Ghostbusters.... wow, what really needs to be said about this classic movie? Nothing I can think of saying could even begin to do it justice. On the eve of it's 30th Anniversary and re-release for a short time in theaters, we here at the CCD Podcast decided to throw down a quick .5 episode singing the praises of one the best movies ever made. For 80's babies, like us, it is the pinnacle. So please allow Jedi Rob, Mike D and the lovely Alicia Gomes to gush a bit about one of the greatest comedies of ALL TIME!!!
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Well, well, well, what have we here? Another installment of my award winning (in my head) column, Taking You Back… Way Back. That’s right kids; I’m thawed out of carbon freeze, and ready to drop some more obscure 80’s toy knowledge on your heads. This time around I’m tackling Tonka’s 1987 foray into the boy’s action figure market, Spiral Zone. Ride into the Zone with me, after the jump…
I have to confess, I’m coming at you guys with literally no preconceived notions or personal knowledge of what Spiral Zone is all about. Actually, that’s not quite true; for some reason I can still sing the cartoon theme song, even though I have no recollection of ever actually seeing the show, and I know I never owned any of the toys. Anyway, apparently not satisfied with manufacturing giant metal blunt-force trauma inducing trucks and construction vehicles, Spiral Zone was Tonka’s attempt at getting a piece of the already crowded 1987 boy’s toy market.
YOU!
'87 was a weird year for action figures. Out of the big lines of the 80’s, Star Wars toys were already relegated to the discount aisle; G.I. Joe became a lot less realistic and a lot more strange and colorful (Cobra-lalalalalalalala); Transformers got more gimmicky by introducing Headmasters and Targetmasters; the Masters of the Universe line was petering out, even with the movie characters and Preternia dinosaurs being added to the mix; and Thundercats was on its last wave of figures, also about to vanish into nerd-nostalgia obscurity. The Ninja Turtles were still a year away, and one would think that the field was ripe for some new properties to grab a nice chunk of the market. Spiral Zone was not one of those properties… unfortunately so, because according to my research, Spiral Zone seemed like it could have been pretty cool. Especially if you're into color-coordinated teams.
Spiral Zone, the story of two futuristic dodgeball teams
Spiral Zone was a science-fiction story set in 2007. Rogue military scientist Dr. James Bent, hijacks a space shuttle and drops his deadly Zone Generators across half of the Earth. This creates a region called the Spiral Zone (due to its shape). The area infected by the Zone has dark skies, and a proliferation of “zone spores” growing all around. The people trapped in the Spiral Zone are transformed by the spores into "Zoners"; (essentially zombies) with lifeless yellow eyes and red patches on their faces. Because they have no will to resist, Dr. Bent – who now calls himself Overlord - makes them his slave army and controls them from the antenna on the Chrysler Building. His followers call themselves the Black Widows. They are Bandit (a Middle-Eastern terrorist master of disguise), Duchess Dire (an assassin and criminal mastermind), Razorback (an expert with bladed weapons), and Reaper (a former bounty hunter). The Widows are immune to the effects of the Spiral Zone because of a special device called the Widow Maker (clever!). However, due to prolonged exposure to the Zone, they also share the same visual effects as Zoners. Overlord’s goal is the typical 80’s villain fare - conquer the world by bringing everyone under control with the Zone Generators. The Zones feed off "human energy", which is a neat way to explain why Bent does not kill anyone inside.
Odd that the Black Widows wore primarily red and green
Overlord's initial strike puts all the major capitals of the world under the influence of the Spiral Zone. The chaos caused by this leads to international cooperation, even between the United States and the Soviet Union (remember kids, this before Rocky Balboa ended the Cold War). To counter the effects of the Zone bacteria, British scientists create a rare material called Neutron-90. Of course, only a limited amount of Neutron-90 is remaining in the world after the British government orders the destruction of the only laboratory where the material is produced for some reason (goddam limeys). Only enough Neutron-90 remains to build combat suits for five specially-trained soldiers called the Spiral Force, also known as the "Zone Riders." Commander Dirk Courage - the Zone Riders leader from the United States (apparently, his parents, like the parents of most 80’s toy heroes, knew he would grow up to lead the Zone Riders when they named him); Master Sergeant Tank Schmidt - a heavy weapons specialist from West Germany (a heavy weapons soldier named Tank! Ha!); Lieutenant Hiro Taka - an infiltration specialist from Japan; 2nd Lieutenant Max Jones - a special mission expert from the U.S.; and Corporal Katerina Anastacia - medical officer from the USSR.
As the series went on, the Zone Riders discovered that there is still enough Neutron-90 left over from assembling the five suits, to build two additional suits. They are issued to Australian demolition specialist Lieutenant Ned Tucker, and field scientist Lieutenant Benjamin Davis Franklin. Also, French scientist Jean Duprey and truck driver Richard Welt would later join the Black Widows. They were codenamed Crook and Raw Meat, respectively.
"Zone Riders" is a much cooler name than the Spiral Force, incidentally
The toys themselves were essentially 7” dolls. Tonka (taking a cue from what Hasbro did with Transformers) licensed the toy rights from Bandai. The figures had cloth uniforms and plastic armor. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled before the figures of Anastacia, Tucker, Franklin, Black Crook and Raw Meat could be made, but they were planned, as was a Zone Generator playset (prototypes were shown in Tonka's 1988 catalog). The figures were also highly detailed, but were not as articulated as the Japanese versions. Each figure came with a special audio cassette tape too. It’s notable that there were more villains than good guys released in the first wave of figures as this is extremely unusual for pretty much any toy line ever.
Apparently General Grevious was a Spiral Zone fan
The vehicles were large and cool-looking. Commander Courage drove the Rimfire Cannon, that wheel-looking thingy that suspiciously resembles General Grevious’s vehicle from those “Star Wars” movies. Overlord drove the Bullwhip Cannon, which is that thing with the eight wheels. The other two vehicles, the Zone Rider Cycle and the Sledgehammer Tank were the non-leader figures means of transport. The Zone Rider Cycle is easily the coolest of all of these for my money. They also released eight weapons packs and six alternate outfits err, uhh uniforms... in case you want to play dress up with your Spiral Zone dolls, Mary.
I’m going to have Overlord put on his swank purple number before he conquers the planet!
Despite the series being developed by none other than J. Michael Straczynski (under the pseudonym Fettes Grey), and being supported by a cartoon that ran 65 episodes, and a DC comic book that lasted 4 issues, Spiral Zone became yet another property interred in the cemetery of forgotten 80’s toy. And, if you’ve been following TYB… WB, then you probably have already figured out why. These things were large, and as a result took up lots of shelf space, meaning stores were less willing to stock them. Sure Thundercats were larger, but they were blister carded and could be hung on hooks. Spiral Zone figures came in a bulky box, which took away valuable real estate from better-selling lines. The larger size also meant a larger price point, which means parents are automatically steered away. I’ve been beating this drum for many articles now, but when you can get five or six G.I. Joe figures for the price of one Spiral Zone doll, it’s a no-brainer for wallet-conscious adults (a.k.a. chiselers).
Additionally, let’s be realistic, after nearly a decade of being accustomed to action figures NOT being dolls, Spiral Zone didn’t catch on because well, they were. And, they were really bland and boring to look at besides. All the accessories and posh outfits notwithstanding, all of those figures up there look like slightly different versions of the same two guys. At a time when G.I. Joe was getting way brighter and more colorful, this just wasn’t going to fly. It's not only bad for aesthetic-conscious kids but also for semi-disinterested grown-ups, who aren't going to take the time to tell two nearly identical toys apart. They're just not going to buy one figure that looks just like the other, thinking they're the same. Thus died another toy line... which is a shame because if nothing else, Spiral Zone at least had a catchy theme song!
And, if you ain't up on things, here are the previous editions of Takin You Back... Way Back
JoeyEsq is a practicing attorney, a non-practicing geek, and when he's not in the Spiral Zone getting Duchess Dire to try on different outfits, he can be found complaining about things and trying to be funny on his own blog, Perpetual Dissatisfaction
'American Horror Story' is a hell of a show, and through three seasons the show is always a surprisingly fresh take on the horror TV show genre. Using an anthology format, each season is a self-contained story and has no baring on the previous one. They also recycle cast members, often re-casting them in extremely different roles than they played in the past seasons. The show is a breath of fresh air among the many horror genre series we are getting now due to the success of 'True Blood' and 'The Walking Dead'. So in Season 4, they have to amp things up even more... and we get 'AHS: Freakshow'!!! H-O-L-YYYYY SHIT! We are getting returners: Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Dennis O'Hare, and many others... and the new people are equally impressive: Patti LaBelle, Michael Chicklis, John Caroll Lynch, Finn Witrock, and even the worlds smallest woman, Jyoti Amge!!! This premise (The inner workings of one of the last remaining freakshows in America, and there is some spooky shit happening behind the scenes!) bugs me out, and in typical AHS fashion I am sure whatever I am expecting will be the total opposite of what I actually get. Just look at this first full cast poster... perfect! Enjoy it after the jump, and the show starts Wed October 8th!
The Simpsons are a culture touchstone for most people who watched any TV in the last quarter century. For us 80s babies it was the hugest phenomenon of our youth... A prime time cartoon that was embraced by EVERYONE, old... young.... it didn't matter. Everyone was rocking Bartman shirts and chanting 'Eat My Shorts' and many of the other hundreds of quotes that Simpsons fans throw out at each other to this day. FXX is in the middle of an epic marathon that is showing all 500+ episodes in a row, in sequential order. So we at the CCD Podcast felt it was time to pay our respects, and the team we assembled to do it are some of the biggest Simpsons fans around. Jedi Rob is joined by Big Steve & Joey Esq as they take a trip down memory lane into Springfield. Enjoy some awesome Simpsons art courtesy of Deviant Art after the jump, and then listen to the podcast. Please do us a favor and head over to Itunes... then Subscribe, Download, Listen and SHAREEEEEEEE on your favorite Social Media platform!!!!!!!
Chelsea Handler has filmed over 1300 episodes over 7 years as the late night host of her E! Television talk show 'Chelsea Lately'. She pretty much came out of nowhere and carved out a niche spot in the late night game with a pretty popular following. Her brash humor and willingness to be self depreciating for the sake of the jokes made her lovable, and the fact that she constantly bigged up her faults as part of her comedy bits showed the human side of her. That makes her lovable and also a fan fave. So in typical Chelsea fashion, when it was time to part ways with the E! Network on her final show Chelsea decided to go out with a bang. She assembled a HUGE, star studded cast to do her own version of 'We Are The World' called 'Goodbye To E!'. She wasn't playing either, she broke out the big guns. Gwen Stefani, Dave Grohl, Fergie, Miley Cyrus, 50 Cent and the G Unit, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morrissette, LeAnn Rymes, Tim Allen, Sandra Bullock, Tim Gunn, Melissa McCarthy, Johnny Knoxville, and Kelly Osbourne are just a handful of the names who packed the stage to wish Chelsea well on her way and aslo get in some last minute Chelsea-rific digs at E! and anyone else she wanted to (Kim & Kanye.... watch your neck!). Check out the performance after the jump....
I have never hid my love for Stan Sakai and his wondrous contribution to the world of comics, samurai rabbit Usagi Yojimbo. I love the character, and always had a soft spot for his depiction in comics and other mediums as well. Most people know Usagi from his stint as a supporting character in TMNT, but he has a long and detailed publication history in his own books that deserves to be highlighted. Well my good friend (and fellow Usagi enthusiast) Tommy Lombardozzi decided to enter Yojimbo into the pool of entries at Sketch Lottery... and last week he was chosen as the subject! So 27 artists gave it a shot, and the results are amazing!!! I picked out my faves (after the jump), but you should click here and check out all 27. Also make sure you check back to Sketch Lottery every Friday for next weeks subject, and check back in all week as they post all the entries start pouring in. Enjoy the art, these guys did Stan Sakai proud....
Geek and Sundry Vlogs has a stable of great geek related videos over at their Youtube page. That is a given... but some are definitely more appealing to my particular geek sensibilities than others. Critical Hit Cocktails does just that, with host Mitch Hutts, takes nerd friendly characters and properties and comes up with awesome drink recipes to satisfy your geeky palate. They make both alcoholic and non alcoholic recipes, and the best part is that if you take some of their non alcoholic drinks and just add a spirit of your choice you can still get a buzz out of it! These are great, and Hutts minds the classics for his inspiration. TMNT, Harry Potter... hell, the newest video is a Star Lord inspired drink, which is fitting since Guardians of the Galaxy is killing it right now. The best part is the instructions are easy to follow and the ingredients are simple and easy to obtain. So in just a few minutes you can turn yourself into the Nerdiest Mixologist of all time! All of them are fun, so make sure you check em all out... I will be making some of these behind the bar this weekend, so I will let you know how they shake out!
There is nothing I enjoy more than finding a cool artists work on Instagram or the Internet, no matter how late to the party I may be. Artist James 'Dillon Boy' Wright has been on the scene for a minute (his Obama 'Hope' poster concoction got him into Time Magazine way back in 2008) and I have seen a few of his pieces over the years. But I just found his Instagram page and was blown away by some of the work he had going on. He has a 'Western Grafitti' series that portrays some of your favorite superheroes in western style get-ups, guns a blazing. Then he has his crazy Disney princess re-creations, or his 'superheros meet real life' mash-ups like 'Nobody Likes The Thing' (my personal fave) which puts these extraordinary characters into real life situations (Thing is getting no likes or comments on Instagram... lol). His shit is dope... and like a typical creative artist he doesn't just stop at the actual artwork. If you look at the contents of his Instagram feed in grid format he takes close ups of his work and makes 6 and 9 square collages that supersize his pieces. A pretty great way to show of the detail of his pieces. So even though I may be a bit late to the party on Dillon Boy's work, it is never to late to give a cat his props when they are due. Check out his Big Cartel store, where you can cop some of his crazy cool art at a relatively cheap price for such a big shot artist. Check out my faves after the jump...
Western Graffiti series faves:
Superheroes with real problems:
Cap, Grid Style:
2008 Time Magazine article about Obama, Dillon's piece is circled....
So the WWE's second biggest event, Summer Slam, has just come and gone... and we here at the CCD Podcast felt it was time to touch on wrestling with a whole episode! For any kids growing up in the 80s the WWF/WWE phenomenon was a huge part of their growing up, so Jedi Rob tag teams up with Joey Esq and Steve the Big Truck (making his CCD Podcast debut) and breaks down this years Summer Slam as well as recapping many of the great moments from Summer Slam's past. All in all a fun little trip that will bring you back to the times of the Hulkster, Sean Michaels, Brett Hart, Randy Macho Man, The Ultimate Warrior, Jake the Snake, Mega Bucks, Mega Powers, and so much more.... OHHHHHHH YEAHHHHH!!!!
Before we get into the podcast, let's take a look at some great wrestling themed art from friend of CCD Erle Tompkins:
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