"Dark Sparkle" Dungby and Pooba Vinyl Set from Andrew Bell

     

       The second night of wedded bliss with my wife was interrupted by something so unholy that by telling the tale I risk invoking its wrath.  But I'm gonna do it anyway because unlike my waistline, my shame has been getting thinner.  It was probably three in the morning and both of us were sound asleep when the ghost of diner's past decided he could no longer linger in silence.  Despite my best nocturnal efforts, a noise rang out from beneath the covers that would have sent shivers down the spine of a corpse.  It was loud, unmistakable for what it was, and I could do nothing but laugh.  I made no attempts to pin it on a burglar or some wild creature that lived in the crawlspace and betrayed any thoughts of innocence as my wife yelled at me using my full legal name and that of Jesus.  Nearly thirteen years later it is still just as funny as it was then.  Possibly because there was a more recent repeat offense, but who can be sure.

    Thankfully the services of our neighborhood dung beetle were not needed that night, because that might have been harder to find the humor in.  The insect you see above is named Dungy, and his perfectly round poop buddy is Pooba, and they are the two best friends that anyone could ever imagine.  And in fact someone did imagine them, as they were created by Andrew Bell and very soon (as in, today) they could become part of your story.  This is the debut edition of this boy (or girl) and his turd will be available begining today, May 12th, at 11 am eastern time exclusively from https://shop.deadzebra.com/.  They are limited to 100 sets and are $65 each.  Oh, and if you remember the fun of dissecting owl pellets in school, you'll be excited to know that Pooba opens up so you can store all of your tiny bones inside.

2018 Summer Convention Exclusives from FYE

    One of the most peculiar sights during Five Points Festival didn't involve the typical weird stuff you see in New York any time you do a bit of walking around the city.  It wasn't the lady who tried to stab the guy with a pair of scissors, or the stacked up Easter bunny blow mold figures that were an apparent work of art along the street.  Nope, it was that FYE was exhibiting during the convention.  Yes, as in FYE the mall store that is known for selling cds and dvds.  I know they've been pretty heavy in the Pop! Vinyl game for a while, but I was very curious what they would have to offer to the more discerning designer toy crowd.  I'll have to admit I was pretty shocked, as not only were they selling the stuff we know and love but they even held a signing with Ron English.  Getting a large retailer like FYE involved in our rather niche market is a pretty big deal.  Toy R Us had dabbled a little before going under, so this could not only fill that void but it could expose the toys we all love to an entirely new customer base, which is never a bad thing.  More interest equals more opportunities for artists to produce even more product.

   Which brings me around to the point of this post, which is that FYE have teamed up with Jason Freeny and Andrew Bell to create a fresh batch of Summer Convention exclusives.  And the best part is you don't have to be an attendee of San Diego Comic Con to get your hands on these, as all of them are available right now for everyone to preorder.  You can stay home in your underwear and have them all delivered right to your door.  You should put some pants on when the delivery guys shows up though, just cause not everyone is prepared for the special type of magic you bring to the table.

    Let's take a closer look now at what's available and some practical info about each:

    First up, Jason Freeny is playing the nostalgia game hard with his dissected take on some Nickelodeon favorites.  There's an 8 inch Reptar figure as well as a 4 inch blind boxed series from Spongebob Squarepants. The great thing about it is if you're a completist like I am, you have the option of buying the entire set that comes with every regular figure, all of the chase versions, and a set only exclusive glow in the dark Spongebob figure as a bonus.  Only 200 of the complete collector's set are available.

 

    You can't have comic con without something from an actual comic, and they have that with this Superman Steel Edition.  You wanna see what makes the Man of Steel so tough?  Just peek inside at his inner workings and realize he's not so different from all of us.  Does that mean that we are all secretly Superman and it's just a state of mind that separates us from greatness?  Getting a little deep there.

    Finally we have Andrew Bell's Kill Kat, which looks like it can't wait to nibble on your intestines.  How come in America we only get one flavor of that delicious candy bar this is based on when in other parts of the world they have a ton of different ones?  I feel like I'm being punished for something I don't remember doing.  How am I supposed to learn an actual lesson from the withholding of delicious treats?

    Get em all now before someone else does at www.fye.com.

Winter Reindeer: Night Stalker Edition from Andrew Bell x Gary Ham x Pobber Toys

 

    I have an entertainment center from Ikea that has been a pain in my rear since the day I bought it.  For one, it was the wrong color, which Sharon and I decided we would live with.  Then when we moved it somehow gained about 300 pounds since I put it together and nearly killed us both.  And the thing is so massive and holds so much stuff that it has made it an almost impossible task to replace.  We did swear an oath though that if we were to ever move again not only would we not take it with us, but that we would destroy it so it could not pass its evil onto others.  And by destroy it I mean carefully take the bolts out and even more carefully walk the pieces to the dumpster.  I'll be damned if it sends me to the emergency room in one final act of defiance.

   Let that be a lesson on how important it is to carefully select the things you use to display your treasures, for like an at-home haircut, it may be there longer than you bargained for.   Enter Pobber Toys.  They teamed up with Gary Ham to create the original version of this unique way to display your figures and now Andrew Bell has put his own spin on it.  This thing is nearly two and a half feet tall of resin and can be left the way he is or fully loaded with your favorite toys as seen here:

    You have from now until November 30th to preorder one of these things for $499 plus shipping and they are only making the amount that people order.  There will be no second chances, only massively crushing regret that will hinder you in the rest of your worldly pursuits if you don't get one.  Make the right decision by visiting http://pobber.bigcartel.com.

The Last Knight "Classical Edition" from Andrew Bell

  Look how classy this is.  This is rap video prop classy.  You have to put this in a place of prominence, so when MTV Cribs shows up all the viewers at home can be jealous.  It must be the white and gold color scheme that makes me think about it belonging to someone who owns cars they've never even driven.

   The Last Knight from Andrew Bell might make you think you're a baller, but just use some caution before you upload a video of yourself rapping to Youtube, cause being Tosh.0 famous ain't gonna mean the money's rolling in.   Work on your lyrical skills while you're waiting for this to land at your favorite toy stores.  Limited to 200 pieces and priced at $75 each, it's perfectly priced for those of us still waiting on our recording contracts to come in the mail.  

Orange Drop 20 Inch Dunny from Andrew Bell x Kidrobot

    These 20 inch Dunnys are like buying a piece of furniture.  Not only do you have to have a decent amount of space for them, but they instantly become one of the first things people see when they enter your house.  We have a pretty awesome vintage couch that takes up most of our living room and people always love.  The other day our cat Jorah is sitting under it, batting around a small tack.  I go to take it from him and quickly realize where it came from.  He had torn the lining under the couch from front to back and created a little hammock for himself.  It was filled with random stuff that we had been missing for a while and he had this look of excitement on his face like he was so proud of his ingenuity and was glad he could finally share it with us.  It was like watching a feline episode of Mtv Cribs:  

"And over here you'll see my treasure hoard.  We have the stopper to the bathtub, about $15 in change,  the checkbook, an old cell phone, and a weird bone that the medical examiner may or may not have interest in."

"To your left is where the hot tub is getting installed, and over here is where the magic happens.  With your shoe.  Don't try and stop our love."

    The good thing about this giant Orange Drop Dunny from Andrew Bell and Kidrobot is that it is made of plastic, so at most Jorah would only be able to leave a few teeth marks in it.  Though it would be massive enough to carve the head out and make a nice cat bed, although a pricey one.  They will be available July 3rd for $399.99.  

Jorah, thinking about his next DIY project.  

Lemon Drop Dunny from Andrew Bell x Kidrobot

    Some days you can rack your brain for something witty to say and it just won't come to you.  No matter how long I sit and stare at the screen, my mind is focused on nothing but the Sisyphean task that awaits me at work today.  If only I had a boulder to roll uphill, at least I'd be totally ripped by the end of it.  

    By the end of this week I will have desperately needed to reward myself, if for nothing more than not caving my skull in by beating my head against a wall.  If I make it to Thursday I'm going to totally pick up one of these Lemon Drop Dunnys from Andrew Bell and Kidrobot.  Unlike my current disposition, its bright and sunny and would look marvelous amid the rest of my collection.  It's gonna be a long week, but this can be the light at the end of my dark and frustrating tunnel.  

Dripple Series 1 Platform Toy from Sket-One and Mighty Jaxx

    I enjoy a good platform toy.  I like the fact that it's one basic shape and it's up the artist to really bring it to life while making it unique.  Mighty Jaxx has teamed up with Sket One to produce their first ever platform toy, Dripple.  There are two things about this figure that I think make it successful.  The first is a huge area in which to put designs.  They're not limited by little stubby arms or legs or really harsh angles, so the art really has a chance to be unrestrained.  The second is that the arms are all interchangeable and they will be making more accessories to go along with the figures, so you can mix and match them however you want.  Not only does that give you options for display, but customizers will have more choices when making their own creations.  

    Now, they need your help to get this series into production.  They are raising the funds right now over at http://drippletoy.com/ and it works the same way as Kickstarter.  There are different levels of rewards for your contribution, including some hand made figures, complete sets, and even a three foot tall Dripple.  They've actually just hit their main goal a few hours ago, but they still need help in hitting those stretch goals and unlocking more cool stuff.

The Last Knight from Andrew Bell

    I'm not much of a board game person.  Shocking, I know, that I wouldn't want to gather a bunch of people together and play Scrabble til the sun came up.  Board games are too much commitment to being around other people.  Say you sit down to a game of Monopoly with your friends.  You know that game takes forever and by hour four you just want these people out of your house.  But you've signed some unwritten pact to see this game through so you are chained to them like a prison sentence when all you wanna do is watch Monday Night Raw and eat cookies until the pain stops.  But you can't cause they're gonna want cookies too, and if you know anything about emotional eating you know that there are not enough cookies to make the pain stop and to share.  Do you see this spiral of horror you have set in motion all because of a seemingly innocent board game?

   Chess is no better because you could each be down to your last man and just chase each other around the board for hours.  That's what always happened to me until I would knock everything in the floor and challenge my opponent to a fist fight to settle our impasse.

    Andrew Bell made this and it looks cool.  That's a fact and is therefore not up for debate.  What is also a fact is that he made 500 of them and they will be unleashed upon this world this Saturday, May 15th, for $65 at your favorite places to buy fancy toys.  I like it, but I'm also a sucker for a good skull, be it plastic or otherwise.  

Mardivale Dunny Hyper Series from Kidrobot Releases Tomorrow

    Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, which you could spend getting blackout drunk and showing your knick-knacks to strangers for cheap beads, or you could instead buy toys and stay out of our prison system.  Decisions, decisions.

    Kidrobot is releasing their newest Dunny Series tomorrow featuring the work of Andrew Bell and Scribe.  Go out, get some blind boxes, and stay in the comfort of your own home where the police are less likely to show up because of your stupid behavior.  Trust me, I'm an expert on clandestine stupid behavior.  

Andrew Bell x Ferg Misfortune Cat

    I love cats, I really do, but my house is at capacity.  Don't ask me to take your kittens,  don't ask me to house sit your well-behaved leopard, don't ask me to watch those SPCA commercials that make me feel like a horrible person.  We have 5 of our own little buggers and last night was the first time that really hit me.  Mostly because it was the first time they had all been gathered together, waiting for us to feed them canned food (its a treat, dry food is where it's at).  They all sat still, side by side as my wife opened the lid, and when I walked into the kitchen I almost passed out.  We're now officially crazy cat people.

    The moral of the story is that the only other cats that will come into this house will be of the plastic variety, like this Misfortune Cat from Andrew Bell and Ferg.  For $54.95 you can get this 5 inch tall kitty all decked out like a crazy demonic deity, whose favorite way to torment humans is to shove a sword through his head while he does his famous Gene Simmons impression.  Talk about an awkward guest at your next dinner party.  

    "He can't help it Frank, it's how he torments your eternal soul.  Do you want some more green bean casserole?"

     This bad kitty is available for preorder now wherever you like to buy toys.  

Even More NYCC Exclusives from myplasticheart

    My wife is losing her mind over these.  As I've told you before, she crochets, so she gets really excited when she sees anyone under the age of 150 doing something cool with the craft she loves.  Her future best friend Leesasaur has teamed up with Abe Lincoln Jr. for these Denbu figures.  Only 6 of each design were handmade with love.  And yarn, cause yarn is the most important part actually.

    Glop In a Box is a very descriptive name for this toy.  It's exactly what you get:  this big, green melty dude stuffed into a wooden crate.  That's called truth in advertising folks.  Andrew Bell is the man behind this toy and you can buy one from him directly for $120 when he makes an appearance on Saturday.  

    There's not one but TWO exclusive kitty releases this year?  Are you appealing to directly to me you clever folks?  The first one is this Negora from Konatsu.  This black kitty has some wacky mismatched eyes and can be yours for $35.  

    This next plastic feline comes to you courtesy of Chris Ryniak and Ferg.  He looks like he might be having a bad day.  Not only did he drive a sword through his own head, but he seems to be radioactive.  Hopefully he's only on life 5 or 6, cause this is gonna take some effort to recover from.  For $55 you can bring him home and use him to light the path to your bathroom at night.  

    Oooooooh, I dig this guy.  This is Mad's Modern Hero figure living out his Skeletor cosplay fantasy.  I'm digging this guy and I have a strong feeling he may be making the ride back to New Jersey with me.  $65 will get you one of your own so you don't have to touch mine.  I'm kinda weird about that.

Get these and tons more at the myplasticheart booth #113 at New York Comic Con.

Pyramidun from Andrew Bell x Kidrobot

    This toy has gotten a lot of panties in wads.  Andrew Bell has re imagined Kidrobot's Dunny with a pyramid head.  What's cool about this is that the pyramid has three sections that spin, giving you the opportunity to create the face you like the best.  Yeah, I kinda miss the traditional Dunny ears, but I don't know how on earth they would have added them in and still given you free reign over the face you make with it.  At the end of the day it does take some getting used to with the different head shape but the interactive part of it outweighs that for me.  And the great thing is that they aren't blind boxed, so you can easily get the color scheme you want or you can get them both without having to spend a lot of money or end up with doubles.  They come out on August 15th and will sell for $14.99 each.