Seen at New York Comic Con: Tenacious Toys

    What's this?  Is it a picture of the elusive yeti?  The Loch Ness Monster?  No, it is you humble narrator, looking quite studious in the midst of conversation about some toy or another.  This rare image was snapped by Benny Kline of Tenacious Toys and thankfully I wasn't doing anything embarrassing at the time.  Though I was caught with my man purse, which comes in handy when you're trying to get rid of money like it's covered in ebola.  You gotta put all those toys somewhere.

    Each year Benny takes the time to put together a giant collective booth of artists and companies that is kinda like it's own sustainable village.  They have their own fire department, sanitation system, and currency.  Ok, not really, but if they get any bigger the post office is gonna force them to get their own zip code.  Not that I'm complaining because you can never have too much stuff to look at.  

    My favorite thing at the booth was Bigshot Toywork's Four Horsies of the 'Pocalypse line.  I'm a little biased though, because I did support the Kickstarter for Maddie and have one of those coming my way any day now.  After getting to hold it I'm even happier to have supported its creation, because it is an amazing looking toy.  I already have a spot in my display case reserved for its arrival.  

    Take a gander at some photos I took and check out www.tenacioustoys.com for anything they might have left over from the convention.  Many more photos can be found at www.facebook.com/TheToyViking.

    Things got weird after the second Death Star blew up.  

Seen at New York Comic Con: Kaiju Monster

    One of my first stops at every New York Comic Con is the Kaiju Monster booth.  The inspiration for a thousand movie about giant creatures destroying coastal cities could be found right here.  I could easily have gone into serious debt just within their three walls, as there was nothing I didn't want to take home.  Even my wife, who tends to prefer the cuter side of toys, was falling in love with the technicolor beasts.  Evidently there are some leftovers from the show, so check out www.kaijumonster.com to get a hold of anything you may have missed.   

Three New Releases from Toy Art Gallery Happening Today!

    Sweet Jesus what on earth is this thing?  It looks like something that would chase you down a hallway in some horror film, laughing like a demented school girl as it thinks about what part of you it will eat first.  If I were to somehow own this, I think I would look in a safe before I went to bed at night, just in case it was as haunted as it looks.  I have learned that it's called a Smalmack and this is the "Uncle Woman" edition.  I now nominate "uncle woman" as two words in the english language never to be paired together ever again.  

    This freaky thing is part of a triple release of figures today from Toy Art Gallery.  If you need something to scare your kids into staying in their room when they're being punished, then you my friend might be in the market for an uncle woman something or other.  Just put it outside their door, and no kid with a healthy fear of anything will dare cross the threshold of their temporary prison.  For $70, it seems worth it.  

    Oh thank you lord it's just a cat figure.  Just look at him, all cute in his little shorts and little suspenders.  Do you know if you happen to die in your home and you own cats that eventually they will start to nibble on your corpse?  It's true, it was in a book written by a former medical examiner in New York.  My cat Jorah bites me on the nose every night while I sleep.  I'd like to think it's because he misses me being awake with him, but I'm realistic enough to know that he's checking to see if the buffet is open yet.  Do you see what that first figure did to me?  It made me a sicko.  $30 will get you one of these cute little guys from T9G.  

    Luftkaiser! Luftkaiser!  I like this little dude.  Maybe because he's German and I've always wanted to visit there.  Or maybe it's the bat wings.  Who doesn't love a good set of bat wings?  No one I know, that's for sure.  This dude sprung from the mind of Paul Kaiju and is kinda giving off a Skeletor vibe with this paint job.  I dig it, and you can too for $45.  

    You can snag all three of these toys when they go on sale at noon Pacific time from http://shop.toyartgallery.com/.   

Seen at New York Comic Con: 3A

    3A's toys are always beautiful to see in person and luckily for me they partnered with IDW Publishing to have a few of their upcoming releases on display during New York Comic Con.  Check out their take on Doctor Doom.  I'd love to see Marvel go a little crazy and do an entire movie with character designs like this.  Maybe if we put up a Kickstarter and raise $100 million it will happen, but probably not.  We still have that not at all eagerly anticipated Fantastic Four film to look forward to right?  Moving on.  

    This little dude was t heir exclusive for the convention.  I was well beyond broke by the time I even made it to this part of the show, so unfortunately I left without one.  He looks like he'd be fun to play with.  You could change his poses up, have him wrap those four legs around your cats and watch them head off into battle.  I don't think that's an officially endorsed use of this figure, but I'm not the imagination police, so you do what you want.  Just make sure you record it for the rest of the internet to see.  

    These were by far my favorite things they had on display and they're some of the most clever figures I've seen in a while.  And could you pick a more perfect place than a convention to show off a line of figures that are all cosplaying as iconic moments in pop culture?  You can't, I already tried.  Isobelle Pasha looked right at home next to a thousand girls dressed as Harley Quinn or some other half-naked comic book character.  My favorite part about these is how the references for their clothes are pretty easy to spot, yet done with a great deal of creativity.  The most interesting this about cosplay to me is when people put their own spin on a classic character and that idea is captured here perfectly. These figures are available for preorder now through your favorite toy retailer.  

Seen at NYCC: Sons of Anarchy from Mezco

         

    What timing I have!  A new episode of Sons of Anarchy airs tonight, and to get you in the proper mood to watch it, I present to you some toys from the show that you will be able to own very soon.  Like this twelve inch tall Jax figure.  While far from life size, I can imagine a lot of women that will all of a sudden be compelled to collect toys.  From what I understand, he can't take his shirt off though.  Sorry ladies.  

    You remember that time that Gemma picked up a skateboard and did some impromptu reconstruction on that girl's face?  It's my favorite scene from her, and now I can ensure I never forget it when old age sets in and makes my memory worse than it already is.  Either that or I'll be really confused why the hot biker lady looks like she's about to shred a half pipe, or whatever it is people are normally supposed to do with a skateboard.  

    And now Jax can have his best friend Opie to chat it up with as they stare at you do all the bizarre things you do in your house.  You should probably wear pants more.  

    The plush line is kinda funny to me.  Funny in the fact that it doesn't include everyone's favorite transgendered hooker with a heart of gold, Venus.  Obviously it was an oversight that I'm sure someone is rushing to correct as we speak.  If I had a lot of money I would absolutely make on of those 80's kids commercials like "My Buddy" only it would be with these stuffed characters.  Some cute little girl would be playing outside with them when her older brother comes out to bully her.  Then she pulls out a knife and shanks him right in the kidney.  The brother falls down, clutching his wound, and we have this exchange:

Boy:  "I can't believe you stabbed me, I'm telling mom"!!!!!

Girl:  leans down close to his ear and whispers "Snitches get stitches, punk."  

    She then grabs her Tig doll and skips away.  Fin.  

    My genius knows no bounds.  

You can preorder most of these right now at http://www.mezcotoyz.com/.

My Post NYCC Recap/Recovery

    The end of New York Comic Con is always bittersweet.  I'm always happy to have attended, but after a few days of fighting through crowds and surviving on convention food, I am pretty exhausted.  And even though I feel I could sleep for a few days straight, I'm kinda ready to do it all over again.  

     This year we weren't able to secure press passes like we had in years before, but I was lucky enough to have the day off from work when tickets went on sale.  Whatever you have to pay to get in it's always worth it, even if you spend your time sitting and watching the people that are there.  The costumes were pretty wild this year, and a lot of people really transformed themselves into their own walking attractions.  I was never a big fan of the cosplay thing before, but I've grown to appreciate it and even look forward to seeing what they will come up with.  It definitely adds something to the experience.  

    We did something a little different at this year's convention in that we collected autographs for the first time in I don't remember how long.  We had the chance to meet Hulk Hogan (which was mind blowing) Jimmy Hart, Mick Foley, and Sgt. Slaughter.  Yeah, we kind of had a theme going.  Sharon and I have been watching a lot of wrestling documentaries recently, so we were pretty excited to track these guys down.  

    Of course we bought a bunch of toys and tried to stop and say hi to everyone we knew and meet everyone else that we didn't.  It's hard to really stop for any period of time because the place is beyond busy and there is a literal current of human bodies that dictate where you can go.  Add to the fact that you want to see and do as much as possible in a very small window of time and it can get a bit hectic.  But I had some very interesting conversations that have opened some very interesting possibilities for the future.   

    

    I know this is kind of reading like a "what I did on my Summer vacation" essay, but it's hard to capture the experience for people that haven't been.  In a similar fashion I was trying to put into words for my wife what it meant for me to meet Hulk Hogan.  My grandfather passed away this time last year and watching wrestling together was something we did for my entire childhood.  And to shake the man's hand who was really responsible for it existing on the level it does, not to mention someone that has always been bigger than life, just left me without the ability to properly convey my feelings.  I don't get star struck very often, but I was beyond that the moment he said "what's up, big man" as I approached his table.  I hope I didn't look too ridiculous.  

    I'll be posting pictures up all this week and will have some small recaps of the stuff I saw.  A few pictures are up now on our Instagram account (TheToyViking) and all of them will be posted to our Facebook page as soon as I'm able to do so.  

More NYCC Exclusives from Clutter Magazine

    New York Comic Con just opened it's doors, and while I won't be there until tomorrow, there is plenty to see and do right this instant.  Clutter Magazine sent me an email filled with all kinds of nutty stuff you're gonna want so let's get to it shall we.

   Fact:  Bears have skulls the same shape as human beings do.  It's on the internet, so it must be true.  Luke Chueh only made 15 of these Dissected Bear Heads in Kenner prototype blue, with 5 being released each day via an 11am lottery system.  The lottery last 15 minutes, after which time the winners will be announced and then they get to buy this dude.  No lottery today, only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so you have time to plan accordingly.  

    Tim Clarke is a legend.  The day he followed me on Instagram I almost pooped my britches.  This dude not only created Boglins and Sectaurs, but he worked on The Dark Crystal with Jim Henson.  We're talking about things that defined people's childhoods.  He's got a new toy series out called Totims and he will have a bunch of those and those prints you see above.  He'll be hanging around Saturday starting at noon and if you're gonna shake anyone's hand during the show, his would be a good one.  Maybe some of the magic will rub off.  

    Ron English is obviously not as big a fan of breakfast cereal as I am.  And I love Cap'n Crunch, even though it shreds the rook of your mouth like you were chewing razor blades.  This is the latest edition of his obese faux pirate, and it will be released Saturday at 1pm and Ron will be there to sign em and tell you the dangers of high fructose corn syrup.  

    I've been in a few fights in my day.  Most of those involved dust ups in my high school cafeteria and certainly never with anyone that looked like this.  Who would fight this guy?  I don't care how bad you think you are, when you see a guy dressed like this and with such an unpleasant look on his face, you need to move along.  Restore made this glow in the dark Neo Japan in such uber limited quantities (10) that he will be sold through a lottery system on Saturday at 2pm with the drawing taking place 15 minutes later.  

    Saturday is gonna be busy for whoever is manning booth # 504, cause at 3pm Jon-Paul Kaiser and UME Toys will be present to release their Buford Mandrake figure.  He comes with two masks, though which one is more disturbing is open to debate.  Meet those fine English gents and pick up this collaboration piece that is sure to be a hit, cause I said so.

    Ok, this is pretty killer.  We've never seen Jeff Lamm's Greasebat figure so...so...cuddly.  Lana Crooks hand made five of these stunning plush toys and I hope there is one left just so I can see it in person.  

    The Flyers lost last night and I'm kinda bummed about that, but they did play pretty well.  And I love the orange and black no matter what and this lizard bro makes me thankful that there's another game tonight with which they can redeem themselves.  Chris Ryniak's Snybora has long been a favorite of mine and this paint job from Squibbles Ink and Kirby Kerr makes it even closer to my heart.  Only 25 folks can own one though, so you better be quick if you wanna play with him on the ride home.  

    Visit the Clutter folks at booth #504 for all that you see and more.  That kinda sounded like something a game show announcer would say.  I need some sleep.