Yeah, I’m writing about dudes in furry shorts. Get over it. 😀
One of the great things about running your own action figure blog is you can talk about whatever action figure properties you want (which you’ll see again hopefully later this week…)
Over the weekend, PowerCon happened out in California and anyone who knows me knows along with G.I. Joe (and Transformers) I have a passion for Masters of the Universe. The first action figure I ever remember buying was not G.I. Joe, after all– it was Skeletor. Granted, Flash and COBRA came shortly thereafter, but Skeletor was my first real introduction to action figure “collecting”. I still remember asking my dad for Castle Grayskull for my birthday and being convinced it was merely a pipe dream, only to come home from school one day and sit on my bed to find that it had arrived in the mail and mom had hidden it under my covers.
Now, unlike G.I. Joe, I loved Masters of the Universe in spite of itself. I loved it more for what I viewed it could be. I didn’t really like the Filmation animated series, and while I enjoyed the concepts of the figures, I didn’t love the toys themselves. Kinda weird, huh? Yeah, I lived and died by those little mini-comics that hinted at a much more serious, sci-fi/fantasy blended world that went much deeper and cooler than the weekday afternoon 22 minute animated fare possibly could.
So, needless to say, once I finally bought my first Masters of the Universe Classics figure, I was hooked, and I know own several others (as well as Grayskull and most of the vehicles).
I’m drawing the line at Snake Mountain, though. Really, I am.
For this reason, I tend to pay attention to the Mattel/Super 7 news at various conventions and was pretty excited to see that Mattel themselves is bringing MOTU back to retail.
In all honesty, I likely won’t buy these – MOTU Classics fills that void nicely already, but I’m thrilled that they’re taking steps to get MOTU back in front of mass retail. That’s a good thing.
At PowerCon this weekend, not only did they reveal a new comic series and new mini-figures, but they also announced a new Battlecat coming with that MOTU Origins line. Not to mention more Super 7 Conan figures and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures based on the animated designs were also discussed.
But most important of all, they announced a new Netflix Anime Series! I am all sorts of fired up for this one. Kevin Smith is involved (a fact that already has fans riled up), but my understanding is the same animation company that produced Castlevania is producing this as well, which is a very cool thing.
Anyway, lots to digest. For a guy who is feeling like he already has way too much stuff there seems to be more and more cool things on the way. It continues to be a great time to be a geek. Get all the latest news on PowerCon over on Pixel Dan’s YouTube channel as well as on the Masters of the Universe Facebook Page.
I knew when I got GeneralsJoes fired back up a couple of weeks back, that news for the upcoming G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes film would start hitting hard, and I wasn’t disappointed.
In the past week, I’ve talked to Chris at The Full Force several times regarding updates to the Snake Eyes movie, everything from BS casting news to Henry Golding’s rumored casting, to the return of Robert Schwentke and the assembling of the full production team, preparing to leap into the fray.
Much of this news comes from Silver Optimus at HISSTank.com and I’ve spent quite a while addressing the news with Chris at The Full Force.
The outstanding question really remains – what do we make of all of this? Is this really happening? Is a new G.I. Joe film on the horizon? If so, how will it resemble the brand as we know it?
The first question that comes up is Henry Golding. It seems a done deal that he’s a part of the G.I. Joe cast, but is he Snake Eyes as many online outlets are assuming? Or could he be Storm Shadow? Does it really matter?
Golding is a potential emerging star, and having him involved in the film is a good thing, in my eyes, though the potential of him being Snake Eyes has already caused a bit of a fandom furor, not just because Snake Eyes has traditionally been seen as Caucasian, but because his nature as an “outsider” among the Arashikage clan is a large part of his character development arc. I think he can still be an outsider if Golding portrays him, my larger question is, why would they cast an emerging star like Golding in a role that (one would assume) has him eventually wearing a mask for 90% of the time.
Unless, of course, they’re going to drastically alter the Snake Eyes mythology even more than one might think.
Lots of really cool elements to dissect for sure, and I’m thinking I got GeneralsJoes fired back up just in time. Regardless of who Henry Golding plays, who is directing the film, and how things are shaking out, I’m pretty excited to have something new to talk about. Definitely check out the Full Force News Bursts below to hear me and Chris hash some of these things out.
These figures are currently available at SmallJoes.com.
The bread and butter of the Dime Novel Legends line is, without a doubt, the carded figures themselves. A great assortment of various specialties really help bring the Wild West to life.
Over on his Twitter page, artist for the upcoming IDW Publishing G.I. Joe series Chris Evenhuis has posted a first look at the cover, featuring who I can only guess is Major Bludd!
It’s a great early glimpse at the fan favorite character and I continue to really enjoy the updated looks.
Check it out and make sure you’re following both Chris and writer Paul Allor as they continually release new info along the way.
