Tenacious Toys Exclusive Cotton Candy Ghostbear from Luke Chueh x Munky King

    I find myself thankful for the little things in this challenging world we live in.  I'm thankful for the monarch butterflies whose caterpillars I get to watch grow up as the devour our milkweed.  I'm thankful that wearing a mask has let me be completely unconcerned with whether or not I have crumbs stuck in my beard after lunch.  And I'm thankful that my house is not haunted by freeloading ghosts who think just because they're dead they don't have to pay rent.  The last thing I need is some spectral form waking me up in the middle of the night by flickering my lights and thinking that electricity doesn't cost money.  I don't know what marketable skills you have once you cross over, but if you're going to disrupt my household you better contribute.  Now I would certainly accept being haunted by any ghost that wants to clean in exchange for room and board.  How great would that be?  You come home from a long day at work and you can relax because the dead Victorian lady did all of the chores while you were out.  If any dead Victorian ladies are reading this I am currently hiring.

   Luke Chueh and Munky King have released a bunch of these vinyl Ghost Bear figures, but none have looked so delicious.  This Cotton Candy edition stands at two and a half inches tall and is an exclusive to Tenacious Toys.  And while it may not sweep up or torment your enemies, this guy will add some color to your collection while signaling that you are a friend to all wandering spirits.  You can get one for yourself for only $30 when they go on sale tomorrow,  August 7th, at noon eastern time from www.tenacioustoys.com.  

Hello Lukey Hand Painted Resin Figures from Luke Chueh x Flabslab

   How was everyone's holiday? It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything and it's because outside of Christmas obligations I've been working myself to the bone.  Seriously, I have little to no skin left on most of my body, which is bad for me but great for MRSA.  I'm nothing if not thoughtful towards bacteria that thumbs its nose at medical science.  I actually had a customer at work the other day that somehow during the course of our conversation was able to inform me that one summer day she had entered the ocean after cutting herself shaving her legs and picked up MRSA.  I was pretty impressed with how seemless she was able to work a life threatening infection into casual banter, as I have never needed anyone to know anything about my medical history so badly that wasn't a doctor.  Ok, now that I think about it I did post a picture of my kidney stone on Instagram the moment I was able to birth it, so I guess I'm just as guilty.  In my defense, that sucker was 5 mm, which sounds small until you realize they're sharp as a razor and like prove it the entire way out.  Let's get to the subject of this post before I tell you any more about how I shredded my urinary tract.

     This dude here is Luke Chueh's famous bear immitating an even more famous cat.  These are an even bigger resin edition of the soft vinyl version you may have previously seen online.  Each one is five inches tall and has been hand painted by the man himself, making them all unique pieces of original art.  Produced by Flabslab, these are extremely limited and will go on sale this Saturday at 10am eastern time only at flabslab.bigcartel.com for $300 each.  

CMY Edition of Luke Chueh's Possessed from Munky King

    In my list of things in life that are scams, printer ink is at least top twenty.  No matter how new,  they seem to evaporate as quickly as the money I spent on them.  And how come I can buy a bag full of ink pens for next to nothing but throw it in a computer and suddenly it's worth it's weight in gold?  Those evil little cartridges are right up there with Ticketmaster fees, extended warranties, movie prequels, Columbus Day, premium gasoline, name brand cereal, the health care industry, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't think of right now but the moment someone brings them up I'll be sure to yell "SCAM" in their general direction.

    I'm going to put my tumultuous relationship with the ink industry aside and bask in the beauty of thes CMY edition of Luke Chueh's Possessed figure.  Each of these vinyl toys from Munky King is highlighting a shade used in the color printing process and they are exclusive to three different retailers.

  I Am Retro will have the Cyan version:

Munky King will have the Magenta version:

And MSX Art Gallery will be the only place to buy the yellow version:

    Now as anyone that has ever had to make an emergency run to the store when you needed to print something really important knows, black ink is the key to the whole operation.  So Munky King is giving you a chance to win the Kickstarter exclusive all black colorway.   If you purchase all three of these and post a picture of them on Instagram, utilize the hashtag #CMYPossessedContest, and follow @munkykingtoys, @i.am.retro, and @lukechueh you will be entered to win.  Easy enough, right?

    Each will be released tomorrow, December 7th, at noon pacific time through the retailers listed above.  

    

Help Luke Chueh Turn His Art Into Animation

    Believe it or not I almost made a cartoon once.  My wife and I were working with this local dude who had a production company and we came up with ideas for something that would have been pretty awesome.  "Would have" because the dude flaked out on us and stole most of our ideas to use in another one of his projects, which actually aired.  I would be mad about it, but his life turned out to be pretty crappy afterwards so I feel like that's the universe having our back on that one.  Karma is way cheaper than trying to hire an attorney.

    Luke Chueh has dreams of turning his famous characters into an animation and he is on the cusp of it happening.  As of this writing his Grief Encounters project is 97% funded, so now it's up to all of you to give it that final push.  There are only a few days left but tons of great rewards still to be had, like the above 1000% resin Possessed statue.  Or if that's a little rich for your blood there are smaller versions in vinyl to be had that are exclusive to the campaign:

    Munky King also has versions of his Hung and Prisoner figures that are dying to hop in a shipping box and be mailed to you as soon as you pledge your support.  Check out this link and let's help make it happen.

      

Clutter Magazine Exclusives for Five Points Festival

   Having a severed head laying around the house is just asking for trouble.  Just ask anyone who has and they're sure to tell you the cons outweigh the pros.  Shockingly I have found an exception to that rule courtesy of Luke Chueh and Clutter Magazine.  Exclusive to this weekend's Five Points Festival,  the Black and Bone edition is limited to 50 pieces and comes with a nice pool of blood display stand all for only $100.  It's a bear, it's a skull, it's a crime scene and it speaks to me.  Not literally like voices in my head or anything, I meant aesthetically.  The pills take care of the voices.

   

    I think I found the culprit behind the whole severed head business.  Everything Splurrt makes looks like it has bad intentions and the Masterworks Cadaver Kid is no exception to that rule.  This behemoth is cast in a milk-white vinyl thats filled with purple glitter, limited to only 12 pieces in the entire world, and will sell for $165 each.  These things will go quick so make sure you have fresh laces in your Air Jordans if you want one.  

    Things are starting to get a little cuter as we go down the list.  This is Luna from The Bots and Urban Vinyl Daily and she is limited to just 50 pieces in this pink colorway and can be your forever companion for $60.  

    And don't forget about the amazing Dunnys from Gary Ham and Kidrobot.  The yellow one is only for VIP ticket holders while the other two will be available for everyone for $14.99 each.  

All of this will be at booth #234 for your shopping pleasure.

The Prisoner from Luke Chueh X Munky King

    Is there a more fitting toy for our times?  Half of us are on some type of medication, the other half probably should be, and we're all held captive by the evil pharmaceutical industry that not only controls our government but our very ability to exist.  It's not all petting kittens and sipping lemonade here folks; there are hard truths to be found on these pages.

    Luke Chueh and Munky King are set to release The Prisoner today at noon pacific time.  It's a little bear inside a little bottle of Vicodin and it's fun for the whole family!!!  On a serious note I'm glad to see a designer toy really tackle something heavy and not just rely on being a cutesy character.  Not that I don't enjoy that stuff, but I also like art that is challenging and at times uncomfortable and I think that is an area that is desperately underserved in our little niche corner of the world.  This feels like something I would pay admission to go see rather than something I could actually own myself.  But I could and so can you later today (Tuesday, January 17th) at www.munkyking.com.

Suburban Vinyl Exclusives for New York Comic Con

    Man it's getting down to the wire for New York Comic Con and I'm here scrambling to tell you about everything you're gonna want to track down the minute the doors open.  I won't be able to make it up there until Saturday, so I hope I'm not the last vulture to the corpse and all that's left are the toe nails.  That was a really disgusting analogy and hopefully you weren't eating when you read it.  

    SubUrban Vinyl will be holding down their usual spot at the giant Tenacious Toys compound, which is also known as booth 208.  Take a look see at a few of their exclusive items they'll have available for your toy shopping needs:

My Top Ten Favorite SDCC Exclusive Thingys

    Yeah, sure, that's a tad bit dramatic, but seeing everyone's pictures from San Diego Comic Con makes me REEEEEEAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYY wish I was there.  Thankfully New York Comic Con is coming up soon or else I would be losing it for real.  In the spirit of my depression let's take a look at my top 10 favorite exclusive things that are available to convention goers as we speak.  

    Despite our best efforts, Sharon and I still have space left on our walls at home.  We've determined that we hang our pictures "salon style" which they used to do back in the day, and it is a much better term than "a visual representation of mental illness style", which we had been using prior.  These three prints from Kidrobot and artists Brandt Peters, Frank Kozik, and Scott Tolleson would indeed take a place or prominence amongst our collection.  Pick em up during each artist's signings at Kidrobot's booth #5645.  

     That beauty to the right is the comic con exclusive Berry Chocolate Lady Dunny from Junko Mizuno x Kidrobot.  What words could I use to express my desire to have one?  Just look at it.  

    Thakfully, Frank Kozik's ice cream dude Jerome is merely debuting at comic con and will make its way online at some point afterwards from Rotofugi x Squibbles Ink, otherwise I might have had to hire myself a toy mule to procure one.  If you're there, get one at booth # 5248.  If you're not, practice the difficult art of being patient.  Trust me, I need all the practice I can get.  

    Shub Zeroth Misfortune Bags courtesy of Metacrypt and Brian Ewing's booth # 4503 should be on everyone's must-have lists.  Not only do you get a sweet sofubi monster toy, you get a bag to carry it in.  That's a convention blessing.  

    Super7 is straight killing it this year with their Skeletor's Lair pop up shop located in their San Diego retail store.  You can't go wrong with nostalgia presented in a fresh way, like this Chia Pet Moss Man.  Genius!  

    A soft vinyl Skeletor collaboration with Gargamel?  Sign me up, son.  I can't wait to see painted and marbled versions of this, which are gonna blow my mind/bank account wide open.  

     You know its true love when you find an amazing toy at a bargain of a price and that's exactly what Headspace from Luke Chueh and Munky King is.  And the best part is that there will be some available on their website at a later date, so stay the hell away from eBay cause all hope is not lost.  

    JJ Abrams did such a good job with the new Star Trek movies that I'm confident Star Wars is gonna be awesome.  I'm so confident, I would totally by this Black Series Storm Trooper without thinking twice.  

    I'll be more than happy to welcome this 20 inch hologram Darth Vader into my life.  

    Anything from Weta Workshop.  Seriously, have you seen pictures of their booth?  It's an event by itself.  Everything they do make me weep tears of joy.  

I Think I Took Too Much Pain Medication But I'm Still Gonna Review "Hung" from Luke Chueh x Munky King Toys

    Let me tell you folks a story.  It's starts last week when I woke up very early in the morning with the worst pain I've ever felt in my guts.  Seriously, it was like being stabbed with a sword that was made out of bees who were also on fire and on parole.  I woke my wife up and made her drive me to the emergency room.  One CT scan and entire work day later, I was diagnosed with an overachieving kidney stone.  Despite my pain I was kinda proud that rather than making some little baby pebbles in my urinary tract I had instead formed some calcified hell beast that was leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.  I say go big or go home.  So here I sit, days later, with enough pain medication to get me on an episode of Intervention and an appointment to blast this behemoth into tiny pieces via some big speaker and a Pantera record.  Or at least that's what I think my insurance will cover, I'm not really sure.

Dimebag's gonna heal me from beyond the grave.  Then bill my HMO.  

 

    But back to the pain, cause that bugger hurts enough that swinging from the old gallows seems like a good method of treatment.  I bet this polar bear from Luke Chueh and Munky King had one and no amount of pills could make him feel better.  Actually he probably did it because of global warming and the destruction of his natural habitat, so think about that the next time you throw your soda can in the regular trash instead of the recycling, ya jerk.  Though I prefer personally to believe that he just based his life around the wrong Johnny Cash song and he met a tragic end after being involved in some Wild West justice.  We'll go with that one.

     So I think this could go in the record books as the tiniest designer toy ever made.  Not that it's a bad thing by any means, because how often can you take the things you're obsessed with around with you?  He comes with a little plastic peg that fits into your cell phone's earbud jack, so everytime you text you can one-up the person next to you with the bedazzled case that says "princess".

You can BEARLY notice the cracked screen.  

    If that's not your thing the piece is removable, leaving behind a clip that can be attached to your zipper,  or you could put it on a necklace, or you could buy two of them and make a set of earrings that will surely be the hit of your family's annual Christmas photo.  But my favorite use thus far has been impromptu cat toy.  Behold:

Look at her little tongue sticking out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    One of the things that really impresses me about this figure is that the noose is not plastic, but is a piece of string that would have to have been hand tied.  Now I've read a fair amount of resumes in my day but never have I seen one that had "tiny noose making" listed as a skill.  How do you even find out you're good at something like that?  Were you just a wee little lad, handing out rough justice to cockroaches?  I just imagine there was a meeting at the factory and the head guy was like "we have a problem, we need someone that can tie 1000 tiny nooses" and then the normally quit guy in the back formed the biggest smile on his face, thrust his hand triumphantly in the air, and said "sir, I've been waiting my whole life for this opportunity."  He is now the head of his own department.

   
     You may or may not know that I like to joke around a lot (I know, I do hide it really well) but there's nothing funny about suicide.  Munky King will be donating a portion of the proceeds from this figure to suicide prevention charities.  Pick one up this Sunday, May 24th, at www.munkyking.com and grow your collection while helping a good cause.
    

Help Kickstart Luke Chueh's Dissected with Clutter Magazine x Unbox Industries

    All these years I bet you thought that Bears had special bear-shaped skeletons underneath all that fur.  I bet you wish you paid better attention in biology class cause bears are made with human skeletons inside of them.  I thought everyone knew that but apparently the public education system has once again failed us.  Thankfully Luke Chueh has enlisted the help of Clutter Magazine and Unbox Industries to help spread some learning around the world that is so desperately needed.  This figure is on Kickstarter right now and SURPRISE it's already been funded!!!!  That means that you won't be disappointed when you pledge your cash now cause its guaranteed to happen!  Now the stretch goals are starting to become unlocked, giving you even more cool stuff to go along with your severed head.  Check it out at this link.  

Earth Shattering Toy Review Extravaganza Featuring "Bitch" from Luke Chueh x Munky King

    

    You're gonna wanna go ahead and click on that video you see there to set the proper mood for this toy review baaaaaaaaaaaaaby.  That's right, just move your cursor over to the play button, press it, and let the smooth sounds of Marvin Gaye prepare you for what it sure to be the greatest, and I mean greatest, thing you will see all day.  Are you ready?  Is your soul in the mood for love?  If you said "yes" then I'm gonna need you to scroll down a little further so the festivities can begin....

    Oh dang,  you didn't see that coming did you?  But to each his own I suppose, cause these wolves shouldn't be ashamed of how they express their love, even if it's more Lil Wayne than Marvin Gaye.  You've never seen a toy like the one that Luke Chueh and Munky King have created here.  Provocative is the first word that comes to mind, which is not a bad thing by any means, because most of the time good art is exactly that.  And being that this toy is taken directly form one of Luke's paintings (you can kind of see it on the box in the back round) it captures all of the meaning that the original work had.  Now, what that meaning is I have no idea, but that's not gonna stop me from sharing the one's I came up with:

 - The larger wolf could be the IRS while the smallest one represents my disappointment at my refund this year

-  Or he could be the government in general, who has labeled us all as sheep and who takes great pleasure in metaphorically screwing us at every turn 

- They could be a perfectly normal couple who have decided to spice up their relationship by playing dress up (I always try to get my wife to dress up as Margaret Thatcher when she cooks dinner.  That's probably more to do with a head injury I suffered as a youth football player though)

    What I dig about this toy is that it pushes boundaries of what a designer toy should be.  It's kinda cool to have to think a little bit beyond whether or not something is cute while at the same time having to look past whatever awkwardness we may feel about our in-laws knowing there are two plastic wolves makin puppies on our entertainment centers.  The term "art multiple" gets thrown around a lot when describing designer toys but there are very few that I could expect to see for sale in the gift shop of a modern art museum.  I think this one fits that bill, from the toy itself to the slim packaging.   

   Now I know some of you may want to buy this toy cause you like it but fear having to explain to your young children exactly what's going on here.  I get that your house may be more Disney than National Geographic, so I have taken the liberty of utilizing the convenient 3 piece construction to create two alternate scenes you can use to avoid all birds and bees talk:

   In this scenario, two wolf friends are attending comic con.  One has chosen to dress up as his favorite character Super Sheep, while the other has just complained the whole time about waiting in line.  While  rushing to get to the next long line the crabby wolf trips over someone's fake sword and falls on his face, much to the hilarity of his costumed friend.  End scene.

    In this next one, the two wolves and the sheep are enjoying a festive spring break at the Jersey Shore, when all of a sudden one of them makes eye contact with some meathead's girlfriend.  Having just downed a protein shake and 13 shots, the meathead delivers a brutal uppercut to the one wolf, while his friends get ready to do battle.  So many spray tans were ruined that night.  End scene.  

    Those are just two quick ones for you, but the possibilities are endless!  And they're also interchangeable with all of the other editions, so you can mix and match em however you like.  This original version (that takes its color scheme directly from the painting) will be available early in March from www.munkyking.com.  They are limited to 500 pieces and will retail for $69 (I see what you did there you cheeky little monkeys).  

    

More NYCC Exclusives from Clutter Magazine

    New York Comic Con just opened it's doors, and while I won't be there until tomorrow, there is plenty to see and do right this instant.  Clutter Magazine sent me an email filled with all kinds of nutty stuff you're gonna want so let's get to it shall we.

   Fact:  Bears have skulls the same shape as human beings do.  It's on the internet, so it must be true.  Luke Chueh only made 15 of these Dissected Bear Heads in Kenner prototype blue, with 5 being released each day via an 11am lottery system.  The lottery last 15 minutes, after which time the winners will be announced and then they get to buy this dude.  No lottery today, only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so you have time to plan accordingly.  

    Tim Clarke is a legend.  The day he followed me on Instagram I almost pooped my britches.  This dude not only created Boglins and Sectaurs, but he worked on The Dark Crystal with Jim Henson.  We're talking about things that defined people's childhoods.  He's got a new toy series out called Totims and he will have a bunch of those and those prints you see above.  He'll be hanging around Saturday starting at noon and if you're gonna shake anyone's hand during the show, his would be a good one.  Maybe some of the magic will rub off.  

    Ron English is obviously not as big a fan of breakfast cereal as I am.  And I love Cap'n Crunch, even though it shreds the rook of your mouth like you were chewing razor blades.  This is the latest edition of his obese faux pirate, and it will be released Saturday at 1pm and Ron will be there to sign em and tell you the dangers of high fructose corn syrup.  

    I've been in a few fights in my day.  Most of those involved dust ups in my high school cafeteria and certainly never with anyone that looked like this.  Who would fight this guy?  I don't care how bad you think you are, when you see a guy dressed like this and with such an unpleasant look on his face, you need to move along.  Restore made this glow in the dark Neo Japan in such uber limited quantities (10) that he will be sold through a lottery system on Saturday at 2pm with the drawing taking place 15 minutes later.  

    Saturday is gonna be busy for whoever is manning booth # 504, cause at 3pm Jon-Paul Kaiser and UME Toys will be present to release their Buford Mandrake figure.  He comes with two masks, though which one is more disturbing is open to debate.  Meet those fine English gents and pick up this collaboration piece that is sure to be a hit, cause I said so.

    Ok, this is pretty killer.  We've never seen Jeff Lamm's Greasebat figure so...so...cuddly.  Lana Crooks hand made five of these stunning plush toys and I hope there is one left just so I can see it in person.  

    The Flyers lost last night and I'm kinda bummed about that, but they did play pretty well.  And I love the orange and black no matter what and this lizard bro makes me thankful that there's another game tonight with which they can redeem themselves.  Chris Ryniak's Snybora has long been a favorite of mine and this paint job from Squibbles Ink and Kirby Kerr makes it even closer to my heart.  Only 25 folks can own one though, so you better be quick if you wanna play with him on the ride home.  

    Visit the Clutter folks at booth #504 for all that you see and more.  That kinda sounded like something a game show announcer would say.  I need some sleep.