31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Invisible Man from Monster in My Pocket by Matchbox

 

   

   The Invisible Man is back! This time we're checking out Griffin, the Invisible Man himself, from Matchbox's 1990 Monster in My Pocket minifigure line. I love these rubbery little guys! I had a few as a kid but over the years I've amassed more of them. They're always fun to look back at, especially as part of 31 Days of Toy Terror. I'm a huge fan of the Invisible Man, both the original H.G. Wells novel and the Universal Studios films. If you've never seen any of the sequels, they're worth checking out. Vincent Price is the invisible star of The Invisible Man Returns and plays Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe, a friend of Dr. Frank Griffin, the brother of the original Invisible Man. Radcliffe is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and Griffin secretly gives him the serum to turn invisible until his innocence can be proved. It's quite good! The Invisible Woman is also legitimately funny, though a straight up comedy that's not really related to the others. The lovable Virginia Bruce plays Kitty Carroll, a struggling model who volunteers for an experiment but uses her invisibility to get back at her boss, improve working conditions for her coworkers, romance a rich guy, and stop some gangsters (one of whom is played by Shemp Howard). Anyways, we're looking at the original Griffin today, so let's check out this minifigure after the break...

31 Days of Toy Terror: Frankenstein from Universal Studios Monsters by Sideshow Toys

 

   Today for Franken-Friday I'm checking out a Universal Monsters figure from the 1990s: Frankenstein from Sideshow Toys' Universal Studios Monsters line. And, yes, they do call him Frankenstein here. And, yes, that is perfectly acceptable. Anyways, I was looking back at my review archives and realized I've never reviewed any of these figures on the site. The Universal Studios Monsters was a cool set of 8 inch figures released by Sideshow Toys from 1998 through 2001. Sideshow did a lot with the Universal Monsters license back in the late 1990s (after Hasbro had a run with the license), including a lot of stuff on the lower end that was sold at retail in places like Target, Toys R' Us, and Media Play. Sideshow is still releasing Universal Monsters product but it's now mostly higher end collectibles. This line was definitely indicative of many collector lines of the time with limited articulation, diorama like elements, and a focus on display over play. Still, they were neat and they covered a wide range of characters from 1923's silent version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame with Lon Chaney to 1956's The Mole People. Frankenstein (or Frankenstein's Monster) was part of the first series in 1998, along with the Wolf Man and the Mummy. Ready to check out another tribute to the Boris Karloff's Monster? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Clock King from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   It's time for another regular action figure review to break up the Halloween season and all of the Toy Terror I'm subjecting you to on a daily basis! Since time permitted, today I'm checking out another one of the "premium" DC Multiverse McFarlane Collector Edition figures: Clock King! Listen, the Clock King's history is a mess. There are multiple Clock Kings with different names and I'm not even going to pretend that I can keep them all straight. This guy is the original Clock King, though: William Tockman. Originally a bit of a Green Arrow villain in World's Finest Comics #11 from 1960, over the years the Clock King has tended to be an enemy of Green Arrow (he was part of the Longbow Hunters and in the show Arrow) but shows up more often in Batman related stories and media, including the 1966 series. He's been part of the Injustice League, the Suicide Squad, and Justice League Antarctica, has fought a number of Batfamily members, showed up in The Lego Batman Movie, and is married to the Riddler in the Harley Quinn animated series. For a Silver Age gimmick villain, the Clock King sure has legs. Or hands. He's a villain I'm quite surprised to see and while I'm pleased, it's pretty odd to get a more obscure villain when the DC Multiverse line hasn't even given us a comic book based Harley Quinn yet. No Harley Quinn, Power Girl, or comic Two-Face and Poison Ivy, but we got Clock King? Eh, we'll get to those eventually, right? I'm definitely enjoying McFarlane's random villains to add to Batman's Rogues Gallery. Let's check this guy out after the break...

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Creature from the Black Lagoon (Glow-In-The-Dark Costume Colors) from Universal Monsters ReAction by Super7

 

   Today's a Thursday, so I'm back with another Creature from the Black Lagoon review and this time it's a toy that isn't from my collection. This glow-in-the-dark version of the Gill-man is from Adora's collection and was a Christmas gift from a friend a year or two ago. Adora was thrilled to let me take some pictures of him for 31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe this year. While I've now reviewed the Funko ReAction Creature from the Black Lagoon, I haven't owned any of Super7's versions of the Creature personally. While this is a wildly colored version based on classic 1970s era Halloween costumes, the sculpt is much sharper and nicer than the original 2014 Funko figure. This guy has a nice healthy glow, wild colors, and a cool display box that mimics an old Halloween costume package. Ready to dive in for another Creature from the Black Lagoon review? Then join me after the break...

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Wolfman from The Wolfman by Mezco

 

   

   While most of the reviews this month are based on the classic Universal horror films and silent films released between 1923 through 1956 or 1960 (there's a bit of differing opinion there), Universal has returned to these characters multiple times over the sixty plus years since the classic era ended. Today I'm checking out an action figure based on one of the better modern era remakes: Benicio del Toro's Wolfman from Joe Johnston's 2010 film. The move came out in February of 2010 and I was really excited for it. The Wolfman is definitely a top tier Universal Monsters film in my book and I actually liked how the 2010 film set the film in 1891, fifty years before the setting of the 1941 film. Mezco released a few products for the film at the very end  of 2009 and early 2010, including a blood spattered variant of this figure (as a Blockbuster exclusive!) and a 1/6th scale figure. I think I purchased this guy at Toys 'R Us and he's the basic version of the Wolfman. Ready to check out the Wolfman from one of his more recent outings? Then join me after the break...

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Ultimate Professor Burke from Classic Monsters Collection by NECA

 

   Let me start by saying that I am completely aware that London after Midnight, a 1927 silent horror film directed by Tod Browning (Dracula and Freak) and starring Lon Chaney, is a Metro-Goldwin-Mayer release and not a Universal Studios picture. This year is pretty much completely devoted to the classic Universal Studios pictures of the first half of the 20th century and their descendants but I do take liberties from time to time and I'm certainly willing to bend the rules for Mr. Browning, Mr. Chaney, and the film London After Midnight. I've not seen the original film but, I'm willing to bet, neither have you. You see, London After Midnight is a lost film with the last known copy destroyed in a vault fire at an MGM studios backlot in Culver City, California. There are some novelizations and such of the film available as well as a 2002 Turner Classic Movies reconstruction of the film, but what has kept this unseen film in the minds of so many horror fans to this day? The terrifying image of Lon Chaney as the Man in the Beaver Hat from multiple publicity stills and posters and the fantastic title and poster for the movie. I personally think London After Midnight is an incredible title that's very evocative and creepy. It also does tie into the plot, with the murder that starts the plot taking place around 1:00 am in London. In the film Chaney plays a dual role as both Professor Edward C. Burke, an agent of Scotland Yard investigating a murder, and the mysterious Man in the Beaver hat, the ghastly faced, vampiric man. The Man in the Beaver Hat is actually Professor Burke in disguise, attempting to learn the secret behind the murder of he's been investigating, but that's not revealed until closer to the end of the film. Inevitably, many folks who love the Man in the Beaver Hat as a horror icon would probably be disappointed to learn that the Man in the Beaver Hat is Professor Burke in disguise rather than a true villain, but the character still has an incredible appearance. This character is a great choice for NECA, a company who is really showing a lot of love to classic horror films. Ready to discover what happens in London when the sun goes down? Then join me after the break...

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Bela Lugosi as Dracula from Universal Monsters by Jada Toys

 

   I have a loose pattern for 31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe that I'm using to try to give some variety to the festivities and Mondays are devoted to Dracula. Today I'm looking at a rather interesting figure from Jada Toys of Bela Lugosi based on his performance of Count Dracula in the stage play where he performed the role starting in 1927 for hundreds of performances. In fact, Lugosi performed the role in various stage productions up until 1951. Originally Lugosi wasn't the favored choice to play the Count in the Universal Studios film Dracula, really an adaptation of the play based on the novel rather than Stoker's novel itself. This figure was released on Jada's Next Level website alongside their Universal Monsters line but doesn't really contain any references to Universal Studios on the packaging. It's really marketed as more of a straight Lugosi item than as Universal Monsters product. What a fascinating concept: A figure based on a stage play! Also, how wild that you could have seen Lugosi play Dracula in the 1931 film and then seen him play the role on stage at different times within the next 20 years. That's just wild to me! Let's take a look at this rather interesting and unique set after the break...