GI Joe, the REAL Sokka and the Greased Scotsman

I am not, by nature, an action figure guy... A comic book guy, perhaps, but I am not that guy from The 40 Year Old Virgin. I may be pushing 40, but I have a wife of 10 years and two kids, so I'm no virgin. I don't buy action figures so much as to collect them, even though I refer to the ones I have as 'my collection'. 'Collecting' action figures implies that I buy them and try to get as many as possible and/or to complete a set. Most collectors (I'm assuming) will keep their figures mint in the original packaging if they can. While I must admit that I do have several that are in this condition (and will hopefully stay that way), I am actually a lot happier to get them loose.

I have a whole scwhack of figs right now, and my reasoning for this (if reason ever actually applies to buying plastic children's toys) is twofold:
a) I intend to resell as many of them as possible; and
b) I love taking pictures of them. Photos of brand-new, in the package toys just do not excite me. Why the hell would I buy a Spider-Man toy if I can't play with it?

The ones that I have MOC are for sale, and the loose ones might be for sale if anyone actually wants to buy them. There's only a few that I own that I will not sell, and they were gifts. That being said, even though he wasn't a gift, it's going to take a pretty penny to separate me from my Water Tribe Sokka figure (see below).

What I'm really trying to say is that, although I'm a hardcore comic book/Star Wars/Avatar/Godzilla geek, I'm not really an action figure geek....those guys are just weird, man...

Here's some figures that I got recently:

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GI JOE

COBRA NINJA

Codename : STORM SHADOW

(25th Anniversary Edition)

I guess the first wave of GI Joe  3 1/2 in. figures were released at a time in my life when I was growing too old to be playing with toys. I had a friend who was still in love with action figures and loved the show. The cartoon was OK, I guess, but I've never been a fan of the franchise in general. Even the comics to me are like, meh - take it or leave it.

But they did have Ninjas. Ninjas are, were, and will always be cool. I remember that my friend had the original Storm Shadow back in the day, and although I never cared much for the rest of them, his figure was pretty sweet. He came with a bow, two swords, a dagger and a quiver/backpack. I wanted to get this figure back then, even though I already thought of myself as too old to want something like that. ..... He's a friggin'  Ninja!!!

Anyway, setting all that old inner conflict aside, the figure I have now (the one pictured here) is not the original. It is a reissue of course, and actually looks even better than the original, but it's just not the same. Kind of like Star Wars....you get what I'm sayin...

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The Simpsons - World of Springfield - Prison Sideshow Bob

Not too much to say about him. He's a bad guy, then he turns good, then he's bad again... He tried to blow up Springfield a handful of times, framed Krusty the Clown for murder and was once married to Selma Bouvier (her first of many husbands, I believe). He comes with a rake, so you can re-enact the never tiresome 'step on the rake and get whacked in the face' gag. He also comes with an atomic bomb to help him realize his goal of total world domination.

I for one always preferred Kelsey Grammer in this animated form over all other appearances...maybe it's just something in his pseudo-Shakespearean delivery that comes out so much better coming from a cartoon character. His show Frasier was pretty much full of one-dimensional cartoony characters, but he's more believeable, and more fun, as Sideshow Bob.

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Avatar : The Last Airbender - Airbending Aang w/Momo

Aang is the main character from one of the best (if not the best) animated series ever. I didn't become a fan of the show until about a year and a half ago, after it had already completed its run on Nickelodeon. He is the Avatar - the only being capable of manipulating (bending) all four of the elements (water, earth, fire and air). He starts as an Airbender (the Last one, duh!) and learns to master the other three elements along the course of the story - one per season, each appropriately titled Book 1:Water, Book 2:Earth  and Book 3:Fire. It's a great sprawling fantasy epic, set in another world. There are dragons, castles, steam-powered warships and airships, spirits and all kinds of cool creatures like flying bison, winged lemurs (like Momo - pictured), and the ever popular platypus bear. Overall, it has a very Asian feel to it and combines a lot elements of Japanese Anime, albeit in a somewhat dumbed-down, Western manner. I admit it looks pretty childish at first glance, but if you didn't indulge your inner child once in a while you wouldn't be reading this at all. Give it a look if you haven't seen it before. I can't recommend this show highly enough.

Anyway, this entry is supposed to be about Aang, not his show. His figure looks pretty cool  - or at least as cool as a little bald kid in an orange-yellow jumpsuit can look - and he comes complete with his staff and glider as well as Momo. I bought him loose on Ebay, and he's obviously in used condition, but do you realize how hard it was to find this guy at a reasonable price? The movie action figures (from The Last Airbender) are plentiful, but these original releases are pretty hard to get and sellers want stupid amounts of cash for them. Luckily, I'm a night owl and manged to catch a good deal at the last minute of the auction. I can forgive the ripped pants (see picture) - Momo alone would have been worth the price to me. I love Momo - I want a real one.

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The Simpsons - World of Springfield - Groundskeeper Willie

One of the best known background characters from the show, Willie has got to be another one of my favorites. Having known some hardcore Scottish people all my life, I can really relate to this guy. He makes me secretly wish that I were Scottish myself. Even though he's a grim and somewhat scary sort of guy, you have to love him.

Favorite Willie quote:

"There's nary an animal alive that can out run a greased Scotsman!"

What more is there to say? He originally came in the package with a shovel and a rake and maybe some other stuff, but I bought him loose and he only came with the rake. Still, he's a cool find, and I'll probably keep him since he's not really worth anything anyway.

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The Simpsons - World of Springfield - Interactive Retirement Castle Environment w/exclusive Jasper

The Simpsons - World of Springfield  line of figures are cool because they talk and say all of the funny quotes that you hear from the show. They also suck because the figures don't actually talk by themselves. You need to place them in a compatible Interactive Environment. If you want to hear Groundskeeper Willie talk, you need to purchase the Springfield Elementary playset. In the case of the Retirement Castle, only the included Jasper figure and a few of the other figures (notably Grandpa Simpson) will talk when placed on the base of of it. I think I'd need the Police Station  or Krustilu Studios environments if I wanted to hear Sideshow Bob talk, and I've no idea which set I'd need for Cletus (see last post).

All that aside, it's still a pretty neat set - there's a couch and a TV (featuring Kent Brockman) and of course Jasper. He says a bunch of cool things when you press the button, including my favorite Jasper line:

"You shot who in the what, now?"

The whole set is still unopened in the package, but there is a little bit of warping to the box so it's not really mint. Luckily, you can stick your finger through the hole in the box window to play the quotes. I am torn in two directions with this figure; do I open it and see if any of my other Simpsons figures will say anything? Or should I leave it in the box and sell it at the Comic Con?

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GI JOE
COMMANDO
 Codename: SNAKE EYES
(25th Anniversary Edition)

Okay, so I've got a plan for this one. I bought this figure because, in case you didn't know, Ray Park (aka Darth Maul) is going to be at the Central Canada Comic Con this year. And also in case you didn't know, he played the role of the ever-silent Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe - Rise of Cobra on the big screen last year. One more 'in case you didn't know'; he also played Toad in the first X-Men film - quite the resume this guy has! He's also a real-life martial arts champion, so he could kick your ass bigtime. 

Favorite Snake Eyes quote:

".................."

I'm betting on the fact that someone is going to need something for Ray Park to sign when they get his autograph. If no one buys him on the first or second day at the con, I'm going to get it signed myself and sell it for way more money than I paid for it on Ebay. The signature alone will probably cost me $30.

Not to mention that the figure and card are in Near Mint condition.... Yep. This is one of my more valuable figures. Only Pepe the King Prawn can command a higher dollar value of the ones I have for sale.

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Avatar : The Last Airbender - Water Tribe Sokka

Now that I think about it, this figure is definitely not for sale. Not only is he hard to find (and thus pretty valuable), but he's hands-down the best character from the show. Sokka is the epitome of comic relief. He's sometimes known as the 'Meat and Sarcasm Guy'. He's also kind of the unofficial leader of the group, which he himself dubbed 'Team Avatar'. He's the only one who doesn't have any (element) bending powers, but he's pretty crafty and chucks a mean boomerang. It was Sokka's idea to invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun, he invented the airship, and he also led the sabotage of the Fire Nation Airships as they began the final battle against the Earth Kingdom. So he's a good tactician and fighter....but his real strength is his comedy.

Some unforgettable moments:

-Sokka and Momo tripping out on cactus juice in the desert 

-Sokka dressing up to pretend he's Aang's father (Mr. Wang Fire)

-Sokka with Momo on his head in an attempt to shock Aang into the Avatar State

-Sokka's attempt at landscape painting

The list goes on and on.....talk about multi-talented! Before this blog turns into the Sokka Show, I'll leave you with my favorite Sokka quote:

Katara: "You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day, and now you just lick something that's dripping off the wall of a cave??"

Sokka: "What can I say? I have a natural curiosity."

Sokka's figure is in a little bit better condition than Aang's, and as far as I know, the only thing he's missing is the boomerang holder from his back. His figure is kind of dorky-looking with the ponytail and all, but this is the real Sokka - not the cheesy Anakin Skywalkeresque, ex-vampire guy from the movie. Oh, and it's pronounced sock-a, not soak-a. (Shame on you, M. Night!)

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That's it for now - I think I'm all caught up on my action figure collection for now. Of course, I have a ton of carded Star Wars figures that I haven't talked about, but there are way too many to list, and I couldn't possibly think of something worthwhile to say about each of them.

Until next time :

SOKKA RULES!

and May the Force be with you...