“Star Trek” toys seek new generation of fans
Toymakers are aiming for the next generation of “Star Trek” fans with a new line of toys based on the J.J. Abrams film. Gareb Shamus, publisher of Toy Wishes (www.toywishes.com), says director Abrams will bring a contemporary feel to a classic property.
“For this brand especially, by bringing in somebody like J.J. Abrams, who has been an amazing contemporary director-producer in this decade, with hits like ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’ … he’s able to appeal to today’s core fan, and (the) masses, as somebody who’s … innovative and exciting in what he does,” Shamus said.
“What they want to do is introduce Star Trek to a whole new generation of kids, and also appeal to the core fans they’ve had all these years.”
The Playmates Toys’ products, coming to stores this spring, will be available in three different sizes – 3 ¾ inches, 6 inches and 12 inches. The company is also teaming with Mattel to offer “Star Trek” Barbies.
The 3 ¾ inch line is expected to retail at around $7 and feature the characters from the new film, including Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
“Especially in today’s economic times, there’s definitely a trend for all toy companies to offer less expensive price point items,” Shamus said. “There’s no question that especially with the ‘Star Trek’ line, they want to create an entry point that can get as many people interested in and excited about the toys as possible.”
The smaller line also makes it more affordable to build sets and accessories, like playsets for the Bridge and Transporter Room of the Enterprise.
“‘Star Trek’ has history that can be built upon, so that when you see it for the first time, you feel like it’s a very rich, exciting franchise,” Shamus said. “This is a great chance for them to introduce the movie to a lot of kids that haven’t been exposed to it.”
– By Matthew Price
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman
Toys, cartoonists honored at Action Figure Museum
PAULS VALLEY – Oklahoma cartoonists and famous toy lines were among the honorees Saturday as the Toy and Action Figure Museum, 111 S. Chickasaw, celebrated its third anniversary.
Joining the museum’s action figure Hall of Fame were two action-figure lines that took the 1980s by storm: Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
Masters of the Universe were supremely muscled characters who lived on the planet Eternia. The star of this line was He-Man, who gained his strength when he held aloft his magic sword and repeated the phrase “by the power of Grayskull.”
“G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” was a 1980s update of the classic Joe action figure, which had been a 12-inch figure. “A Real American Hero” was in the 3 and ¾-inch size and introduced G.I. Joe, a special missions force for the U.S. military, who defended freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. Rather than just one “G.I. Joe,” the brand now introduced a line full of characters, developed by comics and animation writer Larry Hama, including the ninja Snake-Eyes, leader Duke and counter-intelligence specialist Scarlett.
Introduced into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection Hall of Fame were four cartoonists – and it came as a surprise to one of them. Museum curator Kevin Stark, creator of the comic strip and comic book “Geezer,” was named to the Hall of Fame. “Geezer” ran for seven years in the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat, and further comic books are in development.
Also honored:
Russell Myers, the creator of “Broom Hilda,” who was raised and attended college in Tulsa.
George Storm, who created adventure strips “Phil Hardy” in 1925 and “Bobby Thatcher” in 1927. He co-created The Hangman for MLJ and drew Bugs Bunny for Dell. He died in 1976.
Terry Tidwell, who was born and raised in Claremore. He worked on “The Green Hornet” and “Conan.” Tidwell, who was in attendance at the ceremony, also co-created the Tulsa-based hero “The Twilight Avenger.”
– Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Marvel announces “Super Hero Squad” one-shot
Marvel has announced what those promo pictures recently sent out are for — the “Super Hero Squad: Hero Up!” one-shot. Based on the action figure line, the one-shot will be written by Paul Tobin and drawn by Marcelo DiChiara and Chris Sotomayor. Still no word on who the red guy is.
From Marvel:
Marvel is proud to announce that SUPER HERO SQUAD: HERO UP! One-Shot will be released in January 2009, based on the successful Hasbro action figure line featuring Marvel’s greatest heroes & villains. Written by fan favorite scribe Paul Tobin (Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes) and featuring art by the can’t-miss team of Marcelo DiChiara & Chris Sotomayor, this extra-sized one-shot features all your favorite Marvel characters. Experience the Marvel Universe like never before, as the heroes & villains of Super Hero City clash in epic confrontations! Take a stroll down to the Xavier Institute, past the FF’s Baxter Building…but don’t stray too far, because dastardly Doctor Doom’s domain is the next block over…! Plus, learn more about your favorite heroes with bios and more! This issue ships with two covers-one featuring the heroes of SSH and the other featuring the villains!
M.A.S.K. Intro
Everybody, feel free to be a big dork with me and celebrate the release of Matt Trakker in the G.I. Joe line. Bonus points if you know all the words to the song.
Matt Trakker comes to G.I. Joe
Toy News International shares the above picture of Matt Trakker, previously of the M.A.S.K. toy line, making the jump to G.I. Joe as part of wave 7 of the 25th anniversary figure line.
Now, just make his car in G.I. Joe scale and we’re set.
– Matt Price
DC Universe classics wave 4 review
Chris Price returns to review the latest DC Universe Classics wave!
My DC Universe Classics series 4 figures finally arrived so I thought I’d give a quick rundown on the wave. For those of you out there who shop at retail, yes this is the fourth wave. Those leftover series 1 figures at your local Target or Toys R Us are a thing of the past. If you want to get caught up on these amazing figures from Mattel it might be time to consider searching for these guys outside of the mass retail avenues. I have received all of my cases from my local comic shop who orders waves directly from Mattel. There are also some very good online stores supporting this line such as Enchantedtoychest.com and cornerstorecomics.com both of which I can personally recommend.
On to the review! The fourth wave in the DC Classics series contains Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, Cyborg, Batman Beyond, and Ares who each include a piece of the Collect and Connect figure Despero.
After wave 3, Mattel decided to switch to a new factory to produce these figures stating the desire for better quality and paint applications. I can say of the 5 cases of figures I inspected that quality of paint has certainly improved. Aside from some very small splashes of random paint on most of the Wonder Woman figures (not all that noticeable), the entire batch looked pretty clean and crisp.
DC Universe Classics Wave 3 review
Action figure expert and brother-to-Nerdage Chris Price takes a look at the just-released DC Universe Classics Wave 3!
Of all the waves of DC Universe Classics that have been announced so far, this is the one I was most looking forward to. I am a huge Hal Jordan fan and seeing the prototype and preview photos so far, I fully expected the Green Lantern to become my new favorite figure of all time. Did it happen? We’ll see, here’s a quick rundown..
Packaging: Most everything has stayed the same from the first two waves. One thing that I believe is different that is a welcome addition is the incorporation of a photo of the Collect and Connect piece that comes with your figure on the side of the packaging. Just a little something extra that helps if you happen to be thumbing through pegs at your local store.
Green Lantern: Might as well start out with the big one! Hal does not disappoint. My favorite GL of all time no doubt and probably now my new favorite figure. Why probably? Because after searching through 2 boxes of figures (that’s four Hals), I didn’t find a single one with quality paint on his head. All of the masks were missing in some way. Either blotchy or missing paint. No excuse for it. Hopefully I’ll find another which will solidify Hal’s place at the top of my list.
Nightwing: Solidly the best Nightwing figure ever. The DCD version is close and might have a slightly better face sculpt, but the articulation and functionality of Mattel’s Nightwing is far superior. Love the holsters on his back. Others have complained about his size, but I think he works perfectly.
Robin: Another great figure. Both the figures I saw had great paint apps. He is definitely small, but I think it works well. He comes with his bowstaff and two battarangs which he holds well. Vast improvement over previous offerings and another example of the finest figure of this character yet made.
Sinestro: Inspected two cases and both contained the Sinestro Corps version. Both had nice paint apps. Pictures I had seen before do not do this figures face sculpt justice. He is menacing (even if he is only a little guy). Speaking of that, it hasn’t really bothered me yet. I’ll have to thumb back through my GL archives to see how Kane really depicted Sinestro to see how much I will take up a charge on scale issues with him.
Deathstroke: Really not my favorite character, but man is he awesome. Loaded with weapons that he can hold perfectly. Great detail all over the sculpts on this one. One flaw I noticed is people might have to watch out for paint quality on his face sculpt much like Hal. The paint on the center of the mask was a bit faded/blurred on both the ones I saw. No doubt the best Deathstroke ever though!
Grundy: He is huge. All the detail from the prototypes seem to have made it here and they nailed the paint on him as well. There is a problem with the neck peg as others have mentioned making his head fall to a downward lean too easily. A combination of a small peg and the sculpt of the coat I think.
There you have it! Great lineup and great wave of figures. I’ve heard some complaints about the quality of the plastic on these compared to other waves, and I’m just not noticing it. The paint issues still need sorted out though. If this is the new factory that Mattel switched to, I hope they get better along the way. The lack of attention to Hal’s face mask is definitely not excusable. Still, I think this is my favorite of the waves they have releases so far. Look forward to others getting theirs and reporting their opinions as well!
– Chris Price
Todd McFarlane talks to Maxim
He-Man relaunches online
Castle Grayskull at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO — At Comic-Con, Mattel announced a Web site for sales to collectors of exclusive figures, including a new line of “Masters of the Universe Classics” figures. A new figure will be available every month, starting with He-Man in October. The Web site is www.mattycollector.com.
– Matt Price
Larry Hama to relaunch GI Joe at IDW
GI Joe fans at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Comic Book Resources has an interview with Larry Hama, in which the longterm “GI Joe” writer discusses his relaunch of the property with IDW.
With a movie coming out next year, IDW and Hama are taking “GI Joe” in a new direction.
“It sort of has to be rebooted,” Hama told CBR. “The problem with any of these things is that it builds up so much baggage. … I don’t have to stick to what happens in the movie, and I don’t have to stick with how the characters developed in the ’80s. I thought it all needed a revamping and retelling.”
