MisterPL

One of our local theatres decided to turn away anyone wearing a costume because this prick dyed his hair orange and said he was the Joker. I guess the logic is that it will be easier to spot these lunatics if they look just like everyone else. Can't wait to see what other backwards-ass solutions come of this.

I saw it last night and my overall impression of the entire trilogy has changed. This went from being a great pilot for a live-action HBO TV series with Batman Begins to being a big-budget imaginary story with The Dark Knight Rises. I agree with fatcow that this wasn't necessarily a true Batman movie though maybe not for the same reasons. One of the ongoing issues I've had with Nolan's Batman is that he's always seemed to be looking for a way out of the cowl. I could forgive that in the first film because I thought he still hadn't resolved himself to his fate as a career crime-fighter. But in the second film he's practically throwing the cape around Harvey so he can take off with Rachel. After taking the rap for Dent's crime, he retired. This isn't the Batman I was used to seeing. However, it wasn't a Batman I'd never seen in comics. There had been "imaginary stories" that included scenarios of a married Bruce passing the mantle of the Bat to an adult Robin. These were stories written by Alfred where he imagines a life as normal as it could get for this Bat-family, one that even included a new Robin; Bruce's biological son. In some of those tales he married the original Batwoman, Kathy Kane but in others he married a reformed Selina Kyle so I was very happy so see Alfred's fantasy of Bruce moving on become a reality. I've always hoped for a Batman film that was as close to the comics as possible. Not a panel-for-panel adaptation like Sin City but one that showed a broad knowledge and deep respect for the venerable source material. What I expected turned out to be far less than what I got. Thanks to the Brothers Nolan, I was thrown a curve ball that I'm ashamed I did not see coming. I really thought I'd seen it all as a life-long fan of The Batman but I was proven wrong and delightfully so. Of course this isn't a perfect film and I'll leave others to nitpick its flaws, large and small, but my nostalgia bone got seriously tickled last night and I'm still grinning from it.

I believe this is the thread for you. Enjoy!

No TRU version. Pre-order like a fury. Does that mean TRU is passing on the Enterprise? Because I was thinking the better way to show my support is to do so through the big-box retailer. If not, I'll be more than happy to support my local businessman as well.

Oh, I've had dreams about toys before but I usually wake up frustrated because it's just a dream. It usually involves discovering a whole new toy line or segment I didn't know existed... which is next to impossible these days but happened all the time in my childhood. That's one aspect I do miss; the spontaneity.

I get what you're saying but I'm trying to avoid the same problem that's plagued every Trek line since Art Asylum got the license; lack of consumer confidence that collectors will never get something as basic as a complete bridge crew. It's a catch-22. Collectors don't want to invest in part of a line if they don't think it'll be completed and manufactirers can't complete a line if collectors don't buy into it. I recall the conversation on AA's original message board. Collectors LOVED the idea of Deluxe sets that came with different sections of the Enterprise bridge. However, many didn't want to buy into it unless they were confident they'd eventually get the entire bridge. AA practically begged collectors to snatch them up, saying that if the line DIDN'T perform well enough, retailers wouldn't order the second wave. Which is exactly what happened. For what it's worth, AA wanted to ship even cases of all four Deluxe figures but it was nervous retailers who wanted the assortments changed to favor more Captain Archer figures. So instead of being able to buy all four at once, collectors were forced to gamble by buying two first and hoping that enough would sell to justify the continuation of the line later. But thanks to the erosion of consumer confidence, the first wave underperformed and the second was cancelled. Talk about your self-fulfilling prophecies. The same thing happened with Playmates last Star Trek line. They offered figures with bridge components but Trek collectors recalling the last Enterprise debacle were even more gunshy and balked at buying the first wave until the second was solicited. Retailers bought FAR too much of the first wave and figures are still lingering at TRU almost four years later. (I'm sure you know this already but I just wanted to post it for posterity. Sorry if it comes off as condescending but that's not my intent.) I want to boost consumer confidence, at least for that first year. TOS collectors should be pretty satisfied for now so we'll start with TNG, which when you think about it encompasses the entire 24th century era. You've also got the benefit of crossover characters like Worf and O'Brien and Q but I want to encourage collectors to buy into this line by showing them that they CAN get the main characters – in the same uniforms – all at once.

And Hasbro sub-licenses high-end 12" figures to Sideshow. The trick isn't necessarily licensing, it's trying to find a price point that allows for a high enough margin. Collectors are willing to pay over $100.00 for a well done 12" Star Wars doll but are they willing to pay as much for a set of Star Wars Minimates? That's a huge gamble. Then again, look how much North American collectors spend on Star Wars Kubricks.

This is a sickness. I had a dream last night I found MODOK Minimates at TRU sold in tiny, blister-carded single packs. They were merchandised at checkout as impulse buys for $2.99. Then a unicorn showed up and told me I was a robot.

I'm waiting for this thing to be politicized by both sides. The fact of the matter is that events like this cannot be predicted. You can't protect innocent people from every random nutjob who intends to do harm. My point being I don't want to be patted down or have to go through a security screening to see Finding Nemo 2 because one asshole decided to be a coward and shoot up a theatre packed with easy targets. I don't know what the guy's agenda is (and some of the theories I've heard so far make me even sicker) but I'm done giving up my civil liberties because of terrorism. My prayers and thoughts go out to the families and friends of the victims. I hope they see justice.

I use those for all my 3 3/4" figures. One of these days those figures will be replaced by Minimates. How much were they at Big Lots? EDIT: $4.50. I'm blind. Never mind. Mission accomplished, though at that price it's GOUGING my interest.

Any chance DST could make Star Wars banks about 2" tall and based on an assortment of characters? You know, tiny banks with 14 points of articulation that can hold coins in their little hands?

KITT is only $9.99? Now I have to have it, especially since I collect Cylons. I'll be haunting TRU for MODOK from here on in.

Okay, I love that image and recognize everyone but Iron Man. (Aurora as Captain America is inspired!)

... and Mini-moooore! (See what I did there?)

Hope you're enjoying your day, Jeff!

We need to get you an agent. Do you have an agent? We'll get you an agent. I really hope they can get Hugo Weaving to do Red Skull's voice. That'd be way fun.

I'd want to avoid releasing the same show in consecutive series. I'd want to hook as many different collecting Trekkies as possible so I'd prefer: Series 1 TNG Series 2 DS9 Series 3 VOY Series 4 ENT Series 5 TOS Series 6 TNG ...and so on. I know TNG is arguably the most popular incarnation and probably demands a little more attention but I don't want to alienate collectors of other shows. That's where exclusives and boxed sets come in. I have no problem seeing a couple TRU exclusive 2-packs that complement a TNG series or a 4-pack dedicated to unique characters from the animated series or movies or specific episodes. Of course this release pattern should be adjusted based on sales but I'd want to ensure the main cast of each show is represented.

I think you could get away with each initial series representing the bridge crews with a variant or army-builder thrown in. Picard/Dr. Crusher Riker/Troi Geordi/Data Worf/Lore Something like that. Being able to collect an entire crew at once is pretty attractive to collectors, especially ones who are leary of waiting for subsequent waves to finish teams/crews.

Don't feel too bad. I don't troop build much at all and none of my 'mates have been on display in years. They get put in Plano tackle boxes which get put into 66-quart bins.

One of my ENT figures got a tear in his pants within a few months. He wasn't even displayed in his chair. For some reason my Archer figure is still going strong though there's some discoloration and the glue seems to be coming apart where it's attached to the ABS plastic. The rubber material itself has no holes, though. I'll have to check my LOTR figures when I have a chance.

2013 C2E2 runs April 26-28.

I can't decide what excites me most: • Phineas & Ferb meeting the Avengers • Dr. Doofenshmirtz vs. Red Skull • P: Agent of SHIELD

It was just a matter of time. I was hoping that Pixar would be the first to jump on the Marvel properties but a Phineas & Ferb crossover should be pretty entertaining.

Minimates collectors are notorious sussies.

Mumm-ra's crotch piece is backwards, too. Easy fix but if it's common then it's just another QC issue for DST to address. I'd much rather have a part I can easily fix than a tampo that rubs off during foreplay. We're not talking rough sex here, we're talking about a few pictures for the internet. Snarf.