Mighty Jaxx Exclusive Skull Flower from Tara McPherson x Toy Qube

    As the cold, depressing grip of late fall/early winter chokes out the sunlight on New Jersey, I am trying to remember all of the success my wife and I had with our gardening efforts this year.  She enjoyed a bountiful harvest of peppers, though our attempts at growing eggplant produced nothing but no edible runts. All of the blueberries were consumed by the chipmunk that lives under our porch which I don't really mind because I'd like to think he looks forward to them every year.  Flower-wise we were smarter this year, as we only planted things that could tolerate a healthy amount of neglect and that would attract butterflies and hummingbirds for the cats to watch.  Right now the only color outside of our house comes from the uncarved pumpkins that are well past their expiration date and that I'm scared to pick up lest they explode in my hands and cover me in their gore.  I can see it now as I go to toss them into the woods and their already soft rinds give way, ruining a perfectly good pair of shoes.  Whatever happened to juvenile delinquents stealing them to throw them at houses they didn't like?  Please, come and take them!

     This Skull Flower from Tara McPherson perfectly illustrates the grave yard that is my flower bed this time of year.  Death thrives in the damp mud left behind from melted snow fall and the only thing that will grow is the shortening of daylight.  Alas, before I start reciting The Raven, let me tell you that this exclusive Mighty Jaxx version of this figure will be released on Saturday, December 14th at 9am eastern time for $55 (which includes world wide shipping).  You can snag one for yourself by visiting https://mightyjaxx.rocks.  

George's Halloween Portrait Vinyl Figure from Tara McPherson x Martian Toys

    People in the future will one day search the internet for various moments that stand out in our history when looking to prove a point to someone they're arguing with. Search engines of tomorrow will be tasked with retrieving information about various wars, celebrities of note, and other factoids that that will run the gamut of the human experience. One day, someone will type in "name a moment in our past when the paint on a toy was completely nailed" and the picture about you will inevitably appear.

    Martian Toys has outdone themselves on this latest offering from Tara McPherson. I've been collecting her figures for years and I will go out on a very stable limb and say this is the best looking paint any of her toys have ever had. I saw the prototype at Five Points and of course was into it, but the colors are so spot on to the original painting and add so much life to this figure that it's impossible not to gravitate towards it. I'm beyond impressed at the production work, and if you feel the same way you can preorder one for yourself starting this Friday, October 25th. Get in early, because the price will only be $200 up to November first, after which it jumps to it's normal retail cost of $250. And you're getting a lot for your money, because it stands a foot tall! Get yours at www.martiantoys.com.

Stella and Flux: Infrared Sofubi from Tara McPherson x Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke

    The toy you see above took a whopping four years to produce.  Four years!!!!  People think toy making is as easy as when they solve crimes on CSI by throwing all the evidence into a super computer, press a few buttons, and are magically taken to the suspect's Facebook page.  Like wine, whiskey, and corpses (wait, what?) it takes time for the stank of genius to marinate and the results, as you can see, are spectacular.

     This figure looks like it jumped straight out of a Tara McPherson painting and that's because of the hard work of Circus Posterus and Tomenosuke.  Every detail is spot on and if you could come any closer to matching her signature color palette your name would be Gandalf and you'd be a dang gone wizard.  To top it all off this is made in the most luxurious plastic known to man: pure Japanese sofubi.  I get the tingles just thinking about it.

     The photo above kinda gives away how you can get one, but I'll reiterate for those of you I've lost along the way with my nonsense.  This nearly nine inch tall beauty will be available beginning tomorrow (Thursday, February 28th) at noon pacific time from www.circusposterus.com.  Now that is only if you live in the United States or Canada.  If you happen to find out that you live anywhere else in the world, you'll have to purchase your figure from www.tomenosuke.com.  Check your passport if you have any doubts.  

    PS:  I mean, this figure is really amazing, isn't it?  You don't get to use the word "gorgeous" when describing toys very often, but it would be entirely appropriate here.

"Precarious Opposition" Print from Tara McPherson

    I would be irresponsible if I did not throw out some advice for the single dudes out there when it comes to decorating your walls.  Do it.  Put pictures on your walls from art you love or else your dating life is going to be sad.  When my wife and I first started dating my walls we as pure as the driven snow and she made sure I was aware of my lack of decorating.  I didn't see the need to at the time, but apparently that sends off some real serial killer vibes.  She worked at a frame shop and you better believe the first thing she ever gave me was framed art.  Obviously my natural charm was strong enough for her to see my bare walls as a mere invitation for much needed change, but the results could have proved disastrous.

    Now less you think hanging up the periodic table of beer or a Jimi Hendrix poster is gonna cut it, cause that might actually be worse than naked dry wall.  My favorite print that Sharon ever got me was from Tara McPherson, whose art I had just discovered at the time.  Now I am beyond thrilled to share this new print from one of my favorite artists so you can also transform your home into a gallery worthy space like I have.

    Entitled "Precarious Oppositions", this limited edition of 100 fine art prints will be available today (April 26th) beginning at noon eastern time.  Each one not only comes signed and numbered, but will also include an additional print for free for those of you that order before the week ends.

    It's not only the perfect companion piece, but a great way to start your own collection.  Or to expand on the one you already have like me.  Pick them up today by visiting http://www.thecottoncandymachine.com.  

Skull Flower Sculpture from Tara McPherson x Toy Qube

    Finally, someone has created the perfect representation for my success with plants.  Sharon is much better at growing things than I am and thankfully for any vegetation we attempt to grow she takes the lead.  The problem is I expect things to act like they would if they had been allowed to grow on their own without human interaction.  Plants have been doing fine without us so how come a little neglect on my part results in their demise?  Have we turned plants into entitled Millennial that need our participation trophies in order to thrive in the world we've created?  Get out there and do your thing rhododendron, I can't take how emotionally draining you've become!

    How awesome would it be if you could actually grow skulls?  I'm sure those companies that make genetically modified plants have accidentally done something like that and promptly had to incinerate it.  Thankfully Tara McPherson's Skull Flower is in no way a danger to our well being, and this staple of her artwork can now be yours in 3D form.  Produced by Toy Qube, you can bring home this morbid bit of horticultural genius in both 5 and 12 inch versions.  Available now from https://www.toyqube.com, these are a much better idea to give your loved one than regular old flowers that will whither away to crispy little corpses.  This one starts off dead!

Wonder Woman Signing Event with Tara McPherson at myplasticheart

    I remember the first time I met Tara McPherson.  It was in New York at the now shuttered Kidrobot store for the release of her Bubble Yucky Dunnys.  My wife and I stood in line for about an hour and a half in the snow and sub freezing temperatures for the chance to see one of our favorite artists.  Now a days you kids have it easy, what with your comic conventions and whatnot, but back then you had to suffer mentally and physically to take part in an event like that.  And I still only have the pink one and have searched in vain to get its blue companion at a reasonable price.   Not to mention any time there is a chance Sharon and I will have to wait in line for anything she brings up the fact of having almost died to buy this Dunny.  She isn't a big fan of the cold.

   According to the weather app on my phone, it will be a mild 54 degrees during her signing this Saturday at myplasticheart, so you are in no danger of frost bite.  This event is in celebration of her beyond beautiful Wonder Woman figure from Kidrobot, of which I eagerly await delivery of from our esteemed postal service.   I won't be able to attend her signing, but for anyone that can all of the info you need is right there in the picture.  

    

New York Comic Con 2017 Wrap Up

    New York Comic Con 2017 was a weird one for me.  Just three days prior Sharon and I had returned from a week in Yellowstone and vicinity so we were still pretty worn out by the time we boarded the train to New York.  Day one was spent partly in frustration in a sea of people, while day two certainly made up for it.  Here are my thoughts on this annual pilgrimage of nerd-dom and sweaty folks:

- The Javitts Center was on lock down all weekend, with metal detectors at every entrance and the SWAT team roaming around with heavy weaponry.   The level of security was due to the craziness in Las Vegas and I was glad to see that they took everyone's safety so seriously, so kudos to the organizers.

-  The best cosplay I've ever seen involved a mother and father with two very tiny twins in a double stroller.  They had all dressed like characters from The Shining and it was awesome.

-  The Block, which is the area that features designer toys and is what I'm personally most interested in, was pushed from their normal spacious area to a small corner in the back by the loading docks.  This made visiting with people I wanted to a near impossibility as the tide of the crowd funneled through such small aisles would move you whichever way they were going.  I'm not terribly claustrophobic, but I was starting to feel it.


-  We randomly ran into former WWE wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts by an escalator on day one. He was extremely nice and we talked for a bit about what he was up to and how he was doing after his documentary.  In case you haven't seen it a camera crew followed him around as Diamond Dallas Page tried to help him get his life back together while battling serious addiction.  He even asked us if we'd like to take a picture with him, which we were happy to do.  On day two when we saw him again it was clear that the happy ending of his film wasn't as black and white as he had made it seem.  He hit on my wife in a manner that would have been offensive had it not been so utterly hilarious and pathetic.  It reminded me of some internet troll hiding in the safety of his mother's basement and anonymously behind a computer screen as he harassed young girls without the benefit of a filter on his thoughts.  Actually, I would have been offended had I not felt sorry for the guy knowing the reality that he would have to live with long after the convention floor had closed and the adulation of his fans had once again disappeared.

-  We randomly bumped into Michael Ian Black in one of the aisles on day two.  He did not sexually harass my wife.

-  I spent the least amount of money I ever had at the convention as the releases were much fewer this year.  I don't know whether Five Points affected this or the event that was simultaneously going on in Taiwan, or whether so much focus has just been shifted to Designer Con.  Either way it felt different than the past incarnations of comic con, as if this convention has become more of an afterthought for the world of designer toys.

- We saw some really inspiring stuff in the artist's alley this year.  Lots of original work that was more fine art rather than just another version of Harley Quinn.

-  There were some cool prototypes for toys that I'd be happy to own.  Here's some photos so you can start planning your finances:

The Tenacious Toys mascot is going from resin to vinyl in the near future.  Looked to be around five inches tall, so it's gonna be a pretty hefty chunk of plastic.

Super7 is releasing these amazing Misfits Reaction figures soon.  Available in red or black, I'm gonna need both of these pretty badly.  And I heard that there's gonna be a King Diamond figure too!!!!

Tara McPherson's Skullflower prototype was on display from Toy Qube.  Loved the smaller version and being that I have almost every other toy she's released this one is a must.  

-  Sharon was most excited to meet Swatch, the shop dog from Mood fabric stores.  That's where all of the contestants shop for their materials on Project Runway and that little pup is always there being buds with Tim Gunn.  We now have pictures with two famous animals as they were sleeping, with Grumpy Cat being the other.  Hobbies keep you out of jail.

-  The thing that keeps me coming back every year despite any negative things I may have pointed out are the intangibles that go beyond buying an item or meeting a celebrity.  One of my favorite things is to grab lunch and sit on the floor in one of the big halls and just people watch. We'll sit for an hour or so and look at the costumes and listen to the camaraderie that forms between two people from merely being a fan of the same franchise.  When you buy a ticket in you're buying an experience and as long as I remember that I always enjoy myself.

-  I saw a guy on the train make his girlfriend stand so he could use the seat next to him to eat his dinner.  He would literally sit him hamburger on the unprotected cushion rather than the wrapper that it came in.  I'm sure he was either murdered by his girlfriend later that not after she processed this indignity or the special strain of New Jersey Transit bacteria ravaged his guts and brought him to an unceremonious end.  Either way, he is no longer with us.

    Well, that about does it.  There was sweat, thankfully no blood, and certainly no tears.  Except for that dude on the train, who probably cried a lot when he made it to the nearest bathroom.

Check out www.facebook.com/thetoyviking for all of the pictures.

Tara McPherson Pop Up Event At Jinxed in Philadelphia

    Now I'm not one to go and take credit for things, but I'm gonna lay this scenario out for you.  Tara McPherson posted on Instagram looking for suggestions on where she could hold a pop up shop in Philadelphia.  I mentioned Jinxed because it is one of my favorite stores in the city and is pretty much responsible for me being obsessed with designer toys.  Then yesterday Tara posts this picture because obviously my idea was that phenomenal.  And yet the WWE still won't hire me to write for them even though I now have a proven track record of brilliance.  

   You can spend the day before my birthday chillin (do people still say that) with Tara at the best vintage store in the entire city of Brotherly Love this WEDNESDAY.  She'll be there from 6-8 with all kinds of art that would look way better than that "Live, Laugh, Love" shabby chic wood thing you have hanging above your couch.  Go ahead and throw that away in anticipation, I'll wait.  

Help Kickstart Tara McPherson's First Board Game "Dreamwell"

     When I first heard Tara McPherson was doing the art for a new game I assumed it was gonna be for an app.  So then like a dummy I went and tried to download it, which is when I learned that it was actually a real life board game like Monopoly, which no one will play with me because I get way too intense. Basically I like to play until I put you in financial ruin and slowly begin to take everything you own.  And I laugh maniacally while I do it, which is probably the part that upsets people the most.  World domination isn't pretty though, and you better man up if you think you're gonna be buying up property in my neighborhood.

    The game is called Dreamwell and the premise is that you're trying to locate some friends that have become lost.  It doesn't have the same nefarious dealings that Monopoly does, but think of that warm and fuzzy feeling you'll get when you rescue these poor lost folk despite the lack of cash reward.  And you can play with up to four people total, so when you win you can still celebrate like you scored the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl.  You should never pass up the opportunity to highlight your dominance in any competition.

    Tara and Action Phase Games need your help to make this become a reality and are running a Kickstarter campaign to generate the funding.  Check out the link here and contribute what you can.  Even if you can't find someone to play with you because of your colorful history with board games, each piece would look really cool to decorate with.