Brainstorming Session

Growing up there was always that one kid in your neighborhood or school who seemed to have everything. This was definitely the case for me. My older brother had a classmate who lived a few houses away from us and he had literally EVERY single Transformer in existence. When I was first invited to his house, I swear my head nearly exploded from seeing so many Transformers, all within my reach. I remember going crazy switching from robot to robot transforming every single one I could get my hands on. It was like a Transformers catalogue come to life!

Carpe Crepundia : Japan Haul part 3

I’m sure we’ve all been there before. It’s the last day of your vacation in some foreign land and you’re wondering if you got all that you wanted to get on your international shopping adventures. You’re going through all the stores one last time and come upon something that you initially had no intention of getting…but since you’re there, and the price is pretty good, that you figure what the hell? Carpe diem….seize the day….or in my case…Carpe crepundia*, seize the toy ☺

Instant Q-llection : Japan Haul part 2

Japan, the birthplace of the robots in disguise that would eventually get to be known worldwide as the Transformers. Ever since their creation, Transformers have been very popular in Japan. Some would say even more so than in the US where the toyline and cartoon sort of died off sometime in the early 90’s before making a comeback years later. So being primarily a Transformers collector, I felt I had a lot to look forward to on my first trip to the land of the rising sun.

Farm Boy Hunt : Japan Haul part 1

So last month I went to Japan. Not counting a quick stop over around 30 years ago, this was my official first time there…and it was quite the experience. Before going, I was told by friends and family about just how amazing Japan was. I was looking forward to so much…the food, the sites…and of course, the toys.

Rumble is Periwinkle

In any given robust toyline, repaints are pretty much a given. To save on production and/or animation costs, single molds and designs are often repainted or recolored and made into different characters. For many Transformer fans, repaints are pretty much the norm and are widely accepted. Even if they look exactly the same, there is no confusion between the seekers Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp…their colors (and well defined personalities) pretty much tell us who is who. Then there’s the case of Decepticons Rumble and Frenzy, where things get a little…messy.

And All of HISS Men

Way back in 1984, as part of the 3rd wave of He-Man action figures, we were introduced to a new villain, the evil master of snakes, Kobra Khan. As part of a group that consisted of a crab-man, a spider-man and an alligator-man, a snake –man didn’t seem all that special. Little did anyone know that this little snake man would be the key to opening a door to a whole new world of trouble for He-Man and his heroic warriors.

HISS Story

When it comes to almost any cartoon series, one thing is almost always constant. For every hero, there is an enemy. The Autobots had the Decepticons, G.I.Joe had Cobra, The Thundercats had the evil Mutants, hell even Strawberry Shortcake had the Purple Pie Man. But after defeating the same enemy day in and day out from episode to episode, things can get rather stale. So in an effort to keep things interesting…more bad guys are oftentimes added to the punch.

Where Have All The X-Men Gone?

In the year two thousaaaaaaand….. the first live action X-Men movie, directed by Brian Singer was released. I remember how X-static I was to finally be seeing my favorite mutant heroes come to life on the movie screen. Despite some nitpicks here and there, overall it was a very good movie featuring a lot of details and story points that made the X-Men universe unique. We got the dynamic relationship of Professor X and Magneto and of course we got a fantastic portrayal of ever popular X-Man Wolverine played by the then unknown actor Hugh Jackman.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Seeking For

When it comes to collecting toys, sometimes your love for a certain character drives you to get every existing version of that said character. I am no exception. In my case, my love for the original Decepticon seeker trio has driven me to try and collect as many versions of Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp that Hasbro, Takara or other third party churn out. I actually wrote a post documenting all the different versions I have of my favorite trio a few years back and I thought it was about time I give a little update.

That's the Spirit!

Back in the 80’s toy companies got away with quite a lot that would not really fly in today’s market. One major example would be characters based on racial stereotypes. Asians and Native Americans were 2 of the most targeted races as quite a lot of toy lines sported at least one Asian kung fu/karate expert or Native American mystic character. And as one of the biggest toylines of the 80’s, it was no surprise that G.I.Joe had both.

Re: Cap

In 2007, as part of the aftermath of their very successful comic event Civil War, Marvel did the unthinkable and killed off Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America. While his death didn’t really worry me much since pretty much everyone dies in comics…and eventually comes back, what interested me was how Marvel would handle Steve Rogers’ absence in their universe…in other words, who would take his place as the new Captain America.