So, as Toy Fair 2008 ends, I come to you with my report from the first day of the Big Event. On Saturday, February 16th, Hasbro hosted their ‘Collector Event’ in their rented showrooms near the Javits Center in NYC, and preceded that with a handful of powerpoint presentations at The Times Center regarding their upcoming and continuing toy lines. We got free popcorn and water, and afterwards, we even got a cookie. Which was delicious - even if it was printed with the Hasbro logo. If Hasbro tastes like sugar cookies and white chocolate, feed me more.
Sure, ToyFair hadn’t even really started yet, but Hasbro likes to get ‘the nerd herd’ out of the way. It goes something like this : they shuffle us into a maze of displays, we crowd like so many camera-wielding lambs to slaughter, and we struggle to get suitable shots for our own sites around the wide stance of that annoying guy from that Transformers fan site. Seriously, guy, you don’t need 15 shots of Optimus Prime’s nostrils. I’d just like one of his chassis, please. The difference between nerds and lambs, though, is that lambs have a sense of direction and are soft, whereas nerds depend entirely on their elbows to make their oblivious treks right smack into your nether regions.
Can you tell that I was more than a little perturbed by the claustrophobia of the showroom? To top it all off, one of the new American Gladiators was standing in the doorway to greet us. You know, pecs bigger than your head, glistening, making us all regret every decision we’ve ever made in our nerd-lives, called something like Kickface or Hemorrhage or something such. I’m much more of an American Gladiola.
But I digress. For the first half of the afternoon, no recording devices of any kind were allowed. We sat in a comfy theatre as toy planners and execs told us about Hasbro’s’ plans for 2008, all revolving around their “boys’ properties” of Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, Star Wars, G. I. Joe, Transformers, Marvel Comics, and Indiana Jones - all of which have a movie or TV show of some sort coming out this year. The great things about Hasbro’s properties is that Hasbro capitalizes off of them in as many ways possible - so while the Iron Man movie might be hot, they’ll use this momentum to delve into Iron Man comics and fan-favorite history stuff to make more products that collectors AND casual fans would love to see on a toy shelf for different (and still all valid) reasons. G. I. Joe fans will see classic stuff revisited, and Indiana Jones fans will see figures from ALL of the Indiana Jones movies - not just the new Crystal Skull one.
Now listen up, collectors - there’s a lot of dates I’m going to drop on you for when you can find these toys, and what you’ll be looking for.
- IRON MAN will see seven basic 6” scale figures, which will arrive on shelves on March 22nd, preceding the movie release, scheduled for May 2nd. Expect a ‘first appearance’ Mark I Armor, a Mark III armor, and Titanium Man, among other action-featured Iron Men - as well as a funky Iron Man roadster, ‘cause every hero needs a vehicle. Especially when they can fly. The movie’s designs are based on the comic cover artwork of Adi Granov, which is a great nod to the comics themselves. There will also be a beautiful, deluxe 12” figure, and at least two sets of Superhero Squad figures - which are 2” tall, kid-friendly, cartoonish plastic hunks of neatness. These will be Iron Man related, but not movie-centric at all - including Hulkbuster, First Appearance, Silver Centurion, War Machine, Unmasked and other neat armors. Keep an eye out for an additional Iron Man armor included with the Hulk Superhero Squad packs!
- THE INCREDIBLE HULK MOVIE will be the kind of movie that says, “You know what? We never made that Eric Bana one. Let’s start over & do it right!” The toys will drop on May 1st, and the movie is released on June 13th. The 6” scale movie toys seem to be a whole lotta very similar Hulks with action features, an Abomination figure (not shown at Toy Fair), and a few army guys - nothing incredible. What collectors SHOULD take note of is the ‘Marvel Legends’ style figures that’ll be coming out at this time also - again, not movie-centric, but very much related to Hulk comics. The first wave will include Savage She-Hulk (pictured at left), Wendigo (a more accurate one than the other Marvel Legends one), Absorbing Man (returning, after being impossible to find a few years back), and ‘The End’ Hulk. A second wave will come shortly after this, and if you collect all eight figures, you can build a genuinely huge Fin Fang Foom figure - the dragon that fans have been clamoring for for YEARS. I’m psyched. (One will also be able to get all 8 figures, along with Foom, in a ‘Collector’s Box’ at San Diego Comic Con this year). As mentioned earlier, there will also be at least two Superhero Squad packs, all comic related, including Green Scar, Silver Savage, and a few other Hulks.
- SPIDER-MAN is getting a new animated show on Saturday mornings, and Hasbro’s toys will release on March 1st, capitalizing on that great animated style that I recently wrote about. While there’s no new Spider-Man films on the immediate horizon, Hasbro will be releasing a ‘Spider-Man Classic’ line, which will feature comic characters that we haven’t seen yet, including Tarantula, which will drop on August 1st. All of these are 6” scaled, so everything is compatible with everything else, as Hasbro’s learned their lesson from the ill-fated 5” Spider-Man line of late last year that no one seems to be buying.
- MARVEL LEGENDS are going to have an odd year, with only 2 waves of single-packed figures this year, which run from 5 to 8 figures per wave. No figure or Build-a-Figure plans were revealed for these, but the year will also see eight 2-packs, which makes up for the figural absence otherwise. These will include Ultimate Nick Fury & Ultimate World War II Captain America, and Elektra & Ronin. Fans will note that these are all new, current characters that are important to current storylines, and even better, Marvel Legends will start coming with relevant accessories again, including alternate heads and hands. An Elektra with a Skrull head? YES PLEASE - but it all still means that we’re going to be shorted on buildable, huge figures.
Also planned for 2008 is a San Diego Comic Con exclusive 3-pack under the ‘Savage Land’ theme, which includes Shanna the She-Devil, Ka-Zar and Zabu. I hate the sound of the word ‘exclusive’, I hate that San Diego gets almost all of them, and I hate trying to find them for fair prices - but at least HasbroToyShop.com has offered these to online buyers in the past.
- SUPERHERO SQUAD will see, in addition to the aforementioned Hulk & Iron Man packs, twenty-four more 2-packs, and eight more 4-packs, which will include Hobgoblin, Psylocke, Shang Chi, Nighthawk, Carnage, Ares, and other figures that are so obscure it’s ridiculous and awesome. The new MIGHTY MUGGS line, which feature generic, cartoony, urban vinyl-styled bodies done up in different decos, will have 16 new marvel figures this year, including Thing, Doctor Doom, Hulk, Venom, Iron Man and a bunch of other good choices. SDCC will have an exclusive (shudder) Iron Man Movie figure.
- MARVEL UNLEASHED, a line of extra-sized, super-articulated, premium figures will see four more waves, starting with Iron Man. These can be equated to ‘a step up from regular action figures without breaking the bank’. MARVEL TRANSFORMERS will also begin, mixing Hasbro’s properties up into a myriad of neat things. They start off with an Iron Man and a Hulk that turn into vehicles, Transformers-style! And speaking of mixing properties, there are strong rumors of a Star Wars-scaled Marvel figure line… and who doesn’t want to see Darth Vader and Doctor Doom duke it out?
As big a nerd as I am, my knowledge of G. I. Joe and Transformers is next to nothing, so I regret that almost all of the information about these two properties went right over my head, not knowing many names or which toys have come before. I can mention that a second Transformers movie is starting to film (though no toys were shown), a kid-friendly Transformers cartoon is starting up (with a few figures shown), and a G. I. Joe movie has also started filming. I also went out after this presentation and bought my first three Joe figures. Note, please, that every company I’d talk to this weekend had their own 3.75″ scale line brewing, and ergo, everything would be compatible with the tiny Joes.
- INDIANA JONES promises to be a hot property, with Hasbro delving into every IJ movie, answering fan pleas that have echoed annoyingly for years. On May 1st, all of the toys are going to appear. We have an initial offering of seventeen 3.75” (or ‘Star Wars’) scale figures, with plans to expand the line into at least twenty-nine figures by the end of the year. There’s a lot of lost time to make up for, and they’re doing it well. Each figure will come with a ‘relic’ from one of the movies, amassing a great little treasure trove. There will also be a 12” line, more Adventure Heroes (much like the oft-mentioned Superhero Squad), a ‘Taters of the Lost Ark’ Mr. Potato Head, more Mighty Muggs, and even a classic mail-in program for every line. One can collect 4 proofs of purchase to earn an Adventure Heroes Indy on his horse, a 1/6th scaled Ark, or a 3.75” scale mystery figure that was not revealed to us due to its importance in the new movie.
And finally STAR WARS! As if there wasn’t already an information overload, there’s a ton of SW stuff coming. On July 26th, ‘The Legacy Collection’ will drop, which will include Stormtrooper helmet packaging and will include 30 figures. One week later, The Clone Wars Animated figures will happen, on Clone Trooper helmet packaging - so that fans can distinguish between the two. This will include 23 figures. All of these will include bonus parts to build a few Droids similar to R2-D2 and C-3PO.
These early offerings will include an ‘Episode Six Deleted Scene’ theme, with our classic Star Wars heroes in desert gear for the first time. Now, most exciting for me out of all of Toy Fair was catching a glimpse of Yarna D’Al Gargan (pictured above) - one of Jabba’s Palace dancers that was never made into a figure, and who was featured more prominently on the screen than 90% of every other Star Wars character ever made. The reason that she’s never been made is her semi-controversial feature of ‘having six breasts’, but FINALLY. Finally we can complete out Jabba’s Palace cardboard dioramas with Yarna.
Beyond these basic offerings, there will be comic 2-packs, with characters from throughout the non-canon history of the Star Wars comics, including Cade Skywalker, Darth Talon, Dengar & Fenn Shyshd. There will be four ‘Evolutions’ themed 3-packs, including a trio of Rebel Pilots from Episode 6, and a triple-pack of a Padme Amidala from each movie that she appeared in. And the line extends into even more Mighty Muggs and ‘Galactic Heroes’ - which are the same thing as ‘Adventure Heroes’ and ‘Superhero Squad’.
And, of course, Hasbro had a large Cloverfield Monster on display. For many people, including those who saw the movie, this is the first clear image that they’ve ever seen of The Monster. I’ll refrain from spoiling the movie for you by posting a picture here, but CLICK HERE if you’re curious and want to know more. It’s 14″ tall, touts 70 points of articulation, and comes with a handful of accessories. Itis currently available for purchase through Hasbro’s website and nowhere else.
The showrooms were packed with nerds who had no awareness of anyone who was standing around them, and I was inadvertently groped a handful of times. And I do mean ‘handful’. Hasbro, I love you, but you need bigger showrooms - especially when your sweatiest clientele will all be meeting there at once. I had a claustrophobic moment or two, which prevented me from seeing half of the showroom. You’ve shown me that I’m not elbowy enough to be a ‘reporter’, that toys turn grown men into animals, and that it’s going to be an expensive year. Stay tuned for more Toy Fair this weekend!
For now, CLICK HERE to see a full gallery of Hasbro images, and enjoy!
Last Sunday evening my family did something that is now an ancient, archaeological event to most households. I stood up something known as a “movie screen,” threaded some 8mm movie film into my built-like-a-tank, all-metal Wollensak projector, hung a towel over a shade-less window, and watched some home movies. Well, somebody’s home movies: we haven’t a clue who these people are or where they’re from, but we entertain ourselves with vintage views of holiday trips to Seaworld and Las Vegas, vignettes of grandmas hamming it up for the camera, and posed portraits staged by someone that doesn’t understand the difference between a movie camera and a still camera. Sure, at times we spend most of our energy mocking the fashions and the goofiness of candid family films, but the rest are spent taking in the culture of the time, without the sanitized or story-centric world found in period sitcoms and films of the same era. We viscerally recoil at the surprise inclusion of grandpa gutting pheasants. The things we’ve known our whole lives — tractors, tail-finned cars, cast-iron toys — as chipped, rusted, and dented, appear on the screen as brand-new.
Blackhawk Films was originally the ‘bargain basement’ business of Kent Eastin, a film developer and distributor who had set up shop in Davenport, IA in the 1940s. With direct mail expert Martin Phelan, Eastin Pictures slowly saw its business supplanted by television and other newer technologies, and opened up its distribution wing as a mail-order source to consumers. Blackhawk Films licensed numerous classic films, from old shorts to newsreels, and performed archive-quality restoration and reproduction to produce the best quality copies for their customers. In the time before videotape and cable TV, the opportunities to see these films was mostly limited to weak-performing timeslots on local television stations or cheap movie theatre matinees. I remember, when I was quite young, my parents and their friends checked out a projector and a stack of 16mm movies from the library — there wasn’t such thing as a video rental place nor HBO. Blackhawk Films had a catalog full of old films in a variety of film sizes and formats, both silent and with sound, and their high-quality duplicates of fifty-year-old films provided all sorts of entertainment for families across the country.
passed on to former Blackhawk Vice-President David Shepard. Shepard now operates Film Preservation Associates, which still restores old film, but also licenses those high-quality masters restored by Blackhawk to DVD producers.
