Toy Commercial Tuesday: Spider-Man Spider Wars

Posted on by TJDietsch

I’m returning to the well a bit with today’s Toy Commercial Tuesday. I’ve been writing about the Wall-Crawler a lot for Marvel.com lately and it reminded me how much I enjoyed the Toy Biz line in the 90s. So, having already covered the original line, Spider Force and even Web Splashers, I hope you enjoy this look at the Spider Wars line!

Of the figures shown in this spot I’ve got Hydro Man, Kingpin, Black Cat and Doctor Strange. Hey, since I have all of my toys here, I can now back that up with photographic proof and talk about them in a bit more detail!I still love the enormous Kingpin figure, Doc Strange and his bendy cape (it’s still in the garage somewhere) and, no kidding, everything about Hydro Man from his six pack to his water squirting action feature.

My daughter and I both like the look of the Black Cat figure, but she refuses to stand up. In fact, moments after snapping the picture, she and Kingpin both toppled over. The resulting pile is NSFW. I remember seeing that crazy Cyber Spider-Man and the Doppleganger figure in stores, but they didn’t really appeal to me. I do give Toy Biz credit for coming up with interesting takes on their lead character, though.

Valiant Trade Post: Archer & Armstrong

Posted on by TJDietsch

After reading and really enjoying the first volumes of both Ivar, Timewalker and Eternal Warrior from Valiant, I was reminded that the first book from the company’s current iteration that I really fell for was Fred Van Lente’s Archer & Armstrong. This book stars the third immortal Anni-Padda brother Aman — now going by Armstrong, and Obadiah Archer, the teenage religious zealot sent out into the world to kill “He Who Is Not To Be Named” otherwise known as Armstrong.

For me, there’s a lot to love about this series. First and foremost, it’s about two new friends who not only have each others’ backs, but also bounce wonderfully off of each other in the longstanding Odd Couple tradition. Archer’s an uptight religious kid with zero worldly experience and a lot of amazing abilities while Armstrong has quite literally seen and done it all, but still strives to defend the truth and beauty of humanity whenever possible (ie, whenever he’s sober). Continue reading Valiant Trade Post: Archer & Armstrong

Valiant Trade Post: Ivar, Timewalker & Eternal Warrior

Posted on by TJDietsch

Even though I got into comics just as the Image Revolution helped usher in the Boom and Bust of the 90s, I didn’t know about much outside of DC. That was my jam and, while I’d see other books at the shop and eventually read about them in Wizard, I stayed in my line. Occasionally, I’d get a multipack or something with a random book, like Archer & Armstrong #16, but they usually just got flipped through, then slid into a bag-and-board and tossed in my “Other” box.

Of course, that version of the company eventually collapsed and, as it happened, lead to a number of former Valiant employees getting work at Wizard where I would eventually work with them. Now, Valiant’s back, Wizard’s gone and some of my former co-workers have gone back to working for the V. Comics is a small group.

ANYWAY, that’s all a long-winded way of saying that, though I haven’t written about them here, I’ve read my fair share of these trades. I’ll be honest, books like Harbinger, Bloodshot, Shadowman and X-O proved a bit too dark for me, but I’ve still found a lot to like from the company, including two related titled, Ivar, Timewalker and Eternal Warrior!

Continue reading Valiant Trade Post: Ivar, Timewalker & Eternal Warrior

Batman Rebirth Trade Post: Batman, Detective Comics & All-Star

Posted on by TJDietsch

As I mentioned when reviewing the first batch of DC Rebirth trades I went through, I’d lost touch with a lot of these characters since the New 52 hit and mostly rewrote the old continuity I loved. That’s not exactly the case with the Batbooks. I’ve read almost all of Scott Snyder’s volumes of the previous Batman series and a few other entries here and there like Batgirl and We Are Robin. Still, I thought it was interesting diving into these new takes on familiar titles and characters. Continue reading Batman Rebirth Trade Post: Batman, Detective Comics & All-Star

Superman Rebirth Trade Post: Action Comics & Superman

Posted on by TJDietsch

When it comes to DC Rebirth books, the Superman group, the Superman group stands apart. I’m not saying that as a longtime and devoted Man of Steel fan (though I am), but because the headline character is actually the version from the previous universe, as explained in Superman: Lois & Clark. Some time after that book, the New 52’s version of Superman seemingly died before DC launched their Rebirth initiative. In Superman Volume One: Son Of Superman and Superman: Action Comics Volume One: Path Of Doom, the previous incarnation of Superman leaves the black-and-silver suit behind, takes up the more familiar colors and makes his presence known to a world still reeling from his predecessor’s death. Continue reading Superman Rebirth Trade Post: Action Comics & Superman

DC Rebirth Trade Post: Rebirth, Flash & Green Arrow

Posted on by TJDietsch

I remember back when DC first announced the New 52, I was talking with a friend who said something along the lines of, “I get offering new readers a jumping on point, but they’re also giving longtime readers a clear jumping off point.” I hadn’t thought of it like that at the time, but that’s basically what happened. Sure, I’ve gone on with a few books here and there, but overall, I didn’t have the desire to really dig into the DCU because it wasn’t the one I remembered, cared about and spent decades with.

Continue reading DC Rebirth Trade Post: Rebirth, Flash & Green Arrow

Tokusatsu Theater: Super Inframan (1975)

Posted on by TJDietsch
Demon Princess Elzebub’s Posse

Hi! They say that every blog post could be somebody’s first, so here’s a great litmus test for whether you might like me and UnitedMonkee. Does the above image give you huge amounts of joy? Then, not only can we be best friends, but you should find a lot of things on this blog that we could high five about.

As I’ve said here and here, I’ve recently become super interested in the Japanese subgenre dubbed tokusatsu, which covers just about any live action thing that’s got a lot of special effects. It’s actually a pretty braod genre that covers super heroes, sci-fi and even kaiju (giant monsters). I’m just getting into all of this — I’ve got my Ultraman, Iron King and Super Robot Red Baron DVD sets to watch — but I’m already super happy I dove into this pool because I’ve watched Super Inframan and it’s everything I wanted it to be and more. Better yet? It’s on Amazon Prime, so you can watch it and get in on the action too! And you should because I’m going DEEP on this one. Continue reading Tokusatsu Theater: Super Inframan (1975)