Bioshock Big Daddy Figure

NECA Buys WizKids, HeroClix

Last week NECA purchased the majority of assets of WizKids from The Topps Company, including the award-winning Clix family of games, which includes HeroClix, ActionClix, HorrorClix and SportsClix. NECA will also acquire the WizKids brand, Pirates of the Crimson Coast and the Mage Knight line of games.

The assets of WizKids that were purchased by NECA have been transferred to a wholly owned NECA subsidiary operating out of its offices in Hillside, New Jersey, which will operate under the WizKids name.

HeroClix has been the leading collectible game in the comic genre since its 2002 debut, due to its innovative game platform and deep collection of characters from the respective worlds of Marvel and DC Comics. NECA will continue the successful HeroClix product lines from powerhouse brands DC Comics and Marvel.

Star Wars LEGO Hoth Diorama

Check out this amazing custom Hoth diorama! Although you may have seen it already, we've been meaning to blog about it since last winter, so as the summer winds down this scene deserves its frosty props. Measuring 5' x 10' and built from 60,000 Lego bricks, it cost creator Mark Borlase aprrox. $3000 and four years of his life. Winner of last year's Star Wars Building Challenge and highlighted in the official LEGO Magazine, it features details like footprints, 50 LED lights, motorized AT-AT's and opening hanger doors!























































You Can View The Rest Of The Pictures Here: FLICKR SET

Mysterious Creature Found In Panama

Terrified Panama Teens Kill Mysterious Creature

A mysterious creature, almost resembling an alien has been found in Panama. Local teens tell reporters that they were playing by a creek when they saw the strange thing lurking towards them. Frightened, the group of boys hurled stones at the creature until it died, then pushed the body in the water and fled.


Later, after building up some courage, they decided to go back and photograph the unidentified beast. Speculation on the creature spans from a jungle sloth that somehow lost its hair to publicity stunt to undiscovered species, and has been making comparisons to the Montauk Monster that washed up on a New York beach. Time will only tell if this is a hoax, deformed animal or Gollum's better looking cousin.

Warner Bros. Drops He-Man Film

Warner Bros and Mattel have parted ways on the proposed live action adaptation of Mattel’s toy line and 80's cartoon, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Producer Joel Silver was heading the project that has been in development since 2007, but they haven’t moved forward past a script and some concept art. Mattel and Warner Brothers didn’t see eye to eye over the direction of the project, so they made a mutual agreement to let the option lapse this month.

Don't fret Skeletor fans, the movie hasn't fully been scrapped as Mattel will take back the their license and look for another studio. John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) is still slated to direct the movie, but Joel Silver will no longer be the producer. In the long run, Silver off of the project will probably benefit the film.

A script that Justin Marks wrote had been getting excellent reviews, with visualizations of an incredibly epic film along the lines of the Lord of the Rings movies. MOTU fans can cross their fingers and hope for the best, but one thing's for sure, Dolph Lundgren will not be seen anywhere on screen.

Originally reported by Variety

TO WATCH THE SEASON 1 CARTOON SERIES IN HD VISIT:

THE HE-MAN CHANNEL

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Screenshots

Following up Marvel Ultimate Alliance, part 2 is being released today (9/15 for 360, ps3, wii, psp, ds) and this time around, Civil War is the theme. This sequel improved from its predecessor the moment it added the feature to team-up in a party of 4 friends online and play through co-op mode missions. It includes over 24 playable characters, combine Super Hero powers for 250 devastating combos (Human Torch/Thor = fiery tornado) and fully destructible environments allow you to demolish everything in your path.

"The Marvel Universe is being torn apart. The Superhuman Registration Act becomes law and Super Heroes must register as weapons of mass destruction, becoming licensed government agents. As Civil War is stirred, Iron Man leads the Pro-Registration side while Captain America spearheads the stand on Anti-Registration. The enemies you battle and the missions you accomplish depend on which side you choose."

Screenshots courtesy of Gamespot

Watch the Original 9 Movie Short

(Short has storyline elements that may be a spoiler for those going to see 9)

With the fitting date of 9/9/09, the animated 9 movie premiered in theaters world-wide today. Back in 2005, director Shane Acker wrote and directed this short animated film that was nominated for an Academy Award, and caught Tim Burton's eye, winding up as the highly anticipated feature film 9. For your viewing pleasure here's the original 11 minute animated short.

Megan Fox Slams Bay

With the release of her latest film (if you can call it that) Jennifer’s Body, Megan Fox and her all too popular rants take aim at Transformers director Michael Bay. In an interview with Wonderland magazine, the screen vixen said:

"God, I really wish I could go loose on this one. He’s like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for but when you get him away from set, and he’s not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he’s so awkward, so hopelessly awkward. He has no social skills at all. And it’s endearing to watch him. He’s vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set he’s a tyrant. Shia and I almost die when we make a Transformers movie. He has you do some really insane things that insurance would never let you do."

Although i admire a woman with strong beliefs who speaks her mind, Ms. Fox should really tone it down a bit if she wants to stick around Hollywood. Whether or not you are a fan of Michael Bay, comparing him to the most evil man in history is a bit of a stretch.

Star Wars Lightsaber Chopsticks

Kotobukiya continues bringing the force... on your sushi. Available November, the Star Wars lightsaber chopsticks, also known as chop sabers, come in Darth Vader Red, Luke Skywalker Blue and Yoda Green. Suitable for Makizushi rolls or defending the galaxy, the Luke and Vader measure 9" while the shortened Yoda clocks in at 7" long. The blades are cast in translucent material and as a special bonus, each set includes translucent Star Wars logo chopstick rests.

Disney to Acquire Marvel for $4B

This morning, worldwide leader in family entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, agreed (pending approval) to acquire Marvel Entertainment and its portfolio of of over 5000 characters!

Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. The transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company.

"Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney's global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel's properties.

Originally posted at Market Watch

Disney Deal Might Affect Hasbro

Hasbro Venture May Be Hurt by Disney Deal

Toymaker Hasbro Inc.'s joint venture with Discovery Communications to create a TV network could be hurt by Disney's decision to acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc., an analyst said Monday.

The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it will acquire the entertainment company, which owns comic book characters such as Iron Man and Spider-Man, for $4 billion in cash and stock.

Wells Fargo analyst Tim Conder said in a note to investors that Hasbro recently extended its contract with Marvel until 2017.

"We do not view this transaction as having any material negative implications from this perspective," he wrote. Still, the decision might affect Hasbro and Discovery's TV network joint venture, since it makes it less likely the network will offer shows centered around Marvel characters.

Now, "it is highly likely that Disney will want to retain Marvel-related programming content for its own channels of distribution," Conder noted.

The $100,000 Dust Size Hulk

His paintbrush, a hair plucked from a dead housefly. His sculptures, invisible to the naked eye. This is the world-reknowned art of self taught British sculptor Willard Wigan. Creating miniature masterpieces that fit inside a needle’s eye or rest on the the head of a pin, the work is no small feat and the price tag of his artistry fetch dollars amounting in the hundred thousands.Peering through a microscope at 800 times magnification, he molds dust fibers and slivers of plastic into recognizable images.

Whether its sculpting animated characters like the Incredible Hulk and The Simpsons or pop culture icons like Michael Jackson and Buzz Aldrin, these tiny micro-sculptures go for up to $140,000 a piece according to Wigan’s latest catalog. Collectors of his unique craft, including the likes of Prince Charles, Elton John and Mike Tyson receive a microscope along with each sculpture so they can view the artwork they’ve purchased. Check out some of his works below.

Hulk in a needle eye

Simpsons on a pin head

To commemorate the Moon landing

The artist poses with Buzz Aldrin

The Bike You Can Eat!!

Passing by a candy store last week on vacation in Old Quebec City, Canada, i saw this awesome tri-cycle made of candy. Eat and ride at the same time, how could you resist!!

Clone Wars 2: Rise of the Bounty Hunters

Check out the link below for a teaser video of the upcoming Clone Wars Season 2: Rise of the Bounty Hunters!

TEASER TRAILER

Tim Burton Exhibit Coming to MOMA

November 22, 2009–April 26, 2010
Museum Of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019-5497
(212) 708-9400

Tim Burton. Untitled (The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories).
1982–84. Pen and ink, marker, and colored pencil on paper
10 x 9" (25.4 x 22.9 cm). Private collection.

This major career retrospective on Tim Burton (American, b. 1958), consisting of a gallery exhibition and a film series, considers Burton's career as a director, producer, writer, and concept artist for live-action and animated films, along with his work as a fiction writer, photographer and illustrator. Following the current of his visual imagination from his earliest childhood drawing through his mature work, the exhibition presents artwork generated during the conception and production of his films, and highlights a number of unrealized projects and never-before-seen pieces, as well as student art, his earliest non-professional films, and examples of his work as a storyteller and graphic artist for non-film projects. The opposing themes of adolescence and adulthood, and the elements of sentiment, cynicism, and humor inform his work in a variety of mediums—drawings, paintings, storyboards, digital and moving-image formats, puppets and maquettes, props, costumes, ephemera, sketchbooks, and cartoons. Taking inspiration from sources in pop culture, Burton has reinvented Hollywood genre filmmaking as a spiritual experience, influencing a generation of young artists working in film, video, and graphics.

Burton's films include Vincent (1982), Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), Beetlejuice, Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (as creator and producer) (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Mars Attacks! (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Big Fish (2003), Corpse Bride (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Sweeney Todd (2007); writing and Web projects include The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997) and Stainboy (2000).

Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Review

With the release of the new Transformers movie, we decided to give you a healthy dose of TF goodness. A life-sized Bumblebee Statue, a special offer on an exclusive, our TF movie Toy picture gallery, a trip down nostalgia lane from waaaaay back in the 80's and to round it off, at the bottom of the page, a quick wrap of the new movie from opening night We're not going to reveal many spoilers for readers that haven't seen it so come back for a full length review next week. Enjoy!!!

AUTOBOT BUMBLEBEE PROTECTS CALIFORNIA YARD

The city of Lemoore, California is located in the San Joaquin Valley and provides a welcome environment for travelers. It is also home of a fan made, 18 foot tall Transformer Bumblebee Statue assembled from an old Volkswagen.

“I’ve always been a fan of the Transformers,” Tom Rhoads stated to the crew at a local radio station. “And when my son was born I decided to make the statue."

Based off the G1 cartoon, It took Tom and a friend a year to build in their spare time and in the end, this awesome 1200 lb homemade hero was hoisted onto its feet by crane and now protects the Rhoads front yard. What's next for Tom after this masterpiece? The Semi Truck in his backyard. It's Prime time!!!









TOY FAIR 09 ROTF FIGURE PICS

See pictures of the new toys from the movie in the Hasbro showroom during our visit to the 2009 International Toy Fair. From Devastator to Sideswipe, get a sneak peek! Transformers 2 Toy Gallery

EXCLUSIVE BUMBLEBEE STATUE ON SALE

In conjunction with the release of Revenge of the Fallen, we shaved off a nice chunk of change from our Exclusive G1 Transformers Bumblebee Statue. Originally slated for the BotCon convention a few years back, now with less than 50 remaining, for the next few weeks it will be marked down from $45 to $25. First come, first serve while supplies last. For more info and pictures visit NonStopToys.com

TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Just 2 days after the official start of Summer, the highly anticipated Transformers Movie sequel skidded into theaters. Before entry, an early highlight was seeing a replica KITT from Knight Rider (owned by NY KNIGHT) in the parking lot. If the midnight opening in NY was any indication, the box office take is going to be record breaking. The place was jam packed for a Tuesday night with humongous lines an hour before opening. TF2 sold out 10 midnight shows in the plex we were at and the crowd was so uncontrollably hyped that a stampede almost occurred with the phrase, "You people are animals," uttered by a man getting crushed off to the side. Lucky for him it wasn't the typical fanboy crowd, as 75% of the unruly masses were screaming teens, with a healthy dose of ecstatic 16 year old girls.

THE PREVIEWS:

The opening previews left me excited for the fall movie season. The trailer for the end of the world movie, 2012 starring John Cusack, knocked my socks off. From the director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, there's no doubt this will be an epic action film. Next was GI Joe, then Disney's animated G-Force hamsters, followed by Tim Burton's upcoming film 9. Detailing a story of the waning days of mankind where machines wiped out the human race, 9 chronicles the adventures of nine small "beanbag people" created by one of the last surviving humans, released into the apocalyptic world right before his death. It looks intense and its characters are voiced by such stars as Elijah Wood, John Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glovers and more.

MY EXPECTATIONS:

As for Transformers, it was everything you could ask for from a good sequel and the crowd was charged. Not since Episode I Phantom Menace had i seen so many people clapping on a consistent basis. Bumblebee shows up, clapping. Megan Fox bent over a bike, clapping. Optimus lays out a Decepticon, clapping. Although the initial shock
value of seeing the giant robots on the big screen had worn off, i was hoping for a good follow-up with lots of Michael Bay explosions. I was not disappointed.

THE CAST:

Megan Fox is hot as ever and Shia is still a tool, although the appearance of Sam's college roomate overshadowed Shia's whiny drivel with plenty of his own. Hugo Weaving, (Agent Smith/Elrond), returns as the voice of Megatron, John Turturro voices newcomer Jetfire and Anthony Anderson, whose hacker character is absent from this sequel, voices Jolt.

As a welcome addition, all-star from the 80s Frank Welker, was cast to voice Soundwave and Devastator. If you don't know who Welker is, he has done over 1200 characters on shows you love from Futurama to Gargoyles, but most notably in the original 80's Transformers cartoon series was the voice of Megatron, Soundwave, Galvatron, Skywarp, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Ratbat, Mirage and Trailbreaker.

THE PLOT:

The plot focuses on a college bound Sam being exposed to a remaining piece of the All Spark Cube. Transferring the coordinates of a hidden source of Energon into his mind, Sam becomes an important piece to the survival of the planet. In the time frame since the first movie, the LA incident has been covered up and the Autobots have been working undercover in conjunction with the world government's, hunting down
Decepticons in hiding. Meanwhile on the Decepticon side, Starscream is back on Cybertron organizing an army and Megatron is freed from his watery prison with a new mission. Seems like there's a new boss in town, one that even Megatron answers to. Enter the Fallen, holder of the sequel title.

The story around the Fallen is loosely based on the actual origin of the Fallen, where as he was one of the originally created Transformer robots who had betrayed his brothers and fell from their grace. Anyway, the Fallen hates fleshings and enlists Megatron to kill Optimus Prime(as a Prime is the only robot that can defeat Fallen), so he can conquer the Earth. In order to complete his mission, the Deceps need the coordinates to the hidden Energon and a search for Sam ensues spanning from LA to NY, Paris to Egypt. As you can imagine, its up to the Autobots to save the day.

FIVE PROS OF THE MOVIE:

1) The CG remained top of the line, and a decent storyline was present to back the insane amount of non-stop action.

2) There were a ton of new robots in the film, some of your old favorites and a bunch of nameless first timers. Newcomers span from the Autobot twins Skids & Mudflap, Arcee, Wheelie, Sideswipe, Jetfire, The Constucticons, Soundwave and Ravage to the random appliances that wreak havoc in Sam's kitchen and more.

3) Although depicted much different from the white and red craft we loved in the 80s, Jetfire retains some semblance of his origin being portrayed as an older, already Earth planted Transformer who was once a Decepticon but switches sides to the Autobots.

4) They managed to work in the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Although it was a visually weak looking device more worthy of a ninja throwing star than such an iconic robotic symbol, it leads me to believe future movies might include Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod, as well as the death of Optimus.

5) Megan Fox is still easy on the eyes. Although that lame show TMZ has been trying to depreciate the beauties hotness on a weekly basis, she remains a welcome return to the cast and will be sure to steam up even the most prudent fanboy's glasses.

FIVE CONS OF THE MOVIE:

1) Similar to the first movie, the acting is occasionally subpar, the storyline sometimes gets ridiculous and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. There's also plenty of starry eyed love scenes for teenage fans to harp over.

2) There is an excessive amount of comedic relief. For this, i have to label the movie an "Action Comedy." Everyone was cracking jokes. Robots, people in danger, the army, everyone. It got a little annoying. Don't get me wrong, i had a few good laughs, but half way through the movie, even the crowd who had been mindlessly chuckling at every opportunity got bored with the antics. The unexpected close-up
of John Turturro's ass in a thong? Funny, but a little disturbing. Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan blue bareness came to mind.

3) One of the pros, was also one of its weaknesses. The introduction of a plethora of new robots left it at that, simply introductions. A leisurely movie goer would have a hard time knowing any of these robots, even i couldn't name them all. There was so much to focus on that things got lost, for example fan favorite Soundwave. Now displaced as a Decepticon satellite, there was really little to no involvement
for him. A few cut scenes of intercepting and sending transmissions from space was all the shine he got. If it weren't for the brief action of him shooting a missile pod down to Earth, (pod being Ravage), you probably wouldn't even have known he was there.

4) In a few of the fight scenes, the action was so fast paced and intense you couldn't even tell what was going on. Sometimes things were so out of control it just looked like a bunch of CG twisting and revolving.

5) Although the film had its share of swear words, death and destruction, it seems it was more geared for kids than the first one. There was little things like Megan Fox carrying around a mini Decepticon on a chain like a pet, or the faces of the Autobot Twins, who looked goofy and buck toothed, more like Tater from the Pixar movie Cars than Autobot warriors.

Honorable Mention: Goes to Ramon Martinez's character Leo (Sam's college roommate). Not since Dakota Fanning's role in War of the Worlds has a character cried, whined and complained incessantly throughout each scene.

END COMMENTS AND RATING:

Overall, the film is a roller coaster ride of action from the very start and the abundance of new characters packs twice the punch. Of course my cons list is nitpicking the film and anyone who loves Transformers will block all that filler crap out and enjoy it for what it is. The fight scenes are explosive and i'll never get tired of seeing the robots of my youth transferred on to today's generation in a
way i couldn't have imagined growing up as a child. God bless digital rendering technology. My advice, Roll Out and see it!! 8.5 stars out of 10

Mezco Cancels LBP

News just in from our sales rep over at Mezco:

Dear Valued Customer,

Please be advised that effective immediately, Mezco Toyz will no longer be soliciting/producing any items under the Little Big Planet license. Please note that all existing orders for LBP product will have to be cancelled at this time.

Check out the photos below for a line that will never see the light of day and which leaves a lot of LBP fans wondering how to get these little guys from their console onto their shelves.