It’s the eve of New York Comic Con, which means it’s time for another ‘Twas the Night Before… bash hosted by Hasbro. For the past few years, they’ve opted to hold an intimate (well, compared to the Con itself) cocktail party the night before NYCC in lieu of exhibiting at the show themselves.
It’s always a fun time, and we’ve got the latest reveals from Marvel, Star Wars, Transformers, and more, in our Hasbro ‘Twas the Night Before album.
I was just checking to see if the Marvel Legends Black Cat was still in stock at ToysRUs.com (yes, she is), when I noticed another gem which is once again available – the Marvel Legends Hydra Agent from the Captain America Infinite Series. Now, I’m seriously out of display space, but I can’t help but pick up these guys whenever I find a deal – and you’ll have a hard time beating the regular price of $21.99. Sure, that “regular” price is a far cry from the good old days of army building Marvel Legends at Wal-Mart for $6.99 a pop, but you can insert yourself in the Cap movies and pretend it’s a Hydra plot to take over the world.
TRU has a limit of two on these bad boys, and while I can’t get them to qualify for ShopRunner free shipping, if you get two and add one more item, you can qualify for the standard TRU free shipping deal. Here’s a suggestion: the Funko Dancing Groot – it comes out at the end of the year, but TRU will still count it towards the $49 threshold. HAIL HYDRA!
On the eve of New York Comic Con, I’m doing a bit of catch-up on a piece that our good friend Jedd sent in several weeks back, during the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention. It’s a great interview with designer toy icon Frank Kozik. Be sure to check out Jedd’s own site, The Movie and Me, for his full coverage of STGCC and much more.
Artist and designer Frank Kozik is known in collectible art circles as the creator of the Labbit, but it also famous as a poster designer who created artwork for bands such as The White Stripes, Pearl Jam, The Beastie Boys and Nirvana. The commercial artwork he has done includes work for Nike, Swatch and MTV. Kozik was in Singapore as a guest of the Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention (STGCC) and I got to sit down with him to discuss his work. He was somewhat intimidating and frank and off-the-cuff, giving a detailed description of how Labbit came to be (it involves booty calls) and offering a surprising, piece of advice to aspiring artists.
Jedd Jong: What was the genesis of Labbit; how did you conceptualise that?
Frank Kozik: That’s an interesting story. In the mid-90s, I was going to Japan quite a bit, I was working with the people there. When I went over there for the first time, I was really in Sanrio products, was really into like Hello Kitty and Keroppi and stuff, I thought it was very interesting, the stuff they were doing. I liked how they did the characters, it was like super-perfect. What’s interesting is in Japan then, it was just something for low-class people. These were are sort of like snotty Shinjuku fashion dudes, right? And they’re like “what do you want to do, do you want to do cocaine on top of a mountain?” and I’m like “no, I want to go to Kitty Land!” And they all just thought I was crazy, they were like “what?!” They couldn’t understand, it was such a low thing for them. And I tried to explain it, I said “look, there’s something really interesting here. It’s like super-perfect way to develop a character,” like you got to get beyond who buys it. In the US, it became a really big cult thing.
Continue reading “STGCC 2014: Frank Kozik Interview by Jedd Jong”
Our good pal, Paul, wrote in with the heads up that Black Cat from the Marvel Legends Infinite Series for the Amazing Spider-Man is in stock at Toys R Us and available for home shipping. Grab her while you can, since she is normally out of stock at TRU and being marked up heavily on Amazon by third party sellers.
Paul also gave us a tip that your local TRU can take your order and have it shipped to you for free (if they are savvy enough). To add to that, if you have ShopRunner (I got it for free because I have an American Express card), Black Cat qualifies for free 2-day shipping for me on the website. Big thanks to Paul, and happy shopping!
One of the highlights from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con was the revelation that Sideshow Collectibles had acquired the license for comics-based Marvel figures in 1/6 scale. This is the first time in a long time that one toy company has been able to produce figures from the big two from the comics – sure, Hot Toys, of whom I’m a big fan, has had Marvel and DC for a long time, but that’s the movie stuff. I’m psyched for some compatible, universe-crossing comic book action.
And they’re starting with one of my favorites from the Marvel U – Deadpool. The Merc with a Mouth comes with all the accouterments that you’re accustomed to if you’re a fan of Sideshow’s DC, G.I. JOE, or Star Wars figures – the great sculpt, nicely detailed fabric apps, and weapons and accessories up the ying yang. But they’ve given Wade Wilson a little extra, given his penchant for cracking wise – Deadpool speech bubbles that you can add to your display via the included stand. The Sideshow exclusive version of Deadpool will also include Headpool, who will use his copter helmet to fly by Deadpool’s side (presumably using the same wires that support the speech bubbles).
Now it’s fighty time!
Continue reading “Weekend Toy Run: Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 Scale Deadpool”