Retro Cool

When I was a kid, some of the coolest toys you could have (and almost everyone who was a kid in the seventy's did have at least one), were Mego's Action Heroes. They were just the best and for the most part they were pretty durable and had a super high degree of "playability". That and because of the nature of product licencing back in the 70's they had the licence for just about every and any thing cool. From super-heroes to sci-fi, Mego made it. All in that same awesome 8" scale. A couple of years ago Diamond Select began releasing Retro Star Trek figures based on the original molds from Mego, and they were a huge hit.





So big in fact, that after they had released all the original figures that Mego had produced, they started releasing figures that Mego had never got around to in the same style as the original ones. Of course, being the huge geek that I am, I picked up as many of these as possible, and they were fantastic. A great trip down memory lane, without having to pay an arm and a leg on ebay!


The latest to jump on this bandwagon is Mattel, with their Mego-inspired "Retro Action DC Super Heroes". I have picked up a couple of these, and have for the most part, been pleasantly surprised. Even the packaging is reminiscent of the old Mego style of packaging. They are quite faithful to the original Mego figures, while fixing some of their short-comings. The Boots are much better than the thin molded plastic ones the originals had, the hero's "symbol" is of a higher quality (the old Mego figures were just a sticker, that would come off if you were not careful) and there has been some re-designing in the body. Mattel also seems to be releasing them in "pairs". One hero, and a matching villain, which is kind of cool. The only complaint that I have, and it is a minor one at that, is that it seamed to me that Mattel underestimated the popularity of these figures, as the first wave of them (including Superman) was almost impossible to find in the stores. Hopefully they will re-release these ones at a later date. Still there are lots of online shops that you can find the first line where the prices haven't been marked up yet.



So all I have to say about this trend is...cheers! It is so cool to see these toys, or copy's of them at least, back on the toy shelves. Cool enough for collectors to want and still a awesome toy for a kid that is into super-heroes to play with and make some of their own memories. And isn't that what toys are for.

Where I'm Not....*sigh*

It's getting near the end of July. My daughter in particular (because she is almost as big a geek as her dad...lol) was looking forward to going. Sadly while the family was planning to head down to San Diego, events (my beautiful wife's new job, and my son couldn't get the time off)have transpired that have prevented it. Sad but true. At least I might be able to cheer my daughter up, as there is a big Anime convention here at the beginning of August.

Oh well, maybe next year we will make it down. Here's to Comic Con 2011!

Marvel...You Sure About That?

I'm not sure what is going on at Marvel Studio's lately. I really would like to know. I'm not kidding....really, because it seems like they are making some really strange and uninformed decisions of late. Some of these decisions seem to imply that someone in the "upper management" part of the company doesn't have a clue about how to make a good superhero movie, and yet feels the need to tell people that know what they are doing, what to do.

After just two Fantastic Four movies, they have made the decision to "re-boot" it. Really...already...just because the second move (which was not too bad) didn't make enough money for you? The film grossed $289 million worldwide. So what is your issue with it? Then there is their Spider-man franchise. So, not everyone was a fan of the last one. It could have done with a few less villains, to be sure, but all together the three movies have grossed nearly $2.5 billion worldwide. So again... why the re-boot?

Now, it seems that the role of Bruce Banner will not be portrayed by the very talented Mr. Edward Norton. It seems that Dr. Banner will be played by Mark Ruffalo. Nothing against Mr. Ruffalo, not that I have seen much of his work but, I personally liked Mr. Norton's take on Banner.

All of this just stinks of someone in a position of power being greedy and making these decisions based on how much money can we make NOW! Screw the long term! As with anything in life, when a creative endeavor is placed under the control of un-creative people who don't understand or care about it, the quality of that creative work will suffer. God help us.

Too Much?

How far is too far when it comes to being politically correct. This morning, as I watched the news, they had a story about a midway ride that broke and injured some riders. Now, I am a firm believer that anyone, no matter race or sex should have a chance at a job so long as they have the skills needed to do that job.

You would think that being able to speak English clearly would be an essential job skill for a TV reporter. But apparently not, because the woman reporting from the location of the incident, while she could speak English it was not what I would call her first language. It was a struggle to understand what she was saying, as she would stop mid sentence and re-phrase, then continue along.

So my issue is... when did it become OK to place someone in a position at a national TV network that cannot speak clearly. How many other fully competent people where overlooked for this position? Political correctness gone to far? Were exceptions made because they were a female minority? I really don't care who reports the news to me...but I would like to know what they said.

New Duds

The more things change the more they stay the same. I guess this applies to the powers that be in the comic book industry. Yet again all of us comic book fans around the world must suffer through yet another "hip, new, modern take" of a classic superhero.



I really don't understand why a lot of these writers and artists feel it necessary to "put their stamp" on iconic characters. If there is one thing that is been proven time and time again, these modernization of classic hero's uniforms never really work out well. This time around the block it's Wonder Woman who is getting the new duds courtesy of Jim Lee and J. Michael Straczynski.
And to be truth full, I don't have a problem with the new look for the most part (all though...what is up with the "spurs" on her boots?). That and her new origin story is just a little bit to similar to one of the other of the big 3 at DC, (aka Superman). In the end all this is, is a little smoke and mirrors to sell a few comic books, and to help promote interest in a particular character.


It's not like we all haven't had to suffer through this kind of thing before. Many times over the years some new artist, editor or writer comes along and thinks, "Hey! You know what would be great. We should update (insert generic hero's) looks and uniform with something modern and cool! The kids will love that stuff!"

Those of my generation will remember Spiderman's black uniform, and even as cool at that looked it only lasted a short time. and who could forget Aquaman's "Ocean-camo" look! Then there was Storm of the X-men and her punk mohawk look and even Wonder Woman herself has had many makeovers (feminist jump-suit, anyone). And Superman's super-mullet! Last, but by no means least, lest we ever forget the horribly misguided Superman Red & Blue.

When you start looking at it, it is truly amazing how many of our favorite super hero's have had their costumes messed with over the years. All the way from Batman to almost all of the X-men. It doesn't matter who the character is, from the biggest to the most obscure (well, not too obscure).


At least we can rest easy as this to shall pass. Long live princess Diana of the Amazons.

Two Thumbs Down...For The Critics

As far as I am concerned, movie critics have totally lost touch with the movie going public. Case in point. "The Last Airbender". I've seen the cartoon it is based on (not all, but enough to have the general idea of the story). Watched a lot of them with my kids (they have seen them all). So of course we went and saw the movie when it came out.


And you know what...we loved it. I thought it was a cool movie. Moved along at a good pace and had a strong story that was easy to follow, even if I hadn't seen the entire cartoon series. And my kids loved it as well. They thought that it stayed relatively true to the source material and liked all the actors. Even my lovely wife enjoyed the movie, and she had no idea what it was about going in.

So why are all the critics giving this movie bad reviews? The biggest complaint that I have heard is that it doesn't have any Asians in this Asian based movie. But it does, and it isn't. A large part of the cast (all the people of the fire nation) are of Indian descent. And India was in Asia last time I looked. And to the few critics complaining that Hollywood is ripping off a anime and "westernizing" it. Do your homework...it's an American animated television series. and it was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. So cheers to M. Night Shyamalan. I really hope that the next two movies in this trilogy get made. With the current box office success, the chances of that get a lot better. Hey, even Alvin and the Chipmunks got a sequel (not sure why though).

The best part is "The Last Airbender" broke the 100 million mark the other day. Not bad. I guess some of these movie critics don't know a good movie when they see one.

Frank Frazetta Passes Away

Frank Frazetta, the iconic sci-fi and fantasy painter, passed away yesterday from a stroke at the age of 82.

His imagery is well known to every Science fiction and fantasy fan and anyone who has read a Conan book or even remembers some of the cover art from the novelization of the original Battlestar Galactica and some of the follow up novels from the 70's.

He was one of a kind and he will be missed.

Stargate Universe

I love Stargate...love it. Got the entire SG1 series on DVD. In my opinion, one of the best TV shows ever. And with 10 seasons and 214 episodes on of the longest running and successful ones as well.

Which brings me to Stargate Universe. To be honest...I like this show, but I don't know if I love it. I miss the humour that both SG1 and Atlantis had. It was one of the most endearing parts of those shows. The ability not to take themselves to seriously help make those shows what they were. I understand that the producers of the Stargate Universe are just trying to take it in a new direction, trying to be a little more gritty and realistic. But I find they are almost trying to hard and are coming across as a little bit of a BSG knockoff. That is the vibe I get when I watch the show. So dark...so serious. With the only humour coming from the character of Eli Wallace played by David Blue.

I'm not saying I can really find any thing wrong with the show. All the characters are interesting and well played by the cast. The story lines so far have been kind of cool...but I still miss some of the lightness that made Stargate what it was. I'm not saying that they should tone down the show to SG1's level, but nor should they in my opinion be trying to be like a certain other sci-fi show that recently ended. With any luck they will find a happy middle ground.

Never the less, I will continue to watch the rest of the season...and if I'm not lying to myself, baring any act of God and/or bad ideas from the network (see SG1 episode "200" and the younger versions of the team...funny stuff.) I will give them the chance to hit their stride. I love Stargate too much not to. I just hope they find a sense of humour. Being that intense and serious is no way to go through life

Caprica 90210

I have been trying my best to keep up with Caprica. I am an old school Battlestar fan, as I grew up watching the original back in the late 70's. So when the "re-imagined" version came around I watched it sceptically. But I enjoyed it for the most part and by the end really enjoyed the whole experience. After the final episode came a straight to DVD release of the pilot for a spin off...Caprica. Set 58 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, it is the story of life in the colonies before the first Cylon war told through the eyes of two family's. The Adama's and the Graystone's. I thought the pilot was alright. Not what I was expecting, but, hey, they had warned us that is wasn't going to be anything like BSG.


Well, here we are well into the first season...and so...what you are trying to tell me is that the super bad-asses of the universe...the very first one...the prototype that all others are based on is the mind/avatar of some spoiled, rich, 16 year old girl rebelling against her parents. Really....? wow.

You know...I have been a fan of all forms of science fiction, fantasy and anything related for most of my life. But I really think they lost me on this one. I work with youth and have known many 15-16 year old's who where opinionated and hated most adults. Think back to when you were that age....you knew everything and all adults where idiots that knew nothing. If this is the general premise I am shocked that it takes the Cylons that long to wipe out civilization. Most the rebellious teens I know, given an all-powerful robot body would get down to business a lot faster than that! God help us all.

Happy New Year

Wow, the last half of 2009 flew by. Amazing how time can fly when you are busy, not that it should be an excuse for not keeping up with posts on here.

Anyway...

Happy 2010!
All the best in the new year!