Friday, October 31, 2014

Holy Schmow! Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom Available November 18th

Worldwide video game publisher, Little Orbit, together with Cartoon Network Enterprises, announced today that Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom has gone gold and is now in manufacturing.  The game will launch November 18, 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation TV, and Xbox 360, and will be available for download on Steam (PC), Nintendo eShop, The PlayStation Network and Xbox Marketplace Games on Demand. Developed by WayForward Technologies, the title is rated E10+ by the ESRB. 

Designer Con November 8-9th

Designer Con is an annual art and design convention that smashes together collectible toys and designer goods with urban, underground and pop art! DCon is over 70,000 sq. ft. and features over 300 vendors, art and custom shows, live demonstrations, and much more! The show coordinators, Ayleen Gaspar and Ben Goretsky, strive to provide a fun, safe, comfortable environment for fans, artists, and vendors to meet. Join us in November at the Pasadena Convention Center for a weekend of fun, toys, and art!

Lionsgate Reminds Us of their Spooky Spirit

Happy Halloween!! Today, as you tromp through the pumpkin fields looking for an old god that seemingly only cartoon characters worship, we must remember those who add so much to our spookiest of genres. Folks like Lionsgate, who brought us a SAW movie every damn October, come hell or high water, for as long as it was possible...and then made two more! (wokka).

This year, Lionsgate is pushing 5 films sure to liven up any gathering of the dead and all are guaranteed to send your children screaming from the room so you can have some "adult time". Double win! LG packed the trailers for all 5 films into a handy little ap...hit the jump to play and find out how you can score a free copy of The Blair Witch Project...

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Halloween 2014: Everything We Could Find That Screams, Jumps & Boogies

HALLOWEEN is upon us once more!! For those of you that don't also write for spooky websites, or just live the spooky lifestyle 24-7, this is your one chance a year where you get to drape cobwebs, fire up 100 horror movies and do your best to very passively scare the bejezus out of the neighborhood kids. (Or not so passively. Our readers are awesome.) My favorite thing to do this time of year is tour the Halloween isles of any given store that might have things that jump, wobble, scream...and dance like they always wanted to dance but their 8 legged parents frowned on it. Yes, the costume isles are great, but when you go to conventions year round, you get your fill of awesome, better made creations. An endless row of buttons to push is waaaay more amusing. Today we celebrate the odd creations from those companies whose names we never explore, who put the "Halloween" theme music on little bear dolls wearing Jason masks and decide that "Moves Like Jagger" would be a killer anthem for a creepy season. Hit the jump to take it all in...

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Marvel Announces Films Schedule into 2019

We can't be every where, so on days like this, we are glad we have folks like Steve "Frosty" Weintraub from Collider sitting front and center when a load of Marvel news is being dropped on press and fans alike at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. The event kicked off with the chill inducing trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which showed the union between Marvel and Disney could birth the creepiest covers of Disney animated movie songs imaginable as "I Got No Strings" echoed out over scenes of chaos and ...basically people screaming or fighting for their lives. AWESOME!

A Look Inside Disney's INTO THE WOODS

It's getting so any Disney release these days is a major event, and with our readers eating up every bit of info on each film launch, it is well warranted! Recently, the stars of Into The Woods showed off their movie looks across the internet. Now, we get a peek inside the film with plenty of gorgeous visuals and music that will make your heart go all mushy..and Johnny Depp who looks ready to sing "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby"...

“Into the Woods” is a modern twist on several of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy), all tied together by an original story involving a Baker and his Wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt), their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the Witch (Meryl Streep), who has put a curse on them.

New School Thundercats Coming To Blu-ray

ThunderCats Ho! Warner Archive Collection is proud to offer an all-new Blu-ray edition of “ThunderCats: The Complete Series,” the 2011 reimagining of the classic 1980s animation action series. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, “ThunderCats: The Complete Series” will street on November 11, 2014 with pre-orders now available via wbshop.com (http://bit.ly/ThunderCatsBD).

Friday, October 24, 2014

Quantum Mechanix Cutifies The Ghostbusters

In a world where ANYTHING can be cutified by the all powerful cutification rays of Funko, turning all manor of our childhood dreams into Pop! Vinyl Figures, one company would dare step forward and shout "WE CAN MAKE THAT EVEN CUTER!!" Funko had tackled the boys in grey a short time back, and now Quantum Mechanix put their stamp on our beloved Ghostbusters in a format that will have you throwing money at the screen...

Peter Venkman, PhD, may be a hedonist and an incessant womanizer. But his extroversion and gift of gab provide the Ghostbusters with leadership and very dry humor.

Friday, October 10, 2014

NYCC 2014: The LEGO Bionicle Mystery

We here at Idle Hands do our very best to shoot a little bit of everything among the thousands of pictures we blast at any given event. Some of the things we shoot, we know will be a big hit, and so we go to great lengths to cover every inch of it. Other things, we are just making sure you see all the awesome, grab one shot of everything as we slide through, and move along as fast as we can. Of course LEGO was on our "To-Do" list for the show, but when we dropped by and only saw a giant LEGO mask, we shot it and moved along. ......20 thousand views later...

We assumed you LEGO freaks already knew everything coming from your favorite company for the next year, and so we certainly didn't think a mask would drive you to new lengths of happy...but it did, and we are proud to have participated in said happy. Yesterday we doubled back and found our mysterious yellow mask had some little friends, so we shot the holy hell out of them. Here are the goods...

Thursday, October 9, 2014

NYCC 2014: MEGA Bloks Get Despicable Me 2

This would be one of those times when I'm going...mayyyybe this is news...and mayyyybe this isn't..but it's surely the first time I've heard of it so chances are, a lot of you didn't know either. Alongside Spongebob Squarepants sets that have been out for months and HALO stuffs that COULD be new but hell, it all looks the same to me, were some brilliant Despicable Me 2 construction sets from our buds at MEGA. How cool are they? One of the sets had the whole desk on fire scene. You could practically hear the beedo's coming from the lil guy's mouth. Adorkable. Check it out...

NYCC 2014: McFarlane's Next Walking Dead Action Figure Waves

New York Comic Con is at an odd time of year when companies are pitching all their new toys for the foreseeable future to retailers across the globe, but a lot of their releases have already been revealed at San Diego Comic-Con. This means a lot of what you see at NYCC has already been seen..with some exceptions. McFarlane is pushing their construction toy lineup hardcore at the show, dominating most of their display cases. We don't really shoot the sports stuff because..sports..and we've seen the Assassin's Creed and HALO stuff before. That leaves us to pour over the Walking Dead display to see if there is something new we can drool over. SCORE.

NYCC 2014: NECA Doesn't Disappoint: Aliens, Apes, Terminators, Robocops, Kaiju & More

NECA. How do we set up NECA? We say "Hold onto your butts",..which of course makes me think of Jurrasic Park and how much NECA would KILL IT on that line!!  Let's cross our fingers that they get some sort of license when the new movie hits. FOR NOW..we suggest the butt holding due to extreme awesome headed your way via an all star lineup from the masters of the 7 inch action figure...and we expected no less. We've got Aliens, Planet of the Apes, Horror, Terminator vs Robocop, Pacific Rim, HALO and  mooore. Rather than spend time listing things you clearly know about (mostly from San Diego Comic Con and...you know..the world..), I thought we'd just jump right into the eye candy. Shall we? Yes, have some!

NYCC 2014: Pop Culture Shock Collectibles Debuts Statues from DC Comics, Judge Dredd, Mortal Kombat & More

It's TIME!!! As folks que up in a massive line outside of New York Comic Con, we thought we'd sit back and show you folks at home (who get to keep your sanity) what's awaits the hordes of geeks! Pop Culture Shock Collectibles is nestled at the very hard of toy central in this year's show, boasting neighbors like Mezco and Kotobukiya. Best street ever! This year's showing includes further expansion of known lines and a couple of surprises that will make your eyes instantly explode inside your cranium...so beware..you've been warned...

NYCC 2014: Attack on Titan Getting Plenty of Love


Peeking around every corner of New York Comic Con 2014, certain things become instantly clear. 1. Anime/Manga isn't dropping off in popularity here in the states AT ALL. 2. Among those wide eyes, screaming characters, the troubled citizens who populate Attack on Titan are well represented. As we bounced from booth to booth, we saw many a flying harness and winged jacket...which we are perfectly fine with, as this show rules. Let's check out the goods...

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Funko Sesame Street Pop! Vinyl Figures On The Way

Funko is excited to announce a new license with Sesame Workshop to create a series of Sesame Street Pop! Vinyl Figures.

“Funko is excited about our new partnership with Sesame Workshop. As a company we feel that the Sesame Street license is a fantastic way to bring our older customers back to their youth, while at the same time introducing our fun new line of collectables to younger generations.”   Andrew Perlmutter VP of Sales.

The partnership will launch at New York Comic Con with a First to Market Release of Super Grover Pop! Vinyl Figure. The super stylized Super Grover Pop! Vinyl Figure stands 3.75” tall and comes in a window display box. Super Grover Pop! Vinyl Figure will be available at Toy Tokyo’s New York Comic Con Booth #101 for $15. A complete Sesame Street Pop! Series will follow in 2015. The Sesame Street Pop! Series will include Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Oscar, The Count, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Grover.

NYCC 2014 IS LOOMING!

Hello crazed comic con fans! We are days away from comic con part deux (AKA New York Comic Con) and as usual, we'll be tearing up the place for your viewing pleasure. Since it worked so well last time, you'll be able to follow the fun (bandwidth permitting) at the top of the website with our handy slideshow full of pics beamed directly from the show floor. FUTURE!! Maaaaaybe we'll even get some articles up along the way, but we usually would rather collect tons of content while we are there and run til we fall down instead of stopping to upload every 5 minutes.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Universally Awesome

Diamond Select Toys have become the champions of the Universal Monsters, keeping our favorite fiends alive through bust banks, Minimates and killer 7 inch scaled action figures. Let's run down the awesome Universal Monsters action figures just releasing now...

Son of Frankenstein: The monster returns! Diamond Select Toys revisits Frankenstein's Monster with this exciting figure depicting the monster in his outfit from 1939's Son of Frankenstein. This 7-inch scale action figure features an all-new sculpt with all-new articulation, and can strike multiple poses on his deluxe display base, featuring equipment from Dr. Frankenstein's lab. The Monster and his base come packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork. Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! Ages 8 and up.

Van Helsing: Monsters beware! Diamond Select Toys is unleashing a fearsome foe upon every monster action figure in your collection, and it's none other than famous monster-hunter Van Helsing! Based on an original design, this 7-inch action figure comes armed to the teeth with stakes, axes and a crossbow, making him more than a match for any and all supernatural creatures. Van Helsing includes a deluxe cemetery base, featuring a female vampire rising from the grave, and comes packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork. Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! Ages 14 and up.

Jekyll and Hyde: Two is better than one - just ask Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. From the 1953 movie Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this fine figure can transform from Jekyll to Hyde and back again! Sculpted in a 7-inch scale and fully articulated, it features an authorized likeness of Boris Karloff as Dr. Jekyll and includes an interchangeable head of Mr. Hyde, as well as alternate hands, a hat, a cape, and a chemistry set display base that is exclusive to this figure! This Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Universal Monsters Select Action Figure comes in display-ready collector packaging, with side panel. We told you two was better than one. Ages 8 and up.

Hunchback of Notre Dame: Your favorite freak! The Universal Monsters Select line continues with a classic Lon Chaney character - The Hunchback of Notre Dame! From the 1923 film of the same name, this figure is sculpted in 7-inch scale, fully articulated, and features Chaney's authorized likeness. This Select edition figure includes Quasimodo's exclusive King of Fools crown and robes, as well as an exclusive gargoyle display base found only in this version! The Hunchback of Notre Dame Select Action Figure comes in display-ready collector packaging, with side panel. Ages 8 and up.

And past releases...

The Phantom of the Opera: Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! The newest Universal Monsters figure from DST is from one of the oldest Universal Monsters films! From the 1923 version of The Phantom of the Opera comes Lon Chaney as the Phantom! Standing 7 inches tall and fully articulated, the Phantom comes with his organ accessory, which is exclusive to this version.

Creature from the Black Lagoon: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water! Diamond Select Toys revisits the Black Lagoon with this all-new figure depicting the world-famous Creature, first seen in 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon. This 7-inch scale action figure features a new sculpt with over 16 points of articulation, and can strike a wide variety of poses on his deluxe display base, which features a skeleton and an undersea rock formation. The Creature and his base come packaged in Select-style display packaging, with spine artwork. Sculpted by Jean St. Jean! Ages 8 and up.

This Island Earth Metaluna Mutant: An extraterrestrial terror permeates your mist, but never fear, it's just this ridiculously awesome Universal Monsters This Island Earth Metaluna Mutant Figure! The Metaluna Mutant from the 1955 film This Island Earth stands 8-inches tall and comes with the Interocitor device from the movie, which is exclusive to this version. Yes, the very same Interocitor developed by advanced physicist Cal Meacham after hearing of the device in the book Electronic Service, Unit #16. Unlike the movie counterpart, this Interocitor actually registers on film! Whether you're a fan of the original film or the Mystery Science Theater 3000 take-down, you'll love this stellar rendition of the Metaluna Mutant. Just look at his veiny, oversized brain and nasty claws! Marvel even rolled out the red carpet for collectors with the oversized packaging, so whether you want to play with this cool guy or not, you've got one cool collectible. B-movie lovers, science-fiction fanatics, and art appreciators worldwide will dig the Universal Monsters This Island Earth Metaluna Mutant Figure! Ages 8 and up.

Frankenstein: The monsters are back again! The award-winning Universal Monsters Select line expands its roster of iconic screen legends with perhaps the most sympathetic creature of them all: Frankenstein's Monster. Sculpted by legendary monster sculptor Gabriel Marquez, this 7-inch tall Frankenstein Action Figure comes with the lab table upon which the monster was given life and from which he rose for the first time. Bring Mary Shelley's monster to life in your home!
The fans have already spoken, hailing this line as the most detailed and accurate depiction of the classic Universal Monsters ever, and this 7-inch interpretation of Frankenstein's Monster is proof-positive of Diamond Select's dedication to bringing these iconic monsters to collectors. The specialty market version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as a detailed accessory not available to the mass market! Ages 8 and up.

Dracula: The monsters are back! What better way to expand this award-winning Specialty Market Exclusive action figure line than with the most iconic monster of them all, Count Dracula? This awesome line debuted last year with the legendary Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Mummy. What other monster could possibly match such legendary movie-monster royalty? Dracula, of course! Sculpted by legendary monster sculptor Gabriel Marquez, and featuring a hillside gravesite base, this 7-inch tall depiction of the infamous Count Dracula is ready to spread terror with a fearsome companion at his side. The Select version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as a detailed wolf accessory not available to the mass market!
The fans have already spoken, hailing this line as the most detailed and accurate depictions of the classic Universal Monsters ever, and this Count Dracula Action Figure is proof-positive of Diamond Select's dedication to bringing these iconic monsters to collectors. Ages 8 and up.

The Mummy: Imhotep, at your service! Dig deep into the sands of antiquity and you, too, will discover Imhotep the Mummy! Sculpted by legendary monster-sculptor Jean St Jean, with the added artistry of Select regular Rudy Garcia (who, like a craftsman of old, sculpted the Mummy's detailed sarcophagus accessory), this is a dusty terror from a bygone era. This Select version includes an exclusive paint scheme, as well as the detailed accessory. The fans have already spoken, hailing this line as the most detailed and accurate depictions of the classic Universal Monsters ever, and this 7-inch tall rendering of the infamous Mummy is proof positive!

Entertainment Earth carries many of these figures, so no need to hunt if you crave plastic! Enjoy the rest of the Rock and Shock show floor!

Big Hero 6 Toys Hitting Retail

The Disney/ Marvel animated film is still a month off, but the action figures, deluxe toys, plush and more are hitting shelves from Walgreens to the Disney Store mother ship. In their usual odd fashion, Disney has given the main toy license to Bandai, but still has their own branded Disney Store figure line that often resembles the Bandai toys...but sometimes looks better...and sometimes looks worse. It's a mystery. Don't think too hard on it. It may cause leakage. Here's a run down of toys you can find out there now...and some that might be releasing closer to the release date as not to reveal toooo much from the movie.

...And Now For Something Completely Different

Most toy collectors know the big names...NECA, McFarlane, Mezco...all three companies have put their unmistakable mark on the world of horror collectibles, so today we thought we'd take a look at some lines that may have slipped under your radar, but deserve every ounce of praise you reserve for your ever growing Walking Dead collection!

Four Horsies of the Pocalypse: Bigshot Toyworks: 2014 - Sometimes, amazing things come from fertile minds when they are just screwing around. Such is the case with Maddie, the Cthulhu-esque pony, who only months ago was just a digital drawing that went viral across the internet. The people spoke with their like-button and Bigshot answered with a Kickstarter..and the inevitable success of that venture birthed MADDIE..the mentor of the Four Horsies of the Pocalypse! With Maddie's debut comes a promise that her little wards won't be far behind. Here's a peek...





Resurrection of Monstress: Yellow Submarine: 2000 - There have been many lines that bring an Anime slant to pop culture favorites, but Yellow Submarine went above and beyond with the Resurrection of Monstress line, assuring collectors we would get miles of attitude in each creepy creation (under the skillful eye of Yasushi Nirasawa) and tons of accessories to make your brains explode upon inspection. ..and..you know...boobs.

Skeleton Warriors: Playmates: 1994 - In a world dominated by Ninja Turtles, Thundercats, He-Man and his Masters of the Universe and a parade of other high profile toy lines with cartoon tie-ins, it is easy to understand how a line like Skeleton Warriors could be forgotten by most. Was the line cutting edge? ABSOLUTELY! Just one look at these sculpts and you'll agree this is a toy line that deserves a little respect! For now, we'll have to settle for a resurrection at the hands of October Toys who recently completed a Kickstarter to bring Baron Dark back to your toy shelves.

Enjoy the rest of the Rock and Shock show floor!

Giant Sized Horror

The only thing better than an expertly sculpted horror action figure is a HUGE, expertly crafted horror figure! Today you get a look at some of my favorites, so here's a run down of what's right in front of you.

Now Playing Mega Scale Pumpkinhead: 2006 - From SOTA Toys and sculpted by Jean St. Jean.

18 inch Comic Style Hellboy Figure: 2005 - From Mezco Toyz - These figures came randonly packed sporting 1 of three heads; open mouth, closed mouth or clenched teeth.

The Cloverfield Monster: 2008 - From Hasbro - This was originally a HasbroToyShop exclusive and most likely an experiment in high end collectibles directed right at the key audience. Since this is the only toy in the "Signature Series", we'll assume that experiment didn't go so well, but one look at Clover and you'll strongly disagree. Lurching in at 14 inches tall, this figure roars, includes 2 heads, 10 mini parasites and a partially chewed on head of the Statue of Liberty. The box also unfolds into a display diorama.

The Thing Spider Head Statue: SOTA Toys - From John Carpenter's "The Thing" depicting the Spider-Head Thing that tried to escape by detaching itself from the dying Norris’ body. Approximately 4" tall and 7" wide, this resin figures comes on a black base.

Skeletor Life Sized Bust: 2014 - Pop Culture Shock Collectibles - There is a dark lord haunting the realm of Eternia...and now he’s plotting to take over your shelf space! SKELETOR, eternal enemy of He-Man, is being expertly crafted into a life-sized collectible bust and features intricate sculpted details, dynamic real-cloth hood, and sinister paint details. This VERY LIMITED Pop Culture Shock Toys web exclusive also features LED EYES - See more at: http://www.popcultureshocktoys.com/products/masters-of-the-universe-skeletor-lifesize-bust-pcs-led-eyes-exclusive/#sthash.0EHlrn4x.dpuf

Enjoy the rest of the Rock and Shock show floor!

Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary

It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since I saw those odd signs hanging in my school that we all thought were part of the great anti-drug campaign! The boys in grey whipped up some nuclear powered ghost hunting devices and zapped their way through the supernatural denizens of New York City until finally facing off with a Duran Duran-esque Evil God who then transformed into a skyscraper sized Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for the final battle. Ghostbusters is truly an unforgettable movie. Now we celebrate the anniversary of one of my favorite films with a little display honoring that insane final battle with...

- a Giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Bank (which is available in smiley and angry heads)
- Ghostbusters Minimates
- and a retro Ghostbusters Samhain (from the Samhain and Janine 2 pack exclusive to Toys R Us)
Stay Puft and the Minimates are from Diamond Select Toys while the Retro Samhain is from Mattel.

There have been 94 different Ghostbusters Minimates, including variants and the most recent Green Slime NYCC exclusive. Minimate Database has a whole checklist if you want to jump in on that collection!












Shelf #2 includes

- Gozer, Slimer and a Terror Dog from NECA
- Ghostbusters Action Figures from Mattel

NECA didn't have much play time in the GB universe, as they were unable to secure the likenesses of the guys themselves...and we are a poorer collecting community for it. One look at Gozer, Slimer, the Terror Dogs and their own giant sized Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and you can only dream of what could have been.

The Mattel Gostbusters toy line included 33 different figures (give or take, including accompanying ghosts and a giant squishy SDCC Exclusive Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.) My favorite piece from the lineup has to be Dana Barrett as Zuul, though the likeness is waaay off. Second favorite has to be Vinz Clortho (the KEYMASTER!!) He comes with the Terror Dog Head you can put on him. Adorable. Mattel also did a line of 12 inch figures in cloth outfits featuring the 4 Ghostbusters, and a small series of Retro MEGO-like action figures in their "Real Ghostbusters" cartoon outfits and looks.


 


















Special thanks to Diamond Select and Mattel for their contributions to these displays. Enjoy the rest of the Rock and Shock show floor!