Action Figure Review: Lizard Man from Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel

     I really enjoy the Filmation Masters of the Universe cartoon but it's definitely not my favorite incarnation of MOTU, thus some of the characters with one or two appearances have not always been on my most wanted list. Lizard Man (like Fang Man) is one of those Filmation characters with a limited amount of appearances (three if you count He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special) and an overly cartoonish look that always feels like he should have been part of the vintage line. He's a rather unique looking character (and that's saying something in MOTU) and ends up making a great figure. Lizard Man was the January 2015 Club Eternia subscription figure and he's been a constant companion to me at my desk at work over the past few weeks. He's just so much fun to fiddle around with! Learn more about Lizard Man after the break...

My Top Ten (And Bottom Five) 2014 Masters of the Universe Classics Figures

 

     Since New York Toy Fair 2015 is coming up this weekend I figured it was time to get this article out! Maybe it's because I like the line so much (and also because I end up with nearly everything due to the subscription model) but I can't help ranking my favorite and least favorite Masters of the Universe Classics releases every year (you can find the 2013 list over at ThEpic Review). I actually do this as the figures arrive and I first receive them, so it is an ongoing process throughout the year.
This was an interesting year as it was very heavy on POP figures, featured lots of vintage holdouts, and a number of figures that I was really looking forward to that ended up disappointing me.

     For 2014 I'm counting 29 separate Masters of the Universe Classics releases in the line (30 if you count the Imp chest, which I didn't pick-up). Here are my top 10 favorite figures followed by my five least favorite for the year. Click on the names to head to a review of the figure (either mine or a review from another great site). Enjoy and let me know if you agree, disagree, and why!

Episode #36 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast: We Review Marvel's Star Wars #2, talk about Ghostbusters 3, and more!

     This past weekend I recorded another episode of the Confirmed Epic Podcast with my besties over at ThEpic Review! We did another Star Wars comic review for Episode 36 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast because we couldn't figure out what movie we all wanted to see. Join me, Barbecue17, the Reel Brad Bell, and Andrew Stokes as we talk about Marvel’s Star Wars #2 by Jason Aaron. I even do a dramatic reading of a few parts and play the Star Wars theme on my harmonica. It's great! We also discussed: Ghostbusters 3, managing Star Wars: The Force Awakens expectations and a potential release push, Netflix’s new DareDevil Trailer, Netflix’s potential live-action Zelda show, David Fincher’s Gone Girl, Star War: Tarkin by James Luceno, Loot Crate, and Hulks Agent of Smash on Netflix. We also delve into overarching conversations about Comic/Film continuity and race/Gender in the modern Comic Book. It's always good to hang out with these guys and talk. Hopefully you'll enjoy it too! Check it out over at ThEpic Review!

Action Figure Review: Darth Malgus from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase II by Hasbro

    

     Hasbro has really been having a tough time with their 1/18th scale Star Wars figures lately. Between poor distribution, terrible case packing ratios, retailer disinterest, and some figures just not even seemingly finding their way to shelves, their just isn't much product out there for fans to even by. With the 1/18th scale The Black Series Hasbro has mixed together a few new figures along with previously canceled items and various repacks. Darth Malgus is one of those repacks and I'm really glad that Hasbro decided to re-release him with minimal changes. A character from the Expanded Universe, Darth Malgus was originally released at the tail end of The Vintage Collection in 2012 and thus was pretty difficult to come by for most collectors. Sometimes Hasbro's decisions as to which figure to repack are a bit baffling but they made the right call here. He's an interesting looking figure and the combination of being a Sith, an Expanded Universe character, and a character from a video game (The Old Republic) has definitely made this guy tough to find. Other than a few of the 5 POA Rebels figures Darth Malgus is the first 1/18th scale Star Wars figure I've purchased in over a year! Yikes! Anyways, more about him after the break...

Minifigure Review: Zombie Playset by Boley

I can't tell you how many tubs, bags, or tubes of plastic zombie minifigures I've bought over the past few years. Having loved zombies ever since I was pretty young (and believe me, there wasn't an abundance of zombie stuff back in the late 80s and early 90s like there is today) I would have flipped out if given the opportunity to own any of these sets. Anyways, this tube of figures was another recent gift from my mom. She knows that I like minifigures, use little plastic army guys as geocaching swag, and will review pretty much anything that shows up at my house. So once again, as I'm talking about these little plastic minifigures just pretend that you're reading the instruction manual for an old NES game. You know, one that gives elaborate descriptions and character to simple pixelized enemies. Let's pretend that these zombies are from some never produced NES game that's kind of like an earlier version of the classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Sound good? You better believe it does!...

Minifigure Review: Defender Military Set by Boley

     What an odd thing for me to review, right? Little plastic army men? Well, there are three reasons I'm reviewing this tube of toys. First: I love little plastic army men and minifigures. I have ever since I was a kid. Second: I like to geocache and little plastic army men are an item I enjoy leaving in caches that are large enough to hold them, so containers of cheap figures like this are perfect to give me more fodder. Third: I had a really fun time pretending I was writing an instruction manual for an old NES game when I reviewed the Monsters bucket by Hing Fat and I want to do that kind of weird thing more often. These were also a gift from my mom and I try to always review gifts (she got me a zombie tube of figures as well, which I'll review later this week). Ready for some plastic army men? Ready for me to pretend these little plastic army men are enemy soldiers in an old NES game that plays kind of like Metal Gear or maybe Code Name: Viper? Then join me after the break....

Action Figure Review: Deep One from Legends of Cthulhu by Warpo

     Today is my sixth and final review from Warpo's Legends of Cthulhu line: The Deep One. Hinted at in "Dagon" and first appearing in "The Shadow of Innsmouth," these fishy beings are a fairly prevalent part of the mythology of H.P. Lovecraft's world. The Deep One is another army builder for the Legends of Cthulhu line and is ready to torment your other coastal dwelling retro action figures. Ready to find out what lies beneath the surface of this toy? Then join me after the break...