Jack Kirby

 Jack Kirby

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I never thought this would happen...A JACK KIRBY ACTION FIGURE!

I promised myself I wouldn't harp on the "legacy" of Stan Lee on this one...but it's beyond time "The King of Comics" got the treatment he deserves.  One action figure is a step in the right direction.  It's not much, but its something.

Shameful that it wasn't Marvel or DC that gave us this shot.  Many thanks to NECA on being completionists with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic line.  And sending that "thanks" back in time to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman for giving props to one of their idols.

The figure is going to look most at home with the Turtles.  All those harsh lines and bright colors and all.  He looks like he jumped straight from the pages of the Donatello one-shot.  If you don't get the homage, a common "man" action figure may not be all that appealing.  He did come with a little Black Horde imp figure to help push the sale to these folks.

For those that do get the homage that is "Kirby", you should be over the moon.  He scales well enough with "other" figure lines.  So if you want to recreate the scene from the books where the Fantastic Four meet "God", all systems go!  

Maybe there's hope a digital Jack Kirby might show up in the new FF movie?  It would be nice, but it not like Disney gives that much credit to Ub Iwerks, so...

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jack-kirbys-son-neal-kirby-responds-to-stan-lee-disney-documentary/

"My father retired from comic books in the early 1980s and of course, passed away in 1994. Lee had over 35 years of uncontested publicity, much naturally, with the backing and blessing of Marvel as he boosted the Marvel brand as a side effect of boosting himself. The decades of Lee's self-promotion culminated with his cameo appearances in over 35 Marvel films starting with "X-Men" in 2000, thus cementing his status as the creator of all things Marvel to an otherwise unknowing movie audience of millions, unfamiliar with the true history of Marvel comics. My father's first screen credit didn't appear until the closing crawl at the end of the film adaptation of Iron Man in 2008, after Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Larry Lieber. The battle for creator's rights has been around since the first inscribed Babylonian tablet. It's way past time to at least get this one chapter of literary/art history right. 'Nuff said."

Monster Cereal Figures and An American Werewolf in London

Monster Cereal Figures and An American Werewolf in London

Jada Toys - NECA

“Doin’ the “Monster Mash” with ya on this beautiful Valentine’s Day!” “It’s kind of a love song.  Monsters enjoying each other’s company…dancing…keeping their evil in check.”  

No, I didn’t post the wrong review.  It’s just another case of horror figures getting delivered waaay past the Halloween season.  And as I have said before, February is typically a strange dumping ground for spooky movies to capitalize on a big date night holiday.  Anyway, the monster cereal mascots were back this past season in a “Monster Mash” team up for your complete and balanced breakfast, and now they’re here to stay on my toy shelf!

Jada Toys has made some great die-cast cars and characters in the past, and their detail and quality has made the leap into articulated action figures with flying colors.  These 6-inch figures of Count Chocula and Frankenberry feature all the appropriate joints and hinges to make a graveyard smash.  

The paint apps are great, and the colors pop.  They have two flavors of head sculpts:  one classic, and one a more modern take.  I prefer the classic look, but the eyes and mouths one the moderns are so expressive that it’s a tough call.  You also get tiny cereal box accessories, in scale with the figures.

The boxes are keepers on these.  They look just like the General Mills cereal boxes.  There is a magnetic, opening front, in case you like displaying them in-box.  The inside flap has the character’s large face, just like the old cut-and-wear masks of old.  I love the “nutrition facts” on the side panels.  

 

Count Chocula and Frankenberry were the original two cereals, so it makes sense that they are the first to get figure treatment.  Boo Berry was next, and is probably my favorite to eat.  Since he is a smaller, amorphous blob of a ghost that doesn’t merit the same level of articulation, he probably would have worked best as a pack-in figure.  Because of this, I’m worried these two might be a one-and-done thing.  I would welcome the less-popular Frute Brute and Yummy Mummy (especially after his delicious turn as an orange-flavored cereal some years back), but I’m not sure they are popular enough to cut a second wave.  I hope I’m wrong, and that Jada toys’ folk are as big a fan as I am.

An American Werewolf in London’s Kessler Wolf was happy to stand in for Frute Brute.  In typical NECA fashion, he didnt arrive in time for Halloween either.  But, hey, full moons happen all year round, right?  And that movie is one of my favorites.  It’s probably the best of all werewolf flicks, and now I have the ultimate werewolf to display.

He’s a big boy, and has joints about everywhere you’d expect them to be.  He also has two headsculpts:  one closed mouth, one snarling.  I love everything about him.

NECA made the Nightmare/Nazi werewolf figure last year, which is great but I didnt get around to reviewing.  I would like to see a transforming David figure, with swapable, mid-transformation parts, and a zombie Jack figure, with alternate parts for various stages of decomposition…however, I’m betting NECA isn’t going to pay for the likeness rights.  Or, if they do, they’ll “treat” us to 8-inch cloth clothes versions…GRRRR!

Are these worth the $20-25 price point?  Do I have a pantry full of “Monster Mash” cereal hoarded from last Halloween?  (Yes and YES!)  Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your significant others!

Frankenstein

 Frankenstein

NECA - Universal Monsters

Yes, just plain Frankenstein.  Get over the "Frankenstein's Monster" thing...I'm a lazy typist.  After all these years of second and third tier horror properties, NECA is finally tackling the granddaddy of them all!

Frank is the first of many Universal Monsters coming.  He's probably number three or four on my list of the classics, but you can't not have him in your collection.  He looks great...spot on Boris Karloff in all three head sculpts.

I really like the manacles.  Gotta love real metal chains on toys.  He also comes with some flowers...but no little girl for chucking into the drink.  Extra heads means less other accessories. Other than some lab stuff (which would be better suited for a deluxe set), I wish he had a torch to prod him with.  Ah well, I had a couple of spares laying around.

Frankenstein hit Walmart right in time for Father's Day.  What?!  Well, that's kind of funny considering his creation and all.  He should be getting a larger release soon if you missed him, in both color and black and white variations.  In spite of the "classic" presentation, I wanted the color versions to fit in better with all my Halloween figure displays.

Wolfman is coming next, followed by the Mummy.  Wolfy is number two on my list, right behind Dracula.  Speaking of Drac, I was hesitant to get excited by this line until NECA confirmed they had likeness rights to Bela Lugosi.  His estate has been a notorious hold-out for many a line, so I wasn't about to start buying in on another potentially incomplete set.  Not that Dracula was ever absent from these...he was just an imposter.  Lugosi or bust!  NECA had better make good on that promise, or Frank here might be sleeping with the Gill-man very soon!

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

Friday the 13th Part VII:  The New Blood

NECA

Did I need another figure of this blatant “Halloween” rip-off?  Just look at the bones!!!  

The gore and fun kills kept the franchise going, and made for some interesting Jason Voorhies variations.  I was ready to call it quits with the video game version and Part 2 “sack-head.”  And the Part V version satiated my need for the hockey mask AND gore, with worm face and split hand features.  But this…this pushes the gross-out meter to eleven!

I don’t remember much of Part VII, other than this beat up looking Jason chained to the bottom of the lake.  Real metal chains on actions figures…I’m a sucker for them!  And being fish food for a while has left him deteriorated and slimy looking.  The exposed bones look so, so good!

He has two interchangeable heads.  One that comes with a full, removable hockey mask to reveal his grotesque monster face.  The sculpt shines through the eyeholes and the broken bottom portion of the mask.

The other head is a screaming monster face with a port in the back to support a mask that has been split in two.  It’s a neat effect, and the plastic straps are rubbery, yet not too rigid to support how much you want to reveal of Mommy’s special lil guy.

He also comes with a large amount of assorted cutlery.  Bloody ax and machete are nothing new, so how about a bloody rail spike to the noggin?  The offwithyourhead overhead circular saw is neat, but I foresee this breaking with minimal effort in the future.  I’m gonna stick with the good old hand sickle.  Or maybe the kaiser sling blade...mmm hmmm....

Unlike Michael Myers, Jason has delivered the goods in time for this Halloween season yet again.  The next “Halloween” set (with Dr. Loomis) will probably get here in time for Valentine’s Day.  Which I guess February is a scary movie dumping ground…

Take a look back at more Jason Voorhies variants:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2018/10/pennywise-and-jason.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2020/10/sack-head-jason.html 

Back to the Future Part II Hoverboard and NECA Ultimate Figures

 Back to the Future Part II Hoverboard and Ultimate Doc Brown and Marty McFly

Fun.com - NECA

Missed out on Mattel's already overpriced ($120) for 2012 Hoverboard replica?  Not willing to pay nearly three times that on Ebay?  Well, good news...Halloween shops across the internet have a cheap, but comparable, alternative flying your way right now!

Halloween store props nowadays range from disposable to fairly decent...just look at all the Ghostbusters gear we've gotten over the last couple of years.  This new hoverboard is definitely for the fans, and not just an accessory for a one-night, slutty Marty McFly ladies costume.  

For about $60, I was surprised at how heavy this thing is.  The plastic feels extremely durable, though I'm not sure about testing it on the ground.  It has the tempting, Velcro foot strap, but not disclaimer about it being just a prop with a weight limit.  I wouldn't want to scuff up the hover discs anyway.  It's an under-the-arm prop only, or for collector's display.  I hope to mount it to the wall next to my Christopher Lloyd autograph and framed 2015 BTTFII USA Today special printing.

The colors are spot on, as bright and vibrant as you would expect.  Most of the board is one large decal.  This is where your satisfaction may vary, as there are wrinkles and air bubbles to work out.  Prop snobs would shun away, but it still looks good enough to me.  As this is not a Mattel release, it is missing the two large Mattel labels.  These can be replicated from scans in a Google search and printed at home, or Etsy has some alternative.  Either way, easy fix.

There isn't much more to say about it, as it doesn't have sound features or fly.  Again, for $60, it's not a bad mass-produced replica.  It's available for shipping now, well before the Halloween season.  As Halloween gets closer, I could see these disappearing, so don't stay on the fence about one too long.

As you can see from the pictures above, I have some new NECA 7-inch Back to the Future II figures.  Well, Marty has been out for some time, but Doc is just now hitting wide release.  He was a Target exclusive around Father's Day, then a full release to all parties late-summer/fall.  Not sure what sense that makes, but you know my feeling on Target exclusives.  I was lucky to snag this one, but lost out on "The Thing" MacReady first release.  *shakes fist*

While there is something not quite there in the Michael J Fox likeness, NECA has Christoper Lloyd down.  Maybe it's something to do with his expressive face, or they just love the character of Doc that much?  It is perfection.

These come with all the necessary, alternate 2015 accessories you could think of:  Pepsi Free, Sports Almanac, Hoverboard, etc.  My favorite is the opening briefcase with money for different time periods.  The handle popped off of mine trying to fit it into the figure's hand, but a couple drops of super glue fixed it up just fine.  

They make a big deal out of Marty's self-lacing Nikes, but have you ever had a good look at Doc's shoes?  Wild!  I wonder if there is any text out there explaining the gadgetry on these?  The little antennas feel as fragile as they look, so be careful when positioning those feet.

I've got some first movie figures I still need to review, but NECA has more on the way.  Expect to see those in the near future! 

Ninja Turtles Accessory Set

Ninja Turtles Accessory Set

NECA

NECA’s 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line is great.  But like most NECA Turtles stuff, that is followed by “if you can find them.”  After the initial sets being hard to find SDCC exclusives, they have at least opened the line up to Walmart, and better yet, on-demand via their web store.  This accessory set is part of the latter, and was up for pre-order last year.  It was a long wait to see if a $50 supplemental set was worth the time and money.

And the best I can say is, it’s a mixed bag.  I love all of the accessories:  pork rinds, chips, turtle wax, pizza, panda bear, TV set, skateboard, manhole cover, straw hat, mutagen canister, busted Shredder helmet, newspaper, and street sign.  These all work to recreate small but memorable moments from the film.  Pork rinds has to the the topper, right?

Well, maybe second to these awesome baby turtles.  They are all the same sculpt and expressions, but for as small as they are, they are quite impressive.  Like the tiny baby Yoda in the Star Wars vintage series, I was surprised to see such articulation in this scale.  The heads are on ball joints, and the arms can move/rotate at the shoulder.  Nothing for the legs, but this might be completely true of the puppets they represent onscreen.

On the whole, I could have done without alternate heads.  I mean, how often do you want Ralph and Leo smiling in your display?  A neutral Mikey?  The laughing Donny is my favorite, if only because I can now recreate my favorite joke about Casey being claustrophobic:

The worst part about these heads is that they are on barbell joints.  Popping them on and off is no easy task, as you never know which end of the barbell is going to come loose.  Needle nose pliers and great care are needed not to damage them, or even greater care and time with hot water baths.  Honestly, it’s not worth the trouble.  I would have been happy without them if it knocked the price of the accessories down to $25-30.

If you are a TMNT 90 super fan, and have the NECA figures already, you will need these, regardless of overall value.  Aside from more obscure characters, I think this set has you covered for memorable accessories from the movie.  If you waited too long on the made to order pre-order, you may be out of luck.  Happy EBay hunting, cowboy!