The Time: late December 2014. The Place: My girlfriend’s apartment in southern Maine. The Situation: The only action figures I have with me are the ones that my girlfriend just gifted me for Christmas. My lightbox is at my apartment in Boston—two hours south of us and she’s taken her car to medical school. I’ve… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): Throwdown in Gingerbread Town II: The Rethrowdownening
Category: Blog
A Call to Action (Figures): Variants
Variants started in comic books. With The Man of Steel #1 in 1986, DC found that they could sell more copies of a book if they printed it twice with different covers. From there, Marvel took note and raced to DC to see who could make the most. Some, and this is what’s most common… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): Variants
A Call to Action (Figures): Halloween Special
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does and what he does is get very upset when people can’t guess his half-assed costumes at Halloween parties. Can you guess what he’s dressed as in these costumes? Get enough right and maybe he’ll be your friend! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): Halloween Special
A Call to Action (Figures): Points of Articulation
When I got hired at Action Figure Fury, I made a list of fifty possible names for my column. “A Call to Action (Figures)” was one, but not my first pick. I still think “Points of Articulation” is a better name, but when I googled it, I found that a toy podcast had already claimed… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): Points of Articulation
A Call to Action (Figures): Figures of Boston Part 2
“People think I’m a sidekick, but I was Iron Man too. I’ve been the CEO of Stark Enterprises. Did Robin do that? Can he? I don’t think so.” “Sure he was old, he was sick, but you never really expect them to go. He was my father, you know? I wanted to kill him. It’s… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): Figures of Boston Part 2
A Call to Action (Figures): One Year Anniversary
A year ago I started the coolest job I’ve ever had: writing occasional reviews and a weekly column “A Call to Action (Figures)” for Action Figure Fury. Fifty-one columns later (not counting this baby, number fifty-two) and I’m exhausted like I was just in the gym, whipping my lazy butt into shape. I reread all… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): One Year Anniversary
A Call to Action (Figures): Kickstarter
I’m going to start this week with some shop keeping. Next Wednesday marks my one-year anniversary on “A Call to Action (Figures)” and will also be my last weekly column. From there, “A Call to Action (Figures)” will become a monthly feature. I love the writing and the photography, but it takes a lot of… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): Kickstarter
A Call to Action (Figures): TV and the Future of Action Figures
We’ve been seeing a lot of new types of action figures aimed at adults in the past few years. A few weeks ago I talked about the rise of video game action figures, and before that the smart ways that NECA and Funko pursued licenses that other manufacturers wouldn’t to get better footholds in the… Continue reading A Call to Action (Figures): TV and the Future of Action Figures
Falling out of Love: When a Collector’s Tastes Change***
Back in the mid 90s I was in an interesting relationship. The relationship lasted five years, and that was about four years too long. I should have broken things off then. But I didn’t. I didn’t quite know how to end it. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, despite falling out of love, and… Continue reading Falling out of Love: When a Collector’s Tastes Change***
Everything You Wanted to Know About Limited Edition Figures… but were afraid to ask
Webster’s Dictionary defines limited edition as “an issue of something collectible (as books, prints, or medals) that is advertised to be limited to a relatively small number of copies”. Unfortunately, the definition of small amount of copies leaves a lot open to interpretation. I’m a black and white kind of guy, and I really appreciate… Continue reading Everything You Wanted to Know About Limited Edition Figures… but were afraid to ask