Madballs Series 1 – Dust Brain

Best enjoyed while listening to some Nile.

You may recall that a couple of months ago I took at the Kidrobot version of Dust Brain, an excellent piece of mummy merchandise. I picked him up in England, in part because I assumed that the Madballs relaunch was never going to hit Australia. But much to my surprise, the mass release Madballs blind bags from American Greetings are now available here, the better part of a year after they hit the US.

In contrast to the traditional style of the Kidrobot version, this is a more updated look, slightly streamlined for both modern sensibilities and modern toymaking techniques. Cast in a soft, squishy plastic, it’s not quite as rough and ready as the original 1980s version. But I don’t think they’ve watered it down; it’s still weird and gross, which is exactly how it should be. They’ve actually added a detail too – a scarab tucked into the bandages at the back of the head. Paint is a little fuzzy; still, the sculpt is excellent.  

Overall? At only $4 AUD, the price is definitely right. Well worth checking out for longtime Madballs aficionados or horror fans. 

I’ve only seen these guys in Big W in Australia so far; they’re blind-bagged, but there is a decoder available. I suggest you use it if you’re after a particular character, though most of the designs are worth a look. I picked up a couple of others, which I’ll hopefully showcase here in the next few days.

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POP! Harry Potter – Remus Lupin (as Werewolf)

I’m not the world’s hugest Harry Potter fan. I’ve read the seven main books in the series (and enjoyed them), but I only ever saw the first movie…and that was back in 2001. But as the name of this blog suggests, I am a big fan of wolves – and by extension, werewolves. This review should be read with that in mind; this is my first and likely last foray into the world of Harry Potter POPs, though there are plenty of good designs in the lineup.  

So, Remus Lupin is one of the seemingly stream of Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers that do the rounds at Hogwarts. He’s first introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and continues to show up here and there until *SPOILERS* The Deathly Hallows when he becomes one of that book’s huge body count.  

To the best of my memory, his transformation into a werewolf is presented as something of a twist in the book – but the clues are actually right there in his name. “Remus” was one of the mythological founders of Rome (who was suckled by a she-wolf during infancy) and “Lupin” is a corruption of the Latin word “lupus”, which itself means “wolf”.  

I hadn’t previously seen his look in the movie, but a quick Google Image search suggests it’s kind of crappy. I mean, the Twilight werewolves looked mediocre, but this was several steps below them in terms of quality. Harry Potter has always been geared at a slightly younger audience, so we were never going to get The Howling…but still…

Nonetheless, the design has overcome its cinematic shortcomings and actually looks pretty cool in POP form. The body is maybe just a little small in relation to the head (even by POP standards) but it captures a nice gangly, inhuman look for the character.

There's not a tonne of paint, as he's cast in grey. It's a little dull, if functional; I feel like it needs some more highlights and maybe a wash to bring out some of the details. But the green eyes really pop on this guy, and the minimal paint does mean less from error.  And with that said, I strongly suspect we’ll see at least one more version of this POP – a flocked one. Hopefully they’ll throw in some glow-in-the-dark eyes, too. If such a thing becomes reality, I probably won’t double-dip myself, but it would be a compelling release for more diehard fans.

Remus Lupin is a solid werewolf POP, whether or not you’re a Harry Potter fan. Given that we’re unlikely to get Dog Soldiers POPs anytime soon, this will have to do. It was an essential buy for me – and what else would you expect from a site called The Lupine Book Club?  

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POP! Television: Herman Munster

I have a mixed relationship with horror parodies. I love the Evil Dead series, but was never really sold on Shaun of the Dead, for example. I suspect this is in part because the genre is often so unintentionally silly that sometimes (though not always) throwing parody into the mix can really undermine genuinely good horror in the eyes of the wider public*.

Another part is simply because we never, ever need to see a scene from The Exorcist parodied in any film ever again. It’s been done, guys – leave it alone.

But The Munsters – at least the little I’ve seen of it – is one of the good ones. It managed to successfully poke fun at both horror and family sitcoms without ever being condescending. So today we take a look at a POP of their patriarch, Herman Munster. Oh Goody!

A childish but ultimately kind and caring character, Herman Munster endeared himself to kids and adults alike back in the 1960s. Though clearly based on Frankenstein’s Monster, he was just a regular sort of working class guy of the era – one of the running jokes of the series was that the Munster family was actually quite normal, in spite of their appearance. No doubt there’s a life lesson in there somewhere.

This POP isn’t a bad likeness of the character, but of the four they released of the family it’s probably the weakest. But it’s not without positive features; its paint is certainly better than plenty of other POPs I own, and it does look great as an addendum to the Universal Monsters series that was released back in 2014. So Herman may not be totally essential, but he is fun.

Sadly, The Munsters isn’t quite as big a presence on the pop culture landscape as it once was; it’s not as well-remembered as its contemporary The Addams Family, and the franchise has been relatively dormant through my lifetime. 

It was last revived just a few years ago, with a pilot called Mockingbird Lane. I haven’t watched it, but reviews suggest that much like Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, it seemed to miss the mark; not funny enough to be a comedy, not enough supernatural drama to try and capture a Penny Dreadful vibe. It’s a shame, but perhaps not surprising. Still, if you’ve never the original before, you should make an effort to check out an episode if you get the chance.  

*To be fair, horror often deliberately shies away from mainstream acceptance anyway. It’s no coincidence that there’s so much overlap between horror fans and heavy metal fans.  

Sunday Afternoon Reader -- Part 6

Well unfortunately it has been a few months since Part 5 – but such is the way things go sometimes. Here’s what I’ve been reading since we last checked in.  

Memories, Dreams, Reflections

C.G. Jung

Publisher: Vintage (Random House)

Year: 1963

I am a great admirer of Carl Jung, but most of this stems from his wider influence on pop culture, rather than having read much of his stuff directly. Man & His Symbols – which is probably his best-known work to the general public – is great, but I was thrilled to discover that he actually had an autobiography of sorts available. 

With that said, Memories, Dreams, Reflections is far more concerned with his inner life than with the usual etcetera of dates and events that you might expect from a more conventional autobiography. The closest analogue (particularly in the early chapters) that I could draw is C.S. Lewis’ “spiritual autobiography” Surprised by Joy, though they differ quite a bit in terms of content.

It’s not always an easy read and I didn’t come away from it agreeing with all his thoughts – but nonetheless, it what has been something of a turbulent year, reading it was both psychologically and spiritually helpful – and for the most part only served to increase my admiration of him.   

VHS: Absurd, Odd and Ridiculous Relics from the Videotape Era

Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher

Publisher: Running Press

Year: 2011

VHS, hey? Such a relic of my childhood, yet not one I remember all that fondly. It was an inconvenient format dictated by the technological limitations of the time – and as soon as DVDs came in, I never really looked back.

That said, there are so many oddities that never made the transition to DVD (particularly horror) and now that we’ve entered the era of blu-ray and digital download, there’s even more that have been lost again. This book compiles some of the most bizarre VHS covers known to man, spanning the predictable (80s workout videos) through the truly unnecessary (How to Spot Counterfeit Beanie Babies). As with any book like this, things are predictably hit-and-miss in terms of the level of amusement provided, but it’s good to flick through for a chuckle.

Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons

Michael Witwer

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Year: 2015

Dungeons & Dragons has been a big part of my life for a very long time, but I wasn’t terribly familiar with much of the life of Gary Gygax, one of the key figures in its creation. I knew the broad strokes, but I didn’t actually know there was anything comprehensive out there – so this was a must-have for $6.    

The book began life as Witwer’s thesis, and reading this not long after the exhaustive (and exhausting) Charles Schulz bio, it seems quite light on details. It’s worth a read for fans, but there are some valid criticisms to be levelled – Dave Arneson’s role in the creation of the game is downplayed, for one – but I think it serves reasonably well as an insight into the man and his methods. As the book itself states, Dungeons & Dragons is far bigger than Gary Gygax himself. And the cover is a heartfelt (if not entirely successful) tribute to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons supplement books from the 1980s.    

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Happy 5th Birthday to the Lupine Book Club

5 years ago today, I published the very first article on the Lupine Book Club. While the blog didn't become particularly active until several months later, that first article is still where it all began.

Much has changed since 2012; I could talk for pages, but the short version is that I've gotten married, bought an apartment, hit the big 3-0, and become a cat owner.

I don't plan to do anything particularly special to mark the occasion -- maybe have a beer or two. But I want to thank all of you who've visited the Lupine Book Club over the years.

Here's to many more years ahead!   

Grossery Gang: Trash Head

Trash Head aka Clanky

Trash Head used to be your average filthy trash can until he was splashed by toxic juice and mutated into a pile of trash that’s ready to smash!

Trash Head is choc full of slop and is ready to empty himself on his enemy!

He’ll always throw up a challenge to the Clean Team!

Get ready to fight dirty!

Well, I’ve certainly referred to action figures as garbage in the past, but I think this is the first one where I didn’t mean it as a pejorative.

Last year, I took a look at a couple of Grossery Gang miniatures back when Series 1 was first released last year. We’re now up to series 3 – released under the title of “Grossery Gang vs The Clean Team” – and as something of a supplement to the main series of blind-packaged miniatures, Moose have release a number of Grosseries as fully-fledged action figures.

Trash Head here is (unsurprisingly) a trashcan. He’s leaking slime from his lid and his disgusting gaping mouth, while his limbs also appear to be made of the green stuff. In the mix is all sorts of other stuff, including cockroaches, fish bones and even an apple core. It’s totally disgusting and it is completely AWESOME! It’s the must-have accessory for every crust punk this year.

The overall aesthetic is quite reminiscent of the 1980s/1990s Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, both in packaging and sculpt. Others have been pretty swift to point out the similarities to the long-defunct Food Fighters, who were originally released by Mattel in 1989. You’ll also find that the price point is reasonably retro, too – this figure retails for $11, which is impressively cheap in this day and age.  

As befits the figure’s pseudo-retro look, articulation is not amazing – but it’s slightly better than you would expect. I was expecting cut arms and legs, similar to a 5POA figure, but they’ve actually included swivel joints on all four limbs, which gives it an adequate range of movement.

Trash Head also comes with two accessories – a large set of fish bones which serves as his weapon in his war against cleanliness, and a Grossery of himself*. I believe the Grossery (or at least the paint scheme) is unique to this particular set, which will make it worth the price of purchase alone for some obsessive fans.

The Grossery Gang action figures are collectively great, and I hope we see more of them in the future. They’re incredible designs, a reasonable price point and they have a fantastic throwback feel overall. Highly recommended, even if you haven't been collecting the line. 

With that said, while these figures have been out in the US and Canada for a few months now, they’ve only just shown up in Sydney. The Grossery Gang brand seems to be going gangbusters overseas, while apparently having a bit of a mixed time here in Australia. Series 2 never really seemed to get much distribution, and Series 1 is also still hanging round in quite a few places too. Hopefully with the arrival of series 3 we’ll see a bit of a resurgence the public’s awareness of the brand.  

*What a narcissist  

POP! Television – Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting

Until recently, I’ve only really known Bob Ross as something of a campy cult figure via the many, many parodies and memes of him that have done the rounds. With his easily imitable afro, beard, soft-spoken manner and memorable catchphrases, he was a comedian’s dream. But his endearing onscreen persona seems to have had at least some grounding in reality – he’s developed quite a sincere following over the years, one that seems to be far larger than the irony-driven fandom.   

This second-hand familiarity isn’t so surprising, though; I’m not sure that The Joy of Painting was ever actually on Australian TV. But more than 20 years after his passing, we can now enjoy his work more easily than ever, thanks to his presence on YouTube and Netflix. And of course, Funko have now seen fit to add him to their POP! Television line.  

The sculpt is excellent, capturing him in his signature painting outfit. It’s presumably a younger Bob Ross, as by the early 90s he had fairly evident streaks of grey throughout his beard. He’s also armed with his famous 2-inch brush, and his clear palette, complete with smears of paint, ready to be daubed onto the canvas. It’s a shame he doesn’t come with one, but I’ve seen ones in The Reject Shop which would be just about in scale. I may have to invest in a few, and create a display for him.

But on the topic of paint...unfortunately, Funko seem to have had numerous “happy little accidents” in the process of applying apps at the factory. One of his eyes isn’t properly painted, his beard isn’t covered properly and his outfit is a little sloppy. Another one for the ever-growing to-fix pile. 

Paint imperfections aside, I have no hesitation recommending this figure. Bob Ross doesn’t really fit in with most over POPs you’ll own, but is nonetheless a fantastic addition to the shelf or desk. Figures like this really remind me why I started collecting POPs in the first place; the figure captures the subject exceptionally well, as opposed to just being some garbage ground out to meet a licensing commitment. It’s an eccentric addition to the collection, just as Bob Ross himself was – and continues to be – to our TV screens.  

POP! Movies – Carrie

I seem to have been on a bit of a Stephen King kick of late. I reviewed the new version of IT just a few days ago, today we look at the POP version of Carrie and even as I type I’m watching the first episode of Stephen King’s The Mist.

Based on Stephen King’s first (published) novel, Carrie is the incredibly depressing story of a teenage girl who develops psychic powers. It was adapted into a film pretty quickly after release, with Sissy Spacek cast in the titular role. 

Both the book and movie of Carrie certainly contain their fair share of supernatural scares, and there are a lot of themes you can draw from it – high school as the real horror, bullying, victim blaming and sexual awakening just some of them. It’s not hard to see why the popularity of both continues after so many decades, even if they show signs of age*.  

But for me, most of the terror lies in Carrie’s religiously abusive mother. We don’t really find out which brand of Christianity Carrie’s mum adheres to, but it looks to be some kind of strange variant of Catholicism (we see Carrie praying in front of a statue of Saint Sebastian at one point). But in terms of practical application, her mother’s rantings and ravings come across as some kind of fundamentalist Protestant strain – ill-informed and deeply suspicious about the world. 

I’ve never experienced anything as extreme as Carrie, but as a kid I attended a Christian school that fell under the sway of a Charismatic movement known as the Toronto Blessing – lots of speaking in tongues, people collapsing around the place, that kind of thing. From my perspective, the principal used it as a way to consolidate his particular ugly brand of authoritarian leadership, by trying to fill student and teacher minds with bullshit. Maybe some of them even believed it at the time, I don’t know. It’s affected me more as an adult than I think it did as a kid, causing me considerable anxiety and leaving me highly skeptical of the whole phenomenon. 

Now to be fair, I haven’t been to the church in Toronto that originated the whole thing, so I can’t speak for their experiences. But based on my own, I’m inclined to think the whole thing was a hoax, or some kind of hysteria. I certainly don’t think it was a good thing – it’s been a blight on the modern church since. So yeah, the scenes with Carrie’s mum pushed some buttons for me.

But I have digressed heavily. The POP itself is quite simple, showing Carrie at her prom, post-pig’s blood. She’s wearing a slip-style dress, and still has her corsage on. My only real complaint is that could actually be way, way bloodier to better match the art on the back of the box, and the film itself.

If you’re a fan of the movie, this is a no-brainer. It’s one of Stephen King’s better adaptations, and though it’s showing its age, hugely influential on horror films ever since followed. Not Funko’s finest work, but definitely a solid piece for the shelf.

*I’m yet to see the remake from a few years ago