3rd Annual Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2013 is Coming This November!

Stan Lee’s Comikaze presented by POW! Entertainment today announced this year’s expo will be held on November 1-3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.  Now in its third year, the organizers of the largest regional multi-media, pop culture, comic, horror and gaming convention invite visitors to unleash their inner geek as they unveil the first wave of guests and activities that promise to delight entertainment fans of all ages.

As the first and only multi-media, cross-genre expo to hit Los Angeles; Stan Lee’s Comikaze has already created a pop culture extravaganza that attracts celebrity appearances from icons to up-and-coming artists in the mainstream and “geek” worlds including animators, comic book and anime illustrators, special effects teams, writers, actors and filmmakers. Last year, the expo drew in 45,000-plus attendees with more expected to attend for 2013.  This November, the show will kick off with appearances by comic book legend, Stan Lee, and queen of horror, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, both partners in Comikaze.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be presenting the 3^rd Annual Comikaze event in Los Angeles,” said Stan Lee, Chairman of POW! Entertainment.  “The fan enthusiasm for this event has grown every year, and so my team and I can’t wait for our true believers to experience what we have in store for them.”

“Stan Lee's Comikaze is a lot like Shark Week, we never start out with the Great White,” said Regina Carpinelli, chief executive officer and founder, Comikaze. “This year we have some pretty mind blowing guests and attractions that we will be announcing each week. We plan on making this year’s Comikaze a weekend of action and fun for the whole family.”

Visitors to the 3^rd Annual Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo can expect a wide-range of innovative programming and activities that will provide fans with unparalleled access to their favorite artists and creators, which will include:

·       Over 400 vendors and up to 100 panels

·       Largest collection of Marvel movie props ever assembled, curated by Stan Lee, including never-before-seen in public items from his own personal collection

·       Elvira’s unique pop-up macabre signing area, complete with art gallery and other “spooktacular” delights

·       Guest appearances: LeVar Burton of “Star Trek” and “Reading Rainbow” fame, and famed anime voice actor Kirby Morrow (“Dragon Ball Z”), among many others that are soon to be announced

·       Cult lifestyle brand, Tokidoki, will host a special area on the show floor, offering one-of-a-kind exclusives

·       Famed special effects company Stan Winston’s Legacy Studios (“Jurassic Park,” “Avatar” and “Iron Man”) will be showcasing props

·       Cosplay contest with over $5000 cash prize confirmed

…and much much more to be announced.

Tickets are currently available at a special fan rate of $20 per day or $45 for a three-day pass.

For more information about Comikaze, including up-to-date guest info, sponsorship information, vendor applications and ticket sales, visit www.ComikazeExpo.com. 

Find Comikaze on Facebook (www.facebook.com/comikazeexpo) or on Twitter (@StanLeeComikaze  and @TheRealStanLee).

tokidoki Launches Their Royal Pride Collection

tokidoki, the pop culture brand meaning “sometimes” in Japanese, is thrilled to bring its long-awaited and much talked-about Royal Pride collection to the world.

The law of the urban jungle has no room for the weak.  Lion Pappa’s gang, Royal Pride, gets wild and rough to protect their turf.  They make the rules, get rich and spoil their girls, the only ones who rule these boys!  Brute force and jungle instinct make Royal Pride the kings!

Figures are 3” PVC with MSRP of $8.95.  There will be a chance to acquire two chase figures; Blue Terror (1/32) and John Bronson (1/64.)  There will also be 100 golden tickets randomly hidden in Royal Pride boxes. Anyone lucky enough to come across one will be able to redeem it for a very limited edition golden John Bronson, arguably the coolest member of the Royal Pride gang. Stay tuned for the Royal Pride…coming to specialty retail, tokidoki stores, and tokidoki.it on September 10^th, 2012.



Toy Hunters Television Premiere on January 15th

Follow Toy and Collectibles dealer Jordan Hembrough and his team as they travel the country searching out the rarest and most sought after toys and pop culture collectibles! Join Jordan as he meets incredible people and learns about the history of some of the most popular toy lines in the past 30 years. He’s out to uncover the Holy Grails of the collecting community… and time is running out!
Travel with Hembrough and his Hollywood Heroes as they journey to New York Comic Con, gathering rare and never before seen toys along the way. Comic Con is the “Super Bowl” of toy wheeling and dealing, gathering thousands of people each year. It’s the event where the biggest comic and toy collectors turn out to spend BIG money on the rarest of toys!

Can Jordan “seal the deal” and turn his new found treasures into Toy Gold?! Tune in January 15th on the Travel channel and find out!Check your local listings for times.

We have been waiting for a television show just like this for along time now. I guess it would be only a matter of time, right? We love watching shows like American Pickers, Pawn Stars, and Storage Wars, I guess for the element of surprise of what people can find out there. Most of the time, the items that are on these shows may not be what we collect, but they are still great. Toy Hunters will definitely be the show we want to see as toy collectors. I am very excited to see what Hembrough and his crew will find in the Premiere of Toy Hunters on Sunday, January 15th. If you are a toy collector, we need to unite and watch the premiere for something we love and believe in! 

Here are a couple of exclusive pictures from the Premiere!

New Member - Toniekills

You know that we love comics, art, movies and toys. Something you may not know is that we love gaming. That's where our newest member comes in, please welcome Toniekills. She has logged in some serious hours as a gamer. We are excited she's part of the Angry Koala Gear crew. Check out her first post here. Welcome again Toniekills!

Marvel in the Kitchen

We know that these aren't toys that we would normally cover but people who love Marvel will want these. Marvel is teaming up with Williams-Sonoma and here's a peak the new "toys" for the kitchen. 

Comikaze Expo is coming to Los Angeles in November!!

I find it amazing that as big as Los Angeles is to the Pop Culture World that we have not seen an Annual Comic Convention or convention made for Pop Culture fans. Well, 2011 will be a big change for all of the Pop Culture fans this November. Have you heard about the Comikaze Expo?? 

Comikaze Expo is Los Angeles’ first and only large-scale, multi-media pop culture convention. We bring together the most exciting and innovative in comics, video games, original art, movies, television and more. Our goal is to provide an unparalleled and unforgettable experience for both attendees and exhibitors.

Comikaze has more to offer than any other convention. Our unique panels, autograph sessions and photo-ops give fans once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to truly interact with their favorite creators and major players in the entertainment industry. Our screening rooms feature the best in both blockbusters and independent films, with sneak previews of films and television shows months before their release dates.

Comikaze embraces all genres, including sci-fi, fantasy, horror and cult—our vendors and panels show similar diversity. We offer something to satisfy every type of convention-goer, from fanboys and gamers to browsers and collectors. Our sanctioned tournaments for video, card and board games feature a wide-range of coveted prizes, including cash awards. Our vendors sell exclusive, rare and limited editions of comics, collectibles, art, toys and other hard-to-find merchandise. Best of all, Comikaze culminates in a masquerade event that partygoers will never forget.

The Comikaze team strives to create a cohesive community around this Los Angeles-based event. As well as a great show, we have a lot of Pre-events leading up to Comikaze, to raise awareness as well as to also help others in the Los Angeles community. We truly believe that Los Angeles is a city of dreams and magic, and we want to help make dreams come true for everyone.

Angry Koala Gear is really looking forward to attending and being affiliated with the first Comikaze Expo, November 5th and 6th. I think it is great to add another Pop Culture Convention to the great annual list! We are still fairly new, but the Pop Culture Zealots hope to provide great news to all the fans like us from comics, toys, vinyls, movies, to anything Pop Culture. 

Steampunk Storming into AZ and Throughout the World!

This past weekend, Old Tucson Studios hosted the Wild Wild West Con-Steampunk Festival, March 4 - March 6th.

The Wild Wild West Con is Arizona's first and only steampunk convention. The convention and festival brought many fans from all over the southwest and across the US to share their love and admiration for the Steampunk genre.

What is Steampunk?  In three short words, steampunk is Victorian science fiction. “Victorian” references a time period and an aesthetic: the industrialized 19th century. Historically, this period saw the development of many key aspects of the modern world, and steampunk uses this existing technology and structure to imagine an even more advanced 19thcentury, often complete with Victorian-inspired wonders like steam-powered aircraft and mechanical computers.

 The Angry Koala Gear crew have become fans of Steampunk. The style brings back a very retro look combined with science fiction, which we really love. I am a huge Star Wars fan and I have noticed some incredible artwork that artists have created, Bjorn Hurri. We did a blog post not too long ago on Bjorn Hurri's Steampunk Style Star Wars artwork and it is awesome.

 We really enjoy the new Aspen Comics series, Lady Mechanika, which is the newest creator-owned comic book series by Joe Benitez, inspired by the steampunk genre. Issue #2 will be released very soon and we are looking forward to seeing where this series takes us. 

The Steampunk genre does not only include fashion, art, comics, but also toys. I was searching for various Star Wars related Steampunk artwork and I came across a custom figure designer, Sillof, and all I can say is incredible and I became an instant fan!

This is just a few pics from Siloff and his site, but you do not want to miss what else he has created. Simply amazing! From what I am sharing with you now about Steampunk is just a small piece of what this world offers. If you have not had the opportunity to ever see the artwork, comics, or costume groups who are part of the Steampunk genre, attend your next comic convention and I am sure you will see why we have become fans of this genre.  

Steampunk is only one reason why the Angry Koala Gear staff are Pop Culture Zealots. 

threeA Toys Presents: Classic Mongrol and Blackhole Mongrol

If you are a collector of vinyls, you are probably a fan of threeA Toys. Ashley Wood is one of the owners of the company and he is also the co-creator/artist of IDW Publishing's Zombies vs. Robots. threeA Toys are known for their creative and innovative toy lines. 

2000 AD ABC Warriors Mongrol Classic Version

The Classic Version of Mongrol will be available very soon in the Bambalandstore.com.

The 2000 AD ABC Warriors Limited Edition Blackhole Mongrol

The Limited Edition Blackhole Mongrol will also be available very shortly in the Bambalandstore.com.

http://www.bambalandstore.com/

Kidrobot

Angry Koala Gear just visited the Kidrobot store in LA on Melrose Ave. Kidrobot is probably the most popular and well known for designer vinyls, original art, blind boxes, and apparel. Kid Robot was lucky to get the licenses to the Simpsons, Futurama, and the newly released, February 17th, Family Guy for their blind box mini figure products. 

The thrill of the blind box can be somewhat exciting and somewhat frustrating. I wonder if we can say that Cracker Jack started the blind box? There are many levels in the blind box toys where they sometimes give you the odds of getting certain characters to their mystery chase figures that may be extremely rare at times making these figures very valuable. We picked up four Family Guy figures and we were lucky to not buy a double, but we were not lucky enough to find one of the chase figures.

Here are a few other Kidrobot items that were available at the Kidrobot LA store. 

 

As mentioned in a previous Angry Koala Gear blog, if you visit Los Angeles, you should try to make a stop on Melrose Ave. to visit the Kidrobot store, Toki Doki, Munky King, and Golden Apple Comics. If you enjoy custom designer vinyl toys as the Angry Koala Gear crew do, then you will enjoy making this stop on Melrose. 

Munky King

The Angry Koala Gear crew visited the Munky King store on Melrose Ave. in Southern California. Munky King is known as the Designer Toy Temple who is known for its incredible vinyl toys, original art, prints, plush, and apparel. 

The Munky King Company
In 2003, Patrick and Chanda Lam opened the first designer toy store in Southern California, a quaint little shop in Chinatown Los Angeles. Munky King now has its flagship store on Melrose Avenue showcasing toys, original art, prints. plush, mini figures, art books, and apparel from the designer toy culture. The location has a gallery known for its art shows, artist signings, toy releases, and other special events. Munky King also produces its own line of designer toys with established artists such as Luke Chueh, Thomas Han, The Pizz, Amanda Visell, Nathan Jurevicius, Kii Arens, Dave Pressler, Joe Ledbetter, and Yoskay Yamamoto.  Look out for many new and exciting projects to come.

The Angry Koala Gear crew are fans of many things and custom design vinyls are one of them we really enjoy. We purchased a few items from the store and we were also able to take a few pictures of their products and artwork. 

When you go to Los Angeles try to make a trip on Melrose Ave. and visit the Munky King store. Kid Robot, Toki Doki, Golden Apple Comics, Adidas Originals, and Pink's Hot Dogs are all along Melrose Ave. as well to make it a fun trip to get your Designer Vinyl Toys fix.

Sideshow Collectibles 12 inch Gi Joe Viper Figure

2011 is barely into February and we have already seen a lot to look forward to this year from comics, television, Summer hits, toys, and much more. This is why we are the Pop Culture Zealots because we are fans of this industry. 

How much is required to be said about Sideshow Collectibles? This picture alone tells us how much detail they put into their product. Sideshow Collectibles will provide the Gi Joe enthusiasts with more details and pictures on Tuesday, April 22nd and this incredible piece to fill the Cobra Commander Army will be available on Thursday, April 24th. 

Here is the link to the Sideshow Collectibles site to see the first glimpse of the 12 inch Cobra Viper Figure.

Marvel Announces that Spiderman will be joining the Fantastic Four?

Fantastic Four #587 was released on January 26, 2011. This is the day Marvel Fans would learn that a famous character would be departing the Marvel Universe, "Johnny" Human Torch Storm who was part of the Fantastic Four. The issue came in a special black sealed bag with a Big "3" and we thought that the team would later be known as the Terrific 3. 

In a huge press release on February 9th, Marvel announced some very big news. Well, the Fantastic Four would be no more, right? Spider-Man has had a big part in helping the Fantastic Four in the past and what could be more of a surprise then Spider-Man joining the team to form a group known as the Future Foundation (FF). The FF #1 will go on sale in March, 2011 and will include a few covers. Below are two of the covers that released in Marvel's press release last week. 

Marvel has released another press release today that ties Spider-Man into the FF team. In issues Amazing Spider-Man #658 and #659, we will see how Spider-Man will tie into his new team.  Both covers are below with information on the prices and release dates of the FF#1, and the Amazing Spider-Man #658 and #659, which will be on sale in April 2011.

I will be honest about the press release last week,  I was not sure I liked the look of the new white costumes for the Fantastic Four or the new white Spider-Man suit. After today's Marvel press release and seeing the Amazing Spider-Man covers I feel a little more positive about seeing this change in the Marvel Universe.

FF #1 (JAN110748)

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN

Pencils and Cover by STEVE EPTING

Variant Cover by DANIEL ACUNA

Variant Cover by STAN GOLDBERG

Character Variant Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC

Fantastic Four 50th Anniversary Variant by MARKO DJURDJEVIC

Blank Cover Also Available

Rated A…$3.99

FOC – 2/28/11, On Sale 3/23/11

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #658 (FEB110551)

Written by DAN SLOTT

Penciled by JAVIER PULIDO

Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC

Rated A .$3.99

FOC-3/21/11, On-Sale-4/13/11 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659 (FEB110553)

Written by DAN SLOTT

Pencils and Cover by STEFANO CASELLI

Rated A .$3.99

FOC-4/4/11, On-Sale-4/27/11