A Day in the Life of Jean-Luc Picard

SUPERHERO SUPERPARTY!!

After a month-long absence, you'd think I'd ease back into the blog with a few quick movie reviews, or some shameless self-promotion for my Ebay store...

Not this time, True Believers!

Here it is, in all it's glory! The long-awaited, super-mega-ultra-colossal 4th issue of

Everyday Heroes!!!

BTW, it's a long one, so grab yourself a drink, sit back, get comfy and enjoy this finely-crafted crowning opus of all web comics everywhere!

(Seriously, I hope you like it.)

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(click on the pages to view larger)





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I sure am glad I finally got that done! Now I can get back to reality for awhile and actually live a normal life....  I hope my family will still talk to me!

Until next time:

May the Force be with you...

EVERYDAY HEROES #3 - The Flying Circus of Evil

Before I present to you the long-awaited (yeah, right...) third issue of Everyday Heroes, let me explain a few things. First off, the action does not take place within the structure of what you know as the Marvel or D.C. Universe. I'll borrow some details here and there, but I'm just working off of what I know about these characters, and which ones look funny together. There's no real framework for stories at all - it's all pretty ad lib. Let's just say it's all happening within the universe of the mind of a man who is far too old to be playing with toys.

Secondly, the pictures are all shot first (all off the top of my head), before any writing is done  and certain 'story threads' may or may not be completely resolved.....and there will probably be numerous 'continuity errors'. No, you don't get a prize for pointing them out.

Thirdly, these are toys, people. Don't get all pissed at me if I ridicule your favorite heroes. Wake up! They're not real anyway!

Anyway - hope you like it.

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(Click on the images to view larger)

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BACK ISSUES:

Everyday Heroes #1

Everyday Heroes #2



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Thank you once again for reading (and it's OK if you just look at the pictures).

May the Force be with you...

Git R Done!

Okay - tons of stuff to blog about today...bear with me.

 First off, my hit counter just went over 1900, and that feels good. Less than 100 to close out the second millenium of posts! (I know it's not proper use of the word, but I love the word millenium - sounds so epic). Thanks again for reading! Normally, I get the most hits from Canada (being my Home and Native Land, eh) but this last month or so has seen far more views from the US. Thanks guys! I just want to say that, even though Americans sometimes get a bad rap on the world stage, I haven't met a single one that I didn't like, and I've been to your country about a bzillion times...I have seen a few on TV that I didn't like though.... Also a special shout out to all the people in other countries who visited. Some noteable ones include Russia, Denmark, Brazil, Netherlands, France and Slovenia. I wish I could say thank you in all your native languages, but that involves a lot of research for which I have no time. Thanks anyway! Unless, of course, you're just phishing or trying to spam me or steal my identity or something....in that case, please don't come back.

Just like everyone else, I found myself extremely busy over the Holidays, and thus haven't had a lot of free time to blog. Regardless, all of the family get-togethers and general good cheer all around me were well worth it. As a special side note to my relatives who came to spend their Holidays here in cold-ass Winnipeg, thanks again. Great seeing y'all! Shaken off that frostbite yet?

So let's take care of business. I want to talk about my toys, my comics and the movies I've seen. Since there's so much in every department, I'm going to skim over some highlights and try to cover as much as possible in one post. Here goes:

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Action Figures

I've got a lot of material for the next installment of Everyday Heroes, but I need a little time to actually put together the layout of the comic. I've already introduced some of the new cast members in my last post, but as a special sneak preview, here's some stuff you can expect to see in upcoming issues:

A new gang in town

Trouble in Springfield

A new Axis of Evil

A Silver Age Reunion

Sokka and Momo in Rehab

I'd show you more of what I'm working on, but that would ruin the suspense. (Trust me, it gets even stupider from here on in...)

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Comics

I've picked up over 200 new books in the last two months, and I've put a few of them up on EBay, but mostly I just want to show off some of my favorites.... such as:

Shogun Warriors #1

Not really a landmark series or a particularly valuable comic (although my copy of #1 is worth a few bucks in its condition), but Shogun Warriors is a comic that I grew up with. Remember those bagged 3-Paks of comics they sold in the 70s? No? Well, I do. That's right, I'm old. This comic was released in one of those but I can't remember what else came in the bag. I do remember that Marvel also packaged the first 3 issues of Star Wars in one of those 3-Paks.... and I think Micronauts too. Anyway, I have a few issues of Shogun Warriors, and I've always loved the series. It features great Herb Trimpe art and has giant robots and monsters in it. Its all good.

Devil Dinosaur #1

Roaring forth from the kooky 70s era of Jack Kirby classics comes Devil Dinosaur - an epic tale of hairy ape-men, raging dinos and alien invaders all struggling for power in a prehistoric world where science and simple logic haven't been invented yet. Pretty silly, but very cool if you can shut your brain off for a while. Not a very long running series (I think it only hit 9 issues or so), but it contains some of Kirby's best art since his Silver Age runs of Fantastic Four and Thor. I remember reading this way back when I was a wee lad - I still get tears in my eyes when I read Devil Dinosaur.

The Tomb of Dracula #16

I have a whole bunch of issues of this series, having only recently discovered it. This particular one has a very cool cover and a neat little story inside. I've always found Dracula to be a cheesy character, and he doesn't get much cheesier than this. Although the art in the series is good, I think it's the writing that really stands out in T.O.D. Sometimes its a little wordy, but this comic reads like no other Marvel title from its time. It doesn't have the rapid pacing of a superhero book, but its laid out like a true horror comic should be - full of great suspense and shocking revelations. Good build of the characters too - even if they all die before the end of the issue. Tomb of Dracula comics are hard to find and are of relatively high value. That being said, I have a whole bunch more issues in the FN to NM range that will be up for sale in upcoming months.

Daredevil #39

This one is up for auction RIGHT NOW! (Or at least until Sun. January 9th 2011 if you're reading this late.) I love the art in these old Daredevil issues - big panels full of colorful action. D.D. kicks ass in this one. I have about a half dozen Silver Age issues that are going to be listed on EBay very soon. #39 is a great example of the conditions that they are in - nice bright cover with little to no flaws and crisp clean pages - nothing below the FN (6.0) range. Keep an eye on my EBay store if you're interested in owning any of them.

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Movies

Despicable Me

Got this for X-Mas, and it turned out to be a little better than I expected. I love Steve Carell's accent in the movie, and Jason Siegel does a pretty good job of the voice over too. Also very touching with Gru's interaction with the three little girls and their bonding by the end. My kids loved it and it made them laugh a lot - good job Universal!

A-

Fubar

Caught this one on Netflix. I'd seen it when it first hit the video store in 2002, but by this time I'd forgotten just how funny it is. I swear I knew two guys exactly like Dean & Terry back in the day, and I even see a little bit of my teen/early 20s self in them, all of which makes it all the more hilarious. If you ever grew up as a 'banger' in Western Canada, you'd relate to this film....and you've probably already seen it and loved it. The whole 'mockumentary' format really works here. I can't wait to see the sequel!

B

Gremlins

Yeah, we've all seen it. I saw it for the first time in the theatre in 1984 and loved it, but grew a little tired of it by the time I'd hit my twenties. It's got all of the expected Spielbergian cuteness, sappiness, product placement, morality lessons and 'kids vs adults' dynamics to it, but it also has a surprising amount of colorful language, violence and goriness for its era and rating. I guess it just goes to show what Hollywood's top filmaker could get away with at the top of his game in the 80s... Just like Back to the Future and The Goonies, Gremlins presents us with a whole bunch of exaggerated one-dimensional characters in the adult roles while playing out all the younger characters as the diverse and intelligent ones in the story. All that aside, Gremlins is still quite a funny and imaginative film.... and we've got it on Blu-Ray, so I have to like it or I'll feel like I wasted the extra money.

...And there aren't too many other movies where you get to see a bunch of puppets smoking and drinking and flopping around like idiots... that is until we get to see The Muppets Take Las Vegas.

B+

Up

Great movie! Worthy of all the awards. Like all Pixar films, it's sad and heartwarming while being exciting and funny all at once. Dug the dog steals the show throughout, and Kevin the bird looks hilarious. Good use of the digital scenery and great detail in the animation. This is a wonderful film for both young and old alike. It really does make you feel good by the time its over. Just a shade less sad than Toy Story 3, but just as funny and entertaining.

A+

(You may have noticed that I don't give a lot of negative reviews for movies on my blog. This is mainly because I'm so picky with movies and have so little time to write about them that only the really noteworthy stuff gets through. I highly recommend you read My Year in Movies if you want to get a more objective opinion on a more diverse selection of movies than you'll find here. That blog belongs to friend of mine who knows a lot more about movies and filmmaking than I do.)

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Okay, I guess that'll do it for today. I think I covered a grat deal of material in just one post. I'll consider it an honor if you've actually read this far... I'm impressed by your stamina. Stay tuned for more soon!!

May the Force be with you...

Comic Con / Halloween 2010





First off, I want to do a big shout out to all the folks who helped make this year's Comic Con a huge success for a small-time guy like me. I sold a lot of comics and figures, and I passed out a ton of business cards. (Also a gigantic Thank You with hugs n' kisses to my wife for helping me out)

It seems kind of silly of me to direct so many folks to this blog lately, and not have any new content for like 2 weeks...... Suddenly, for someone who normally can't seem to ever shut up, my communication skills don't seem to be all that hot. Truth is, I am burnt out beyond belief, especially when it comes to comics, action figures and other sci-fi/pop culture-type stuff. It seems like all I've been doing lately is organizing, pricing, transporting and handling comic books, games and toys. I never thought I'd say this, but I don't even want to look at another comic right now. (Maybe after a few days off from my real job...)

As I'm sure you gathered from all that shameless self-promotion (or 'SSP') in my previous posts, I spent this past Halloween weekend as a vendor at the Central Canada Comic Con here in Winnipeg. It was a great time, and I sold a lot more stuff than I'd expected to. Met a lot of cool people there too. I'm hoping that some of you out there who are reading this ran into me at the convention. If that's the case, and you're new 'round these here parts, welcome to ALLIANCE of ONE, the official blog of Rebel Alliance Canada! Hope I don't waste your time.....

There has been some other great stuff happening too. My daughters had a fantastic Halloween (or so I am told - I was too busy with the comic con to actually do any trick or treating with them). Daphne was the cutest little Ballerina and Chloe went as the Corpse Bride (from the movie of the same name). They must have done pretty well, since there were two gigantic bowls full of candy on the kitchen counter when I got home that night....

Also, we just recently got a new cat - a little grey and white kitten named Momo. She's still pretty shy around people, but she's really gotten attached to our other cat Pepper in the last two weeks. She can't seem to leave him alone, and even though he pretends that he doesn't like her, you can tell he loves the companionship (just like a typical male, right ladies?). It's been almost exactly a year since we got Pepper. If the current trend continues, by Halloween 2018 we should have 10 cats and be running our own comic con....

I also just purchased a brand new laptop, and I love it! I'm hoping it's going to inspire me to blog more, and hopefully it'll allow me to work 'on the go', even though I don't really ever go anywhere.... Main reason I got it was simply to have a better, faster computer that I can edit photos and play games on, and also use as a portable digital portfolio. It's taking me a while to get used to the smaller keyboard and the pointing device, but at the rate I'm using my laptop in the two days since I got it, I'll have mastered it in a week or two.

If you met me at the comic con and are looking for more info on the things I sell, I'm sorry you had to read this far and hear all about my personal life when all you are looking for is some more cool stuff to buy. In the future, I'm hoping to sell items directly through this blog, but for now I'm limited to my EBay store, which is actually pretty barren right now since I was saving everything for the con and have yet to get a chance to list what I've got left (see 'Essential Links' in the upper right hand corner of this blog). Any items or photos seen on this blog can be purchased locally from me as well. Email me for details ( andonator2000@yahoo.ca ). Watch out for some Kijiji ads maybe too....

As always, thanks for spending the time to read this blog. I promise I'll be back with some actual fun stuff soon.

May the Force be with you...

They always travel in pairs...

 I thought I'd knock some more stuff off of the list.... Here's a trio of pairs for you - two comics, two action figures and two movies. The comics and figures are for sale. The movies are not. Once again, look for Rebel Alliance Canada at this year's Central Canada Comic Con in Winnipeg, Halloween weekend.

Just don't punch me in the face if I gave one of your favorite movies a bad review. That'd be bad for business.

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MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE

ANNUAL # 7

I remember reading this as a kid and thinking at the time that this was the coolest comic - ever! I read a friend's copy, and then awhile later I wasn't friends with him any more and I forgot all about the comic. I forgot the name of the series and never really bothered to look for it in the comic bins. Finally, last year, I saw it on Ebay, and seeing the cover brought back all of those memories, not just about the comic itself, but mostly about my old friend and some of the reasons we're not friends anymore.....anyway, that's a whole other story, not suited for this blog....maybe more suited for a therapy session...

Anyway, about the comic.........of course I bought it from Ebay, and then later in the year I picked up another copy at the Comic Con here in Winnipeg. I would be happy to own at least 10 copies of this issue. It's just that good. All you really need to do is look at the cover, and if you're a Marvel Comics fan, you'll instantly recognize just exactly how bitchin' this is. All of the strongest superheroes in one book - Thing, Hulk, Thor, Sasquatch, Colossus, Sub-Mariner, Wonder Man....they're all there. The story involves the Champion, an ultra powerful Elder of the Universe who travels the universe to fight and defeat all of the strongest beings on every planet he comes to. Long story short, he basically kidnaps all of the abovementioned heroes and fights them all one-on-one in the boxing ring, and whoops all of their asses (except Namor the Sub-Mariner who is disqualified before he makes it into the ring). Of course, being his comic book, the Thing is the last to fight the Champion after the rest have been either pummled silly or disqualified. Of course he gets schooled too (the Champion is just that tough), but he's somehow able to take such a terrible beating and keep getting up for more. The Champ is impressed, so he stops the fight and gives a speech about the 'indomitable will of earthmen'. Then he lets everyone go and takes off.

The storyline is pretty simplistic and more than a little ridiculous, but this Annual is pretty indicative of the type of stuff you see in the regular series of Marvel Two-in-One. Unlike it's far superior parent series Fantastic Four, it's not about the story - it's about the Thing punching stuff. He-teams up with other heroes (who usually provide whatever shred of a storyline there is), and they all punch stuff together.

I like it. It's one of those all-star ' who's the toughest superhero' comics. Wicked awesome.

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RED WOLF # 3

About 90% of the comics I own are superhero comics. So sue me. I like to read other stuff too, but I just like the idea of super powers and saving the world and junk. There's a lot of good stuff in the remaining 10% too; Horror, Comedy, Mystery, Fanatsy, Western....

Red Wolf is kind of a hybrid Western/Superhero thing from the early Bronze Age of comics.  A little weird, but better than a lot of other Westerns because it's told from the Native American point of view - albeit a somewhat inaccurate depiction of Native life. 

This is the only issue of Red Wolf that I have, so I can't tell you a lot about the character or the series. I bought this one mostly for the cover. I wanted to see the filthy white rapists get their comeuppance and get torn to shreds by those wolves....

 To be quite honest, the story is pretty much like every other Marvel western and the art is good but not exactly dazzling either. Still, it's a good read for the genre, and at least it's not full of panels of the good guy shooting the guns out of the outlaws' hands...

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Waylan Smithers - The Simpsons

 World of Springfield

Hasbro

You all know him. We all know his secret. We've all seen his Monty Burns screen saver ("Smithers....you....really...know how to...turn...me...on...").  We know that, even though he's the right hand man of the most evil and powerful man in Springfield, he's still a pretty good and decent guy.

His action figure is not exceptional, but Mr. Burns wouldn't be complete without him.

Speaking of.....

 

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Montgomery Burns - The Simpsons

World of Springfield

Hasbro

Superman has Lex Luthor. The Fantastic Four has Dr. Doom. What the Simpsons have got is Mr. Burns. Weirdest thing about all of them is that even though all of these arch-enemies are inherently evil, the heroes always seem to share some bond with the baddies and end up working with them from time to time. Some of the funniest Simpsons gags are when Homer and Burns get together;  like when Homer becomes Burns' prank monkey or when they're buried under the avalanche together. Then again, Homer throwing Burns off of the balcony at the power plant a la Darth Vader/Emperor was a good one too.

Burns and Smithers were recently accquired by me. I got them loose with all of the pictured accessories. I especially like the fat stacks of cash that Burns has. These'll work great in action figure photo shoots.

Excellent.

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Planet Hulk (2010)

Pretty simple premise for this story: The Hulk is launched into space by his fellow Avengers for being a threat to humankind. He lands on an alien planet, gets captured and finds himself in a Russell Crow/Gladiator-type scenario. The world is ruled by the tyrannical Red King, and after initially just wanting to be left alone, the Hulk joins the fight to overthrow him, and becomes the new ruler after defeating him. In the comics, the whole Planet Hulk storyline was just part of a larger story arc followed by World War Hulk. Before I go any further, let me just say that I've never read either, so I'm coming at this as a casual fan of the Hulk.

I was a little disappointed with the animation - not that it was bad, but it didn't do proper justice to the otherwise epic feel of the story. You might say it looked like a comic book, but sadly it looked more like a comic book from 20 years ago. The visuals were by no means terrible, but I guess I had my expectations inflated by the cover and the impressive title sequence (seems like they poured more manpower and tech into this than the actual movie - there's even a 'Making of the Title Sequence' in the special features on the DVD).

Somewhat predictable and very little new ideas in the story. The only thing that's different about the Hulk in this one is that he seems to be more intelligent and restrained than we're used to seeing in the films, but the Smart Hulk concept has already been used a kajillion times in the comics. Basically, they could have dropped the Thing or even Superman in a similar situation and it would have played out the same.

A little disappointing, but not a complete waste if you're a comic book fan. It was pretty cool to see the Hulk fight with a sword and beat the snot out of some aliens and robots for 90 minutes or so...

Overall, I give it a B-

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Kick - Ass  (2010)

Everybody in the world has already reviewed this film...I guess that's a testament to all the controversy surrounding it or just how good of a movie it really is. I knew of the movie before it came out, having read about it at Marvel.com. The story sounded good, and I had heard that the comics were awesome, but coming from the people who actually produce it and were planning on making the movie before the comic even came out, well........I was skeptical.

I didn't pay much attention to it by the time it hit theatres, and I noticed it months later on the video store shelves. I wanted to rent it initially, but then (going against my own advice) I read the critics' quotes on the box. Even though these things are always basically lies and half-truths, you can get a sense of who the movie is being marketed to.

One quote said:

"Irreverently Entertaining - USA Today"

OK, so that says it might be a little raunchy and different from other superhero movies. I can swallow that. (As a side note, it seems like every shitty movie in existence still manages to get a few positive words from USA Today. Maybe they're, like, too nice to say that a movie blows dead goats.) 

The second quote is the one that got me though:

"One of the most WILDLY ENTERTAINING, crowd pleasing ACTION films since KILL BILL"

- NYC Movie Guru

Red flags goin' up everywhere for me. First off, I hated the 45 minutes or so that I saw of  Kill Bill. It's just not for me. Almost without exception, I dislike just about everything Q. Tarantino has done, so please don't drag his irreverent ass into this.  The highlighting of the text set me off too. Most people priobably don't read the whole description when they're looking for movies to rent (having most likely already decided when they saw the trailer online or on TV), so they're probably only going to grab those few words that stand out.

"Hmmmm... let's see....irreverently entertaining...wildly entertaining....action....Kill Bill...

Sounds bloody and funny - and entertaining! Let's get it, Honey!"

Are we all such sheep? I hope not, but I must have some sheepishness in me because I eventually took it home, only after my third chance to rent it - I chose Planet Hulk the previous time instead. I'm a superhero/comic book fan (just look at any given blog entry of mine) and the comic source appealed to me. Most comics on the shelves nowadays have to have a solid story (certainly better than screenwriters obviously need), so I figured it would at least have that.

If you've read this far, you might think by now that I didn't like Kick-Ass. Not true. I actually loved it. I just can't get over the way this and every other movie is made and marketed to us these days...

 It was quirky and very moving in some parts, and outrageously ridiculous in just the right places. I thought it could have used a bit of a filter on the violence, but since it's seemingly targeted at the Kill Bill audience, I can understand why they made it the way they did. I will not get involved in the discussion about an 11 year-old girl hacking up bad guys and spouting profanity. Make your own decisions. If anything, I was surprised at how the shocking violence of the movie somehow seemed to enhance the realism of the story (but then they blew that away with the jet pack at the end).

I think what I liked most was the humor of the movie. It was pretty funny watching a dumb kid in a wetsuit trying to look like a superhero, and the Kick-Ass/Red Mist quasi-slapfight at the end was a nice contrast to the other hardcore kung fu battle going on in the other room.

Okay, so basically I'm admitting that I was wrong. The quotes, with the exception of the Kill Bill wave, we're right. It was irreverently entertaining. I just hope I can forgive myself this time.

A

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Any questions or comments are welcome! Have a good one!

May the Force be with you...

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...