Shout! Factory in January

From "They Live" (John Carpenter, 1988)

Like December, January is a light month for Shout! Factory releases. A mere five films/shows arrive on 5" discs in the first month of 2021. HOWEVAH! Two of these are must haves for the Ultra High-Definition collector. What, you didn't get a 4K TV and UHD Blu-ray player from Santa this Christmas? Well, maybe yours is on backorder with mine, sure to arrive within the next 12 to 24 months. Never mind that: let's look at what's coming.

January 12

I know I'm not the only person confused or intimidated by all the various "Lupin the Third" manga and anime releases over the years. No less a master than Hayao Miyazaki made his directorial debut on the second "Lupin" feature film, 1979s "The Castle of Caligostro". There have been a total of six anime series and six theatrical releases over the years, the newest of which, 2019s "Lupin III: The First" gets its home release via GKids today. It's the first 3D and first CGI release in the series and, frankly, looks like a good place to jump in for yours truly. There's options for fidelity and packaging: you can choose from the DVD, the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, or the steelbook Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The steelbook features that attractive cover to the left; all three versions come with a lithograph if you order them direct from Shout! Factory. As for bonuses, look for Blu-ray-only interviews with director Takashi Yamazaki and the Japanese cast, as well as animation breakdowns, a CG model gallery, Japanese- and English-language trailers, and a featurette on the "yellow" carpet premiere. No need to steal this one.

January 19

Everything else is coming this week, with a couple of real bangers leading the pack. I'll get to those shortly, after I dispatch with the direct to Blu-ray and DVD release of "Dead Reckoning". Andrzej Bartkowiak is a long way from directing "DOOM" and "Exit Wounds", now helming this action thriller starring K.J. Apa from "Riverdale" and India Eisley from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager". It was originally shot back in 2016, and finally came to VOD in November. The most interesting parts of this to me are Scott Adkins as the lead antagonist, and James Remar serving as what I assume is some sort of law enforcement officer, preferably grizzled. I do love a meaty role for a favorite character actor, and Scott Adkins is always threatening. Light pass from your favorite Ape.

Anime Limited is the latest label to join the Shout! family. This Scottish distributor is already pretty well established in the UK and EU, spinning out of the Scotland Loves Anime convention 9 years ago. They hit my radar back in May when they announced they'd be releasing "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and the two films from the series on Blu-ray for the first time ever. They'll be releasing Masaki Watanabe's adaptation of Araki JOH's manga "Bartender" ("バーテンダー") on Blu-ray on the 19th. Originally airing in Japan in 2006 on BS Fuji, "Bartender" centers around Ryu, a genius barman with a kind ear and a golden arm. It was only available on DVD in Japan, along with some unsubbed, undubbed bootlegs, so the announcement back in September that this would be appearing in Region A & B was welcomed. It's a cool looking set: along with all 11 episodes on two discs, purchasers will get nine recipe cards featuring Ryu's best cocktails, and four bar coasters. It's rare that anime inspires me to drink, so bottom's up to "Bartender" coming to Blu-ray.

Finally, a pair of John Carpenter classics come to UHD for the first time. I already own the Collector's Editions of "They Live" and "Prince Of Darkness" that came out in 2012 and 2013, respectively. And, as I alluded to above, I still don't have the 4K TV or UHD player that would require copping these immediately. But there's enough bonus material available as part of the preorder that I'm considering snagging them. Both films now come as a UHD/Blu-ray combo pack, with Dolby Atmos 7.1 soundtracks available on both for the first time ever. It appears that the Blu-ray portion of each release more or less the same of as their earlier releases; the most obvious changes being the 7.1 mixes being upgrades over the earlier versions. "Prince Of Darkness" is available as two different pre-order SKUs: the standard combo pack with poster, or a package including the combo pack, poster, and exclusive colorway of the new Sacred Bones 7" featuring Carpenter's re-recording of the film's theme. As has been the case with other Scream/Bones collabs, this 7" gets its own pretty rad slipcase illustrated by Chris Bilheimer.

As for "They Live", still my all-time favorite John Carpenter film (don't @ me), there are a lot of options. There's the UHD/Blu-ray combo pack, which, at one point, had a poster as a bonus, which is now gone. This is the one you'll see on the shelves of finer video retailers around the world. As with "Prince Of Darkness", there's also a package containing the combo pack, a poster, and an exclusive colorway of Carpenter's 2017 re-recording with his son Cody of the title theme. This also gets a dope Chris Bilheimer cover and slipcase. NECA has also recreated Keith David's Frank in their Mego-style 8" action figure line. The figure, limited to just 4,000 pieces, is sold out as a separate SKU, but is still available as part of a movie/poster/figure package AND/or movie/poster/7"/figure package. If Santa brought you a bit more holiday dosh, or you've got nothing better to spend your Trump bonus on, well...congratulations. You're in better waters than the most of us. Enjoy your giant stack of "They Live" gear!

From "Lupin III The First" (Takashi Yamazaki, 2019)

Things get back to normal in February, with a full slate of new releases, Steelbook reissues, another NECA action figure, and even a Shout! exclusive color of vinyl headed our way. I'll get back to normal by writing and posting this before the first of the month. Hooray! Be there...aloha.

D'Compose from Tim Baron

I don't follow the world of low-run designer toys like I used to. It was an easier time to do so when it was my job. While I still own a few Sucklord pieces and a few customs that I bought several years ago, I just don't know who's doing what. Which I why I want to signal boost Tim Baron's new D'Compose figure.

Tim first came to my attention with his Shogun Fett figure for SkipBroToys a while back. That he was doing 1:18 scale art toys caught my interest; a melding of Shogun Warriors and Boba Fett snared my attention. Tim continues to release limited edition art toys with SkipBro, and has moved on to develop a lot of the figures for Super7's ReAction figure line, including the Agnostic Front and "They Live" Ghouls.

Tim just dropped a limited edition release from his Inhumanoids line. If memory serves, this is the fourth release in the series, and it - is - pretty - awesome. It's a gnarly looking figure, with a classic blister card, price tag and all. Tim's love of classic horror and Pusmort cover art really shines through on both the sculpt and the art. It's non-articulated, and at $65.00 it's not a mere toy. This is a designer toy, through and through. But I dig it, and if you have some money burning a hole in your pocket (and who doesn't?), go ahead and pick yourself up a super-limited piece for your wall.

Click here to purchase one. Tim also has a Redbubble store where a number of his 2D items are available, including a grip of facemasks that I just ordered for myself. Check it out now, before you have to go on eBay and pay top dollar.

New Venom ReAction from Super7

I really like the direction Super7 has taken their signature ReAction figure line since the rights reverted back from Funko a few years back. Sure, you still get rad movie releases like their recent "Aliens" and "Army of Darkness" lines. But they haven't been afraid to dive into more culty releases like their recent Rancid and Agnostic Front figures in service of 1:18 scale weirdness and fun. The release announced today is a perfect example.

The new Venom Reaction - Black Metal that just went live for order is just...SOOOOO metal. It's about as perfect a 3D representation of the classic 1982 record cover as you could ask for. We originally saw this at Toy Fair this year, and the final product looks pretty close to that sample.

You can always visit your local comic/toy store to pick one of these up, but if you're still under quarantine, the folks at Super7 will deliver one to your front door at an SRP of $18.00. It's a small price to pay to lay down your soul to the gods of rock 'n' roll.

Click here to order.

Aliens ReAction Figures from Super7

Anyone who knows me knows what a fan of both Aliens and Super7 I am. Aliens was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, and remains one of my all time favorites. Reading Super7 was the first time I explored the intersection between punk rock, toy collecting, skateboarding, and full-blown nerdery. Years ago, when the team at Super7 shared the concept behind the ReAction Figure line, and showed me that an Alien license would be their first, I was super stoked, and hoped Aliens wouldn't be far behind. And now, like I'd always wanted since I was a kid, ReAction is coming to Aliens.

Super7 sent out a mailer last week detailing the first human character releases for Aliens ReAction, and these are really cool counterparts to the Xenomorphs released last year. The character list includes:

• Bishop - "I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." Bishop, the synthetic Executive Officer of the Sulaco, comes with pull apart attack damage.
• Hicks - "It's game time." Hicks, the battle-hardened Squad Leader of the Colonial Marines, comes with removable helmet and armed with his shotgun that he likes to keep handy... for close encounters.
• Hudson - "Game over, man!! GAME OVER!" Hudson, the smart ass Private of the Colonial Marines, comes with removable helmet and armed with a Pulse Rifle.
• Newt - "My mommy always said there were no monsters... No real ones... but there are..." Newt, the sole survivor of the Hadley's Hope colony, comes with her doll Casey's head. Newt stands 3.5" tall.
• Ripley - "Get away from her, you bitch!" Ripley, the civilian advisor to the Colonial Marines on their mission to LV-426, comes armed with a Pulse Rifle.
• Vasquez - "LET'S ROCK!!" Vasquez, the badass Colonial Marine, comes armed with her badass Smartgun.

At $18 a figure, these are a little pricier than I typically prefer. But I'm a fan of the ReAction aesthetic, and applying it to an 80s license is just perfect. I think the Bishop is the breakout figure here; who DOESN'T like an action figure you can tear in half and put back together?

These are available to ship now. If you're feeling really crazy, you can get a mixed assortment of all six human figures in this wave for $108.00 via super7.com. Don't forget the three styles of Alien Warrior; these Colonial Marines won't rip themselves apart.

New Medicom Be@rbricks!

I get really bummed out when I think about the work I used to do, and what I'm not doing now.

Of all the toy companies I worked with, the one I was always stoked to work with, and the one I still miss the most, is Tokyo's Medicom Toy Company. For what it's worth, they remain masters of the blind box platform toy. They're still putting out amazing 1:6 scale and 1:12 scale figures. If you want to know what sofubi are, and where you can cop some, then Medicom has them for you. I'd never buy a Supreme t-shirt, and I couldn't give a fuck about Yeezys, but I'll stan for Medicom.

It dawned on me that the 40th series of Be@rbrick is coming up in a few months, so I decided now was the time to see what I've been missing out on. It's been a lot. Here's what stood out to me:

Be@rbrick Series 40 releases right around the corner in June. While we won't get the full lineup until late May, it looks like a pretty...interesting list of licenses and artists right now:

• Parisian graphic designer Nathalie Lete
• James Gunn's Brightburn
• Japanese artist Hakuro's Ocean Exploration Robot Denshitako No.3
• Designer Kae Tanaka
• Wonder Woman '84
• Peanuts

...plus the standard Basic, Jellybean, Pattern, Flag, and a f-ton of cool Artist pieces. In case you're not familiar with the Be@rbrick concept, each mini-figure stands 70mm (2.75") tall, comes packaged in a blind box, and is shaped like a bear. These retail in Japan for 450¥; these should run around $6.00 from your more reputable American sources. I'm a sucker for these, and in more halcyon days, I'd buy a case of 24, just to ensure I copped some of the variants that inevitably show up.

Harley Quinn from Birds Of Prey was the Villain Be@rbrick from Series 39. That design is getting expanded into a 400% Be@rbrick this September. That means it's four times bigger than the standard Be@rbrick. I love this format; they always come in a really sharp-looking full-color box, and they display really well. This one's listing at 10,800¥, so expect to spend around $120 for this.

I had no clue that Medicom and the NBA were releasing Be@rbricks based on retired players until I hopped on the website recently. The first one I saw? The Hick from French Lick himself, Hall of Famer Larry Bird. You get a twofer here, with a 100% AND 400% #33 in Be@rbrick form. Hell, he even sports his late 80s dirt-stache. This is fantastic, even at 13,000¥/$150. It comes out in Japan in August.

Last, but definitely the one I'll be working to pick up, is the fifth Jean-Michel Basquiat/Medicom collaboration. This, like the Larry Bird release, is a dual 100%/400% Be@rbrick release. What I love about this (and the other artist collabos Medicom makes) is that it makes art attainable. I got turned onto Basquiat via the 1996 Julian Schnabel film (killer cast, great soundtrack...that'll be a topic for another post), and have been a fan ever since. This is probably the only way I'll ever get to pick up one of his pieces, albeit adapted for a modern medium. But at 12,000¥/$150, I think this totally worth it. This'll come out in Japan.

If you want to check out more Be@rbrick new releases, or check out the monster list of releases from the past 20 years, go to www.bearbrick.com. To pre-order...check in with your local comic shop, who should be able to get each of these via their distributor.

Nendoroid Alex DeLarge

I haven't really ever written about toys here, not because I'm not interested, but because I always had other outlets to talk about them. See, where most reasonably bright people used their college educations to become accountants, salespeople, C-levels, doctors, and whatnot, I used mine to join the collectibles business. It's what I did for money up until 3 years ago.

During that time, I got to work with a lot of really cool companies. Among them was Tokyo's Good Smile Company, makers of a lot of really rad pieces. One of their lead lines is Nendoroid; it's their articulated, chibi-style figure in a window box. They've been releasing these since 2005, have released/announced over 1,300 styles, and have covered the gamut of Asian pop culture. Long before I ever did any work with them, I became got hipped to them because they did some really fun Hatsune Miku Nendoroids back in the day. What can I say: I'm a sucker for a virtual idol.

Flash forward to a couple days ago. A buddy of mine sends me a link with the caption "!!!" as the header. I click, and I find this handsome fella:

Look, I have plenty of Kenner/Hasbro Star Wars 3 3/4" figures and Legos spread throughout my collection (also, I have a toy collection [sorry, gang, I'm taken]). But, to me, the more perverse or "inappropriate" the license or style, the better. And I think that's why this release puts a big ol' smile on my face. After all, Mattel's not going to look a 50-year-old Stanley Kubrick film about antisocial youth and say, "THIS is our next big release!" It IS, however, very normal for a Japanese toy company to release this alongside a pair of Frozen Nendoroids and a Kingdom Hearts character.

If you're looking for something screen-accurate, built to scale, or super serious, this is NOT your cuppa. While there's a casual resemblance to a POP!, these are articulated, more detailed, while still remaining stylized. These are awesome to play with, pose out, and can get a conversation started like little else. Little Alex comes with a couple of different faces, a glass of milk, a walking cane and a mask. Sadly, no phallus sculpture comes in the package, but maybe that's what Good Smile is planning for the DX release.

Nendoroid 1270 - Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange) is currently scheduled for an Asian release July 2020, at a retail price of ¥4,364. Expect to pay around $50 USD when this hits American shores. The Good Smile US webstore has already closed pre-orders, but holler at your local comic shop; they should be able to hook you up.