July Hauls

[andersonh1]

I'll start it, since I don't see a thread. Picked up the animated Batman: Year ONe at Best Buy today for $5.00. They had a whole display of animated Batman stuff on sale. Might be worth checking your local store to see if they're doing the same thing.

[BWprowl]

I'll start it, since I don't see a thread. Picked up the animated Batman: Year ONe at Best Buy today for $5.00. They had a whole display of animated Batman stuff on sale. Might be worth checking your local store to see if they're doing the same thing.

I watched this movie back when it first came out. It's pretty cool, though it'd be more appropriately titled "Jim Gordon kicks the ass of everyone and everything: The Movie". I'll confess that I haven't read the comic on which it's based, but it's good.

I, uh, haven't had any hauls lately? Mainly just been looking for a Vehicon, who's a phantom around here. But I do know I've got a nice, meaty haul on the way from AmiAmi, and I just found out those new 4-inch Ninja Turtles toys are hitting, and they look pretty dang cool, so I'll probably pick some of them up when I see them.

[Onslaught Six]

New Turtles line is primarily based on the new cartoon, so I'm out. (Seriously, and everybody thought Bay was going to ruin the franchise. Oh God.)

Man, how haven't you read Year One? It's cheap and good and basically, Batman Begins: The Comic. With more Jim Gordon. (Yeah, you're right, there's a huge amount of focus on Gordon. It's as much his story as it is Batman's. Also, I still hate how he cheats on his wife.)

[BWprowl]

New Turtles line is primarily based on the new cartoon, so I'm out. (Seriously, and everybody thought Bay was going to ruin the franchise. Oh God.)

I’ve only seen the one trailer for it, and it looks…pretty standard for a Ninja Turtles cartoon. Granted, the trailer itself was bad, but trailers in general just seem to suck these days, for some reason (I blame the loss of Don LaFontaine). But yeah, I haven’t seen anything too offensive about it yet, but I confess that you’re probably following it closer than I am; what’s particularly rage-worthy about this go-around? Unless you’re just one of those people who’s mad that the Turtles have three toes now, instead of two.

Anyway, the toys themselves look pretty cool, and I’m really digging the art style they’re pulling off with them, they just look slick (and can look even slicker, have you seen that SDCC Leo they’re putting out? Oh god, I could almost justify dropping $20 and a middleman fee or something to get me one of those. Almost.). Plus they each come with a bunch of extra weapons on a 90’s-style pop-out sprue, and that works as a selling point to me, for some reason.

Man, how haven't you read Year One? It's cheap and good and basically, Batman Begins: The Comic. With more Jim Gordon. (Yeah, you're right, there's a huge amount of focus on Gordon. It's as much his story as it is Batman's. Also, I still hate how he cheats on his wife.)

Dunno, just never got around to buying/reading it (There’s a ton of Important Comics I still haven’t gotten around to reading. Dark Knight Returns, for one. And I only got around to reading Kingdom Come a couple years ago).

To be fair on the Jim Gordon thing, his cheating isn’t glorified at all, it’s clearly portrayed as the massive, horrible fuck-up it should be, and he does pay for it. To his credit, he breaks it off before it gets any worse AND has the balls to fess up to his wife about it and face her decisions afterwards. From a plot standpoint, it’s mainly there so he can ‘fall’ and ‘redeem’ himself towards the end. Yeah, maybe Jim wasn’t The Best Of Us from the beginning, but I think the story is more about seeing how be *became* The Best.

[Onslaught Six]

New Turtles line is primarily based on the new cartoon, so I'm out. (Seriously, and everybody thought Bay was going to ruin the franchise. Oh God.)

I’ve only seen the one trailer for it, and it looks…pretty standard for a Ninja Turtles cartoon. Granted, the trailer itself was bad, but trailers in general just seem to suck these days, for some reason (I blame the loss of Don LaFontaine). But yeah, I haven’t seen anything too offensive about it yet, but I confess that you’re probably following it closer than I am; what’s particularly rage-worthy about this go-around? Unless you’re just one of those people who’s mad that the Turtles have three toes now, instead of two.

The faces just look...bad. They don't have any Turtle Definition. They're just big globs of Play-Doh.

Plus Don and Mikey's weapons got replaced, except not apparently? Because I've seen images where they have the regular weapons and then ones where they have different ones. So, I dunno!

And it's just...a question of tone, I guess. They've replaced "Cowabunga" with, uh, "Booyakasha" (I think?) which is just as dumb and holds no nostalgia value. It'd be like...like bringing back Different Strokes, right, but instead the new catchphrase is "I didn't understand what you said!" It's not any 'better' and the whole reason for the Turtles to even have a nonsense catchphrase at this point is nostalgia value. People were already saying Cowabunga when the Turtles did it; nobody casually says "Booyakasha," and if they do, they're retarded.

Anyway, the toys themselves look pretty cool, and I’m really digging the art style they’re pulling off with them, they just look slick (and can look even slicker, have you seen that SDCC Leo they’re putting out? Oh god, I could almost justify dropping $20 and a middleman fee or something to get me one of those. Almost.). Plus they each come with a bunch of extra weapons on a 90’s-style pop-out sprue, and that works as a selling point to me, for some reason.

That is cool. And, in the new toys' defense, I just looked again and they don't actually look as bad and doughy as the cartoon models do. The 6" line is pretty cool but is already rustlin' mah jimmies because Donatello is coloured green. (Every other Turtle follows the original toy's shades, why doesn't Don?) Depending on how expensive the 4" line is...I might bite.

Dunno, just never got around to buying/reading it (There’s a ton of Important Comics I still haven’t gotten around to reading. Dark Knight Returns, for one. And I only got around to reading Kingdom Come a couple years ago).

God, what the hell! Go out and read it. Definitive Superman portrayal, right there, man. Great Two-Face, Joker, everything. (Except Batman is kinda crazy in it. But, y'know.) Actually, they're on their way to adapting that, too, so you probably won't have to worry too much. (Fucking Peter Weller is voicing Batman in it!)

To be fair on the Jim Gordon thing, his cheating isn’t glorified at all, it’s clearly portrayed as the massive, horrible fuck-up it should be, and he does pay for it. To his credit, he breaks it off before it gets any worse AND has the balls to fess up to his wife about it and face her decisions afterwards. From a plot standpoint, it’s mainly there so he can ‘fall’ and ‘redeem’ himself towards the end. Yeah, maybe Jim wasn’t The Best Of Us from the beginning, but I think the story is more about seeing how be *became* The Best.

Maybe you're right! I dunno, I just don't like that element of it, but that's me.

[BWprowl]

The faces just look...bad. They don't have any Turtle Definition. They're just big globs of Play-Doh.

Plus Don and Mikey's weapons got replaced, except not apparently? Because I've seen images where they have the regular weapons and then ones where they have different ones. So, I dunno!

The faces could stand to be a bit pointier, I suppose (though not too much, I honestly never liked the beaks the comic Turtles practically had), but overall I don’t mind the new look. The main thing that’s bugging me about the animation is they’re doing that thing where there is movement and fluid motion and stuff, but in between that they just *freeze* and lock in place to talk between poses. I like my animation, especially in CGI, to have more fluidity to it, more life. I don’t know if they’re trying to go for a comic-style feel with the movement this way, but it makes it feel cheap and/or lifeless. But this is just off a minute-long trailer, I’m willing to give it more of a chance!

I saw those early promo pics that had Don with the naginata and Mikey with the kama, but those seem to have been phased out early in favor of the original weapons, likely because they realized that adding more bladed weapons in a franchise that already had trouble writing non-lethal ways for the katana-wielding guy to get involved was probably a stupid idea.

And it's just...a question of tone, I guess. They've replaced "Cowabunga" with, uh, "Booyakasha" (I think?) which is just as dumb and holds no nostalgia value. It'd be like...like bringing back Different Strokes, right, but instead the new catchphrase is "I didn't understand what you said!" It's not any 'better' and the whole reason for the Turtles to even have a nonsense catchphrase at this point is nostalgia value. People were already saying Cowabunga when the Turtles did it; nobody casually says "Booyakasha," and if they do, they're retarded.

I’d honestly managed to forget about the Booyakasha until you mentioned it, it didn’t make that much of an impact (of course, I’m terrible at catching that sort of thing, for some reason. I didn’t even notice Naruto had a catchphrase until my brother pointed it out to me). To me it strikes me more of as a joke that might run through an episode or two, or maybe some stupid idea that’ll get phased out in a few episodes. Anyway, it’s just a stupid little catchphrase, and really doesn’t hurt the show’s chances, in my eyes. I should clarify that I’m mainly just digging the look of the toys, the show doesn’t look bad right now, but is strictly in “I’ll give it a shot” territory for me, currently.

Why hasn’t Different Strokes been revived as a half-assed film adaptation or something?

That is cool. And, in the new toys' defense, I just looked again and they don't actually look as bad and doughy as the cartoon models do. The 6" line is pretty cool but is already rustlin' mah jimmies because Donatello is coloured green. (Every other Turtle follows the original toy's shades, why doesn't Don?) Depending on how expensive the 4" line is...I might bite.

I think Classic Don’s colors are on account of those toys being made to cater strictly to cartoon nostalgia, and all the Turtles were the same shade of green in that. Differentiating their greens on these new toys just to help them stand apart from each other on the shelves may be acceptable within those parameters, but Don being full-on brown/olive wouldn’t fly in this situation. I think they look pretty cool too, but I wouldn’t complain if they put out a recolored Don later, since I’m with you in that Don pretty much has to be brown (him being my favorite Turtle just means that I’m even more of a stickler for that accuracy on him).

The 4” line is reportedly 8-9 bucks each. Which is…better than GI Joe/Star Wars! The bonus weapons sweeten the deal, anyway. Just the Turtles themselves look good though, April’s pretty meh and Shredder’s apparently not very good either. The Metalhead they’ve got coming out later looks awesome though!

Maybe you're right! I dunno, I just don't like that element of it, but that's me.

Different strokes! Wait, you were just talking about that!

[BWprowl]

Came home last night from a trip to Berkeley to find a package from Dom waiting for me: Everyone's favorite stupidly-shortpacked army builder, Vehicon! I paid about $25 to get this Deluxe to me and...he's pretty worth it. Just a great mold of a great design all around. I won't even be annoyed if I see one here in stores later, since the temptation to buy another (or two) is high. I think this toy could be fun in groups. Thanks Dom!

Then, today, my order from AmiAmi showed up! Figma Chie from Persona 4, SH Figuarts AkibaRed (with first-release bonus stands!), and Gutto-Kuru Minerva! Chie's small for a Figma and light on accessories, but has some nice bits (the glasses-holding hand was a pleasant surprise, as were the inclusion of the Wacky Glasses, which I thought only Yukiko would be coming with), and AkibaRed's just great, with tons of hands, plus his gun. Getting the stand sweetened the deal (not to mention getting ones for Blue and Yellow later on). Minerva...check the G1 forum for my extensive look at her. Spoilers: I'm excited as hell that this toy exists and I own it.

[Dominic]

Hey Prowl, one of those novels is pretty good. The other....not so much. "The Outcast Dead" has one of the biggest continuity blunders I have ever seen, anywhere. (I am saying that as somebody who watched the G1 cartoon as a kid.) I really wanted to see Prowl's reaction to it.


Dom
-but, "Deliverance Lost" is pretty good.

[andersonh1]

Been getting back into the Big Finish Doctor Who since Tom Baker has returned to play the Fourth Doctor again. Got three of his stories, and the nice thing about it is that they can now be downloaded for half the price of importing CDs from the UK.

[BWprowl]

Oy. Apparently it takes me longer to get back in the swing of 'posting on the boards' from a vacation than it does to actually get back to work.

I got hauls!

Picked up all four of the new Nick Ninja Turtles. Insanity: All four are their own unique sculpts, no reused parts (Mikey's even marginally shorter than the others, and Don's a bit taller). They look damn good too, eschewing the sleeker look of the cartoon they're theoretically based on in favor of a style that swings closer to a fusion of the comics and the 90's toy style. I love the hell out of them, I think they look fantastic. Not ultra-posable, though they're at least up to modern standards; using soft plastic for the front shell pieces so those didn't interfere with their leg articulation was a smart move. The boatloads of extra weapons they come with sweeten the deal, especially like Raph's katar, though I mostly give 'em to Leo. Only a couple minor niggles: I really wish Don was brown rather than the pale green he is, though this is a fresh Turtle continuity, so it's not totally unforgivable, and the fingers on Raph's left hand are sculpted together, meaning he can't hold his sai 'properly' in that hand. An exacto-knife fixed that on mine though, and I'm likely the only one really bothered by it. Also their weapons could stand to have painted parts, but considering the price and the fact that they're packed on sprues, it's not a big deal. All told, these are some of the coolest-looking, most well-done Turtle toys we've ever gotten. Playmates really stepped up their game. Too bad the other characters don't look nearly as good (I'm contemplating Shredder, since he looks to at least have proper articulation, but most people are saying he's really not that good). Here's hoping upcoming guys like Metalhead and Leatherhead are better as villains. Maybe a brown redeco of Don at some point too.

I also grabbed a Mutant Assault Batman from the kiddie-centric Batman Power Attack line, for no other reason than that the back-of-the-box story for this guy is utterly retarded and hilarious. Bruce clearly didn't think this plan through. The toy's kind of lame as an action figure, but at least the mutant/armor gimmick is mildly entertaining. Might get the Mister Freeze from the same line just so ManBatman has someone to fight, and because I like the design of that one a lot.

Synergetically, I went to the midnight premier of The Dark Knight Rises that night. Loved it a lot, though it was hard to retroactively be happy about it afterwards because...well, you know. I've gotten over that bout of misplaced guilt/paranoia/weirdness though, and can say that it was definitely a cool movie. I'd like to see it again.

And then yesterday I found a lone Cyberverse Ultra Magnus at Target. Score! The arms on mine are loose as hell! Boo! And Target doesn't seem to sell Pledge Floor Polish With Future anymore, double boo! I'll look in a couple other places, then settle for nail polish topcoat or something if I can't find it to tighten the joints. Because it seems like a cool toy otherwise (dig the way the hammer turns into a turret), if I can just fix those lousy shoulders.

*Sigh* and this is why I shouldn't take spontaneous extended leaves. I've got Watchmen comics to review still, Masterforce episodes to watch/talk about, toy heights to get into emphatic arguments with JT about!