The Monster Society. This is a rarity that I do multiple characters in one piece. Now that I am thinking about it, I should have done each individually and then combined them into one piece.
Originally dubbed “Kaiju Corps”, I wanted to do my own Superhero team of classical monsters ala Monster Squad. I began with the three core characters and expanded the roster to another three. I used multiple Bruce Timm pieces as references and it was still a ton of work. The team consists of The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Werewolf, Gilman, and Lilith the Witch.
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There is something about a good sword and magic fantasy story that I am always there for. Take the new Prime series, Wheel of Time, it’s hitting all the beats that I look for in a good show. I remember some of the fantasy shows of the 80s that were riding on the coattails of the popularity of the classic RPG game, Dungeons and Dragons. In the 90s and through the 00s, the fantasy fare over the airwaves was improving but still a bit sparse. The technology has come a long way to generate believable worlds and monsters, sometimes they don’t always hit the mark, but more often than not they nail it. Now I say “Television” but what I am really I am talking about streaming since I don’t watch broadcasted TV shows anymore.
Check the series out for yourself. It’s really fun, but it can bet gruesome.
Unlike the Hobbit, or Lord of the Rings, I’ve never read this series of books. I am unsure if I ever will, but Mrs. Multiverse and I really are into the program so far, and we have something to look forward to every Friday during its run.
Other shows I’ve recently enjoyed have been The Shannara Chronicles, The Witcher, Shadow and Bone, Cursed, Letter for the King, and Knightfall. At this rate I am looking forward to the Lord of the Rings series.
Looking back through my past posts I discovered, to my shock and dismay, that I had never made a post talking about one of my all-time favorite Harryhausen films… Clash of the Titans. I could either slide further into my deep pandemic justice-less depression OR I could rectify this oversight.
The day is June 12th, 1981, and I am an eleven year-old boy who was already deeply into classical mythology. My Mother took me to see this one at the Birdcage Walk theater in the greater Sacramento area. The movie was a fun watch for this kid, and when it was over we went the the Toy я Us across the parking-lot. Once there I was delighted to find a Perseus/Pegasus figure set. We probably hit the comic book shop while we were over there as well, Comics and Comix was my jam.
Last night we watched Clash of the Titans again, and sure there were some riff-able, but it is still a pure joy to watch. I still adore Bubo the mechanical owl, the side banter between the Goddesses on mount Olympus, the incredible animation of Medusa, and the stoic bravery of Andromeda. While this mashes a few different classical Greek myths together, and introduces some new elements, it is a solid tale of a Demi-God who becomes a hero after being thrust into a situation not of his choosing, risks everything for the princess that he loves, and defies the will of a Goddess that seeks atonement for slanderous slip of the tongue by the Queen at her daughter’s wedding.
I never had the Mattel Kraken, but I had the rest of the line and it was a joy to play with those figures. Now I only own Perseus and Pegasus again. It took a while to get the best deal, but I have them and they are both complete. Every time I look at them I am taken back to those fun days where it was just me, my toys and what ever adventure that I was going to have that day. I also had the comic adaptation of the move, which I also required in 2019. While I am not actively looking for Clash of the Titans merchandise, I am never going to pass some up when the price is right.
Toy-Ventures is a magazine celebrating and cataloging toys and action figures from the 70s & 80s, and it’s coming to a mail-box near you. I am pretty excited for Brian achieving his goal of seeing this project come to fruition, and for myself having a print magazine actually worth picking up, which is very rare these days. You can help support this project on Indiegogo.
This is a passion project of Brian Heiler. Brian is the creator of PlaidStallions.com, host of the Toy-Ventures YouTube series and the author of the book “Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings” which was all about 1970s and 80s dimestore toys.
For the last 20 years, Brian has also been a freelance writer and photographer whose work appeared in publications like Famous Monsters of Filmland, Toyfare, Lee’s Action Figure Review, SFX magazine, Toy Shop magazine and was a regular columnist for the Village Voice’s Topless Robot.
Toy-Ventures is an old school print magazine about vintage toys from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s covering topics and items that don’t get the respect they deserve. Each issue will feature collector guides, rare photographs, interviews, and articles by some of the toy experts in the Collector Field.
Issue #1 will be a salute to the celebrated toy company Azrak-Hamway International or AHI.
I had this poster by Carlos Victor Ochagavia back in 1980, and it was a subject of hours of Mythological study. Back when all I had were a few books and some encyclopedias, this poster was an exposition of color and fueled my imagination. At this point I was primed for Clash of the Titans to take me over the edge.
