Mail Call!

 

Boy, it's been two years since I've done a mail call, and today is quite the haul!

 There's a whole lot of girth to those boxes!

You'll notice a theme today as I open and share box number one. Yes, a lot of them are comic books. However, they're not just any particular ones. Rather, this is me making a gallant effort to complete my Todd McFarlane collection.

McFarlane penciled both issue one and two of Invasion, but left the book prior to the third and final installment of the mini-series. I ended up purchasing the full run because it was simply easier and cheaper to get them all together than to pick and choose issues.

This next box encased a consecutive run of Infinity, Inc. issues one through forty-five, plus annual one.

The McFarlane sweet spot in these issues is number fourteen through thirty-seven, plus annual one and two, the latter of which I didn't get in this bunch. In doing the math, it actually worked out to be sixty dollars cheaper to buy this lot than to simply focus on the issues I wanted. Kind of a no brainer to grab it.

There are only nine more issues in the series, one of which is the second annual that I'm going to get. I may or may not just go ahead and finish the run.

Don't check out on my yet, toy lovers. They're coming up next. But, first, this lot contained a consecutive run of issues one through fifty of Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

This is a series I wouldn't mind catching up on, but with over three hundred issues out there, this literally is just the tip of the iceberg. I don't know that it will be feasible at this point to try and grab issues fifty-one through three hundred thirty-three. That's a lot of money, not to mention bags and boards. 

Initially, I picked these figures up because I was going to take them to Big Lick Comic Con in Roanoake this August, and have them signed by Billy West. Then I looked and saw how far Roanoake was from me, and scrapped that idea right away. Unfortunately, I had already purchased the figures.

Despite autographs, they'll still serve a purpose as added decorations to my wall above my cartoon DVD's.

Before any of you flip out that I opened these, fret not. What I also found out was that the bubbles on both were already open, and not so nicely in the case of Stimpy. His entire bubble was given the x-acto knife treatment.

They fit in nicely on top of my autographed complete series of G.I. Joe. Boy, what a great day that was.

On June 30, 2022, I told several people, "If Hasbro doesn't send me something G.I. Joe related by the end of July, I'm cancelling ALL of my pre-orders, and selling off all my Classified figures. On July 1, 2022, I got confirmation that the Fortnight Snake Eyes Zero Edition had shipped.

I've had this thing on order since January 30, 2020. No, that's not a typo. I don't know why it took Hasbro over a year to produce and ship this thing, but that wait time was ridiculous!

While I'm happy to finally have it, I can certainly understand from my own experience why so many fans of the series are upset by Hasbro continuing to offer pre-orders for 2023 when they've yet to even fulfill orders from over a year ago.

Popping the box open, it's really just another Snake Eyes with minor deco. This is what, the fifth or sixth one in the series so far? Well, I guess I have to take that back. This is technically not a Classified figure. Well, not in name anyway.

The bubble comes out of the cardboard, making it easier to pop the accessories out, and man oh man, this is where this thing shines.

Ten different bits and pieces allow for a lot of uniqueness, in terms of displaying the figure. Sadly, there isn't enough storage space on Snake Eyes to accommodate half of them. So disappointingly, most of these are going back to the box to ensure they don't get lost.

It's neat looking when all decked out, but there's still that part of me that says, "It's just another Snake Eyes."

Still, I suppose Hasbro has fulfilled my need to have something delivered prior to the end of July, so I'll stick it out...for now. I'm not happy that prices on the figure are rising to make up for their lackluster sales as a result of their failure to put product on shelves.

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The Ren and Stimpy Show (Mattel)

Ren and Stimpy
Mattel
1993

Happy, happy, joy, joy! It's The Ren and Stimpy Show!

Nickelodeon made history when The Ren and Stimpy Show hit the airwaves in 1991. It had everything kids wanted - Classic animation, gross humor, gross visual gags, gross characters who spouted gross things, and all around was just over the top funny. Then the parents got their hands on it...

Nickelodeon quickly found themselves on the receiving end of complaint after complaint from parents who despised the harsh language, toilet humor, and general premise of some episodes. In the end, the backlash really only served to make the show all the more popular with children.

Soon merchandise started hitting store shelves. Stuffed animals, bobble heads, cups, plates, shirts, and the best - Mattel's line of action figures.

A total of eight figures hit store shelves in 1993.  When they were first released these toys were difficult to get a hold of. Store's sold out quickly, and in some cases didn't even order them.

BASIC FIGURES

Slap-Happy Ren Hoek*Bump-A-Riffic Stimpy

 

BASIC FIGURES

Army Ren Hoek*Boot Camp Stimpy

 

BASIC FIGURES

Commander Ren*Space Cadet Stimpy

 

DELUXE FIGURES

Bath Tub Ren Hoek*Gritty Kitty Simpy

These days its not too difficult to find them lurking on ebay, but prices are all over the place. Some days you can get them for as low as five dollars each, while other days you can't find them for less than twenty-five dollars each. This sporadic pricing really makes it difficult to obtain a comlpete set for the more frugal collector.

Join us next time when we take a look at The Hardy Boys!

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Ren and Stimpy (Palisades)

When Ren and Stimpy first hit air waves on Nickelodeon in 1991, it quickly came under attack from parental displeasure. Yes, it appears that even in 1991 parent's found it easier to blame specific shows for sending poor messages to their children rather than taking charge, and simply not allowing their children to watch it.

To be fair, for its time the show pushed many levels of grotesque to the furthest level possible, which is why kids loved it. However, it was never the intentions of series creator John K. to produce an educational show. Despite being severely censored and edited for television, the series quickly became a favorite of many kids, and today remains iconic to those now adults who now own the unedited episodes on DVD.

The original series ran for five seasons which encompassed fifty-three episodes. Each twenty-two minute episode contained anywhere from one to two cartoon shorts, as well as shorter animated comedic ads for products such as Powdered Toast, Log, and Dog Water. In the earlier days of the show, John K himself voiced Ren, while Billy West (Cureently voicing Fry on Futurama) voiced Stimpy. By the end of the series, West was voicing both characters, as well as the majority of the other characters portrayed.

In 2003 (to 2004) the series was re-launched under the title Ren and Stimpy - Adult Party Cartoon. It was aired only in the evening on Spike TV, and was rated TV-MA. The series took several new turns that didn't sit well with fans of the characters and original show. The main being the very obvious homosexual relationship tone the series set between the two characters. The show was so horribly written that Billy West declined to reprise the character Stimpy, saying it would damage his career.

Nine episodes were originally ordered by Spike TV, though due to consistent set backs and delays in episode completion the station pulled the plug after only three episodes aired. Today only seven of those nine episodes have been completed, and are available on the DVD Ren and Stimpy - The Lost Episodes.

With the new show, the series was given an opportunity to have a new toy line.

While the 2004 line of Ren and Stimpy figures isn't the first time the duo have been immortalized in plastic, it's arguable that it is a far superior line to 1993 Mattel line. It's true the Mattel line had double the figures, but the quality in the sculpts and overall design from the Palisade line seem geared more towards adult fans of the series as opposed to the Mattel line which seemed to be geared more towards kids (at the time).

Unfortunately there were only four figures produced (and three variants). This is due mostly in part to the inner workings of Palisade Toys, or rather the lack there of, which forced the company to shut its doors permanently shortly after the first series was produced.

Something unique about this particular line is that the variants aren't all that good when compared to the originals. For example, rather than getting a regular Stimpy figure, the variant had a tongue sticking out of the figures mouth, and a spotted, sickly one at that. Another example of this is the Shaven Yak figure which the variant sports a lathered face. These variants just seem to detract from the figures as opposed to adding to them, which unfortunately turned many collectors off.

A nice addition to each figure was the inclusion of a "Log" accessory. For those who are familiar with the television series, the Log from Blamo jingle and commercial played a very predominant role in the show.

A two pack of Ren and Stimpy dressed in their fireman gear, sporting Dalmatian paint (as seen in the episode "Fire Dogs") was produced and sold exclusively at Wizard World in 2004.

Following the Fire Dogs set was the exclusive Ren, which became known to collectors as the "Distressed Face" Ren. This particular tin was only sold via Palisade Toys collector's club in 2004.

Yule Log, and Radioactive Log were released exclusively via Wizard World. Yule Log was released in 2004, while Radioactive Log was released in 2005, making it the very last item produced for the series.

Join us next time when we take a look at Happy Days!

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