Matty Can't Ship Toys (or spell)

Here's the latest from Matty's facebook, where apparently Mattel lets ToyGuru make an ass of himself and irritate their customers and vendors in public, without letting the mktg or sales departments review it in advance (Caps emphasis is ours):

"Hey He-Fans,

Since a few fan sites are doing reviews of Teela, I wanted to point out a few details on this awesome fig!

First off, she goes on sale Oct 15th, only on MattyCollector.com (along with bonus figure Zodak on the same day!)"

(then Blah blah blah about the details of this figure until finally:)

"Also, a lot of fans are asking about Zoar's armor and pertch. We do have plans for both in the future in all the necessary colors. Stay tuned!

See ya in the aisles,

Matty"

Go get on your pertch, berd! I'll make it out of bertch! If you don't, you'd better go to Chirch before Matty leaves you in the lertch!

Mattel DCU Classics 9 Epic Fail: Get Em While You Can (or if you can)!

From Mattycollector:

"Hey DCU fans,

A lot of fans have written in about some canceled DCU Classic orders for Wave 9.

Mattel always does its best to fulfill product on shelves and we’re currently working on shipping as much of Wave 9 as possible. We will work with all of our customers to fulfully as many orders as possible. It is also possible we will go back into production of Wave 9 down the line due to greater demand. But nothing is set in stone yet. Still working on this.

In the future, we will be working even more in advance with retailers and online e-tailers to get orders in early for DCUC to ensure all orders can be filled.

Doing all we can do on this - you have my word!

And to clarify, we will not be selling Wave 9 on Mattycollector.com. Although we reviewed this option a few months back, because online and brick and mortar retailers needed Wave 9 product, we released what we had hoped to sell on Mattycollector to these customers. We're hoping that by Wave 11 we can indeed offer DCUC on Mattycollector.com and fill all customer orders too. We'll have more details if they are available and if this goes forward. Again, nothing set in stone right now.

Matty"

Hey ToyGuru, why are you trying to crank out five/six assortments a year when you can't even manufacture to meet pre-orders, nevermind re-orders?

DiDio firing watch update - DC Comics restructuring

Oh Dan, with the new restructuring of DC Comics moving under the Warner film division's wing we can only conclude that your remaining days as EIC of DC Comics just got a lot shorter.

Our prediction: DiDio will be asked to leave the editor chair and take up a new position within the new DC entertainment structure once the ducks are in place. More than likely heading up the inevitable digital comics initiative the new boss Diane Nelson wants to get moving on quickly.

A blind person can see DC Comics editorial needs a reboot and this restructuring will be the perfect opportunity shake things up and still save face for a lot of the current regime's failures responsible for the mess it's in.

Disney and Marvel and the annoyance of the 'net

Ok, despite an avalanche of material posted online to date about the entertainment deal of the year, here's what we all know by now about the deal between Disney and Marvel Entertainment...

NOTHING other than Disney bought Marvel Comics and will attempt to do great things with the brand in the future. End of story, for now.

The most annoying aspect of this story and how it's covered online? The clip art mash ups of Disney characters and Marvel heroes. Please stop. It's lame, it's embarrassing and face it bloggers, there is no unique way at this point to post a "funny" image of Mickey's head on the Hulk's body. Just because your PC came with a low end image program that allows you the ability to cut and paste artwork "borrowed" off others websites, that does not mean you need to showcase your "talent" every time you post an article about the story.

I'm begging you please, enough guys and gals, enough.

More proof Sideshow Collectible's order process needs an overhaul

Ah Sideshow...what will it take before you realize the way you offer your products up for sale is woefully overdue for review at least and an overhaul at best. I guess getting screwed over by collectors on your site that never intend to follow through on pre-ordered purchases is a good start. Each newsletter that Sideshow ships out weekly is a laugh riot with tales of previously sold out items that are magically available for sale. Even despite the fact that there are potential buyers lined up on an item's wait list.

This week the San Diego Comic-con Star Wars exclusive Luke & Han as Stormtroopers 1/6th scale two pack is once again available for sale. First come, first served. Another "SOLD OUT" Sideshow wonder that is really not sold out after all. And in truth, never was.

This scenario happens again and again with just about everything Sideshow throws up for sale. Especially within the last year as the economy went south. A new offering sells out the day it's released and despite even filling a wait list, these items are almost always available suddenly months later. Not only that but Sideshow practically begs collectors to buy the newly discovered inventory and asks the affiliate websites to continually get the word out for them.

Look Sideshow, you clearly have a problem with too many wannabe collectors ordering on your site whose eyes are bigger than their bank accounts. At the same time, you have a significantly less legitimate collector pool committed to buy your wares. You need to create a new process to weed these deadbeats out of the pre-order process and allow the real paying customer to place an order without all the B.S. Personally, I'd be happy if you just fully charged us out of the gate for any pre-order. I get that purchase done and out of the way and I don't have to worry about getting blind-sided by you in the fourth quarter when you decide to ship a year's worth of pre-orders on top of each other. But I understand the liability issues of charging someone for an item that won't show up for probably two years.

The other answer is just as simple. Create some sort of elite level of membership on your site. Charge a nominal yearly fee but this status allows guaranteed access to pre-order your new products. You charge the fee to weed out deadbeats and pay for the technical tweak to tie an account to the elite status. Charge $40 or $50 but to make everyone feel good about it and reduce online bitching, you could then offer those paid accounts discounts later on. Maybe it's a discount on specific merchandise like only your SDCC exclusives or a refund of sorts at the end of a paid year or even $10 coupons quarterly.

Just do SOMETHING new for god's sake. Honestly, as a business aren't you tired of dealing with that deadbeat run around while also pissing off your best clients that can't be at their computer every hour of the day to place an order before it "Sells Out"?

No SNL in new Marvel Essential TPB

By far the new trade release of the week is volume three of Marvel Comics ESSENTIAL MARVEL TEAM-UP. Reprinting issues 52 through 75 along with Annual #1. This volume is maybe the best collection of issues in this series featuring Spider-Man team-up stories from the late '70s.

What you will find: The classic creator partnership of Chris Claremont and John Byrne on several issues in this volume. Chris and John's MTU stories were produced right around the time both creators historic work on the Uncanny X-Men was just taking off. This is when Claremont could tell a fast paced, dramatic and cohesive story in just a couple issues and when Byrne's pencils were raw and organic. Classic comic gold. There is a mulit issue story arc by these two in here that remains one of my very favorite comic storylines to date. It starts in issue 59 and wraps in issue 62 where Spidey teams with the likes of Yellow Jacket & the Wasp, The Human Torch and Ms Marvel. In turn the heroes take on a new villian named Equinox and the Super Skrull. Here you will find some of the best John Byrne art of the day. And we love his '70 sideburns on Power Man in issue 75. Dig it!

What you won't find: Issue 74 in the series is missing. The reprints in the volume skip right over it from 73 to 75. The reason? Issue 74 was a crazy cross promotion featuring Spider-Man teaming up with...the '70s cast of Saturday Night Live.

That's right. Marvel Comics partnered with the NBC late night TV sketch comedy because...uh, we have no idea why. Most likely it was a deal done between certain individuals in a noisy disco in NY and under the influence of recreational drugs and alcohol. Regaurdless, all these decades later, Marvel either didn't want to pay the fees to NBC or perhaps the red tape to secure rights to each performer's likeness was too much trouble so they just decided to omit the reprint.

We won't loose any sleep over it. This is still a gem of an Essential collection. Highest recommendation for fanboys everywhere.

Review: Comics Journal #299

Today is new comic book day and I budget my time to include little work so I can enjoy the week’s releases. Typically I return from the local store with my purchases and tear into my favorite titles, but this week I started with the Comics Journal #299, the centerpiece of which is a long piece about an ambitious comic book project from the 70’s that started life as a 20 page Rolling Stone supplement then ballooned into a 500+ page international omnibus that was subsequently shelved when a publisher couldn’t be found.

Called "The Someday Funnies", the list of artists that would’ve been included therein reads like a who’s who of top comic talents of the day (Wood, Adams, Eisner, Kirby, Barry Smith, etc) but also encompasses high profile outsiders like Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones and William Burroughs. The story recounts failed attempts to engage Dali, Dylan, Lennon and Steinam, among others.

It’s a well-written and engaging article that was written with a great deal of support from the man behind the book, Michel Choquette, a Canadian who was an early contributor to the National Lampoon (a favorite subject of mine).

The story is incredible, although somewhat one-sided. Choquette appears a well-meaning, sensitive fellow with a completion anxiety that rivals my own. He seems to have really believed in the project, but let it get out of control. Reading between the lines, this seems to have ultimately derailed the publication.

The article is must-read stuff for any comics fan with an appreciation of history and lost work, much of which is reprinted here, albeit in very small scale.

The author mentions that googling the book only produces one result, which is crazy considering the list of contributors and the multi-year ordeal involved in assembling the work. Here’s hoping the book is finally published as a result of this story.

That said, the rest of the issue has some solid stuff, but this is clearly the centerpiece. A large section reprinting pages and pages of early animator Myron Waldman’s “Eve” drawings ought to have been published as its own book, as the pages just seem jammed in here, and take up a lot of space as well.

Sadly, the Journal continues it’s tradition of overwrought and overwritten articles that provide more fuel for its detractors. This issue has an article called “World, Soul, Psychetypes, Psychoecology – A New Logic of the Psyche. 3 – The Secret Language of Ineffable Self”. Seriously, fuck off.