Jazz is my favorite Autobot and has been since the early G1 days. Mainly because he was one of the first figures I ever owned, and his vehicle mode was a Porsche, similar to the one my dad used to drive—many fond memories tied up in Jazz. Not to mention he was voiced by the awesome Scatman Crothers, which set him apart from most of the other characters in the series.
I’ve owned a lot of variations of Jazz/Meister over the years, but none carried a price tag anywhere near what Flame Toys put on this particular version. We spotted the Kuro Kara Kuri Jazz at the Big Bad Toy Store for $309.99. That’s a lot of cash for a smaller-scale figure.
I’m unfamiliar with the Kuro Kara Kuri line of Transformers figures. However, they look Gundam-inspired, with lots of articulation and interchangeable parts. Jazz’s visor and headlights also light up thanks to LEDs. Unfortunately, the figure does not transform, which is a pity considering this is a $309.99 toy.
Jazz features diecast parts, but it is unclear if his skeleton is made of metal. The rest of him is a mixture of ABS, PVC, POM, and PA. Optimus Prime’s right-hand Autobot stands 7.9″ tall and will roll out sometime in October of this year.
The company also makes model kits, similar to Gunpla. These Transformers kits are slightly stylized and do not transform. I’ve put together two different Optimus Prime models from this company before. They’re not bad, but the engineering isn’t entirely on par with Bandai’s kits.
Waxworks Records has created a 6xLP collection of the original soundtrack of Peter Chung’s Aeon Flux series. The multi-vinyl set covers all of the music Drew Neumann created for the five animated shorts and ten half-hour episodes.
Even if you’re not into vinyl, the cover art of each record in the $195 set makes for unique display pieces. Also included is a book containing liner notes and never-before-seen artwork from Peter Chung. If you’re not looking to drop $195 on a vinyl set, the Aeon Flux CD Box Set is only $35.
The Original Series Soundtrack includes the following:
The complete series music by composer Neumann remastered from the original masters
6xLP set pressed to 180 gram colored vinyl
Vinyl discs are each devised of a unique color variant correlating to the album’s art
The full box set contains original artwork by Peter Chung
A high-quality deluxe soft-touch coated “perfect-bound” book that includes:
Exclusive liner notes by Peter Chung
An extensive essay by Drew Neumann
Chung’s original, never-seen-before storyboards and sketches, character design drawings, and much more
Each jacket features film laminate gloss coating
A turntable slip-mat with art by Chung
Housed in a heavyweight slipcase with matte satin coating
If you’re looking for more Aeon Flux merchandise, check out the upcoming statue from PCS! Hopefully, the renewed interest in the sexy spy will get us some new episodes or a video game.
Will you be picking up this collection on vinyl or CD? Let us know in the comments section below.
DC Comics is releasing an official prequel comic book series to the upcoming video game ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.’ While the game will pit players against JL members, the limited comic series will instead take them into Gotham City and into Arkham Asylum.
“Before the Suicide Squad takes on the World’s Greatest Super Heroes in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, find out how this Task Force X roster came together in Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum, the official prequel limited series to the highly anticipated video game from Warner Bros. Games, Rocksteady Studios, and DC,” DC Comics said in a statement.
“In this five-issue limited series, Amanda Waller has taken control of the recently rebuilt Arkham Asylum, and her brutal tactics and merciless methods have led to the most secure facility Gotham City has ever seen. But remember that this is Amanda Waller, and she’s always got an angle. Arkham is part of her latest “recruitment drive,” and she’s looking for the strongest, smartest, and most brutal inmates in the asylum to serve her as new members of Task Force X,” they continued.
As a bonus, the print version of the issues will feature a digital code that will give you a free cosmetic that will be downloadable for the video game.
“The debut issue is written by John Layman (Batman Eternal, Detective Comics, Image Comics’ Chew) with art by Jesús Hervás (Are You Afraid of Darkseid?). Dan Panosian provides the main cover, with an open-to-buy variant cover by Ariel Olivetti,” DC added.
Comic book artists Kyle Hotz, Steve Beach, and David Nakayama will also be illustrating variant covers for the first issue.
The first issue of the comic book will be released on May 30 with the video game becoming available on May 26.
They also released a first look at the first issue’s main cover:
Disney Plus is set to debut the third season of ‘The Mandalorian.’ Pedro Pascal will return to the iconic armor in new episodes of the Star Wars spin-off as Din Djarin along with his tiny sidekick Grogru, previously known as “The Child.” The series has been met with applause from critics and fans alike, with one crew member saying that the new season will be “the most ambitious yet.”
Executive producer Rick Famuyiwa spoke with SFX magazine where he praised the upcoming adventures of the Mandalorian and the looming threat of the Empire.
Famuyiwa said, “There’s certainly something that Teva has been having an ear to in terms of what the Empire may be up to, so yeah, I think we’ll certainly see some of that throughout the season.”
“For now we know that Moff Gideon has been taken away, but the larger forces of what might be out there as the remnant Empire still exist. Something that hangs over some of this season is [the question of] what that element might be. There are things going on that our characters may not be aware of, but certainly, Teva has some inkling about,” he continued.
Giancarlo Esposito portrayed Moff Gideon in the first two seasons of the Star Wars series, revealing that he possessed the legendary Dark Saber which comes into Din’s care as revealed in ‘The Book of Boba Fett.’
“I think every season you try to tell a simple story that connects,” Famuyiwa added.
“I can say that this season has certainly been the biggest yet, the most ambitious yet – it was almost crazy to try to do everything we’ve tried to do this season – but I think that ambition is just driven by wanting to continue to make these stories great,” he explained. “For me, the foundation has always been that simple relationship between Mando and Grogu. The adventures get bigger and the characters you meet might be as iconic as Luke Skywalker, but it’s always in the service of that simple story. That’s taken us to bigger and bigger places, and certainly, this season is the biggest yet.”
You can watch the trailer below:
The Mandalorian season three will arrive on Disney Plus on March 1, 2023.
Sloth loves Chunk! The third Fratelli brother, Lotney (a.k.a Sloth), and the tall tale-obsessed Lawrence Cohen (a.k.a. Chunk) are here to save the gang from a watery grave! Iron Studios has announced a new 1/10 scale statue of the two heroes of The Goonies as they board One-Eyed Willy’s ship, Errol Flynn-style!
The statue is made from polystone (a resin mixture) and stands 12″ tall and roughly 8″ in diameter. This deluxe edition statue is up for pre-order and will require a $70 non-refundable deposit. The total price of The Goonies statue is $349.99. The two are expected to arrive onboard during the fourth quarter of this year.
It has been a while since we covered Iron Studios statues, but this new Art Scale 1/10 piece caught my eye. Aside from a few items here and there, The Goonies doesn’t have as big of a presence in the collectibles market as it should. However, Richard Donner’s classic 1980s adventure film has many memorable iconography and unique props to be a true powerhouse in the high-end collectors’ world.
“From the classic cult film from the 80s, Iron Studios proudly present their statue “Sloth and Chunk Deluxe – The Goonies – Art Scale 1/10”, with the beloved duo of heroes, members of the group of young bounty hunters, over a diorama pedestal of the stern of an old pirate ship, deteriorated by time, revealing its secrets such as the part of a treasure, skulls of its old crew members, and hiding the skeleton with medallion of its captain, One-Eyed Willy.”
What do you think of this piece of Goonies merchandise? Let us know below!
Reviewing video games is no easy task, despite how much of a privilege it is to engage with and write about them for a job. At times it can seem like a fruitless endeavor because no matter what one might feel about a game’s quality, one can never please everyone. But that is part of the job of a reviewer or a critic of video games, to give a perspective about an experience a game offers and let the audience decide on what to do with that information themselves, without forcing them to feel a specific way or talking down to them. In recent years across a variety of outlets and places where people go for reviews about the latest games, that is something that seems to be forgotten all too easily.
The biggest job that critics have is to inform the audience about an experience, not validate their own stance or bias for any reason. It’s the primary objective of all critics, whether they review games or any other kind of experience, that can let people come to a decision with what they buy or see things from a different perspective. At the same time, a game review is something that should be focused on the content of the game itself and not judge it based on outside unrelated factors. It’s never a critic’s job to preach or discipline the audience about a game they are reviewing because one can’t truly teach the audience about something if you’re focused on scolding them, especially about things outside of the game they want to know about. At the end of the day, the audience/readers/viewers of game reviews are there to see what one has to say about a video game, not get talked down to because of it.
Some big releases within the games industry have caused friction between audiences and the media who report on them because of this very thing. Often the discourse leads to people looking for other places to get their gaming content from, usually content creators on various platforms that are outside the traditional media covering games. But while it’s wildly up for debate on whether this is good or bad, there’s no true right answer, the same philosophy on games criticism applies to all sides. If people are looking for reviews about games, they want just that and they deserve that.
The most relevant example of this in 2023 came with the release of Hogwarts Legacy, a game mired in controversy for many reasons outside of the quality and content of the game itself. Members of the gaming media, and many loud outliers across social media, were only really concerned with continuing conversations about JK Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, rather than Hogwarts Legacy the game. The lead-up to the release of the game and after was flooded with content deemed reviews of Hogwarts Legacy that often were written as a commentary on the state of fandom and the transgressions of JK Rowling, completely ignoring the content of the game they’re supposed to be reviewing or using it as a small bullet point to validate their opinions on the creator of the Wizarding World. It’s a discourse that not only resulted in some of the worst review content published online but also some of the most nonsensical conclusions about a new game’s experience.
One of the worst offenders of this was the review about Hogwarts Legacy published by WIRED by Jaina Rodriguez Grey, which gave the game a controversial 1 out of 10 score. The review was scrutinized by readers who felt it focused way too much on the writer’s own personal views about JK Rowling and ignored the game’s content and experience, leading everyone to call WIRED’s editorial integrity into question. While it’s not a bad thing to have an article that covers this kind of topic, it’s best left for an opinion piece and not labeled as a review of the game itself. It was viewed as editorial malpractice and should have been retracted by the website after the backlash, let alone should have never been published at all.
With larger outlets like WIRED presenting themselves as credible sources of information and perspective to audiences, it’s massively disappointing to see an egregious action taken that not only does a disservice to its audience, but to the developers of Hogwarts Legacy itself. A legitimate game review isn’t made to give a writer a soapbox to preach their views, but rather to inform the audience about an experience they are curious about, and never at the expense of the trust the audience has in any outlet.
But that isn’t the only example of terrible etiquette with reviews of video games in recent memory related to Hogwarts Legacy. Other gaming outlets struggled to separate the outside discussion of JK Rowling and Harry Potter from the content of the game they were reviewing, including the ones that gave a high score within their own reviews.
Some places felt the need to post a disclaimer with their reviews in an attempt to satisfy readers who were loud about their own personal stances on the discourse, including one from IGN that had a long statement within all of their coverage of the game. While this may have been motivated from the right place at heart, it was fundamentally misguided. The disclaimers were completely unnecessary since none of the discourse they were about had anything to do with the quality or content of the game, let alone anything to do with the action of the game studio that made Hogwarts Legacy. It was a response to the vocal group of people that wanted to talk about everything else but the game, leading to actions that felt like they were satisfying industry peers rather than the audience itself.
Other places decided to do something different, taking a personal stance while publishing content for SEO traffic from the discourse. Kotaku had published their own article by Carolyn Petit that was said to be a “non-review” after playing the game for more than 15 hours, which gave commentary on the outside discussions and personal stances before getting to the game itself lightly. But the most egregious article about reviewing the game came from GamesHub, which was titled and stated that Hogwarts Legacy did not deserve to be reviewed on its own merits. The article, written by Percy Ranson, argued that one could not separate an artist from their work and that reviewing the game fairly was harming communities. It’s a stance that not only is clouded by personal views but is rooted in the unfair judgment of a game based on nonsensical reasoning.
The duty of all critics/reviews in any field is to critique media through a fair and just lens without misrepresenting the work being viewed or misinforming the audience. To proudly state that one isn’t interested in fairness when critiquing a game is not only immature but shows a complete lack of understanding of reviews and how they are done. And for any outlet, that’s a big problem.
One of the biggest things that all of these editorial pieces have in common is how they want to ignore a game’s own merits in favor of making a social statement they deem acceptable. This is not only the wrong way to make review content in any field but shows a complete lack of maturity when approaching the job. They would rather take the time to preach to audiences and jab other people rather than review a game based on its quality and content. It is a very big issue that separates credible reviews and editorial content from amateur articles and juvenile blogs.
It’s one thing to make an op-ed (like the one you’re reading now!) to give insight to or inform the audience, but it’s another insidious thing to title something a review and use it as a soapbox. That isn’t the right way to review video games, nor is it the right way to review any sort of media. Until outlets and their critics understand that, they won’t move past the pettiness and immaturity that continues to hold back their credibility and appeal to others. Their audience will eventually decide to move on and go elsewhere for something better.
Do you agree or disagree with everything said about game reviews? What are your thoughts on the entire discussion? Post in the comments below and let us know!
Mondo is bringing backFreddy’s Nightmares record and premiering the first-ever vinyl release of Demon Wind‘s soundtrack!
If you’re a fan of terrible and somewhat forgotten entries in the horror genre, then Demon Wind is for you. This is the first time the soundtrack for Charles Philip Moore’s 1990 film has been pressed onto vinyl. The music was composed by Bruce Michael Miller and features glow-in-the-dark art by Earl Kess. Demon Wind‘s soundtrack is $35 and is close to selling out.
Freddy’s Nightmares vinyl features 28 cues from the two-season show, including its opening and closing credits. Composer Nicolas Pike’s liner notes are included, and the cues were transferred from the show’s original master tapes. Unfortunately, this record was released a few years ago in minimal supply. Kindercore has pressed 500 copies of the series’s soundtrack on a creepy burnt flesh-looking vinyl. The record is going for $35, but stock is low!
Photo Credit: Mondo
Photo Credit: Mondo
Photo Credit: Mondo
Photo Credit: Mondo
According to Spotify, the score comprises eight tracks, some of which are over ten minutes long.
Demon Wind has recently seen a resurgence, thanks to its appearance in High On Life. The movie appears complete with a running commentary by Red Letter Media in a theatre that players can purchase via an in-game store.
Photo Credit: Mondo
Photo Credit: Mondo
While the entirety of the album is not available to preview online, the opening theme is pretty easy to find. However, given that this vinyl is packed with primarily musical cues, I’m not surprised that they haven’t sprung up anywhere. Sadly, Freddy’s Nightmares has yet to get a remastered or restored release on Blu-Ray or digital.
The series ran for only two years, and it came when other horror anthology series started taking off on TV and cable. Since the show was on network television, it wasn’t as violent as the A Nightmare on Elm Street films. However, it did have a few memorable stories. One of these was Krueger’s origins before it was rewritten by Freddy’s Dead a few years later.
One good thing that came out of the hell we all have endured over the last three years is that some companies realized remote workers are not taboo. This was a boon for people who drive far distances to work, albeit with a few caveats management had to sort out. Finally, however, one major company, Amazon, is ready to get employees back into the office this year.
Via PC Mag, we learned that Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has called to cut back on how many days remote workers can stay home. Although Jassy did not give specific examples, the CEO alludes to teams working better when they are face-to-face in a corporate memo, “When you’re in-person, people tend to be more engaged, observant, and attuned to what’s happening in the meetings and the cultural clues being communicated.”
He offers his firsthand experience with in-person brainstorming sessions, “This rapid interjecting happens more often in-person because people feel less inhibited about jumping in or even interrupting sometimes.” Although working remotely is advantageous for the single worker, I can understand that this decision is for the betterment of various teams.
With a few exceptions, Jassy will terminate full-time remote work as of May 1st. This change will see most employees returning to the office for “at least three days per week.” But, again, he offered no tangible evidence for this move aside from a personal account and anecdotes. Was there a noticeable downturn in quality?
I have managed remote workers before, and that experience showed me that it’s always a mixed bag of quality. Ambitious workers will do everything possible to prioritize communication, while others treat it as a reason to put in half the effort. Something quantifiable can be observed over time to show a dip or surge in productivity, but I’m unsure how Amazon’s various departments judge theirs.
What do you think of remote work? Let us know below.
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a mixed bag of emotions and quality, which is why it was important for the next phase of the MCU to get started on the right foot. Anyone hoping that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be a nice change of pace may find themselves disappointed, but not for the reasons you might think. While there are connections to the larger threat looming over the MCU, this third Ant-Man film does little to get everyone hyped up for what is happening now, let alone what comes later in the Multiverse saga. We might enjoy seeing Scott Lang and some of his supporting cast, but his movies still haven’t reached the higher peak of Marvel movie quality.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania takes place after Avengers: End Game, with Scott Lang enjoying the fruits of his adventures. His relationship with Hope Van Dyne (The Wasp) has progressed, along with his relationship with his daughter Cassie Lang after the infamous Snap from Thanos. But while his ego has gotten the better of him, Cassie has nurtured her skills as a young scientist with the help of her grandfather Hank Pym. She experiments with mapping out the quantum realm and sends out a signal into the subatomic world, causing everyone to get sucked into it. While the group tries to figure out a way back home, Janet Van Dyne dreads returning to the quantum realm because of a previous encounter with a being known as Kang the Conquer. What unfolds is a comedic adventure with weird creatures and cities, along with a ton of quantum madness that looks trippy and out of this world.
The humor of the previous Ant-Man movies is present in this third outing, with a lot of inside jokes that fans of the MCU will catch onto quickly. The big issue however is that both the first and second halves of the movie feel unbalanced. The beginning is full of jokes and setup with a lot of fan service but ends up never truly paying off by the ending. The second half is much more action-packed and heavy on the Phase 5 connections, with references to the multiverse that almost feels out of place in some instances. It almost comes off as making up for the lack of connections from Phase 4 to the multiverse threat of Kang that fans know is looming over the MCU. When Scott and the crew first enter the quantum realm, many characters they meet don’t even refer to Kang by name, which seems rather unnecessary.
The other unfortunate part of the movie is that many of the jokes just don’t land well. They don’t feel as funny as they probably should, especially for a character whose previous films have solid humor in them. You might get a laugh here and there, but you won’t find yourself laughing as often as you may have hoped. Some jokes or gags feel awkward or just not that good and end up taking away from the gravity of everything going on.
Scott Lang is cheery and goofy, while his daughter Cassie feels like she’s already a genius at a young age. Unfortunately, Hope seems to take more of a backseat in this film compared to everyone else, despite the film being called Ant-Man and the Wasp. She definitely has an impact on some of the bigger moments of the movie, but it does feel like Cassie and her grandparents have a greater presence here than she does. It might not be the case when you look at the number of minutes everyone has on screen, but it sure does feel like that when watching.
But what about Kang, is he at least menacing as the new MCU threat? Jonathan Majors does a good job with the limited material he has here, but his character is going to be better served in other MCU projects. This variant of Kang isn’t at full strength or as powerful as he will be, despite being hyped up to be incredibly strong. When on-screen, Kang sucks up the attention in the room but feels underserviced by everyone around him. It almost seems like the villain should’ve been someone else for Ant-Man to battle and save Kang for an Avengers film instead.
Speaking of other villains, MODOK is where the movie falls flat. In the comics, MODOK is a super-genius level enemy with a crazy design, while also being a major threat to various heroes. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania reduces MODOK to a lackluster joke, both in his design and his relevance to the plot. The special effects on MODOK don’t look that good, nor does it even feel like it meshes well with the rest of the movie, let alone the MCU itself. He’s not funny, not menacing, and not very interesting. He just looks weird and out of place. The sad truth is that if this is the only time we get to see MODOK appear in any other project, then it’s for the better. There are little to no redeeming factors for this version of the character.
If you follow all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and want to be in the know of where the franchise is going, then you’ll get a tiny bit from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The final post-credits stingers at the end of the film have the biggest connections to Phase 5 and afterward, but everything else is shallow at best. Although the movie is not terrible, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is definitely not on the higher end of Marvel films you’ll see.
Are you a big Marvel fan who watches all the movies and series? What do you want to see in the MCU next? Post your thoughts about everything in the comments below and let us know!
The next wave of toys inspired by the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon is on the way. Presto, Sheila, and Eric round out the core cast of characters from the show. Hasbro Pulse is currently taking pre-orders for the figures, which should be shipping out around the beginning of August. So is there enough goodwill left after Hasbro’s OGL debacle for people to care?
Each character is $24.99 and, unfortunately, comes packaged in windowless boxes. Considering we’ve seen some issues with the G.I. Joe figures of late sporting terrible face sculpts and paint applications, how can collectors ensure that their expensive purchases aren’t subject to such production line mess-ups?
Eric, my personal favorite character from the show, has only one accessory: his cavalier shield. The glow effect is removable from the shield. He comes with a d10 and, of course, his signature smarmy look.
Shiela the Thief comes with a d6, hood, invisibility cloak, and partially translucent cloak. Sadly, she does not feature any other translucent accessories, but I expect Hasbro will release a 100% clear version of her sometime in the future.
Presto really lucks out with the accessories in this line. He has two magical effects parts, a d4, and interchangeable hair, allowing him to wear the pointy wizard cap.
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
As mentioned earlier, Hasbro’s quality control may be slipping regarding these more expensive figures. It’s easy to hide these problems when it comes to windowless boxes. However, since the G.I. Joe Classified figures are still traditionally packaged, we can see plain as day that things are getting sloppy:
