Toy Review – Masters of the Universe Classics Clamp Champ By Mattel

As happy as I am to be a sub holder right now, Matty used some real asshole, strong-arm tactics with this figure. Not that that’s anything new.

Back at the beginning of July, Matty put the 2014 Masters of the Universe and DC subscriptions up for sale. No specifics were listed other than prices. No idea what characters were coming out or anything. They were just counting on chumps like me blindly subscribing because we have a habit and that’s just what we do.

Needless Things Podcast Episode 7: SDCC 2013

Surprise! It's time for another Needless Things Podcast!

I hadn't expected to be doing another one quite so soon, but when my co-host Mr. Beau Brown wants to talk Masters of the Universe, I have learned it is best to get on the ball and make things happen. And there was a lot of MOTU news to talk about coming out of this year's San Diego Comic Con. Mattel probably had their best showing yet. 

Toy Review – Masters of the Universe Classics Filmation Icer By Mattel

Just last week I was talking about how burned out I was on Mattel’s subscription figures. And it was true.

But then I got this really solid run of Masters of the Universe Classics (notice I am not including DC figures) consisting of Octavia, New Adventures He-Man, Clamp Champ, and the first figure of the new Filmation subscription – Icer. Now I feel kind of dumb. Because I am glad to have all of these, as you’ll see over the next week as I review them.

Dragon Con 2013 Preview

By Grabthar’s Hammer, by the suns of Warvan; Dragon Con is almost upon us!

In just a few short weeks it will once again be time to strap on those costumes, stock up on camera batteries, and drink like you’re South of Valhalla. The biggest and best nerd event in the world is hitting Atlanta like the Juggernaut, bitch, and you absolutely do not want to miss it. Nowhere else can find such a magnificent combination of genres and partying.

Toy Review – Universal Monsters Creature From the Back Lagoon By Mezco

I love the Gillman from Creature From the Black Lagoon. He is my favorite movie monster of all time and opportunities to review toys of the guy are sadly few and far between.

I do not, traditionally, love Mezco. For many years they made excellent super-deformed and caricature-style toys (like this one), but couldn’t produce a realistic sculpt to save their lives. While that might well have changed now, it doesn’t matter for this figure because it is decidedly and intentionally non-realistic. And I’m good with that.

Toy Review – Aliens Xenomorph By NECA

Oh, man. This is one of those action figures that almost calls for a celebration. I mean, not for its quality. I’m not going to give that away right here in the intro. No, this bad boy gets fanfare because NECA has been boasting about it for months now. 

Some Thoughts On A Superman/Batman Movie

DC Movies: Taking the road well-traveled, except with characters people already care about

That was the original title of this post, which was supposed to be part of yesterday’s San Diego Comic Con coverage. But I cannot write one little paragraph about the possibilities and potential problems presented by a movie starring Superman and Batman. So this happened.

SDCC 2013 – The Non-Attendee Wrap-Up

          

Hey Phantomaniacs – I didn’t get to go to San Diego Comic Con and neither did you or you wouldn’t be reading something with “Non-Attendee” in the title! But SDCC is undeniably the most recognizable gathering of nerds and source of nerd news in the world, so I always feel obligated to provide some commentary on the things that happened over the weekend.

For me, the most exciting thing about the weekend is always the toy reveals. The companies with collector-oriented licenses – Mattel, NECA, Hasbro, and several others - always save some big stuff up for this one; bigger stuff even than their Toy Fair reveals. Mattel in particular are under pressure to produce some awesome stuff because this is the time of year where they offer their MattyCollector.com subscriptions for the following year.

This year I actually know a few folks that are out there on the Left Coast, reveling in all of the dorkery. And I am jealous. Sort of. As much as I’d like to attend SDCC, my Con is Dragon Con and if I had to put my efforts into both I’d be in trouble. I have a lot going on this year at Dragon Con thanks to the unbelievably awesome ESO Network and the equally awesome folks of the American Sci-Fi Track. I’m not going to give anything away just yet, but this year shit got real.

Needless Things Podcast Episode 6: LIVE From Odin's Comics

Here I am, back at work after a weekend that I would have to refer to as fun and successful. No – the live recording of Needless Things Podcast Episode 6 did not fill up the Odin’s parking lot or Media Room and certainly didn’t make Bobby Nash and Jay Hornsby rich men. But we did have a great time hanging out and recording and the trial by fire of the Olympus W-802 Digital Voice Recorder was a success.

San Diego Comic Con Exclusives (that I want)

 

The massive multimedia event that is San Diego Comic Con starts today.Well, technically I guess it started yesterday, but that was a preview night or something. I dunno. 

I have never been to SDCC, and in all honesty I kind of don’t want to go. Don’t get me wrong – I would totally go if I had the right opportunity. No matter how much it’s owned by Hollywood or how crowded it is or whatever the other perceived issues with SDCC might be; it’s still the premiere nerd event of the year. It’s not a party like Dragon*Con (and with all of my heart I do not believe I would have as much fun at SDCC as I do at Dragon*Con), but it is still absolutely epic at this point.

Movie Review – Pacific Rim

******SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!******

As I have mentioned more than a few times here and on Facebook, I was extremely excited about Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. I’m not a Kaiju freak on quite the same level as Professor Morté or Johnny Danger, but I have always loved Godzilla and been very interested in all of the various media depictions of the King of Monsters; as well as the many, many knock-offs and homages. Because let’s face it – watching giant monsters kick the crap out of one another in the middle of a sprawling, metropolitan area is awesome.

I had so much faith in this movie that I went ahead and bought CrimsonTyphoon and Knifehead the first time I found them on the shelves (and haven’t seen them since, which stinks because after reviewing them I decided I need Gipsy Danger, as well). Guillermo del Toro has never let me down. While some of his movies are certainly more low key than others – Cronos versus Blade 2, for instance – I have loved everything he’s done. If there was ever a man that was going to make the perfect giant robots versus giant monsters movie, it was del Toro.

Toy Review – Masters of the Universe Classics Octavia By Mattel

Man, I am totally burned out on Matty’s subscription figures. 

I don’t even get excited anymore when the shipping notification comes in. I just look at it and stick it in the Matty folder. I used to track the package every day and know exactly when the thing should be showing up (not that it always did on that day). I don’t hate the figures. I just don’t care. I feel very strongly that I should not have subscribed this year because I could totally live without everybody so far except for Ram Man.

Movie Review – World War Z

******SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!******

You might be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute – didn’t I already read Needless Things’ review of World War Z starring hunk-a-riffic Bradley Pitt?”

Yes, you did. But that was Beth V’s review. If you for some insane reason didn’t read it you can go do so now. It’s probably way better than mine anyway.

Okay - I’m not even sure I can write 1,000 words about this movie, but I’m all caught up for this week and I do think there is enough in World War Z for me to talk about. We’ll see, I guess.

Best Cartoon Ever (of the Month) – Dino-Riders by Kalan

Hey Phantomaniacs! It’s time for an all-new feature from Kalan. I enjoyed her review of The Naked Man quite a bit, so I told her if she ever wanted to write again I’d be happy to post it.

Luckily for all of us, that led to this – Best Cartoon Ever (of the month).

Toy Review – Man of Steel Movie Masters Series 1 Superman By Mattel

It is rare occurrence for me to be reviewing a Superman figure.

It’s not that they don’t make that many Superman figures. Though, now that I think of it, they kind of don’t. Unlike Batman, Superman traditionally hasn’t carried many lines by himself. That’s an interesting observation that I just made and don’t have the time or presence of mind to pursue right now.

Toy Review – Predator Series 8 Jungle Extraction Dutch By NECA

Obviously I am a huge fan of Predator. You need only to look back at the Predator Week I did recently for no reason whatsoever to know that. The combination of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and that amazing Stan Winston creature are just too awesome to be denied.

NECA has had the license to make various Predator creatures for a few years now, but only this year have they been able to produce the next best thing to an actual Predator – an action figure of Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer that features Arnold Schwarzenegger’s likeness. And while I have been trying to get away from using too much profanity here on Needless Things, NECA did not fuck around on this one.

LIVE Needless Things Podcast This Saturday!

I am fresh off of my first major event since The Illness took me and I’m feeling pretty great, despite the fact that I am at work.

I was sweating last night’s Monstrosity Championship Wrestling show more than any I have since the first one. I’ve been sick for nearly a month now and have only been feeling for-real better for about a week. I don’t want to recount the whole story because that’s not why I’m here today (and who cares, really), but after multiple trips to various doctors I ended up on cephalexin (antibiotic) and prednisone (steroid). I have decided I will refuse azithromyacin in the future if it is prescribed because it seems to do jack-shit for me.

Toy Review – Pacific Rim Crimson Typhoon By NECA

Once I saw some of the Kaiju being featured in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim I was a little more curious about the toy line. The robots still didn’t interest me that much, though. As I said on Episode 2 of the NeedlessThings Podcast, they all just kind of looked like standard anime robots. Nothing I hadn’t seen before.

That was before I saw a robot with two right arms.

Album Review: The Casket Creatures - Sex, Blood, & Rock N Roll

I’ve been following The Casket Creatures since I first saw them open for the Tone Deaf Pig-Dogs in 2010. I love their live act and have enjoyed every opportunity I’ve had to see the guys perform.

Toy Review: The Expendables 2 - Barney Ross, Hale Caesar, and Gunner Jensen By Diamond Select Toys

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with a review of some of the most American (Made In China) toys that have ever been produced?

Toy Review – Pacific Rim Knifehead By NECA

I’ve been super-stoked about Pacific Rim ever since I first heard Guillermo del Toro mention it. I don’t have the Godzilla fetish that some do, but I certainly love giant monsters. Same thing with robots. But the main draw for me was del Toro himself. I have yet to see a project of his that I thought was anything short of magnificent, so the idea of this guy making a big-budget movie about giant robots beating the mess out of giant monsters was awesomely appealing.

Phantom Who: Doctor Who Series 7 Overview

On the most recent Earth Station Who we covered Series 7 in its entirety – the ups and downs and ins and outs. I think when I look back, it was overall a very fun season with some astounding highs and some surprisingly disappointing lows.

Toy Review – DC Unlimited Batman from Planet X By Mattel

My love of Mattel’s DC products is definitely on the wane.

Heck, my love of anything DC is on the wane (except maybe Man of Steel).

Mattel’s retail line isn’t producing very much that’s exciting or new. And I think I regret subscribing to Clun Infinite Earths this year. Most of the releases so far have been so bland that I haven’t even wanted to review them. As a matter of fact, I just shipped Wally West off to an eBay buyer that I hope will like him more than I did. Well, technically I don’t care. I’ve got the money. It’s too late for him. Bwahahahaha!

I was fairly close to just divvying the rest of my DC figures up into lots and selling them off, as well. A couple of things stopped that. First, it would have been a pain in the ass. Second, Lil’ Troublemaker really didn’t want me to. He got bummed out when I told him I was thinking about it. Third, I know there would come a time when I would regret it. Yeah, it would have been a ton of money; but I know that someday DC will recover from the current creative disaster and I will love their universe again.

For right now I am just not that enthusiastic about DC. But – like any toy line I am considering dropping – there are still releases here and there that I just can’t resist. This Batman is one of them.