BotCon 2012 Toy Reveal – Heroic Treadshot

The fourth toy revealed in the BotCon 2012 box set is the Heroic Decepticon Treadshot. Treadshot is a remold of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz, with a different head (possibly the alternate head created by Hasbro itself).  Treadshot is primarily blue and yellow (the same colors as Armada Side Swipe). And he’s GORGEOUS. Wow.  Wow wow wow wow wow! This is what I want to see from the convention! This is an absolutely gorgeous toy. The blue body, the yellow windows and lights, the grey spoiler — this is not only a great homage to Side Swipe, but it’s also just a fantastic deco.  I

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BotCon 2012 Toy Reveal – Heroic Soundwave

The third toy revealed in the BotCon 2012 box set is the Heroic Decepticon Soundwave. Featuring a remolded head, this toy uses the 2008 Universe Ratchet/Ironhide mold in white, with blue and yellow/green highlights.  And it’s… well, let’s get the good stuff out of the way. If you remember the minicomic “Desert Heat” that the Transformers Collectors’ Club released (see here and here if you don’t), then this should look awfully familiar. Soundwave was reformatted into this mode from his old Device Label MP3 player mode. This toy accurately reflects the art, down to the Cold Slither logo on the side.  Sure, the side

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2012 – The Geekly Fast Forward (Part 1)

Happy New Year!  Okay, so it’s a few days past New Year’s, but really, we’re only about 1% of the way through the year; that’s not too much time to have passed.  This year is shaping up to be another banner year for geekly stuff, but it’s hard to keep it all straight.  So that’s where ASM comes in — to continue making it hard to make sense of it all.  This list is not all-encompassing, nor do I make any claims as to its accuracy.  Consider it just some ruminations on the year ahead. Let’s dive in!  

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BotCon 2012 Toy Reveal – Evil Tracks

The second toy revealed in the BotCon 2012 box set is the Evil Autobot Tracks. Using the same mold as Reveal the Shield Turbo Tracks, this is a new character from the Shattered Glass universe.  It’s a dual homage to the Diaclone version of the Generation 1 toy and the eHobby exclusive Road Rage, which was itself an homage to the Diaclone toy (and a European version of the toy released in the Diaclone colors.)    So maybe it’s only one homage.  Or maybe it’s three homages.  Or maybe it’s a recursive homage.  Or… something. I liked the original Turbo Tracks toy (okay,

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BotCon 2012 Toy Reveal – The Overlord Gigatron

Over the holidays, BotCon.com began revealing the toys in the BotCon 2012 box set. The first one to be revealed was The Overlord, Gigatron, a remolded Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon, making the first time a quasi-movie mold has been used for a BotCon exclusive. Granted, Bludgeon was created to be both a “Movie-style” and “Classics-style” toy, and it’s not a Paramount copyrighted design, but still, it’s a first. The toy is meant to be a reimaginging of the Generation 1 character Overlord, but with a new name, it’s hard to say what the characterization will be. It’s said he

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C2E2 2012 Guest Announcement – Joe Kubert

While it’s cold and the holidays are on us, we here at ASM can’t help but look towards April and C2E2 in Chicago. This has become a favorite convention for us in its short existence, and we’re looking forward to the third year. The first guest announcement has us jazzed as well — Comics Legend Joe Kubert will be in attendance! To many, the Kubert name is synonymous with comics, much like Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Joe Simon, or any of a dozen or more others. Joe has worked on DC Comics’ Batman, Hawkman, and Sgt. Rock, and the Flash

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Google+ Page Open for Circling!

Howdy, folks! ASM’s got one of those new-fangled Google+ Pages. Find us, bookmark us, circle us and share us at an easy-to-remember URL: http://asmzine.com/gplus ! You can also go their via that handy-dandy li’l G+ icon in the upper right corner. We’ll crosspost to our old account and new page for the foreseeable future.

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NYCC 2011: Transformers and Star Wars Presentations Slides Online

We’ve got the high-res presentation slides from both the Transformers presentation and Star Wars presentation from New York Comic Con! Thanks to Hunter PR and Hasbro for the pics. Check them out in the Geekly Rewind Gallery via these links: Transformers: http://www.asmzine.com/gallery/conventions/New-York-Comic-Con-2011/hasbro/transformers-presentation-slides/index.html Star Wars: http://www.asmzine.com/gallery/conventions/New-York-Comic-Con-2011/hasbro/star-wars-presentation-slides/index.html Don’t forget, you can see other NYCC pics in the Geekly Rewind Gallery: http://www.asmzine.com/gallery/conventions/New-York-Comic-Con-2011/index.html

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Hasbro News: Star Wars Fans’ Choice Poll Now Online

The official Hasbro Star Wars Fans’ Choice Poll is now live on Star Wars Insider’s website! Fans can vote for their favorite character from among the Top 20 vote-getters from last month’s open polling on Star Wars fan sites. The winning figure will be included in Hasbro’s Star Wars action figure line in 2013, in time for the 30th anniversary of Return Of The Jedi. Voting is open on the Star Wars Insider website until December 1st. The winning character will be announced at Hasbro’s 2012 Collector-Fan Media Day event at Toy Fair in New York in February 2012. Click

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