LAW & ORDER

I know I had vowed not to get and of the Renegades figures from the G.I. Joe line...but I caved on this one. See, I had passed on this guy several times...kinda liked it, but "no". It grew on me every time I saw it. I had noticed some of those hard to find Joes trickling into certain stores...I wanted to SCREAM since I coulda got Airtight and Lifeline for retail! ARRRRRGH! Eh, oh well...what's done is done. Anyway, I got Renegades Law & Order since I though they just looked great and I didn't have a modern version of them. So, there you go.

Anyway...the character is not called "Law & Order". The human Joe is just "Law" and the dog is "Order". See? Not many animal characters have a true name, let a lone one mentioned right on the package front in the G.I. Joe line.

As you can probably tell, Law is a military policeman. See that vest, that honkin big badge, that helmet? Yeah, you did...you saw it all! Back in the day, Law was pretty much the same deal...aside from a new sculpt and general look. The new version has a full, modern vest and has an older, more wisened look to his fave. The older one looked happier and uh...younger. In the animated movie he kinda had a Hispanic-sounding voice. I haven't seen the episode of Renegades with the new Law yet.

Here's Order. Back in the day, Order was just a solid plastic doggie you could put a rubber leash onto. The new Order has a ball-jointed neck (articulation!) and a sculpted-on protective vest. Much more modern! The leash is attached to the dog head part...sadly...since it's made of the same hard material as the toy and not very flexible...kinda looks weird. Although Law is standard cool, both in terms of look and usual articulation, Order needed to be put into an action pose...in my opinion. Order is just sculpted standing and looking happy to see you...I want an attack dog to fight off Cobras! Eh, not that horrible, though...just sayin'.

Law comes with an array of accessories...two black guns, a billy club, and some handcuffs. Sadly, the cuffs really don't fit nicely on any of the figures. He also has two silver pistols...both can fit in holsters on his personage. The one has a removeable barrel, like that on the Cobra Trooper I talked about earlier in other posts.

Well, we may never get a true classic style Law & Order and a movie version is a mystery, so I'll settle for this one...they're cool enough for me!

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!!! WOOF! WOOF-WOOF-WOOF!!!

Oh, and yet another Tomland alien...

Holla at ya boy, Zang! Yepper...another addition to my Tomland aliens collection. The last time I showed off some of these guys, I had scored some weapons (swords, to be exact). Now, I got one with a belt! Now I just need a gun for him to clutch. Anyhoo, Zang here has quickly made his way into my cold heart. Just look at the guy...er gal...or maybe it? Whatever...Zang's an alien, so who cares? Scope that head design. Zang seems so happy. Sure, he's got big ol' fangs and will probably lure you into his home and suck your innards out, but he'll do it with a smile! He seems to be wearing a visor or sunglasses...the big granny kind that fit over your normal glasses.That big honker looks as if it belongs on a character from the Doug cartoon, and his head or perhaps headgear looks like a cross between an old time judge's wig and a demonic pharaoh headdress. Neat. I like Zang...I like him a lot.

Movie Review: JOHN CARTER

Hadn't seen a movie in a while and ended up passing up a lot of interesting flicks, but HAD to see this one in theaters. The film is Disney's JOHN CARTER...which is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs classic pulp character.
Yeah, he was mostly famous for Tarzan, but John Carter was probably his second most well-known character. The tale is actually really old, too! We're talking before the 1920s! Yeah, it set the stage for sci-fi adventuring and inspired alotta future writers. I never got me that chance to actually read the originals, but had known about the character even before the internet age. I read and have read some of the various comics about John Carter. Trendmasters even made a line of Tarzan/John Carter toys back in the mid to late 90s...which I sadly gave up...but were still cool. Anyway, I dig the whole John Carter mythos, so I just HAD to see this right away.

It's Disney, so I always have a bit of a stigma for anything they put out. Eh, a lot of times it's uncalled for, but that's me. Hell, I loved Pirates of the Carribean! Well, thankfully, the movie stayed true to most of the original concepts and characters...I was impressed. They even kept a lot of jargon and stuff in the language...awesome. It's a movie, so I didn't expect them to get super detailed and heavily into all the subtle stuff surrounding the Barsoom mythos. Still, all the names, characters, creatures, races, technology...all there! Loved the characters...I mean, as always, anything can be better...but I was happy. A great action fantasy. I'd say sci-fi too...but that term kinda only sort of applies. Like the original Star Wars flicks, its truly more of a romantic action movie. Speaking of Star Wars...I really wish a movie like this would overshadow the market for such films and stories. I'm kinda sick of the Star Wars stuff. I really wish John Carter and the Barsoom chronicles would get big in a pop culture way. Sadly, the theater was not packed, even for a Saturday night. I'm sure John Carter will also be forgotten due to all the later blockbusters coming out in the spring and summer. Bummer! I really wanna see more. There is more...just not in movie form yet. I sure hope so.

Great flick...fun time...nice adventure...go see it! Maybe you won't be so keen on it as I, but I think it was a fine piece o' cinema!

Juyba "Space Riders" Bootleg

Remember waaaaaay back when I first started this damn blog? I rambled on about my love of Masters of the Universe knock offs, and my special love for the Spanish Jinetes del Espacio figures. This is apparently a bootleg of one of those figures. This is the second Juyba bootleg I own...did I talk about the other one? Jeez, I gotta check back! Anyway, the mold from the figure was totally lifted from the Juyba product except for the arms, it seems. Only thing? Although it looks to be fully articulated...it is not! The arms and head are separate pieces, but seem very hard to move. Typical bootleg crap! I still love it, though. It's that weird techo-Egyptian lion-leech guy, originally done up in red, with blue and green paint apps. This guy is done up in a pastel green, with fleshy head and arms (well, caucasian flesh)...with some blue paint apps. Makes me think of toothpaste for some reason!

Another couple o' Tomland aliens...

Even more for the pile! Yep, here are two more Tomland boys to show off. The first one is Haza, and the second is Newt. Haza uses the more detailed body sculpt, obviously...he's made to pretty much look like your classic semi-clunky sci-fi robot. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not sure if that weapon goes with him or not. As usual, so many versions...plus, my collection is in its infancy. Since these are considered a type of Star Wars knock off, it's almost a given we'd see a weapon somewhat like the light saber. Oh yeah, these are my first specimens of Tomland accessories! I'm pretty sure they are meant to glow, but mine don't really seem to...gotta look into that. Newt appears to be a robot guy as well, but he's a bit more organic-looking. You can see evidence of rivets on his noggin, little sensor ear thingies, and even a robot-like mouth. He has what appears to be a goatee under his chinny chin chin, too! Makes him more evil! Moo hoo ha ha haaa! Again, I'm not sure if that big ol' sword goes with him. I actually love that damn thing. Not very "spacey" or futuristic a weapon, but it just plain looks cool. I really like Newt's color scheme and overall look, in general. It's hard to pick favorites...especially at this point...but I'm leaning to this guy as one of my top faves.