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.

      

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.

Trouble Trouble - Black Edition from Dabs Myla X Munky King

 

    If I owned this toy I would reply to any of my wife's questions that need to be answered in the affirmative by whipping this sucker out and yelling "DYNO MITE" just like JJ from Good Times because I am all about pushing boundaries and living like the rebel I am.  Eventually she will get tired of it and hide it from me, which will force my hand into finding some new way to establish the proper level of awesome for which I am entitled as an American.  You don't need Monster Energy drinks when you are filled with the spirit of Kenny Powers.  I totally just power watched Eastbound and Down and was way more inspired by it than I should have been.

    Munky King is releasing the latest Trouble Trouble figure from Dabs Myla in black on black with a wee bit o gold for some spice.  If you want one you can get it at noon pacific time today from www.munkyking.com.  Put it on a plate, cover it in birdseed, and finally nail that pesky roadrunner once and for all.

    

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.  

Trouble Trouble from Dabs Myla x Munky King at SDCC

    Did you watch the MTV Movie Awards?  Yeah, me neither.  I would much rather remove one of my eyes with a spoon than watch just about anything on that channel.  Ok, I do get a kick out of True Life, and for some reason I can still be suckered into watching the Real World for some reason, even if it's just in hopes that the house catches fire with all of them in it.  So let me revise my previous statement:  I would rather remove one of my eyes with a spoon than watch MOST of the programming on MTV.  Sometimes you just gotta slum it.   Then I found out Dabs Myla designed the set for the Movie Awards and I was mildly tempted to watch it, but then I also realized that still photography is a thing and I could enjoy their work without having to risk hearing a Kanye West song.

   The couple create artwork that practically begs to be made into toys, yet this is surprisingly their first foray into the vinyl world.  Munky King will be debuting this delightful stick of dynamite and his stressed out match friend at this year's San Diego Comic Con.  If you can't make it to the show because you're busy auditioning for Teen Mom 8 don't worry, they're gonna be available later on at https://www.munkyking.com/.  

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.
    

Hide Your Wife, Hide Your Kids Cause I'm Reviewing Business Monkey from Joe Ledbetter x Munky King

     Business Monkey has got a fist full of dollars burning his fingerprints off, and he wanted to get rid of them ASAP.  I tried to get him to play Shark Tank (I was even willing to let him be Mark Cuban) and invest in this new idea I had for edible dish cleaning sponges (the best food particles are going to waste, people), but he wasn't interested.  I could tell by the look in his eyes that he needed to get out of the house, to see where his riches could take him, so we gassed up the Hyundai and went on an adventure.  Where could we possibly go and spend that hard earned cash that was driving my simian companion so insane?

    Now it's about this point I had to stop taking pictures at the request of a giant doorman by the name of Tank who politely suggested I leave the camera in the car.  It was more the barbed wire tattoo around his neck that I spotted as soon as we parked, but there are more forms of communication than verbal am I right?  You don't stay alive as long as I have by not noticing these subtle details.  So while the pictures may be scarce, I'll do my best to relive the hijinks for you.

   It must have been a slow day because when we walked in we were immediately swarmed like we were making the routine gold delivery.  Coming in from the bright afternoon sun you need time for your eyes to acclimate to the much darker interior of the club, and thankfully for me Business Monkey laid a hand across my chest, cautioning me not to settle for a particular girl just yet.  Once my pupils had dilated I realized the favor he did me, because it looked like we were being attacked by extras from The Walking Dead.  Their sell-by-date having long passed, we pushed our way through and headed to the bar.  The bartender was a youngish man, maybe with a chromosomal issue, who after getting our drinks asked if we'd like to buy his new mix tape cause it's "hot fire".  Business Monkey was having none of it, and his financial-advising bird was more into classic rock anyway, so he gripped his wad of cash tighter as he nursed his drink.  A look of despair had fallen over his face, as if coming here had been nothing but a disappointment.  I was more concerned about the rat tugging at my laces in what was an obvious attempt to steal my shoes.  Suddenly, just when investing in my business start up was beginning to look like the better alternative, he spotted her.  

     The lonely, green-eyed beauty.  She cast a shy glance his way that sent his heart a flutter and blew a cool breeze through his stack of money.  He hopped up on the bar, sauntered over to her, and began searching her hair for bugs.  Her hair devoid of tasty insect snacks, he picked her hand up, kissed it, then showered her with good old fashioned American currency. Business Monkey feels no pain when he makes it rain! 

     Aren't adventures fun?  I think so, but I'm sure you're also curious what I think about the actual toy itself.  Having been a fan of Joe Ledbetter's work since I've been collecting designer toys, I feel this is one of the best representations of his work to date.  It's hard to explain, but it really captures the 2 dimensional aspects of his work in 3D.  More so than when his art appears on an existing platform toy. 

    His best toys are always the ones specifically designed with his art in mind, so you can properly appreciate the world in which they exist in his head.  And how can you go wrong with and angry monkey with a money hungry bird perched on his tail?  You can't, it's impossible.  

    Now you obviously need one of these guys to take on your own adventures to whatever hillbilly gentlemen's establishments exist where you live, so I'm gonna tell you how to get one.  This Thursday, March 12th, these suckers will go live on https://www.munkyking.com/ for your buying pleasure.  At only $90 each, they're a heck of a bargain cause they're freakin' huge.  For real, I had to clear off a gigantic space just to have somewhere to house him in between lap dances.  

    And you get a free box for your cat to sit in AT NO EXTRA CHARGE!  

  "The box could use more fart smells." - Jorah

Win A "Business Monkey" from Joe Ledbetter x Munky King Toys This Weekend

    You know what I got sitting on the shelf in front of me as a type this?  One of Joe Ledbetter's Business Monkeys from Munky King.  So how do I already have one and they're not even on sale yet?  I can't tell you all my secrets son, but what I can tell you is that this sucker is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and you can get yourself one before anyone else this weekend as Munky King will be running an Instagram contest.  So if I were you, and I wanted a monkey with sound financial knowledge, I would go and follow Munky King on Instagram right now.  I'll be doing a proper review of this guy next week that may or may not include taking him somewhere that he can spend all those dollar bills in his hand.  Actually, I'm just gonna try and pay my credit card statement with them.  Gonna make it rain in Wal-Mart boooooooooooooy!!!!!

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).  

    

Mintyfresh Exclusive Poker Monkey from Joe Ledbetter x Munky King

    I really need to get jobs for my cats.  I bring home the applications, but they never get filled out.  Grump Cat has a job and Lil Bub has a job, so I don't see why my cats can't get on the internet and start earning me some cash.  All they wanna do is sit around all day, occasionally practice their black magic that a neighbor got them into, and watch Wendy Williams reruns.  

   This monkey has a job.  Or at least he's dressed like he does.  I assume if he wants to keep playing poker he better have some source of income.  He can't be winning that much if that bird is gonna tell everyone the cards he's holding.  The last time we saw this simian from Joe Ledbetter he was merely drinking a cup of coffee, though now it looks like he's fallen into a much more dangerous vice.  God only knows where his troubles will progress from here, maybe Munky King will make an "Opium Den" version next.  Who's to say, but I do know that this guy is an exclusive to Mintyfresh and will be unleashed upon the world Monday, October 20th at 7pm Amsterdam time through http://www.mintyfresh.eu/.

Munky King's Remaining SDCC Exclusives On Sale Today

    Ooooooh I bet you thought you weren't going to get one of these.  You'll be happy to know that while they only made 100 of them, not all of this Luke Chueh/Jason Freeny collaboration made it to Munky King's booth at SDCC.  They weren't being sneaky about it, they just weren't able to finish them in time.  Production was going smoothly until one of them brought Downton Abbey season 3 to work and then depressed everyone, bringing work to a screeching halt.  Are Anna and Mr. Bates the only people destined to find happiness?  These go on sale today at noon Pacific time for $240.

    They also have a few of these worm crawly machiney thingys from Doktor A.  You can have one for $120 and they are also limited to 100 pieces.

Get em both today at https://www.munkyking.com/.

Munky King Exclusives for SDCC

    I would most definitely fight a horde of nerds for this figure.  It features two of my favorite things: blood and guts.  Luke Cheuh and Jason Freeny teamed up to help this bear learn all about his insides.  Munky King produced 100 of these for Comic Con and each was hand made.  It is stunning to say the least and in my top 10 of must haves from this year's convention.  I wouldn't tell if they wanted to sell me one right now.  

    Doktor A doesn't make anything that isn't insane to look at and this might be his craziest piece yet.  What is nice about this is that it is listed as the Autumn Amble Edition, which would lead one to believe that future releases for us unable to make it to San Diego will occur.  

    This guy is kinda neat.  Anthony Ausgang released a similar version of this years ago, but he and Dave Pressler have changed up the sculpt and made 50 of them available in this uber limited edition.  Kitty gonna go boom.

Get all three of these by visiting the folks from Munky King at their booth.