Because illusion is STILL the ultimate weapon!!

It looks like I'm getting something off my San Diego Wishlist after all!!!...I just didn't get it at San Diego. That's okay, beggars can't be choosers, right? It turns out that yesterday, on their 2nd quarter financial call, Hasbro revealed a few new properties that they'll be unveiling. The thing is, some of them weren't NEW new, just new to today's audience. There was Action Man, Micronauts (don't worry, I promise you I'm gonna get to them!), and very surprisingly..MASK.
-I know some of you are saying "Wait, Jimmy. I have NO clue what MASK is." That's OK. The 80's were a crowded place, and so was syndication. Depending on where you lived, you might never have had the chance to watch MASK. And, depending on where you went in the toy aisle, you might never have seen MASK toys. The concept, in a nutshell, was kinda like GI Joe and Transformers had a baby. And they had wicked cool masks that could do awesome things. MASK stood for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. A GI Joe-like group of good guy;s who fought against the evil forces of VENOM. They each had their own specialty and they each had their own individual masks that did different things. Everything from lifting impossibly heavy stuff to send out super strong waves of sound. As if this wasn't cool enough, they each had vehicles that transformed in different vehicles! Like a motorcycle that changed into a helicopter, a jeep that changed into a high-speed boat, and much more! Seriously, this franchise had everything a boy thought was cool. Even an R2-D2 like robot that talked and changed into a scooter!!
-Rumors of a MASK comeback have been floating around for awhile now, and have actually recently heated-up, with Hasbro reps dropping hints, Hasbro renewing their trademark on the brand, and some other clues have dropped here and there. If you look at it, it makes sense. Some of the most popular figures for Hasbro right now are their 2.5 inch action figures:



-And these would be the PERFECT size for new MASK figures and Vehicles. The price point wouldn't be super expensive, and parents wouldn't freak out about buying a 6 inch toy and a 12-15 inch vehicle to put it in. So yeah, I can totally see this being the new size for a MASK line.

-In addition to toys, I really hope we get a new comic. IDW is doing an AMAZING job with their current Hasbro comics; Transformers, GI Joe, Jem & The Holograms, and I really think a MASK comic would be a pretty solid home run for them, both creatively and sales-wise. I'd also love to see a new cartoon, but I don't have much hope for that. Unless you have a network like FX or Fox or on a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu, you don't have much of a chance. Cartoon Network is so erratic, their ADD has ADD. It's impossible to follow a show on that Network without the use of a DVR, and that ultimately leads to quick and absolute failure. Hasbro does have it's own streaming service on Roku and Apple TV and other TV watching devices. The least they could do would be to put up old episodes on that, because the MASK theme song is just too good to not be heard!!!

Nothing but Star Wars........

I had the chance to read Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars #1 by Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda. Here, are my thoughts on this VERY anticipated comic...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...there was an awesome movie called Star Wars. No Episode number(OK, technically there was), just a movie called Star Wars. It was a movie with little hype that nobody expected to do much at the box office. Of course, we all know how that story ended. After Star Wars became a mega-hit, Marvel Comics published some comics picking up where the movie left off. We can look at those comics now and go "HOLY CRAP WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!". You have to realize at the time, there was NO sequel planned, NO prequels, just the movie that the creative team had for reference. There was appearances by a VERY different Jabba the Hurr, giant bunnies and all sorts of fun stuff. 

But, I digress. Let's focus on THIS comic book. Basically, the premise for this comic is the same as the Marvel Series. There's NO sequels, NO prequels, NO expanded universe, nothing. Except the movie Star Wars. And it is FANTASTIC. What I loved most about this book, was that, again, there is NO reference to anything but the first Star Wars movie. There's a scene in the book where the Emperor is talking to Darth Vader and I was SURE there was going to be a line of dialouge from the Emperor like "remember when I rescued you on Mustafar" or "You killed Padme" or something like that, but NO. NOTHING. Just the Emperor scolding Vader for the Death Star getting blown up. The story does take a VERY natural progression from where Star Wars left off. This is the book that I've wanted since Dark Horse acquired the license for Star Wars. They've published some good series, but lately it's been ALL comics based on the video game eras of Star Wars and the prequel era. So, this book is really for people my age. I don't know if younger readers are going to appreciate this book as well as my generation, but we'll see. Overall, this is a GREAT book. The writing is fantastic, the art is excellent, and it's one that you'll find yourself reading multiple times. Again, I'm not sure how younger Star Wars fans who grew up with the prequels will take to this book, but anyone who grew up with the original trilogy-THIS IS A MUST HAVE!!!!! I can't say enough good things about this book!!! Make sure you this ones on your pull list!!! 

SPEAKING of Star Wars, if you're in Chicago, you better mark January 13th on your calendar. You do NOT want to miss STAR WARS DAY at Challengers Comics!! We've got a jam packed event! Jimmy Mac from the Forcecast! Crish Macht, filmmaker of The Force Among Us, and the upcoming The Force Within Us! The 501st and Rebel legion!! Snacks! Cake! And, best of all, we've got prized from both LUCASFILM and HASBRO!!!!! Simply purchase a copy of Star Wars #1 and you're in the drawing for some REALLY great prizes(and I'm talking REALLY great prizes!!!) Here's all the details:

If you have any questions, you can give Challengers a call at 773-278-0155. Hope to see you there!! It's gonna be outrageous!!!