UGLYDOLL Goes Universal With Some Cool Monsters (And A Cooler Sale)…

Posted on November 6, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, aren’t these TOO darn cute? Go on ahead and make that squeaky sound you do so well when you see stuff like this. I won’t laugh (Really! I probably squeak like that myself, but I’ll never tell). And yeah, if you buy them all (feel free to click on that pic above and get shot like a cannon to the UGLYDOLL online shop), I won’t tell anyone that either. Shhhh. Oh, look – they all vanished like that and went shopping. Holy cats… I need to get my readers back. Um… FREE DAY OLD TOAST! Anyone? Bueller?… Bueller? Crap. Oh well, I guess that’s my good deed for the day, huh?

Review: Skylanders SWAP Force

Posted on November 6, 2013 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3 (Also on Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, 3DS)

Developer: Vicarious Visions/Beenox

Publisher: Activision

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+

Official Site
Score: A- (90%)

With this year’s installment of the series, Skylanders SWAP Force, veteran developer Vicarious Visions (with an assist from Beenox) takes over from Toys for Bob and bumps up the console versions to to HD quality visuals (save for the Wii version) while adding a few new play mechanics. More importantly, there are a new set of Skylanders with swappable top and bottom halves and plenty of locked off areas in the game that will send parents zipping into stores to buy new figures on a regular basis. That the gameplay is so basic yet compelling and all those enticing gated-away goodies the perfect opportunity to market new toys to kids and parents is exactly the formula any game company would kill to have in play. Skylanders has worked from the beginning in successfully roping nearly anyone who picks it up into its charms and while SWAP Force is the best looking and playing game to date, Activision also needs to kick things up a notch in the future, as you can practically hear the call of a more open world game experience with even more to do bellowing from those sweeping panoramic backgrounds… Continue reading →

Vampirella Gets Tooned Up For The New Year Thanks To Sideshow Collectibles

Posted on November 1, 2013 by geelw

Growing up reading and collecting those Warren magazines she starred in, I don’t recall ever wanting so say “D’aaawwww!” (ever!) at anything Vampirella did, but THIS figure is so stupidly cute I couldn’t help myself when I clicked on the link in the email I got. Sideshow Collectibles has teamed up with Tracy Mark Lee of Electric Tiki to bring fans of that Girl From Drakulon this lovely 10.5 inch statue in a limited edition of 750 pieces, set for a January 2014 launch.

Naturally, pre-orders are being taken NOW and at $159.99 (with free shipping AND you can pay in installments if you so desire), this one’s geared for the core collector who wants something fun for that shelf, desk or airtight display case. Of course, there will be some fans who turn up their nose at this statue because they want a more SERIOUS Vampi, buy fear not, you elites… Sideshow is going to be taking care of your blood frenzy pretty soon, too.

Mezco Wants You to Play “What’s In The Box?” On Friday the 13th…

Posted on September 12, 2013 by geelw

So please oblige them, I say. This deal is actually REALLY awesome, so pay attention, please (cut, paste!):

(The mystery continues below the jump…)

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Mezco’s Transluscent Creature From The Black Lagoon Wants to Grab Your Attention…

Posted on August 28, 2013 by geelw

…As well as sixty clams from your wallet. This limited edition of 100 pieces is on sale now, but will ship during this year’s New York Comic-Con in October. Look at those mitts! I mean, he’s got to be drafted by the Yankees based on those big-ass hands alone. That would take care of the steroids issue for sure, but I’m not sure about the whole amphibian monster getting grabby with the ladies in the stands and slashy with those who try to stop him thing. Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem, but it he’s great in the outfield and fast on the bases, I bet he’s in. That and hell, those huge hands will get him a cab for sure during rush hour… “TAXI!!”

(Then again, The Creature doesn’t tip well because he doesn’t have any pockets. You could suggest him sticking some cash or a credit card between his gills, but that’s not a good thing to do. Don’t piss off the monster, folks…)

Snoopy Was A Part Time Sleuth? Who Knew?

Posted on July 25, 2013 by geelw

Well, well, well… and here I thought he was just a WWI Flying Ace, a failed author, a former owner of a multi-level underground doghouse fit for a billionaire (until it burned down!) and a few other cool things. My dad had this tote bag in storage with a bunch of other stuff and it’s a pretty cool find as I’ve never seen it until now. I did some quick research as I was typing this post and apparently there was indeed a TV special called “It’s A Mystery, Charlie Brown” – nice! I think it was also done as an illustrated book, but I’ll need to dive deeper into that research at some point.

(thanks, PeanutsOnline!)

Granted, as old as I am, I probably SHOULD know this already, but I haven’t seen EVERY single Peanuts special and hey, I don’t have catching up on the ones I missed high on my to-do list. Actually… as I’m sitting here thinking about it… I do vaguely recall seeing this one, but it’s been over thirty years since so my memory is supremely hazy about those days. Anyway, the mystery of yet another old item is solved. 30 boxes of stuff to go. Yikes. Anyone want to help out here?

Shaky Cam Video Alert!: Some More Batmobile Stuff…

Posted on July 10, 2013 by geelw

Oops. Go grab some Dramamine – I’ll wait. OK, you’re back? Good. I’d almost forgotten to upload these awful Batmobile videos from the Mezco Toyz event back on June 25th,so here you go. Thankfully, they’re all short and easily digested (*burp!*). I’m laughing like a maniac in one of those clips because of the absurdity of how small the entrance to the Ripley’s Believe it or Not space is and the fact that so many people were cramming in that it was hard for anyone to get pictures or video.

I think I had another two or three movies I deleted that were nothing but hands with cameras filming more hand with cameras as that Batman theme looped endlessly, but I deleted those because I was laughing even MORE hysterically in those films. I’d have them subtitled in some comic book font if I had decided to run them, though. Some sort of Joker laugh repeating “HA HA HAAAAA!” over and over…

Aggronautix’ DEVO Energy Dome Throbblehead Gets My Musical Memories Buzzing…

Posted on July 4, 2013 by geelw

As usual, Aggronautix hits me on the head with another nostalgia surprise from the 80’s. This one’s in a limited edition of 2000, ships out in September and you can pre-order directly from Aggronautix HERE or at Seeofsound HERE. I hadn’t listened to it in ages, but seeing this news in my inbox had smile and break out the Freedom of Choice CD and yup, it still holds up as a great collection of tunes that had appeal outside the confines of the “new wave” pigeonhole it got jammed into.

Of course, trying to put DEVO into any sort of box is a foolish endeavor, kids. They’ve always done what they do in a memorable enough manner that makes for some fine E-Z Listening no matter what the critics say…

(Thanks, DEVOvision!)

While the Ketars and keyboards lent a synth-pop feel to the record, the stellar drum work (from the late Alan Meyers) and hard guitars throughout the LP made for some interesting cross genre airplay. “Gates of Steel” and the title track popped up on some heavy metal radio stations, “Whip it” was also a huge “crossover” hit on a few stations (and totally misunderstood by some thanks to that hilarious music video), and some of the other tunes (“That’s Pep!”, “Planet Earth”) make for pretty nice and subtle social commentary you might not grasp on that first listen. Anyway, let me shut up and get back to the present before I end up breaking out some more “oldies” from that era…

Gallery: That Darn Bat(mobile)…

Posted on June 26, 2013 by geelw

OK, thanks to some very fine detective work (not by me – I just spackle on the snark here), the part of Robin was played yesterday by the one and only Aaron Sagers of MTV fame and also host of Travel Channel’s Paranormal Pop Culture and a few too many other things which means he either doesn’t sleep much or has clones running around. Yeah, I like Orphan Black a lot – so sue me.

Anyway, I still think the man still needs a decent Robin costume (sewn up for him by someone on Etsy, of course – gotta keep the NYC dollars here, right?). Hmmm… where’s my Magic Excuse Ball?… Ah, there it is! (shake!) Hey, he was wearing a mask and I didn’t know who he was! (shake!) Er…. I don’t watch MTV these days (thanks to playing too many games or watching more movies lately)! and (shake, shake!) hey, the lady behind me who wanted to put her squealing kid in that Batmobile for a picture made me laugh when she tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I knew who that guy was before offering up a suggestion or two I didn’t write (this IS a family show, folks)…

And yes, while we didn’t get an Yvonne Craig episode yesterday, there WAS a Batgirl of sorts there. You’re welcome.

Bat Tuesday Leaves Me Stuffed Full of Nostalgia…

Posted on June 25, 2013 by geelw

So, yeah – that’s the 1966 version of the Batmobile in that picture (well, a tire from the 1966 version of the Batmobile). I’ll post a bigger gallery later or tomorrow after my CE Week exploits, part deux. Mezco Toyz rolled out this awesome treat infront of then partially inside the Ripley’s Believe or Not! er, Museum? as they also rolled out an awesome new Mez-itz set featuring a vinyl version of the classic ride along with The Dynamic Duo (that would be Batman and Robin) that’s due for launch in July (go pre-order one NOW or the even cooler Summer Exclusive Mez-itz Bundle!)

I wanted to snap about a hundred more pics of this George Barris-engineered wonder, but there were SO many people on 42nd Street that started gathering that I had to get in the 30 or so shots I took pretty quickly and (DUH!), I actually didn’t take any movies of the car outside thanks to my surprise at it being rolled out of a trailer about 25 or so feet from the museum. Uh-Oh! Would I get at least close enough to that Batmobile so it was actual 1:1 scale… or would I end up underneath a few too many shoes and sandals with socks before I reached my destination (damn tourists!)…

Tune in below the jump, dear reader…

(hey, I was going to say “Tune in next week… same Bat time, same Bat channel…”, but some of you would take that TOO literally and NOT come back until next week. I can’t have that, so… look down and click, puh-leease)

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