Toys R Us Exclusive Ugly Doll

    Check out this guy I discovered while reading the Sunday paper (it's still a viable media source for anyone over 30).  He is a Toys R Us exclusive and retails for $19.99 or you can get him for $7.99 with any Ugly Dolls purchase of $20 or more.  They say he's an Uglydog, but I think he looks like my cat Icarus, who you can see below:

   The resemblance is uncanny, except for the whole cyclops thing.  But I swear he has that same scarf.

G.I. Joe Gets the Anime Treatment

    I first saw these figures at New York Comic Con and have since seen them for sale at a few different stores.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got the anime treatment a few years back and the results were not that good.  But recently Thundercats have relaunched with the same look that these figures have and it seems to not only make the original fans happy, but it is also exposing them to a new generation that completely missed out the first go round.  With that being said these reinterpretation of G.I. Joe was kinda weird to me at first, like they where blaspheming something sacred from my childhood.  But the more I look at them, and the more I think about kids playing with the same toys today that I did 20 years ago, the more ok I have become with their existence.  I just hope their parents will let them open the packages and dig up the backyard the way I did to create an entire world they can play in.  I still have figures with the grit of dried mud clogging up their joints.  I'm sure many people will collect these and stow them away in a box or leave them to collect dust on a shelf, but the love I have for toys today comes from the extent to which they aided in building my imagination, something nearly impossible to do through cardboard and plastic.  I hope the kids will love them now as much as I did then.

The Hammer of Thor Bottle Opener

    There are times in one's life when one needs a device to rescue a tasty beverage from the clutches of an evil glass prison.  If you are to free your mead from the grasp of all that is unholy, you should probably do it with Thor's Hammer!  Diamond Select Toys will be releasing Marvel themed bottle openers in 2012, with the first being the mighty Mjolnir.  Wield the power of Asgard while you unleash refreshment among your friends!  Just don't hit anybody with it.

Feroshi the Dino Slug from Shawnimals

       To close out 2011, Shawnimals has created a dinosaur/slug hybrid that is probably slow moving but looks like it would bite the crap out of you when it caught up.  Limited to 100 handmade pieces, Feroshi will go on sale December 7th right here for $30 American dollars.

Ajee Kosplay

   I was lucky enough to attend this year's New York Comic Con and while I was there I got to meet the artist behind this toy.  Her name is Ajee and she had these on display but unfortunately they were only samples and you had to preorder the figure a wait a few months for it.  As soon as I got home I pulled out my already tired credit card and snagged one.  Now almost 2 months later I get a package from France and guess what's inside?  I was so excited to finally have it that I thought I'd snap a few pictures and share them with you all.
   This figure is even cooler in person than it looks here.  The sculpt is amazing and the manufacturing is spot on.  I own plenty of figures with flaws in them, whether it be a paint smear or the molds just not lining up properly, but this figure has none of those.  Definitely the best quality control I've ever encountered.  And I love how the piece just looks like it is part of some epic story line that is begging o be told.  There seems to be much more to it than just plastic and paint.
    If you need one for yourself you can now buy them directly from the artist on her website.  They also come in all black and glow in the dark, but the black and white was obviously my favorite and really brings out the angular design.  By the way, these were made by Bonustoyz Epz who have to be commended for their attention to every detail.

Jesse Hernandez Calavera Dunny Release info

     I already told you that this was coming, but now I have the date and the price.  Jesse Hernandez and Kidrobot will be unleashing this 8 inch Calavera Dunny on December 15th.  There are only 1000 of them in the world and they cost $75.  Being that December 15th is also my birthday, I feel Kidrobot should send me one cause I like it and I managed not to die this year.  Believe me, staying alive was not as easy as I make it sound.  It took hard work, dedication, and the knowledge that my wife is too pretty to scoop the cat litter.

Wonder Woman Ame-Comi figure from DC Direct

   
   I love these figures from DC Direct.  They take classic female characters from the extensive history of DC Comics and give them the anime treatment.  You'll have to wait until March to get this new version of Wonder Woman, but I figured I'd tell you about it anyway so you have time to decide whether or not a life of crime might be beneficial to your toy collection.  It will set you back $70, so no one would fault you for going all Jesse James on a couple of banks.  Not Jesse James the womanizer mind you.  That would just be weird.