Why is a Lego Minifigure version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde called “Mr. Good and Evil?” Were they afraid people would get confused and expect two separate figures? Speaking of questions about Lego Minifigures, is “Horror Rocker” an excuse to depict the coolness of Frankenstein’s monster playing the guitar or is it a secret reference to Rock and Roll Frankenstein by one of the designers?
The Imaginext line of kids’ toys also caught my attention, and not just because it includes a “Headless Horseman” toy who clearly has a head underneath the pumpkin. Let’s look at the “Halloween” pack of monsters. The decision to give a zombie a weed whacker and mask accessories seems bewildering at first. Then you notice how it’s a burlap sack mask and some of the damage to the zombie’s body seems to indicate this is a Jason Voorhees homage! The decision to reuse the bat from Hordak’s staff as an accessory for Dracula appears be a combination of a cost-cutting decision and inside joke. Another He-Man and the Masters of the Universe connection is how a reworked version of King Hiss is included as part of the “Mummy Guards” collection.
Speaking of mummies, I wish mummy excavation kits had existed when I was a child. Unearthing mummies and dead pirates is so much cooler than the dinosaur skeletons kits which clogged the shelves back then.
Which is toy is cooler, “Phantom of the Opera” version of Eddie the Head or the Somewhere in Time version? I can’t decide. Other cool items which caught my eye are the Nosferatu marionette, the plate cover which lets you turn a light switch into a working throw switch from a mad scientist’s laboratory and Psycho Swami’s “Dr. Brainbender and the Killbots” poster.
How the hell did I not hear about the official DVD release of Dark Intruder sooner? An old Lovecraftian movie is great, but one with a dead serious performance by Leslie Nielsen is even better!
McFarlane Toys making Five Nights at Freddy’s toys doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me, however, is the sheer number of Five Nights at Freddy’s books for sale! Especially the fan fiction ones marked “unofficial.”
The decision to make the cover art for My Best Friend’s Exorcism look like box art from an old VHS might seem like an attempt to cash in on 80’s nostalgia to some, but I think it makes perfect sense given the artwork used for book covers of the time. I’m not just saying that since the author also wrote Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction, either. Covers to horror paperbacks used to be painted and sometimes featured gimmicks like holograms and foil embossed text to help them stand out from the others, just like many VHS releases. Although horror paperbacks did have their own unique gimmick: Die-cut covers!
Speaking of old horror paperbacks, I found some leads on books with especially interesting covers thanks to a trip to Too Much Horror Fiction (who aided in the creation of Paperbacks from Hell). Vampire Junction and Vanitas: Escape from Vampire Junction depict the awesome sight of an old school vampire rocking out. Sadly the third installment of the trilogy, Valentine, breaks the pattern and has a rather bland cover. The photo cover for Baxter is less “sociopathic dog” and more “Spuds MacKenzie with heat vision” and merely words cannot describe the hilariousness of Crabs: The Human Sacrifice.
Holy crap, Zazz Blammymatazz is real! I wonder if last year’s creepy clown sightings were due to this band’s former roadies?
