THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN Original Production Pencil Artwork (Ruby-Spears, 1980-82)

My final piece of animation art (at least for a while) is from the excellent Saturday morning favorite of mine, THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN.  Created by Marvel veteran Steve Gerber (and other Marvel vets wrote for the show, even), and with designs by Alex Toth and the Great One, Jack Kirby, there was no way that this show wasn't going to be incredible.  It was miles beyond the amount of thought process that went into Saturday morning TV of its time.

It's not my most glamorous piece of animation art, but I was lucky to at least find a full-figure shot of Thundarr, as I so badly wanted to own a piece of this wonderful show.

Scalpers can SUCK IT... (part two)

Here we go again...if you remember my previous post on this exact subject, then you know the disdain I have for scalpers and their ilk. Of course, this goes beyond all that, because it's common thievery.

Second verse, same as the first, this time at my local Target, where some dolt has crammed a worthless (ToyBiz?) Cable Legend figure into the tray of a brand-new figure from the current wave of Spider-Man Legends...oh, but he threw in a Zola arm, to make it look "legit."

Nevermind that it doesn't begin to actually fit in the package, or even look halfway right.  As I also proved in my previous post, it does no good to actually POINT OUT the problem to the workers, or managers, because you will only be wasting your own precious time...and then there is the injury you inflict upon yourself (from banging your head against the wall in desperation).

I've decided that, if these stores and their workers are really this stupid (again, see previous post), then they deserve it.

Oh, and to the intrepid soul who did this:  there is a special, hidden level of Dante's Inferno waiting just for you, where you have to lay around in old hot dog water for all eternity!

The Things That I See (continued) A FAIL for Friday

I recently saw this, with my own eyes, even...I had to stop and take a picture! Take a look at this carousel:

Now, take a closer look!

And, even closer still!!

Really? I mean, REALLY?! Either somebody thought they were hilarious, or this is just the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a long time!

Lego Marvel Superheroes Assemble!

I had to re-do my small display case, which has grown to "Heroes" and "Villains" for both Marvel and DC....there's no way to fit them all in...but who needs like 27 Iron Mans anyway? To Lego, Iron Man is their Marvel version of Batman, if that statement makes any sense.  By the way, these nifty cases are $10 at Container Store, and come with three black steps you can arrange in any way you want.  There's also a clear top part, naturally, but I removed it for the photo.

More SUPERFRIENDS Original Production Pencil Artwork (Hanna-Barbera, 1973-85)

Here is the other piece of Superfriends artwork that I purchased.  It would make sense to also label this as being from CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS, since everything the seller had was from that show, but who knows...you probably know about assuming, and where that gets you.  It really could be from any of the early series(es), and with the way things were re-used, I just can't be sure!

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS Original Production Pencil Artwork (Hanna-Barbera, 1977-8)

Here's another of my newest treasures! It's production artwork for Gorilla Grodd from one of the defining animated series of my youth, CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS.  Originally I thought it must be from the opening sequence, but I went back and checked, and the pose doesn't line up 100%, so it;'s probably from another scene.  But, at least Grodd was in only one series...unlike our next upcoming entry, which is much more difficult to pin down...

THE TRANSFORMERS Original Production Pencil Artwork (Sunbow Productions, 1983-4)

I just bought a batch of animation artwork from a handful of shows that were dear to me as a child; shows that were crucial in my creative development.  First up, a piece of the original Transformers animated series.  All of the artwork that the dealers had seemed to be from the "More Than Meets the Eye" mini-series that launched the show, so this piece could easily be as well.  These are the pencil layouts (with corrections) that were used to aid the production of the finished cels.  In the case of THE TRANSFORMERS, artwork like the Wheeljack close-up above was done in the USA, and then sent to South Korea, where studios like Toei (and later AKOM) would produce the finished work.  To top this treasure off, it is signed by the layout artist, Darrel McNeil.  Completely awesome, and more to come!

1995 Godzilla ("Godzilla vs. Destoroyah") NECA, 2015

The fourth figure in mighty NECA's Godzilla series has finally arrived, with promises of NES Godzilla and 1954 Godzilla behind it.  Here's a brief review of the new figure.

The 1995 "DesuGoji" design harkens back to the "death" of Godzilla (goodness, has it been 20 years, really??) at the hands of Destoroyah.  I'm sure there are some technical differences to the 1994 suit, but it's close enough that many producers of Godzilla items have just issued a straight "repaint," and BOOM, new figure for the line.  But did NECA just do that?

Well, yes and no.  It's not a straight "repaint" in the sense that the burning parts of the figure are done with simple paint (like the American Bandai vinyl, for example).  Instead, it would be considered more of a "remold," because the body is actually made of the translucent orange, with the black painted over it, in most areas.  This doesn't come across in simple photos, but it is a superior look to the lazy way.

That said, it brings up the only complaint I can think of, and that is that an LED inside of the chest would knock this figure out of the park...but, I realize that NECA is trying to keep this line down to $20, so I really can't complain too much.

So basically, the body really is the same as the 1994.  I thought at one point that there was a difference in the heads, namely the ears, but it was a trick of the light and my failing eyes.  The pictures tell a different story:

And then, at one point, I thought the 1995 Godzilla was taller, but my 1994 was just slumping (as in this next photo), and once again I was wrong.

Where was I going with that? Oh yes, therefore, the articulation is exactly the same, but that means "fantastic" when it comes to this series.  I mean, consider that the 4" Marvel Universe figures are REMOVING points of articulation, while prices continue to climb, and it will make you appreciate this series all the more.

I've grown to like "Burning" Godzilla over the years...I think my major hang-up was that Toho was actually going to kill him, and that it took Destoroyah to do it, but I've come to accept that burning up--specifically, not being able to contain his own radiation any longer--is a pretty genius concept.  Plus, as I said before, I am going to support this line religiously!

Although, the appearance of peg-holes still baffles me, NECA!  Godzilla figures stand up just fine...it's the Pacific Rim ones that don't!

And finally, a look at Burning Godzilla's new late-night talk show, "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight," which is actually one of the free dioramas that Entertainment Earth randomly sends you sometimes.

We conclude with the artwork (the card front is the same as the last two figures).  Buy this figure!