I told myself I was going to go to Toy Fair this year, but it didn’t work out. Hopefully next year! I wish it could have happened because there is a metric shitton of cool stuff getting announced. I’ll be keeping tabs on all the cool stuff and rounding up a lot of links and photos this week.

First off, Playmates teased a ton of new TMNT toys and they all look great. I’m lagging behind with their current Nickelodeon line (I haven’t been hunting for new figures for a while), but I don’t know how much longer I’ll try to get every figure in that line. However, they announced a cutesy line of Turtles called Half-Shell Heroes and they are the cutest things ever, so I will be buying all of those up.

It looks like they’ll release Half Shell Heroes versions of just about every character, a few vehicles and playsets, and even some jumbo versions of the cutesy Turtles. I think I may actually like these more than the main figures in Playmates’ current line. They look so fun.

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I don’t know about you, but I could use some distraction today. What better way to distract ourselves from scary people than by watching a delightfully retro animated toy commercial? Being born in 85, I feel like I completely missed out on Masters of the Universe. I never had any of the toys and I only vaguely remember the cartoon. Sometimes I get the urge to read up on the mythology, buy a bunch of vintage toys, and cram every episode of the cartoon just to feel like I know what all you guys are talking about.

Usually I repress that urge before I spend any time or money, but this recently unearthed commercial for MOTU from the early early 80s is really making me want to dive in to Eternia.

Something tells me that actual cartoon doesn’t look this cool though.

I know I don’t give Masters of the Universe enough love around here, mainly because it (along with Thundercats) was just a couple years before my time and I feel like I missed the boat on being nostalgic about the toys and cartoons. Still, this art print by James Boorman is awesome, and I’m sure you all who grew up with the show will appreciate it.

I’ve been following James on Instagram and seeing his progress on his Faces of the Universe print, and I love his style. Check out his site to see the finished product, as well as a lot of other really great art.

James said he’s looking into setting up an online shop soon, so key your eyes on his Twitter and Instagram feeds so you can snag a MOTU print of your own. Also, he’s got some pretty cool TMNT faces on his site too, so hopefully we’ll see that as a print sometime soon.

Last year I came across a post on Strange Kids Club about some TMNT art by an artist named Christopher Lee. I quickly reposted his work here and ordered some prints. Fast forward one year and I have more than eighteen square feet of wall space with Chris’s work, including prints of his TMNT, Star Wars, and Ghostbusters art.

You’ve probably seen Chris’s work even if you haven’t read about him online. Chris is an independent designer and illustrator and his client list includes Target, Disney, and Hasbro. If you’ve seen the cool 3D Adventure Book gift card at Target, you’ve seen Chris’s art.

Along with his girlfriend he runs the shop The Birds & the Beasts, and also happens to have a truly amazing collection of 80s and 90s toys.

After a year of buying his art, blogging about it, and stalking following him on Instagram, I thought it would be fun to interview him for the site. So, read on to learn more about Chris’s work, influences, and his amazing toy collection.

Special thanks to Tim and Rob for contributing some of the questions!

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