San Diego Comic-Con 2010...Whoa for Toys? Or Meh for Toys?

San Diego Comic-Con has been massacred by Hollywood for what seems like an eternity at this point, so for someone who is almost completely and totally spent on superhero movies or the like ( I will give Branagh and Johnston a chance) it is moderately useless. But, ToyBozo is all about toys and SDCC has become a bit of a staple for action figure and toy exclusives and news. Where else could those awesome NECA TMNT figures that no one can consistently get their hands on be hoarded? Or could you have a flood of Gears of War exclusive figures that suddenly no one wants? The point here is of course the bittersweet irony in that awesome toys show up, but most of us will never get them (or see them on eBay forever because of flooding or ridonkulous inflation.)

Not too much noteworthy in terms of exclusives for me personally this year, but I'll show you what I will be upset over not getting:

I had a negative reaction to this Real Ghostbusters Peter Venkman seeing it first, but it's definitely growing on me. Mattel are bringing out some pretty obscure movie figures right now, like Ray in his blue jacket from the commercial in the first movie, that I'll be giving the ol' thanks but no thanks to, but it's very cool to see them pay some attention to the cartoon license. I still don't really understand the Mego-style packaging that's a bit too retro, but it's cool to see attention paid to this portion of the license. Hopefully it goes somewhere and I'd actually love a Fearsome Flush remake.

Our friends over at Bif Bang Pow sent me a press release showcasing their whopping 13 2010 SDCC exclusives that unfortunately I was unable to get to earlier. Otherwise, I would have definitely had someone grab me both a Willie and a Talky Tina. We've showcased their Twilight Zone bobbleheads on the site here before, but these figures are in a league of their own. I had no idea something this awesome was being produced! If only it wouldn't be so expensive for them to make actual size versions. These will certainly do in their places. If you're at the Con, check out booth #2343 to pick them up early. After that, they become an Entertainment Earth exclusive and won't be available until August. Certainly worth a bit of a wait if you can't get ahold of them.

Oh! One last thing, of course! For those of you that follow ToyBozo, you know I've been a Ghostbuster for Halloween for going on 7 years now (cool story, bro!) One thing I've always been too lazy to put effort into are accessory props. I super glue the shit out of my fingers every year trying to keep my Proton Pack in line, but I've never carried a trap or a PKE meter. Lucky for me and for most of us, Mattel has picked up the ball that Master Replicas dropped, it seems. They've debuted a PKE Meter prop replica with working sounds, lights and a completely authentic look.

Best of all, only a $50 price tag, which, if you know the kind of ridiculously high prices some Ghostbusters propping scuzzbuckets charge, we're all in for a huge steal. The release date is still up in the air, it seems, but early expectations put it somewhere in the winter of 2010.

If you're looking for advice on other Ghostbusters props, Mattel, just remember this: if somebody blows their nose, people do indeed want to keep it.

- TS5

Wise From Your Gwaves...

Unfortunately, it's official. ToyBozo is amongst the half-eaten, melted pile of Sugar Daddy candy bars atop a blistering furnace that is the neglected corner of the blogosphere. I hate that made-up word. With that hatred out of the way, I will now take a moment to calm myself and point out that there is of course, no excuse for the neglect other than laziness, boredom, other commitments or nudie magazines for ToyBozo's lack of updates. I will then rekindle that hatred by pointing out the cliché of pointing out your own lack of updates on a blog (which is only made worse in that it's been done on this blog before, thanks Joey.) And now, we can all move on and talk about toys! Almost a year's time and a few life changing events later, the question becomes are action figures still "important" to me? The answer is that I'm not really sure.

Never in my life have I found myself taking the time to remove toys from my desk or dresser because I'm sick of looking at them, but in this past year I have certainly done so. More wrestling toys, but that lack of enthusiasm may or may not come from work or lack of faith in a parent product (I hate guest hosts and I also hate giant, stupid holes in the center of rings.) The next question in my interview of self-loathe would be "have I simply grown out of these?"

Hell-freaking-no.

Sure, I get sick of seeing toys on a daily basis. It always comes back around. The fact of the matter is, despite these little plastic suckers making up my primary source of income and therefore by default eventually becoming irritating, they're still really, really fun to have around.

They're toys.

They've grown in my mind from child's play things to miniature, indelicate works of art. Something about that balance of cheap plastic and paint catering to a 9 year old as cost-effectively as possible with legitimate designer care and focus on their own personal work of product will always appeal to me.

I walked into Toys R' Us this past Saturday during what I can only describe lightly as a terrible time in my life without getting unnecessarily personal only to come across that Harvey Dent and this Joker:

I'd written about The Movie Masters line all that time ago going from never expecting to see it in stores to missing it on Matty Collector. On a personal level I never really gave a shit if I ever did see them by that point, be that because of lack of enthusiasm for the line or for toys in general. Yet, there they were, two figures I thought I'd missed out on owning (only one I ever really even considered buying.)

But why not grow up with these toys and just purchase a Hot Toys version of either of these characters for an adult look at an adult price? Well, I like the style and detail here better than those, despite them being incredible pieces. Action figures are simply what I prefer.

So, I bought them. Contrary to what some may ponder, this in no way has any effect on that bad situation I mentioned previously. Maybe if I were a child, a toy might distract me enough to play my way out of a negative situation or a tragedy or whatever it may be. For an adult, this is unfortunately not so unless you're immature or kind of strange. Even children too smart for their own good won't be distracted by a toy for very long. Plain and simple, they don't mean much of anything.

So why buy those two figures?

Because they're cool! Why buy anything in life? Why buy a new pair of shoes, a Gucci bag or a yacht? For fun. Of course, I've never had the kind of money to own a massive boat so there may be some other reason that those people know about that the rest of us don't.

It seems a bit pointless and a bit of a ramble as I think about what I'm writing of here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that toys don't rule or have any overly emotional effect on my life. They do very well as decoration, and to some degree, reflection of personality, but it doesn't go much further than that for anyone, I don't think. If I woke up tomorrow and they all disappeared, one less fun thing, but not damaging. Not like if movies disappeared. Then I would be screwed.

Fun is the most important aspect of toy collecting, and of just about anything in life. Don't let die-hard action figure collectors speak for me if you come across one of them and they seem so immensely serious and on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the drop of a carded chase figure. That's delving into nerd territory, and I am not a nerd. Only in the eyes of a superficial douchebag.

"But how can you not consider yourself a nerd? You were waking up at 6 AM every Wednesday morning when these first came out and running to Wal-Mart only to find an empty shelf. You ARE a dork."

I was doing what anyone would do who had nothing else to do. Doing something. Anything. It didn't have a whole lot to do with a need for toys, it had to do with a need for action! Digression.

In the end, I did not and will never look to something like a toy for answers or complete and total relief from life. However, I can't control the fact that having a quick look at them gave a bit of both to me.

Why not appreciate life's simple pleasures, even when they have 25 points of articulation? I took a few minutes and squeezed a drop of entertainment from a 2-liter bottle of despair. Nothing more and nothing less.

Now, how awesome would it be if I had a cupboard from Indian in the Cupboard? Harvey Dent + criminal x coin / handgun - sanity = rogue politics Sarah Palin can only envy. All on a carpeted floor with a giant shoe in the background. Toy Story on crack.

Man, how much fun are toys?

- TS5

As a side note...

Where in the holy hell did this come from? And why does the "Gotham City 5" include Superman and Lex Luthor? An exclusive Lex Luthor, no less. I was shocked to come across four of these in Wal-Mart, so much so I even considered buying them all. Then I scanned it and found out they were almost $60. Thanks Matty, I'll pass.

Still, these are all pretty decent figures.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...

I realize that ToyBozo has seen a lack of content in the past six months, to put it lightly. Regular updates are coming, but give a guy a break.

2010 is an exciting time for toys, with Mattel taking over WWE, Jakks heading to TNA, DC Direct still kicking ass, and a wealth of other new product. The last half a year has been crazy for us trying to run ToyBozo whilst struggling to afford boy toys and rent. But it's my guarantee that we'll be back up and running in no time.

In the meantime, getonmyhorse.com.

Bif Bang Pow! Showcases SDCC '09 Exclusives

Bif Bang Pow! has made several exclusives available for San Diego Comic-Con '09. Dexter, The Big Lebowski, Flash Gordon (based on Alex Ross designs), and The Twilight Zone all get some special treatment here. Check them out at the Entertainment Earth booth if you make it there, booth #2343:

Dexter:

Flash Gordon:

The Big Lebowski:

The Twilight Zone:

MVP's go to Donnie and the Mystic Seer. Pretty awesome, right? Don't forget, they're at the Entertainment Earth booth if you're one of the lucky ones to visit San Diego or one of the unlucky ones to live there (you're sinking into the ocean.)

- TS5