Raving Toy Maniac

March 2012 - The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) runs from April 13-15 this year, and once again Diamond Select Toys (DST) will be in attendance! And since it's also the 10th anniversary of Minimates, they've got some great events planned!

First off, Saturday afternoon will bring a special 10th anniversary Minimates panel, focusing on the coming year. From Marvel's Avengers to the Walking Dead to Battle Beasts, Diamond Select Toys representatives will share info about DST's upcoming lines, debut the next stop-motion animated Pirate Raiders movie and give away cool prizes! (1:30 -2:30 PM; Room N427bc)

EPIX Celebrates Superheroes and the Legendary Stan Lee With Marvel Heroes Weekend April 27-29

Hosted by Lee, Event Features World Television Premieres of Captain America: The First Avenger & EPIX Original Documentary With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

NEW YORK, March 19, 2012 -- EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service, will present Marvel Heroes Weekend, April 27 – 29, a marathon of superhero movies including Iron Man 2, Thor, the world television premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger and the EPIX Original Documentary With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story. Hosted by legendary comic book creator Stan Lee, the marathon also includes EPIX Extra: Mighty Movie Superheroes, examining the origins and fan following of the mighty team. The weekend celebration of Marvel's famed superheroes and their creator features the movies that have led up to the highly anticipated theatrical release of The Avengers on May 4.

March 2012 - In promotion for the launch of the comic book Waking Wally Street #1, Rocketboy Customs will be holding two raffles. One for a customized dunny & one for a customized mini munny.

The Prizes consist of Spudz (dog dunny) and Jack Henderson (mini munny). Both characters appear in the first issue of Waking Wally Street and are hand-painted & sculpted by Ryan McClure (Rocketboy Customs).

To qualify for the raffle to win the Spudz (dog dunny), preorder an issue of Waking Wally Street at: http://rocketboycustoms.bigcartel.com/product/waking-wally-street-issue-1
Once you place an order, your name will automatically go into the raffle and the winner will be drawn at random. If you order more than one comic, your chances of winning increase! The winner will be announced once the shipment of comics arrive from the printers (projected first week of April).

The Hunger Games fans join Oxfam America, Harry Potter Alliance to say: "Hunger is Not a Game"
Groups mark movie opening with campaign to fight hunger

March 2012 - This week, hundreds of young volunteers will set-up shop at movie theatres across America to bring fans of the highly anticipated film The Hunger Games on-board a new campaign to fight hunger. The "Hunger is Not a Game" campaign is sponsored by the Harry Potter Alliance, an organization that uses the power of story to inspire fans to work for social change. The campaign will gather support for international relief and development organization Oxfam's GROW campaign to ensure everyone has enough to eat now and in the future.

Walmart Takes Angry Birds Space to New Heights with the First Retail and Gaming Integration

"Golden Eggsteroid" Clues to Bonus Levels Embedded Exclusively in Walmart Merchandise; One of Four Clues Available to Walmart's Facebook Fans

BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 20, 2012 -- America, the Angry Birds are in their final descent to your local Walmart! Angry Birds Space, the newest version of the world's most-downloaded mobile game from Rovio Entertainment, will touch down in app stores March 22, and only Walmart customers will be able to access "Golden Eggsteroid" clues that unlock four bonus levels in the game. For the first time, Walmart has joined forces with a leader in mobile entertainment to provide its customers with an integrated online and in-store gaming experience.

Toys"R"Us, Inc. Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year of Fiscal 2011
Fourth Quarter Net Earnings Increase $13 Million to $343 Million

WAYNE, N.J., Mar 21, 2012 -- Annual Adjusted EBITDA of $1,054 Million Marks Third Consecutive Year Over $1 Billion

Toys"R"Us, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2011 ended January 28, 2012. For the fourth quarter, the company reported net sales of $5.9 billion, Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $749 million and net earnings of $343 million.

Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO, Toys"R"Us, Inc., said, "We are pleased with the company's success in delivering our third consecutive year of Adjusted EBITDA in excess of $1 billion, and with the net earnings growth we realized in the fourth quarter. Importantly, we also increased our gross margin rate during the year through our strategies to expand exclusive product offerings and deepen relationships with manufacturers."

March 22, 2012 - Listed below are the toy (and child-related) recalls from this week; these links go to the official announcements on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.

Lacrosse Helmets Recalled by Easton Sports Due to Facial Injury Hazard

Safety 1st Cabinet Locks Recalled Due to Lock Failure; Children Can Gain Unintended Access to Dangerous Items

North American Product Safety Agencies Team Up in the Name of Poison Prevention

GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING GUITARIST TOM MORELLO AND MUSICIAN/WRITER CLAUDIO SANCHEZ TO APPEAR AT CHICAGO COMIC & ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (C2E2)

Noted Musicians Will Promote Their Latest Comic Books!

Norwalk, CT, March 21, 2012: Chicago native and Grammy Award-winning guitarist Tom Morello and noted musician Claudio Sanchez will be appearing at this year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). In addition to their significant music credits, both Morello and Sanchez are well-recognized in the comic community for their writing talent. Best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and his acoustic solo act The Nigh(bleep)chman, Morello will conduct a panel on Friday, April 13, 6:15pm – 7:15pm and will also do a signing. Sanchez, an American writer and musician best known for being the lead singer and guitarist for the alternative/progressive rock group Coheed and Cambria, will be at C2E2 throughout the weekend and will promote his latest work and greet fans in the Evil Ink booth.

March 21, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Hi - Here is a quick update from BBTS about a bunch of cool new preorders as well as more new arrivals.

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NEW PREORDERS
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TRANSFORMERS MP-11S MASTERPIECE SUNSTORM
We have a preliminary pre-order listing up for the Asian version of MP-11S Masterpiece Sunstorm. This version should include the coronation gear but it is unlikely it will have the collectible coin. We have it set at $249.99, although we expect that the price may change, and if it does we will let you know.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11419&mode=re...

DARK KNIGHT RETURNS BATMAN Vs. JOKER ARTFX STATUE
This piece is taken from the art of the bestselling book, and shows Batman on top of the Joker ready to dish out some pain. It is 1/6 scale and is priced at $109.99, $20 off the MSRP.

March 21, 2012 - The Four Horsemen have been interviewed by the New York Times!

We've seen a lot of interviews with the Horsemen over the years, and done a few ourselves, but this one is a bit different, discussing mostly their business model instead of which characters they are working on or what materials they are using to sculpt. It is part of a series of "case studies" about small businesses.

Here's the interview (two pages), and it looks like there will be a follow-up piece next week. The Horsemen's FANtastic Exclusive forum also has a thread going about the interview.