Snakes Alive !

Has there always been, lurking in the back of your mind, questions regarding specific facets of comic, cartoon or television mythology - such as 'why is the Hulk green?' or 'what is the Joker's real name?' or even 'who's hotter - Jessica Rabbit or Starfire?'. Comic book fans and retro geeks are always plagued with such uncertainties in life, which usually result in sleepless nights, loss of appetite and chronic blogging.

While catching up on an episode of one of my favorite shows, AMC's 'Comic Book Men' (which I re-watch religiously), a customer had brought in a vintage G. I. Joe play-set for sale. It was mentioned by this person that the inspiration for Cobra was Marvel's Hydra. So began the sleepless nights and rapid weight loss (not really). 

As my spider-sense got to tingling, a little info-engineering began !

(i)

The long and short origin that most of us are aware of is that the Joes began as 12" military figures. However, it wasn't until 1982 that Larry Hama (writer for Marvel), under advise from Jim Shooter (then editor-in-chief for Marvel) began developing an idea for a new on-going comic book called Fury Force. 

The original back story was that S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury had had a son whom was assembling a team of elite commandos to battle neo-Nazi terrorists HYDRA. The wiki version goes that Shooter had suggested to Hasbro that "G.I. Joe" should be the team name and that they should fight terrorists, while Archie Goodwin (another Marvel writer) invented Cobra and the Cobra Commander. Hama was largely responsible for the rest of the Joe universe. This is a view that is subscribe to by a number of fans out there.

(Larry Hama)

(ii)

A second opinion that is maintained in Joe mythology is that Fury Force and the original wave of GI Joe characters were as totally disparate lines. It is purported (as opposed to the above) that Hama's proposal for a Fury Force comic book series, which was supposed to be a spin-off of the Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD comic book, was shot down by Marvel. The designs for the 3.75" Joe figures were actually from the imagination of Ron Rudat of Hasbro Toy Company. 

In 1982, Hasbro approached Marvel Comics proposing to do a licensed comic book based on the G I Joe toys. Forum gossip claims the only person up to the task was combat engineer-turned-comic book artist/writer/editor Larry Hama, who accepted the assignment.

Various interviews between Larry Hama and Ron Rudat show that: Hasbro had sent the original character designs and prototype figures, made by Rudat, to Hama, who then had the job of coming up with code names and filecards for the characters. This is where the Fury Force and G I Joe connection comes from. 

Ultimately the rejected Fury Force proposal was the basis for the famous Joe filecards. For example, Sgt. Fury/Nick Fury, Jr. character was re-purposed to serve as 'Hawk', GI Joe's commanding officer. Fury Force mystery man Spook became the inspiration for 'Snake-Eyes'. 

Therefore, while similarities between the Cobra Command and SHIELD's arch-nemesis, Hydra, there was not meant to be any direct parallels between the two organizations. Any design similarities that Cobra Command and Hydra share is most likely due to the fact that they were both based on the same World War II villains such as the German Nazis or Italian Fascists.

It makes sense that if the Joes were not based on SHIELD, there is little reason for Hydra to be the inspiration for Cobra. 

Retro Cartoons Love Me

Say what you want about the 80's and early 90's - cartoons were better. In this Ben 10, CGI'ed animation world, kids and kid-like adults are starved for good cartoons. While I would agree that being action packed with colorful graphics and superpowers is important, those things are just a little bit about what's lacking in animated series' today.

Growing up in Brunei; we were up to date with shows and cartoons never featured continuity one episode to the next - by right, we didn't care. We got on our addiction where ever and whenever we could get it. And it was usually found on cassette tapes without digital, high-definition glory - just straight up VHS.

It was those VHS tapes filled with broken single episodes of a variety of cartoon that got me through my childhood. Bless my mother for recording them for me. I hope I'm right to assume that a lot adults today were raised the same way. It was because of this probably why myself and my circle of close geek retro buddies never could reminisce about just one single show; we could always burst into conversation about a varied number of cartoons we remember.

Thinking of those conversations about reminiscing is what drove me to write today's blog.

My own personal list of well-loved cartoons could probably be related to by a large number of retro loving Bruneians out there too. We all watched the same shows and loved the same characters and remember the same plot lines. In no particular order:

i) He-Man and The Masters of The Universe
Always did right, no matter what. Lived in an Eternia with no fatties. Always won no matter what. Couldn't tell you who the hell the Masters of the Universe were because if he could, you know he could probably kick their asses too.

ii) Thundercats
Unforgettable logo. Coolest villains that almost all were represented in action figures. Coolest power chant - just as cool as above. Made you want to be lithe like a cat and wish your girlfriend was Cheetara.

iii) Silverhawks
Thundercats but in space. Awesome theme song with the coolest outfits. Coolest motto - "partly metal, partly real". No household pet could beat a full sized plastic Tallyhawk. The Mirage plane could rival the Thunder-Tank on pure bad-assness.

iv) Transformers
Coolest theme song coupled with the largest number of characters of any universe. Coolest leader ever, who had the saddest death scene. Best cartoon to translate into a movie. Made you wish you could transform into anything (even a Kijang even) just to roll with the Autobots.

v) MASK
My personal favourite opening theme song. Made you wish your car could fly. Ass-kicking toys and play-sets.

vi) The Real Ghostbusters
'Who you gonna call?' is no longer just a meaningless question, thanks to this cartoon. Made ghost funny and seemingly manageable, as opposed to those ones that could...you know...kill you.

v) Centurions
Master the elements with gadgets. Coolest premise with the most awesome toys ever. I always wanted to be Max Ray.

These are just a few the come to mind. Granted that there were so many more that I just loved, and I'm sure retro fan-boys out there could think of many that I may have missed. Either way, it was a celebrated time for characters, story-lines and the action figure market.

Doesn't it just take you back?

Geek Speak

Props to Kevin Smith for introducing a new show (that has just completed its first season on television) that speaks to the inner geek / child in all of us - especially if that inner geek or child had comics, toys, play-sets or just all around loved and still loves pop culture. 

I don't usually plug shows, but this one is just hilarious and an inspiration. Check it out at AMC.

Poster-Size

This entry was inspired by a picture. Not just any picture, in fact. It was a movie poster. 

Movie posters aren't much to shout about really. They usually were character-less Hollywood mechanism that some times obscurely hinted a coming feature film, and then they were gone. Movie posters are still around but they pale in comparison to the tweets, rumors, forums, blogs and fan-sites around today that get movie news international faster than illegal migrant workers.

This blog entry was inspire by one of these movie posters. This movie poster was released in 1989 and wasn't just another PR plot - this one was simple, didn't have captions, no air-brush scenes and was the starting point for a fever that swept many nations, captured the imagination of superhero fans everywhere, and began a saga that promises (now) to carry on until The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. 

To quote an unknown (yet fellow) article writer, this was the one that started it all....

Classic Gets A New Look

Change is a good thing !

I look a long hard look at the Classic Articulation site and one of the first things that popped into my mind was the A-Team and the 2010 remake of this classic television series. I though to myself, if Hannibal and his team of intrepid, colorful do-gooders could be remade in the image of a 2000 Hollywood blockbuster, then Classic Articulation could do with a change as well.

So we said goodbye to the format that we loved so well and decided to embrace the 2010 with a retro mod look that you just can't miss !

Have a great week in preparation for the fasting season.

Comic-Con Floor 2010

[The roadie decided to pull the mysterious switch rather than move those damn boxes]

Do you know what the one thing that I really and very truly hate the most about Comic-Con 2010? I'm not there.

Friends Chart

[The ultimate find-a-date in the DC Universe]

I love the whole Super Powers Collection and the cartoons that inspired them; as I was surfing around and reminiscing on this awesome line, I stumbled upon this checklist that shows how diverse and cool the line really was.

Teddy

[That's MISTER Ruxpin to you]

Murder, murder, death, death, kill, kill, kill...

Fine Art

[Epic Cringer]

Everyone appreciates art that they can understand: some stray to impressionist art sometimes looks like kindergarten creations, others go European and tea-and-crumpets; whatever your fancy; art is purely up to the individual (read: always go with what you like).

Artist, Robert Burden, has been into pop-culture for a while.

His paintings are epic "portraits" of the small action figures from his boy-hood. He portrays the magnificence of these figures from the eyes of a child and a retro-fan - representing power, beauty, good and evil, and imagination.

If you were to read into it, Burden's paintings also represent more tangible ideals such as the nostalgia that many of us link to action figures of the classic era as well as the semblance of a a free childhood - "free from the politics of race and religion. It was free from the burdens of history. It was free from rhetoric and paranoia, bitterness and regret, cynicism and despair". I guess that's what the 80's was all about.

Burden's works include Mattel's Battle Cat Limited Edition Print (US$225) measuring 16" x 20" and limited to only 100 prints. In addition to Cringer, there's also a Hasbro's Serpentor Limited Edition Print and Toybiz' The Riddler Limited Edition Print.

Robert Burden's Toybox can be found here.

Sky High

[What became of playsets such as these?]

I look at this scanned brochure of the very cool command center for the Sky Commanders and think back to what happened to action figures and play-sets today - they are almost non-existent. Play-sets from back in the day seems to follow the belief that the bigger they are the most worthwhile they were as play-sets, and their size complimented the awesomeness of their proportions in the cartoon. What happened to this concept? Where did it go? *sheds a tear*.

That's what made classic toys great.

Solid Snake

[Every Joes to get one of these]

What good would a retro culture themed blog be without a bit of eye candy that didn't have anything to do with old toys and cartoons?

The Joes may have fought for truth and justice, but being bad is probably more fun.

*Apologies for the terrible title pun. It was painful to re-read even.

Cartoon Ho !

[Awesome representation]

In June 2010, Warner Bros. Animation has begun production on ThunderCats, an all-new re-engineering of the iconic 1980s action classic, for Cartoon Network. ThunderCats is the newest series from WBA, joining Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which was recently renewed for a third season.

“In addition to being Warner Bros. Animation’s first anime series, ThunderCats marks our most ambitious foray yet into fantasy,” said a Warner executive. “The realism and dynamic visual style we’ve achieved are sure to thrill viewers, and the cool weapons, vehicles and technology should help the show appeal to a diverse audience.”

The 21st century re-imagining of the series marks a creative collaboration between WBA and Studio4°C, one of the most vibrant animation studios in Japan, with credits including The Animatrix and Gotham Knights. WBA is working closely with Studio4°C, hoping to use their expertise to give the ThunderCats characters a new cutting-edge look while remaining true to the compelling storylines and mythology of the original series.

Roaring to life through WBA and Studio4°C’s use of the Japanese animated artistry of anime, ThunderCats characters Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, Panthro, Cheetara and others will have realistic cat-like characteristics inconceivable in previous incarnations.

It is hoped that the new ThunderCats will appeal to viewers who have loved the characters all their lives as well as young newcomers to the franchise. ThunderCats is executive produced by Sam Register (of Teen Titans, Ben 10 and Batman: The Brave and the Bold).

A Pack Of Beasts

[Love the detail of classic packaging]

Carrying on from Classic Articulation's recent posts on the re-realization of Battle Beasts in 2010, it would be a shame not to go into more detail on the production and scope of this awesome line.
A good place to start would probably be in their packaging style.

Battle Beasts came packaged differently depending on whether the import line was from North American or Japan - and have been found in individual boxes, 2-packs, 6-packs, 8-Packs, 10-Packs and big gift sets. The above picture is the back-card your common North American 2-pack.

Battle Beasts came out in the late 80's and like most toys of the era, had a gimmick to help sales. Each Battle Beast had a heat sensitive sticker on his chest which, when rubbed would reveal the warrior's strength. The symbols would represent either fire, wood or water and could be used in a rock, paper, scissors type game—fire beat wood, wood beat water, water beat fire.

Later a fourth emblem was added, the Sunburst, and it would beat all other types. The Sunburst was extremely rare, found in a ten pack in Japan, or Pirate Leo was available in America as a variant, despite claims that there were others of that affiliation.

Each Beast also carried his own distinctive weapon which could be identified based on a corresponding number.

In the U.S., Battle Beasts came in a packages of two, usually (but not always) in numerical order. It was impossible to tell which figure had a rub of fire, wood, or water until the package was opened. That came in handy with marketing, as their slogan was, "Fire! Wood! Or Water!... You'll never know until you own them!". Also listed on the packages starting with Series 2 was the possibility of getting the Sunburst Warrior. There was a total of three series adding up to 76 Battle Beasts beginning with #1, Pirate Lion and ending with #76, Ossified Orangutan.

Series 1 & 2 were released in Japan, Europe and North America while Series 3 was only released in Japan and the U.S.

Robo-gator Review

[The father becomes the son; the son becomes the father]

*Follow-up from 'The Return of the Beasts'.

Inspired by the original Battle Beasts toy line, this Alligator is essentially a Minimates figure with special hands, feet, armor, and a hat. As mentioned in an earlier entry, this nameless figure was given away by Diamond Select Toys at New York Toy Fair, 2010.

This figure is the first (and so far only) release of Art Asylum/Diamond Select Toys' Battle Beasts line, and it's quite slick. The figure is just a basic Minimates body except the hands and feet are uniquely sculpted, the "head" is actually just a hat over a normal Minimates head, and the body is just a piece that fits over a standard torso. This is pretty brilliant toy engineering on the relatively cheap Minimates model frame; and remember, it's a Minimates figure so it will come apart if you touch it funny.

At press time (just following Toy Fair 2010) Diamond Select Toys made no plans known for the development of the Battle Beasts brand past this figure. In other words, if you have this figure, congratulations. You now own the entire line (possibly).

[The new line of flasher, pervert animal Minimates]

Despite being built over a standardized body, the figure itself is surprisingly robust and detailed. Just like the original, there's a ton of detailing on the armor and character skin, but unlike the original there are more than two colors of paint on the thing.

Described by many as a cross between RoboCop and an alligator, this swell figure manages to spin your average expectations for a Minimates figure. For starters, it isn't a flat surface with a face painted on it - there's an actual sculpted head here with quite a bit of paint detail. The interior of the mouth is painted red, the teeth are painted white, and the skin and eyes are also uniquely decorated.

Glad to see that Diamond Select didn't cheap out here, although it is worth noting that the articulation isn't as robust as a standard Minimates figure. The feet are boots that fit over the standard legs, so you can't rotate the ankles. It's quite similar to some of the Iron Man figures, and a huge improvement over vintage Battle Beasts.

Surprisingly, the figure is about the same size as the originals. This new one is just slightly larger than the original 'Gruesome Gator' figure (pictured at the top of the page), and sized just right to be largely compatible with the original vehicles and playsets - which, if you're lucky enough to still have the retro play-set, is a bonus.

The alligator head is actually a hat for the Minimates head. There's a peg inside the alligator cap, and it plugs into a hole in the cylinder head to complete the figure's construction. It should also be noted that the feet have LEGO-peg holes on the bottom, but the feet are so big that you won't be able to get to plug him straight onto a typical brick or plate.

This figure had an issue price of free - which was, of course, the best thing about going to Comic Cons. However, how does it stack up against the 1987 originals? It's totally on personal preference; upon review, this new nameless Robo-gator by Diamond Select is aptly made in the spirit of the original Battle Beasts but whether this progression in good manufacturing will continue - whether the line will even continue at all - is something Classic Articulation will just have to keep an eye out for.

Return Of The Beasts

[Someone forgot to lock the zoo doors!]

Battle Beasts were probably the coolest anthropomorphic animal figures under 3" ever made - their sheer variety in characters was just boundless and their sculpting, finish and paint were vibrant. These figures, introduced in 1987, were far more interesting as collectibles than action figures.

If you remember or had these figures; stop, pat yourself on the back and continue on:

In the summer of 2009 at the San Diego Comic Con, it was announced that Diamond Select Toys, who produces Minimates, had acquired not only the license agreement to the Battle Beasts line, but ownership of the whole brand. They also displayed a play-set featuring a Minimates version of what is to become the new Battle Beast line. It was an Alligator named Gator Guard, and came with a human Minimates toy, as well as a cardboard play-set. The play-set was to become available for sale on December 31st 2009, but was then pushed back until March 2010, and has since been pushed back as far as possibly January 2011.

In February 2010 at the New York Toy Fair, Diamond Select Toys gave away a promotional Alligator Minimates Battle Beasts figure. It was the first toy in a probable relaunch of the Battle Beasts line. It is identical to the Gator Guard with the exception of the paint scheme, its armor is painted silver instead of gold, the eyes are green instead of red, and the claws are white instead of black. In April 2010, a second promotional Alligator Minimates Battle Beasts figure was released at the Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo. It is identical to the previous release with the exception of the paint scheme, it features black armor, gray skin, and yellow claws. Both of these figures were released in sealed bags and have no specific names.

Let's hope that this re-issue / re-vision will receive as much acclaim as the original 80's line did. But of course, just like Colonel Sanders would say, nothing beats the original !

The Revival

[Ya heard?!]

Whew ! The number of ups and downs Kal-El and myself had to go through to get to this point, it's amazing that we didn't just pack up our blogs and head on our merry way to senior citizenry. I guess our sheer egos and stubbornness would not allow us to kill a good thing.

Up to this point, we hope you've still been enjoying our blogs: Classic Articulation and The House Of El, as much as we've enjoyed bringing them to you. I don't think we're ready to give up on these just yet...work and personal obligations seemed to have gotten in the way of us keeping regular in our updating - hopefully, the 2010 is the period when we can find a balance for that.

But just so you know, kind Bruneian friends, Classic Articulation and The House Of El, although not regularly updated will not be shutting down. We're dedicated to keeping the hype going for as long as possible and in so much as we have time to keep you updated.

Thanks for sticking by us for so long in our long silences and lack of updates !

Mapping Eternia

[Eternia: on 5 dollars a day]
Written by GL

Fun game: click and download the above map, print in full color, fly to Hong Kong, and start asking directions from passing strangers.

Keep it real retro fans.

Classic Come To Life

[Watchmen: who watches them?]
Written by GL

First Transformers, then G.I. Joe and more to come. Among those already planned or done is the vintage landmark graphic novel Watchmen.

I placed the above promotional photo purely so that you, dear retro fan, would look at it in awe of how far we've come. Remember the days when you'd just wish for an X-Men movie to be released?

It's a classic time !

Are You The Key Master?

[A New Remix: who you gonna call?]
Written by GL

Ah, it's call coming back. Everything retro-classic is making a come back and it's a fine era to be alive to see it all.

The events of the game occur during 1991, two years after the events in Ghostbusters II. Players portray a new recruit hired to test Egon Spengler and Ray Stantz's new equipment, during a recent rise of paranormal activity. This paranormal activity begins to occur as the city is about to unveil a Gozer exhibit. The team is thus called to investigate. Along the way, you'll encounter several old baddies from the films, such as the library ghost, Vigo, Slimer, Gozer, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, as well as many mini bosses.

Atari will be releasing the game in June 2009 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first film's movie release. At the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony confirmed that the game will be released on June 16th in the US and June 19th in Europe, alongside home video re-releases of the Ghostbusters films.

Re-issue heaven !

Trakker Jumps Joe

[Matt Trakker: it's not Photoshop]

Written by GL

Believe it or not, because I didn't when I first saw it, but the awesome leader of the M.A.S.K. team of do-gooders has been moved and absorbed into the 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe line !

The 25th Anniversary collection was the best overall toyline of 2007, with excellent sculpts, awesome articulation, and cool accessories.

Specialist Trakker leads a secret unit which develops ordinary-looking vehicles that convert into advanced combat vehicles. Joining forces with the G.I. Joe team, the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (M.A.S.K.) team battles V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). The new spin on things is that V.E.N.O.M. was a unit formed by Cobra to construct its own converting vehicles. Specialist Trakker uses his next-gen technological devices to preserve peace throughout the world and stop the corrupt forces that are using the same technology to control the world.

Created by Kenner, M.A.S.K. was basically (some-say) a rip-off of competitor Hasbro's G.I. Joe and Transformers (read: figures and changing vehicles).

Obviously the original story had no connection to either G.I. Joe or Cobra, but otherwise the stuff on his filecard is still retro accurate: single father Matt Trakker was the multi-millionaire philanthropist whose money and technology kept the M.A.S.K. team going. Miles Mayhem really did steal half the M.A.S.K. masks, and used them to perform mercenary work, leading Trakker to assemble a team to counter him.

[Matt & Matt: you make the comparison]

Matt never had a codename (no one in M.A.S.K. did), which is why this figure is identified only as Specialist Trakker. Of course, they could have named him Thunderhawk (after his flying Camaro) or Spectrum (after his mask). Just calling him 'specialist' shows that this new Trakker's work is as an independant support role.

The figure's suit has been painted to look alot like the old M.A.S.K. figure: the gray of his flight suit, the flight harness, etc. It doesn't quite match the old toy, but it is fairly similar to the animation model.

[The new Spectrum: the Hasbro remix]

Matt also wears a helmet and it shares some stylistic elements with the original Spectrum mask, however, there has been no word on whether it can still fire a sonic blast or allow the wearer to see different visual spectrums.

He comes with a nice plain machine gun and a five-piece helicopter backpack that seems like Inspector Gadget run through a car compactor. In all honesty, with the green painting (seen in the photo), it looks darn close to Condor.

[Matt In Flight: so much for stealth coloring]

General consensus over the figure shows that there are some fans out there who think putting Matt Trakker in the G.I. Joe line is a show; some feel is a con to real Joe fans. Either way, the fact of the matter is Hasbro acquired a lot of licenses and original properties when it bought Kenner, and it's good to see they're willing to give all retro characters a chance.