Greatest Battles: Sinister vs. Gambit


When we were kids, I got my sister good and hooked on X-Men. If I found myself short on cash and could not get that month’s issue, chances are I could con her into buying it. All I had to do was tell her that the arc was about Rogue and Gambit.

My sister being a girl, she was more into the quasi-romantic shenanigans of the Cajun Charmer and the Southern Belle than she was into the social commentary or splash pages. Most of her collection is the stuff after Lee launched the book back into the spotlight, where Joe Mad and Chris Bachalo took the book to new heights. I was content to let her collect the main titles while I focused more on the secondary Mutant books like Generation X.

Ashura jo no Hitomi (Ashura)


I’ve always had an interest in Japanese culture. Not just what you find in their animation, but their traditions and customs. The gateway drug that brought me in of course was their martial arts. One heard about karate more than one heard about kung-fu when I was growing up, despite the late night “Kung-Fu Theatre” that showed on local television. As I grew up and found access to more stuff, it became anime, taiko music, or horror films. From where I was growing up as a Filipino-American, Japanese culture seemed so exciting and exotic.

Kabuki is one of those traditions that are completely out there from an American (and Filipino perspective). It’s a slant that we just don’t have in our art or our storytelling. Western culture is all about the fast beginning: “hook them in the first five minutes or lose them” thinking. Japanese storytelling conventions include the slow boil of a start and then quick, flashy action and satisfying endings. Kabuki is all about the flash, especially in Edo, where Ashura jo no Hitomi (Eyes of Ashura Castle) takes place.

Shadowland Daredevil


If I were honest, I'd say I liked the 2003 Daredevil film. It wasn't the bees knees that Ang Lee's Hulk was, but it made me want to learn more about the character. But since I know that the fan boys will skin me alive for saying that, pretend I didn't say anything.

Comics wise, I've only got maybe a handful of issues of Hell's Kitchen's own dark knight. None of them are part of the Shadowland story arc where he defeats the ninja cult, The Hand, and becomes their leader, establishing a base of operations in New York. That arc came out much later and I can't really give you an opinion on it.

The Marvel Universe figure, though, that I can tell you about.


The Immortals


It was a very good weekend, movie-wise. I thought that Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was already pretty good and sustained my thrill over its whole runtime. I enjoyed it immensely. But after seeing that with friends on Saturday, I also had a movie date with my girlfriend. As it was my turn to pick a movie (i.e. there weren’t any good Tagalog movies on), I chose something I’d missed out on: The Immortals.

Though I’d been looking forward to his movie for awhile, I have to admit that I didn’t really know much about it. I knew it was done in the style of Zach Snyder’s 300 (was full of digital color manipulation and shot mostly on a green screen stage with the backgrounds filled in later). I knew it was based on Greek mythology and starred Mickey Rourke, who seems to be making a name for himself as the go to guy for asshole villains. I knew it was directed by one of those guys who went around being referred to with one name (Tarsem). That’s it.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol


I’m not really a big fan of Tom Cruise the person as he’s been portrayed in the press. He comes off as a nutjob crackpot with a quirky religion. I still can’t believe he divorced Nicole Kidman and married Katie Holmes. That scene on the Oprah show where he’s dancing on a couch? If I knew someone like that in real life, I’d be highly suspicious around them, afraid they might snap at any second. I’m still waiting for the inevitable news that he’s pulled a Mel Gibson on some ass of a tabloid photographer.

Tom Cruise the action hero, though? Him I can get behind. Who can forget Maverick in Top Gun? Minority Report was awesome (it wasn’t Dick, but then there isn’t an adaptation of his work that is, so why bother to compare?). Have you seen Collateral? I recommend it. Cruise as a smooth, cold-blooded killer is great. He’s played cops, samurais, Nazis, spies, sports agents, vampires, and one over-weight Jewish studio executive. All with the aplomb and talent of a real movie start.

He’s pretty eclectic in his choice of roles, but there is one character that he keeps coming back to: Ethan Hunt, IMF agent.

Mandalorian Warrior & Pre Vizsla


It suddenly occurs to me that I still haven’t seen the end of the last season of Clone Wars. This seems like a grievous oversight for a consummate couch potato like me. As a geek, I should be glued to the nearest TV set, salivating while I wait for the latest episode to air. Instead, I’ve found myself lazily awaiting the DVD collection of the season 4 episodes.

Until that time, I’ve bided my time re-watching the first three seasons of the cartoon. In the second season of the show, Obi Wan Kenobi traveled to the planet Mandalore to visit his old flame, Satine, the Duchess of the fifth planet of the system. During a three episode arc, Kenobi uncovers a sinister plot to overthrow the Duchess. Behind the coup was a group of rebels known as the Death Watch. These terrorists wore the traditional Mandalorian Armor, which casual fans recognize as the armor that Boba Fett (or his father Jango Fett) wears in the movies.

Star Trek Galaxy Collection


I first came across Playmates’ Star Trek line back in 2009 when the reboot movie was first released. The first time I saw them, it was no wonder I passed. If I remember correctly, their price point was around Php 350.00 or 400.00 and nothing about their design, sculpting, or poseability warranted that kind of scratch. They were low quality figures with not much thought put into them.

When the distributor dropped the price to around Php 100.00 a figure, I still didn’t bite. One of the selling points of the 3 ¾” “Galaxy Collection” figures was that they came with parts you could add to the Transporter Room and Enterprise Bridge Playsets (each sold seperately) to expand your Star Trek display. Problem was, these extra parts were NOT included in the assortments sold outside the mainland US. This included the Philippines.

Transformers Vault



If you look back on reviews I posted on multiply.com and slangards.i.ph, you’ll probably notice that most of them are of Transformers.

I’m a big Transformers fan. Though not as rabidly obsessive as some (no, I can’t quote from the Japanese continuities or name all the members of The Wreckers), that doesn’t mean I love the characters any less. When a friend of mine first put me on to this book, Transformers Vault: The Complete Transformers Universe - Showcasing Rare Collectibles and Memorabilia from Abrams Books,  I was immediately convinced that I must have it for my library (when I say library, I really mean one shelf).

Transformers Prime Arcee


The thing about the Transformers: Prime toy line that makes it so much fun is the fact that they look so much like their models in the TV show. One of the big disconnects back in the days of Generation 1 (the 1980’s cartoon that originated the franchise) was the fact that the designs of the toy line had little resemblance to the characters from the show. Big, burly bruisers like Ironhide became misshapen mutants with no heads when the toys appeared in stores. With the improvement in materials and design, however, coupled with increased competition, we’ve gotten to a point where the toys can come very close to the robots you see on screen.

We saw this improved likeness during the whole Armada/Energon/Cybertron trilogy, but when Transformers: Animated rolled around, it got pretty amazing. The new Prime toys share that same closeness with the CGI models, but without the far out anime look of its predecessor. While the robot forms still are pretty organic-looking, the vehicles look more traditional.

Transformers: Prime Bumblebee is one of those toys that wouldn’t look out of place alongside a Transformers Universe Hound or a Henkei Mirage in vehicle mode, but looks like he should belong next to a Transformers Animated Blurr in robot form. Among the other Prime toys I bought a few weeks back, the other that shares that same aesthetic is Arcee.

Won't Last a Day Without You



So after braving Twilight: Breaking Dawn, the next flick my girlfriend asked me to see with her was Won't Last a Day Without You, the second Sarah Geronimo and Gerald Anderson vehicle after Catch Me, I’m in Love (which I also went to see earlier this year – can you say wha-pah?). I wasn’t as reluctant as I was with Breaking Dawn because at least Ms. Geronimo is far easier on the eyes than Stewart.

Still, I never relish going to see Tagalog films. If you’ve never seen one, then you really can’t understand. People rant about how cliché Hollywood has become, how unapologetically derivative films are nowadays, but you don’t know how bad it can get until you’ve experienced the standard Pinoy movie. About the only cinema that can top us with cheesiness is India’s Bollywood, and at least they occasionally come out with a movie that just awesomes your socks right off (i.e. Endhiran). It’s been awhile since I’ve had my socks awesomed off by a Pinoy movie (I’m not going to count RPG Metanoia because it’s not a live action film).

The Art of Thor


I really loved Marvel’s Thor when I saw it earlier this year in theaters. My appreciation for the movie grew once I got a copy of the DVD, and could watch it at leisure but I was disappointed that the disc only featured commentary with director Kenneth Branagh. Where were the “Making of” featurettes? The stories about how hard it was to build those gorgeous sets? The explanations about the inspiration behind the costumes? What about the anecdotes about the evolution of the various props?

None of these were present on the DVD that was available in the region, and I don’t own a Blu-ray player (the Blu-ray edition has more features, but I’m still not ready to abandon my DVD collection and start building another in a completely different format). It looked like I was shit out of luck.

Taikongzhans Dian Ying Ban Di San


I don’t really frequent Divisoria, a market district at the heart of Manila. It’s a maze of tiny, cramped alleys with thousands of vendors selling everything from cheap surplus clothes to semi-used sex toys (ok, maybe not used, but I’m sure there isn’t a woman on Earth who wants to buy a vibrator from a cart on the sidewalk). If I do go to one of the malls In the area, I try and go on a weekday, early in the morning. Weekend afternoons are awful for a guy like me (who’s anti-social tendencies border on agoraphobia), and it gets exponentially more crowded the closer we get to the holidays.

Every now and then, though, I make a Divi run to hunt down the odd knock-off Transformer that I just can’t get anywhere else. The Taikongzhans Dian Ying Ban Di San  is one of those toys.

Transformers: Prime Bumblebee



It’s sad that the programming you hear about online doesn’t always make it to Philippine network television. If it does, it’s usually several years after they series aired in the country of origin. Not only is this bad from fans of the big franchises, but it means that the chance that distributors will import merchandise based on these properties is just about nil. The G.I. Joe Resolute figures didn’t even see retail shelves and the new Thundercats figures can only be had through online stores.

Even though the newest Transformers show, Transformers: Prime, debuted more than a year ago on The Hub in the States, it still hasn’t seen local airwaves. It’s no surprise that the distributor’s orders for Wave 1 of the new toy line based on this series weren’t as large as they were for the Dark of the Moon movie line. Most stores are only getting two or three boxes of the figures, and they’re quickly selling out.

Transformers: Prime



I was initially rather skeptical about Transformers: Animated when it first was announced. Coming off the disgust I had for the first movie, I didn’t have much faith that the cartoon that Cartoon Network was fielding would be any better. For one thing, it used that same overly-exaggerated aesthetic that every show they had used so far, and it was obviously targeted towards a very young market. Happily, the series turned out really great, and I ended up liking it immensely. So much that I collected nearly all the figures from the show (or at least as many as were available locally).

When Transformers: Prime was announced, I again had my doubts that it would be worthy of the franchise I loved. This time, they’d dropped the Japanimation look and went back to the computer generated images that they’d used in Transformers: Beast Wars. While I love Pixar as much as the next guy, it’s not because they use CGI to make their cartoons. It’s because they write unbelievably good stories that are entertaining and heart-wrenching, and because they are awesome animators. Most shows that have used CGI for TV series have neither good stories, nor good animators.

Transformers: Prime has both.

BPI & Toys 'R' US Big Toy Sale



Glorietta Activity Center, November 24 to 26, 2011

Lego ▪ Nerf ▪ Transformers ▪ Bakugan ▪ Fastlane ▪ Hotwheels ▪ Matchbox ▪ Thomas & Friends ▪ Leap Frog ▪ Play Go ▪ Lisa Frank ▪ vtech ▪ Disney ▪ You & Me ▪ Barbie ▪ Bruin


Exclusive for BPI cardholders:
For a minimum single receipt of P2,000 using ANY of your BPI Card.
Choose from: 1 Fastlane Die-cast car or 2 tubs UOI Dough (5 oz. each)

Present your BPI Card (BPI Express Credit, BPI Express Teller or BPI Express Cash).
Present your original charge slip (minimum single receipt of P2,000) at the redemption area.

REAL 0% S.I.P. on a 3-month term using your BPI Express Credit

6th Christmas Toy Fair & 1st Philippne Die cast & Custom Car Show


6th Christmas Toy Fair & 1st Philippne Die cast & Custom Car Show
aka: The Christmas ToyCon

December 16-18, 2011
SM Megatrade Hall 1
www.toyconph.com

MaxiCollector's Black Friday Sale


MaxiCollector's Black Friday Sale

Nov 25,2011
One day outdoor selling at Bonifacio High Street
Open from 11am to 12 midnight

(All stores will have the same Sale on Nov 25)

Highlights:
-Hundreds of items on sale (up to 50% off)
-Sideshow Exclusives will be up for sale
-Previously Sold out items will be up for sale

Vinyl + Splash: The Ultimate Collectible & Comic Convention

 
Vinyl + Splash: The Ultimate Collectible and Comic Convention
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at
TopShelf, 5F of Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street
Gates open at 10:00 a.m.
Admission is FREE!


For more information, visit www.fullybookedonline.com

Twilight: Breaking Dawn – A Rant


So someone suggested on Plurk the other day that the reason that critical reception and audience reaction to Breaking Dawn on www.rottentomatoes.com is so disparate (28% and 92% respectively as of this writing) is that the only people who actually go to see it are people who are fans of the popular series of romance novels by Stephanie Meyer. Other people have the sense to avoid anything having to do with the franchise like they would a fat, naked plague carrier with large, exploding pustules all over his body.

I am not one of those people.

Now I could say that I watched Breaking Dawn so that I could write about my ordeal and hence, warn others away from this awful example of the deteriorating collective intelligence of the human race, or say that I was forced at knifepoint into the theater as an elaborate form of torture designed to pry the location of that $100,000,000.00 in gold I stashed away after that heist in Singapore, but the truth is that I, like so many before me, went because my girlfriend wanted to see it.

Spider-Man & Captain Britain



One of my favorite comics back in the 90’s was Excalibur. I had started comics with the dark and heavy stories in Uncanny X-Men, but Excalibur’s brand of light-hearted humor, rollicking action and curvedly-lined artwork really drew me in. I started the title right around the time when Alan Davis returned to pencil and write with issue #42, and finding myself in love with the stories, collected all the back issues that I could.

After the epic Anti-Phoenix story-arc that concluded in Excalibur #50, Davis took a break and there were a few issues with some filler material. One was #53 by Scott Lobdell and James Fry.

Vote for GeekOut.ph!

Re-posting Bim's post from GeekOut.ph because we're all pathetic geeks at GeekOut who need the attention desperately!

Vote for us now! Then come back and vote for us in 2 hours! We'll give you candy! Click HERE to vote!


Power Man and Iron Fist



There’s something absolutely great about the B-list of the big comic book companies. Like those oh-so-bad-they’re-good B-movies, geeks love their B-list characters, often times trying to out-do one another on which geek has the most unheard of favorite. Oh, your character was only found in one story arc back in 1969 as a rookie sidekick of Captain Sledgehammer? Well, my character was a 1976 villain who only appeared on one panel of a special edition issue you could only get if you were able to cut out and complete proofs of purchase from 7 region exclusive comics! And one of those was only available in Tibet! I lost a toe to frostbite!

Thankfully, not all B-listers are that obscure.

Komikon 2011!


Obligatory write-up goes here.

6th Christmas Toy Fair


6th Christmas Toy Fair
& 1st Philippine Die Cast & Custom Car Show

December 16-18, 2011
SM Megatrade Hall 1
www.toyconph.com

Daredevil vs. Bullseye



Oh, man!

The Marvel Universe Greatest Battles 2-Packs are the place to be these days if you're a 3.75" superhero collector!  They’ve come a long way in just a couple of years. Time was we were satisfied with the likes of the Thor & Enchantress, Hawkeye & Piledriver, or Storm & Nightcrawler sets from the first Secret Wars series. Hasbro suckered us into buying easy re-colors by including a re-tooled figure that represented a missing character in our Marvel Universe line up. Well, they’re still doing that, but damned if they aren’t doing it better!

We saw a drastic change in the toy designs from the last wave of Greatest Battles 2-Packs. Wolverine vs. Silver Samurai and Deadpool vs. Taskmaster were real works of art. Most of the figures were entirely new bodies, and even if Taskmaster re-used some parts, he was given enough accessories to differentiate him from everything that had gone before. Even the X-Force and Classic Avengers box sets didn’t hold a candle to those 4 figures.

Richwell Kidz Kraze Toy Sale

Tower Heist



In 1998, I was delighted that Jackie Chan star was rising in the American market. That rise culminated with his role in Rush Hour, a fun action-comedy with co-star Chris Tucker. The two stars had a chemistry that was almost as good as Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s in the Lethal Weapon series, but a lot lighter. Rush Hour’s director, newcomer Brett Ratner, also shot to stardom and went on to helm two sequels.

After the success of that franchise, Mr. Rattner decided that he had the filmmaking chops to direct more serious movies. In 2002, he directed Red Dragon, a “prequel” to The Silence of the Lambs which was well received. However, his X-Men: The Last Stand, was pretty awful, especially having had the benefit of the momentum that Bryan Singer had given that franchise with his first two films. Rattner’s entry lacked any of the gravitas that Singer’s treatments gave the material and instead went for a quantity over quality approach, flinging more mutants, more action, and more special effects at the audience.

After that, I felt Rattner was a director to avoid.

Warriors of Virtue - Supporting Cast


 
Back when I lived in the States, yard sales were a big part of my weekends. My family was never well off and I honestly loved those Saturdays with my Mom cruising around the subdivision visiting neighbors who were trying to clear up some space in their homes, looking for things we needed around the house. Aside from household items and clothes, most of my toys came from these yard sales as well. I was always ecstatic when I found an almost complete Transformer or some G.I. Joe that was missing from my strike team.

These days, yard sales are pretty much a thing of the past; or at least the kinds of finds that I remember from back in the day are. Most people who want to sell things just do it on eBay. Collectables like toys are virtually gone from thrift stores now, since you can find a buyer willing to pay a much higher price for them online. I guess that’s why I enjoy toy hunting so much. It’s the only time I really get that same feeling I remember from when I was a kid.

Warriors of Virtue - The Rooz


I can’t say that I ever expected to buy these toys (I'd never seen the movie), but when Playkit brought them in at a price point of Php 50.00 (you read that correctly: a little over $1 US each), I could hardly ignore them. At Php 50.00 my perceived value of most any toy increases about 20 times.

Think about it like a character attributes in a role playing game. You have your basic toy attributes: popularity, sculpting, accessories, articulation, construction, paint applications, play value and cost. High end toys like those 1/6th scale beauties may score high on sculpting and paint, but low on play value and their cost is prohibitive for most of the population. On the other hand, discount toys may not be popular, and they may have crappy articulation, but that price makes them far more attractive to an average shopper.

This was evident last weekend when I stopped by the Toy Kingdom Warehouse Sale, where the Warriors of Virtue “Rooz” were flying off the shelf faster than the discount Transformers.

My Little Pony Happy Meal Toys


It would be something of an understatement if I said that I don’t normally review stuff like My Little Pony on this blog. Though I collect more action figure lines than most people, my toy runs don’t usually take me to the girls’ section of the toy store for some pretty well thought out reasons: girls’ toys suck.

This is not a new idea. I have a sister and I bet if I asked her she’d agree that I had the better toys as a kid. She used to borrow my Castle Grayskull all the time and G.I. Joe would often go out with Jem whenever Rio was out moping (size doesn’t matter to her apparently). It wasn’t really a mutual partnership though. There wasn’t much I could do with The Holograms (though Optimus Prime and the Autobots played several gigs with their accessories). About the only toys of hers that I occasionally borrowed were her My Little Pony figures (only the BOY ponies - you could tell them by their manly handkerchiefs) to use as horses for my Joes.

Batman: The Brave and the Happy Meal Toys


When McDonald’s released the Smurf set, I only picked up Papa Smurf. Since they gave up the Disney license (probably a good business move on their part, but it still sucks from my point of view), I just haven’t really liked any of the toys they’ve been fielding. Not even the recent Kung Fu Panda 2 toys really got me going. I just picked up two of them, Baby Po and The Balance of Justice set, only because you can never have enough panda in your life.

But when someone told me that they had Bat man toys, I dropped my lunch plans and bought myself a few Burger Mcdo sandwiches.

It was not worth it.

The Xavier Toy Convention 2011!



Nov. 12 & 13, 2011
9:00 AM - 6:10 PM
Ground Flr, Cortina Sports Complex (you need to walk ALL THE WAY around the school to the back.)
Xavier School, San Juan

For more information, please visit their facebook page: The Xavier Toy Convention or call 0917-819-2509

Bunraku



I came at Bunraku with only one preconception: that anything that starred Ron fucking Perlman has got to be worth an hour and a half of my time. The posters promised a mishmash of western, samurai, sword and sorcery and action genres. I’d never heard of this director, Guy Moshe, but if he’d put together this cast, it had to be for something good.

The name of the movie came from a traditional form of puppet theatre in Japan which inspired the highly stylized sets, which were meant to resemble paper cutouts. While I agree that they look highly stylized, and that they resembled cutouts, I wouldn’t say that the cinematic experiment was successful. All I could think about was where are the shadows? Where’s the texture? Kung Fu Panda 2 used simulated paper puppet animation for its flashback scenes and that shit was awesome. Nothing about this movie comes close to that description.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Evil Dead Re-Watch

Shortly after my graduation from the UP Fine Arts program, I started losing my taste for “art films.” While I wouldn’t trade my time in Diliman for anything, I realized after that I’m just not as deep as my classmates were. I don’t have the patience to sit through most independent films without reaching for the control and fast forwarding it to the “good” parts (i.e. the scenes with nudity).

If I’m going to spend my time watching anything, it’s going to be something that entertains me; which is why most of my DVD library includes genre pictures: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror movies.

Which brings me to The Evil Dead.

Poster for a special screening of The Evil Dead the Alamo Drafthouse by artist Olly Moss.

Toy Kingdom Warehouse Sale Year 5!


Is it Friday yet?

SDCC 2011 Marvel Legends Modern Heroic Age Thor



It’s been 2 years now since the Walmart Nemesis series of Marvel Legends figures disappeared from Toy Kingdom shelves. Since then, it’s been pretty lean for 6” Marvel collectors, and we’ve had to subsist on the occasional 2-packs and the exclusive movie figures. But the wait is finally over.

2012 will mark the re-introduction of the 6” line of Marvel figures. We’ve already got a line up for waves 1 and 2 and have seen the prototypes at the recent New York Toy Fair. Constrictor, Klaw, Hope, Madame Hydra, Drax, and Fantomex are getting a shot at 6” immortality, while Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Thor figures are set to anchor the line. Hasbro will also be continuing the Build-A-Figure concept with a Terrax figure scheduled for the first wave, followed by an Arnim Zola for the second. Wave 3 is already being worked on with new versions of Punisher, Archangel, and US Agent.

Yay!

To give us an early taste of 2012, Hasbro released a Modern Thor during the San Diego Comic Convention in exclusive packaging.

Trese: Last Seen After Midnight


If I had to single out one moment when I first decided to give comics another chance it was when I got to the end of Our Secret Constellation, the fourth case in Trese: Murder on Balete Drive. It’s rare that a story hits me like that, but the first collected edition of Budjette Tan’s and Kajo Baldisimo’s story about a bad-ass, pre-pubescent (or short and petite enough to pass for it) was one of those that just felt so real to me, even if it was a fictional account of a fictional character’s future history. Plus, I'm a sucker for bad-ass, pre-pubescent girls who fight demons and the only other writer who caters to that fixation of mine is Joss Whedon.

It’s been about two years since Trese: Mass Murders, the third of the collected editions. That’s a long wait for a fan boy, but it’s nothing I’m not used to. Hell, I started the Wheel of Time series back in 1992 and I’m still waiting to find out what happens to everyone. Since the third book though, the guys have gained a sizable following, won the National Book Award for Graphic Literature, and made fans of notables in the field like Andrew Wheeler and *gasp* Neil Gaiman. I was as excited as anyone to read the next book so I dragged myself out of bed and attended the Trese: Last Seen After Midnight Book Launch a few weeks ago.

Apocalypse



More than any other enemy, Apocalypse is the most antithetical to the X-Men's dream of equality. He subscribes to the Darwinian belief that strength grants one the right to rule over the weak. Unlike Magneto who you could believe was attempting to save his brothers through domination, Apocalypse did it because he believed that the strong were the inheritors of the Earth and should subjugate the weak. Survival of the fittest, be it mutant or not.

That ethos really fit in with the X-Factor book where he was introduced in, since that was the time when the "Mutant Problem" really came to the fore in the Marvel Universe. Everyone was worried about evolution and what the appearance of Homo Superior meant for regular old Homo Sapiens. He was the perfect foil for X-Factor, who were publicly known at the time as a team of mutant-hunting humans but were really superheroes looking to protect innocent people from the mob.

And the great thing about him was that in his mind, he wasn't evil at all. He was just trying to ensure the survival of the species.

Many of my favorite story arcs from the 80s and 90s featured the ancient En Sabah Nur. The transformation of the lame Angel into the badass Archangel. There's the whole thing with Ship, Apocalypse's sentient Celestial starship who became the home of X-Factor, and later to Cable. Which leads to the whole Askani Son storyline and X-Cutioner's Song.There was Rise of Apocalypse, which detailed his rise to power in ancient Egypt. Oh, and let's not forget Age of Apocalypse, where he gets his wish and we see a world where the strong have survived. Quite frankly, it's still my benchmark for a great read.

Hasbro Toyfair 2011!

4th Quarter is usually a wallet buster for everyone, but somewhat moreso for the toy collector. We've got the Collecticon, the Toy Kingdom Warehouse sale, the Richwell Year-end sale, the Toytown (now Toys 'R' Us) Year-end sale, the CADs Year-end sale, the December Toyfair and a bunch of others. The majority of these however are clearance sales and conventions that are populated by the same sellers you see in Greenhills. The stock that is available is usually stuff they've been trying to unload for awhile. It's a great chance to get a bargain, but if you're looking for something new, it's not the place to be.

The place to be is the Hasbro Toy Fair.




If you're in the market for new toys, then this is a good bet. Hasbro and Playkit normally save a bunch of releases for distribution on this day. If you're a Marvel Universe, GI Joe, Star Wars, or Transformers fan, then keep an eye on the local collector forum boards to find out what's coming this year.

I'll also be updating this page as news comes in from Cybertron Philippines.


And if you're looking for a geek fix, check out the Joint Junkie geek calendar.

Real Steel



In the words of the protagonist: “Ok, that was awesome.

There are no words that express my feelings about the film Real Steel more aptly than those four. In my head, that litany was chanted as every new bout unfolded on screen. When Ambush steps into the ring with the bull? Awesome! When Noisy Boy is un-boxed and then steps into the ring with Midas? Awesome! When Atom wins his first fight? AWESOME.

Ahsoka



I wasn’t wowed at all by the Clone Wars movie when it premiered in August of 2008. I was too enamored of the great 2003 micro-series by Genndy Tartakovsky to really get into this newcomer with its odd-looking aesthetic and less impressive animation. I mean you start with Mace Windu going up against an army of droids and an earthquake machine all by himself, The Arc Troopers assaulting a tower on Muunilinst, and that intense chase scene with General Grievous hounding Shaak Ti and go to Anakin Skywalker and some dorky kid babysitting a baby Hutt?

For the love of Geebus, Why?

When the Clone Wars series started, I still felt pretty much the same. After three seasons however, the series has grown on me. There’s a lot to appreciate about it, not the least of which is that it doesn’t totally suck like the Episode 1-3 arc did. Everything missing from those three movies is here: prolonged, dynamically shot fights, interesting aliens, huge battle scenes, believable acting. It still took awhile to warm up to Anakin’s annoying Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, but I think she’s finally convinced me with Season 3.

Toys 'R' Us Big Toy Sale at Galleria this Week!


Just heard about this today. Might just wait for the Toy Kingdom Warehouse sale instead.

Toys 'R' Us Big Toy Sale!
October 6-13, 2011
Activity Area
Robinsons Place Metro East
Cainta, Rizal

October 13-16, 2011
Activity Area
Robinsons Galleria
Ortigas Center
Pasig City

5th Annual Toy Kingdom Warehouse Sale!



So it’s about that time of year again: time for toy hunters to save up their money and trek out to Megamall to check out Toy Kingdom’s annual Warehouse Sale.

Here’s a screenshot from the Megatrade Hall’s website:


McDonald's Spectacular Spider-Man Happy Meal Toys


Originally posted at slangards.multiply.com on Mar 20, '09


Ever since McDonald's dropped the Disney license, I haven't been very excited about their toys. Let's face it, when one of the traditional hand drawn flicks from the studio or one of the ultra cool Pixar flicks came out, fans would go to McDo (MickeyD's to Americans) after the movie and buy some plastic memories.

Nowadays, the toys don't seem to measure up. Not only are the sets of characters in mediocre movies like those of the sub par Dreamworks cartoons, but quality has gone downhill as well. Toys feature less and less articulation, cheap gimmicks, etc. As much as us fans might want it, We'll never get another batch of "Changebles" or those great 101 Dalmatians or the Titans from Hercules. They don't make 'em like they used to.

Still, they don't make 'em too bad either...

Wolverine & Forge 2-Pack


Originally posted at slangards.multiply.com on  Mar 12, '09


I changed my mind about Hasbro. Since they got the Marvel license in 2006, they have been constantly improving their product. Their first attempts at the legends line was dismal (Emma Frost anyone?), but subsequent efforts have proved to be excellent figures. From Ronan on, they did quite a job. Mr. Fantastic, Doom, and Surfer more than made up for the duds, and Invisble Woman wasn't that bad either. I loved the Fin Fang Foom wave and the Ares and Red Hulk waves were great (even if they were exclusives) with excellent figures and a variety of characters.

This year, it looks like Marvel is going to be concentrating on it's 3.75" scale Marvel Universe line. In the meantime they'll be releasing Marvel Legends two-packs to whet our appetites. The last batch to be released in retail stores here were the Elektra/Ronin, Ultimate Captain America/Nick Fury, and Wolverine/Forge sets. The only one I was able to lay my hands on was the last one.

Collecticon Day!



Of course I won't be there because I got to get my Trese Book 4!

Have a great weekend, guys!

Cable


Cable is a child of the 90’s comic scene if ever there was one. The issues of that decade were full of MORE: More guns, more muscles, more pockets, more buckles, more padding, more straps. Everything was X-TREME!!! (“x” replaced “ex” because that was also considered X-TREME!!!) back then. He is, of course, the brainchild of Mr. 90’s himself, Rob Liefeld, the guy comic nerds love to hate. However, it was his work was the reason that New Mutants finally gained an audience after a long period of low sales.

In March of 1990, Liefeld introduced Cable as the new mentor of the team. A “man of action” who could act as the opposite of Xavier (the Mutants old teacher), Cable was decked out in metal and spikes and straps and leather. He carried around guns that massed more than he did, and had no qualms about hurting people who got in his way.

Later, after Liefeld had left Marvel, many more layers were added on to Cable. He was a hard ass because that was what was required to survive in the future where he grew up. He had deep seated abandonment issues and was older than his father (Cyclops of the X-Men) because of all the time hopping he did. Though he was something of a loner, he had deep feelings for certain people like Domino, his ship’s computer (named The Professor), and Cannonball. He had long standing history with Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Deadpool, Apocalypse and a bevy of other characters.

And he also had an evil twin, but that's a long story.

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