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The Cables celebrate 10 years!
Posted by: Bill Cable 06.13.07 12:01am
It's kinda hard to believe it, but my wife and I have been married for ten years. Yep... tomorrow marks the 10-year anniversary of the best decision my wife ever made! We dated for three and a half years before we got married, so I've actually been with her longer than I've been collecting Star Wars figures (not counting when I was a kid, of course). Ah... I remember back in the days when POTF2 first came out and she actually encouraged me to be a completist. "Why aren't you going to buy that one, Bill?" "Eh, I don't really like the sculpt." "You gotta get it... don't you want the whole set?"
She's always been so understanding and supportive of my hobby, and it's a true blessing. Since it makes me happy, she wants me to do it, even if that means spending twelve hundred bucks on a Cromalin. How many guys can say that?
So happy anniversary, Lynda! Thanks for ten fantastic years. I love you more now than ever, and I can't wait for the next ten!
The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived
Posted by: Darth Danno 06.13.07 12:01am
CreatureCantina.com is proud to present the next chapter of Darth Danno's epic short story "The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived."
CHAPTER XXI: EXPLANATIONS…AND REVELATIONS (Part II)
On the market
Posted by: Tresob Yr 06.13.07 12:01am
I picked up one of those nifty (and expensive) new TAC Jawas the other night...mostly for the LIN droid. It's one of those things that I remember looking at in a Star Wars picture book and thinking: I wish I had a figure of that. Not that there is anything particularly stunning or amazing about the LIN droid. I liked the idea of a droid that was pretty much just a dome. Simple. Sleek. But somehow mysterious. Like a big ol' horseshoe crab.
Anyway, what better way to celebrate a 30 year long wait for a toy than to feature it in a comic?
The vast generosity that is CreatureCantina.com
Posted by: Bill Cable 06.13.07 12:01am
Last Saturday I attended the annual PSWCS Summer Social, held in Pittsburgh this year. And I came bearing gifts! As has been my practice for the past few years, I donated some art to the prize pool. The prize pool was pretty amazing this year... some really fantastic donations from various Star Wars dealers. I really need to get crackin' on the photo page on PSWCS.com.
Anyway, it wouldn't be charity if I couldn't come here the next week and brag about it. It looks like I made one of our guests a very happy winner with this original artwork from The Cantina comic strip:
Crack shot
Posted by: Bill Cable 06.20.07 12:01am
Han shoots first in this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived
Posted by: Darth Danno 06.20.07 12:01am
CreatureCantina.com is proud to present the next chapter of Darth Danno's epic short story "The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived."
CHAPTER XXII: ALL FALL DOWN
Stool Pigeon
Posted by: Tresob Yr 06.20.07 12:01am
I am a man of very modest means, so, for me, seven dollars is a lot to spend on an action figure. I often use this comic to justify (or rationalize) the expense. I don't want you, the reader, to get bored looking at the same group of figures all the time. And, after all, aren't you worth it?
Ultimately, that's why this week's comic features the TAC Jawa that came with the LIN droid in last week's comic. The more comics I can squeeze out of a figure, the more I can spread out my overhead. I figure that means that each of these comics is costing me about $3.50. See, unlike some people who like to make Star Wars films, I realize that money can't buy you everything. Sometimes, financial constraints can function as a form of artistic discipline.
That being said, if I had a couple of million dollars, I'd be featuring comics with figures that weren't even released yet, and I'd pay people to generate cool computer-generated backgrounds, and I'd create a program that would randomly generate scripts. But, I'm still poor, so I can't. When I'm rich, I'll be able to afford being hypocritical.
I must complete the training...
Posted by: Bill Cable 06.20.07 12:01am
I have a weird work schedule the next couple of weeks. As a result, my web update schedule is dramatically altered, and I won't have the time to do as much. So it'll most likely just be my comic, Tresob's stuff and Danno's Greatest Sith short. Wait... that's all we ever post anyway. So I guess you won't see any difference at all. Sorry for wasting your time here...
Thwarted!
Posted by: Bill Cable 06.27.07 12:01am
You can't always get whatcha want... as demonstrated in this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
Mixed lot
Posted by: Tresob Yr 06.27.07 12:01am
Every now and then, I like to snoop around the eBay mixed lots categories. Some sellers just throw random stuff together that they pulled out of their kid's closet, snap a picture, and post the bid. You can get a lot of weird stuff for really cheap this way. It's not always mint condition, but if you are a more casual collector like me, that's not a problem. Plus I can always airbrush out paint-wear for the comic. The real trick is trying to get your high-priced modern figures to get along with some of the more eccentric oddities you might end up purchasing...
Vintage put-down
Posted by: Beedo Sookcool 06.27.07 12:01am
What happens when you get a bunch of ultra-articulated VTAC figures through the mail in time for your birthday? You get a photocomic out of it, one where Bossk and IG-88 are put in their place... by Greedo! And yes, I've been hitting the mead. Hey, SOMETHING'S gotta make up for living in the worst area for toy-shopping outside the Okavango River Delta!
LEGO wants your movies!
Posted by: Bill Cable 06.27.07 12:01am
Attention stop-motion masters: If you gots the skillz LEGO's gonna pay your billz! Starting on June 28th you'll be able to go to http://www.legostarwarsmoviemakingcontest.com and get all the details about how to enter this very cool contest. But here's the overview... they're looking for movie shorts, less than 3 minutes in length, featuring LEGO products. The best entries will be featured on the web site. Fans will vote on their favorite, and the top movies will win fantastic prizes "chosen by Yoda, the Jedi Master himself!" That's a quote from their press release. I don't know if they mean Frank Oz chose the prizes or what... it's very confusing.
But what isn't confusing is what you gotta do... put together a movie short. They sent me three sample films. Two were stop motion, and one appeared to be Flash-based. So it looks like you can put it together in a variety of ways. I chose my favorite of the samples to share with you guys. Enjoy "Airlock":
We'll post more info about the contest in the coming weeks. The deadline to submit a film is August 26th, so get crackin!
And hey... check it out... CreatureCantina.com has partnered with a legitimate, actual Star Wars licensee! Don't these guys do background checks at all?? I sure hope it goes well... maybe we'll get the chance to do it again! Hopefully we don't upset them by doing anything really stupid... like, I don't know, announcing the contest a day before it goes live...
The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived CONCLUSION!
Posted by: Darth Danno 06.27.07 12:01am
CreatureCantina.com is proud to present the FINAL chapter of Darth Danno's epic short story "The Greatest Sith... That Never Lived."
CHAPTER XXIII: CONCLUSIONS…AND COMPARISONS
Lazy days of summer
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.04.07 12:01am
I didn't want to draw a strip this week. I didn't want to write a strip this week. I had a long weekend, and just am not in the mood. So I resorted to recycling the art. But I did write something original for this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
"GUNS!"
Posted by: Tresob Yr 07.04.07 12:01am
Ever since LEGO decided to tap us as an official "Lego Movie Making Contest" affiliate site, Bill's been bugging us contributors to find ways to brown-nose the shirts at the toy company. So I dug up one of the six Lego sets that I owned and made a comic with it. Then I decided that mere static panels were not good enough to advertise the aforementioned "Lego Movie Making Contest." So, now, I present to you, this week's contribution in an animated gif featuring Creaturecantina's own patented STILL-FRAME-O-VISION technology!
The Greatest Sith - the inside story
Posted by: Darth Danno 07.04.07 12:01am
Well, after eight months, my “epic” tale has drawn to a close. This wasn’t a story I had all written out beforehand, and each week, would have a section put up on CC.com. It only existed within the confines of the trash compactor known as my mind, (and you should see the size of the Dianogas I’ve got running around in there!) I knew how I wanted it to start, and I knew how it was going to end, but getting from point A to point B wasn’t clear until I actually sat down to write each week’s chapter.
I wanted to make each section readable in a short period of time, hoping to give just enough so that readers would be sure to come back next week for the next installment. Each time I sat down to write, new and exciting possibilities presented themselves to me to help expand the characters and the story, and I kept those which I felt would be most beneficial and necessary, without making this go on any longer than it needed to. So many times I’ve read stories where the authors spend so much time and paper setting up a scene or location or whatever, I start to lose interest and end up skimming over it to get to the “good parts”, the dialogue, the action, the meat and heart of what’s really going on.
I did a lot of research on StarWars.com, and in such books as “The New Essential Guide to Alien Species” to keep it as SW factual as possible as far as alien races and planets, and Darth Ruin was mentioned in “Star Wars Insider Issue 88”. The other names of the Sith and the Jedi came from my own imagination, and a little help from my friends.
I hope you have enjoyed this, I know I did. Starting next week, it’s back to my regular updates beginning with a new SW Lego game that’s set to hit the market. In the fall, I’m thinking of doing another ongoing story, this one is about what happens when another iconic character visits the Star Wars Galaxy. Who is it, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to make sure you check back here often, (why not weekly?) I will tell you that it’s not going to be one of those stories with the last chapter having the character waking up and realizing it was all a dream, that’s LAME!!! I’m still working out all the details, but I know that what I’m thinking about now will undoubtedly change once I actually sit down to type it out. Plus I need to get the “OK” from my editor.
So I want to close by thanking him, Bill Cable (or Jedi Master Belac, as he’s referred to in the tale.) for allowing me to present this to you, and hopefully he’ll permit me to astound you once again with another epic saga in a few months. Until next week…
From the guys who brought you Vader's Job Interview...
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.04.07 12:01am
Every once in a while, a member of your family does something that really impresses you. Several years ago, my brother did this with his movie short "Job interview with Darth Vader." This often-imitated, never duplicated effort still brings a smile to my face.
That was done years ago. Now my brother has done it again... this time with a real, professional documentary. After several years of work, he's ready to show it to the world! He's hosting the movie premier on July 26th in Carnegie, PA. The documentary is called "One Every Corner" and is about Pittsburgh street performers. The premier event will be held at Cefalo's Night Club at 8:00 pm. The screening is free, but they will be accepting "tips" for the performers featured in the film. I'm making the trip in from Harrisburg, and I hope you'll make an effort to be there as well! You can get more details at http://oneverycorner.com/.
Hazy days of summer
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.11.07 12:01am
The East Coast heat wave was the inspiration for this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
Old Yeller
Posted by: Tresob Yr 07.11.07 12:01am
I remember a time before Legoland was torn asunder by race and color -- a simpler time when all the little Lego people lived in blissfully harmony, ignorant of ethnic differences. It was a world where everyone bore the same lemon yellow skin, regardless of nationality or background. Those days are long gone...but not forgotten.
New Star Wars LEGO game announced
Posted by: Darth Danno 07.11.07 12:01am
You’ve played the prequels, and conquered the classic trilogy, so what’s next, you ask? Well Lucasfilm and LEGO have partnered once again to re-make a classic with: “Knights of the Old Repubrick”. Why mess with a classic, you ask? (Many wondered the same thing when George Lucas altered the original trilogy, but let’s move on.) Again, you can either rise to become a Jedi Knight, or fall in leagues with the Sith Lords, as you travel across the galaxy to stop Darth Malek and destroy the Star Forge before it wipes out the Republic, or Repubrick as it were. Travel to all the same planets as the original: Dantooine, Tatooine, Kashyyk, Manaan, and Korriban. All your favorite characters are back too, including: Bastila, Canderous, Jolee, Carth, and HK-47 to name a few. As this version is meant to be more kid-friendly. Some of the more nasty Dark Side powers such as: Plague, Horror, Insanity, Drain Life, and Death Field have been removed, and replaced with such abilities as:
- Strip – leave your opponents wearing nothing but their Star Wars Underoos (remember those?). When you use this on droids, they do their best “Episode I” C3PO impersonation.
- The Bantha Belch – I don’t remember them ever having problems with indigestion, but I guess being able to replicate their burps would make you the life of any party, or the death, depending on what you ate beforehand. (Works on droids who are easily offended by the uncouth.)
- Force Tickle – Really “crack up” the enemy, leaving him vulnerable and open to attack. (Doesn’t work on droids)
- Brain Freeze – Forget the slurpee or squishie or whatever, this one’s compliments of the Force. (Doesn’t work on droids either.)
- The dreaded…Force Flatulence – nuff said, other than if the droid you’re using it against has no sense of smell, you guessed it, it won’t work on them.
Also, bombs and high-powered firearms have been taken out, but never fear, there are plenty of water balloons and super soakers to go around. (You can really have fun around droids with these, considering so many Force powers don’t work on them.) Like its two predecessors, you never really “die”; your character just…breaks apart. You can also collect Lego pieces to use as currency on the many different worlds you travel to. (Even back then, most didn’t take Rebubrick credits.) You can buy different foods to enhance your Bantha Belch or Force Flatulence, upgrade your armor, or buy bottles of Gamorrean Glue – the strongest stuff in the Galaxy. Use it on yourself so you wont break apart as easily.
Hopes are high to have this little gem in stores by this Christmas. It depends on the success of the game to determine weather we’ll ever see a Lego version of “Knights of the Old Repubrick II”. The sad part is it will only be available for two game consoles. Which ones, you wonder? Why, the XBLOX and XBLOX 360, of course!
Customer service
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.18.07 12:01am
You can expect nothing but the best from the Cantina staff, as demonstrated in this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
GeoMFilms to Launch Action Figure Epic
Posted by: Tresob Yr 07.18.07 12:01am
A Youtube filmmaker going under the alias GeoMFilms has put together an awesome-looking fanfilm with crossovers between the two Star Wars trilogies. Pushing the art of action figure-based entertainment to a whole new level, what really sets this video apart from other really cool action figure movies is its generous heaping of special effects with a relish almost equal to Lucasfilm. Lightsabers really glow. Blasters really blast. Droids really spark when they get hit by glowing lightsabers or blasting blasters. It's definitely worth taking a look. I know I'm jealous, and that's probably the highest praise that someone who takes pictures of his toys can give to someone who does the same. Star Wars Generations is going to do to action figure films what the Rykrof Enloe series did to photocomics. Now, if we can only get him to do an Order 95 shoutout...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiA0Ya1AgbM
Final "Harry Potter" book to have "Star Wars" twist
Posted by: Darth Danno 07.18.07 12:01am
Once again, my Bothan informants…or did I buy this info dirt-cheap from the Jawas?
Maybe I won it in a Sabaac match. Who can remember after too many glasses of Corellian Spiced Ale. Anyway, I have the scoop on some of the most eagerly anticipated news of the year: What happens in the new and final Harry Potter book? BEWARE!!! Many secrets are to be revealed in the following paragraph, if you don’t want to know what happens, then read no further...
Okay, let’s get on with it. First off, it is revealed that Lord Voldemort is none other than…Darth Plagueis! In the final battle with Harry, he is betrayed and murdered by his apprentice, Darth Sidious, who uses magic of his own to open an inter-dimensional wormhole and escape to Naboo. Harry finds out Hermione is his twin sister, and a princess to boot. She falls for Ron, who rather than going solo, saves Hagrid from the Dementors who in turn, swears a life debt to him, and decides to really let his hair down.
After graduating from Hogwarts, they start their own career as smugglers, smuggling magical paraphernalia to the muggles who can afford their prices. MadEye Moody goes off to some deserted swamp to commune with the spirits of Dumbledore and Sirius Black, and also learns to yodle. Severus Snape develops a glandular disorder, gains a couple thousand pounds, and turns Hogwarts School for Wizardry into his own little crime hut. He enlists the now out of work death eaters as his personal bounty hunters, and Draco Malfoy as his personal majordomo, forcing him to constantly wear a bib and tell fortunes.
One of the Weasley Twins (Fred) loses an eye and both of his legs in the final battle, but has wheels installed on his knuckles, and a third, retractable wheel put into his torso to help him roll around. When told he’d be no good to anyone anymore, he replied, “Are too!” (Personally, I thought it would be more grammatically correct for him to say, “Am too.” But what do I know.) The other twin (George) is turned to gold by a magical, less powerful form of C-4 known as C-3. Though pretty PO’d, he ends up with limited mobility, but luckily is still alive, thanks to certain magical protocols put in place prior to the battle.
So there you have it, J.K Rowling’s tales are over, but her woes are just beginning thanks to all the licensing she blatantly stole from Lucasfilm. George is having his Imperial lawyers suit up as we speak, to commence primary ignition on Hogwarts defense generator, or Rowling’s bank account. Whichever would be more cost effective.
Director's cut
Posted by: Tresob Yr 07.18.07 12:01am
I felt inspired by the logo for the LEGO contest...so I went ahead and made yet another teeth-clenching, knuckle-whitening, suspense film in Creature Cantina's very own patented Still-Frame-O-Vision!
Last week to enter the LEGO contest!
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.18.07 12:01am
Have you entered the LEGO Movie Making contest yet? Well, you'd better hurry! The deadline to enter is next weekend. And from what I hear that stop-motion stuff takes a really, REALLY long time to put together. So get cracking! You could win wonderful prizes. Heck... the winner in each age category gets $500 in LEGOs! Well worth your effort, I think!
Winning the war
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.25.07 12:01am
I'll admit it... I'm a fanboy of things other than Star Wars. With the spate of great news over the past couple weeks, I just can't contain my joy. And it's flooded over into this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
Yet another LEGO game in the works!
Posted by: Darth Danno 07.25.07 12:01am
I meant to bring you this last week, but that was pre-empted by the Harry Potter spoilers I received. Apparently both Lego and Lucasfilm are just tickled at the similarities between Republic and Repubrick, so they are re-making yet another video game smash with “Repubrick Commando”. Once again the fab four: Boss, Sev, Fixer, and Scorch are back to battle Trandoshans, Geonosians, Battle Droids, and all the other nasties from the original. But now, the commandos have special Lego-based powers! As each of the team is made up of interlocking blocks, now the squad can transform and reform into weapons the others can pick up and use.
- BOSS becomes a DC-17m Interchangeable Combat Weapons System (he can pick up the Anti-Armor Attachment throughout the game play.)
- FIXER becomes a DC-17M Sniper Rifle
- SEV becomes a EWHB-12 Mounted Turret
- SCORCH becomes a LS-150 Heavy Accelerated Charged Particle Repeater Gun
At certain times in the game, the whole squad can disassemble and combine together to become An AT-TE, or a Republic Gunship. Of course, since Hasbro is in charge of manufacturing all Star Wars-related toys, the Star Wars Transformers versions of the Commandos are also being released to coincide with the release on the video game. However, this is the first game to take part in the Ultimate Galactic Hunt. There will only be a limited number of these produced, as at the end of each game, you will receive a unique code # specific to your game alone, (so you can’t use it, then put it up on the internet for everyone to use). You write down the # on a piece of paper, mail it along with a check for $99.95 to the address on the closing credits screen, and you will receive your very own George Legos figure. I haven’t seen any pictures of him yet, but I’m told the similarities are uncanny. In fact, he’s a chip off the old block, (or would that be brick???).
McChewie
Posted by: Tresob Yr 07.25.07 12:01am
I told myself I wasn't going to go on fruitless hunting excursions trying to acquire these wacky "McQuarrie Concept" figures, although it seems to me that these things are selling almost completely on the virtue of their scarcity. Short-pack a figure, and a collector has to have it. I think this can be the only reason why anyone in their right mind would ever purchase the concept figure for Chewbacca (I only bought mine so that I could take pleasure in the knowledge that no one would be selling it for absurd prices on eBay). But I challenge you to take a good look at this figure, and tell me you can't see why these designs were rejected. Could you imagine if this was what Chewbacca had looked like? Our childhoods would have been traumatized irrevocably. I certainly don't see this fellow being mass produced as a huggable plush toy...and if he had, children would have been driven mad from sleep deprivation. It seems pretty clear that Hasbro has finished scraping the bottom of the barrel and is now trying to sell us the stuff that leaked out and collected in a filthy puddle underneath the barrel.
On Every Corner premier THURSDAY!
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.25.07 12:01am
Just a reminder - the premier event of my brother documentary "On Every Corner" will be held tomorrow night at 8:00pm in Pittsburgh! I'll be there. You should be too! It's going to be held at the high-class nightclub Cefalo's in Carnegie. It'll be a great atmosphere for a very special event. So if you'll be in the 'Burgh tomorrow, you should make an effort to stop by! You'll find all the details at http://oneverycorner.com.
Last days to enter the LEGO contest!
Posted by: Bill Cable 07.25.07 12:01am
Well, if you haven't started work on your entry for the LEGO Movie Making contest yet, you're probably SOL. I don't think anybody can churn out a stop-motion LEGO epic in three days. Trust me... I'm trying to pressure Tresob into doing one, but he just keeps throwing spastic fits every time I mention it. Damnit Tresob, you don't need sleep! You're stronger than that! I want my share of those five hundred bones!
But if you have started, now's the time to wrap it up! Gotta get that entry in before Sunday! And good luck!!
Point of clarification
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.01.07 12:01am
I just wanted to prepare you to understand this comic. I thought it was really funny in my head, but it'll only be funny if you realize something. It's referring to Anakin, not Luke. Got it? Then you're ready for this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
Star Wars: From big screen to small screen to... STAGE???
Posted by: Darth Danno 08.01.07 12:01am
Yes, that’s right, some small town playwright with some galaxy sized dreams, and an Imperial Battle Station-sized inheritance decided to bring Star Wars: Episode IV, to the stage, and when I say bring it to the stage, I mean the WHOLE thing, complete with special effects, accurate costuming, and a full orchestra! Needless to say, it met with disastrous results.
First off, the audience is seated, the lights go down, and the music builds to a thunderous crescendo, as the Rebel Blockade runner passes by overhead, followed by the immense Star Destroyer, the Rebel Corvette disappears into a break in the curtains. The Star Destroyer follows, or at least attempts to follow as something goes wrong and the starship grinds to a halt. Backstage crew work feverishly to get the craft mobile again. They succeed somewhat when the cable supporting the ship breaks, sending the huge model crashing down on top of the orchestra. The evening’s performance is canceled as numerous members are taken to the hospital with headaches, stiff necks, concussions, etc... Thousands of dollars on debit blastercard.
A few months later, the entrepreneur tries again, using two full sized elephants dressed as Banthas for the Tusken Raider scene. Except the weight of the elephants overloaded the weight limit on the stage, sending them crashing through the floor. One was badly injured and will require many months of surgery and therapy. The other elephant was too badly hurt and had to be put down. Again, the performance had to be cancelled and monies refunded while crews worked to get the elephants free, and police kept PETA at bay. Hundreds of thousands of dollars on debit blastercard.
Almost a year later, the budding playwright believes that the third time will be the charm, and decides to give it a go one more time, except now he needs to find a different theater after the whole Bantha episode. So find one he does, and things go okay until the scene where the Death Star blows up. Now fortunately he had the foresight to hand out sunglasses to all audience members, he just didn’t count on the power surge caused by his light show knocking out power as far as ten miles away to hospitals, restaurants, etc... Millions of dollars on debit blastercard.
Getting all the mishaps on film, and marketing it as one of the greatest disaster films of all time... Priceless.
(At least until Lucasfilm’s lawyers came knocking, as the unfortunate director failed to acquire any sort of rights or permission for using the Star Wars license.) I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this...
Darth Danno
Next week – What is this…Debit Blastercard???
The price we pay
Posted by: Tresob Yr 08.01.07 12:01am
The SDCC is over. We've all seen the pictures. We're all thinking the same thing.
How do we afford all that?
For myself, I would like to let any distributors, retailers, or manufacturers know that I am more than willing to sell my artistic integrity for free toys. All of these action figure comics are really just product placement gags, anyway. Just look at the marketing blitz I launched for the LEGO movie promotion? I'm sure that at lest 75% of all traffic sent to the LEGO Webpage was sparked by the Creature Cantina Still-Frame-O-Vision films. So if Hasbro, or EE, or anyone else wants to send me free toys, I am more than willing to feature them and your Website in upcoming comics.
The sad thing is...I'm only being partly satirical.
Anyway, here's my feelings on the matter expressed in action figure form.
Surviving a flood...
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.01.07 12:01am
Sunday night a portion of my collection was faced with every collector's worst nightmare - water! A huge thunderstorm that lasted more than an hour pummeled my house mercilessly, and found a crack. There's a basement window well on the back of the house that's been covered up by plywood since we bought the place. It's always been dry as a bone in that back corner, except the one time our water heater burst. I thought with a new heater it'd be safe to store some of my old MOC and MIMB POTF2 stuff. I didn't see the old window as a risk. I mean, it's a freakin' board sealed with caulking and stuff! That sort of stuff never fails!
I went down to the basement Monday morning to start the laundry to find a lake in my basement! After cleaning up, all the boxes that were against the wall with the window, and all the boxes on the floor had water damage. And I prepared for the worst. We're talking hundreds... no, dozens of dollars worth of POTF2 garbage! It turns out the worst wasn't so bad! Most of the damaged boxes were ones I'd saved to use as shipping boxes... they were empty! I only had two boxes full of toys that were on the floor. Turns out I thought ahead! Amazing! I just forgot about it.
In one, the boxes of a Saga A-wing and a TIE Bomber were damp. No big loss... I'd intended to open them eventually. In the second, only part of the box soaked through, and the only thing that was damaged was my Wal*mart exclusive Cantina bar Greedo. The back of the card was soaked and separating. It's ruined. Seems that Greedo always gets the shaft. See... I picked up the set of Hammerhead, Walrusman and Greedo and kept them MOC because of this site. Celebrate the Cantina comic strip! Ah well...
Were that the only problem my collection recently faced! You see, this flood was only the latest event... a couple months ago my priceless Vintage collection was nearly flooded as well! My Vintage stuff is on shelves in the basement, fairly well protected from any possible damage. It's on the other side of the basement, in an area that's never seen any water whatsoever! I thought I had the perfect space. But what I didn't consider was that the kitchen sink is right above where the toys are stored. And a couple weeks ago my wife noticed that the S-trap under the sink was leaking. I very nearly crapped my pants when she told me (I was at work). I made her run down the basement and check, and she said all the ceiling tiles above the toys were ruined. Then I really did crap my pants.
When I got home I did an inspection, and it actually wasn't all that bad. The tops of some of the cardboard boxes were damp, but nothing wet inside. The one thing that was ruined was this big VHS display a PSWCS member had given me... had a 3PO & R2-D2 stand-up along with a big center box. The big center box got flooded. It acted like a sink... below the sink! Everything else was fine. I checked the pipe, and it literally crumbled in my hand like tin foil. Hard to believe that could happen with a copper pipe. So I replaced it with PVC... but see, here's the thing... the PVC directions weren't that clear. I installed one of the S-trap pieces upside down, which caused the pipe to fall out and leak again! Not knowing I made a mistake, I just tightened it up. Then it leaked again! After the fourth leak I was ready to call a plumber, but first I checked on Google for better instructions, and I figured out the stupid mistake I made. What is it they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome? Thankfully I'd moved the boxes to the other side of the basement after the first leak. A sign of sanity and intelligence!
So... TWO floods into my Star Wars collection. Grand total of ONE damaged figure. Yes, I am a praying man.
Intimidation
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.08.07 12:01am
This strip does not come from personal experience. the idea came to me when I was... taking a break. I was brainstorming for this week, and was drawing from everything I had at my disposal at the time. An episode of "Rescue Me" from earlier this season came to mind. I had to imagine how a lesser man might react. this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
The Imperial Debit Blastercard
Posted by: Darth Danno 08.08.07 12:01am
Even as far back as the Clone Wars, the Emperor planned to build the Death Star. The groundwork was being laid to bring this technological terror to reality; he just lacked the necessary funds. After all, a space station capable of dispensing firepower of that magnitude does not come cheap, so he sat down with his Imperial consorts to come up with a solution. Many suggestions were tossed around: Selling oceanfront property on Tatooine, raffling off a chance to be tortured by Lord Vader himself, or creating a reality show and selling advertising space on it. All of these ideas were discarded in favor of…Debit Blastercard!
Now how this works is, the card is just like your normal debit card, except instead of the funds coming out of your own personal bank account, they are taken directly from the Imperial coffers! You can buy whatever you want, like, or need, and the Empire will foot the bill. BUT…there's a catch. You of course have to pay back the money you've borrowed each and every month, and for every credit you spend, you're charged an additional credit. So let's say you spend 500 credits in a standard month, upon receiving your bill, you'll see the amount you owe is 1000 credits! Now why would anyone want to sign up for this plan? Well, that's the beauty of the whole program, as no one actually signs up for it! Many receive strong recommendations to apply, if they ever want to see their family alive again, their droids in one piece again, or their ships remaining space worthy. The Lars family was a prime example of what happened to those who denied the Emperor's generous offer. Quite a few retailers and cantina owners now ONLY accept the Debit Blastercard, those that didn't…well, the Jawas who sold R2 and 3PO fell into that category.
Supposing the time comes for you to pay your bill, and you don't have the necessary funds, or have some, but not all of what you owe. Never fear, the Emperor has easy payment plans! Just stop by your nearest Imperial detention facility for all the details. Or perhaps you would prefer to work off your debt in servitude to one of the Hutts, for apparently they are backing Palpatine's newest venture. (For a cut of the profits, of course. Plus they fully endorse and support slave labor, just ask Anakin Skywalker.)
If you're thinking of running away and hiding out to avoid repayment, well, I'm sorry to say that's not going to work. You see, part of the enrollment process involves the prospective cardholder being rendered unconscious, (unless your part of the gold plan, where you're kept awake and coherent throughout the whole thing) and surgeons implant a transponder behind one of your eyes. (I think whoever thought this part up saw "SAW II" too many times.) For those species that have no eyes, well…just don't bend over while filling out the application. Anyway, though very small, the transponders are very powerful and have a signal that can reach all the way from Coruscant to the Outer Rim. Numerous bounty hunters have been contracted to track down delinquent payees. How much you owe determines weather you're wanted dead or alive, or both.
So there you have it, makes you want to "discover" the possibilities "visa" vie the Imperial Debit Blastercard. It's everywhere you want to B-Wing. (nuff said).
Collecting unfocus
Posted by: Tresob Yr 08.08.07 12:01am
Last week, we watched as Luke exploited C-3PO's metallized-foil body in a last ditch attempt to make some quick toy-money over eBay. Will his efforts to defray the costs of the seemingly endless supply of new Star Wars figures work, or will the money burn a hole in his pocket...Does he even have pockets?
That's your homework this week. Somebody find out if Tatooine Luke has pockets.
Tasteless
Posted by: Beedo Sookcool 08.08.07 12:01am
Well, it had to happen eventually. SOMEBODY had to call me on a matter of extreme bad taste. I'm actually surprised it took this long. See, the reason I didn't enter the Star Wars Lego movie contest (as quite a number of people seem to have expected me to do) was because my experimentations with what kind of mini-figs I could produce (using the Lego Star Wars II video game as a test-bed) produced this little number:
NUDIST BOSSK!
Once the good folks at Lego (whom I respect deeply and whose products I have enjoyed for 30-odd years, now) caught wind of this development, they actively sought to prevent me from producing a movie for them, fearing any possible less-than-family-oriented content. Frankly, a cease-and-desist order would have sufficed, but they hired a couple of goons called Ulrik and Gunnar to tie me to my computer chair until the contest was over.
Unfortunately, they have left my hands tied to the arms of my chair, so I am typing this out with my nose. Someone please come around with a hobby knife and cut me loose!
CreatureCantina INVADES (celebration) EUROPE!!
Posted by: BRADP 08.08.07 12:01am
CC.com was lucky enough to get a staffer to fly all the way to London to cover Celebration Europe. He had fun, spent money, came home, and sat on his lazy ass for a month instead of writing an article. But who can blame him? I'm sure that many hours on a plane will jetlag the best of us. Anyway... after much too much ado, we're finally ready to present...
The CC.com great CE write-up!!
Art imitating life
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.15.07 12:01am
You know that Takara 3PO I was talking about earlier? I forgot to mention that I was damn lucky the bubble didn't melt before I got it out of the box. That's because our own Steve "Solo" Rensi left is sitting in a locked car on a 90-degree day. My neighbor had signed for it, and he gave it to Rensi when he saw him messing with my car. What was Rensi in my car? Well, we drove to the monthly PSWCS meeting together, and while playing with his new Transformer he managed to shoot a missile up between my dashboard and windshield. It got stuck. So I let him try to recover it when we got back to my house. He failed. But he did succeed in inspiring this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
Bill Cable IS a MillionairePlayboy
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.15.07 12:01am
So a couple weeks ago PSWCS set up a booth to pimp the club at the Steel City Con in Pittsburgh, PA. A fun time was had by all! I only had a couple hours to spend at the show... but when I arrived I found the PSWCS booth was completely unmanned! So I spent an unplanned hour standing there and talking up the club. While there, a guy with a video camera came up and interviewed me. This was for the MillionairePlayboy.com podcast. My interview wasn't usable due to background noise, but we still got a nice plug for the club. Enjoy!
Random figs
Posted by: Tresob Yr 08.15.07 12:01am
This weekend, I attended another meeting of the DCSWCC. Perhaps my favorite part of these meetings is when members bring huge tubs full of fodder figures that they no longer want. Being the good-hearted guys and gals that they are, they will usually sell these figures for outrageously low prices. I can usually snag a handful of older figures that I wouldn't mind owning but for which I refused to pay retail when they were first released (and for which I continue to refuse to pay eBay shipping charges). Thus, for this week's comic, I show off a mere selection of the goodies* I took home for song in a random set of three single panel cartoons.
*The Scorch was not purchased this weekend. It was a previous gift. However, there was a Scorch in the same bin as all the other figures, so I could have bought him for this comic.
Even funnier than CC.com??!!
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.15.07 12:01am
Man, I love plugging my brother's latest projects. This newest one... I'm only asking 30 seconds of your time! Dave entered a Heinz ketchup commercial contest hosted on YouTube. It's funny. I showed my daughters the clip and they wanted to watch it over and over again... howling with laughter at the point the unexpected happens. So if you want to entertain your kids, show them this:
Heinz Ketchup commercial # 2836
Fans still demanding their CC.com (Part 1)
Posted by: Darth Danno 08.15.07 12:01am
Once again, I attended WizardWorld Chicago this past weekend. It was a chance to meet celebrities, pick up more Star Wars stuff, and forget my troubles for a few hours. The place was packed! The lines to try out the latest games were long, the line for Michael Madsen was even longer, but the longest line of all was for... well, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Click here for the rest of Danno's report!
Beedo finds a variation?
Posted by: Beedo Sookcool 08.15.07 12:01am
Buying your action figure waves in bulk online has its occasional advantages (apart from the obvious one of bagging a whole wave without having to track down the short-packed stuff the filthy scalpers get to first). In this instance, I believe I may have found a variation for all you completists to obsess about.
I was ripping open my latest shipment from Big Bad Toy Store this morning, and noticed that of the two Animated Debut Boba Fetts I had ordered, each had a slightly different jetpack. As you can see in the attached image, the one on the left has a more worn (i.e. slapdash) paintjob on the white part of the missile and no black stripes, while the one on the right has a better paintjob on the white part of the missile, bordered by black stripes. Whether this is a true variation or just a paint error has yet to be determined. But you (probably) heard it here first, at Creature Cantina!
I've finally found it!
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.15.07 12:01am
I'm thrilled to announce that I've slain my white whale! Almost 7 years of character focus collecting, and I've finally picked up an acceptable example of one of my most sought-after 3PO collectibles. As is often the case, the third time was the charm.
I purchased my first MOC Takara C-3PO about six years ago. I think it was off eBay... a BIN. I won it for around $150... at the time way more that I'd paid for any other MOC figure. The thing was absolutely flawless. But Takara 3POs are funny that way... half the time you find them they're dead, DEAD mint. The other half of the time they're completely trashed beyond recognition. I've actually purchased 6 MOC Takara 3POs... 3 on mint cards, and 3 on trashed, water-damaged or grease-covered cards with the bubbles falling half-way or completely off. The latter three I got for loose examples. But I'm getting off track here...
So the first Takara 3PO I purchased was dead mint... except for one flaw. The bubble lifted along the upper-right corner of the seal. This is also a VERY common flaw for MOC Takara 3POs. Such a shame... because if not for the the bubble this thing would have graded AFA95. It was the most gorgeous MOC figure I ever owned. Now, I thought that the bubble looked like it was lifted before I even bought it when I went back and looked at the auction photos. The seller claimed that wasn't the case... that it must have happened during shipping. In either case, the guy gave me a full refund. Which I probably should have rejected since I could sell that loose, mint 3PO for around $350 right now...
The second Takara 3PO I purchased (excepting the trashed ones) I got from a guy in Australia about two years ago, maybe. I paid $200. This one was flawless, and had a fully-sealed bubble. At least it had it when the guy shipped it. But he shipped it in a Star Case, and the bubble came part-way loose crossing the Pacific. Drats, foiled again! The seller was apologetic, but in lieu of incurring the cost of shipping back down under, he offered me a partial refund, which I accepted. I think that 3PO is still squirreled away in my collection someplace. But that's all boxed up, and I came up empty trying to track it down recently.
The third and hopefully last Takara 3PO I purchased off a guy on RebelScum a couple weeks ago. I paid more than I paid for the other two combined, but that's where the value on these things have gone in the past two years. Again, it's flawless. And the seller followed my ridiculous shipping instructions (pressing the cardback between two pieces of foam, one of them cut to allow for the bubble, so the bubble seal would be fully supported, then wrapped in bubble wrap and shipped in a big box full of peanuts), so it arrived with a fully sealed bubble!! And it's beautiful! I was practically shaking as I unwrapped the package, and was thrilled to find it as described.
So you wanna see it? You know you do...
Many thanks to Brian Holst for a very smooth transaction!
A reader who gets it!
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.22.07 12:01am
Over the past couple months I've received quite a few strip ideas from fans... but nearly all of them are completely unusable! They're like "Draw all the people who died in the movies, and then draw Greedo joining them, and then have them all beat up Jorg Sacul." I don't have the time to do something like that! Hell, you're with the time I have these days you're lucky not to get stick figures. So I've just been brainstorming and writing the strip all on my lonesome. What I need is ideas that feature one or maybe two of the regulars. Something I can bang out with very little effort. I was blessed by such an idea from one of our readers last week. Yay - writing break! If you wanna see how it's done, check out this week's "The Cantina" Comic Strip!!!
TheForce.net is talking about me...
Posted by: Bill Cable 08.22.07 12:01am
I'm not into the whole podcast thing. I don't think I've actually listened to one... ever. Buncha goofballs pretending to be radio DJs... all of 'em! But that changed this week, when my buddy Stormtrooper Bill of PSWCS alerted me that I was mentioned in the latest TheForce.net podcast. I'm actually listening to the podcast as I write this, and I haven't gotten to that part of it, yet... so I don't know what they say or where. It's a report on the OSWCC Summer Social so I assume it's about me donating some comic strip art to the raffle table. Anyways... if you want to hear about the OSWCC Summer Social and listen to my name mentioned in passing, check it out!
TheForce.net OSWCC Summer Social podcast
Good God... it looks like this thing is an hour long! And they called it a "Micro" podcast??!! What's a regular podcast run, 3 hours?? If anybody listens to the whole thing and wants to tell me what time they talk about me, please do... I don't think I can make it all the way through it. Now they're talking about how you hook up a tape recorder to a computer to make a podcast... ugh.
Fans still demanding their CC.com (Part 2)
Posted by: Darth Danno 08.22.07 12:01am
Quickly but cautiously, the three of us made our way along the line of eager fans. "What would we find at the beginning? Who started this, and why?" I wasn't leaving until I had some answers.
Down hallways, around corners, into one room and out of another, this line seemed to have no end. Yet we pushed on as we…were on a mission.
Click here for the rest of Danno's report!
Rejects
Posted by: Tresob Yr 08.22.07 12:01am
The fact that it took me about twenty minutes to figure out what box I had stored Xizor away in adds a whole meta-dramatic layer of irony to the following comic...
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