Time Burton’s Corpse Bride is joining Super7’s line of retro-inspired ReAction figures! The initial wave of figures includes Emily, Victor, and General Wellington. Since the film featured a memorable cast of unique characters, we could be seeing several waves of characters to come, much like the Nightmare Before Christmas collection.
Each figure is styled after action figures from the late ’70s and 1980s. This means they typically have five points of articulation, but Super7 is not stylizing these three as much. Instead of looking vaguely like the on-screen counterparts, the artists at Super7 have made these ReAction figures nearly identical to the stop motion puppets of the film. Had I not been told, I would not have known these were part of the ReAction line.
Each figure is priced at $20 and appears to be available now.
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Betrayed on her wedding night years ago, Emily may have finally found an end to her torment when Victor accidentally marries her while practicing his nuptials! This 3.75” scale articulated Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride ReAction Figure of the Corpse Bride herself, Emily, features tattered wedding dress detail and comes with a bridal flower bouquet accessory.
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Through a grave misunderstanding, Victor Van Dort inadvertently marries Emily, the Corpse Bride, and ends up in the Land of the Dead! This 3.75” scale articulated Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride ReAction Figure of Victor Van Dort features tuxedo suit detail and comes with the skeleton of Scraps, his deceased dog.
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Not even a cannonball-sized hole in his chest can stop General Wellington from keeping a stiff upper lip (if he had lips, that is). This 3.75” scale articulated Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride ReAction Figure of General Wellington highlights his eccentric skeletal appearance and includes mug and bottle accessories.
Which characters from the film do you want to see in the next wave? Let us know below!
Fio from Metal Slug 3 is here in action figure form! She joins Marco and Tarma in Tunshi Studio’s line of 1/12th scale line of premium toys. She stands 5.51″ tall and comes with a plethora of accessories and fabric clothing. Like the other figures, Fio comes with a specific special weapon pickup. Her’s is the Iron Lizard. And she’s adorable! Fio is what Velma would be if she joined the NRA and moved to the Southern United States.
Fio is slated for the second quarter of 2023. Her price tag is what you should expect from these types of collectibles right now. She’ll set you back $139.99 if you pre-order from the Big Bad Toy Store.
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This figure has a multi-joint action body specifically designed to recreate the shape from the game. The stylized cartoon head carvings, finely crafted clothes, and abundant accessories make the characters vivid and you can make various poses of action figures in Metal Slug 3. The small-scale action figure launched by Tunshi Studio strictly abides by the size of 1/12th scale. Tunshi Studio will bring the players back to the classic scene of the game with a series of products developed in the future insisting on the concept of the original shape and saluting to the classics.
Fio is going to charge headfirst into battle with the following parts and accessories:
Vest
Shirt
Underwear
Shorts
Leather belt
Bracelets
Kneepads
Socks
Boots
4 Alternate pairs of hands
Waist bag
Pistol
Submachine gun
Axe
Grenade
Bomb box with bombs and grenades
Ammo box
Iron Lizard
Drop shot effect
Banana
Ruby
Sandwich
Picnic blanket
Base
Bracket
What other Metal Slug characters (good guys or bad guys) would you like to see Tunshi Studio take on next? Me? I’d like to see the four lead characters’ fat versions. Chubby Marco is one of my favorite things from the Metal Slug franchise. Let us know your opinion below!
Did you have MEGO figures when you were a kid? Did you ever think these basic action figures would sell for tens of thousands of dollars forty years down the road? Well, one sold for a surprising sum just last month!
Figures.com noticed the oddly high closing bid for the MEGO figure, which initially retailed for $3.33 back in the day. MEGOs are not uncommon to find, even on the card. However, what makes Gobby here special is his rarity in the series. He was ripe for a bidding war thanks to the low production count of on-card Goblins and the near-mint condition, but no one expected that price to reach close to $80k.
The Hake’s auction listing shows that the “near mint” MEGO figure closed at $76,700.00. That’s the price of a 1982 DeLorean that’s in decent shape! Now, it’s not clear if the winning bidder has paid or not, as sometimes buyer’s remorse sets in pretty quick with these types of auctions.
That seems like a really high price to pay for a MEGO. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are very rare, but over $70k seems a bit odd. Hopefully, the seller is getting their money.
You see it every year. When Halloween comes near, that special holiday season feel starts to grow and the thrills of memory-making begins. Then Thanksgiving comes along and it’s time to break out the classic Christmas movies we grew up with. For many, it’s the animated classics such as Frosty the Snowman, Jack Frost, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. So many people were behind these history-making movies. One of them was Paul Coker Jr, who recently died at age 93 on July 23rd. Coker is survived by his wife of 33 years Rosemary Smithson, stepdaughters Lee Smithson Burd and Carol Smithson.
Born on March 5th 1929, Coker Jr’s artwork first appeared during the 1950s in the Hallmark greeting card designs, of which he was a part of for several decades long. His artwork has been found in numerous publications such as Esquire, GoodHousekeeping, Pageant, Look, McCall’s, Playboy, and the New York Enquirer. In 1961 Coker Jr. began illustrating for MAD magazine, where he became known as being part of a group of illustrators named “The Usual Gang of Idiots”. For four decades, Coker would end up illustrating 375 articles for MAD magazine, creating a series called “Horrifying Cliches”.
See some of Paul Coker Jr.’s illustrations from MAD magazine and a study on his drawing techniques, in these two links:
In 1967, Coker Jr. started doing character design and production design for special animated features. His first two projects in that year were The Wacky World of Mother Goose and Cricket on the Hearth. He would go on to create character and production designs for Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970), Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971), ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974), Jack Frost (1979), Pinocchio’s Christmas (1980) and many others.
In a 2015 interview, Paul Coker Jr gave a recorded interview with someone from NPR, describing the process in which he would work for Rankin/Bass. Official biographer and historian of Rankin/Bass Productions Rick Goldschmidt also gave his thoughts as to why Coker Jr.’s work is very important in the world of Rankin/Bass.
Paul Coker Jr began by stating, “I’ve got to give credit to the people who wrote the scripts. All I did was read the scripts and then illustrate the characters that the author had written about.”
He continues with, “I freelance and try to live in the loneliest part of the country. And so I never see or talk to anybody. At the time, I just get in the mail a script and do the characters. Send them to whoever it is, probably in this case Arthur Rankin. And if I never hear anything more, other than getting a check, that’s the end of it. So I really don’t discuss the characters or how to do a particular character. I draw what I think this script says and that’s the end of it.”
— Bob Flynn – same on bloosky (@bobjinx) July 29, 2022
Further explaining the process he went through to creating a new character, and what happens afterwards, he explains, “The way I work is extremely simple. Someone does the hard work, which is writing the story and about the characters. I read that script and try to imagine what those characters might look like. From then the animators take over and so much work occurs after I draw the simple illustrations. So I never, I have nothing to say about how the animators interpret the work that I’ve done.”
Sad news this weekend that the great Paul Coker passed at 93. Coker was most known for being the character designer on 'Frosty the Snowman' & many other Rankin/Bass films. Not to mention he was one of the best MAD Magazine artist ever. But more than that, a family friend. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/NxpA8TJ855
When asked why the movies lasted as long as they have, Paul responded by saying, “I think it’s a simple story. Everything depends on the original idea. The original idea is worth while. Then people will follow that story for a long time. And of course with someone like Frosty the Snowman, those people then have children and so forth. So it’s lasted for a long time.”
Rick Goldschmidt, official Rankin/Bass Historian, added his own thoughts about the significance of Paul and his artwork, “…the reason Paul Coker is such an important part of the Rankin Bass history is the look, the style that his art carries became really the Rankin Bass look, in that Arthur Rankin was looking to get a Christmas card type artwork in animation and he did that with Frosty. And a lot of people asked why in 1969 did Rankin/Bass decide to go cel animation with Frosty as opposed to their very popular stop motion animagic and I tell people well Arthur Rankin really liked the artwork that Paul was doing for Hallmark cards. The Christmas card line for Hallmark was a lot of Paul’s work. And he was trying to emulate that and put it on television in such a way that it really has a nice style to it that the Hallmark cards carried. So that’s really where Paul kind of fits into the history of Rankin/Bass. Obviously the Heat Miser and Snow Miser characters are more popular than ever and also this is the 45th anniversary (as of 2015) of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. And Paul designed the Burgermeister Meisterburger and Winter Warlock and all of those characters as well. He’s a very modest person so he doesn’t like to expand on that hit part of the history.”
After the passing of Paul Coker Jr, Rick wrote touching eulogy in honor of his friend:
Sad news today, my very dear friend Paul Coker, Jr. passed away. I talked to him very recently and he signed a whole bunch of Rankin/Bass postcards for me at 93! You may know his work from Mad Magazine or Hallmark cards, but Rankin/Bass fans know his designs from Frosty the Snowman, The Year Without a Santa Claus and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to town, among many other TV specials. Our friendship goes back to the very beginning of my association with Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. Paul did the cover for my first book in the mid-1990s, which originally had a yellow background. Since then he did many pieces of art for me and signed thousands of postcards. Early on, we did radio show interviews together and he even did satellite TV interviews for Mervyns Department stores, for me. He appeared in WE ARE SANTA’S ELVES on The Year Without A Santa Claus blu ray, for me. We appeared together at the North Dallas Comic book show. Later Paul told me, he came so that he could hang out with me. Our phone conversations were always filled with laughter. He poked fun at everything…me, his art, Rankin/Bass, etc. We had a very similar sense of humor. I really loved this guy and his work! He was so important to The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass, I can’t even put it into words. He made doing what I do, so enjoyable. He will live on through his work and the wonderful memories I have of him!
It is in large part because of Paul Coker Jr. that Rankin/Bass developed their signature art style. As a fan of the classic animated features, thank you to Paul for creating the characters that brings a smile to those who watch them every year.
If you’re into high-end collectibles, then Mighty Jaxx has just what you need. An 8.3″ tall vinyl Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle statue is coming in January 2023. The pizza-wielding Michelangelo was the design of Ndikol (Adhika Rahmani). He previously had designed a black and white version of the Turtle, along with Garfield in a similar pose but holding a carton of lasagna. Unfortunately, those two pieces are art are already sold out.
Pre-orders are open now for Mikey. He’ll set you back $199, but act fast because Mighty Jaxx items usually sell out quickly.
This latest edition features Michelangelo in his classic colors, rocking his orange bandana while about to throw the unique black-and-white stencil-like pizza box (with pizza included, obviously) at his opponents. Truly a quintessential Ndikol piece!
Mighty Jaxx
Mighty Jaxx
Your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle has returned with more pizza to yeet! This time, Michelangelo is in his classic turtle colors while his pizza box receives a black-and-white stencil-like treatment, Ndikol style! With his boxful of pepperoni-y pizza ready for a lean, green, and mean toss, you know you want to be on his side of the food fight!
I really dig the use of shadows in Ndikol’s work. It makes what could be a mundane collectible pop. Would Mikey throw a pizza, though? I mean, he loves it. I doubt he wouldn’t at least save one slice before chucking it at someone.
Ndikol’s other works can be found on his Instagram page. He obviously likes the food fight idea because he has created multiple versions with multiple characters, including Homer Simpson. His sketches lead me to believe we’ll see other variations in the future. I particularly like the Chief Wiggum one.
Are these types of vinyl collectibles your thing? Is it a niche market? Let us know what you think in our comments section below.
‘Kaiju No. 8’ is a science fiction fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It is published by the Japanese publishing company Shueisha for their webcomic magazine Shonen Jump Plus and was published in English on the website Manga Plus. Ever since its release in July 2021, it has received multiple awards including the 2021 “Next Manga Awards” and was in a poll for top ten manga that fans “Most Wanted Anime Adaptation” in 2022.
It appears that fans are going to get their wish. According to the Crunchyroll website, TOHO animation dropped a teaser trailer that revealed a logo for the show and asks the viewer to “imagine the world of the series.” No other details such as cast or crew have been revealed at this time.
“In Japan, monsters known as kaiju regularly attack the populace with the Japanese Defense Force tasked with killing them. After their town was destroyed by kaiju when they were children, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro both vowed to become members of the Defense Force. Mina has become famous as commander of the Defense Force’s Third Unit, but Kafka has failed the examination numerous times and is a member of the clean up crew, Monster Sweeper Inc., whose job is to dispose of the monsters’ dead bodies after battle. After a small talking monster flies into his body via his mouth, Kafka gains the ability to turn into a monster himself, which gets dubbed “Kaiju No. 8″ by the Defense Force. Kafka remains fully cognizant while in the form, but gains superhuman strength, and becomes the first monster to escape the Defense Force.”
Viz Media publishes the English version of ‘Kaiju No. 8’ for North American audiences. It is also known as ‘Monster #8’ in other markets.
MACROSS Big West made the announcement that they were partnering with Nozomi Entertainment and Right Stuf Anime to release several Macross television series on Blu-Ray. They plan on making three sequels to ‘The Super Dimension Fortress Macross’ available for home video. The titles include ‘Macross 7,’ ‘Macross Frontier,’ and ‘Macross Delta.’ No release date has been confirmed, but Right Stuf Anime is allowing fans to sign up for a mailing list to find out more information.
After a formal announcement at the 2022 Otakon, they also posted the news on social media:
“In the seventh year of their mission the Macross 7 fleet encounters an unknown alien enemy. This new mysterious enemy is composed of heavily modified Valkyries led by a man named Gigile. In the first encounter, the Macross 7 engages the enemy with squadrons of their own Valkyries. This conventional warfare does little to stop the attack however. The enemy’s tactics are different from the average rogue, or ‘uncultured’, Zentradi that are encountered in space travel. In the first battle with the Macross 7 fleet, the new enemy’s main tactic is to extract an energy form called ‘Spiritia’ from the Valkyrie pilots, leaving them in a vegetative state.”
Macross Frontier
“As the series begins, during a mission to an unexplored asteroid belt a reconnaissance New U.N. Spacy (N.U.N.S.) VF-171 is destroyed by extremely powerful and fast insectoid biomechanical alien mecha known as the “Vajra” which immediately begin their attack on the rest of the fleet. Unable to stop the new enemy threat, the N.U.N.S. Colonial Defense Forces authorizes the deployment of a private military provider organization called S.M.S. (Strategic Military Services) which utilizes the new VF-25 Messiah variable fighter to combat the alien menace.”
Macross Delta
“Macross Delta is set in the year 2067, eight years after the events of Macross Frontier in a remote part of the Milky Way Galaxy called the Brísingr Globular Cluster, which is plagued by the Vár Syndrome, a mysterious phenomenon which turns people berserk without any apparent cause. A team of talented idols, the Walküre, uses the power of their songs to calm down the infected by the Vár Syndrome, assisted by the Delta Flight, a team of experienced Valkyrie pilots, while facing the interference from the Aerial Knights of the Windermere Kingdom, which found a way to exploit the infection in their favor as part of their plan to resume war against the New United Government for control of the Cluster.”
No word yet on how the Crunchyroll acquisition of Right Stuf Anime will affect the show releases.
‘Remake Our Life!’ is a time travel slice-of-life light novel by author Nachi Kio and published by Media Factory that began in March 2017. It was picked up as a manga by Kodansha with illustrations from Bonjin Hirameki that ran from November 2018 to April 2022. The Japanese animation studio Feel produced an anime adaption that ran from July 3, 2021, to September 25, 2021. All twelve episodes were directed by Tomoki Kobayashi.
Crunchyroll announced that they are developing an English dubbed version, revealing the cast on their website:
Jerry Jewell (Kyo in Fruits Basket) as Kyoya Hashiba
Lindsay Seidel (Desumi in Love After World Domination) as Aki Shino
Macy Anne Johnson (Shikimori in Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie) as Nanako Kogure
Marisa Duran (Kyoko in Horimiya) as Eiko Kawasegawa
Kamen Casey (Thunder in Sing a Bit of Harmony) Tsurayuki Rokuonji
Emily Fajardo (Bojji in Ranking of Kings) as Miyoko Hashiba
Jordan Dash Cruz (Leon in Trapped in a Dating Sim) as Genkiro Hikawa
Caitlin Glass (Shiho in Tomodachi Game) as Misaki Kano
Natalie Rose has been tapped as the ADR Director with Katelyn Barr and Clayton Browning working on the ADR scripts.
“Life is not going well for 28-year-old Kyouya Hashiba. Having left his office job to pursue a career in the video game industry, his internship at a popular game studio abruptly ends, leaving him unemployed and forcing him to move back in with his parents. Additionally, his jealousy toward the success of the “Platinum Generation”—a group of similarly-aged creators—has caused him to regret his decision to attend a traditional university instead of an arts college. Even though he believes there are no second chances in life, Kyouya is suddenly given one when he wakes up one day and finds himself 10 years in the past.
Instead of choosing business school like he originally had, Kyouya decides to pursue his passions and attends the Oonaka University of Art. There, he meets classmate Eiko Kawasegawa, the woman who had hired him as an intern in the present, alongside his new housemates and future Platinum Generation members: underachieving artist Aki Shino, aspiring singer and actress Nanako Kogure, and naturally-gifted writer Tsurayuki Rokuonji.
With each project they complete together, Kyouya and his friends venture closer to discovering their true potential as creators and remaking their lives into the ideal versions they desire.”
There is a spin-off light novel series ‘Bokutachi no Remake β’ showing Kyouya’s life had he not gone back in time.
DC Comics is bringing a whole slew of collections to their online service DC Universe Infinite that include some new series as well as some old favorites. Not only is the Justice League and company getting highlighted, characters from the Wildstorm universe are arriving as well as the Saturday morning cartoon days such as Scooby-Doo.
“August is here, and DC has unveiled its fan focused portal at DC.com,” DC Comics said on their website. “Fans arriving to DC.com will discover easy access to all things DC, from fan-first news to DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, DC Shop, DC Community and DC on HBO Max. The new DC.com homepage will feature weekly drops of new video content, editorial deep dives, fan discussions, digital experiences, and more, and fans will now access everything from DC UNIVERSE INFINITE to DC Community with a single, unified user profile.”
Current new releases include:
The Flash (2016-) 778
DC vs. Vampires (2021-) 4
Human Target (2021-) 4
Harley Quinn (2021-) 11
Deathstroke Inc. (2021-) 5
Task Force Z (2021-) 4
Detective Comics (2016-) 1050
Action Comics (2016-) 1039
Aquaman/Green Arrow—Deep Target (2021-) 4
Superman ’78 (2021-) 6
Superman & Robin Special (2022) 1
Robin (2021-) 10
Teen Titans Academy (2021-) 11
Batman/Catwoman Special (2022) 1
Wonder Girl (2021-) 7
Justice League (2018-) 71
Gen13 (1995-1998) 0
WildC.A.T.s Trilogy (1993) 3
Wetworks (2006-2007) 8
Stormwatch (1993-1997) 13
Hardware (1993-1997) 43
These titles will be added in the future:
Dark Knights of Steel (2021-) 4
Arkham City: The Order of the World (2021-) 5
World of Krypton (2021-) 3
Detective Comics (2016-) 1051
Batman (2016-) 120
One-Star Squadron (2021-) 3
Justice League Incarnate (2021-) 4
Monkey Prince (2021-) 1
Suicide Squad (2021-) 12
Gen13 (1995-1998) 1
Wetworks (2006-2007) 9
Stormwatch (1993-1997) 14
Icon (1993-1997) 43
Static (1993-1997) 44
Young Justice: Targets Director’s Cut 3
The Joker (2021-) 12
Future State: Gotham (2021-) 10
Suicide Squad: Blaze (2022) 1
I Am Batman (2021-) 6
Batgirls (2021-) 3
Black Manta (2021-) 6
Superman: Son of Kal-El (2021-) 8
Detective Comics (2016-) 1052
The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2021-) 11
Pennyworth (2021-) 7
Batman/Catwoman (2020-) 10
Batman: Urban Legends (2021-) 12
Strange Love Adventures (2022) 1
Justice League 2022 Annual 1
Gen13 (1995-1998) 2
Wetworks (2006-2007) 10
WildC.A.Ts: Covert Action Teams (1992-1994) 13
Stormwatch (1993-1997) 15
Hardware (1993-1997) 44
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (2010-) 114
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2021-) 8
Green Lantern (2021-) 11
Nubia & the Amazons (2021-) 5
Aquaman: The Becoming (2021-) 6
Detective Comics (2016-) 1053
Batman: The Knight (2022-) 2
Justice League (2018-) 72
Nightwing (2016-) 89
The Flash (2016-) 779
Wonder Woman (2016-) 784
Gen13 (1995-1998) 3
Wetworks (2006-2007) 11
WildC.A.Ts: Covert Action Teams (1992-1994) 14
Stormwatch (1993-1997) 16
Static (1993-1997) 45
DC vs. Vampires (2021-) 5
Human Target (2021-) 5
Harley Quinn (2021-) 12
Deathstroke Inc. (2021-) 6
Wonder Woman: Evolution (2021-) 4
Task Force Z (2021-) 5
Aquamen (2022-) 1
Detective Comics (2016-) 1054
Batman Vs. Bigby! A Wolf In Gotham (2021-) 6
Action Comics (2016-) 1040
Aquaman/Green Arrow—Deep Target (2021-) 5
Blue & Gold (2021-) 6
Refrigerator Full of Heads (2021-) 4
Robin (2021-) 11
Teen Titans Academy (2021-) 12
Catwoman (2018-) 40
The Secret Society of Super-Villains (1976-1978) 1
Gen13 (1995-1998) 4
Wetworks (2006-2007) 12
WildC.A.Ts: Covert Action Teams (1992-1994) 15
Stormwatch (1993-1997) 17
Hardware (1993-1997) 45
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series—The Real Sidekicks of New Gotham Special 1
Aside from comic books, their online store will also include some premium collectibles.
San Diego Comic-Con had mask and vaccine (or clean test) mandates for attendees this year.
Other than optics and making people feel better about attending a crowded event in post-pandemic 2022, these measures didn’t really seem to stop anyone from getting sick. In fact, looking at my Twitter feed one would get the impression that SDCC was actually a “super-spreader” event.
I’ve seen several posts from attendees on social media complaining that they got sick from SDCC, despite the precautions. This also despite the media prematurely praising the mandates for stopping the spread.
This Isn’t Political. It’s Just No Longer Practical.
Before I go any further, I want to point out that I just got over COVID myself after avoiding it for two years. It sucked. And I know several people who’ve died from COVID. I’m not trivializing how severe it can become for some people.
But most of the country is attempting to move on and “learn to live” with COVID. Most conventions I’ve been to since 2020 haven’t required masks or proof of vaccination.
TwitchCon announced today that it’s dropping mask mandates. That event is also in San Diego, by the way.
It’s understood when you voluntarily go to a crowded event, you run the risk of getting sick. That has always been the case with comic book conventions, hence the term “con crud.”
COVID adds another potential threat to leaving your house. But the other option is to, well, not leave your house ever again.
Conventions will be struggling to come back after the pandemic and going to a recession. Cutting back on potential customers and revenue might not be a smart move for showrunners at this point.
Again, we’re going to have to “learn to live” with COVID. What that looks like should be left up to individual choice, based on the current available data. The current available data says fully vaxxed and boosted people can still get the latest COVID variant. Even celebrities. Even the President.
So at this point, choosing to mask up or stay up-to-date on boosters should be as optional as choosing to attend a crowded comic book convention. We’re two years into this thing. Everybody fully understands the risks and is able to make decisions for themselves accordingly.
