The Most Amazing Picture in the History of Mankind.

So... that's John Cale as Batman and Lou Reed as Robin.  Let me repeat: THAT'S JOHN FUCKING CALE AND LOU FUCKING REED AS BATMAN AND ROBIN AT A CHILDREN'S PARTY. HOLY FUCKING FUCK.

Mind=blown.

Edit: Aaaaannnnddddd.... apparently, that was a hoax.  Not sure if I should be happy or sad about this. Mind=unblown.

Minimate Customs: Power Pack

Power Pack was a really awesome comic about four children that received super powers.  It's one of those great ideas that could be huge if only Marvel and (now) Disney would look closer at the potential of Marvel's lesser known properties.  Anyway, I made some Minimates of them.

Katie, Alex, Julie and Jack

Minimate Customs: Friends and Foes of Spider-Man

The other day, over at the ol' Minimate Multiverse, we got to talking about Spider-Man villains, and which ones still need to be made.  I've made a couple Spidey related customs over the years, and I thought I'd use this as an opportunity to show them off.  Plus, as a bonus, another Spidey-related custom... the most unexpected of all!

It's the Jackel, BTW.  The Spidey villain that most needs to be 'mated.

Minimate Customs: Darkseid by Delia

So the other day I bought a second Blastaar from my buddy Luke, since it's part of his great March sale and I wanted to use his hairpiece for something.  So, when he came I took off the hairpiece and stuck the rest of him in my fodder bin.  Yesterday, I was digging through there looking for some parts, and Blastaar ended up in my hand.  My five year old daughter was hanging out with me (she likes to build Minimates from my scraps), and she saw Blastaar and said "I know who that is.  That's Darkseid".  I started to say "no, actually that's..." and I stopped, and took another look at him.  Hmmm, Darkseid, you say?

Not bad, right?  I mean, it's not perfect, but that's a pretty darn good bulked up Darkseid.  Thanks, Delia!

Target's Exclusive JLA Action Figures

So it looks like Mattel has found a use for their old Brave and the Bold molds with a line of JLA action figures that appeared last week at Target.  There's a wave of single carded figures- Superman, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern- for $7.99.  Lex Luthor is also pictured on the back, but there's been no sightings of him so far.  There's also a seven pack, including the four heroes plus Aquaman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman.  That's $49.99, which is a good deal on a per figure basis.  However, when you take into account:

-Superman, Batman, and Aquaman are already a part of the B&B line;
-Flash and GL are available as single carded figures;
-Cyborg sucks (the figure, at least);

It's more like $50 for Wonder Woman, which is not so great a deal.  I bought Flash and GL, and I figure I'll take my chances with Wondy on either eBay or clearance.

The other thing to note is that the characters are in their New 52 style, which is an odd style clash with the Brave and the Bold style.  Superman, with his old-time Fleischer style head, looks pretty terrible.  Batman and Flash both have those weird armor lines painted on, which makes them look pretty cheap.  In fact, I'll be painting over my Flash's extra yellow lines, which makes him my first ever non-Minimate custom figure, I guess.  If anything, these figures show just how limited those Jim Lee designs really are; they only look good if they are drawn in that style (and even that's debatable), and certainly pale in comparison with the sleek timelessness of the original Golden and Silver age designs.

But, if you're a fan of the B&B cartoon and figure line (which I am), it's nice to get a few more figures to add to your collection, even if they don't 100% fit stylistically.  Flash was one of a handful of figures tooled for the line that never saw release (Captain Marvel, the Gentleman Ghost, and the Faceless Hunter are the others), so it's really nice to finally have him.  Brave and the Bold was probably the oddest DC toy line you'll ever see, considering how we saw the likes of B'wanna Beast, Plastic Man, and Blue Beetle before we saw Superman, Flash, and Green Lantern, but I hope these do well enough for a second wave-- particularly if that second wave includes a single carded Wonder Woman.

Minimate Customs: New Gods

Jack Kirby made his name, and reputation, with his work at Marvel in the '60s.  But, personally, I've always preferred his later DC work, which is crazy and colorful and pure Kirby.  And the highlight from that period is undoubtedly the Fourth World Saga, which ran through Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, Mister Miracle, The Forever People, and the flagship New Gods.  DC has released some fairly lovely hardcovers collecting the whole Fourth World saga, and you should buy them.  Anyway, I've made some New Gods Minimates, so let's get to them!

These photos were taken with our IPad, because the family camera is broken.  They came out with a soft glow, like they were taken by an arty nude photographer.

Minimate Customs: Rocket Raccoon

Little (admittedly embarrassing) backstory here: a bunch of us over at the Minimate Multiverse (your home for all Minimate chat) have spent the last several years championing Avengers villain Kang as a shocking omission to the Marvel Minimate lineup.  Well, last spring, the impossible dream became a reality, as Kang received a Minimate.  The question now, among Minimate fans, was whom would we champion next?  Within days, this became an all-out Civil War, as factions were formed, alliances were created and broken, and general chaos reigned in the Minimate world.  Oh, the fun we had!  I'm sure anybody reading this that wasn't there is simply green with envy.

Anyhow... I threw my weight behind Rocket Raccoon.  Two reasons (besides Rocket Raccoon being awesome): one, he's become an important part of the Marvel Universe over the last decade; and two, I figured he was beyond my customizing skills.  While the former is certainly still true (even moreso, now that the Guardians of the Galaxy are heading towards the big screen), the latter actually ended up being incorrect....

On Guns and Violence, part 2

Here is a letter I sent to my Congressman, Republican Patrick Meehan of the Pennsylvania 7th District:

Dear Mr. Meehan:

As one of your constituents, I urge you to support the agenda to remake our gun laws put forth by President Obama today. Like so many Americans, I have become increasingly horrified by the amount of lives lost in the name of appeasing a few strident voices.  It is clear to me (as it should be to any student of American history) that this kind of unfettered access to weapons of war is not what our founders intended when they drafted the Bill of Rights. 

I work in a public setting, as a librarian; my wife works in a public setting as the associate rector of an Episcopal church, both within your district.  On more then occasion in the last few months I have lain awake at night imagining that we could be next.  All of us that work in public buildings are targets. What are we to do?  Turn our libraries and churches into fortresses, as Wayne LaPierre wishes to do to all our schools?  Does that really make more sense then simply making it harder for potential threats to get their hands on a weapon?

As a voter, I've always prided myself on being an independent, unaffiliated with any party.  Likewise, I've never believed in being a one issue voter.  However, I feel so strongly about this cause, and that ignoring these problems and rejecting these solutions is to be criminally negligent, that I would find it impossible to vote for a representative that would put the welfare of us all behind limiting the rights of a few.

Sincerely,
Kenneth Raining

I urge everyone to contact your Congressman and make sure that your voice is heard as this debate continues.  Find your Congressman at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/