) And in the end, it turns out that Rachel was right and I was wrong: I figured fans would be pissed off at the ending, but so far all the feedback we’ve gotten is that this strip was one of fans’ favorites of the year. Which is a much better reaction to get. I GUESS.
So, what did you think of the strip and its genesis?
