Top Hat Sasquatch

I’m jealous of kids today. I mean, I’m a kid at heart and I have no qualms spending my time watching cartoons, buying toys, and blogging about said cartoons and toys, but to be a kid right now in the age of iPads and Angry Birds and actual Avengers movies would be pretty awesome. I got bored with storybooks pretty quickly when I was little, and I’m sure flipping through the app equivalent of a storybook on an iPad would have kept my attention at least a little bit longer.

Like the Spider-man origin story app Rob reviewed a few months ago, Disney and Marvel have released two Avengers storybooks on iOS devices to coincide with the movie, and they were kind enough to send me some download codes so I could take a look. Avengers Origins: Assemble! and Avengers Origins: Hulk are both available for the iPhone and iPad.

Avengers Origins: Assemble

The awkwardly named Avengers Origins: Assemble! gives kids one version of how the Avengers all got together. It focuses on Captain America getting frozen in the ice and the Avengers finding him a few decades later. The line-up used in this story contains Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, and Wasp, and the threat is non other than Namor himself. I’ve never understood Namor very much (read: casual comics fan), and this app actually taught me something.

Stan Lee narrates both of these stories and it’s great hearing him read. His voice is as iconic as his face, moustache, and sunglasses, and hearing him read about his heroes is a blast. I’m not sure if kids appreciate an old man narrating their stories as much as older geeks, but I’d like to think they don’t mind.

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I can’t get enough of ‘The Other Guy’ from this summer’s blockbuster movie The Avengers, and now I’m glad I don’t yet own all the Avengers LEGO sets. Starting tomorrow, May 16th, if you spend $50 at LEGO Shop@Home this exclusive Hulk minifigure will be added to your cart for free. He won’t look as huge next to your other Avenger minifigs but he still looks pretty awesome. Now we just need a Ruffalo Bruce Banner minifig.

The promo lasts until May 31st or until LEGO runs out. Now might be a good time to pick up that LEGO Avengers Quinjet set.

The Top Hat Sasquatch team reads a lot of blog posts every day, and some slip through the crack or just don’t warrant their own post. That’s where Missing Links comes in. Every few days we collect the best links we’ve come across and pass them on to you.

LEGO Super Heroes Marvel Comics Review: 6869 Quinjet Aerial Battle
An insanely thorough review of an Avengers LEGO set I can't wait to pick up on From Bricks To Bothans. The Quinjet looks like a beast, but what's up with Black Widow's minifig?

“Looney Tunes: Mouse Chronicles” | Cartoon Brew
More classic animation on Blu-ray. That makes me happy. Jerry Beck also teases "Consider this a hint that some of the most sought after animation the company owns is headed to DVD and blu-ray within the next year".

Micro Transformer | Flickr – Photo Sharing!
Micro scale LEGO creations are starting to grow on me. They seem like the purest form of LEGO building, and this tiny Transformer is a perfect example. Crazy.

Every Batman Poster. Ever. – Poster Collective
A nice roundup of every Batman poster ever, as according to Poster Collective. Batman Forever actually had some cool posters.

If your toy/decoration budget is a lot higher than mine, you might want to head over to Etsy and check out these awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Plush Toys by Handmade Stuffs. They’re totally adorable, but they’ll set you back $150 for the complete set. I’m not an expert on crafty things, but from the description they seem to be well-made:

Each doll is sewn using an original pattern in soft, high quality anti-pill fleece and acrylic felt. The dolls are stuffed firmly with all new stuffing made from 97% recycled plastic. Each stands approximately 18″ tall, the perfect size to hug and snuggle. The head and arms are jointed and the doll is able to sit. Each turtles comes with their signature weapon, which is attached by a small circle of hook and loop tape on the hand. The weapons are removable.

Normally I find patterns for cool things on Etsy and beg my crafty sister to make them for me, but these are the finished product. Anyone have an extra $150 I can borrow?

Via Super Punch

The other day I realized why I don’t really buy action figures anymore. Nobody seems to sell 6″ action figures anymore. What gives? I’m not a huge fan of the Star Wars scale (as I call it), or 3/4″ action figures. They’re too small and the detail looks horrible most of the time. I like old-fashioned 6″ action figures.

With a huge blockbuster event like the Avengers on the big screens, I almost couldn’t reist picking up some movie tie-in toys until I found out that most stores are just selling the little guys. Luckily, Wal-Mart is selling some exclusive 6″ Avengers action figures soon that don’t look that bad. If you get them all, they connect at the base to form a circle. The odd thing is, Black Widow isn’t represented, while Loki is. I felt like Black Widow was surprisingly well-written and badass in the Avengers, and she definitely deserves a toy in this line.

The Hawkeye/Jeremy Renner head scult is pretty dead on, and the Hulk looks awesome. Only Thor and Iron Man have sculpts carried over from previous toy lines. Even without Black Widow, I think I’ll try to track these down for my shelf. You can check out more photos over at Super Punch and Marvelous News or check out Avengers toys on Amazon.

Make sure to subscribe to the site via RSS or by email to get more updates like this. We should have reviews of these Wal-Mart exclusive Avengers action figures soon!