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

Goon, Goon, gone...

C'mon, who doesn't love it? Apart from Margaret Snodgrass.
Eric Powell's The Goon, that is.

If you somehow snagged your nuts on this post, and have never read a single issue of The Goon (which I find hard to believe), please visit the official link below... at some stage.
BTW any Goon characters or artwork appearing on this post are obviously copyright Eric Powell /  Darkhorse Comics... respect.

Darkhorse's Goon Zone

Still, I keep bumping into people who don't know Powell's work, whereas I can't imagine a world without it.
Then again, I live in a country where about 1% of people regularly read comics. That's compared to 99% in Japan. Some very general stats there but you get the sketch.

Like a decent chunk of Powell's readers, I was attacked by issue no. 7 of his regular Darkhorse run. Like a pitbull from the stand, to the eye, to the brain. And it's locked jaws.

Honestly, I don't wanna' mecka habit o' throwing up a bunch of comic art belonging to other creators on this blog, so some lazy cover snaps and toy shots will suffice... to entice.
No true review, just blab for the purpose of a blab - to promote, and hopefully allure the uninitiated.

Clever clever man. Getting Mike Mignola on yer cover creds is gonna' work wonders... being a MM fan since the mid-late '90s, I could be shown a Mignola piece portraying mouse feces drawn on a sanitary pad with pond scum and I'd still lap it up like crazy.

I'd been onna' Will Eisner Spirit quest in 2004, reading '80s Kitchen Sink reprints of The Spirit, when I first picked up The Goon #7. My store had sold me every classic KS Spirit issue they had. Seriously, timing couldn't have been better! When read, it was a beautiful, seamless transition somehow and I actually kissed the freakin' comic at the end.
(ok the two beers halfway through prob'ly helped, but I ain't done it before or since)

Man, I dunno' what kinda' hallucinogenics Darkhorse were lacing their print with back then, but the 'Nothing But Misery' trade was in my hands the next day and 'Roughstuff' shortly after.

Deceptively simple or simply deceptive? Don't know, but Powell's stuff, The Goon in particular, appeals on so many levels to so many readers. I think writer/artists (and insane self-publishers in this case) kick ass because they release what they as readers would like to recieve.

Ooh, pretty.

Pulp fiction robots, monsters for monsters sake, demons, zombies, magic, six-shooters, whiskey, dames, gangsters, and the dismantling of phoney contemporary vampire mythos. Powell throws, pulls and pummels you into the atmosphere of Goon's world with such ease, but doesn't patronize the reader with heavy handed explanations for the paranormal.
The fact that it frequently focuses on one street, one bar, one small town proves the quality of the stories.
Providing more comedy and tragedy than some funny books can whip up spanning an entire universe or multiverse even.

With pure love o' the DHorse, I'm still gon' say some o' the Dark Horse Deluxe range are, well ... something less than deluxy-licious. Bit tinny outta' China maybe? But that's the world o' pop merch right? Don't ever get me started on Todd McFarlane.
These however... things o' beauty. DH deluxe wins for once.

These capture Powell's art in a grim nutshell, packaged in a lil' Lonely Street box which I stared at so hard I put telekinetic creases in...
Y'know somehow I get the feelin' if Goon or Franky ever saw a grown man 'playing with dolls', they'd feed him his own unsalted skull, suppository style.

Eww, the filmin' cometh.

Yes, watch, good reader.

Guffaw. Giamatti, interesting choice to voice.

So, another comic to flick adaption. That sentence usually has the tendency to make me cringe it up.
Yeah, I'm the one that's biting his tongue off, letting me fellows enjoy a movie.
Afterwards I'll inevitably be asked how it compared to the books, being the resident comic geek or summin', then I plain vent.

Very promising, The Goon, very promising. Promising for the CGI, promising on the voice acting. Surely no bail-out kissy-wissy love interest ending either. Thank #$*! for that!

Rather than fill fans and newcomers heads alike with '?'s (Hellboy, The Spirit, Jonah Hex).
Reckon this'll be consumed in an instant-classic sense (Sin City, 300, Watchmen).

Moment o' truth remains, but Powell's smart and I trust 'im with his own property so far.



"Not everything a wise man says has to be wise" - Rihia2k.

The Pun-Issuer: Bore Zone...

A month slips by. Autumn comes around in my earthquake struck country, and I guess I oughta' blog a thing.

Remember those 80's testosterone-fest action flicks sporting big men with big guns? Yes, there's a little bit o' that left over in all of us, like it or not, born in 1995 or 1945. Stupidly violent, mind rotting, 'say it with bullets' movies are a solid slice outta' 20th century life.

Ah,  and the language that became textbook material:

Stab / impale someone = "Stick around" or, "They got the point".
To drop one off a cliff = "I let them go".
Death by stringing up = "They're hanging around".
Introduce someone to a wood mulcher or grenade = "They went all to pieces".
Fire someone from a missile device / decapitation = "They had to ... shoot off / head off".

Obviously it is endless, and not restricted to the '80s or action genre films. But before we quit, my personal favourite:
Impale somebody wearing chainmail with a broken steam-pipe in a last ditch attempt to rescue your daughter = "Let off some steam, (insert name here) / Bennett".
Yep, the default name is Bennett if you find yourself in that position. Glad I could help.

Thanks 1985...

So y'know The Punisher? Ex-military man Frank Castle (or Frank Asshole to some). Lost his family in a mob-hit and swore to wage a one man war on organized crime? Well I flicked off all my Punisher comics last week. Yep. All of 'em... gone, finito. Not one War Zone, War Journal, Wolvie or Batman crossover, or annual left in my house. Not that amazing, huh? But kinda' really, cos' I'm terrible at thinning out my collections of anything, whether I still read it, play it or display it doesn't matter. It's as though I just have to have collected things sitting around in case extra-terrestrials visit earth searching for a Tomy handheld game or certain issue of Marvelman. Hoarder perhaps, but The Punisher's out. I hear he mighta' killed someone...

"Like my barber". Y'know, Frank trusts this guy & goes after Spiderman in his first appearance.
Grief sure do make an anti-hero dumb.

Growing up, perhaps? Running little risk of that, but how many issues of a one-man war on crime can you really read before realizing it's a 37 year old story of stale sticky vigilantism that's never really gonna' flex or bend? It's fun, but it's like eating too many chips then getting chips for xmas. Hardly brain food either. Still I have Conan and Jonah Hex collections, so how do they differ? Shrug.

Faces o' Frank. Your focused likeable avenger v.s. your tortured psyche, monster killer.

Guess that makes such things readable, the varying artists portrayals, the change in writers and throwing the odd crossover character in like Venom, Spidey or Wolvie. Really it's been a pretty mixed bag over the years, with some writers focusing on the guilty pleasure of humorous uber-violence, some the grief stricken anti-hero, and others keepin' it so straight-laced you near feel like your reading Commando or Battle comics.



Ooh. Finally mind blowing material, the Punisher sports a beard.

The P-meister gets hairy due to amnesia. Still, you gotta' love that Bisley, man! If every Punisher was a Biz Punisher ... well, I'd nay be throwing it in.  Here's a little somethin' 'bout our man Frank that always bugged me.




"... I coulda been a kid"
"Tread was too heavy"
Tread was too heavy!? Lucky I wasn't a fat-kid!
Or a light-footed assassin.
Or a courier carrying anvils ...

And that's it right there really. Collateral damage? It's nice they touched on this point in the most recent movie, when Frank kills an undercover. Over the course of the comics they've had him question himself and be questioned by the do-gooder gangs, but still skewed the angle for the reader. A bit too much I kinda' thought. In fairness the current Puni comics (I don't follow) seem t' make him as ugly as he should be. Beyond redemption, and a bit more complex than 'Conan with a gun'.

In film the Dolph Lundgren n' Ray Stevenson movie versions held a better sick bitterness the character required than I think Tom Jane could pull. I really dig the fact they didn't see it necessary to emblazon a skull on Dolph's shirt, and the MRE eating, sewer dwelling, scratchy jersey Stevenson version seems to be everyone's favourite. (Don't get me wrong Jane's fine in The Mist, Mutant Chronicles and even Scott Pilgrim) But next to Ray n' Dolph, Jane's voice acting for the PS2 game was possibly his best Punisher work.

Gamewise... yeah I'll be keeping the pixel blasting versions of this character. About once a year I might get the urge to torture, I mean "Punish" a crackhead with a sliding window frame, or place a mafioso on a rhino horn... as you do. Plus The Punisher on Sega is too much classic Capcom beat 'em up fun.
Aww heck, I suppose it's worthwhile to keep these then ...

Seriously. On the right... What next a 'Dead Maria and Kids' playset?

If only for the sheer contrast!
Well for me at least the wars over, I'm too old for this crap, better just stick to my Aeon Flux cartoons and Ween songs like a real grown up. Hmm, come to think of it I never got my hands on Archie meets The Punisher, aah the war's not over, the war's not over!

"Dirty plates don't clean themselves, but clean plates get dirty all on their own" - Rihia2k.
... huh?

Bio-tech is Gojira ...

So the Sepultura will tell us.
But two things;
Bio-tech sux.
Godzilla rules.

"Can't you see I'm irradiating here?!"

As a kid I had one serious question for Mum (Mom) about 'Zilla.
"How's he good if he's bad (and vice versa)?", like most kids my concept of good n' eves was pretty black and white.
Yeah, I recall I asked my Nana how 'Miles Mayhem' (villian from M.A.S.K. toys) could be evil.
"But he's old!", I said. Thank goodness for grandparents, informing us not to trust all of the aged.
Yeesh, Miles Mayhem, what a sad #$*@!!

Yeah, I drew this. The water stain can now just be considered 'digital effects'.

Speakin' o' old, drew this when I was ten. Apparently I thought Tokyo consisted of 1 mud-hut, a generic easterner and a grassy knoll. Especially note the puff cloud of haste. I drew a lotta' those clouds featuring He-man and rugby players.

As an early teen, 13 'r so I acquired 'Godzilla vs. The Thing 'n VHS. Magic. I haven't never NEVER forgotten the Mothra song sung by those tiny japanese twins.

My awesome VHS version was so untouched-up it was pink.

Dang it! The song was good!, the story was good! I played that tape like nobody's bizzo.
Blessed be. The tape featured 'Bambi meets Godzilla'. This was before everyone lost their attention spans to YouTube. My mates thought I was nuts, but I guess I hit Godzilla as a kid, way before it was hip to do so in my circle.
What came at the end o' th' tape.

Movin' on out...

Insert loud noise here. And marvel at his bling.

Was granted this at a carnival around '86. Nothing to do with the sideshows or candy-floss puke. I was wee and some punter had a toy stall. Mine Mama saw fit to bestow Toho's Imperial Godzilla on me, and the rest is history.
This 'Zilla fig always held great esteem 'mongst my many toys. While beheading Galaxy Warriors, or immolating 'Joes, I left this one alone. He sat patient, dormant on the bookshelf, just waitin' (all C'thulhu like), for resurrection.

Cardboard. You need more.

Imperial w/ the crown logo ain't gonna' mean much to most. But comin' outta' HK in the early/mid eighties, Imperial made the grooviest dragons, amongst other toys, that most Masters of the Universe & toy collectors now can't ignore. But my other Imperial gears can wait 'til a future blog ...

And you thought G-Zills was inarticulate.

What could make 'Zilla cooler? SAMURAI SWORD?

Bazooka & M16?

A dematerializer and ghost pack? Godzilla ain't 'fraid o' no ghost!

SCREW THAT! We know Gojira is best left as is.
Hell, Matthew Broderick!, back to Ladyhawke with you.

Forgive me, my love, for I have drawn on tonights dinner in my enthusiasm.
Photoshop nothing, thats newsprint illos on salmon!

"Told to avert the eyes, the strong and proud will find themselves struggling hardest." - Rihia2k