These things popped up out of nowhere.
One of my favorite resources for toy
news is 16Bit.com. The guy that runs it works for or is
associated with Entertainment Earth, so he has good information and
gives great heads-ups about what’s coming out. It was on that site
that I first saw Christmas SLUG Zombies mentioned.
I’m just going to hit all four sets
in one review since they’re seasonal and all part of the same
series. I’m also not going to re-review the humans I’ve already
covered.
First Glance: I am
totally disappointed that not only are the human characters previous
releases, they’re also just pink. JAKKS could’ve at least made
them red to go along with the Christmas theme. Then again, maybe
they’re holding red back for vampires like I suggested in my first
SLUG post.
Sculpt: Obviously this is
a different format from my regular toy reviews, as there’s no paint
or articulation to discuss. But I am going to run down each figure
briefly.
Hungry Humbug
You can’t have a set of
Christmas zombies without an Ebenezer Scrooge. I love this sculpt. It
doesn’t necessarily look like any of the more notable Scrooges, but
the figure is immediately recognizable. He’s not terribly rotten,
but Scrooge is a pretty scary guy in the first place.
Ralph Reindead
There’s a lot to say
about this figure. First, the name. Like many of the SLUG Zombie
characters it is terrible. I can’t for the life of me understand
why they didn’t call him “Rudolph the Dead-Nosed Reindeer”. I
can only imagine there’s some kind of weird line JAKKS S&P
doesn’t want to cross when making zombies out of beloved children’s
characters to be sold at mass market stores. Then there’s the fact
that Ralph is more of a monster than a zombie, as he’s an
anthropomorphic undead reindeer. This is a whole new level for the
SLUG series, as all of the infected have been human thus far. I
suppose it’s a Christmas miracle that reindeer can become zombies
as well? Whatever the case, I do like the design of this figure. The
fact that he is upright on two legs ups the horror ante.
Santa Claws
The name is uninspired,
but not bad. The figure has a great zombie pose and manages to look
creepy and jolly at the same time. I think his beard could have been
rattier. Also, this is my second zombie Santa toy:
From Sideshow’s
apparently (and tragically) now defunct “The Dead” line.
Nutty Nate
We passively collect
nutcrackers. We don’t hunt specific ones down or anything, but if
we come across one that we like we’re going to buy it and put it on
the mantle with the other fifty or so that we own. I got started on
this nutcracker thing when I was a kid. I think the first one came
after the first time my mom took me to see The Nutcracker Suite
at The Fox Theater. It was a cheap-o one and I remember wanting a
nice, German one. I don’t think I was rude about it, just
suggestion-y. Many years later my parents actually got me a Steinbach
and I was old enough to be appalled that they had spent that much on
a nutcracker. They missed the window like that a lot. I asked for an
Indiana Jones-style fedora one year. I might have been ten. Six years
later I got one. Nobody between the ages of thirteen and forty should
be wearing a fedora.
So I really like this guy
for being a nutcracker. But it does sort of bring him into the realm
of being more of a monster. His physiology clearly isn’t human. But
I like his design a lot and I feel like if JAKKS had tried to make a
human in a nutcracker costume it would have come off as just a
soldier or something.
Frozen Fright
A zombie snowman doesn’t
make any sense at all. And I love him for that. You can see exposed
ribs and bones and he definitely looks evil. He almost looks a little
bit like famed Shannon Elizabeth molester Jack Frost, but I’m
pretty sure any evil snowman is going to look like Jack Frost. That’s
a pretty narrow category. I'm glad he has feet.
Johnny Hammer-Stix
Okay, in the unlikely
event that somebody reads this that works for JAKKS Pacific or knows
somebody that works for JAKKS Pacific, please put me in contact with
whoever decides these names. I don’t understand how these get
approved. “Johnny Hammer-Stix” carries such an air of just not
giving a shit. I don’t even get it. But again – the execution of
the figure is great. He’s a drummer boy. He’s using femurs as
drumsticks (not hammers). I can see this guy just wandering around,
drumming. And he has a very impressive level of crazy sculpted into his face.
Eli the Expired Elf
I don’t want to focus on
how bad most of these names are, so instead I’m going to focus on
the fact that this guy looks like Jack McBrayer from 30 Rock.
It’s so weird to find any kind of likenesses at this scale, so I’m
guessing it’s just a coincidence. I like that this guy and Santa
have very similar poses. Actually, Eli here is a contender for my
favorite of the set. I don’t know quite what it is, but he just
works for me. I do have an issue with the consistency of his
biography. His Dislike is “Height Requirements”. This suggests
Eli is a traditional elf of diminutive stature, but his figure is the
same height as any of the others. Oops.
Surprise Demise
I saved the best zombie for last
purely by accident. I love the SLUG Zombies that are popping out of
crates or mailboxes or whatever, so this one bursting out of a
Christmas gift is awesome. His Like is “Practical jokes on his
co-workers”, which sets up and awesome story for this guy. I feel
like he wrapped himself up in a giant Christmas present to mess with
everybody, then died and came back while still in there. His
co-workers come back from lunch and find this box waiting, but ol’
Toby (or whatever his real name was) bursts out and eats them all.
Color: These are the
same shades of pink and green as the standard release SLUGs. It would
have been neat to see some reds, but at the same time JAKKS could
have easily just released a bunch of existing figures in red and
green rather than even doing new sculpts. So I’m happy with what we
got.
Packaging: These come in
the blister cards that are typically priced at $3.99. The graphics
feature a little wreath and a
cartoon zombie with a Santa hat. I dig blister cards. They’re the
easiest toy packaging to merchandise and to open. If it weren’t for
thieving shitheads everything would be on blisters.
Overall: Once again,
these are totally worth it. Especially if you find them on clearance.
I totally would have paid the normal sixteen dollars for these guys,
but eight dollars was a steal. If you see them, buy them.
4
out of 5
These are Target Exclusives. Again, I
don’t know why they’re immediately being put on clearance, but
grab ‘em. They’re awesome.
-Phantom
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