NYCC Gives Us Possibilities...

This image recently came from the NYCC. While it could be for anything from a comic book line to a new cartoon series, I'm hoping for new toys. As I've said in a previous post, the Micronauts are a personal favorite of mine. If they're coming back and it's handled right, sign me up!

New Toys from the NYCC

Wish I could be at the New York Comic Con (maybe next year), but here's a look at some of the awesome toys coming up. I know not everyone is a toy collector, but this grabbed me. Watch the 1:15 mark when you'll see the Mad Magazine display behind them. You can just see the Sergio Aragones Black and White Batman statue, along with a few other goodies.

Last Chance to Subscribe

I'm putting this out here in an effort to get more folks involved in the DCU subscription Mattycollector.com is trying to run. If they don't reach the minimum number of subscriptions by Monday, the deal is off and the DC figures we get from this point forward will consist mostly of Batman and Superman variations. I personally think it's a rip off that Mattycollector is making us hit this minimum number or it's a no-go, while their new Voltron subscription was approved from the beginning with no minimum number. I think they pretty much are just wanting a way to back out without making themselves look like the bad guys.

That being said, if you collect any figures at all, please consider clicking the link below for more info about this one-time-only deal MC is offering.

Mattycollector Offers Subscriptions!

If you're a toy collector like me, you need to know that Mattycollector.com is allowing their annual subscriptions this weekend. If you don't grab them this weekend, you're out for another year.

One big bit of news: this year they are offering a DC subscription! The figures aren't announced yet, but they'll be subscription-only exclusives never found in stores! Much like the Masters of the Universe subscriptions, these figures promise to be quite popular, as long as they reach the subscription goal they must have to actually form the club.

So if you're interested in some cool exclusive toys, get in while you can!

Heroes and Comics I Miss: Part 2

A few weeks ago I gave you a few little comics that made my childhood in the 80's a lot of fun. This week I wanted to give you a few more titles that brought a smile to my face and were scooped up as soon as I saw them. These will never see an "Essential" collection, but should.

Shogun Warriors

Probably the biggest toy ever to have a comic book based on it, these guys were 3 feet tall and were an absolute treasure during my childhood. Their fists would fly off, they had little spaceships in their helmets, and were on roller skates! Well, rollers anyway.

The comic book was a lot of fun as well. It only lasted 20 issues, but it was a blast and saw guest appearances by the Fantastic Four. These guys even faced Godzilla at one point in his own comic!

Basically, it was pretty much like any Japanese manga you'd see today except this was Marvel comics drawn by Herb Trimpe so it was Americanized like crazy. These were giant robots controlled by normal guys and they would fight giant monsters, meteors, and even each other if something happened.

What makes this comic stand out above others like it is the fact that it was pretty much the first of its kind for me. Up until that point giant robots had been used by villains to attack folks like Superman and such. Here were some cool robots based on even cooler toys that were run by good guys with no super powers other than the ability to drive a giant robot!

While the toy line had several to choose from, the comic concentrated mostly on three or four. My personal favorite was Raydeen, both as a toy and as the comic. Unfortunately, this was part of a licensing deal (which Marvel really ran with in the early 80's) and therefore these guys are off the table permanently. Marvel can't touch them and the toy line is pretty much dead, though Mazinga (or Mazinger, in the Japanese version) still shows up from time to time in toy stores as a smaller version.

Crazy Magazine

Is it fair to heap a magazine into a comic book list? Yes, if we're talking about Crazy magazine. This was Marvel's answer to Mad Magazine, and as such it had some of the greatest guest shots imaginable. Marvel's earlier foray into funny books was Not Brand Ecch!, and they even packaged a reprint of that first issue in one of the Crazy issues, retitling it Crazy as well.

So what made it so good? This was a parody book that was for comic geeks as well. At one point they introduced "Teen Hulk", a character who changed when he was afraid. Nothing ever went right for him though, and he definitely wasn't like the real Hulk because he was funny. A character named "Obnoxio the Clown" was introduced later in the run, and he actually made it into the real Marvel universe to fight the X-Men! Marvel artists like John Byrne drew entire funny comic stories in it! Sometimes they would even take a Marvel story from the past and reprint it with new dialogue to make it funny. This was stuff that catered to comic fans!

Popular TV shows and movies were made fun of all the time, but these were jokes I actually got as a child. Mad sometimes got a little too deep with some of their parodies for me (or too wordy), but Crazy always kept it pure and simple.

This little book ran from 1973 to 1983, and I still vividly remember when I received notice in the mail that the title was being canceled. It was not a fun moment in my childhood.

Of course, popular culture today could not support a book like this anymore (seen Mad lately? Sheesh!). It would inevitably get too political or dirty and would therefore lose the charm this book had.

Still, this was a window into the 70's and early 80's that was consistently funny. I miss it and still try to add back issues to my collection whenever I can find one in really good condition.

Team America

Another one of those "toys tie-in" comic books, Team America was about three bikers (later five) who basically rode around in cool red-white-and-blue-themed costumes and fought criminals between stunt shows.

Along the way, they were assisted--many times without their knowledge--by the mysterious "Marauder", a black-clad biker who never spoke but could ride his crazy chopper like no one else. Due to the success of Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe, there can be little doubt who this character was designed after.

This group managed to get into the real Marvel Universe, just like the Micronauts and ROM had before it. Iron Man made an appearance, and what biker comic book could go without an appearance by Ghost Rider, fighting Marauder of course.

Who was Marauder? Well, that was the mystery. This guy showed the talents of all five members of the team, constantly giving you the impression it could be any of them. They did a great job of keeping him "off screen" when the heroes were around, and only letting him show up when no one was around so you never knew.

This series only lasted 12 short issues, with the identity of Marauder finally being explained to be a woman who was channeling the collective psychic influence of the team, thus allowing her to appear to have the abilities of all of them. It was a rip-off ending for me, but they made it all better as the final panels of the series unfolded. The team was flying away (all of them, including the woman) to go their separate ways, and then we saw this:

I was better after that. Marauder wasn't just a woman in padding! Maybe there was hope for a sequel! While the team appeared a few times in other books, they basically disappeared toward the end of the 80's and have never been seen since.

The guys were eventually exposed as mutants (hey, it was the 80's and all the cool kids were mutants) in a few other comic appearances (in New Mutants, Captain America, and the Thing) but that was never explored much because they disappeared soon after. The Ideal Toy license eventually expired so Marvel won't be reprinting this title anytime soon, just like the others on this list. Still, it was a fun read while it lasted.

I loved the toys this comic was based on. I had the Marauder toy, and managed to pick up Honcho (the guy in white) and R.U. Reddy (the guy in red) figures at garage sales. While the comic was action-packed, the figures were basically built to stay on their respective bikes and that was all. The legs were bent and wouldn't move, and the arms could only go up or down with no bend at elbows or wrists. Still, I was a happy child with the stunt bike going all over the driveway and ramps I made.

To me, Marauder was one very cool hero. He was the strong silent type, and I hate that he never managed to team up with Snake Eyes for at least one issue. Not a lot of conversation going on, but the narration would be crazy. The figures were two different sizes so playing with the 4 inch poseable Snake Eyes and the 10 inch "can't move much o'nothing" Marauder wasn't much of an option. Those adventures will forever remain a mystery.

What about you? Do you have any favorite canceled comics you miss?

Save The Retro Action Heroes!

Just found out Mattel is killing off the Retro Action Superheroes lineup due to poor sales. How any company can complain about poor sales when you can never find the product is beyond me. Someone is putting together a petition you can sign to try and salvage the line or at least make it available on MattyCollector.com as a subscription service like they do for Masters of the Universe toys. I'd gladly sign up for that subscription myself.


Mattycollector.com is a weird place anyway though. They complain about how no one buys their stuff enough to keep a line going, but almost every single DC product they put up sells out within minutes of release! You can never find a single DCU product on their website (everything says "Sold Out" except the newest Stewart Green Lantern Retro). If everything you make sells out, how can you complain that you have no sales? It's crazy! They even had a special DCU sale this past Monday morning to help clear up inventory, and those sold out within minutes! Again, if you're selling out then you're either not making enough or what you're making is selling better than you expected!

They even released a special 4 part Green Lantern series set to coincide with the movie. Sinestro and Guy Gardner sold out within hours of their release. John Stewart's GL hasn't fared as well and is still available, with Kyle Rayner's GL due to come out in a few days to complete the set. 

At $20 a pop, these Retro figures were incredibly expensive for what they were. The figures seldom stood on their own due to flimsy construction on the legs--but I still bought all of them and would gladly buy the next sets coming out just due to the nostalgia factor. The problem was you could never find them in stores!

Anyway, please take a moment to sign the petition to keep this line alive, even if only from the website or--preferably--through a subscription-based service that promises everyone who wants one can get one. It's kept the MOTU line going for years now, so there's no reason it wouldn't work for us. Even if you don't collect the line, please sign it for a fellow collector...please!

Heroes I Miss: Part 1

Here's where I wax nostalgic. There are certain comic book series and heroes that I loved reading when I was a kid but you never see anymore. Some are gone for licensing reasons, while others just didn't sell well enough to warrant another series attempt. But these are the comics I scoop up happily when I see them in the back issue bin at the comic shop.

ROM

Ok, this one was created simply to get the toy of the same name some business, but who would have ever guessed the comic book would be so popular! This guy teamed up with everybody! During the 75 issue run of the series, we saw guests like the X-Men (pretty much a staple guest star to every comic of the 80's), Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, the Avengers, Alpha Flight, and even the Master of Kung Fu! Not bad for a cheap toy that couldn't bend its arms!

I owned the toy and thought it was cool for the time (it's pathetically laughable in today's age of action figures). The eyes lit up and the rocket pack made noise. As long as I had batteries, I was happy. Still, it was the comic book that made the guy memorable to me.

Over the years, ROM ended up becoming a great comic. He fought the Dire Wraiths, hunting them down and blasting folks away (the DWs could disguise themselves as normal human beings and only ROM could detect them using one of his cool tools). Naturally this didn't sit well with most heroes, though eventually they found out the truth when the DWs became more obvious in their invasion attempts.

An entire storyline was developed that allowed ROM to have a true origin. He was a normal man who became a Space Knight to save his beloved planet Galador. He began chasing the DWs across the galaxy and ended up on Earth trying to wipe them out completely. He was never a regular part of any super-team, but he interacted with a ton of major and minor heroes and villains along the way. He even fought Galactus at one point!

When the time came to end the series, fans were treated to a rarity among comics: a satisfying ending. Marvel didn't own the license to the toy so the hero was perishable at best. They finally allowed ROM to return to being a human back at his planet with his loving wife at his side. Happily ever after? Nope.

The recent miniseries Annihilators allowed us to see what happened over time to everyone but ROM (they couldn't even mention his name because of the licensing issues, just alluded to his death sometime in the past). The Dire Wraiths infiltrated Galador again, and ROM was dead. No chance now of ever seeing him back in his armor again.

The Micronauts

Yes, I know many of these guys have come back in different titles, but the original team was one of my favorite must-read comics of the time. I had the figures (most of them anyway...I was never able to buy an Acroyear figure and actually still want one today) and the adventures these guys faced were above the standard Marvel fare at the time. They gave each member of the team a true backstory and the chance to examine it in detail.

The series ran for 59 issues, ending a few years after the toys themselves were no longer available. That attests to the popularity of the title at the time. They introduced another Marvel regular in issue #8: Captain Universe. The team even made it from the Microverse to our universe to face the Fantastic Four, SHIELD, and even had a helping hand from Ant-Man. The tiny heroes always managed to create this larger-than-life world of adventure and fun for this little (at the time) reader.

Unfortunately Marvel only owned the rights to certain aspects of the title, so Commander Rann (not Space Glider), Marionette, and Bug are the only members of the team we'll ever see again in comics (and do see on a fairly regular basis lately). Acroyear, Biotron, and Microtron, along with Time Traveler, Force Commander, and Baron Karza are gone from us forever.

JJ Abrams was rumored to be helming a Micronauts movie back in 2009, but that has apparently fallen through. And Marvel's recent reintroduction of Rann and Marionette in the Enigma Force miniseries wasn't the update we'd hoped for either. Rann and Mari had marriage problems and were at odds with each other after a messy breakup. Here's hoping they find a happy future someday. 

Dial H for Hero

During the 80's there was a very simple storyline of two teenagers, Chris King and Vicky Grant, who became "The heroes created by you!" Every month I grabbed the latest issue of this short-lived series that eventually found its way into the last few pages of Superboy comics as a backup story. These were heroes that were created by kids just like me!

The premise was that you could send in your drawing and brief description of the hero and hope it ended up being printed. While I had a ton of cool hero ideas in my head at the time, I was a horrible artist and could never get anything on paper like I saw it in my head. As a result, the world is forever robbed of DreamStalker in comic form somewhere.

The "Dial H for Hero" concept actually came out two decades earlier when a kid named Robby Reed found the dial and became 3 heroes throughout the course of each issue of House of Mystery from issues 156-173. This collection was actually brought out in a "Showcase Presents" collection last year. But it's the 80's version of the title I miss.

Where else could you hope to actually see your own hero or villain in print? And for a group of amateurs, people came out with some pretty cool creations. My personal favorite villain was called Wildebeest, sort of a Kraven/Deathstroke combo that was very effective.

The only downside was Carmine Infantino's artwork. I know there are people who put him as one of the greatest comic artists of all time, but I have never understood that. Put his work next to Neal Adams or Jim Aparo from the same time period and there is absolutely no comparison.

Unfortunately, we were robbed of a happy ending to this little tale. By the time the series moved to Superboy, the heroes were created mostly by some comic writer rather than a kid. Finally, Robby Reed showed up and the kids both were supposed to be big heroes forever. Years later we found out in a Teen Titans storyline that Chris was a hero but Vicky had become evil due to some cult. In the end, both characters basically disappeared, while Robby Reed continues to show up from time to time.

In today's litigious society a series like that could never fly. If one of the heroes became popular, their creator would get greedy and want to sue for more money. It would be more trouble than it was worth. Still, it was unique for the time it came out and was the dream of many budding comic book writer-wannabes to see something like that in print.

And on my own personal happy ending, thanks to the very fun MMORPG City of Heroes, I've been able to create my own heroes decades later just like I saw them in my head (I'm still a horrible artist though). DreamStalker lives!

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters video game is out soon!

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to anyone, but there is a Green Lantern video game coming out just in time for the new movie. Video games have been tied in to movies for years as a way to boost sales for both, but sometimes they aren't the best match.

This year we've seen a Thor game that's actually pretty fun because you get to start out as the real thing rather than slowly build up a power set that takes forever to create. Now it would appear the Green Lantern game will be following that model.

Just looking at the various screenshots available out there from the PR firm doing a real bang-up job of getting the word out to everyone, I think this game is going to be amazing. The movie already has my vote for best trailer of the summer.

Now it would seem the game will allow you to actually create things to fight with, just like you would if you had a ring for real (admit it, you'd make some fun stuff like a giant glove or something). Whatever you build, you can fight with.

I am by no means a hard-core gamer and finish very few of them, but this looks like one I might be tempted to stick with for a while. It comes out right before the movie on June 7th, so make plans to get out there and scream the oath in your own living room for the fun of it!

Clash of the Titans

Summer 2011 looks like it's shaping up to be an incredible battle for your attention as well as your 3D glasses. With new photos from Captain America and the recent release of the first teaser trailer for Green Lantern my eyes have been glued to my computer screen hoping to see that justice is served to some of the most beloved comic book heroes of all time. Today we're going to look at the big three movies contending for comic glory this summer: Thor, Captain America, and the Green Lantern.

First up to bat, THOR.

The Mighty Son of Odin slams onto the silver screen in May with a toy line promising a battle between the god of thunder and a frost giant! Other than the trailer that came out a few months ago we really haven't heard much from this original member of the Avengers.

From what we can see in the trailer the movie looks like it will take the original story and add a little hollywood twist. In the comics Thor's alter ego (well, more of a host) would take over if he was away from his hammer for an extended period of time. The movie looks like its going more with the ultimates story on this in that he stays Thor at all times but is just less powerful without his Hammer. The story overall looks like it will leave a lot of room for epic battles between multiple mythical beings as well as the guardians of Asgard.

One thing that really seemed out of place was the final scene of the trailer where we see something very closely resembling a Hydra Dreadnought attacking some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. We know that Hydra is the villainous organization set as he antagonists of the Captain America movie (pretty much an evil SHIELD) so is this a hint of a tie-in? Will we see a battle between Marvel's two massive agencies and the ultimate setup for the Avengers movie? On the cast list for the Avengers we do seeTom Hiddleston who is playing Loki in Thor so I wouldn't be surprised if they do try to segway was us to the Avengers at the end of Thor.

One way or another the movie looks like it will be entertaining and worth a watch. I'm personally a Thor fan and will show up opening day captivated from the first lightening bolt…I mean pumped for some frost giant butt-kicing!

Next up, Captain America: The First Avenger

Well we don't have as much to go on with this one.  With no trailer and only a few production shots to clue us in on the details a lot is left to the imagination for Cap. We can see from the pictures that he will appear in both the original WWII costume as well as a revamped modern costume that most closely resembles the ultimate costume.

We've yet to see anything to do with the Red Skull other than a picture of a very evil looking Hugo Weaving in a Hydra costume with a very disgusted look on his face (probably because he caught a glimpse of his hair cut and evil elf edition of the hydra garb).

Not really much is certain about the Captain America movie but it does look like they'll at least try to still close to the comics. I think seeing the success of the Iron Man franchise and how close it was to the comics gave Marvel a revelation. Hopefully they'll keep to this trend with the new Spiderman movie they're working on!

I'm thinking the movie will largely consist of his battles in WWII but will deal with his reanimation after being frozen in the polar ice caps for a few decades and culminate with an epic battle between him and the Red Skull in modern times. If I were doing it I would have Mark Ruffalo (the new Bruce Banner) be the one working on his reanimation like they had it set up in the Ultimates animated movie a few years ago just to re-introduce us to the character with the new actor.

Undoubtedly they'll end it with a huge arrow pointing to the 2012 release of the Avengers and we'll all be sitting and waiting through the credits for a Hawkeye  cameo.


Last but most definitely not least is DC's edition to the party, the Green Lantern!

Okay, I have to be completely honest in saying that when i first saw the Entertainment Weekly Cover featuring the costume for the movie I was extremely worried. He was Solid Green! Green Lantern wasn't Solid Green! But after the release of the new trailer I was reassured.

The Costume looks much better in motion and other Green Lanterns such as Tomar Re and Kilowog having quick cameos giving me a stronger hope for the visual aspects of the movie.

The trailer looks great and actually seeing the Green Lantern fly and use his ring honestly made my heart race. I'm a HUGE GL fan and was very worried about how he would be portrayed on the big screen. So far it looks like we won't disappointed and I for one will probably be waiting in line for a midnight showing decked out in all my GL merch wearing at least one ring and giddily smiling, holding my 3D glasses and hopped up on Starbucks.

Like I said, all the other aliens look fantastic and Hector Hammond is quite scary but the shining light of hope and all things awesome in the whole thing was Sinestro!

That's right, I just called Sinestro a "shining light of hope and all things awesome". I mean, look at him! Other than a few costume changes he looks like he was pulled straight from the pages for an issue of Green Lantern Corps. I literally paused the trailer on this frame and just stared. He looks great.

Overall I think the movie will be great and can't wait to see it….like probably 3 times….maybe 12….okay an even 10 sounds fair, right?


Well that pretty much sums up my first thoughts on the coming summer blockbusters! I hope you enjoyed this little look into my head and my first post as a co-blogger! Feel free to give me your thoughts on any of the movies or on anything I might have missed. Dad will be back next week with your Monday post as I work on something with a little more of a classic comic flair. I leave you now with the Green Lantern trailer and the wishes of a great week!


-Khris

Comics in Crisis Yard Sale!

I've never tried anything like this on this blog before, but as I was listing tons of figures on Amazon.com I stopped and thought it would be cool to give my readers the first shot at anything they wanted.

I have a lot of Eaglemoss Classic Figurines (both Marvel and DC) for sale, and they're going to go waaaaay below the list price you can get them for online. If you're familiar with these, you know they are top quality lead sculpts about four or five inches high that are painted in exquisite detail and include a booklet with information about the history of that character. These normally list for $14-$18 a piece, but I need to make some room so I'm letting them go to my readers for $10+$1 for shipping. These are unopened and are mostly duplicates from my collection.

Here's what you've got to choose from:

Doc Samson

Taskmaster

Madrox the Multiple Man (the bag is torn but this hasn't been opened or displayed)

Alan Scott Green Lantern

Union Jack

Banshee

Impossible Man

Blue Beetle 

Deadshot

Deathstroke

Barry Allen Flash

Sentry

Green Arrow
Batgirl
Starfire
Lex Luthor
Catwoman
Shocker
Ra's Al Ghul
Martian Manhunter
Supergirl
Bizarro

Doomsday (Super Special oversized, which will cost you $17 with shipping because of the size and weight of this one)
Gorilla Grodd (Super Special oversized, same price as above)

As an added bonus, I am tossing in a few comic books with each figure sold. Which books? Who cares--they're free! They'll be mainstream DC and Marvel comics relatively recent, so you aren't going to find any lost treasure, but you'll probably find something you haven't read before.

This is a first-come first-served basis sale, so email me at comicsincrisis(at)yahoo.com if see something you want. I can send you an invoice through PayPal if you'd like, or I can hold it until your payment of cash or money order arrives.

This listing is good from today until April 11, 2010, after which anything I have left will be listed on Amazon.com. This is a great way for your to begin a collection or add to one you already have. You can do an online search for any of those listed figures and you're going to see they're gorgeous.

I have a ton of figures I'm selling as well, so if this goes well I might just come back with a discounted list of other DC and Marvel showcase figures I have.

Cool Toy Alert!

While I know this post won't appeal to everyone, I had to make mention of this awesome pre-sale going on right now at Entertainment Earth for the DC Mego-style figures coming out next month. I grew up with a collection of these figures and have watched them become gold on Ebay over the years (which kept me from filling in any holes in the collection).

I purchased the Green Arrow figure from Mattycollector.com the day it went on sale, so I can tell you if the others are based off of this (which they are) then these are close to the original feel, though not just like it. The figure feels a lot more fragile out of the box than the original Green Arrow from Mego. Still, it's a cool concept and I'm glad I grabbed one while it was available. He even came with a bow and arrow this time instead of just the quiver and hat. Unfortunately you can't shoot the boxing glove arrow, but whatever.

These figures will probably sell out quickly, even though they are pretty pricey. They run about $22 a piece, which makes them something more for collectors than casual toy buyers. They're definitely a lot more expensive than the original ones years ago!

The thing I really like is how they've kept the retro feel of them by keeping Lex Luthor and Sinestro in their 70's appearance rather than bringing them into the modern look. As far as I know, this is the first time Green Lantern has been offered in this style. I don't know why Mego gave Green Arrow a figure and not his partner, but who am I to question?

I'm really psyched to get Superman back. It's not because I'm a huge fan, but I still remember playing with him when I was a kid. I vividly remember that day in the back yard when I was throwing him into the air and pretending he could fly. One time I threw him into the air and he didn't come back down again because I had misjudged my throw and he ended up on the roof (where he might still be to this day). It was a sad day in my childhood and I'm looking forward to adding this new version to my collection to take the place of his predecessor.

If you're a toy collector, this is something you've waited for since they announced it last year. Grab one on pre-order because it's doubtful they'll last and I don't think they'll make it to any retail stores.

Here's where you can order them:

Superman

Green Lantern

Lex Luthor

Sinestro

And he's not available right now, but keep your eye out for Green Arrow again in the future.