— April 24, 2008
After seeing Spider-Man 3, I’ve been thinking a lot about who should be in Spider-Man 4. To me, it’s about giving the fans the best story possible, and I wonder how much good material is left to take from the comics. But to make a good story, the villain is crucial. There are some obvious choices based on what happened in Spider-Man 3, but I think Marvel should go in a different direction. I think the best choice for the villain in Spider-Man 4 is the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk.
Here is why they should do it. The Kingpin is one of my favorite villains and appeared in some of the greatest Spider-Man and Daredevil storylines ever. The cool thing about the Kingpin is that he has no special superpowers. He has only his mind, honed on the streets, which he uses for crime. Also, many of supervillains are insane and/or have alter egos. The Kingpin is not insane but rather intelligent and has no secret identity. He IS the Kingpin. The Kingpin needs to be in Spider-Man 4 because he is one of the best and most evil villains in the Marvel universe.
Now, here’s how they should do it. I realize that the Kingpin has already appeared in a Marvel movie, Daredevil. To do the Kingpin right, Marvel needs to pretend that didn’t happen, the same way that DC pretended Superman 3 and 4 didn’t happen with Superman Returns, not to mention Batman Begins. Daredevil would have been a lot better if they had done the Kingpin right.
I think the to do the Kingpin right in a movie, they need to use CGI, but I always thought that this would not work. Then, it hit me the other day. It has already been done. In the Lord of the Rings, Gollum is a main character which interacts with the live actors the entire film, yet Gollum is CGI. Also recently, in King Kong, Kong himself is CGI yet interacts with everything else in a very real way.
So, who should they get to play the Kingpin if they do this? Why, Andy Serkis of course! He was the real life model for Gollum and King Kong. Plus, he’s a great actor who would do a tremendous job with this character. And if Marvel doesn’t want to do this, they could always redo Daredevil, pretending the first one didn’t happen, they way they are doing the Hulk this year.
— January 27, 2008
I just wrote about Wanted, and decided to write a post about Mark Millar’s next soon to be a hit comic book, Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass #1 is due out Feb. 27th, 2008. It’s written by Millar and drawn by John Romita, Jr. If you remember, they last worked together on Wolverine, and the result were one of the best Wolverine runs in recent history.
Let me just say if you are a fan of Millar, or just realistic superhero comics in general, you’re going to want to pick this one up. Here is the synopsis.
The greatest super hero comic of all-time is finally here. WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE’s team of MARK MILLAR (CIVIL WAR) and JOHN ROMITA JR. (WORLD WAR HULK) reunite for the best new book of the 21st century. Have you ever wanted to be a super hero? Dreamed of donning a mask and just heading outside to some kick-ass? Well, this is the book for you–the comic that starts where other super hero books draw the line. KICK-ASS is realistic super heroes taken to the next level. Miss out and you’re an idiot!
Anyway, here are some Kick-Ass related things you may want to check out until it comes out:
— January 27, 2008
Wanted is a comic book written by Mark Millar in 2004 and is currently being made into a movie scheduled to be out this summer. I knew the movie was coming out because I had seen the trailer, so I became interested in reading the comic. I also knew the comic was written by Millar, which made me want to read it even more. I finally bought the trade paperback yesterday, and read it today while traveling for work on a plane.
I’m sorry I waited so long to read this. The book is excellent, and deserves to be made into a movie. The writing and artwork are both top notch. Mark Millar has always been one of my favorite writers of Marvel Comics, and in my opinion, Wanted proves that Millar is the best writer working in comics today. The story really makes you think. It’s Fight Club for comic book readers and fan boys, although most comic book readers and fan boys have probably already seen Fight Club, but you get the idea.
The artwork is great as well, and some of the best I have seen in a while. J.G. Jones was not a name I am familiar with, but that has changed. I am now a fan of his and will be on the lookout for more of his work. If you can find Wanted, go buy it and read it now before the movie comes out.
Now about the movie, I’m not sure the same can be said about it. I just watched the trailer again, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you watch it. The trailer looks badass, and was more than enough to get me interested in it. After re-watching the trailer though, I’m not sure the movie will at all resemble the comic. For fans coming off of several comic books movies that were highly faithful to the original material, such as Sin City and 300, this is might not turn out so well for Wanted the movie.
Admittedly, there is a lot in the comic that they could not possibly put in the movie. The comic is very graphic and violent with tons of foul language and adult subject matter. This may be the reason why the movie looks so different from the comic. This will all be meaningless of course, if the movie comes out and follows the book pretty well. But somehow I find that hard to believe with the trailer as it is. There is a good possibility it could change though, due to the fact that the movie was pushed back. After all the trailer has been out for a while. The movie was originally supposed to be in March, but is now set for release on June 27th, 2008. Perhaps we will see a new trailer between now and then that will tell us more.
Right now, I am still looking forward to the movie, mainly for the fact that Angelina Jolie is in it, playing the character of Fox. Until then, I will be reading Kick Ass which is Mark Millar’s next project for Marvel, with John Romita, Jr. drawing it (my favorite comic artist,) due out next month. It’s sure to be an excellent read as well.
— December 21, 2007
Today we have some more bad news for Gentle Giant. The company announced today that the R2-D2 statue has been canceled.
The R2-D2 statue originally scheduled to ship December 2007, is being canceled and will be resolicited. At this time, we don’t know what the new ship date will be or if the pricing will remain the same, but as soon as we have new information, we will be posting it on our website and sending out an email. For those members of our collectors club who have already placed a pre-order through our website and would like to keep your original pre-order, please confirm this AFTER the new information is sent out.
I think this is another sign that Gentle Giant is struggling in the market. My guess is that the R2-D2 statue is being canceled because there was not enough orders for it. The question is will it ever be made? If you read their announcement, they don’t sound too confident.
There are some other possibilities. One is that production on the statue has been held up for one reason or another. A second possibility is that Gentle Giant is making more of an effort to sell direct through their web site. In this case, it is possible that orders were low so Gentle Giant canceled it to resolicit through their web site to make more of a profit on it. Either way Gentle Giant isn’t saying, but we will see what happens in 2008.
— December 21, 2007
After doing the top 10 Summer movies of 2007, I decided to put together a list of the top 10 11 Summer movies of 2008, even earlier this time around. I suspected it would be good, but once I had it, man was I surprised! Next summer is going to be great! So without further ado, here are the top 10 11 Summer movies of 2008. FYI, the list is in chronological order, not in order of importance. All of these movies are scheduled to be shown between May and July of 2008. I would have included movies shown in August, but unfortunately, it looks like they will run out before then.
Iron Man
May 2nd 2008
Synopsis: Based on the Marvel Comics Character; Billionaire playboy industrialist Tony Stark makes wepons for the U.S. government. While out on a field test of one of his inventions, he is wounded, captured and foreced to make wepons for the enemy. Instead, he fashions himself a crude power armor to save his life and facilitate his escape. When he returns home, he revises his armor and finds purpose as the Armored Avenger Iron Man!
Speed Racer
May 9th 2008
Synopsis: Based on the classic 1960’s Japanese animated series chronicling the aspirations of a young race car driver as he attempts to obtain glory, with the help of his family and the Mach 5, the advanced car created by his father.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
May 16th 2008
Synopsis: The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land’s throne, Prince Caspian.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
May 22nd 2008
Synopsis: ???
The Incredible Hulk
June 13th 2008
Synopsis: Physicist Bruce Banner takes flight in order to understand — and hopefully cure — the condition that turns him into a monster.
Get Smart
June 20th 2008
Synopsis: Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 for CONTROL, battles the forces of KAOS with the more-competent Agent 99 at his side.
Wall-E (Pixar)
June 27th 2008
Synopsis: The year is 2700. WALL*E, a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for.
Valkyrie
June 27th 2008
Synopsis: Based on actual events, a plot to assassinate Hitler is unfurled during the height of WWII.
Update: Wanted
June 27th 2008
Synopsis: This was originally scheduled to be released in March, but is now supposed to be out in June. Wanted is about Wesley Gibson who’s father is, unbeknownst to Wesley, the greatest assassin in the world. When he is killed, Wesley, who works in a cubicle, is trained to be his replacement. Read more on Wanted, including my thoughts on the comic, here.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
July 11th 2008
Synopsis: The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.
The Dark Knight
July 18th 2008
Synopsis: Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham’s new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker’s crimes grow more and more deadly.
— December 13, 2007
Gentle Giant updated their blog today with info on the Indiana Jones mini bust and statue. Releasing in July, the Indiana Jones mini bust depicts Indy in his trademarked leather jacket, fedora and whip from Raiders of the Lost Ark. It will stand 7.5 inches tall and retails for $55. Here is the picture we have of this so far.
In addition to the Indiana Jones mini bust, comes the Indiana Jones on Horse Statue, a 7-inch scale statue of Indy, standing 11 inches tall and retails for $210. Here is the official image.
Gentle Giant is now taking pre-orders on both of these items. See Gentle Giant Gets the Indiana Jones License! and Future Indiana Jones Products from Gentle Giant for previous coverage.
— December 12, 2007
Cool Toy Review today reports that Gentle Giant has had to cancel some of their products that were recently announced. Gentle Giant is canceling the Will Turner and Captain Barbossa animated maquettes from the Pirates of the Caribbean line. They are also canceling baseball cap, ultraviolet pen, canvas patch, and embroidered patch planned for 30 Days Of Night.
The main reason manufacturers cancel products is due to little or no demand from retailers/distributors. This may or may not be the case here.
This is not good for Gentle Giant and might be an omen of things to come. Many of the fans believe that Gentle Giant has begun to branch out too much, causing them to be spread too thin lately, rather than focusing on their core properties, such as Star Wars.
It is my belief that in addition to spreading themselves too thin, Gentle Giant has begun setting edition sizes too high to be “limited editions.” This combination of problems has caused their products to be in much less demand than in previous years. This can be backed up by simply looking at eBay. Outside of the super limited exclusive editions, the majority of Gentle Giant products can be had on eBay, often much lower than retail price or even cost.
Update: Gentle Giant sent out an e-mail to collectors tonight with a clarification on the situation.
Hello Gentle Giant Collectors,
We just wanted to take the time to clarify some information regarding our Animated Pirates of the Caribbean Maquette line. Although we announced the cancellation of distributor orders for Will Turner and Captain Barbossa Maquettes at the beginning of this week, we are still producing the 2 items. These items will be available directly through Gentle Giant and limited to 1,000 pcs world wide. They will be available to purchase through our website www.gentlegiantltd.com in spring of 2008, and are currently still available to pre-order. We have not cancelled preorders previously placed through the website. You must be logged into your account to see the pre-order.
Thanks,
Gentle Giant Ltd.
So to clarify, distributor orders were canceled, but Gentle Giant is still producing the item and selling it directly through their web site. I’m guessing that there was not enough demand from retailers/distributors for these items, so rather than scrap all their plans they decided to sell it exclusively through their web site. I’m betting that with the current retail situation, we are going to see more direct sales like this in the future.
— December 10, 2007
Hasbro’s first wave of 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe figures for 2008 is starting to show up at retail now. This series is also known as Wave 5 of the 25th Anniversary figures. Apparently, Wal-Marts are getting them in first this time.
- Crimson Guard
- Iron Grenadier Destro
- Snake-Eyes
- Snow Job
- Sgt. Flash
The Snake-Eyes figures is a reissue from the G.I. Joe 5 pack that was released this summer. All other figures are new.
— December 10, 2007
Marvelous News has images of the new Iron Man movie figures. Hasbro has confirmed that these will be six inch scale. Here is the list of figures shown.
- Iron Man - Mark 03 w/ Launching Repulsor Blast
- Iron Man - Mark 02 w/ Firing Missile
- Iron Man - Mark 01 w/ Launching Flamethrower Blast
- Iron Monger w/ Super Fist Smash
- Iron Man - Prototype w/ Snap-On Armor
The Iron Man movie is due out in May 2008. Click here for the official Iron Man movie site.
— December 1, 2007
If you have seen the store recently, you may notice some big changes. As soon as Hero Hunt closed, it has been re-opened. Only now, the listings will be pulled from somewhere else. Can you guess where? Well, Ebay, of course! If you can’t beat them, you may as well join them.
As for the changes, the first thing you should notice is that Gentle Giant products are being displayed exclusively on the first page. From the side navigation, you can browse the categories listed there which are action figures, comics, Harry Potter collectibles, Lord of the Rings collectibles and science fiction collectibles. You can also search these results from this web site from the search bar located at the top.
I hope that you will still find the site valuable, even though you are no longer buying directly from me. On the plus side, buying from eBay, you should be able to save money on newer products. You might also be able to find older items that you missed the first time around to add to your collection.
You may be asking why would I browse eBay from your site instead of eBay directly. Well, that is up to you to decide. I think it offers a lot of value in that it narrows your searches by excluding a lot of other categories and only showing action figures, comics and collectibles. So why not give it a try and see what you think? Let us know as always. Thanks.
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