I enjoy a dumb American ritual as much as the next guy, but I have never once participated in the battle royale that is Black Friday shopping. I'm talking about the old school, "get in line at 5 in the morning and be willing to punch as many people in the face as it takes to get a George Forman Grill for half price" event that place the day after Thanksgiving. I've been an employee at a few companies where Black Friday was important, and by far the craziest scene was when Tickle Me Elmo was released. I worked at a department store in Virginia and we only got 6 of the creepy vibrating Muppets for sale, though a mob of about 50 people were pawing at our doors like extras from a George Romero film that morning, desperate to own one. In the store manager's infinite wisdom he decided the fairest way to deal with what would obviously be a problem was to line all 6 of them up on our service desk, unlock the door, and get the hell out of the way. I think you know what happens next. A surging mass of humanity nearly ripped the doors from the hinges, fighting and clawing its way to its goal. Six people reached the plush toys; cradling them to their bodies to protect them from prying hands. One woman was literally punched in the jaw by a grown man looking to usurp her prize. I stood there stunned at what I was seeing; my 15 year old body incapable if not unwilling to intervene. Hovering just below the cries of vulgarity and injury I could here a fainter, yet easily distinguishable sound that underlined the chaos. It was the sound of high pitched laughter, coming from the dolls that would soon make a few kids Christmas mornings the best ever, even if they had to be careful when hugging mommy so her stitches didn't break.
Of course with the rise of online shopping the madness around Black Friday has died down a bit, but the amazing deals to be had are just as prevalent.
Tenacious Toys is using this time honored unofficial holiday to release three brand new exclusive figures that you won't even have to kick anyone in the head for. I mean, you still can if you want, but it would be wholly unjustified.
At 10 am you will be able to score the first ever production release from
Cat Atomic as he has lent his signature style to the very popular TEQ63 figure from
Quiccs. It stands 6 inches tall, is produced by
Martian Toys in soft vinyl and will be priced at $80 each. Only 150 of these exist and their release will be staggered every 15 minutes for an hour.
Last Resort Toys has created a new series of mini figures called Run-A-Mucks and in a not so surprising turn of events, has allocated the blue versions to be an exclusive for
Tenacious Toys. Each set comes with 6 designs that stand about 2 inches tall. Each set is $22 and limited to 150 pieces worldwide. These will be available beginning at noon.
And finally we have Candy Cornelius from
Alex Pardee and
3DRetro in an exclusive Giant Shark edition. Personally, it reminds me of the last scene in The Shinning where Jack Nicholson has taken on the appearance of a freezer burned chicken tender. That probably would have been too long of a title to print on the box. This mean looking sugar demon stands nearly 8 inches tall and is limited to, you guessed it, 150 pieces. He'll cost ya $65 when he's released at 1pm.
