We are proud to announce that we will have our own booth at the upcoming New York Comic Con (NYCC) October 13-16th at the Javits Center. We will be in The Cultyard section which is bringing the underground worlds of art, design, collectible toys, pop-tech and fashion together at the convention.
We will be selling quite a few toys and exclusives, one of which is a brand new Мишка x The Cure Boogieman with art direction and header card design by Lamour Supreme. Therewill be painted as well as an unpainted black vinyl versions of the figure. Both are super limited and will be available Thursday during preview night until supplies last (which won’t be very long)!
But that’s not all! We will have some other surprises and exclusives available at our booth and will be throwing up some more previews here on the Bloglin leading up to the convention. I’ll also say that there will even be a few special guests and exclusives that you’ll only be able to find out about and purchase if you come to the con. Hope to see you all there!
New York Comic Con: October 13th – 16th Javits Center
655 West 34th Street
New York, NY
Мишка Booth #680
So have you forgiven me yet? Or are you completely and forever numb to the sound of my voice? Has my inexcusable ignorance of mighty mighty giants like John Romita, John Romita Jr., and Sal Buscema completely blacklisted me from your bloggy wiles? Or do I live to fight another day as you turn a sympathetic mouse toward my tenuously temporal and peevishly personal writeuppery?
I suppose that, either way, I’m still just that Yahoo From Nowhere who gets up here from time to time and starts spouting about mildly strange and unassuming stuff. At least, I guess, when you take into account that I’m in my thirties.
And so fear not! Love or hate (ho ho), slice or grate, here I am on some super-duper Niche Fetish bullstuff, son. Back at ‘em.
A couple weeks ago, my wife came home and dropped a couple of foil packets in my lap. I thought they were poprocks or something. She had been at Target, plumbing the depths of their baby department for diapers and such. Oh, and, by the way, for clothes for 2-year-olds as our 8 month old kid is in beast-mode. #beastMode.
They were not pop rocks, friend. They weren’t even trading cards. They were random chase LEGO minifigures. I’ll save you the suspense: even though you will very much want to, you cannot put them in a pipe and smoke them. You will want to.
So went my addiction. Aw shit dog, gotta go to Target to get socks. And some minifigs.
Damn girl, gotta go to Target and get some Ghost Dots. And some minifigs.
Yo pahtnah, boutta jump out to Target and stock up on Armorall and some Ni-Cads.
And some minifigures.
Then I found out that while Target had Series 5 (of which I was starting to get dupes), there was a Toys R Us in the next town over that had some Series 3 shits. It was on.
Fast Forward a week and I was on Amazon Marketplace #primeSteeze straight creeping on the hazmat dude. And Mr. Mariachi. And Small Clown. Cheating. I’m not even sorry about it.
Blackout. Lose a day.
I’m up in my attic, digging through bins of LEGOs looking for all the Star Wars dudes that I KNOW I have somewhere. How did I get up here? Where did these brand-new minisets of Pharaoh mummies and space aliens come from? Who assembled this motorcycle?
You get it. These little photographically-confounding, shiny-faced bastards were haunting me. Full time. So I worked through my issues. I stole their souls. Dropped ‘em in a hotbed of microzags and glow bugs and creepy as fuck #lurkers.
So yeah. It’s not my best work, but I had fun playing with these little dudes, and I hope you have fun watching. Enjoy.
Until next time, friendz. Love, Your Friendly Neighborhood Hateball.
Over the weekend at Power-Con, L.A.’s He-Man and Thundercats convention, Mattel held a panel to talk about their 2012 MOTU Club Eternia releases. Amidst exciting reveals like Slushhead, Griffin, and a Goddess exclusively available at cons, they announced a drop that had my nostrils flaring with greedy nostalgia: a Stinkor that reeks of his original funk!
The first Stinkor figure figure, aka “The Evil Master of Odors,” was released in 1985 and was basically a Mer-Man mold painted like a skunk. But the plastic poured into the mold was mixed with the signature scent of hippies: patchouli oil – trapping the stank in Stinkor figures forever.
Mattel also announced the release of The Mighty Spector, a character rejected by Mattel 30 years ago. Spector was designed by Scott Neitlich, Mattel’s Associate Brand Manager, for the original MOTU create-a-character contest. The figure was designed from a sketch made by Scott 30 freaking years ago. Kind of fitting that Spector is a time traveler, amirite?
What I want to know is: anyone out there with the OG Stinkor figure? Does he still stink?
Have you strolled through the action figure aisle of your local Target, Toys R Us, or Wal-Mart lately? It’s fucking depressing. All the Star Wars figures are either Clone Wars characters I’ve never heard of or that repackaged “Legacy” junk. Other rehashed dregs from our generation you’ll find include boring wrestling figures, Power Rangers, and GI Joe. I have no idea what kids are playing with nowadays. I’ve seen those awful Mighty Beanz and Heroclix and I’m sorry kiddos, but those aren’t toys.
Coming up in the late 80s and early 90s, there were tons of amazing mass market toy lines to get into. Most of them were tied into cartoon series produced for the sole reason to sell toys, but screw it. None of us cared about marketing back then – the toys sold themselves. Nowadays shows are still used to sell figures, but the output is either mined from existing Japanese cartoons or just plain dumb. I’d like to see Ben 10 square up against one of the Valorian Dino-Riders.
As we got older, toys gradually became shelf-jockey statues. I remember the first time I realized toys weren’t for playing with anymore was when McFarlane released their first Chapel figure. I broke his arm off just trying to put the gun in his hand. Basically, the more detailed figures became, the less you were able to play with them. And by the mid-90s, after nearly a decade of domination, Ninja Turtles figures were getting strange and insulting. I passed on Farmer Mike and those Turtle Troll Dolls.
Part of the Turtles’ legacy is a legion of imitators – dozens of anthropomorphic crime fighters with adolescent tendencies. Most of them were garbage (Cyboars may have been the worst), but some of them were pretty sick. Even if the cartoons weren’t great, the action figures were fun.
Below are my five favorite anthropomorphic action figure lines. And before someone can call me out in the comments, I was never a Thundercats fan.
(I could only find dig up this “sports pak” commercial above. At least it shows some of the cool villains) Don’t ask me anything about the Biker Mice cartoon show – I never watched it. The toys for heroes Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie came with motorcycles though, and that’s awesome. The bikes were a good size to use with other figures as well, meaning my Casey Jones drove a motorcycle.
The mice’s arch enemies, the Plutarkians, led by Lawrence Limburger, had great figures too. You can see a few of them in the commercial above.
Playmates released this unique line 1989, with a cartoon the following year. These were like vinyl toys before they were cool. They were non-poseable, made of a hollow plastic shell. Each figure came with a huge weapon the fit over them. The story was ridiculous enough to be fun, especially when you’re seven years old. A ditched military experiment left behind radioactive materials, that were then consumed by farm animals. They mutated into raging assholes that got off on blowing each other up.
The two sides were the R.A.M.S. (Rebel Army of Military Sheep) and the P.O.R.K.S. (Platoon of Rebel Killer Swine). I remember learning Pig Latin from the back of one of the P.O.R.K. cards. Man, these toys were cool. I’m gonna hit up eBay right now.
The reason they put choking hazards on toys nowadays can be attached, almost singularly, to the existence of Polly Pocket. Manufactured by Bluebird Toys, an independent company based in England that would later be acquired by toy goliath, Mattel, Polly Pocket consisted of a shrunken-down, stereotypical, “valley girl” character (Polly) along with her miniature accessories and interchangeable outfits packed into a dreamscape that folds right up, into, what resembles, a makeup case. The tiny pieces within the outer shell, once misplaced, left the toy completely worthless causing parents to bear the brunt of a discontented or dead child, depending on if the pieces slipped through a crack in the sidewalk or down a throat becoming lodged in the air passage. Polly actually underwent a recall in 2006 for this very issue.
And now, a little something for the boys. Polly’s younger and more daring male counterpart Mighty Max, something, due to my gender, I’m way more knowledgeable about and keen on discussing, hit stores in 1992, also manufactured by Bluebird, playing off of the “eww” factor that young males so voraciously bought into. I was no exception to the rule and was set on snatching up all of these “spooky,” “scary,” compact toys, down to the last, highly-losable figurine. Mighty Max toys were pocket-sized worlds in the shape of snakes, skulls, and other creatures of the night, offering in the jaws of the beast, an environment and a chance to roleplay and plot interactions between hero and villain. Each plastic landscape had the coolest names too, so rad they made me wonder if someone’s job there was to come up with the titles of each individual snap-case.
The toys were categorized into Doom Zones and Horror Heads and, if my memory serves me, the only difference between them was the shape and look of the exterior carrier. My personal collection included Mighty Max Conquers the Temple of Venom, Mighty Max Escapes From Skull Dungeon, Mighty Max Challenges Lava Beast, Mighty Max Pulverizes Sea Squirm, and the list goes on and on. Now, when I say the pieces were small, I mean miniscule. I managed to lose the figurines within a matter of weeks and after going through a trunk of my old playthings a few months ago, I had only the cases left, a timeworn skeleton of my Mighty Max intrigue, with no movable pieces in sight.
A mint condition Mighty Max set, if any kid could keep one that way, is comprised of a Max figure along with two or three enemy figures. Once those are gone, all fun is lost forever. To promote the toys, a shitty cartoon was developed in the early ’90s about an entitled, blonde-haired brat who finds an enchanted baseball cap. Nobody really knows how he acquired the cap, I’ve heard theories about Max’s dad leaving it to him, Max breaking his mother’s statue and finding it inside, and Max discovering it in his mailbox, but, regardless the process, the hat allows him to timetravel, fight monsters, and embark on a quest to fell the perpetratin’ Skullmaster.
The damned things are on eBay as we speak, going for upwards of 200 smackers. If i’d have know I might not have……well no, I woulda still abused the shit out of them and misplaced everything.
Monsters and mutants and madmen, oh my. Its gonna be Ghroulish up in San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) this year! We’ve teamed up with resin master Dave Healey and breakthrough artist of the year Lamour Supreme to bring you, our newest abomination, The Ghroul.
A fanged plunderer of darkness, The Ghroul devours, deflowers, and brutalizes all others that stand in it’s way. The figure sports a cloven hoof and six-pack abs making it one of the most feared hellions on the block, leaving Skeletor cowering in a corner calling for his mommy. The nordic destroyer’s red eyes stare right into the soul reminding you that some toys are not for children and refuse to be fucked with.
It’s limited to 10 pieces, each of which is individually hand-painted by Lamour Supreme. The figures will be available Saturday, July 23rd from 12-2pm at the Onell Booth, I wouldn’t skip out on adopting a Ghroul if I were you.
Attention faithful Kaiju fans, today’s your lucky day. If you don’t know what “kaiju” is, do a simple internet search and don’t get down on yourself. Prepare for a low-budget, live-action Japanese video that’s sure to arouse with some seductive Ultraman worship. We’ve got some fine young ladies in cosplay, costume play, fighting, wrestling, and all-around rubbing up on each other.
In a nutshell, the video is a trailer for, what I’ve deduced, is a softcore DVD centered on a fetishized fantasy realm where human women and plant beasts engage in some intergalactic heavy petting. It’s called Birabiran Unlocked vs. Bijorin Space Detective, that’s the awful English translation, and it’s everything a grown man could ever want.
What I’ve taken from this strange, campy videography is a lot of high-pitched wailing (as with any Asian porn), some staged kick-punch-kick-punch fight scenes, a theme song that shreds, and a few well-timed crotch shots. We may have just stumbled across a blossoming yet concealed genre of dirty movies that crosses tokusatsu-style battling with a little tits n’ ass. I don’t know about you, but I see dollar signs. Especially in a cultural market where shit like genki-genkki and fake snuff films like the Guinea Pig series is sold and consumed like hot cakes, it comes as no surprise that superheroes and giant monsters give the Japanese throbbing hard-ons.
The short video, uploaded by galshocker who I take it is the director, concludes with some rubbery vine choking and laser-sword slashing, you gotta love it.
Cupco, those fine purveyors of off-beat animation, illustration and doll production, have finally decided to shuffle off this mortal coil. Upon unveiling a final exhibition of their work at out Broadway location this past month, the gang decided to call it quits. The folks who comprise the company stitched together over 500 dolls to round out their final hurrah, and were gracious enough to let us display a large portion of them for one night only. The event went off without a hitch, as you might expect, but left some attendees were left wondering what was to become of the figures.
Well, if you found yourself asking this very same question, you’ll be delighted to know that you can currently get your grubby little mitts on some of the pieces that were included as part of the Last Gasp exhibit. Head over to our online store, and peruse the remaining Cupco products that we have posted for sale. Each of the listed dolls features a removable head, that can be attached to any other doll body, impossibly creating something even weirder than what you started with. What I’m getting at, is that you may not to limit your purchase to a single item. How else will we ever know what Kim Jong Il‘s dome looks like attached to the body of a drug addict?
While you’re at the store, you may also be interested in picking up one of the fine caps or Badges that we’re featuring in conjunction with the now defunct production company. Both the snap-back and badges feature an image of the renowned Cupco Dripping Head, and will prove to the world where your allegiances lie when it comes to niche toy/illustration brands… I also happen to think that the patches would look really killer next to that Steal Your Face button that’s pinned onto your denim jacket.
Keep in mind folks, this may be the last batch of Cupco output that you’re get your hands on without having to contact some slimy eBay toy dealer. Let us facilitate your purchasing of these fine one-of-kind products! We’re sure that whichever figure you choose will make a fine addition to your collection, as well as a wonderful family heirloom that can be passed down for generations to come. Better order soon though… stuff is flyin’ off the shelves!
Remember Sea-Monkeys? The white flaky powder, resembling a bag of head lice, that came in packets to be added to water and watched as they hatched to become a faithful and semi-visible friend forever. One of the best marketing schemes in the history of selling, still being sold today and rivaled only by the pet rock, Harold von Braunhut amassed a fortune advertising and peddling his shitty, gimmicky, half-assed novelties. We, Мишка, even used his Kiyoga Agent M5, spring-loaded baton advertisement as the basis for one of our very early tee designs.
Maybe I’m being a little too harsh on the dead conman, he passed away in 2003, but I bet most of you mail-order item collectors, I know you’re out there reading this, didn’t know that Mr. Braunhut, the mastermind behind selling ocean debris to kids as “sea-monkeys,” wasn’t just advertising in the back of your daddy’s Superman comics. He took out ads in Aryan Nation newsletters, white power publications, and other anti-semitic magazines throughout his working life. The clincher is that he was born Jewish, becoming a self-loathing supporter of fascist ideals and donating a percentage of his profits to keep the hate-machine going strong.
The Awl has conducted a really interesting, full investigation into the secret life of inventor, Harold von Braunhut with the whole story available to read here. To think that as you were anticipating the birth of your brine shrimp, their creator was funding the rise of a white, supreme race.
This Thursday come join us for the release party of our Keep Watch Dunny, part of the new 2011 Kid Robot Dunny Series. Now our specific Dunny is not for sale, but can be found in blind boxes that will be for sale for $9.99 each while supplies last. The catch is that ours is the mystery chase figure, so no one knows exactly how rare they are, hopefully one shows up in the 4 cases that we have for sale!
Don’t fret, come to our store on Thursday, spend at least $50 and receive a raffle ticket to one of 5 Keep Watch Dunnys that will be given away during the release party. We will also be selling an exclusive KidRobot x Мишка t-shirt, that will ONLY be available at 350 Broadway, and nowhere else. Not even online, for real!
Limit one raffle ticket per person. You do not have to be present to win, but you must have spent $50 on Thursday and have a physical ticket.
