Choosing the right Korea for you...

Ah, Korea, my dual-natured jewel of the east.
Nuking people is soo 1998, dear North.
As for you, sweet South. Sparkling.

A few years ago I had to put my pens somewhere at work. I illustrate in my spare time after all, and work and pens are inseperable really, no?
If m' pens were left on a desk, they'd barely survive thirty seconds before the invisible pen-witch whisked them off to her inky realm. If I left them in me locker, well that's a pen relay marathon that ends with me searching endlessly through a maelstrom of uniforms, paper more paper and everything but said pen.
What's a professional to do?

Perambulating past a store next-door to work base, I noticed an asian shopkeep throwing out some cardboard. Imagine it's winter, the city streets, the coats and scarfs, the sky - grey...
Grey like ash. Grey like graveyards. Grey like prison linen.
A whole bleak night of work ahead... then,

  Candy Star! Peace Sign! Go! Go! Here We Go! 'B' on a skirt! (it would seem)

I love you Sth K!
There it was, my pen holder of dangerously bright, kick ass Korean girl power!

 Push Up! Up! Young Friends! Happy! Dance Party! Music Is Happiness! Young Friends!

I get t' work. My manager takes one look and says, "I'm not even going to ask".
Guess I can't blame him. My locker, always open when I was on a shift, already displayed a nice Spidey-toy, red + blue 3D glasses, a tiny skull, stencilled street art, silver chains, celtic crosses, rings, metallic feathers, Power Rangers toothbrush in a goblet. Now, finally I had somewhar to put my pens... and how!

Ha Ha Ha! Fighting! Wow! Wow!

What was originally in this holder? I speak zero Korean. I almost wondered if it originally held pencils. But everything about it from a western viewpoint screams candy. Candy-pencils?
Thankyou South Korea. Only you could have me confused between candy and pencils.

Y'know if I walk into a store t'morrow to buy a pencil in my town, I'd likely be 'greeted' by a pot-bellied gnome with snot in his beard reading a picture book about fish violation.
I'm certain I wouldn't be confronted by a Korean Wonder Woman kid saying "Fighting". It's a shame.

Young Friends! Rainbow! Here We Go! Good Luck! Love You! Happy??

Um, am I happy? I mean truly happy? Are any of us really truly ever... agh, stop it.
The two question marks at the end of the 'happy' are pretty hilarious I think.
Sure it's so she can cheer you up if you aren't, probably not designed to get you philosophising the concept.
She could never be so pompous.

As for pencil action with Korea's other half...?

Who knows for sure.

"I'd rather my friends care but not understand, than understand but not care" - Rihia2k. (or is it the complete opposite? ow)

Just The Redeemer...

... towers high over Rio, Rio De Janeir-

-Oh! Hi, didn't notice you there. Which is good because it suggests I'm not watching from outside your window. Bonus.

If you read my previous post, (why would you? honestly) I mentioned packing stuff into boxes, which is why I opened an action-figure, which is why I mentioned I don't often do that and probably wouldn't again for a long time.
I lied. Apparently.

Da. A good percentage o' my figures stay in their packets. Variety of reasons. Value. Nostalgia. Aesthetics. Space.
Having figures on the wall in pack means more shelf space, and it keeps them organized/complete with lil' care.
In the words of the White Rabbit, and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon,
"I'm late! I'm late!", and, "I'm getting too old for this shit."

I'll buy that for a dollar. Which is good because I did.
$1.00 NZD = $0.79 US. Sweet.

This would be it. The only Spawn related thing I actually own.
Okay, I have a Conan 'Xaltotun' figure in it's pack with Spawn.com scrawled on it, but that doesn't count. It actually blows I think, because it detracts from the Conaniness of it. Conannyness? Co-uh... whatever.

I learnt everything I know about Th' Redeemer right here.

So basically this gets opened purely because I forgot to pack it 'til the last minute. It was originally purchased purely because it was one buck. I did grow up with a little Todd McFarlane comic material, s'pose. Namely, Boof, Spiderman and Scorpio Rose.
Friends owned Spawn comics. So the basic knowledge is dere - the soldier Al Simmons, Overtkill, Violator, Batman crossovers, Angelic/Apocalyptic characters. Bums. Stitches. Chains. Hell... Leguizamo clown.
Generally I didn't get inta' Image Comics. (let's be serious I'll read any comic if I'm starved). Just found them a tad oversaturated, some brilliant concepts, but talking too loud with their mouths full.

Neat. I like reading something when I've opened a figure. An explanation for the styling is pretty cool, with a concise little tale to make ya feel clued-in. If there's one thing our M'sieur McFarlane ain't, it's dumb.

The 1st page actually could have been re-written as 5 words:
Spawn-done-like-Bruce-Timm.
However, blatant honesty isn't gonna' get McF paid as much. Neither is actually hiring Bruce Timm to redesign your characters in his distinctive animation/comic style.

Standing 7 inches tall, and weighing in at 200 grams...

Holee crap. No, I ain't marvellin' at his anorexic waist and steroidal chest, I'm fine with that. Whooo!
That's rich, dude! Way ta keep the kidsh buying ya shtuff...
At this point myself and anyone else that opened one o' these is whacked.
Like sniffing glue / huffing paint whacked! That is some petroleum miasma, dear Redeemer.

Now before we go any further, I better point out something about Todd McFarlane toys. There doesn't seem to be much middleground, most people either love his stufff or they hate it. Like some sorta' Trent Reznor of Action Figures.
Me? I like to think I can see both sides. Sometimes the attention to detail is plain brilliant. Sometimes the craftsmanship doesn't deserve the price. Sometimes the dark nature and gothic horror genre is highly original. Sometimes the licensed characters aren't done justice. It goes on and on...

Two major negatives that can't be ignored, for which these figures have a reputation;
a) McFarlane figures are often easily damaged before they're even opened.
b) The poseability can be so minimal the title of 'action-figure' shouldn't truly apply.

Blah.

...forged in the heat of a forgotten star...
<insert Charlie Sheen joke here>

...default head...
deaf lip reading villains beware!

...alternate head...
kinda' grumpy looking geezer isn't he?

That sword was intriguing me in-packet. Looked forward to seeing it held. The handle pops apart at the top then squeezes through the hand-hole, where you pop it closed again. Different I guess.

There's a bit of poppin' an' squeezin' to be done with this figure to get the most outta' it.

De base,... er.

The base is... aw, heck it's a base stand who cares? Use your imagination...

Angels with dirty bases.

Well. There's our first muckabout with The Redeemer fresh outta' pack. Probably a good time to point out that any pose he strikes from here on will be completely random, not choreographed for an accentuating composition. I figure it's more honest for better or worse if I just plonk him and start shooting.
Any figure can appear super rad with a touch of photoshop and planned angles, but that'd just be misleading.

"I'll have to walk faster if i want to keep up with my arm here."

Prefer the unmasked head, personally. Adds something to the overall piece n' it has some nice detail to it. So far so good, it's one solid attention grabbing chunk o' plastic. The age recommendation is 8+ with this toy, be rather entertaining to see your average 8yr old trying to swap the 'eads and get that sword held right. Pretty firm snug fit. Truth be told this is only goin' down well with a sausage fingered, somewhat reserved 8 year old that knows which figures are primarily for display purposes and which ones to slam dance with.

If little Jimmy wants to test the wings and fly this one from a treetop, someones losing an eye or three.
Whole lot of sharp angles on our Redeemer.

Wing it on!

Our dashing fellow The Redeemer definitely looks quite goody-two-shoes with all the blue and gold dere. Have to wonder if those aren't bibles strapped to his right thigh for leg armour tho'. Or perhaps they're just quick handouts.
While the back pose is a-go-go, I'll add that I really dig those budgie-green wings. Sincere. I find that paint work and colour choice rather refreshing in some sense. White would've been too obvious, black not appropriate for the character, even light blue - unoriginal. Who'd a thunk it? (Mad Todd, that's who).
Blue, gold and budgerigar green. Works.

Hmm, cocks his head like a budgie too. The Budgerideemer!

Aah, that's better.
Clearly our man still has a lot to learn from Michaelangelo about being a party dude.

All in all, not bad. First McFarlane I've ever opened.
Leatherface and 'That Witch From Sleepy Hollow' I have packed away loose somewhere, and Conan's Xaltotun gets to sleep another thousand years (I mean it this time).
Yeah, I enjoy the simple Bruce-ahem-Timm-ahem- design, with the detail still poured on where it needs it.
Nothing went horribly wrong like the McFarlane haters rave about, but I'm not writing to the man to request he become my adoptive father anytime soon either.

I wonder. If McFarlane had titled his toylines with something faceless, like 'Tamco' or 'Formac', instead of using his own name (associated with an individual) maybe criticism for mistakes, and bitterness towards a quick rise to success might've been avoided.

I'm sure he's not losing sleep over it.
Hell, the man appeared on The Terminator 3 special features disc with a T-800 doll he'd produced. With no attempt to disguise the fact it looked utterly crap to play with.
He ain't losing $leep.

"If you don't make any plans you can't screw them up, right?" - Rihia2k.

Stuff, stuff and all Banner of things...

Why is this a good idea? Bloggin'? Sure I had more productive things to do tonite... packing... big time.
It's fair to say my ladylove and I are a bit eccentric in what we don't throw out... old coins, possum fur, small rubber monkeys, starfish. That's a glance around the room. Then there's the boxes o' letters/writings/artwork from our teens. Not even bothering to mention craft/art materials, comics, games, figures... (I sold my arcade machine today, brother, was that a weight off!)... many little things though, shells, stones, feathers, dice, badges, magnets... anything can have the right charm to someone if you catch it's glamour. But I digress - hard!

What worries me is that a mask I made when I was 5 fits me better now,
 and why did I have this musky ol' piece o' crap 'filed' away?

Now that I've made it sound like we exist as hoarder trolls in a cupboard stuffed with urine soaked newspapers and spaghetti tins, I'll get to the point. We are organized to some degree of normality, we're lucky to live as spacious as we do (living in a big ol' New Zealand home), and we've had our garage sale, turned our backyard into a bazaar and actually got rid off some stuff. Ha.

But thars evermore stuff. So my remarkably selfless contribution now is to open an action-figure... thus saving space, hence feeling justified in the act.

See? By opening one carded figure I can save approximately 10 inches of storage space.
Genius...

Ah, who 'm I kiddin'? I collect a mixture of carded and loose action-figures. And this'll be the only one I open for a long time. 'Cos it's a relatively new Marvel... I'm pretty blase with my Marvels.


Firstly, we're granted some great backing art. That'll come in useful.



Okay? Who switched figures when I left the room?

 On the left is the cardback photo... I know, 'contents may vary' yadayada... but come on! Hasbro. Why not put a really shite sculpt on the packet to avoid any disappointment? I feel like I scored this from a cocaine dealer's monkey. My figure more closely resembles Helena Bonham Carter than any kinda' Edward Norton.

Figure fits inside huh? We'll see.

This was pretty packaged in. Tape, glue and bands. Musta' been a high statistics year for Hulk figure theft.

Forgive my shoddy camera shots, low on batts.

The Banner figure itself is well... yeah, apart from fitting inside I guess it's not designed to do much. The only real decent pose our Doctor Banner strikes is that of Harvey Pekar.
The Hulk toy is a primal chunk o' 'Smash-goodness' though. He's beefy, like I should be able to screw the head off and shampoo myself with the contents. Nice sculpt too.


The beast with two backs.


So, now the payoff right? Figure fits inside... that's all we've been promised. So I'll put Banner's arm down... ungh... I'll just straighten the arm and... uff... (strain) crrk. CRRK?? What d'ya mean crrk? Did I not just open this? Sure a little initial stiffness is normal, but this, this arm ain't budging unless I rip it right off. Trust me, I know action-figures and have nimble fingers for it. This will not work in the hands of a kid.
At this point I'm glad it was me that opened this, any kid woulda:-
a) busted it,
b) had it poking out forever in traffic cop position, with no hopes of gettin' Banner inside his altered state.

Wha'? Me, worry?

Oh look I did it. Was I just temporarily figure inept? Did it come right with pixie-dust? Newp. Warm water. Softened up the ol' plastic there, but it was still a tender ease into poseability. I assure you that arm would not have survived otherwise. But my Bruce is all wet, Hasbro, all wet.

Has'BRO' ,what does this mean?
Mother: - "Here, Johnny I got you that new Hulk for your birthday."
Johnny: - "Thanks, Mum I'll just go boil the jug to soften it up."
Bum rap, family. Especially when Johnny scalds himself half to death in an effort to avoid having an Amputee Schizoid Doctor Un-Norton figure.

No wonder the Hulk's angry.
I ain't angry though. Look how much space I saved...

I missed this part in the movie...

"Hulk crush puny Hasbro executives."

Okay, playtimes over... get packing.
"The camera never lies, it just stretches the truth" - Rihia2k.



Useful...



Stop, pink twice...

I can't pretend I don't love Japan.
I'd say Japan & Korea are probably the two countries on Earth that can get away with using baby blue and pink everywhere and still make it look cool.

I'm packing a lot o' stuff up, travelling and all. But when you're putting away treasures you tend to rediscover them as well. Amongst the dusty boxes of random hoarded goods, I found...

Have a lucky break...

pinky goodness.
Yay, there's nothing more appealing than 'the same but different'. And nothing says the same but different like a pink KitKat. My Japanese is about 17 years rusty, "Watashi wa nezumi desu", or "Sore wa nan kitsune desu ka?", are probably it.
Okay I can also answer the phone, greet, farewell and say excuse me, and name random things like orange, hamburger, ice cream, car, clock, & little sister.
Anything else I say in Japanese is going to be in the context of geography, mythology, or comic books.
I'm gonna' hazard a guess it says something about blossoms on that box.

Mmm. So accessable. Usually Japanese confectionery has layers wrapping it's layers wrapping it's layers...

This bar was promoted as the lucky item to have that year for people sitting exams in Japan. There's generally a lucky item that comes out every year people are gonna' scoop up. C'mon now, you don't want to be the person that failed your test by a hair's breadth, forever wondering if your whole life coulda' been different on account of a coupla' yen for some Nestle candy.

So the taste test? Yeah I admit it. That bar was packaged in 2006 or so, but I still tried a sliver of broken 'chocolate' from it. We all know candy doesn't truly expire because it's not really food... and I'm not dying as a result yet. Calm down people! it's not as though I just gorged myself on floor-pizza. It tasted pink.

You can consume cherry blossom?

Alright then. I never knew cherry blossom was really used a flavour. For honest goodness a real flava! I've never licked a blossom tree, so having nothing to compare it to, if this is the flavour of cherry blossoms then it wins the day!
I'm kinda' take it or leave it with black tea. It's a real neutral zone for me, and mostly I milk with the ceylon tea story. But KZZANNG! wha..?
I'm totally sold on this. It's good. No it's goood. It has all the numbing nyanyas of a standard black tea,  but wait for it, just around the corner of your tastebuds, lurking like a lithe feathery ribbon clutching a bunch of TNT sticks - BOOM flutter flutter.
Obviously it helps if you like tea to some extent. If all you quaff is caramel-carbonated-mineral-salt-water then I can't recommend buying 7 pallet loads of Sakura tea... but do it anyway, just for me.

"Not every underbelly is soft, choose your dragons well" - Rihia2k