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I saw the Watchmen at midnight. (all the agents…)

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Some of the fondest memories I have while being lucky enough to be in charge of a Warner Brothers Studio Store Animation Art Gallery are getting to have some unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.  One of which was attending a winter-time Gallery Collector’s Reception in New York City at the flagship nine-story WBSS store.  Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamill (Joker) were in town to sign cels and lithographs, and the place was packed.  As the reception neared  it’s end, those of us that had been there since well before the start continued our incessant nagging of Mark to do something special in person as The Joker.  Well, he got up on the gallery managers desk and proceeded to sing "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" as The Joker…and as you would expect it brought the house down.  That’s something I’ll never forget. 

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I just feel this announcement has not gotten the press it deserves.

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One of the things that the WBSS Animation Art development team actually did right was the introduction of the "Square Face" lithograph series back in 1993.  These pieces of artwork were HUGE (3 foot square), streamlined (in the animated style, of course), framed & matted, very limited (edition sizes of 250 with 25 artist proofs), and cheap ($250 each at retail).  All these factors added up to a striking visual display and quick sell-outs…a great formula for any gallery to have.  Character selection was also awesome…Batman, Robin, Joker, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Riddler…all just to start. They eventually branched out to Looney Tunes…Bugs, Daffy and all the regulars along-side more obscures like Gossamer.  However, at the Gallery Conference in 1995 they threw me a wonderful curve-ball…expansion into the DC Universe, yet in the animated style.  The first two revealed at the conference were Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.  Here’s a picture from the main showroom floor of an early-WW full-size proof and concept sketch of the GL.

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The title of my blog isn’t just to get your attention, nor is it a submission to the National Enquirer, in fact it’s quite true. Let me entreat you to my history with action figures and the amazing miracle they would later produce…

            The 80’s and Early to mid 90’s:

My journey with action figures started at a very young age, 2 or 3 to be exact. I collected and played with Real Ghostbusters action figures. Believe it or not I have a vague memory of what had to have been my 3^rd or 4^th Christmas on Earth, and the excitement of opening the Ecto-1. Much like a drug addict I graduated to crazier and more elaborate drugs: Ninja Turtles then Power Rangers and eventually Star Wars. And with what I would describe as my “ecstasy” phase there were several intermittent figure lines sprinkled within that time-frame: GI Joe, Thundercats, Darkwing Duck, Batman, Jurassic Park, embarrassingly Space Jam, even worse still Lost in Space: the movie and countless more dalliances. I created adventures and specific personalities for almost all my figures and gave new names and characteristics to any repeats. One can only have so many Han Solo’s before the evil twin routine grows old. 

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 About nine months ago I ran across one of the most bizarre toy finds I’ve ever run across.  I picked up a couple of sets just to blog about them but I was never really able to get a handle on what to write other than to just show them off and ask "isn’t this weird?" so I’ve kept putting off writing about them.  Until now…  You see, couple of weeks back I found an old CD that had C+C Music Factory’s "Things That Make You Go Hmmm…" on it and after a couple of listens it struck me… So with apologies to C+C Music Factory and Arsenio Hall, I present the first installment of…

Episode I: Wind-Up Sushi

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 From  www.SaveHeroClix.com

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In what seems like ages ago (1993), I had the coolest job in the world.  I was in charge of one of the 107 Warner Brother Studio Store Animation Art Galleries, and loving every minute of it.  Original production cels, bronze statues, limited editions, lithographs, and even movie prop replicas (before they were fashionable), were all on display in my little corner of the store. Once a week was akin to Christmas time, as new product would roll in encased in HUGE boxes.  The gallery was the place where all the hip product was at, and there certainly was a lot of it.  It’s not every day you get to lug around $5,000 Superman bronze statues, ya know? 

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  I’ve collected toys based upon a lot of various things over the years from comic books to movies to television shows and even some original concepts here and there.  As I work at pairing down the collection to a more manageable level, I am trying to focus on the things I really, really like and things that have been a part of my life for a significant time. There’s precious little room on the shelves and the budget for flash in the pans!

Star Trek has been a part of my life since I was a toddler, perhaps sooner.

The original Star Trek television series debuted in 1966. I debuted a year earlier in 1965. So there exists the chance that I caught an episode or two during it’s original network broadcast on NBC at some point in it’s three seasons on the airwaves. I don’t really remember watching until it hit syndication, which is where I really became a fan. I used to watch it on KTVU Channel 2 out of Oakland, CA all the time.

I had most, if not all, of the original MEGO action figures back in the day, and like an idiot I got rid of them at some point. I remember the item I really wanted was the Mission to Gamma VI playset.  Man, that thing was cool with it’s glove-monster and the strange little plastic aliens. Alas, it was never to be for me…

I’ll confess that my love for Trek has ebbed and flowed over the years. I’ve talked about that before here on AFI. But, it never truly went away. And, I’ve collected a lot of Star Trek toys and models over the years, read a lot of Trek comics and novels, played a bunch of Trek games in arcades (like the awesome Star Trek Strategic Operations Center by Sega circa 1982), on computers and game consoles…not to mention FASA’s Star Trek RPG, and Task Force Games’ (now Amarillo Design Bereau’s) Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander tabletop starship combat games. I even still have my original copy of the Star Trek Technical Manual.

And, of course (those original MEGOs not-withstanding) I’ve got a mess of Star Trek action figures from MEGO (TMP 3-3/4" figures), Galoob (TNG 3-3/4" figures), Playmates and Diamond Select.

I am also one of those Star Trek fans who are excited as heck about the upcoming JJ Abram’s Star Trek movie! I am really looking forward to it and to Abram’s bringing a much needed breath of fresh air to the franchise. Overall, I think the new cast is terrific and I am dying to see them in action in a couple months. Out of everything I’ve seen so far the only thing I don’t care for is the look of the new phasers. But that’s a pretty darn minor quibble.

Diamond Select Toys has been doing a pretty terrific job with their various Star Trek action figures over the past couple years. In fact, they are largely responsible with reigniting my Trek fire a couple years back after Voyager and Enterprise left me cold. One of the items that excited me the most out of Toy Fair this year was the figure of Mark Lenard’s Romulan Commander character from theTOS episode Balance of Terror. I am hoping DST gives us a regular Romulan Centurion at some point.

What really has me excited, however, is Playmates Toys getting back in the Trek game with their upcoming movie lines, especially the 3-3/4" range. I am pretty darn stoked for those figures. From pics I’ve seen they look pretty cool to me, and are nicely articulated. I would love for Playmates to be able to get a license to do 3-3/4" figures from all the Trek incarnations, but I don’t see DST letting that happen.

The movie looks great (to me), and with Abrams and company really reaching out to a mainstream audience (i.e. not just Trekkies) I hope it’s a monster hit. I also hope Playmates new toys do really well for them and that there’s more to come. Realistically, I am not expecting the line to be another Star Wars but I hope Playmates has the opportunity to mine the depths of both the core characters and background characters and aliens. Time will tell.

But, I am looking forward to boldly collecting them.

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Remember last year, when just about everyone on the news was so quick to point out that we weren’t "officially" in a recession yet? That it was too early to say for sure? Well, welcome to the recession. Glad you could make it! We were going to serve chips and dip, but you know… Recession! Just what exactly does "recession" mean, and more importantly, what does it mean for our toys? Forget about the politics of bailouts and stimulus packages for a few moments while we focus on ways to stay the course with our hobbies. We’re collectors, and collectors don’t cut and run. Got it?
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There is a common sub-breed of collector who rejoices every time a one-second-of-screen-time character gets an action figure. The cantina scene from Star Wars epitomizes this type of character. Loads of kooky aliens, locals,  and "spacemen" who you’ll miss if you blink. The four Kenner action figures to the right are what gave birth to my fascination with this iconic scene. We’ve gotten a bunch more cantina denizens in the modern Star Wars line. How many do we have now? Who’s left to be made?

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