My wife and I spent a good amount of time this spring building a landscape wall in front of our house. Over the course of one long weekend we had the task of applying this natural stone veneer one piece at a time. She would "butter" the stones with the adhesive mortar and I would stick them on. As I was sitting on the ground looking closely at this stone wall I began to daydream about my old G.I. Joes.

(more…)

Share:

Something that was lacking, but soon will not be.  Just in time for the 25th anniversary!

I almost hate to say this phrase, but it IS a site about a Mattel line : 

"Stay tuned!"

Peace,

Chip  

Share:

Here’s a little sneak peek at the upcoming JLU Doom Patrol!

Read on…!

(more…)

Share:

Building on a topic I had briefly mentioned on my own site’s blog recently, and one that came up last month on the AFI forum, diversity in comic books, animation, and action figure lines is a big issue for me. This is something that dates back all the way to my childhood. Since coming into its own as a toy concept in the late ’70s and early ’80s, some action figure lines have done better jobs of being inclusive than others have. Despite the overwhelming success with children of the day and the lasting popularity with collectors enjoyed by some brands, they had a lot of room for improvement in what they offered to their young fans. (more…)

Share:

This is the greatest collecting day ever.  Not only did my good friend Joe Grunenwald score me a 33-back Super Powers Batman off of eBay (when I thought I’d missed it), but I just unpacked the following…which all showed up at once.  It’s mind-blowing.

From left-to-right  :

Top Row – Super Amigos Batman, Robin (only one known so far), Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Plastic Man.

Bottom Row – Estrela Aquaman (only one known so far), Estrela Green Lantern (only one known so far), Future Warriors Dominator, Cyberdroid, Gladiator,and Vampirus, Nibo Penguin (only 3 known so far), Trilingual Brainiac w/sticker (only 2 known so far), Trilingual Green Lantern (only one known so far).

The Super Amigos are all in case-fresh condition with clear bubbles, and half of them are unpunched.  The rest of the figures are in fantastic shape, as well.

I’m utterly euphoric right now…it’s the best day I’ve had since I started collecting again back in November.

Peace,

Chip

Share:

Read on to see how I created a sword worthy of a Cosmic Enforcer…

(more…)

Share:

  AFi 2009 JLU Poll Results

We ran the poll for a month.  And this is what our readers told us.  126 posters voted.

Top 10 Overall (votes – character)
No category restrictions here.

53 Kalibak
46 Toyman
45 STRIPE
44 Killer Frost
42 Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
42 Captain Cold
39 Vandal Savage
33 Gypsy
32 Granny Goodness
28 Livewire

(more…)

Share:

Coming soon to the Comic Con International in San Diego, CA…

(more…)

Share:

Hello hello!  Welcome yet again to another installment of the blog preferred by none of my ex-fiancees…the Super Powers Highlight! 

I’m switching it up (still) before I get back to writing about the SP action figures and NOT covering one again this time.  Super Powers to me, is more than the action figures.  There are just a myriad of products with the logo and style guide artwork on them, and that makes for a really diverse and attractive collection to display, especially since most companies used different representations of the same characters from the style guide when they designed their packaging.  Nasta is one such company.

For a brief history on them…Nasta had the Superfriends license in the late 1970′s making trading cards, small travel games, etc.  That morphed into the Super Powers license during the mid-80′s, where the most common items produced were the sunglasses.

This Superman example has a variation to the card that I’ve not seen on other ones.  First off, the Toys-R-Us price "tag" is actually part of the printed card.  I have seen ones on eBay that don’t have it and have regular stickers from other stores affixed to them

Unlike the other two characters released, this one actually makes sense, as Superman actually wore glasses to help sell his secret identity as Clark Kent.  The card back artwork is fantastic…great image of Superman with the glasses and the classic shot of him speeding through the air, off to stop an alien invasion or rescue a cat from a tree.

I don’t recall ever seeing Batman wear glasses when he was cavorting around as Bruce Wayne, and even if he did I doubt they be as grossly gross as these.  Last I checked, Bats doesn’t go on tour with Billy Joel…so I’m not sure why some young lad would want these over the Superman ones.

Again, the card back artwork is cool but different, with the classic "cowl and city backdrop" image we’ve all seen thousands of times as well as an odd image of Batman lunging away from the camera so we don’t see most of his face.  

As you can see by looking at all three examples, even though the lenses are purportedly "break resistant" that doesn’t mean they’ll actually stay in the damn frames.    I’m also not sure if you can pop them back in as I’ve never seen a loose set of any character up for sale.  You can also notice that, while the Superman has it’s UPC code on the front, both Batman and Wonder Woman have them on the back.  I have yet to see different examples show up, so I’m not sure if they exist.

Again, fantastic art on the card back.  The classic head shot on the left, and a neat image of Diana leaping through the air and seemingly enjoying herself a whole hell of a lot while doing it.   

…and that brings us to the flashlight.  This is the only one I’ve seen for sale since I started collecting Super Powers, and I love the little thing! It’s one of those same small flashlights you’d find at a tourist trap location, such as any store in Myrtle Beach (ahem).  The difference is that this one has the Caped Crusader himself on it…perfect for those lil’ detectives-in-training that want to solve crimes around the backyard.

Once again…the card art is really what makes these things desirable for me.  It’s a really cool display to have them all on the shelf together, even tho some dude obviously went a little crazy with the hole puncher…not noticing that the card already had a hanger hole pre-punched in it.  Moron.

To me, the Super Powers ancillary products are equal to the action figures as far as collectability…due to the consistent and excellent artwork pulled from the DC Style guide.  There will always be a few bookcases filled to the brim with these items in my collection, and when assembled they make for an awesome display.  I hope you enjoyed this small look at one tiny corner of that realm.

Peace,

Chip

Share:

This is the first time I’ve felt compelled & justified in making a short "addendum" blog to one of my previous entries.  As my loyal readers will remember, a short time ago I wrote about the Electro figure in my first Secret Wars Highlight.

Well, my new friend Jason Sanders read that, sent along two photos of some really rare pieces…and told me it was okay to share.  

Up first is a French release bi-lingual carded Electro.  As you can see, the French dual logo cards have a neat rounded-top bubble.  This example is in fantastic shape, and is an AFA (boo! hiss!) grade of 80.

And finally we have something even rarer than most pre-production items…a test-shot of Electro’s head!  For the uninitiated, this is NOT a "prototype" as stated erroneously by most eBay sellers.  Test-shots are simply that…mold tests using whatever color plastic happens to be available at the time.  Vintage line examples are difficult to come by, and the fact that this is one of a rare third-series figure makes it even more sweet to see.

A big thanks to Jason for allowing me to display his cool stuff, and thanks for reading!

Peace,

Chip

Share:

I just linked to an eBay auction about a figure and saw this text in the auction.  I’ve seen it before.  It makes me cringe.  And usually I do not bid.

"Seller will LEAVE FEEDBACK in return once Buyers RECEIVED purchased items & LEFT FEEDBACK for Seller. "

According to this, feedback for the buyer will not be left until the buyer has left feedback for the seller.  To me, this is just plain wrong.  Why?

(more…)

Share:

A pretty damn cool thing, this is.  It’s the pack-in catalog for the Secret Wars figures released by the Gulliver toy company in Brazil.

Note that all the figures come with stands, as well.  I’ve only ever seen two of the carded Gulliver releases come up for sale, and they’ve both been very expensive.  Hopefully one day I’ll have a full set, but I’d need to buy ONE first, right?  

I’ve found two new Holy Grails to hunt for for my collection…the Spider-Man Castle and Dr. Doom Fortress.  Just too cheesy and awesome!  Now, on to the search!  Until next time…

Peace,

Chip

Share:

An APA or Amateur Press Association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines, which are typically referred to as “zines,” that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.

Long before the advent of the internet and personal computers, APAs were a way for geographically disadvantaged people to discuss a common interest together in a single forum. Although Wikipedia says the origins go back to 1976, they really took off in the 1960s and 1970s by fans of science fiction, comics, music, movies and other topics such as pulp fiction. A good number of professional journalists, creative writers and artists practiced in APAs and some still participate. Although internet chat groups have displaced many APAs, there are still lots of them out there.
A Central Mailer (CM) is the heart and soul of an APA. The CM manages the subscription lists and the deadlines to which the association works. The CM is usually responsible for chasing members to ensure maximum participation although some APAs simply accumulate contributions between deadlines and mail out whatever is available at the mailing deadline.
Where the APA requires the submission of multiple copies by contributors, the CM collates the contributions. Most APAs require the members to submit a minimum amount of material in a specified format to a specified number of mailings. This minimum activity, abbreviated to “minac,” is usually specified as something in the form of, for example: “at least two A4 pages to at least two out of every three mailings.” Most APAs also require each member to maintain a credit balance in a central funds account to cover shared reproduction costs and individual postage costs to mail the finished product back to the members.
In most APAs the CM provides an administrative report listing the contents of each mailing and any business information associated with the association. This can include financial accounts, membership information and some news items. Although most APAs have predetermined deadlines at regular intervals it is normal practice for the CM to specify the next mailing deadlines explicitly in each mailing.
Although some APAs are autocratic, most run on a democratic basis and the CM usually chairs any discussions and arranges any management meetings.
APAs that require members to submit multiple copies of their contribution or “zines,” usually set a limit to the number of members and run a waiting list if this becomes necessary. In many cases people on the waiting list are permitted to contribute to mailings and may receive excess apazines provided by the members.

So, why am I telling you about APAs? Well, because the one I belong to, Interlac is coming up on it’s 200th issue. Published 6 times a year that means that the APA is over 33 years old and still going strong! Back in June of 1976, the late Rich Morrissey founded the APA, calling it LEAPA (the LEgion Amateur Press Association); it changed its name to Interlac three mailings later. There were 15 founding members, and the first mailing was 26 pages.
Interlac was based on CAPA-alpha and APA-5, two comic based APAs. But unlike the two established APAs, Interlac consisted of fans of a single comic book come together in a single APA. So while Interlac’s form came from CAPA-alpha, its membership came from the Legion Fan Club (started by 13-year-old Mike Flynn in 1972) and The Legion Outpost (a fanzine Originally published in 1972 as the official newsletter of the Legion Fan Club, the Legion Outpost soon became the premier Legion of Super-Heroes fanzine of the 1970s, featuring contributions by fans, pros, and soon-to-be pros.)

By 1976, the Legion of Super-Heroes’ comic was a hit for DC and, with the rich Legion mythos (although some say a baggage train) giving members plenty to discuss. The membership roster grew to its 50-member limit and evolved into a community. Members met each other at comic book conventions and became real-life friends; members Tom Bierbaum and Mary Gilmore met through the APA, began a romance, and eventually married. Even more notably, the Bierbaums later graduated from Interlac to working as scripters of the Legion comic itself.
The roster, with the exception of a few stalwarts, has turned over repeatedly, breathing fresh life and bringing new points of view into the forum.

Interlac is also the “language of the Unite Planets: it’s one of those things that you have to put up with if you’re a Legion of Super-Heroes fan, just like how you have to put up with Jason if you’re a fan of the Argonauts. Interlac is the language of the future, but also kind of the language of today. That is, it’s what everyone on Earth speaks a thousand years from now but also apparently what basically everyone else in the galaxy speaks in the present-day DC Universe, which is how, say, Aquaman can have a meaningful conversation with, say, Kanjar Ro.
Now, I don’t exactly know what Interlac sounds like and I don’t know the fake history of this fake language (Okay, I just looked it up and there really doesn’t seem to be one. Wikipedia claims that it’s just a future language, but I don’t believe it) so I’m going to be dealing with it on a purely aesthetic/utilitarian level.
First off, here’s the Interlac alphabet and number system:

This character map is a bit more comprehensive than the one I used to use, which had only one symbol per letter. Until I saw the vertical-line-as-capitalization innovation I had assumed that the future was a place where everyone wrote all in caps, all the time, i.e., a place where I would be angry all the time. Instead, looking at some nearby Legion comics, it seems that most of humanity never ever capitalizes, which is both more tolerable and more understandable, as that looks like a pain in the butt.
Speaking of ass-pain, take a look at those letters. I figure that there has to be a simplified written version of this alphabet, because otherwise, these already-too-complex characters would take for-freakin’-ever to write, what with all of the little notches and cutouts and so forth. Until I remembered that Interlac wasn’t just an Earthian future-language I had figured that it was the result of font-design gone berserk. I mean, look at that ‘o’ – what’s the point of the little notch? I’ll tell you the point: to look all futuristic. Can’t you just picture some dude in California circa 2345 putting all this together in an attempt to make the place look more like the future? Now I’m forced to believe instead that the race that originally came up with these letters had some sort of collective physical or psychological tic that left them unable to draw a proper circle. But I digress.
APAs in general are not going the way of the dodo. At least not until the generation that grew up with typewriters, mimeograph machines and photocopiers all finally begin pushing up daises

Share:

Anime Boston – What is a Super-Hero fan to buy?

Saturday.  I had circled the dealer rooms twice.  Only New England Comics display caught my eye.  They had trade paperbacks of their Tick series.  But at NYCC earlier this year I had been able to pick up Showcase volumes for 5$ each.  25$ or more just felt too much.

(more…)

Share:

As a toy collector there are moment’s you live for.   This is one of them.

Read on for my review of my all time favorite Masters of the Universe character in his Masters of the Universe Classics incarnation…

(more…)

Share: