Lights! Camera! Action Figures!

Emptying the Bucket List

A few years ago a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman came out, popularizing the notion that everyone should make a list of all those things one wanted to do in life, and then try to do them before you “kick the bucket.” This list should not be merely a bunch of life duties, but the extravagant, unnecessary, personal dreams that only fear or laziness has kept you from fulfilling. I’ve always had a kind of inchoate list floating around in my head, and being a bookish and sedentary type of fellow it hasn’t included snowboarding down Mt. Everest or diving with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. Having recently passed my fifty-first birthday (which I celebrated Hobbit style, by providing the feasting and giving presents instead of getting them—cross that off the list!), I realized that even if I live to be a hundred (unlikely) the bigger part of my days was past. So during the otherwise paralyzing heat of a Texas August, I’ve been steadily pursuing items on my bucket list and checking them off. Here’s what I’ve done so far.

1) I’ve completed the first chapter of a memoir of my life, covering the early years from birth to the age of six. While my autobiography might best be described as the story of a nobody who accomplished nothing, I’ve found it satisfying to preserve memories that, with the passing of my parents and my elder brother, are increasingly to be found only in my own mind. It is, of course, all from my point of view, and probably only of interest to my younger siblings and my nieces and nephews. One of my treasured possessions is a bundle of a few pages my mother wrote about her early life, and which I have found very enlightening about our own family history. I’ve often thought how fascinating it would be if all the members of the family had done so; now I’ve made at least a start on mine.

2) I’ve finally got and read a copy of On Pirates, a limited edition chapbook purportedly written by William Ashbless (the dual nom de plume of famed authors Tim Powers and James P. Blaylock) and definitely illustrated by the great Gahan Wilson. Besides the short story “Slouching Toward Gayalou” and the poem “Moon-Eye Agonistes, A Tragedy” by Ashbless, there are the forwards and notes by Blaylock and Powers, continuing the long literary joke of them assuming that the old poet is finally dead and publishing some of his work as a memorial, only to be confronted by the irascible and very much alive Ashbless breathing fire at them for tampering with (and profiting from) his work. This little book also has ties with Blaylock’s Langdon St. Ives and Magical California books in the (fictional?) person of William Hastings, who supplies an afterword about the aftermath. It was very satisfying to me to finally supply this missing link in the chain of my enthusiasm for Blaylock’s work.

3) On the action figure collecting scene, when I went to a local “con” with my brother and his family I was able to get an Auron from the Final Fantasy series put out by Square Enix (desired by me for its connection to Kingdom Hearts II, where he appears as a character) and a Meryl Stryfe from Trigun: The Planet Gunsmoke. I’ve wanted them for quite some time, and they were both there for very reasonable prices. These were not huge items on my list, but they were nagging little lacks that have been put to rest.

4) To continue on the anime theme, I finally sent away for the complete Read or Die series, which includes the original three part OVA and the two TV series. I had started to watch the first TV series almost a decade ago, but never got to see how it all played out, so it was a relief to see that at last. I found this show very appealing: its main themes are the joys and rigors of reading and writing, the power of books and the dangers in the control of knowledge, all garnished with the occasional gainaxing. These qualities are embodied in the Paper Masters, a group of people (mostly women) whose love of books give them bending skills that allow them to shape and manipulate the actions and material properties of paper, so it becomes sharp enough to split steel or hard enough to stop bullets. I could have watched it all streaming on various sites over the years, but I’m a material kind of guy who wants a hard copy around.

5) Speaking of copies, I broke down at last and sent off for a VHS copy of You Can’t Take It With You, starring Jason Robards. I had watched and recorded this way off in the early Eighties, but sometime in the late Nineties my tape of it went astray (I suspect my brother Mike recorded over it). I hadn’t seen it in years, and now this official release was the only format available. There have been other incarnations of the play over time (I’ve seen Lionel Barrymore and Art Carney play the pivotal role of patriarch Grandpa Martin Vanderhof, and I hear that James Earl Jones is now trying out the part), but the Jason Robards version is mine. The gentle, humble philosophy of the play had a lasting influence on my outlook on life (“Life’s not so crazy, just the people in it.”), and I definitely wanted to see it again, both for nostalgia’s sake and to find out how it holds up. After a little finoodling with a long disused VCR (thanks, John!) I was able to watch it once more, and it is great.

6) The last item to be scratched off my list has got to be the oldest. This is the 24-volume set of Man, Myth and Magic, an encyclopedia produced in the early Seventies covering mythological, magical, and religious practices. This used to be advertised everywhere when I was a kid, and the cover of the first volume scared the heck out of us. My uncle eventually got a set of them, but we were allowed only a limited access, not because of the occult subject matter so much as the native ceremonial and satanic ritual nudity. These books are a snapshot of the supernatural styles and obsessions of the time, dangerous, transgressive, and daring, before the New Age came along and washed it all twinkly with crystals.

Oddly enough, my pursuit of most of these items was facilitated by sudden price drops that made them more accessible to my budget, sometimes by half of what they had been going for before. It was almost as if things were conspiring to help me along with my bucket list, which, depending on how you look at it, is either encouraging or a little scary. One positive thing I have found out is that when you finally clear the decks of the past you have only the present and the future to think about, and you can sail on a little freer.

Sam, As It Ever Was

Two weeks ago our family descended upon Eckman's Comic, Card, and Toy Show once again to scour its stalls for new finds and old memories. My nephew was hunting for zombies, my niece for My Little Pony. My brother John and I had decided we would go in not looking for anything in particular, but to just drift, browse, and enjoy, and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

We broke up into various units and the search began. After an hour and a half or so we foregathered near one of the exits in preparation to leave, and review what we had seen and bought. I hadn't scored much, just the accessories for the Marx Odin viking figure (ax, sword, shield, knife, horn, bow, quiver, arrows, and assorted helmets), a Final Fantasy action figure, and my brother John had found and given me the bear from the Crest Zoo Animals premium. Good stuff, and I was satisfied and ready to leave, when my sister mentioned seeing some of the Ralph Bakshi The Lord of the Rings action figures, and particularly Sam.

Now I have mentioned before in this blog that way back in 1979 we got all the Knickerbocker LOTR figures, except for Sam. He had always been the hard one to find, apparently, and I had never even seen one in person. We all had to run back (if you can call a fast squeeze through milling crowds a run) to the stall where she had seen it. It belonged to a colorful entrepreneur that my brother had nicknamed Kramer, a fellow who deals in the Sixties and Seventies toys we especially enjoy. John had already scoured his displays, but he had put out new stuff since then, and there they were: Aragorn, Frodo, Gollum, and to our wonder, Sam.

He was not mint in box, of course, and he was missing his little knife, but he was there. Kramer wanted $100 for each figure, but the great thing about these shows is one can haggle, and after some back and forth (and a quick loan from my sister) I purchased Sam for $85. This is a comparable price for similar Sams on eBay, if you figure in shipping and handling, and had the added bonus of being RIGHT THERE to kindle my acquisitive nature. At last I had a Samwise Gamgee in my hot little hand, and all the journey home I kept taking him out in his little plastic display box (we have a rule: no unwrapping till we get home), gazing at his details, and occasionally muttering "My Precious!"

We got home, I dug out the original figures and at last the old gang was complete, with Sam finally standing staunchly at Frodo's side. The quest of thirty-three years was accomplished. The old gap was filled, an odd psychic tension relaxed, "back-story...resolving, heart...melting, desire to destroy world...fading away!" But seriously, one of my three or four big toy yearnings had been fulfilled.

This had gone back a long way. As early as 1980, the almost complete set of LOTR figures (sans Ringwraith's Horse) had been offered in a comic book ad for $3.99 each. I wanted them, but I had no checking account at the time, and my parents had a weird fear about sending checks in the mail. I do not know if they came on cards or if they were simply shipped, but a carded mint Knickerbocker LOTR can go for two or three thousand dollars these days. What an investment that might have been (if I could ever be persuaded to part with them)!

But as for this Sam, my Sam, he might well say (adapting a famous saying) "Well, I'm home!"

Alucard from Hellsing Action Figure

Don't have it. Rather pricey over on e-Bay. But pretty damn cool. Don't know if he has a hat (don't see one in the package); he needs one to look like the anime character. Thought AlanDP over at http://blogonomicon.blogspot.com/ might get a kick out of looking at it.

Sister Benedron

The next series of World Of Warcraft action figures is out. From the lot shown above I chose to get Sister Benedron: Human Priestess. They were all pretty interesting, but she has a book, so that really decided me. This seven inch tall figure has no articulation points at all; she is fixed in one pose. But the striking color scheme, detail, and sculpt are so singularly beautiful I can forgive that with pleasure. The white and gold costume, metallic wings, and brilliant green eyes are all offset by ebony black skin: she may be a Human priestess, but no human of any shade like that exists in the real world. Besides her book she has an axe and a medallion on a chain hanging around her waist; there seems to be no way to remove them. At just slightly under $20 these figures are a bit on the pricey side, so it might be a while before I get any others of this bunch, neat though they all look. I just wish they could come up with some better handles than these D&D cookie-cutter names. Benedron sounds like something you would take for an allergy.

Alucard...Ma I

Another series in the NECA and Player Select issues of video game characters, this time from the game Castlevania. I found a few at Hastings. I bought the rather bishonen gentleman with the long blond hair in the middle: his name is Alucard. If you wonder what the name means (and if you are a regular reader of this blog I bet you don't) read the post heading backward. This figure stands about 7 and 1/2 inches tall and comes with broadsword, cross on a chain, holy water bottle, and a bloody joint of some kind of meat that I am willing to bet is some sort of health-restoring pick-up in the game.

Oddly enough, this is not the first toy bottle of holy water I've got (think Buffy), and it's the second toy cross I've bought this week. The other was one of the "secret treasures" I got with an Indiana Jones figure.

Yaddle and Evan Piell

I swore I would never buy another Star Wars figure, but while I was passing through HEB to get some eggnog (only 40 more noggin' days left in the year!) I saw this two figure pack down the toy aisle--I always check--and my eye was drawn to the name "Yaddle". I read the back: "Jedi Master Yaddle is a member of the Jedi Council and is the same unknown species as Yoda. In contrast to the quiet and thoughtful Yaddle, Jedi Council member Evan Piell is known for his humorless and fierce demeanor." Another member of whatever-the-heck species as Yoda? I had to have it. And for $7.98, I did.

A quick run on the internet and I found out several things. Yaddle appeared in The Phantom Menace, and -surprise!- she's a female. Not established in the movie but in "secondary sources" is she is 477 years old, which is young for her kind. The character was designed as a young version of Yoda, but ultimately was utilized as a separate person. The name sounds to me like a conflation of Yoda and raddle, and she does indeed look like a raddled Yoda.

The grouchy Evan Piell and and the right leg of 5D6-RA7 (part of a build-a-robot offer) are simply bonuses.

Gran'ma Ben

The Sunday before last, I, my brother, and his family went on a shopping expedition to San Antonio. Along the way we stopped in at the Heros and Fantasies store in Universal City. This is one of our old hunting grounds for action figures, which we hadn't visited for some time, so we decided to drop in and see what was being offered these days.

What was being offered these days turned out to be what had been offered in those days. I couldn't identify any new product, and what was there was covered with dust. Apparently the store gets along on its comics and gaming. And to be honest, the action figure boom has almost died out; I blame the gyott-dang vidya games. Soon I fear it will all dwindle down to super-hero movie tie-ins and expensive action models.

Anyway, I am still going to buy action figures, the same way I buy real paper books. I was determined not to leave the store without at least one figure. I found Gran'ma Ben cast down on an end-cap amidst a jumble of oddments. I've always been interested in this figure, because while action figures of women are rare, and of old men even rarer, a figure of an old woman is extremely rare. I can only think of two others: Mulan's Grandmother and Granny Gross from Ghostbusters. I'd seen Gran'ma Ben all over the place: in Florida, at Bussey's Flea Market, at other comics shops. The thin film of dust on her plastic blister decided me; today she would go home with me. I was barely able to make out the faded price tag: $17.95.

Gran'ma Ben is a great figure. She's seven inches tall and comes with a coin on a necklace and "The Mystery Cow" costume. This rubbery shell is designed for another figure in the Bone line, Smiley Bone, and is connected with a story in the graphic novel Bone. Her defining characteristics are her big meaty arms, squinting eyes, and a chin that would make Mammy Yoakum jealous. All in all she looks like a friendly giantess in a fairy tale.

Getting this figure finally made me look into Bone is all about. We had been aware of it for years, and been vaguely annoyed by it's obvious indebtedness in style to Walt Kelly's Pogo; I think that that prejudice in me has been worn away. What I read about it interests me, and the fact that a complete edition of the entire run of the comic book exists make me more likely to get into it. I have once more identified a facet of my personality, that occurs to me and then is forgotten; I hate to take something a little bit at a time over a span of time. Some things have to be around in a large quantity to take in all at once so I can see how they develop.

Peter Cottontail

The first day of autumnal weather here, and what could be more appropriate than a post about an Easter Bunny action figure? Just about anything. But here is one of the latest to join my jolly group, so let us welcome him, shall we?

This action figure stands 5 1/2" from paw to ear-tip, and is articulated at the neck, arms, and legs. He comes with a basket of brightly colored eggs (not shown) and the weird little human-headed caterpillar/aviator Antoine. This action figure very accurately reproduces Peter Cottontail as he appears in the 70's Rankin/Bass animagic holiday saga, Here Comes Peter Cottontail.

In that show, Peter was voiced by Casey Casem, of radio and Shaggy of Scooby Doo fame. His nemisis, Irontail (whose figure I've had for some time), was voiced by Vincent Price. And of course Seymour S. Sassafras (as well as Colonel Bunny and Antoine) was voiced by Danny Kaye.

The only figure I do not have in this set is Dolly, Peter's somewhat perfunctory love interest, who comes with Bonny the Easter Bonnet. I saw on an old site several projected figures, mostly variants of Peter and Irontail, that never got made.

Rasputin and Young Hellboy

Back when the original Hellboy movie came out, I was not all that enthusiastic about it. That is, what I saw of it from commercials and reviews didn't make me want to go and see it. Even after it came out on DVD and my brother Yen had us all watch it, I was a little stand-offish. But after it was around a while and I watched it a few times, it began to grow on me. The main theme, that it is not one's birth and circumstances that make a person, but the choices he makes in life, is one to which I whole-heartedly agree. By the time my affection for Hellboy really bloomed, the movie had been out for a few years, and action figures were kind of scarce. I got a stray Abe Sapien, and then a Hellboy, but I didn't even know who else was available. Correction: I didn't even think about looking for old figures until a couple of weeks ago. And I found Rasputin, the main villain.

He stands seven inches tall, and comes with the mechanical glove key he used to open the dimensional gate at the beginning of the movie. The glove is removable. Included with the figure is one of the Young Hellboy, which stands about four inches tall. Hellboy seems slightly larger in proportion than he did in the movie.

There are other figures in the series: Kroenin, Samaael (don't quote me on those spellings!), and Hellboy as he appears with his full horns and fiery crown. I wouldn't mind getting them, but they're nothing I feel the need to go hunting after. My jones at the moment are for the Series Two from Hellboy 2. Can't wait!

The picture above isn't mine, of course, but a nice display.

Fuu

The action figure of Fuu from Samurai Champloo. I've had the figures of Mugen and Jin for some time, and only needed Fuu to complete the triad. While Mugen might be the guts of the outfit and Jin the brain, Fuu is the heart of the group. This is not to say she is all mushy and sentimental; rather her common sense and down to earth qualities are what bring the gang together and motivates their adventures.

Fuu as "the girl" action figure has been hard to track down. The paradox of their production is that fewer of them get made because they are supposedly less popular, which makes them more collectible and thus more highly sought. But one came up on eBay last week and I snagged it, and here we are. The packaging was in poor shape, which probably led both to it's reasonable price and it's being up for sale at all; that's fine with me, because I bust them open anyway.

Anyway, to the particulars: the figure was made by Jazwares, Inc. for the Geneon animation company. Fuu is seven inches tall, and comes with a host of acessories. These include two extra heads (Hair Unbound and Wet Weather Gear), a little pink knife with sheath, rice bowl, ship-shaped food server with sushi, journal (yay! a book!), and Momo, her pet flying squirrel. There is also a base for her foot. You can see them all above in the picture I snagged off Google; this is how toys should be displayed and I envy whoever made this set-up.

Bleach Series Three

Well, yesterday I got the two figures in Series Three of Bleach by Toynami. Here is what their cards have to say about them:

"Byakuya is the captain of Squad 6. He is the head of the noble Kuchiki clan. Rukia is his sister. His Zanpaku-to's name is Senbonzakura."

"Renji is the Squad 6 lieutenant. Both Renji and Rukia grew up in the Rukon District, where they became steadfas friends. His Zanpaku-to's name is Zabimaru."

What the heck is a Zanpaku-to? One of these days I'm going to have to watch this show. In the meantime, these are very well sculpted samurai-style figures, seven inches tall with rather limited articulation. They both come with a base and a trading card. Cost together: $30. The one with the big saw-tooth blade is Renji, the other is Byakuya.

Sephiroth

Man, I have really fallen behind. I had been hoping to post at least once a day, but one thing and another kept getting in my way, not least of all a general lassitude that made it hard for me to deal creatively with "non-essentials". Anyway, without any further ado-do, i present Sephiroth, from the Final Fantasy VII game and Kingdom Hearts. As anyone who has read this blog knows, I can resist little that has to do with Kingdom Hearts.

Sephiroth is a whopping 8 and 1/2 inches tall and his katana is 9 and 1/2 inches long. There are two pairs of spare hands in different poses and a base, which is missing the articulation frame that holds the figure up. The box, which was ordered all the way from Japan, shows signs that it might have been opened before shipped, but whether this explains the missing piece is unknown. I don't mind the boxes being open as I do it myself, but some collectors might. The figure has 15 articulation points.

Sephiroth, in the games, is the arch-nemisis of Cloud Strife, and is in some ways his evil counterpart. His name comes from a term in Cabala (I'll use the old spelling, not the trendy, thank you) for the branches on the Tree of Life describing the powers of God. He is the only character in Kingdom Hearts that I have never defeated, and is tougher than the primary antagonist, Ansem.

Ragetti

Purchased last night at Hasting's in New Braunfels for $14.99. Since I got his piratical counterpart Pintel used at Acme Comix for $5.99, I felt I had to complete the duo. Ragetti (a take on "raggedy", perhaps?) appears as he does at the beginning of Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End, and comes with cutlass. pistol, and base.

"Pintle", by the by, is a rather old-fashioned nickname for the --ahem--male generative part.

Vash the Stampede

Vash the Stampede, a.k.a. The Humanoid Typhoon. From Trigun: The Planet Gunsmoke. I've been trying to an action figure of Vash for years, and always regretted not getting the McFarlane Vash in his anime line. This Vash is produced and manufactured by Kaiyodo, and distributed by Diamond Comics (www.diamondcomics.com). Comes with his various guns and the mysterious little cat that always follows him around.

In Trigun, humanity has seeded a distant, desert planet, where existence makes many choose violent means to survive. Wandering the planet is Vash the Stampede, the only person ever to be classified as a natural disaster. Wherever he goes, calamity follows, and many blame him for what happens. But as those who know him best realize, he has a deep respect for life, and it is only his actions that mitigate the disasters around him.

I got this Vash new at Acme Comix, for $19.99. I also got a used Nicholas Wolfwood from the same series for $6.99, with all his bits, including his trademark cross-shaped gun and model church for donations.

Whew. I had the hardest time composing this post because my nephew is here, watching a movie and asking a thousand questions about it all at once.

Peter Jackson as a Hobbit

Got an e-mail from my friend Tom at Z's Toys & More. The action figure of Peter Jackson as a Hobbit that he had been beating the woods for me had finally come in! All the way from Scotland (for some reason this figure seems to have been more available in Great Britain and its Dominions), it cost a mere $16 including shipping. It was out of the box and lacking some little satchel that came with the figure but that's okay, as I would just open it anyway, and this kept the cost down (I saw some places asking more than a hundred for it).

The sculpt and paint are very nice. Peter Jackson's glasses are great, and the bronze vest and brown coat and pants are a very hobbit-like ensemble. The figure itself makes a bit of a nitpick, though: no real Hobbit has so full a beard. Of the three varieties of Hobbits only the Stoors have any facial hair, and that is a light down on the chin, not anything like Jackson's furry chinpelt.