full issue

Transcription

full issue

$7.95 U S /$11.95 CAN
MACROSS / TETSUJIN-28 / BALZAC / MEGALON
97377570041602
SUPER7
VO LU M E 04_ ISSUE 03
JUNE 2006_
03 EDITORIAL
3 4 CLASSIC METAL
T-28 IS FOREVER
5 4 CATCH THE BUG
6 4 REVIEWS
A GUIDE TO MEGALON
0 4 S7 NEWS
10 S7 TALK
3 8 SEE IN
THE DARK
BALZAC IS BACK
14 DIVIDE AND
CONQUER
THE ART OF KAWS
IN SOFT VINYL
2 8 A NOD TO
THE PAST
NAKAJIMA
NODDING TOYS
4 4 M ACRO SS M Y
HEART
ROBOTS CHANGE
EVERYTHING
5 0 SPACESHIP
DREAM S
A CHAT WITH
MACROSS DESIGNER
HARUHIKO MIKIMOTO
5 8 S7 FASHION
REBEL8, VANS, S.T.A.F.,
SHOCKER, SECRET
BASE, SUPER7
6 0 LIVING LARGE
THE W ORLD
ACCORDING TO
MIKE GIANT
6 2 S7 M USIC
AESOP ROCK AND
JEREMY FISH TALK
THE TALK
6 6 S7 LIFE
SDCC, NERDQUAKE
AND 125 MINUTES
OF PUSHEAD
70 GEAR
m m
H
mmm
EDITORIAL
V.14 i
03
Super7 Magazine, Volume 4 Issue 3 - S eptem ber 2006
The lirfe b e tw e e n in flu e n c e and im ita tio n c o n tin u e s to b lu r in o u r ra p id ly e v o lv in g w o rld — rais
P u b lish er
Brian Flynn / [email protected]
Super7 Media, Inc. / San Francisco, CA
a rt and d e s ig n c o m m u n itie s : A c re a to r w h o is a g e n u in e fan o f a p a rtic u la r s tyle , ch a ra cte r or
ing eth ica l questio n s, g o a d in g in te lle cts and te s tin g th e law. W e see it all th e tim e in th e toy,
a rtis t a p p ro p ria te s w o rk , p u ts a spin on th e o rig in a l c o n c e p t and represents th e final p ro d u c t as
Editor
Justin Kovalsky / [email protected]
his o r her ow n creation. This can leave consum ers w ith a lo t o f questions. W h a t defines o riginality?
D esign
Brian Flynn / G eoff Allen / Caleb Kozlowski / Darlene Gibson
Hybrid Design, Inc. / w ww .hybrid-design.com
it was b o rn ? W h e n you a d d in th e o fte n c o n triv e d , th o u g h s o m e tim e s g e n u in e , o u ts id e r and
N ational Ad S a le s / S t a f f W riter
Chad Hensley / [email protected]
R etail D irectors
Karen Stanley (store) / [email protected]
Isaac Ramos (web) / [email protected]
G racio u s Co n tribu to rs & S p e c ia l T h an k s
KAWS, H iddy o f Secret Base, Oka Narue o f Medicom, Takeshi
Sakamoto, Tim Brisko, Hirosuke Nishiyama o f Balzac, Isaac Ramos,
GOE of Evilegend 13, Jeremy Fish and Aesop Rock, Hiro Hayashi,
Roger Harkavy, Kaminaga-san o f Marusan, John Cafiero o f Osaka
Popstar, August Ragone, Devon Morf, Frank Kozik, Suzi N uti, Egan
Loo, Mark Gradwelt, Jeff Dey, Rod Peters at ADV, Shawn Smith, Lev
Tokyo, Mike Becker, C ourtney Patubo, Sanford M ock and Rae Huo,
Kirk Tantguchi, Mike Giant, Josh at Rebel 8, M a tt Shipman, Pushead
and everyone at SDCC 2006.
U S Distribution
Tower Books, Diamond Comics, Ingrams Periodicals,
DKE, Retail Vision and Last Gasp
Ja p a n e s e D istribution
Presspop, Inc. / www.presspop.com
H ow m uch o f th e success o f th e new idea can b e a ttrib u te d to th e co re c o n c e p t fro m w hich
p un k a ttitu d e s th a t p e rv a d e o u r co m m u n ity , you are fa c e d w ith one m essy discussion.
L et's fa ce it; it's n eve r c o o l w hen w e see s o m e o n e 's a rt used fo r s o m e o n e else's c a p ita lis tic
p u rs u its w ith o u t p e rm is s io n — w h e th e r it b e M ike G ia n t's illu s tra tio n s e m b la z o n e d on a su rf
b o a rd c o m p a n y 's t-s h irt o r le g e n d a ry skate a rtis t V. C o u rtla n d Jo hn so n 's w o rk used to sling
Ja panese fa sh io n . B ut th a t's n o t th e e n d o f th e s to ry as fa r as I'm co n ce rn e d .
To d e n y a c e rta in g ra y area seem s s h o rts ig h te d in a lo t o f ways, to o . W e are b o m b a rd e d d aily
w ith co u n tle ss im ag e s and m essages th a t are b o u g h t and s o ld b y b ig businesses, and we are
e x p e c te d to proce ss th e se m o n e y m a k in g m a c h in a tio n s th ro u g h o u r o w n lenses. I never feel
q u ic k to ju d g e th o s e w h o are p ro a c tiv e ly s p in n in g th e se im ages b ack a ro u n d in an in te llig e n t
w ay fo r th e ir ow n b e n e fit and, u ltim a te ly , fo r th e e d ific a tio n o f o th e rs. In fa c t, I th in k it's a vital
and lib e ra tin g th in g . O f course, th is is ju s t my fla w e d o p in io n and I realize th e c o n tra d ic tio n s ;
so, please, ke ep y o u r g un s h o ls te re d . I'm n o t try in g to sway you o n e way o r a no the r, th o u g h I
am s u g g e s tin g th a t w e all th in k a b it h a rd e r a b o u t th e kind o f p ro d u c ts we ch oo se to s u p p o rt.
O n e th in g is clear: several o f th e fe a tu re d s u b je c ts in th is issue are re le va n t to th e concern.
O u r cover story, Kaws, ironically c u t his path into p u b lic consciousness w ith o u t creating prod u cts
at all. He to o k chances by ille g a lly p a in tin g o v e r m a jo r a d v e rtis e m e n ts in NYC, p la s te rin g them
w ith his ic o n ic s k u ll-h e a d e d c h ara cters. In th e s tra n g e s t tu rn , m any co m p a n ie s saw a value in
O ther International D istribution
[email protected]
his s tre e t ca m p a ig n and b e g a n a p p ro a c h in g him to d o a d v e rtis e m e n ts in th e same s tyle he
Printing
Transcontinental Printing / LGM Graphics
attn: Mike Bradley 1.800.661.0052 x 24 Printed in Canada.
c re a to rs in p o p c u ltu re — fro m fa sh io n to to y s and h ig h -e n d g a lle ry w o rk , he's m yste riou sly
Editorial / S u b m iss io n s
[email protected]
C o n ta c t / G o o die B o x e s
Super7 Magazine
540 Delancey St., Suite 303, San Francisco, CA 94107
415.227.4700 / www.super7magazine.com
Retail Location
S uper7 5tore
1628 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
415.409.4700 / www.super7store.com
used to slyly s u b v e rt w h a t th o s e c o rp o ra tio n s re p re s e n t. N ow , Kaws is o n e o f th e m o st p ro lific
m e ld e d w ith th o s e w o rld s and m a n ip u la te d th e m a t th e sam e tim e
O th e r to p ic s shed lig h t as w ell. C o n s id e r o u r w rite -u p on th e re c e n t T e tsu jin -2 8 liv e -a c tio n
m o v ie — a re te llin g o f th e fa m o u s g ia n t r o b o t sto ry. W h e n M its u te ru Yokoyam a c re ate d th e
w o rld 's firs t g ia n t r o b o t c o m ic in 1956, its d o u b tfu l th a t he was th in k in g o f fo re v e r a lte rin g
th e face o f Ja pa n e se p o p c u ltu re — lea vin g a leg a cy th a t w o u ld b e re in v e n te d , re g u rg ita te d ,
re v ita liz e d and , e v e ry o nce in a w h ile , re v o lu tio n iz e d .
A n o th e r te llin g s u b je c t, a nd one o f m y c u rre n t fa v o rite a cts, is th e Japanese band, Balzac.
T h o u g h th e y s ta rte d o u t o v e r 14 years a g o heavily in flu e n c e d by th e sem inal p u n k b an d th e
M isfits, th e y 'v e e v o lv e d so th a t th e re 's little tra c e le ft o f th e ir e arly s o nic in s p ira tio n . Th e y've
also m a rrie d Ja pa n e se s tre e t fa sh io n and Ja panese vinyl to y c re a tio n to th e ir im a g e in such a
Legal
The advertising and articles appearing within this publication
reflect the opinions and attitudes of their respective authors
and not necessarily those o f the publisher or o ther persons
affiliated with this publication. All rights to the photographs,
artw ork and articles contained in this publication are co pyrig h t
owned by th e ir respective creators. All righ ts to any character
names and/or likenesses are copyright owned by their respective
owners, and no assumption o f ownership is made by this
publication. Everything else contained herein is © 2006 Super7
Media, Inc. and may not be reproduced in p art or whole without
w ritten permission from Super 7 Media Inc. as well as any
contributors if applicable. In the'end, Super7 is a magazine
a bout toys; keep it light.
p o w e rfu l w ay th a t it m akes th e m o n e o f th e m o s t in te re s tin g ban d s a rou n d . Period.
Read in to th e s e to p ic s as you like; th e y all s u g g e s t s o m e th in g u n iq u e a b o u t w h a t it m eans to
b e in s p ire d b y th e w o rk o f o th e rs. U ltim a te ly, it's th e re s p o n s ib ility o f co nsum ers to e d u c a te
th e m se lve s and to s u p p o rt th e p ro d u c ts th a t th e y fe e l are w o rth y . Leave th e legal b a ttle s to
th e law yers, c o p y rig h t h o ld e rs a nd th e kids w h o are th ro w in g th e ir hats into th e rin g — m o s t o f
th e m kn ow e x a c tly w h a t th e y are d o in g a nd th e real ra m ific a tio n s o f th e ir actions.
Ju stin Kovalsky - E ditor, Super7
TOY
NEWS
0 4
v' 14
VINYL SORCERY
SUPER7X SECRET BASE
SKULLETORSET
N o sta lg ic kids o f th e '8 0s and fans o f Japanese vinyl are g o in g to g o gaga over
th is new c o lla b o ra tio n b e tw e e n Super7 and Secret Base. C o lo re d up like th e
skull-faced sorcerer, Skeletor, fro m th e '8 0s ca rto o n , H e-M an, th e se 5" vinyl Skull
Brain fig ure s are a p tly nam ed S kulletor and Evil S ku lle to r respectively. A va ila b le
in a b lu e version th a t rem ains tru e to th e o rig in a l ca rto o n d esig n and an ultra
evil red version, these tw o little te rro rs are each o th e r's sw orn archenem ies. This
set w ill b e available in th e th ird w ee k o f S e p te m b e r at th e S u p e rs to re in San
Francisco and a t w w w .su p e r7 store .co m .
THE JOURNEY
TO MECHA
SUPER7 X MARMITT
GIANT MECHAGODZILLA
In late O c to b e r, Super7 and th e Japanese vinyl savants a t M a rm itt w ill release
th is 14-inch m a s te rp ie c e o f G o d z illa 's iro n c la d cousin, M e c h a g o d z illa . C ast in
c rysta l c le a r re d vinyl, and d e c o ra te d w ith b lack, silve r a nd g o ld spray, th is is a
to y th a t m o s t m o n s te r fans and to y heads w ill n o t w a n t to miss. O n ly 75 pieces
w ill b e released w o rld w id e , b u t Super7 su bscrib e rs ta ke h e a rt— a n o th e r e d itio n
o f th is fig u re m ay b e m a de ju s t fo r you. K eep yo u r eyes p e e le d .
TOY
NEWS
v.14 0 5
BLOODY AND
UNBOWED
THE MELVINS HAVE THE QEE
TO YOUR HEART
Toy2R has te a m e d u p w ith u n d e rg ro u n d m usic h e a v y w e ig h ts th e M elvins to
b rin g you th e 8 -in c h m e ta llic g ree n M e lvin s Q ee. The la te s t fig u re in th e second
series o f th e O X -O P line (a g a lle ry in M in n e a p o lis , M inn e so ta o w n e d by Tom
H aze lm yer o f A m p h e ta m in e R eptile R ecords) th e M e lv in s ' Q e e is d a rlin g b u t
d e m e n te d , d rip p in g b lo o d and lim ite d to 5 00 fig ure s.
U tiliz in g th e b e a r b o d y ty p e o f th e Q e e p la tfo rm , th e to y was d e s ig n e d by th e
w ife o f M e lv in s ' fro n tm a n and g u ita ris t Buzz O s b o rn e . "C u te v io le n c e is always
n ic e ," O s b o rn e b e g in s. " M o s t o f o u r fans a re n 't aware o f th e se s o rts o f to ys so
it s h o u ld b e an eye o p e n e r...a t lea st w e h o p e !"
S ta rtin g in S e p te m b e r, th e b an d w ill sell th e 8 -in ch Q e e on to u r in s u p p o rt o f
th e ir la te s t release H o u d in i Live 2 0 0 5 : A Live H is to ry o f G lu tto n y a n d Lust on
Ip e ca c R ecordings. The b an d is c u rre n tly hard a t w o rk re c o rd in g a fu ll le n g th
o f a ll-n e w m a te ria l title d A S enile A n im a l s e t to ro a r w o rld w id e th e firs t w eek
o f O c to b e r. A ske d a b o u t th e b a n d 's c o n tin u e d n o to rie ty and a lo n g e v ity th a t
b e g a n in th e early '8 0s, O s b o rn e says " W h o know s? W e ju s t like d o in g it."
SHAWN OF THE DEAD
WHAT’S COOLER THAN A NINJA?
A ZOMBIE NINJA
The brain s b e h in d Shaw nim als, Shawn S m ith has g ive n us p le n ty o f h a n d m a d e
p lush gem s. Son o f M o u s ta c h io - th e m o u s ta c h e w ith a m o u sta ch e - and, th e
lo v a b le p in t-size d killer, W ee N in ja, b e in g ju s t tw o e xa m p le s. B u t w h e re d o e s
his in s p ira tio n co m e fro m ?
"W e always try to ta ke th in g s b e y o n d w h a t p e o p le e x p e c t. W ith W e e N in ja, we
ju s t th o u g h t, 'O k , th e re 's th is h ig h ly s k ille d assassin g o in g o u t a t n ig h t k illin g
p e o p le ... w h a t if it was sm all and c u te ? ' T h e b ack sto rie s, and th e ir d e v e lo p
m e nt, are also h u g e ly im p o rta n t to us. T h e N in ja to w n s to ry lin e is p a rt o f an
e p ic g o o d versus evil p lo t th a t's c o n s ta n tly e v o lv in g ."
The Z o m b ie N injas are th e la te s t tw is t in th e ta le. H aving b ee n tric k e d in to in
g e s tin g sap fro m th e tre e s o f th e D ark Fo re st by M r D e m o n , a h a n d fu l o f ninjas
have b een tu rn e d evil. A n d if th a t w a s n 't b ad e n o u g h , M r D e m o n 's a tte m p ts
to e x tra c t th e ir ninja p row e ss has le ft th e m z o m b ifie d . Poor b lig h te rs . It makes
you w a n t to g iv e th e m a hug even m o re, w w w .sh a w n a n im a ls.co m
TOY
NEWS
06
* 14
BASIC TRAINING
RECENT GOODNESS FROM SECRET BASE JAPAN
D ea th B arbarian
insid e o f th e fig u re . V is ib le th ro u g h th e s o ft vinyl, th e plush inn e r b o d y a dd s a
Secret Base has b eco m e fam ous fo r cre atin g co ol flip s on th e ir existin g s o ft vinyl
new d im e n s io n to th is a lre a d y p o p u la r toy. The h e a d e r card fo r th e to y teases
ch ara cters. The D eath B arbarian show n here m arks th e fo u rth ve rsio n o f th is
fo u r o th e r M ask-Ranger fig ure s, all w ith d iffe re n t colors p o p p in g fro m th e center.
p a rtic u la r fig u re . The d e sig n o f th is s c u lp t seem s to ta ke re fe ren ce fro m classic
m o n ste r m o vie s such as C rea tu re o f th e Black Lag o o n and The M ysterians, b u t
P h a ntom 8 M an C o c o b a t Jo e v e rs io n
th e c h a ra cte r is c o m p le te ly o rig in a l. D ea th B arbarian fe a tu re s a b lu e , yellow ,
From in s p ira tio n to im ita tio n , The C o c o b a t J o e Phantom 8 M an has arrive d .
and g ree n p a in t schem e w ith a special a d d itio n to th e space h e lm e t. A sh o t
S ecret Base re c e n tly d ro p p e d tw o ve rsions o f th e se P hantom 8 M an 12" fig ure
cra ckin g th e v is o r makes ro o m fo r a h and p a in te d s p la tte r o f p a in t th a t oozes
c o stu m e s th a t p ay h o m a g e to th e la n d m a rk C o c o b a t Jo e d e s ig n e d by Pushead.
fro m th e eye. The s p la tte r is u n iq u e on e ve ry o ne o f th e to y s in th is run. It may
T h e re are even g re e n c lo th s h o rts th a t are nea rly id e n tic a l to th o s e seen in th e
seem like th e sto ry has e n d e d fo r th is c re a tu re fro m space, b u t ju d g in g fro m
o rig in a l C o c o b a t J o e d e s ig n . O f co urse , th e re was m o re than o n e version o f
th e S ecret Base release style, h e'll b e back.
C o c o b a t Joe, so S ecret Base s te p p e d th e ir release up and o ffe re d th e TakeS hit ve rsio n to th e ir fa n c lu b , w h ile th e Skull Flead J o e version was so ld to th e
Plush A m o e b a M an Skull Brain
g e n e ra l p u b lic . If y o u 're lucky e n o u g h to have an o rig in a l C o c o b a t Joe, th e n
In th e tra d itio n o f past Secret Base th e m e releases, com es th e M ask-Ranger series.
you n ee d to g e t th is c o stu m e . If you d o n 't have C o c o b a t Joe, th e n you should
For th is to y , a p lush alien kn o w n as A m o e b a M an, w ith a b s tra c t b o n e s and a
g e t th is c o stu m e . Even if you d o n 't like 12" fig u re s , w h o cares? J u s t g e t th is toy.
w in n in g sm ile inva d e s th e b o d y o f a c le a r b lu e Skull Brain, fillin g th e h o llo w
It's th a t co ol.
PYRAMID POWER
JAPANESE TOY MAKER MURAKOSHI
From th e d e p th s o f Japanese sub c u ltu re com es a new and d iffe re n t to y
tw o inches ta ll and rele a se d in sets o f tw o . So fa r th re e d iffe re n t c o lo r variants
c o m pany: M urakoshi. M urako sh i's firs t toys, H a p p y Bird a nd P ira b o t, are
o f H a p p y Bird have b ee n released. P ira b o t is m o re d iffic u lt to c a te g o riz e suc
ju s t as in fo rm e d b y th e c u rre n t w ave o f in d e p e n d e n t to ys as th e y are b y classic
c in ctly. It seem s to have b een b o rn in w e ird s -v ille and g ro w n u p in w h a t-th e -
a d v e rtisin g ch ara cters, tin ro b o ts , and ta tto o s . But M urakoshi is n o t try in g to
hell to w n , b u t it so m e h o w it e n d e d u p liv in g in s u p e r-c o o l-c ity . F o rm e d in s o ft
be th e n e x t p o w e r p la ye r in th e to y g am e ; it is o n ly a sm all p ro je c t to realize th e
vinyl and b a re ly re a ch in g th re e inches ta ll, P ira b o t is ju s t a tria n g le on n o n -m o v
s o ft vinyl visions o f o n e p e rso n , H iro yu ki M u raka m i. This in d e p e n d e n t s p irit is
ing w he e ls w ith s tu b b y arms, an antenna and b u g g e d o u t eyes. Four colors o f this
tru ly e vid e n t in th e se unusual cre atio n s. The H a p p y Bird is a sim p le re n d e r
cute little ro b o t are a v a ila b le d ire c t fro m th e c o m p a n y and a t s e le c t Japanese
ing o f a small sw allow , also know n as th e b ird o f h ap p ine ss, w hich was m ade
to y c o n v e n tio n s . For m o re in fo check o u t h ttp ://m u ra k o s h i2 2 .h p .in fo s e e k .c o .jp /
fa m o u s b y sailor ta tto o s and m o d e rn ve rsions o f classic flash a rt. This to y is
STORIES IN VINYL
ANRAKU-ANSAKU HAS
SOMETHING TO SAY
A n ra k u A n s a k u A n im a tio n S tu d io was s ta rte d w he n th e o w n e r's w o rk as an
a n im a to r fo r th e Ja panese show c a lle d Sazae-san e n d e d . He th e n to ile d on
va rio u s m anga and le a rn e d w e b s ite a n im a tio n . He a lre a d y had a lon g tim e love
fo r kaiju to y s and m o vie s, so he s ta rte d to m ake his a n im a tio n in c o rp o ra tin g
a m ix o f G o d z illa and G am era a lo n g w ith g e n e ra l h o m a g e to all kaiju m ovies.
These s h o rt w e b -frie n d ly a n im a tio n s fe a tu re p e o p le ru n n in g scared, p e rp le x e d
new scasters, a chicken w in g e d g o d z illa fly in g a ro u n d d e s tro y in g s tu ff, a w eird
p an d a w ith a tie , a nd a g ia n t o c to p u s risin g fro m sp e c k le d w ater. O n e has to
w o n d e r w h o e x a c tly is th is man th a t's c re a tin g such m adness. W e ll, A n raku
A nsaku is th e o w n e r's m o n ik e r —- a nam e w e ll s u ite d fo r a Japanese
a n im a tio n c o m p a n y b e ca u se it cam e fro m an a n c e s to r w h o s e rved as a s to ry
te lle r to T o y o to m i H id e y o s h i, th e g re a t le a d e r w h o u n ifie d Japan in th e late
1500s. Today, A n ra k u A nsaku is s te a d ily m a kin g n oise in th e Ja panese to y
scene w ith th e release o f tw o tw e lv e -in c h to y s (G o g a m e zilla and U n d e rg ro u n d
O c to p u s Z o ro m e d a le ), five d iffe re n t m ini to ys, and in te rn a l orga n accessories!
All o f these have been cast in s o ft vinyl in a p le th o ra o f c o lo r variants. N ext up is
tw o e ig h t-in c h toys, one m ini toy, a new large size fig u re and several new variants
o f th e ir c u rre n t releases. For m ore info check o u t h ttp ://w w w .a n ra ku a n s a k u .c o m /
TOY
NEWS
08
v ' 14
CEREAL THRILLERS
GENERAL MILLS’ MONSTER CEREAL
GET THE MEDICOM TREATMENT
Stick y o u r m uesli. Sod y o u r oats. T h e re was o n ly ever o n e tru e a c c o m p a n im e n t fo r S aturday m o rn in g c a rto o n s - a b ow l
o f a rtific ia lly -fla v o re d , h y p e rg ly c a e m ia -in d u c in g cereal. A n d w h ile m any ca m e to m arket, fe w w ere d e v o u re d w ith such
love as G eneral M ills' M o n s te r C ereals.
Sure th e y ta s te d g o o d , b u t it was Fran ken b e rry, Boo B erry a nd C o u n t C ho cu la th e m se lve s th a t really fo u n d a p lace in
o u r hearts. W h a t's m o re th e ir p la y fu l ta ke on th e m o nste rs o f th e s ilve r screen still a p p e a ls to a h ug e array n o s ta lg ic c o l
le c to rs in th e US and fu rth e r a fie ld . In fa c t, B o u n ty H u n te r's Skull Kun to y is base d on F ra n ken b e rry's skeleton.
N ow , M e d ic o m is g iv in g us th e chance to e m b ra c e o u r inn e r c h ild o nce again. F rankenberry, B oo B erry and C o u n t
C ho cu la K u b ricks w ill h it th e shelves in O c to b e r in s ta n d a rd a nd g lo w chase e d itio n s . U n fo rtu n a te ly , W o lfm a n send up,
F ru it B rute, th e fo rth m e m b e r o f th e M o n s te r C ereals team d o e s n 't seem to have m a de th e cut. If th a t's n o t b la ta n t antily c a n th ro p ic s e n tim e n t, w h a t is? P e titio n y o u r senator.
AT THE DRIVE IN
FRANKENBERRY HAS
A LICENSE TO ILL
You m ay a lre a d y kn ow him , th a t ko o k y scion o f sugar cereals fro m th e 1970s
c a lle d Fran ken b e rry. N ow , Funko is g iv in g th is am azing a d v e rtis in g c h ara cter
th a t a d o rn s G e n e ral M ills cereal b oxe s a h o t vinyl tr ib u te c o m p le te w ith a fresh
new set o f w heels. W ith a b o b b le head a tta c h e d to a s p rin g , th is F rankenberry
to y is a g re a t w ay to c e le b ra te y o u r s im u lta n e o u s love o f c h a ra c te r c u ltu re and
s w e e t b re a k fa s t tre a ts w ith o u t ca using cavities.
Playful Ingredients
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In tro d u cin g e ig h t n ew p illo w d e sig n s fro m D ora D rim alas
at H ybrid -H o m e . All o f o u r p illo w s are a vaila ble in a range
o f colors, and th e d esigns are sure to bring an elem ent o f fun
to any interior. Radial, P ick U p S ticks, Square-O ne, Deer You,
S ecret Service, A ir Traffic C o n tro l and B irds o f a Feather
view ed a t w w w .H y b rid -H o m e .c o m .
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S7
TALK
Brian Flynn was b o rn in th e m id s t o f a h u rrica ne
in 1875. A ft e r s p e n d in g his fo rm a tiv e y e a rs u n
d e ra c h ie v in g a t va rio u s tasks, he d e c id e d th e
w o rld was n o t re a d y fo r his fo rw a rd th in k in g
v is io n o f th e fu tu re a n d w as c r y o g e n ic a lly
fro z e n u n t il 1994. A f t e r re a w a k e n in g , B ria n
h it th e s tre e ts , a n d d e c id e d th a t ru lin g th e
u n iv e rs e th r o u g h th e h id d e n m y s tic is m o f
a rc a n e S ta r W a rs re fe re n c e s , b in a r y p u ls a r
ra d io e m is s io n p a tte r n s , v in ta g e J a p a n e s e
vin yls a n d C o c a -C o la was th e o n ly w a y to g o .
H e is th e p u b lis h e r a n d o w n e r o f S up e r7
m agazine, a w o rld -cla ss d e s ig n e r a n d a h ig h le v e l to y c o lle c to r.
S u p e r7 s to re in San F ra n cisco
MONSTER FACTORY
RARE JAPANESE VINYL FOUND IN THE WILDS OF TEXAS
Unfortunately, th a t line was rarely u tte re d w hile I lived in Texas. In fact, Japanese
n ig h t b e fo re C hristm as, w ith th e p it in y o u r stom ach fro m a firs t d ate a d d e d in
to y s w ere d o w n rig h t d iffic u lt to fin d in any ca pa city, m uch less in th e Lone
fo r g o o d m easure. A fte r c lim b in g stairs to th e to p flo o r, I saw a sm all s tru c tu re
Star sta te in 1990. The va st m a jo rity o f my c o lle c tio n at th a t tim e cam e fro m
w ith a w o o d e n d e c k and entra nce w ay. It fe lt like I was tre s p a ss in g w alking
tra c k in g d o w n every b a c k w o o d s flea m a rket, G o o d w ill, yard sale, c o m ic b o o k
across th e ro o f to a n o th e r b u ild in g , b u t th e o n ly th in g th a t k e p t m e g o in g
s h op and Japanese fo re ig n e xchange s tu d e n t th e s ta te had to o ffe r. W h e n I
was th e lo n g line o f J u m b o s a lo n g th e w alk w ith s ix -fo o t Kam en R ider and
had th e m oney, I p icke d u p all I co u ld fin d fo r th e n e x t five years. I g o t a fe w
U ltram a n fig u re s a t each e n d , as w ell as m o re th a n a c o u p le o f d is in te re s te d
g re a t th in g s th e n , b u t m o stly I sn a g g e d S h ogun W a rrio rs, G o d a ik in s , and th e
cats w h o w ere o b v io u s ly used to v is ito rs . Finally re a ch in g th e d o o r, it was
o ccasional Bandai vinyl. The fe w tru ly v in ta g e Popy o r B ullm ark to y s th a t I had
e v e ry th in g I had h ea rd o f and m o re. The space was tiny, m aybe 20 square
w ere tre a te d like g o ld , se e m in g ly lo s t in Texas b y p u re h a p p e n sta n c e . A lo n g
fe e t, w ith to y s p ile d in e v e ry c o n c e iv a b le n o o k and cranny. D isp lay cases
th e way, I le a rn e d o f th e tw o H o ly G ra il sh op s in th e US fo r Ja p a n e se to y
w ere fu ll o f v in ta g e tin and d ie -c a s t. Shelves b e h in d th e c o u n te r ja m m e d so
c o lle c to rs — th e n ow d e fu n c t Pony T o y-G o -R o u n d in Los A n g e le s, and K im on o
fu ll o f b a g g e d vinyls th a t th e y w e re sta c k e d in ste a d o f d is p la y e d , ju s t so th e y
m y H ouse in E m eryville, C A. (For th e g e o g ra p h e rs re a d in g , th a t is b e tw e e n
c o u ld fit th e m all in! I s p e n t h ou rs lo o k in g a t e v e ry th in g , try in g to d e c id e
O akland and Berkeley a t th e base o f th e Bay B rid g e h ea d ing into San Francisco.)
w h a t to b u y firs t; my b ra in was so o v e rlo a d e d ! O n th a t firs t tr ip I b o u g h t my
Back th e n Ja pa n was ju s t a m y th , and I o n ly had h ea rd o f o n e p e rs o n ever
firs t tw o tric y c le fig u re s , G ra n d iz e r and G e a g , as w ell as a w in d -u p Kamen
g o in g . N atura lly, th e tw o sta te sid e sto re s w ere sp oke n o f in h ushed w o rd s —
R ider p la s tic ca r a nd a fe w tin y to y s w ith th e m o ne y le fto v e r. O n successive
w o rd s th a t fa scin a te d all o f us w h o had n o t y e t had th e chance to go.
trip s I b o u g h t as m any to y s as I c o u ld , fillin g u p on tric y c le s , sp arkers, vinyls,
ro b o ts and G o d z illa .
By far, th e m ore e nig m a tic o f th e tw o shops was K im on o my House. The stories
spoke o f th is little haven tu c k e d in a maze o f n o n -d e s c rip t w are h o use s, w he re
In th e d e c a d e since, K im on o has b e c o m e less o f th e to y M ecca it o nce was.
you had to c lim b fo u r flig h ts o f stairs, e x it to th e ro o fto p , and cross th e ro o f to
The J u m b o s lin in g th e w alk have s low ly d is a p p e a re d , m o s t like ly by c o lle c to rs
a sm all little house on th e o th e r side. It was like a m o d e rn d a y tre a su re m ap.
n e e d in g spare p arts. O n e o f th e tw o large Kam en R ider fig u re s was stolen,
A d d e d to th a t, th e ru m o rs th a t th e ro o f p a th was lin e d w ith b ro k e n J u m b o
th o u g h th e g ia n t U ltram a n still sta n d s b o ld ly , even if he loo ks a b it ta tte re d .
M a c h in d e rs (a.k.a. th e la rg e S h o gu n W a rrio rs) a lo n g th e e n tire ro u te was
The v in ta g e to ys, e x c e p t fo r th e occasio n al d ie -c a s t, have lon g d is a p p e a re d ,
u n fa th o m a b le . It was hard e n o u g h to scra pe to g e th e r my o n e Ju m b o , so th e
th o u g h th e shelves are s till fu ll o f o d d b a ll fig u re s , play sets and various item s.
idea o f a v irtu a l arm y o f th e m was b e yo n d im a g in a tio n . O n e year, a fe w frie n d s
The frie n d ly s h o p k e e p e r Yuji is still b e h in d th e c o un ter, and w illin g to chat
o f m ine d e c id e d to m ake th e p ilg rim a g e to K im o n o m y H ouse. By c a llin g
w h e n e v e r you like. I s till s to p b y o ccasio n ally, th e p it in my sto m a ch always
d ire c to ry assistance, th e y g o t cru d e e n o u g h d ire c tio n s , and h e a d e d o u t in a
re tu rn in g w hen I c lim b th e stairs to th e ro of. I kn ow th e re is m o s t likely n o th in g
b e a te r car fo r a 24 h o u r s tra ig h t-s h o t d riv e -a -th o n (each way) o ve r a th re e -d a y
w a itin g fo r m e th e re a nym o re , it has b een years since I b o u g h t a n y th in g , b u t I
w ee ke n d. I s cro u n g e d w h a t little m o ne y I had to g e th e r, and h o p e d th a t th e y
like to re m e m b e r w hen I c o u ld n o t ch oo se b e tw e e n th e to ys I w a n te d to buy,
w o u ld fin d s o m e th in g m y $30 c o u ld buy. U pon th e ir re tu rn , I re ce iv e d a fe w
and I c o u ld n o t w a it u n til I c o u ld re tu rn again.
P opy ru b b e r erasers o f S u p er R ob o ts so m e U ltram a n c a n d y to ys, a Bandai
G o d zilla and a fe w o th e r o d d s and ends. I was e n th ra lle d , e s p e cia lly as I
lo o k e d a t e v e ry th in g e ve ryo n e had b o u g h t.
To th a t p o in t, I h o p e o n e day, p e o p le can say th e sam e th in g a b o u t th e Super7
s to re in San Francisco. W e b u y th e to y s w e w ish we c o u ld s till fin d w hen we g o
s h o p p in g . But it is n o t ju s t th e to ys. It is th e b oo ks, th e m agazines, th e shirts,
It was n o t u n til I m o ved to O re g o n fo r w o rk th a t I was a ble to fin a lly g o and
th e a rt, th e zines, and th e sense o f it all. W e h o p e th a t you g e t th a t sam e e x
see th e sh op m yself. F o llo w in g th e sam e cru d e d ire c tio n s , I fin a lly lo c a te d th e
c ite m e n t o f n o t k n o w in g w h a t you w ill fin d w hen you w alk in th e d o o r. So, s to p
n o n d e s c rip t w are h o use on H ollis A ve n ue . I was n ervous. It s o rt o f fe lt like th e
by s o m e tim e and le t us kn ow h ow we are d o in g . I h o p e you like it.
T h o u g h y o u m a y n o t b e fa m ilia r w ith th e n am e
Oka Narue, w hen y o u h e a r th e lis t o f Japa ne se
to y s th a t th is d is tin g u is h e d g e n tle m a n has
m a d e y o u w ill u n d o u b te d ly flip . W h e th e r he's
cra n kin g o u t o b scu re v in yl toys fo r Take-shit's
p u n k b a n d C o co b a t o r n e w G le n D a nzig fig ures,
O ka fills his days to ilin g aw ay as a to y p ro d u c e r
fo r M e d ic o m Toy c o m p a n y in Ja pa n. O h yeah,
he's also th e in v e n to r o f a lit t le to y lin e c a lle d
Kubricks. M a y b e y o u 'v e h e a rd o f it.
MOTES FRO M THE
UNDERG ROUND
DRESSED TO KILL
H e llo e v e ryo n e . T h e re are m any c o o l c o s tu m e s fo r 12" fig u re s
on to d a y 's Ja p a n e se to y m a rk e t, b u t th is tim e I w a n te d to
discu ss so m e o f th e c o s tu m e s th a t I w as h a p p y to m ake b e fo re
th is b e ca m e a tre n d . In 1998, a fte r ta lk in g w ith va rio u s Ja panese
m a ga zin es a b o u t th e re le a se o f o u r C o c o b a t J o e 12" fig u re
w hich was b a se d on P u sh ea d 's d ra w in g s fo r o n e o f T a k e -s h it's
alb u m co vers, w e d e c id e d to p ro d u c e sp e cia l p rize o u tfits fo r
th is to y th a t m agazine readers c o u ld enjoy. O n e o f th re e d iffe re n t
tic k e ts w e re a tta c h e d o n th e in s id e o f th e C o c o b a t J o e p a cka g e ,
and d e p e n d in g o n w h ich o n e you g o t, you c o u ld w in o n e o f
th e s e th re e co stu m e s:
TAI X JUTSU O U T F IT
R U M IN A SATO O U T F IT
D E V ILO C K O U T F IT
This o n e is base d on th e tra in in g u n ifo rm fro m a
This o u t fit a c tu a lly le d us to p ro d u c e th e
This is an o rig in a l c o s tu m e m a d e on b e h a lf
m a rtia l a rts d o jo w h e re T a ke -sh it a n d I w o rk e d
R u m in a -B o rg fig u re la te r d o w n th e ro a d . A ll
o f th e Ja p a n e se fa s h io n b ra n d D e v ilo c k — a p
o u t a t th e tim e . You kn ow , th e b la ck tra in in g
th e o ffic ia l c o s tu m e s o f d iffe r e n t s h o o t fig h te rs
p ro v e d by th e c o m p a n y 's c re a to r, Endo. Endo
u n ifo rm is re la tiv e ly rare. This was a p rize fo r
w e re p ro d u c e d in th e sam e w ay as th is set.
is also k in d e n o u g h to sell m y c lo th in g line,
w in n in g re ad e rs o f F inem ax m a ga zin e.
It w as c re a te d as a p riz e fo r re a d e rs o f Relax
G ra p p le , a t his b o u tiq u e in To kyo . It was
m a ga zin e.
a va ila b le as a p riz e to re a d e rs o f C o o l Trans
S7
TALK
12
V-14
H id d y is th e o w n e r a n d d riv in g fo rc e o f Ja p a n 's
p r e m ie r b o u tiq u e to y c o m p a n y, S e c re t Base.
S e c re t Base has b e e n p r o d u c in g s o m e o f th e
m o s t in v e n tiv e fiv e -in c h v in y l to y s o n th e p la n e t
a n d th e re 's n o e n d in s ig h t. In each issue o f
S u p e r7 . H id d y w ill b e s h a rin g h is th o u g h ts
w ith his ra p id ly g ro w in g le g io n o f US fans.
HOUSE OF SECRETS
HANGING WITH HIDDY
W e lco m e to a n o th e r e d itio n o f H ouse o f Secrets! H ere are a fe w o f th e m any item s th a t I have b een c o lle c tin g lately
p lus a fe w th in g s th a t I have b ee n m a kin g fo r m y s h op in H arujuku. I h o p e th a t you e njo y seeing th e m . First up (1), this is
th e p e rfe c t Bruce Lee b o o k b y Mr. N akam ura, p re s id e n t o f th e USA S h o oto A sso cia tio n . (2) N ext, check o u t th is special
p ro m o tio n a l rin g th a t w e m ade w ith o u r frie n d s Balzac and N ew Japan Pro W re s tlin g . I had th is on d is p la y a t San D ie g o
C o m ic C on th is year, th o u g h it was n o t fo r sale! (3.) A q u a N e t Nikes? So c o o l. (4.) The Balzac Skullm an and Pushead
S ku llp ira te fig u re s are tw o o f my fa v o rite to y s to co m e o u t th is year. Each o f th e se w ere h a n d -p a in te d at th e fa c to ry
and are ve ry m e ticu lo u s ly d o n e . (5.) T h in k o f th e se tin y S ecret Base fig u re s like o ld -s ty le g a ch a p on to ys o r th e vin ta g e
erasers so ld in Japan. (6) M e d ic o m 's 10th A n n ive rsa ry K u b rick is aw esom e. H ap p y anniversary to M e d ic o m and to my
frie n d , O ka, w h o in ve n te d K ubricks all th a t tim e ago. (7) The new A m o e b a M an vinyl to y w ith plush in s e rt has b een a b ig
h it w ith S ecret Base fans in Japan. I h o p e you e njo y th is fig u re to o . (8) Japanese to y and v id e o g am e com pany, Taito,
m ade th is plush o f th e final b oss fro m th e 3 5-y e a r-o ld Space In va d er gam e. T hey even o ffe re d to make th is fo r a unique
S ecret Base e ve n t! (9) This is a p r o to ty p e sam ple o f th e M ad Star, d e s ig n e d b y C ha rlie B. fo r my b ro th e r Kenny's to y
co m pa n y, M ad Toyz. (10) The 13th Day o f Fear S kullbee sets w ere a h ug e success! For fo u r c o nse cu tive m o nth s on the
13t day, Secret Base released th e se S kullbees plu s c o o l t-s h irts d e s ig n e d b y Take-shit, H iro G rim m , U ssugrow and Saga
C h a n g — fo u r o f m y fa v o rite a rtists. (11) Finally, because I am a b ig fan o f Pushead's, T ake-shit's and Oka's o rig in a l C o c o
b a t Jo e fig u re , I m a de th e s e P hantom 8 M an and C o c o b a t Jo e fan c lu b 12-inch fig u re s e xclusively fo r S ecret Base.
S7
TALK
, , 4 1 3
jre u flrfc T 2- 1
te rn s z. 4- 5
k m tz
&£ihV'
GARBAGE DIGGER
METAL MEMORIES
Ta ke-shit is th e c re a to r a n d bass p la y e r f o r th e
In th e 1970's Popy's h it d ie -c a s t m e ta l C h o g o k in to ys in flu e n c e d several c o m p a n ie s to cre ate sim ila r m etal toys
Ja p a n e s e h a rd c o re b a n d C o c o b a t, as w e ll as
re fe rre d to as G o kin g a ku . Even B ullm ark, a c o m p a n y th a t is m o s t fa m o u s fo r its s o ft vinyl kaiju, beg a n m aking th e ir
a c o lu m n is t f o r W a rp J a p a n a n d C o o l T ra n s
m o n ste rs in m e ta l. T h e re was also Z in cron , A rk , w h o m a de M a ruta Kaiju, and M arushin, w h o s ta rte d m a kin g a new line
m a g a z in e . H e 's n o to r io u s ly a d d ic t e d t o a ll
o f m e ta l kaiju ca lle d M a chin e G okins.
th in g s
H e n s h in
C y b o rg ,
M ic r o m a n
and
D e vilm a n a n d his to y c o lle c tio n is so in sane
it w o u ld m a ke y o u w e e p . H e has a ls o b e e n
in v o lv e d in th e c re a tio n o f m a n y to ys o v e r th e
years in c lu d in g th e h ig h ly in flu e n tia l F in k-S h it
If I was asked to ch oo se ju s t one G o k in kaiju as m y fa v o rite , it w o u ld b e K em lar b eca u se o f it's sm o o th and m a rv e l
ous c o lo r w hich re sem b le s th a t o f 1960's H o t W h e e ls — th o s e g re e n , g o ld and red c o lo rs are g re a t! I also b e lie v e th a t
M arushin C o.'s lib e ra l use o f g o ld is th e key to th e b rillia n c e o f th e s e to ys. These w ill leave a nyone w ith a sense o f
figure, M e d icom 's C o co b a t Joe, M icrom an-style,
n o sta lg ia fo r th is era m e sm erize d. A ls o th e g im m ic k th a t G a ru b an and M echa G o rilla e m p lo y e d is th a t th e head and
M ic ro -S h it to y s a n d B e@ rb ricks.
b o th arm s are d e ta c h a b le by use o f a m a g n e t— th is was a v e ry c o o l fe a tu re as w ell.
I o n ce th o u g h t th a t Takara also s o ld th is p a rtic u la r k in d o f toy, b u t th a t was w ro n g . Perhaps th a t was som e co nfu sed
c h ild h o o d m e m o ry. W h a t m a de m e se co n d g uess was a c a ta lo g c o n ta in in g a d ic tio n a ry o f m o s tly B ullm ark kaiju th a t
s u g g e s te d a re la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n M arushin and B ullm ark. I have m e n tio n e d th is to frie n d s , w o n d e rin g if o th e r c o m
pan ie s ju m p e d in to th e m e ta l kaiju fo ld , b u t I am alw ays d is a p p o in te d b eca u se I can o n ly v e rify th e th re e lin e -u p s th a t
I've m e n tio n e d . Still, I have to w o n d e r w h a t o th e r m e ta l g em s m ig h t b e o u t the re .
O rig in a l Fake C o m p a n io n / M e d ic o m
DIVIDE
CONQUER
T H E A R T O F K A W S IN S O F T V IN Y L
By Super7 Staff / Photography by KAWS
Kaws is th e m o s t c e le b ra te d a rtis t to e m e rg e fro m th e '9 0 s N ew York g ra ffiti
scene, his w o rk g ra c e fu lly and b o ld ly in filtra tin g th e w o rld s o f a dve rtisin g, fash
ion and to p a rt g alle rie s across th e g lo b e . W h e th e r yo u 've seen his early illegal
w o rk s th a t p la y fu lly m a n ip u la te d b ig -tim e a d v e rtis e m e n ts in NYC, o r yo u 've
a d m ire d his d e s ig n s fo r th e m o s t p o p u la r Ja panese fa sh io n b ra n d , A B athing
A p e , chances are th e w o rk o f th is p ro lific N ew Jersey n ative has p e rm a n e n tly
e tc h e d its w ay in to y o u r subconscious.
In th e p ast fe w years, Kaws has b e c o m e e q u a lly w ell know n fo r his s o ft vinyl to y
creations. P roducing his fig u re s in Japan w ith Japanese com pany, M e dico m , and
d is trib u tin g th e m to his w o rld w id e fan base th ro u g h his ow n w eb site , Kawsone.
co m , Kaws c o n s is te n tly k e ep s his to y d e s ig n s fre sh , w h ile s till d e liv e rin g th e
n e ce ssa ry re p e titio n to c re a te c o n n e c tiv ity a m o n g his u n ive rse o f ch ara cters.
C le a rly, his e ffo r ts are p a y in g o ff. D e s p ite an in c re a s in g ly c ro w d e d d e s ig n e r
to y m arket, fans e n g a g e in a v e rita b le fe e d in g fre n zy o v e r every new Kaws' to y
re le a se — th e y 're (lite ra lly ) like sharks to fresh chum . C halk at least p a rt o f this
success u p to th e fa c t th a t Kaws' is c o n s id e re d a tru e in n o v a to r in th e fie ld fo r his
firs t fig u re , th e '9 9 C o m p a n io n , w hich b ro k e new g ro u n d and h e lp e d pave th e
w ay fo r to d a y 's to y m a rke t. N ow , w ith th e o p e n in g o f his new Tokyo b o u tiq u e ,
O rig in a lF a k e , and th e release o f his D isse cte d 5YL C o m p a n io n fig u re , Kaws is
o n c e again c la im in g u n c h a rte d te r r ito r y and in s p irin g masses a lo n g th e way.
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
C hu m / C le a r / 3 60 ° Toy G ro u p
C hum 4 00 % K u b rick / S ilver / M e d ico m
C hum / Black / 360 ° Toy G ro u p
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
v. 1 4 1 y
C o m p a n io n 1999 / L ig h t g re y / B o u n ty H u n te r
I ALSO LIKE THE IDEA OF
MAKING SOMETHING THAT
BOTH CHILDREN AND
ADULTS CAN RELATE TO
FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.
SUPER7: Before you m ade your own toys, w e re you in terested in collecting?
W h at is it abou t m aking toys th a t appeals to you?
KAWS: P rior to m a kin g m y ow n fig u re s, I was n eve r in te re s te d in to y s as a c o l
lector. I n ever p urch a se d a to y w ith h o p e s th a t it w o u ld increase in value. As a
kid, th e to ys th a t I o w n e d really had a lastin g im p re ssio n on m e and I e n jo y e d
p la c in g th e m a ro u n d my ro o m . Today it is no d iffe re n t w ith th e to ys I receive
fro m frie n d s o r th e ones I m ake m yself. O n ce I re ceive th e m th e y g o in to my
b o o k s h e lf o r on a w in d o w s ill and o cca sio n a lly g e t m o ve d a ro u n d u n til th e y fin d
th e ir p e rfe c t s p o t. I e njo y m a kin g to ys b eca u se th e re is alw ays a ch a lle n g e to
tu rn in g a d ra w in g in to a scu lp tu ra l fig u re . I also like th e idea o f m a kin g s o m e
th in g th a t b o th c h ild re n a nd a d u lts can re la te to fo r d iffe re n t reasons.
W hen you m ade your first figure for Real M ad H ectic in Japan, did you have
any idea th a t it would becom e as popular as it has, and th a t m ore p eop le
m ight begin to recognize you for your toys as opposed to your art?
Never, I had no idea th a t th is is s o m e th in g th a t I w o u ld b e c o m e e x tre m e ly in
te re s te d in and c o n tin u e to fo cu s on. For m e a t th e tim e it was a o n e s h o t deal.
Both your C om panion and Futura's M o' W ax toy m ade p eop le think d iffe r
ently about toys— they really help ed define th e notion o f toys as a rt. H ow do
you feel abou t w here th e vinyl to y w orld has gone since tho se days?
I d o n 't w o rry to o m uch a b o u t w h e re th e "v in y l to y w o rld " is g o in g . I th in k it
m ig h t b e a p o s itiv e th in g if th a t b u b b le b u rsts. It se e m e d fo r a w h ile th a t e v e ry
o ne w h o ever d id a d ra w in g had a to y c o m in g o u t b u t n o w I th in k it is s lo w in g
d o w n o r cre a tin g it's o w n m a rke t th a t is se p a ra te to th e eyes o f a lo t o f th e
p e o p le th a t have b een c o lle c tin g o ve r th e years.
Has th e increasingly huge dem and fo r your toys a ffec te d how you w ork on
them in term s o f th e frequency o f your releases, your prices and your creative
process?
N o, n o t at all. I am ju s t in te re s te d in try in g to make so m e th in g th a t is g o o d by
my stan d ard s. I have k e p t th e sam e a p p ro a ch since th e b e g in n in g e x c e p t th a t
n ow I have m ore e x p e rie n c e w ith kn o w in g w h a t th e p o s s ib ilitie s are and how
I can try to push th e m . A lso, I fe e l th a t each fig u re I m ake is a re a ctio n to th e
e xistin g ones.
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
v .i4 -|g
C o m p a n io n 5 Years L ater / D ark G re y / M e d ic o m
I TRY TO KEEP A NICE
BALANCE BETWEEN
HONESTY AND IRONY.
W hen p e o p le bo o tle g your toys, does it b o th e r you?
I d o n 't lose slee p o v e r it.
Similarly, do you see your figures as an a ffo rd a b le way to own your art?
In a way, yes, b u t th a t's n o t w hy I m ake th e m . I o n ly c o n tin u e to m ake th e m b e
cause I love th e w ay m y d ra w in g s tra n s la te in th e s o ft vinyl m a te ria l. If o n e d ay I
fe e l m y w o rk w o u ld lo o k b e tte r in a n o th e r m e d iu m I w o u ld s to p using s o ft vinyl
th a t sam e day. I d o also like to e x p e rim e n t w ith o th e r processes w hen I th in k
th e re s u lt w o u ld w o rk b e tte r fo r e x a m p le th e C H U M was m a de b y b lo w m o ld
and th e BENDY w as a b e n d y to y w ith case m a d e b y in je c tio n m o ld .
W h en tran sferring your a rt and characters into toy form , do you ever fe el like
som e o f your original spirit and in ten t gets lost?
N o.
You always use th e sam e sculptor for your figures, with th e exception of the
Kaws VS Pushead piece, on which you used one of Pushead's favo rite toy
sculptors, Cosm o Liquid. Can you tell us th e nam e of your sculptor and w hat
is it ab o u t him or her th a t keeps you com ing back?
His nam e is Sakurai a nd he is p a rt o f PERFECT-STUDIO a t M e d ic o m Toy. I d o n 't
th in k I n e e d to e x p la in w h y I w o rk w ith him ; his w o rk speaks fo r its e lf. I also
c o n s id e r him a g o o d frie n d and a g re a t p e rs o n . I alw ays fe e l it is im p o rta n t to
w o rk w ith s o m e o n e w h o re ally u n d e rs ta n d s w h a t you w a n t a nd cares a b o u t
w h a t th e y do.
In your w ork you play with and m anipulate po pular cartoon and advertising
characters. Is th e re then a playful irony fo r you in using your im ages to make
oth er products?
I tr y to k e e p a nice bala n ce b e tw e e n h o n e s ty and Irony.
W h a t toys or characters have influenced your own w ork in toys? W h at did you
play with in your youth th a t le ft a lasting impression?
I really like lo o k in g a t all c h ara cters, b o th 2-D a nd 3-D . It d o e s n 't m a tte r to me
if I k n o w it's h is to ry o r n o t, th e re are ju s t c e rta in d e s ig n s I re s p o n d to . If I learn
m o re a b o u t th e c h a ra c te r la te r a nd it's in te re s tin g th a t's a plus, b u t even if it's
n o t in te re s tin g and th e c h a ra c te r was o n ly d e s ig n e d to p ro m o te a to ile t b ow l
c o m p a n y th a t w e n t o u t o f business th e n I'll s till like it all th e sam e. W hen I was
y o u n g e r I really like d Sm urfs. I can s till re m e m b e r th e sm ell o f th e p la s tic used
fo r th e m u s h ro o m house.
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
2 0 v,4
Since w e focus heavily on Japanese character culture in th e m agazine, can
you tell us abou t your interest in A stro Boy and th e catalyst fo r your original
A stro Boy figure? W h at is it abou t Tezuka's creation th a t inspired you to work
\
/
w ith th e design?
Tezuka O sam u is re s p o n s ib le fo r so m e o f th e b e s t c h a ra c te r d e s ig n in history.
I alw ays lo v e d th e s im p le d e s ig n o f his ch ara cters. S im ple c h ara cters are th e
m o s t in te re s tin g b eca u se th e y d o n 't leave any ro o m fo r m istake. If th e re is one
e le m e n t to th e m th a t is o ff it really stands o u t, b u t if it is p e rfe c t if gains th is
in d e s c rib a b le a ttra c tio n .
H ow does th e idea o f distaste fo r general com mercial culture
fa cto r into
your work? Your choice to m anipulate tim eless cartoon and advertising char
acters suggests som e skepticism.
I have alw ays b ee n a s k e p tic since I was a little kid. I th in k you n eed to b e in th is
w o rld . I d o n 't b la m e th e c a rto o n ch ara c te rs th o u g h ; I ju s t th in k so m e o f th e m
have b a d m anagers.
Let's talk abou t OriginalFake, your new bo utiq ue in Japan. W h a t will you be
selling th e re and why did you open in Japan as opposed to NY, LA or SF?
O rig in a lF a k e is an o u tle t fo r th e c re a tiv e p ro je c ts b e tw e e n M e d ic o m Toy and
m yself. W e ch o o se to m ake th e sto re in T o kyo because m o s t o f o u r p ro d u c ts
are m a d e in Japan and T o kyo has always b ee n a v e ry in s p irin g p lace fo r me.
M a y b e o n e d ay w e w ill m ake a sto re in NY o r LA b u t fo r n ow we are fo c u s in g on
m a kin g th is o n e sto re th e b e s t it c o u ld be. W e are w o rk in g on m any d iffe re n t
p ro je c ts fro m c lo th in g to fu rn itu re and scu lp tu re .
Perhaps this is obvious, but why did you choose th e nam e OriginalFake?
I fe e l th is n am e d e s c rib e s my w o rk w ell.
The giant anatom ical C om panion at O riginalFake reveals a human elem en t to
your figure. W as this p a rt o f your intention, or was th e piece m ore of a nod to
Dam ien H irst, th e British artist known for his exp erim ental anatom ical works?
Please tell us m ore.
The n am e O rig in a lF a k e d ea ls w ith tw o c o n tra s tin g sides and I w a n te d to create
a s c u lp tu re th a t re fle c te d th a t. A ls o I w an te d p e o p le to th in k m ore a b o u t th e
fig u re s I have m a d e in th e p ast. A fte r s o m eo n e sees th is s c u lp tu re I th in k th e y
w ill always lo o k a t th e C o m p a n io n fig u re d iffe re n tly , and m ig h t s ta rt to im agine
w h a t th e insides o f th e A c c o m p lic e w o u ld lo o k like o r so m e o f th e o th e r past
fig ure s.
In term s o f your fashion w ork, will you continue your line with A Bathing Ape?
O r will you focus solely on item s for OriginalFake?
I d e s ig n e d th re e seasons fo r A B a th in g A p e and th e re w ere no plans to d o
m o re even b e fo re I kn ew th a t w e w o u ld o p e n O rig in a lF a ke. D e s ig n in g th e Bape
s tu ff w as a g re a t e x p e rie n c e fo r m e and I fe lt I le a rn e d a lo t fro m it. O rig in a l
Fake is also p ro v in g to b e a le a rn in g e x p e rie n c e , th e re are so m any th in g s I
n eve r th o u g h t a b o u t b e fo re d o in g th is p ro je c t, b u t M e d ic o m has a g re a t team
w o rk in g w ith m e to p ro d u c e e v e ry th in g and h an d le all th e d e ta ils.
Your recent collaboration w ith Pushead sent th e whole toy w orld into a col
lecting frenzy. Since th e n , you've released your collaboration w ith Reas. Both
o f these pieces w ere dive rg e n t for you stylistically. A re planning to do more
collaborative toys in th e future?
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
v.14
A c c o m p lic e
/ /
Pink
B litz
M e d ico m
B litz
B litz
■
HIV
/ /
/ /
/ /
C lear
G re e n
Blue
M e d ic o m
M e d ic o m
M e d ic o m
SIMPLE CHARACTERS ARE
THE MOST INTERESTING
BECAUSE THEY DON’T
LEAVE ANY ROOM FOR
MISTAKE.
fT |
1
..J K H w
I ' I
■■ ..
.
'
m
mm
21
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
2 2 v-14
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
2 4 v' 14
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A
SKEPTIC SINCE I WAS A
LITTLE KID. I THINK YOU
NEED TO BE IN THIS
WORLD.
i m a te d
/ b oo ks.
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
v-1425
C o m p a n io n / Pushead c o lla b o ra tio n / Bronze / M e d ic o m
C o m p a n io n / Pushead c o lla b o ra tio n / S ilver / M e d ic o m
C o m p a n io n / Pushead c o lla b o ra tio n / Black / M e d ic o m
C o m p a n io n / Pushead c o lla b o ra tio n / G lo w / M e d ic o m
DIVIDE &
CONQUER
26 v'14
Bendy 2 0 0 3 /
P ro d u c e d b y M e d ic o m Toy
KAWS Toy C he cklist
Red (C o le tte m e e ts C o m m e d e s G arcons Version) - e d itio n o f 500
B lue - e d itio n o f 500
%
*
1
^
'
\
m
m . <1
■m m
V 4B
G reen - e d itio n o f 500
Y ellow - e d itio n o f 500
Black - e d itio n o f 500
' •
Pink - e d itio n o f 500
t%
v
Blitz 2 0 0 4
•
/
P ro du ce d by M e d ic o m Toy
C le a r - e d itio n o f 500
* *
i
B lue - e d itio n o f 500
%$
\
G re e n - e d itio n o f 500
Com panion (5 years later) 2 0 0 4
/
P ro du ce d b y M e d ic o m Toy
#1
* *
B row n - e d itio n o f 500
G re y - e d itio n o f 500
Com panion 1999
/
G reen G ID - e d itio n o f 500
P ro du ce d b y B o u n ty H un te r
Blue G ID - e d itio n o f 500
N o rm a l ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 500
L ig h t ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 500
KAWS W ood Bearbrick 2 0 0 5
D ark ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 500 (show n above)
Kubrick bus shelter set 1-5 2 0 0 2
/
/
4 00 % S olid w o o d - e d itio n o f 500
P ro du ce d b v M e d ic o m Toy
Com panion (Pushead Version) 2 0 0 5
Accom plice 2 0 0 2
/
Pink ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 1000
Black ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 500
/
P ro d u c e d b y M e d ic o m Toy
Bronze - e d itio n o f 150
S ilver - e d itio n o f 500
G ID - e d itio n o f 500
Chum 2 0 0 2 /
G reen O rig in a l Fake ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 500
P ro du ce d b v 360 Tov G ro u p
Bearbrick O riginal Fake 2 0 0 6 /
C lear - e d itio n o f 1000
Y ellow - e d itio n o f 500
W h ite - e d itio n o f 500
Black - e d itio n o f 500 (all sign e d )
Series 4 Bearbrick 2 0 0 2 /
100% version
4 00 % version
1000% version (first B e a rb rick p ro d u c e d in 1000% size)
Chum Kubrick 4 0 0 % 2 0 0 2 /
100%
4 00 %
1000%
The Twins (by, REAS & KAWS) 2 0 0 6 /
G litte r B itch ve rsio n - e d itio n o f 150
B row n - e d itio n o f 500
BXH KAW S-KU N / Bounty H u nter & O riginal Fake 2 0 0 6 /
P ro d u c e d by M e d ic o m Toy
Bearbrick C hom pers 2 0 0 3 /
W h ite - e d itio n o f 200
100% & 4 00 % set
1000%
Com panion (O riginal Fake version) 2 0 0 6 /
P ro d u c e d by M e d ic o m Toy
V ^l
ATONOD
THE
A GOOD GIMMICK NEVER DIES
By Brian Flynn/Photography by Courtney Patubo
It was th e early '70s, and A m e rican p o p u la r c u ltu re was hallm arked by m axim um m achism o. C hest hair was
co nside red high fashion, m e d a llio n necklaces w ere m andatory, and h ip -h u g g in g b e llb o tto m s flared like
sunspots. M eanw hile, Japan was in th e h e ig h t o f a ch a ra cte r design e xplosio n. W h ile classic tin toys were
still b e in g m ade o f o ld e r characters, new vinyl fig u re s w ere p u m p e d o u t as fa st as possible, c a p tu rin g th e
essence o f th e new er p o p u la r characters o f th e day. In a d d itio n to s ta nd ard style vinyl toys, com p an ies began
cranking o u t fig ures w ith g im m icks ra n gin g fro m m issile firin g m echanism s to lig h t-u p heads, carving o u t
an e n tire ly new niche in th e Japanese to y m arket. O n e such co m p an y ca lle d N akajim a w h o le h e a rte d ly
e m b ra ced th e a rt o f g im m ic k toys, releasing th e ir A c tio n Boy line; th o u g h , th is line is g en erally refe rre d to
by m ost co lle cto rs as th e N akajim a N o d d e rs.
A NOD
TO THE
PAST
3 0 * '4
In seem ing response to th e p o p u la rity o f Takara's Henshin C ybo rg line, Nakajima
A n o th e r fa irly easy s e t to c o m p le te is th e Z one F ig h te r g ro u p o f fo u r fig ure s.
in tro d u ce d th e ir 10" A c tio n Boy p la tfo rm toy. Based on a stylized hum an figure,
C o n s is tin g o f th e h ero Z one Fighter, his fe m a le c o u n te rp a rt Zone A n g e l, th e
th e to y lo o ke d sim ila r to Takara's 12" fig ure s, th o u g h it had a c u te r lo o k and a
c h ild lik e Zo n e J u n io r and th e evil G a ro g a, th e se fig u re s seem to have been
p la yfu l g im m ick. Each A c tio n Boy fig u re had tw o b u tto n s on th e b o d y — one
rele a se d in even q u a n titie s , w ith no fig u re c a rry in g a p re m iu m over th e others.
at th e w aist (usually h id d e n by a b e lt) and th e o th e r on th e back o f th e fig u re
W ith a ffo rd a b le p ric e ta g s , d y n a m ic costum es, a w ild lo o k in g villa in , and th e
b e tw e e n th e sh o u ld e r bla d e s. As you p ressed e ith e r b u tto n , th e fig u re 's head
s im p le fa c t th a t Z one F ig h te r was o n e o f th e fe w te le v is io n show characters
w o u ld nod up and d ow n , o r le ft and rig h t, d e p e n d in g on w hich b u tto n you
to fig h t a lo n g s id e G o d z illa , th e se n o d d e rs are p e re n n ia lly d e s ira b le item s.
p resse d . Up u n til th e tu rn o f th e c e n tu ry,
th e se n o d d in g to y s re m a in e d in re la tive
U n fo rtu n a te ly , fo r m any US c o lle c to rs and
o b s c u rity . It was o n ly in re c e n t years th a t
nosta lg ia nuts, th e m o s t re c o g n iz a b le set o f
n o d d e rs such as th e rare A s tro -M u and
G a tch a m a n series m a de it on th e h o t lists
o f in flu e n tia l co lle c to rs .
Released in large w in d o w boxes, these figures
can usually b e fo u n d w ith all o f th e ir acces
sories in ta c t. The m o s t c o m m o n ly m issing
ite m s are th e g lo ve s, a nd w he n a p p lic a b le ,
th e capes, as th e se are fa irly easy to slid e on
THESE FIGURES ARE
THE GATEWAY DRUG
FOR MOST NODDER
COLLECTORS
OUTSIDE OF JAPAN.
n o d d e rs , G atcham an (know n as B a ttle o f th e
P lanets in N o rth A m e rica ), is also one o f th e
m o s t expensive. Luckily, th e m ain h ero o f the
show and m o s t p o p u la r character, Eagle Ken
(also kn ow n as M ark), was p ro d u c e d in much
h ig h e r q u a n titie s th a n th e rest o f th e fig ure s,
and can be tra c k e d d o w n in a reasonable
a m o u n t o f tim e . Eagle Ken is an expensive
fig u re , th o u g h n o t w hen c o m p a re d to th e
and o ff. The b e lts, b o o ts , m asks and suits are
rest o f th e G atcham an line. For th e rem ain in g
rarely m issing, as all o f th e se fa ste n e d m o re
fig u re s in th e set, s im p ly fin d in g an exam ple
tig h tly to th e toys.
o f th e fig u re is a b ig e n o u g h h u rd le . C o n d o r Joe (Jason), Swan Jun (Princess),
The m o st c o m m o n ly fo u n d n o d d e rs S ta te sid e are th e seven ch a ra cte rs based
J o e and O w l Ryu s lig h tly m o re p re v a le n t than th e im p o s s ib le to fin d Swan Jun
on th e Japanese TV show , R ainbow m an. Im p o rte d in to Haw aii, th e s e fig u re s
and S w allow Jin p e i.
S w allow J in p e i (Keyop) a nd O w l Ryu (Tiny) are rarely ever seen, w ith C o n d o r
are th e g ate w a y d ru g fo r m o st n o d d e r c o lle c to rs o u ts id e o f Japan. W ith a
c o lo rfu l lin e -u p o f ye llo w , o ra n g e , b lu e , g ree n , g o ld , b ro w n and w h ite , th e se
S lightly easier to fin d than th e final fo u r Gatcham an figures, b u t m ore obscure, and
seven d iffe re n t fo rm s o f R ainbow m an m ake an a p p e a lin g lo o k in g set, and
to many, m ore desirable, are th e N akajim a custom created hero series, A stro -M u .
can be tra cke d d o w n in a fa irly s h o rt a m o u n t o f tim e . The w h ite R ainbow man
C ast in tra n s lu c e n t tin te d p la s tic a nd v in y l w ith v is ib le m echanism s and p ip e
is th e e asie st to fin d o f th e lo t, w ith th e g o ld Dash-5 and b ro w n ish ro ck-esq u e
c le a n e r in s e rts , th e s e fig u re s have b ee n a h ig h ly g u a rd e d s e c re t q u e s t fo r
Dash-6 b e in g th e h a rd e st to tra ck d ow n .
o n ly th e m o s t h a rd e n e d c o lle c to rs . (See Super7 issue #1 fo r a fu ll o v e rv ie w o f
A s tro -M u .) C re a te d s p e cifica lly fo r th e A c tio n Boy p la tfo rm , A s tro -M u was d e
v e lo p e d in te rn a lly a t N akajim a to c o m p e te w ith to ys based on sentai p ro g ra m s
(Team hero shows a la S h o ta ro Ish in im o ri's G o R anger o r Power Rangers in th e
US). The five h ero fig u re s, all refe ren ce s to p la n e ts in th e so la r system , fig h t a
race o f alien invaders led by th e d ia b o lic a l D evil Bado. T h e m ain c h a ra c te r o f
th e g ro u p , A s tro -M u Earth, as w ell as th e b lu e tin te d M ars-m an seem to be th e
easiest fin d , w ith Jupi-R os, S a tu rn -A and th e fe m a le G o ld Vena m o re d iffic u lt
to tra ck d o w n . W ith o u t a d o u b t th o u g h , th e h a rd e s t fig u re to fin d is th e evil
D evil Bado. W ith his re m o va b le o u te r brain and skull and cro ssbo n e s ch est
p la te , D evil Bado in any c o n d itio n co m m an d s a h e fty p rice ta g th a t can leave
even th e m o st re sou rce fu l c o lle c to rs e m p ty han d e d.
To make th e q u e st fo r a c o m p le te A s tro -M u c o lle c tio n slig h tly trickier, Nakajim a
later issued all o f th e A s tro -M u fig ure s on b lis te r cards w ith a se t o f m issile firin g
arm s in ste a d o f th e usual vinyl arm s. Th e se fig u re s co m e w ith s p e c ific c o lo r
co d e d shoulders, as w ell as a new b e lt and m issile holder. To a ccom p a n y these
loose m issile firin g b o d ie s, in d iv id u a l suits w ere also issued on b lis te r cards,
m a kin g spare p a rts s lig h tly easie r to fin d th a n usual, w ith w ith o n e n o ta b le
e x c e p tio n . The m issile firin g D evil Bado was issued w ith a clea r b rain instead
o f th e norm a l re d and b lu e brain, m a kin g th e m o s t e lusive A s tro -m u fig u re
even h a rd e r to fin d in it's m issile firin g va ria tio n .
Using th is m issile firin g arm m echanism , N akajim a issued tw o m o re n o d d e rs ,
th e a n im a tio n c h a ra cte r H urrica n e Polym er, and th e live a c tio n R ob o t Mach
Baron. Both fig ure s, released la te r in th e n o d d e r run, are still re la tiv e ly easy to
fin d , even in boxes, b u t m any tim e s have th e d e lic a te m issile fiin g m echanism s
o f th e arm s b roke n , so m e tim e s w h ile still in th e b o x. The m ach Baron, w ith its
clea r b o d y style and re d su it is a p o p u la r to y a m on g a ficio n a d o s.
U n fo rtu n a te ly, th e n o d d e r s to ry ends all to o soon. D e sp ite its n o v e lty at th e
tim e o f its release, th e n o d d in g fig u re ju s t c o u ld n 't to p p le th e c o m p e titio n •
and th e c o n c e p t was a b a n d o n e d b e fo re it co u ld e ve r ta ke h o ld . O n ly re c e n tly
have th e fig u re s g a rn e re d a p p re c ia tio n fo r th e ir u n iq u e s ty le — c h a m p io n e d by
a new g e n e ra tio n o f co lle c to rs . N o w it seem s th a t e ve ryo n e is n o d d in g th e ir
heads in a g re e m e n t th a t th e se to ys are am azing.
Top R ight: A b o v e , Three o f th e fo u r Z one F ig h te r n o d d e rs. Zone Fighter, G a ro g a a n d Zo n e A n g e l. A b o v e : From le ft to rig h t: H urrica ne Polym er, M ach Baron. The
c o m p le te se t o f seven R ainbow m an n o d d e rs. Dash-3, Dash-1, Dash-4, Dash-7, Dash-5, Dash 2 a n d Dash-6. (P hoto p ro v ie d b y Kirk Taniguchi)
A NOD
TO THE
PAST
A b o v e : A c o m p le te s e t o f six
A s tro -m u n o d d e rs (m inus a few
accessories). From le ft to rig h t:
M ars-M an, Saturn-A, Top: D evil-Bado,
Jupi-R os. B o tto m : Earth, G old-V ena.
L e ft to rig h t: F o u r o f th e five
G atcham an n o d d e rs . Swan Jun,
O w l Ryu, C o n d o r Jo e a n d Eagle Ken.
G old-V ena a n d Jupi-R os A s tro -m u
m issile firin g bod ie s.
C H E C K Y O U R H E A D : T h e c o m p le t e N a k a jim a N o d d e r C h e c k lis t R ainbow m an 1 . Dash-1, Snake, yellow
Plant, green
5.
Dash-5, Phoenix, g old 6. Dash-6, Earth, rock
(With single lightning bolt)
4 . Garoga
7.
(Enemy). G atcham an (B a ttle o f th e Planets in U S ): 1 . Eagle Ken aka Mark
Jinpei aka Keyop 5. Ow l Ryu aka Tiny. A s tro -M u :
1 . A stro-m u
2.
Dash-2, Fire, orange
Dash-7, white. Zone F ig h te r: 1 . Zone Fighter (Featuring tw o lightning bolts)
Earth, n od d e r b od y
n odder b od y 6. Devil-Bado, n o d d e r body. A s tro -m u (m issile b o d ie s )
missile b od y 5. Saturn-A, missile b o d y 6. Devil-Bado, missile body.
1.
1.
2 . Gold-Vena,
n od d e r b o d y
A stro-m u Earth, missile b o d y
M ach Baron. v H u rric a n e Polym er.
2 , C ondor
3 . Mars-Man,
2 . Gold-Vena,
Joe aka Jason
n od d e r b od y
3 . Dash-3,
2 . Zone
3 . Swan
Water, blue
A ngel (girl)
Jun aka Princess
4 . Jupi-Ros,
4 . Dash-4,
3 . Zone
Junior
4 . Swallow
n od d e r b od y
5 . Saturn-A,
missile b od y 3. Mars-Man, missile body
4 . Jupi-Ros,
CLASSIC
METAL
3 4 v'14
CLASSIC METAL
TETSUJIN 28 IS FOREVER
By Super7 Staff
G iant ro b o t anim e has b ecom e so cliched th a t even th e new est shows from Japan
parody th e p la ye d -o u t p itfalls o f this tim e -te ste d genre. Long g o n e are th e days
In the 2004 Tetsujin 28
film , a techno-terrorist
b e n t on com puterizing
the human race faces
o ff against the worlds
first g ia n t robot, T-28.
w hen a hero c o n tro lle d a tita n iu m tita n ju s t to b a ttle evil th e g o o d o l' fa shioned
way. A nd that's just p art o f th e reason th a t G eneon E ntertainm ent's current DVD
release o f th e 2004 Tetsujin 28 live-action m o vie is so relevant. T h o u gh th e film
is a dea d -o n hom age to th e classic co m ic strip and anim a te d show o f th e same
nam e co m p le te w ith slick p ro d u ctio n values, it can also be seen as a ca lling card
to current anim ators, film m ake rs and co m ic artists to push th e e n v e lo p e once
again— regardless o f th e genre th e y may choose.
The h isto ry o f th is b e lo v e d 'b o t d a te s b ack to 1956, w hen th e late M its u te ru
Yokoyam a created th e Tetsujin 28 m anga. W h ile th e insp ira tio n fo r th e robot's
design is ro o te d in a 1943 p olitica l cartoon title d The Science W a rrior A p p ea rs
in N ew York b y R yoichi Y okoyam a, no o n e had e ve r seen o r read th e likes o f
Tetsujin 28 w hen it was released. In fact, T-28 is considered b y m anga historians
to be th e very first g ia n t ro bo t. A classic in every sense, fro m its b rillia n t sim plicity
o f design to its tim eless allegorical tale, T-28 becam e an a nim ated series in 1963,
spaw ning various sequels o ve r th e years.
In th e o riginal story, th e Japanese scientist, Dr. H aneda, created an experim ental
ro b o t d u rin g W o rld W ar II to b a ttle w ith th e Allies. Before th e m echanical man
c o u ld b e used to d e fe n d Ja pa n , how ever, H aneda's la b o ra to ry was b o m b e d ,
killing Haneda in th e blast. N early a d ecade later, g argantuan ro b o ts su ddenly
began co m m ittin g crim es across Japan. Dr. H aneda's yo un g son, Shotaro, sets
o u t to d isco ve r his fathers lost w ork, th e tita n ic w arrio r T-28, w hich he u ltim a te ly
locates and com m ands by rem ote control. As it turns out, th e troublesom e g ia n t
robots th a t w ere causing th e a fo re m e n tio ne d prob le m s w ere fa ile d experim ents
fro m Shotaro's father's laboratory. N aturally, o n ly th e in n o ce n t b o y co u ld s to p
these abom inations using T-28 because Dr. Haneda desig n ed his creation so th a t
his own son w ou ld be able to use it best. A cautionary sym bol against th e horrors
o f w ar at a tim e w hen such a message was d e e p ly necessary, Tetsujin-28 was an
instant h it in Japan. (In th e US, T-28 was released und e r th e title Gigantor.)
Essentially, th e new live-action m ovie adheres closely to this orig ina l fram ew ork,
w ith a fe w m in o r tw is ts on th e th e m e . T h is tim e o u t, little S h o ta ro (p la y e d b y
Shosuke Ikematsu) lives alone w ith his m o th e r and w e're o ffe re d a h eartrending
glim pse in to his life a t school and h om e a fte r his father's dem ise. He's p ortraye d
as a yo un g man who's fo rce d to com e to term s w ith th e strange circum stances o f
his father's death and th e burden o f his ro bo t-co n tro llin g legacy. Soon enough, he
This child p ro d ig y helps
reb u ild Tetsujin 28 to ba ttle
the forces o f evil.
is forced to use Tetsujin in a fa ce -o ff against a b rillia n t te ch n o lo g ic a l te rro ris t and
another keenly desig n ed g ia n t ro bo t, Black O x. The enig m a tic villain o f th e story
has a h idden agenda th a t involves revenge on Shotaro's fa m ily and th e c o m p le te
c o m p u te riz a tio n o f th e hum an race— a p lo t p o in t th a t b e g in s to b o il n ea r th e
ce n te r o f th e film and d o e s n 't le t u p u n til th e final b a ttle b e tw e e n Tetsujin and
Black O x. It's all e m o tio n a lly ca p tiva tin g eno u g h, b u t th e tru e surface d e lig h t o f
th e m ovie com es in a fe w w o n d e rfu lly anim a te d CGI ro b o t battles in w hich b u ild
ings are p um m e le d, th e Tokyo Tow er gets tw iste d into a pretzel and little Shotaro
learns to stand on his own tw o fe e t as a man.
W h ile th is film has b een c ritic iz e d fo r b e in g sq ua re ly a im e d a t c h ild re n , th e re
is m ore th a n e n o u g h a lle g o ry and h is to ric a l s u b te x t here to c a p tiv a te d is c e rn
Im m ediate rig ht: The cast,
characters and m agnificent
mecha o f Tetsujin 28.
ing adults. Besides, even if it is a film fo r c h ild re n , it w orks q u ite n ice ly on th a t
level— from its clear-cut m oral messages and its brisk b u t never to o v io le n t action.
Even m ore, th e film is an excelle nt vehicle fo r M itsuteru Yokoyama's core concepts
and d esigns— it's am azing to see his clean, sim p le ro b o ts m o ve so flu id ly in this
m o de rn co nte xt. A n d u ltim a te ly, th a t b rin g s us to th e g re a te st stre n g th o f this
m ovie, and o f Tetsujin 28 at large.
Yokoyam a's vision o f a te c h n o lo g ic a l w arrio r th a t w o u ld fig h t fo r peace spoke
volum es o f his own life and tim es. It is arguable th a t this rarely happens in m odern
IT'S AMAZING TO SEE YOKOYAMA'S
CLEAN AND SIMPLE DESIGNS
MOVE IN THIS MODERN CONTEXT.
ro b o t shows, w ith creators o p tin g m ore fo r playful in-jokes m ade strictly fo r fans
o f th e g enre. (W hile 1994's E va n ge lio n in a d v e rte n tly re flecte d th e social clim a te
in Japan, th e o n ly g ro u n d b re a kin g g ia n t ro b o t anim e since 1978's G undam , it
was still th e d e e p ly personal vision o f H ideaki A nno th a t to o k ce nte r stage.) Even
as th e new T-28 m ovie u pd a te s b y inco rp o ra tin g issues o f to d a y such as artificial
in te llig e n c e and clo n in g , th e th e m e s o f th e o rig in a l T-28 rem ain universal— from
th e responsible use o f te c h n o lo g y to th e triu m p h o f th e hum an s p irit against all
odds. It's exactly these ideas c o u p le d w ith Yokoyama's unique artistic vision th a t
A b o ve left: Black Ox is the
antithesis and classic archenem y o f
Tetsujin. A b o ve rig ht: Though b u ilt
d u ring W orld War II, T-28 is later
used to p ro te c t peace.
makes Tetsujin 28 im p o rta n t 50 years a fte r th e fact. If today's ta le n te d crop o f cre
ators could pay a tte n tio n to th e broa d strokes th a t Yokoyama and artists like him
laid o u t and n o t to th e surface deta ils, th e g ia n t ro b o t gen re m ig h t n o t be
th e super-sized cliche th a t it is today.
T IIV /IF
1
PLAYER
W h ile this g ia n t Tetsujin to y is fa r fro m
impressed w ith th e g irth o f this behe-
th e first T-28 to y to be p roduced, it is
m oth, then collecting jum bo-sized toys
am ong th e b ig g e s t. A va ila b le th is fall
is just n o t your cup o f tea. Look forward
from th e Level 5 G roup and standing a t
to o u r retrospective look at th e history o f
a w h o p p in g 3 6 " ta ll, if yo u are n o t
Tetsujin toys in an u pcom ing issue.
I
tv '
SEE IN ■-*
THE DARK
BALZAC RETURNS WITH AN EVOLVED
SOUND AND NEW TOYS
By Chad Hensley / Photography by Goe
THs- O c to b e r^ Ja pa n's p rem ie r purveyors on th e DVD include "G im m e Some
m
M
authenticity, B a lz a W b n t man and
o f horro r faunk return Stateside w ith
Tru th ", "In Those D ays", and "D .A .R .K ." desig n er H irosuke N ishiyam a tracked
th e ir latest <8Ibum title d D eep Blue:
ro un d ing o u t th e p ro d u ctio n . This
Chaos fro g i Darkl$*q<on M isfits Records.
release is arguably Balzac's best w o rk to
men o f a b a t fo r use in th e toy's design.
A fu ll-ten g th CD p lu ^ k r a r e bonus
date, representing a stark m aturation o f
The fig u re sold o u t im m e d ia te ly on
tracks fuel th e soffits a S sauH ^/hile a lav
th e band's signature sound and stylized
pre-order. Skullbat was p ro d u c e d in a
ish DVD boasting live f o o t a g ^ n d m y-
h o rro r im agery. In fact, w ith so much
red version lim ite d to 308 figures and a
d®wn a c o m p le te taxiderm ist's speci
sic vide o s provides a feast fo r th^S^e9>.)» to o ffe r in th e ir e n g a g in g ly aggressive
black e d itio n o f 692 figures. A variation
A lth o u g h th e Japanese version o f th is V
musical approach, it's easy to lose sigh t
op th|s same co nce p t, Balzac's new soft
Same record d ro p p e d early in 2006, fh e
o f th e fa ct th a t Balzac also creates som e
vinyl Sk'ii»llbat fig u re w ith Secret Base
supercharged US album w ill inco rp o rate
o f th e coole st and creepiest fig ure s in
was released in late A u g u s t in Japan.
\f iv e never-released tracks inclu d in g an
th e Japanese vinyl to y w o rld today.
* alternate version o f th e song "D .A .R .K l"
and "R ain", previously sold o nly in
I
Japan as a CD single. The DVD features
Balzac's incendiary live show at th e
Far fro m th e ir firs t c o lla b o ra tio n w ith
Case in p o in t: M edicom 's A to m -A g e
Secret Base, Balzac te a m e d u p w ith
Skullbat in 308. D ro p p e d in conju n ction
th e p o p u la r H arujuku-based to y brand
\ w ith th e Japanese release o f th e new
e arlier this year fo r a special b o xe d set
L iquid Room in Tokyo on A p ril 20, 2 0 0 5 1 album , th e ghoulish Skullbat sports the
th a t co nta in e d one 6 " Skullman vinyl,
professionally film e d , plus a d ocu m e n - | over-sized head o f Balzac's Skullman
one 4 " gray P aperbagm an fig h t series
tary o f th e band's first Am erican to u r
m ascot atta ch e d to th e b o d y o f a to w e r fig u re w ith rem ovable mask, and a
and a ple th o ra o f extras. M usic videos
ing 10-inch b a t skeleton. For a d d e d
m u lti-p rin t silk-screened black t-shirt.
W ith b o x art d e sig n e d b y Nishiyam a,
7 0 s . O f course, N ishiyam a says th is is
altho u g h m e m bership w ill be lim ite d to
th e set also co nta in e d b lo o d sp la t
no m ere co incidence. In fact, th e band
current m em bers o f Balzac's Japanese
te re d versions o f th e tw o gray vinyls
has already recorded a single und e r
Fiendish C lub. Special Zod ia c m erchan
random ly inserted in to th e boxes. "As
th e m o nike r o f Zod ia c and is currently
dise is currently in deve lo pm e n t.
fo r th e special b lo o d y versions, th a t was
recording a fu ll album o f m aterial set fo r
[o w ne r o f Secret Base] Hiddy's idea,"
release later th is year.
says Nishiyama. "H e p ainted them all
individually by hand. Those versions are
D uring Balzac's recent Japanese tour,
a handful o f lim ite d e d itio n toys were
"Z o d ia c has a m ore straight-ahead hard available fo r purchase. "W e had a lo t o f
extrem ely so ug h t after by to y collectors." core punk sound co m pa re d to Balzac,"
special m erchandise [fo r sale]," begins
explains N ishiyam a. " It m ig h t actu
Nishiyam a. "W e had lim ite d 'D ia b lo ck'
The Paperbagm an may co m e o ff as
ally b e closer to w h a t Balzac orig ina lly
[Kubrick-like] fig ure key chains, a special
th e darkest and m o st bizarre character
soundedlike, since I th in k Zo d ia c sounds version o f o u r Skullman [6-inch vinyl]
created by Balzac, baring resem blance
a lo t like th e M isfits, b u t m ixed w ith
fig ure , and tw o versions o f a squishy
to th e m ysterious Zod ia c K iller w ho
som e Japanese punk fla vor." The band
Skullman fig ure th a t were only available
was active in C alifornia in th e '60s and
is also plan n in g a Zodiac Fan C lub,
at certain show s."
These live perform ances featured plenty
THESE IMAGES AND SCENERY ARE
STRAIGHT OUT OF OCCULT HORROR.
o f m aterial from th e new CD including
th e raucous "D .A .R .K .", an enthralling
foray into industrial rock that's both
literally and fig ura tive ly th e focal p o in t
o f D eep Blue: Chaos from Darkism.
"D a rk is a keyw ord w hen it com es to
ou r b a n d ," says Nishiyam a, his voice
The new Secret Base vinyl Skull Bat
flanked by the M ad Toys Skullman
Bom ber and the M edicom Balzac
M onster Figure in red. The Balzac
Kubrick figures are a t the to p o f
the page.
g row ing sharper.
N ishiyam a explains th a t much o f the
m o od o f th e new CD was influenced by
a Balzac to u r th ro u gh G erm any in 2004.
"W e w e n t to a lo t o f o ld castles. We
recorded som e vide o fo o ta g e and to o k
num erous p h o to g ra p h s ." He continues
"I th in k these im ages are very g oth ic
and th e scenery was p e rfe ct fo r us since
it fe lt like it was s tra igh t o u t o f occult
horror. There was [also] a lo t o f Chris
tian imagery, like crucifixes, b u t th a t was
only part o f th e beauty."
The black and white Skullman
stands n e xt to a red and black
Secret Base Skullbee. A special
D iablok figure that was available
only on Balzac's recent Japanese
to u r is a t the to p o f the page.
"T h e d ee p , dark forests, c o m b in e d w ith
th e o ld castles le ft a very strong im pres
sion w ith m e ," elaborates Nishiyam a.
"S om e tim es, I could feel intense
sadness and sorrow w ithin th e walls o f
th e castles we visited. I feel th a t each
p h o to g ra p h [tha t com prise th e CD's
b o o k le t ] has ind ivid u a l m eaning, b u t
th e re is n o t one exact th e m e o r idea
th a t ties them all to g e th er. Some have
religious m eaning [w hile] others express
grie f, loneliness, o r fear. These are ideas
th a t Balzac incorporates all th e tim e ."
THE NEW ALBUM BOASTS A HEAVY
MIX OF EVOCATIVE IMAGES AND
POWERFUL MUSICIANSHIP.
A n o th e r influence on D ee p Blue: Chaos
"Balzac has been influenced b y many
from Darkism is glam rock as th e CD
d iffe re n t ban d s," says Nishiyam a. "I
contains a co ver o f D avid Bowie's classic have a very special place in my heart
"Z ig g y S tardust". "B o w ie is one o f my
fo r th e Beatles and th e y have inspired
all tim e fa vo rite s," exclaim s Nishiyam a.
m e m ore than any o th e r band. [But]
"I have been heavily influenced b y him
we also like T. Rex, Cream, and The
so it ju s t seem ed very natural fo r m e to
Clash. I th in k it is because o f all o f these
d o a co ver o f one o f his songs. [Plus]
w id e ly varying influences th a t Balzac
I have been influenced b y Bauhaus
is w ha t it is to d a y ." Rest assured D eep
and th e y've d o n e a cover o f 'Z ig gy
Blue: Chaos from Darkism echoes these
S tardust'."
influences, however, th e album presents
such an inventive fram ew ork o f evoca
tive im ages and pow erful musicianship,
th a t it's sure to excite b o th diehard
Balzac fans and firs t tim e listeners. <
Top row: Pass-Guard Balzac Vampire
(black), Pass-Guard Balzac Vampire
(glow), Pass-Guard Balzac Monster
(black), Pass-Guard Balzac Monster
(glow), Medicom Balzac Vampire
(red), Medicom Balzac M onster (red)
Balzac Kubrick set (black.)
Second row: Balzac Kubrick set
(black unpainted version), Balzac
Kubrick set (red version), Medicom
Paperbag Man (black), Medicom
Paperbag Man (glow unpainted.)
Third row: M edicom Paperbag Man
(red), Twim Bom ber Kid (black Balzac
version), Twin Bom ber Kid (red
Balzac version), Twim Bom ber Kid
(variant), Skull Bom ber (black), Skull
B om ber (green), Skull Bom ber (pink.)
Fourth row : Skull B om ber (purple),
Skull B o m b e r (red), M ed ico m
Skullman w ind-up (black), M edicom
Skullman w ind-up (glow unpaint
ed), M edicom Skullman w ind-up
(pink), M edicom Skullman w ind-up
(red), Balzac Be@rbrick set (white,
red, black.)
Fifth row : A sampling o f the many
Skullman vinyls (yellow, blue, red,
green, pink), Balzac Skullbee (white),
Balzac Skullbee (black + red), Balzac
Skullbee (black + white), Secret
Base x Balzac collaborative boxing
ring, Balzac Skull.
B o tto m row: M edicom RAH Paper
bag Man (white), M edicom RAH
Paperbag Man (black), M edicom
RAH Paperbag Man (red), Fiendish
Ghoul, M edicom Skullbat, Secret
Base Skullbat.
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MAC ROSS
MY H EART
H O W A N EW WAVE OF SHAPE-SHIFTING TOYS
M ESM ERIZED A GENERATION
By Roger Harkavy/Photography by Super7 Staff
Macross toys from the collections of Mark Gradwell, Egan Loo and Jeff Dey
It was 1982, and th in g s in th e w o rld o f g ia n t r o b o t a n im e w ere ch a n g in g . S p e cifica lly, th e ro b o ts th e m se lve s w ere
c h a n g in g , in to cars, planes, and e ve ry o th e r ve h ic le im a g in a b le . K ids w ere c la m o rin g fo r tra n s fo rm in g ro b o ts , and it
was th is d e m a n d c o m b in e d w ith th e p h e n o m e n o n o f anim e fe a tu rin g m o re re a lis tic a lly s ty le d ro b o ts th a t gave us
M across. R o b o t to ys w o u ld b e fo re v e r a lte re d , litera lly.
The sta g e was set in th e e arly 1980s, a tim e m any c o n s id e r to b e th e g o ld e n era o f tra n s fo rm in g to y s such as Takara's
D ia clon e . D ia clo n e and th e ir kin w ere re a l-life ve hicle s such as cars, tru c k s , and je ts th a t tra n s fo rm e d in to ro b o t w ar
m achines. W h ile th e se ro b o ts d id n 't fe a tu re th e m ilita ry s ty lin g o f th e ir a n im e -b a s e d c o n te m p o ra rie s such as G undam
o r D o u g ra m , th e ir p o p u la rity was hard to ig n o re . A n im a tio n and to y p ro d u c tio n c o m p a n ie s s ta rte d to w o rk to g e th e r
to p ro d u c e new m echa shows, o ne s th a t in c o rp o ra te d tra n s fo rm in g ro b o ts to ca p ita liz e on this.
In 1982, C h o u jiku u Yousai M akurosu (The S u p er D im e n s io n Fortress M across) p re m ie re d on Ja panese TV, and even
th o u g h it ran o n ly 36 e p iso d e s, it was c o n s id e re d a success. Takatoku Toys was th e p rim a ry to y lice n so r fo r Macross,
a nd th e y p u sh e d th e re a listic r o b o t c o n c e p t as m uch as th e y c o u ld , c o n s id e rin g th e show fe a tu re d th ir ty - fo o t ta ll
h u m a n o id aliens w ith a w eakness fo r c u te p o p sin g e rs and a 3/4 m ile lo n g m o th e r sh ip th a t tu rn e d in to a g ia n t ro b o t.
The to y p a cka g in g fe a tu re d d e ta ile d sta ts a b o u t th e ro b o ts ' d im e n s io n s a nd w ea p o ns, and a s u b d u e d p re s e n ta tio n
c o m p a re d to m any o th e r ro b o t to ys o f th e tim e . Takatoku also e n c o u ra g e d c o lle c to rs to p a in t and d e ta il th e ro b o ts like
m o d e l kits, and sh o w e d o ff c u sto m ize d ve rsio n s o f th e to y s a t tra d e show s and in p rin t ads.
The T akatoku to y lin e fe a tu re d sm all d ie -c a s t m e ta l ve rsio n s o f th e D e s tro id s , n o n -tra n s fo rm a b le ro b o ts th a t fo rm e d
th e b a c k b o n e o f th e M across' d efe nse , as w ell as several d iffe re n t ve rsio n s o f th e M across m o th e r ship. The ce n te rp ie c e
o f th e to y line, how ever, was th e 1 /55 Kanzen H en ke i (P e rfe c t T ra n s fo rm a tio n ) V alkyrie, th e r o b o t o f ch o ic e fo r th e ace
p ilo ts o f th e show . The to y c h a n g e d fro m a je t th a t re s e m b le d a m o d e rn -d a y F-14, to a b ird -le g g e d GERW ALK m o de ,
to a rifle -b ra n d is h in g ro b o t. T akatoku d e e m e d th e line p e rfe c t because o f th e fa c t th a t n on e o f th e to y s ' p a rts n e e d e d
to b e re m o ve d o r sw a p p e d d u rin g tra n s fo rm a tio n s . F u rth e rm o re , th e ro b o t m o d e d id n 't ju s t lo o k like a c o n v e n ie n tly
a rra n g e d h o d g e -p o d g e o f je t p a rts; in ste a d it lo o k e d like a re a lis tic m ilita ry m achine. This was d u e to th e skill o f th e
V alkyrie 's d esig n er, Shoji K aw am ori, w h o c u t his te e th d e s ig n in g Takara's D ia c lo n e to ys.
L eft: Every 1 2-year-old b o y in Ja pa n w a n te d th is 1/55 scale VF-1S m a d e b y Takatoku w hen it was re le a se d in th e '80s
A b o v e : The 1/55 scale VF-1J b y Takatoku is a n o th e r p o p u la r to y a m o n g M across buffs. F o llo w in g S pread: The tra n s fo rm in g
SDF-1 space s ta tio n m a d e b y B andai in 1984 s till insp ires aw e a fte r a ll th is tim e.
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MY
HEART
4 6 v’4
SEVERAL SHOWS FEATURING
TRIPLE-CHARGING ROBOTS
FOLLOWED, BUT NONE OF
THEM PRODUCEDTHESONIC
BOOM THAT MACROSS DID.
Like its s u p e r ro b o t p red e ce sso rs fro m th e 1970s, th e V alkyrie (and th e to y
M e an w h ile , in th e U n ite d S tates...
co m pa n y) also b e n e fite d fro m th e c o n c e p t o f th e p o w e r-u p . A set o f a rm o r
...m ovie and te le v is io n p ro d u c tio n c o m p a n y H arm o n y G o ld had a p ro b le m .
was sold th a t could be c lip p e d o n to th e ro b o t m o de to create a b ulky A rm o re d
It had lice n se d th e M across series, b u t was fa ce d w ith a h u rd le w hen try in g
V alkyrie. A n o th e r sle e ke r se t o f a rm o r th a t c o u ld b e w o rn w h ile th e ro b o t
to g e t it on A m e ric a n TV s ta tio n s: d a ily sy n d ic a te d shows w ere e x p e c te d to
tra n s fo rm e d gave th e o w n e r a "S u p e r" V a lkyrie . T a ka to ku 's Kanzen H enkei
run 65 e p is o d e s o r m ore. S im ulta n e ou sly, a n o th e r A m e ric a n com pany, Revell,
line w o u ld la te r fe a tu re ro b o ts fro m S asuraiger, O rg u ss and D o rv a c k , b u t
was lo o k in g fo r w ays to p ro m o te its line o f R ob o te ch m o de ls, w hich fe a tu re d
n one o f th e successors w ere as successful as th e v e n e ra b le V alkyrie, th o u g h :
im p o rte d Ja panese kits (fro m shows M across, Orguss, and D ougram ). H arm ony
Takatoku so ld o ve r o n e m illio n u n its o f th a t to y alone. The M across to y b o o m
G o ld re ach e d an a g re e m e n t w ith Revell to use th e ir b ra n d name, p u lle d tw o
w a s n 't e n o u g h to ca rry Takatoku th ro u g h th e rest o f th e 1980s, th o u g h , and
a d d itio n a l Ja panese show s (S ou th ern Cross a n d M ospe a d a) fro m its archives,
p o o r business d e cisio n s lead to th e ir d e m ise in e arly 1984.
and an 8 5-e p isod e series was born. R obotech d e b u te d on Am erican TV in 1985.
The sum m er o f 1984 saw th e release o f o n e o f th e m o st in flu e n tia l m o vie s in
M a tc h b o x was g ra n te d a license to p ro d u c e toys, and rushed to sto ck store
anim e h istory, M akurosu: A i O b o e te Im asuka? (M across: D o You R e m e m b e r
shelves w ith re p a c k a g e d ve rsio n s o f th e o rig in a l Takatoku M across toys. The
Love?), a re te llin g o f th e events o f th e TV series u sing b ig -b u d g e t a nim a tio n
d ie -c a s t D e s tro id s m a de an a pp e a ran ce , th is tim e w ith m o re b rig h tly c o lo re d
te c h n iq u e s. Toy g ia n t Bandai ca p ita liz e d on th is b y a c q u irin g th e m o ld s fo r
T actical C o rp s ve rsio n s o f th e ro b o ts . Th re e s u p e r-d e fo rm e d Valkyrie to ys (now
m any o f T akatoku's M across to ys. U sing th e s e th e y p ro d u c e d a fe w in te re s t
c a lle d V e rite ch s) also a p p e a re d , b u t th e classic Kanzen H enkei to y s w o u ld
ing va ria n ts on th e o rig in a l V alkyrie: a set o f c lip -o n a rm o r th a t m a de a Strike
never b e s o ld in th e US u n d e r th e nam e R ob o te ch . A t th e same tim e , M a tc h b o x
V alkyrie, a S u p er O strich tra ine r, and an E lin tse e ke r sco u t c ra ft. By g o in g th e
p ro d u c e d a ll-n e w toys, in c lu d in g la rg e r scale D e s tro id s , a c tio n fig u re s o f th e
extra m ile to realize th e se sp ecia lize d d e sig n s in p la stic, Bandai p ro v e d th e ir
h ero ch ara cters, and ve hicle s fo r th e heroes. A m o n g th e ve hicle s was a V eritech
c o m m itm e n t to th e realism o f th e series a nd e n d e a re d th e m se lve s to o ld e r
th a t d id n o t d e liv e r; a lth o u g h it cam e w ith a set o f "S u p e r" b o o s te rs to c lip on,
c o lle c to rs th e same w ay Takatoku had, tw o years earlier.
th e ve h ic le was stu ck in je t m o de .
Bandai d id d ip in to th e M across w ell tw o m o re tim e s in th e n e x t six years
M a tc h b o x also d id s o m e th in g a little d a rin g by try in g to m a rket th e characters
to p ro d u c e tw o a d d itio n a l to ys: o n ce w hen it a d d e d th re e V a lkyrie varia n ts
to girls. Fashion d o lls o f M in m e i, Lisa Hayes, and Rick H u n te r w ere released,
to th e ir p re s tig io u s H igh C o m p le te M o d e l (H C M ) line and again w he n it
as w ell as m u ltip le o u tfits to dress th e m up w ith . P ro to ty p e s o f a fa n lin e r je t fo r
p ro d u c e d a reissue o f th e V a lkyrie w ith S u p er A rm o r. The HCM s, d e s p ite th e ir
Rick and a C hin e se re s ta u ra n t p la y s e t fo r M in m e i w ere show n in ca ta lo g s, b u t
nam e, w ere a ctu a lly h ig h -q u a lity to ys a im e d a t d is tin g u is h in g co lle c to rs . The
as th e d o lls g a th e re d d u s t o n th e shelves, M a tc h b o x w ise ly d e c id e d to h old
th re e V alkyries w ere e x q u is ite ly d e ta ile d w ith h e a t shields fo r th e c o c k p its ,
these h ig h -tic k e t item s back. (For w ha t it's w o rth , O hsato Toy released a d iffe re n t
p lus la n d in g g e a r w ith real ru b b e r tire s and h oo ks fo r c a rrie r-b a s e d m issions.
lin e o f M inm a y fa sh io n d o lls th re e years e a rlie r in Japan.)
M across fe ve r d ie d d o w n a fte r a fe w years, b u t its im p a c t was u n d e n ia b le .
U n b e k n o w n s t to H arm o n y G o ld , som e sm a lle r M across to ys by a co m pa n y
Several show s fe a tu rin g trip le -c h a n g in g m ilita ry ro b o ts fo llo w e d , and som e
c a lle d M ark fo u n d th e ir w ay in to th e US. The C o n v e rto rs series, so ld by Select,
o f th e m m e t w ith va ryin g d e g re e s o f success, b u t n on e o f th e m p ro d u c e d
in c lu d e d sm all, c ru d e ve rsions o f th e je ts and th e m o th e r sh ip w ith stra n g e
th e sonic b o o m th a t M across d id w hen it a rrive d on th e scene.
nam es like Turak, V olcan, and Zardak. The C o n v e rto rs line also fe a tu re d repack
TOP FIVE
MACROSS TOYS
EVERYONE NEEDS
5 .T a k a to k u /M a tc h b o x 1/240 D e s tro id M o n s te rThis ugly to a d o f a ro b o t to y has an undeniable
c h arm th a t m akes it hard to p u t dow n, n o t to
m e n tio n a d e c e n t d ie -c a s t m e ta l c o n te n t.
Takatoku sold th e o rig in a l b ro w n version and
M atchbox painted it green fo r th e Robotech line.
4.
Takatoku Macross Vending Machine DX - For a toy
line th a t strove so hard fo r realism, this is w orth
g e ttin g ju s t fo r th e sheer goofiness o f it. Feed it
coins and little capsules pop out, each containing
soft rubber versions o f th e Macross mecha.
3 .lm a i W a lk in g D oll Lynn M in m a y k it - It's th e
little d o ll th a t m ade 5 0 -fo o t ta ll alien w arrio rs
g iddy and nauseous, and th e closest you can g e t
to a M across p ro p replica. N o t an actual toy,
b u t a s im p le w in d -u p m o d e l k it. E x p e rie n c e
it fo r y o u rs e lf, b u t k e e p a b u c k e t handy.
2.Y am ato 1 /4 8 V a lk y rie - D o n 't le t th e p ric e
ta g th ro w you, th is is th e Rolls Royce o f Valkyrie
to y s , a va ila b le in se vera l c o lo r v a ria n ts fro m
th e TV show, the1984 m ovie and beyond. W hile
you tra n sfo rm it, m arvel a t th e detail inside the
fe e t, under th e w ings, and th e little translucent
p ie ce s fo r th e cam eras and lig h ts .
I.T a k a to k u /B a n d a i 1 /5 5 V a lk y rie (o rig in a l o r
reissue) - There's no q u e s tio n a b o u t it, th is to y
is th e icon o f Japan's tra n s fo rm in g ro b o t era.
V intage ones can cost hundreds o f dollars, b ut
reissues can be had fo r a small fra ctio n o f those
p ric e s . Be w a rn e d , th o u g h : o nce you s ta r t
b u y in g th e s e , you m ay n o t b e a ble to s to p .
Checklist: Takatoku's M across Toys
1 /5 5 B attro id V a lk y rie Series:
VF-1S Roy Fokker Special
VF-1J H ikaru Ichijo Type
VF-1J M ax Type
VF-1J M iria Type
VF-1A S ta n d ard Type
VF-1S S uper V alkyrie
GBP-1 S A rm o r System
VF-1S A rm o re d V a lkyrie GBP-1 S
1 /1 0 0 B attro id V alkyrie series:
VF-1S Roy Focker Special
VF-1J H ikaru Ich ijo Type
VF-1J M ax Type
a g e d and re c o lo re d to y s fro m M ark's O rg u ss, D orva ck, Beetras, and G alvion
lines. Sm all s u p e r-d e fo rm e d p u llb a c k racers w ere also s o ld by s e le c t
as M a la d ro id s .
VF-1A S ta n d ard Type
It's im p o s s ib le to discu ss A m e ric a n M across to y s w ith o u t m e n tio n in g th e
1 /7 6 A rm o re d V a lk y rie series:
infam o u s Transform er, J e tfire . H asbro, in a m ad rush to slap an A u to b o t log o
A rm o re d V alkyrie GBP VF-1J H ikaru Type
on a n y th in g and e v e ry th in g th e y c o u ld , c o n tra c te d th e Japanese o w n e rs o f th e
A rm o re d V alkyrie GBP VF-1 J M ax Type
1/55 V a lkyrie m o ld s to p ro d u c e a n o th e r hero fo r th e ir p ro d u c t lineup. Som eone
m u st have fig u re d o u t th a t an a n im a te d V alkyrie likeness fe ll u n d e r H arm ony
M across C o llec tio n series:
N o. 1: 1/144 VF-1 J V a ria b le F ig h te r
N o. 2: 1/144 D e s tro id Tom ahaw k M B R -04 -M K VI
N o. 3: 1/144 D e s tro id D e fe n d e r A D R -0 4 -M K X
G o ld 's license in th e USA, b eca u se w hen J e tfire a p p e a re d on th e Transform ers
show , th e d e s ig n was d ra s tic a lly ch an g e d. C ou n tle ss kids searched th e to y
sto re s fo r th e h u m a n -fa c e d ro b o t th e y saw on TV, to no avail.
N o. 4: 1/144 D e s tro id S partan M B R -07-M K II
N o. 5: 1/240 D e s tro id M o n s te r H W R -00 -M K II
Years a fte r R obotech was o ff th e air, Playmates d e c id e d to b e e f up th e ir Exo-Squad
N o. 6: 1/144 VF-1S V a ria b le F ig h te r
N o. 7: 1/144 D e stro id Phalanx S D R -04-M K XII
ve hicle s re tu rn e d , in c lu d in g th e o n e -m o d e V e ritech and th e Z e n tra e d i B attle
lin e w ith reissues o f M a tc h b o x 's to ys. A lm o s t all o f th e a c tio n fig u re -s c a le d
Pods, h ug e o s tric h -lik e w ar m achines th a t to w e re d o v e r th e o th e r toys. O n e d is
M across H enkei Type series:
N o. 1: VF-1 J H ikaru Ich ijo Type
N o. 2: VF-1S Roy Fokker Special
a p p o in tm e n t was th e re a p p e a ra n c e o f th e small D e stro id s, w h o had all o f th e ir
d ie -c a s t m e ta l p a rts re cast in p lastic.
N o. 3: VF-1J M ax Type
N o. 4: VF-1A S ta n d ard Type
Today, th e R ob o te ch to y license is h eld by A m e ric a n c o m p a n y Toynam i, w ho has
No. 5: VF-1 J M iria Special Type
b een p ro d u c in g M a s te rp ie c e e d itio n s o f th e V eritechs, w ith fe a tu re s like lig h t-u p
No. 6: VF-1S S uper V alkyrie
B a ttro id V a lkyrie V a ria tio n set: VF-1J M ax, VF-1S, VF-1 A
eyes a nd m a g n e tic a lly e n h a n ced c lip -o n arm or. T hey also sell a c tio n fig ure s
M across SDF-1
tra n s fo rm in g to y s to achieve.
o f th e ro b o t m o d e V e ritech s, w hich can assum e poses th a t are im p o s s ib le fo r
Small scale V alkyries & SDF-1:
VF-1J H ikaru Ich ijo Type (chrom e)
VF-1 J H ikaru Ich ijo Type (g old )
M across SDF-1
C a p tio n s fo r co lu m n s a t rig h t:
M across & V a lkyrie D eluxe
P aro -M echa series:
F irst c o lu m n : Takatoku 1/144
VF-1S Roy Fokker Special
D e s tro id Phalanx, Tom ahawk,
D e s tro id D e fe n d e r
VF-1J M ax Type
VF-1J M iria Special Type
S e co n d c o lu m n : Takatoku 1/144
Large-Scale B attro id V a lk y rie vinyls:
D estroid M onster, Bandai 1/72 VF-1A
D e s tro id S partan, M a tc h b o x 1/240
VF-1S Roy Focker Special
VF-1J M ax Type
VF-1J M iria Special Type
Valkyrie Fligh C o m p le te M o d e l
Th ird c o lu m n : Takatoku 1/100
D e s tro id C on ve rsio n Kit, Takatoku
B agged M in i vinyls:
1 /6300 SDF-1, Im ai Lynn M inm a y
VF-1J H ikaru Ich ijo ty p e
W a lkin g D o ll m o d e l k it
D e s tro id D e fe n d e r
D e s tro id Tom ahaw k
F o u rth c o lu m n : L to R: C ivil D efen se
D e s tro id Spartan
A rm o re d V alkyrie VF-1 J
R eg u lt Pod
G laug Pod
G la dia to r, Tactical G la dia to r, Tactical
S partan, C ivil D efen se Excalibur,
Tactical Excalibur. M a tc h b o x 7 "
Z e n tra e d i B o to ru P o w e re d A rm o r,
Boxed M in i vinyl sets:
M a tc h b o x 7 " E xca lib u r
M across Real Type 4 set: VF-1 J H ikaru, D e fen d e r, Tom ahaw k, Spartan
Fifth c o lu m n : M a tc h b o x 7 " G la d i
M across 4 V a lkyrie set: VF-1S, M iria , Max, G la ug Pod
M across 4 Part II set: A rm o re d VF-1 J Valkyrie, R eg u lt Pod, G la ug Pod,
ator, Takatoku 1/55 VF-1J Valkyrie
Phalanx, VF-1 J H ikaru ty p e & R egult B a ttle Pod dual b o x
(M ax Jenius), Takatoku 1/55 VF-1S
Valkyrie (Flikaru Ich ijo )
M iscellaneous:
1/100 D e s tro id C o n ve rsio n set: Tom ahaw k, D e fen d e r, Phalanx
1 /3 0 0 0 SDF-1
MACROSS
MY
HEART
49
A N e w Life
A M across to y revival s w e p t Japan in 1994. The h o m e v id e o series M across
D e s ig n e d e n tire ly using c o m p u te r-a s s is te d d ra ftin g te c h n iq u e s , th is V alkyrie
Plus and TV series M across 7 w ere released sim ulta n e ou sly, fin d in g s lig h tly
to y was one o f th e m o s t c o m p le x tra n s fo rm in g to y s e ver m ade. It to u te d je t
d iffe re n t audiences. M across Plus was a se rio u s ch a ra c te r d ram a a b o u t tw o
and ro b o t m o d e s th a t w ere m uch c lo s e r to th e o rig in a l line a rt, s u p e rio r p osin g
te s t p ilo ts in a c o m p e titio n b e tw e e n p ro to ty p e Valkyries. M across 7 c o u ld
o p tio n s , and m any m in o r to u c h e s such as p iv o tin g w in g fla p s and re m ova b le
b e seen as th e a n tith e s is o f th is , fe a tu rin g a ro ck s ta r h e ro w h o p ilo te d a
ra d o m e s th a t b r o u g h t th e o w n e r c lo s e r to th e idea th a t th is co u ld a ctu a lly
V a lkyrie u sing a g u ita r a nd sang a t his e n e m ie s u n til th e y re tre a te d . Toy
re p re s e n t a real a irc ra ft. Y am ato's n e x t M across to y w ill b e th e VF-0 V alkyrie
g ia n t B andai d e c id e d to b ack th e p ro p e rty th a t h ad m o re e x p o s u re , and
fro m th e 2 00 2 p re q u e l series M across Zero. Using th e sam e d e s ig n te c h n iq u e s ,
p ro d u c e d several M across 7 toys.
th e c o m p a n y is c o n tin u in g to im pre ss d e d ic a te d and casual fans alike, and is
e x p e c te d to fo llo w u p w ith a VF-OA to y soon.
C a rd e d sets o f n o n -tra n s fo rm in g M icro M across ro b o ts and ve hicle s w ere
sold, b u t Bandai ca rrie d on th e tra d itio n o f th e o rig in a l to ys b y p ro d u c in g
M e an w h ile , on th is side o f th e Pacific, A m e ric a n co m p a n y Toynam i has d e b u te d
tw o tra n s fo rm in g 1/65 scale V alkyries, th e VF-19 (a fu tu ris tic fo rw a rd s w e p t
th e ir o w n line o f 1/100 scale V alkyries. T h e ir a p p ro a c h , using a sm a lle r fo rm a t
w in g d esig n ) and th e VF-17 (a tria n g u la r p la n e sim ila r to th e F-117 ste a lth
fo r th e to y s , has g ive n th e m m o re fle x ib ility in te rm s o f e x p a n d in g th e line b e
fig h te r). Two va ria n ts o f each w ere p ro d u c e d , and special e d itio n c h ro m e d
y o n d ju s t th e tra n s fo rm in g p lanes. D e s p ite th e ir small size, th e s e to ys share all
variants w ere released in lim ite d q u a n titie s.
o f th e tra its o f th e ir la rg e r cousins - c o m p le te tra n s fo rm a tio n b e tw e e n all th re e
m o d e s and a fu ll lo a d o u t o f o p tio n a l w ea p o ns. C u rre n tly, six varia n ts fro m th e
By th e m id-9 0 s, how ever, ro b o t to ys w ere s ta rtin g to fa d e fro m to y store
M across m o v ie and TV series are a vaila ble , and Toynam i plans on fo llo w in g up
shelves. Kids w ere g e ttin g m o re in te re s te d in v id e o g am e s. O ld e r c o lle c to rs
w ith a ccesso ry packs th a t in c lu d e th e S u p er and Strike arm or.
still w a n te d q u a lity ro b o t to ys th a t re m in d e d th e m o f th e ir c h ild h o o d fa vo rite s,
and in th e late 90s, a co m p a n y ca lle d Yam ato a rriv e d on th e Ja pa n e se scene
T h ro u g h c o m p a n ie s like Yam ato and Toynam i, th e s p irit o f Kanzen H enkei lives
to fill th is n eed. T h e ir e arly o ffe rin g s , such as th e V a lkyrie s fro m M across Plus,
o n. W ill th e M across to y leg a cy flo u ris h fo r a n o th e r tw o d ecades? N o th in g
d id n o t always m e e t th e sta n d a rd s th a t fans d e m a n d e d , b u t la te r to y s such
c o u ld m ake r o b o t to y c o lle c to rs h a p p ier.
as th e ir 1/48 VF-1 V alkyrie g a rn e re d m uch a tte n tio n fro m c o lle c to rs all over
th e w o rld .
S P A C ES H IP
D R EA M S
AN INTERVIEW WITH MACROSS CHARACTER
DESIGNER, HARUHIKO MIKIMOTO
By Egan Loo
H aruhiko M ik im o to was ju s t y o u r ty p ic a l sci-fi a n im a tio n fan in h ig h sch oo l and
co lle g e . He d o o d le d in n o te b o o k s , w e n t to g e e k y c o n v e n tio n s w ith frie n d s , and
p ro b a b ly s p e n t m o re m o ne y on to ys and knickknacks than his p a re n ts w o u ld
have like d . T h e re was one d iffe re n c e th o u g h — in c o lle g e , he and a fe w o f his
h ig h sch o o l b u d d ie s c o -c re a te d an a fte r-h o u rs p ro je c t ca lle d T h e S u p er D im e n
sion Fortress M across , w hich w e n t on to b e c o m e o n e o f th e m o s t in flu e n tia l
anim e on th e p la n e t. In th e US, th is a n im a te d TV show was e d ite d a nd in c lu d e d
as p a rt o f a te le v is io n show ca lle d R o b o te ch , h e lp in g to k ic k s ta rt th e Japanese
p o p c u ltu re b o o m in th e U n ite d States in th e '80s.
W h a t fo llo w e d n e x t w ere o v e r tw o d e ca d e s o f n o n s to p a rtis tic o u tp u t. He has
tra ve lle d everyw here fro m th e g ritty w ar-torn fu tu re o f M o b ile Suit G undam 0080:
W a r in th e P o c k e t to th e w h im s ic a l a nd id y llic m a ng a w o rld o f M a rio n e tte
G e n e ra tio n . Every ye ar — p ra c tic a lly e ve ry o th e r m o n th , really — th e re is at
least one to y o r a dozen b e in g m a de fro m his cre a tio n s, fro m ra n d o m M across
tc h o tc h k e o f th e so ng stress Lynn M inm a y to d o lls o f th e s p u n k y ro b o t p ilo ts
fro m A im fo r th e T o p ! G u n b u s te r a nd G u n d am 0 08 0 . A lo n g th e way, his tra d e
m ark d e w y -e y e d ch a ra cte rs have g ra c e d Ja panese te le v is io n screens, m o vie
th e a te rs, g a m e co nso le s, m anga pages, novel co vers, and even an a m use m e n t
p a rk rid e a t th e fo o t o f M t. Fuji.
Fortunately, M ik im o to d o e s take a b re a th e r b e tw e e n his various c o m m itm e n ts to
sit d o w n and chat. M ik im o to w h ile d away an h o u r w ith th is in te rv ie w e r to re m in icie n ce a b o u t his high sch oo l and co lle g e years, M across and m ore.
SPACESHIP
DREAMS
5 2 v.14
Super 7: Can w e first ta lk abou t out your background? During high school,
you w e re in a g rou p o f friends w h o enjoyed anim ation, including [future
Macross and Zeta Gundam scriptw riter Hiroshi] O hnogi and [future Macross
d ire c to r/d e s ig n e r and Escaflowne c re a to r Shoji] K aw am ori. Since then,
fou r o f you have becom e professional creators — a m anga a rtist [Fujihiko
Hosono o f B io -H u n te r and C rusher Joe fa m e ], a TV script w rite r, a mecha
designer, a character designer... Back th e n , did you im agine th a t all four of
you w ould m ake your hobbies a living?
M ik im o to : Initially, my g ro u p a t sch oo l s ta rte d w ith a b o u t te n p e o p le , and
a ctu a lly, a b o u t h a lf o f us — five p e o p le — b eca m e p ro. A m o n g us, th e re is a
c h a ra c te r d esig n er, a d ire c to r, a s c rip t w rite r, and also a m anga a rtis t. A lso,
he's n o t in anim e anym o re , b u t th e re is one ca r designer.
Oh, what's the name o f th e person who's the car designer. Oh, he is Harada —
N orih iko Harada. He's rig h t now in Italy as Zagato's ch ie f designer. [Zagato is the
design firm responsible fo r many o f th e m ost exotic cars from Maserati, Alfa Romeo,
and others. A fte r assisting on th e firs t M across m ovie, Harada w e n t on to d ra ft
such cars as th e A sto n M a rtin Vanquish R oadster and Ferrari 575 GTZ Zagato.]
H o w o fte n do you w o rk w ith your old frie n d s professionally now? W ith
th o s e w h o b e c a m e p ros, n o t really o fte n now adays... ju s t rarely, ju s t once
o r tw ic e in a year.
I heard you initially jo in e d Studio N ue w ith your frie n d Kaw am ori, but you
de c id e d to jo in [d ire c to r N o b o ru Ishiguro's studio] A rtlan d later to start
anim ating. There was a tim e when I w orked in Ishiguro's com pany. But th a t was —
h o w m any years a go? It was te n , ele ve n , tw e lv e , th irte e n — a c tu a lly a b o u t
fifte e n years ago , and I have since le ft [and b e c o m e a fre e la n c e r]. A lth o u g h
I o n ly see Is h ig u ro o n c e in a w h ile fo r w o rk , m y w o rk re la tio n s h ip is d e e p e r
w ith K aw am ori. H ow ever, I d o n 't kn ow w h a t w ill co m e in th e fu tu re , so I m ig h t
d o m o re w orks w ith Ishiguro.
A lth o u g h m ost o f th e tim e you are listed as c h a ra c te r designer, you are
som etim es listed in th e c re d its as c h aracter gen'an (or O rig in a l C haracter
D es ig n )— such as in A im fo r th e Top! G u n b u ste r and Macross 7. W h a t is
th e d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n c h a ra c te r design and chara c te r gen'an? W hen I'm
c re d ite d w ith o v e ra ll c h a ra c te r d e s ig n , I also clean u p [m y ro u g h d esig n s]
fo r th e m o d e l s h e e t b ib le s used in th e a nim a tio n p ro d u c tio n . W hereas w ith
c h a ra c te r g en 'a n , I o n ly m ake th e ro ug h d esig n s m yself, and th e a nim ation
p ro d u c tio n d ire c to r is th e one w ho a c tu a lly cleans th e m up.
You have listed m any artists w ho inspire you, such as [M o b ile Suit Gundam
and N eo H eroic Fantasia A rion character designer] Yasuhiko Yoshikazu and
[Touch and H2 m anga creator] M itsuru Adachi. N ow , th e re are many artists
w ho are inspired by you, including anim ators in Japan and even abroad.
H ow does it fe e l to know th a t you in spired artists yourself? I w a s n 't really
aw are m yself. I've b een fo cu sin g on e x p a n d in g my w orks and ta le n ts w ith all
my energy, so I w asn 't aware th a t I m yself was a source o f inspiration to others.
But, now, I e njoy seeing th e y o u n g e r g e n e ra tion o f artists in Japan, th e p e o p le
I've m e t in A m e ric a , and th e ir a rtw o rk . T hey s tim u la te my ow n intere st.
O N MACROSS: H ow did you becom e involved w ith Macross? D urin g
c o lle g e , I jo in e d S tu d io N ue w ith K aw am ori and H oshino. A t th e tim e , I was
SPACESHIP
DREAMS
v’4 53
ju s t h a n g in g o u t th e re . I e v e n tu a lly b e g a n a ssisting on c h a ra c te r desig n s.
There w ere tw o se rio u s d ram a p ro je c ts ; I w o rk e d on o n e , and H o sh in o
w o rk e d on th e o th e r. A fte r a b o u t a year, S tu d io N ue p itc h e d th e p ro je c ts
to a sponsor. N ue c o u ld n 't g e t th e se rio u s d ra m a p ro je c ts a p p ro v e d , so it
p itc h e d a b a cku p d u m m y p ro je c t th a t was m o re to n g u e -in -c h e e k co m ed y.
T h a t g o t g re e n -lit. < la u g h s> Later, N ue had to g e t a n ew sponsor, b u t as a
result, w e w ere a ble to c o m b in e o u r o rig in a l se rio u s d ram a c o n c e p ts w ith
th e c o m e d y one. I s o rt o f "s lid " in to w h a t b e ca m e M across.
You have said th a t most of the story was created by Studio Nue, specifically
K aw am ori. W h a t w o uld you say is your c o n trib u tio n to th e story? D u rin g
th e firs t TV series, I d id c o n trib u te ideas to th e sto ry. H ow ever, it's b e s t th a t
I d o n 't try to say w hich ones, because it's ve ry d iffic u lt to re m e m b e r now.
The reason w hy is th a t even th o u g h my co n c e p ts w e re used in th e TV series,
th o se c o n ce p ts w ere c o m b in e d and re fin e d w ith ideas fro m e ve ryo n e else.
Do you have an amusing story to te ll ab o u t th e pro d u c tio n o f Macross
th a t you would like to tell? <Laughs> It was such a long tim e ago th a t I really
c a n 't re m e m b e r rig h t now . B u t I can say th a t w e w e re e x tre m e ly busy. W e
w o u ld sle e p tw o o r th re e h ou rs a d a y on th e flo o r in th e s tu d io in s te a d o f
g o in g hom e. W e w ere ju s t hard a t w o rk th e re st o f th e tim e .
I rem e m b e r seeing a c artoo n th a t you had draw n o f th e various staffers
sleeping at th e anim ation studios once. I d o n 't re m e m b e r it m yself <laugh>,
b u t I p ro b a b ly d id d ra w it.
As you may be aw are, th e rights fo r Macross in A m erica are currently
a very com plicated situation. H ow do you fe el a b o u t this situation?
I'm n o t d ire ctly involved myself. The d isp u te is b e tw e e n tw o sides: Tatsunoko
Production and Big W e st — Big W est d id n 't create th e story, b u t it represents
S tudio N ue, th e o rig in a l cre a to rs o f th e M across sto ry. A n d th e d is p u te is
w ho has th e p ro p e r rig h ts : th e sta ffe rs w h o cre a te d M across o r Tatsu n o ko
w h o p ro d u c e d it.
As p e o p le know fro m seeing th e w orks and h ea rin g fro m th e va rio u s s ta ff
ers, th e o rig in a l idea was fro m S tu d io N ue, and I in tro d u c e d th e c h a ra c te r
designs. T h a t's b eca u se K a w a m o ri c re a te d th e o rig in a l idea. T a tsu n o ko
d id n 't have a n y th in g to d o w ith th e o rig in a l idea o f M across. B u t it's m o re
o f a m o n e ta ry issue b e tw e e n th e co m p a n ie s, and fo r m e, th e c o n flic t is n o t
a d e e p one . I th in k , b eca u se o f th e d is p u te , so m e M across to ys, M across
g am e s and M across 7 h a v e n 't b e e n fo rm a lly re le a se d in A m e ric a , rig h t?
Right, th e y h a v e n 't been released y e t. Because o f th is d is p u te , I th in k th a t
some Macross works ca n't be released in Am erica yet, and it's very unfortunate.
It's n o t a d is p u te b e tw e e n T a tsunoko and N ue, b u t T a tsu n o ko and Big W est.
Sorry fo r asking this d iffic u lt q u es tio n . O h no, it's all rig h t. I was ju s t w o r
ried th a t th e rig h t fa cts are out. < lau g h s> Because if th e w ro n g ideas w ere
publishe d , th a t w o u ld cause p ro b le m s w ith Tatsunoko and Big W est. So I wish
they w ill fin d a p e rfe c t s o lu tio n fo r th e p ro b le m quickly so th a t w orks can be
released in Am erica.
For an exlcusive e x te n d e d version o f this in te rv ie w w ith Mr. M ikim o to ,
p lease see w w w .super7m agazine.com d u rin g th e m o n th o f O c to b e r.
A GUIDE TO MEGALON TOYS
By Brian Flynn / Lead photo by Rae Huo
It was th e b e s t o f tim e s ; it was th e w o rs t o f tim e s. A b o rro w e d line fo r sure,
b u t an a c c ura te o n e in d e s c rib in g th e m o v ie G o d z illa vs. M e g a lo n . Released
to th e Ja pa n e se p u b lic in 1973, b u t n o t d e liv e re d to th e States u n til 1976, this
G -ra te d kaiju bonanza e x p o s e d a w h o le n ew g e n e ra tio n o f G o d z illa fans to
th e charm s o f th e lizard lo rd (The o rig in a l G o d z illa film was released in 1954).
CATCH
K now n m o s tly fo r it's ca m p y a ttitu d e , p la y fu l fig h t scenes and lib e ra l use o f
o ld e r G o d z illa fo o ta g e , kaiju cine m a p u ris ts c rin g e a t th e v e ry m e n tio n o f th is
film . H ow ever, c ritic is m s aside, G o d z illa vs. M e g a lo n was a p o p u la r film , and it
in tro d u c e d tw o w o n d e rfu lly d e s ig n e d kaiju in th e fo rm o f J e t Jaguar, and th e
m o vie 's nam esake, M e ga lo n.
For v in ta g e kaiju c o lle c to rs , M e g a lo n re p re s e n ts a s o rt o f g e e k -c h ic g o ld
s ta n d a rd . Because le g e n d a ry Ja pa n e se to y c o m p a n y B ullm ark ceased o p e ra
tio n s s h o rtly a fte r th e release o f th is film , o n ly tw o style s o f v in ta g e M ega lo n
to y s w e re m ade, m a kin g th e se to y s e x tre m e ly d e s ira b le and rare. First, th e 9 "
s ta n d a rd size B u llm a rk was released in tw o u n iq u e v a ria tio n s. The o rig in a l toy,
kn ow n as th e n o rm a l versio n , was c a s t in flesh c o lo re d vinyl and p a in te d w ith
gree n spray and re d h ig h lig h ts . The se con d ve rsio n , w hich was released only
in Haw aii, is m a de o f g ra y vinyl w ith a d a rk m e ta llic re d spray, p lu s som e ye llo w
and g re e n h ig h lig h ts . T e ch n ica lly sp ea kin g, th e Haw aii version sh ou ld be m ore
d iffic u lt to fin d d u e to its s e e m in g ly lim ite d d is trib u tio n , b u t b o th fig u re s are
e x tre m e ly to u g h to tra c k d o w n . Easier to fin d , b u t still rare in c o m p a ris o n to
m o s t o th e r vinyl fig u re s , is th e 5 " m id d le size vinyl b y B ullm ark. C ast in lig h t
g re e n vinyl, it was p a in te d in a sim ila r s ty le to th e 9 " B ullm ark fig u re .
Kaiju fans w o u ld have to w a it a n o th e r 15 years to g e t a se co n d chance to
o w n a M e g a lo n vinyl o f any k in d . In 1989 Bandai p ro d u c e d an 8 " M e ga lo n in
g ra y vinyl w ith silve r and g o ld h ig h lig h ts . It was re -rele ase d six years la te r in
th e 1995 M e m o ria l Box set in a nea rly id e n tic a l c o lo r schem e, w ith th e only
d iffe re n c e s b e in g th e a d d itio n o f a rose c o lo re d spray on th e legs. In ro u g h ly
th e ye ar 2 00 0 , th is fig u re was b o o tle g g e d in C hina, and c o lo re d v e ry sim ila rly
o nce again. The easie st w ay to te ll th e b o o tle g s fro m th e o rig in a l is th e very
lig h t p a in t a p p lic a tio n to th e eyes and w in g s, and th e b o tto m o f th e fe e t having
n o c o p y rig h t in fo rm a tio n . Th e re is also a sta m p th a t reads " M a d e in C hina"
in ste a d o f " M a d e in Ja pa n ."
O p p o s ite p a g e : Rare B u llm a rk s ta n d a rd size g re y vinyl
H aw a ii version a n d flesh vinyl re g u la r version.
This p a g e : Three M a rm it M o n s te r H eaven M e g a lo n figures.
AS WE HEAD TO CURRENT DAY,
MARMIT HAS KEPT MEGALON
COLLECTORS BUSY...
In 1991, th e f ir s t re is s u e o f th e o r ig in a l B u llm a rk s ta n d a rd size fig u r e was
re le a s e d b y B a n da i. C ast in a d a rk g re e n v in y l, th is fig u re is v e ry easy to d iffe r
e n tia te fro m th e o rig in a l versions. Later, in 2 00 4 , M1 w o u ld reissue th e fig u re
aga in , th is tim e in a fle sh vinyl p a in te d in an a llo v e r g ree n w ith red h ig h lig h ts (to
m im ic th e o rig in a l B u llm a rk fig u re ), a flesh vinyl w ith all o v e r m e ta llic d a rk red
plu s y e llo w a n d g re e n h ig h lig h ts (to m im ic th e o rig in a l Haw aii B ullm ark figure),
as w e ll as an u n p a in te d fle sh v in y l v e rs io n . Tw o ye ars e a rlie r, in 2 00 2 , M1
re issu e d th e 5 " m id d le size B u llm a rk fig u re in g ra y vinyl w ith m e ta llic d a rk red
h ig h lig h ts as w e ll as an u n p a in te d gray vinyl in th e ir m id d le -s iz e set p acka g e d
in a large, B u llm a rk s ty le vinyl e g g .
A s w e h ead to c u rre n t day, M a rm it has k e p t M e g a lo n c o lle c to rs busy, releasing
se ve ra l o f th e ir o w n s c u lp ts . M a rm it m a d e th e ir fir s t M e g a lo n in th e ir V inyl
Paradise line. In itia lly re le a se d in b la c k vinyl, it was la te r released in g ray vinyl,
tra n s lu c e n t b lu e u n p a in te d vinyl, d a rk g ree n vinyl and lig h t g ree n vinyl. N ext,
M a rm it rele a se d tw o va ria tio n s o f M e g a lo n in th e ir P arababy line, o ne in o ran g e
v in y l th a t ca m e b a g g e d w ith a p u rp le 1973 G o d zilla , and a n o th e r in d a rk blue
v e rs io n th a t w as s o ld w ith a sm a lle r, m in i-s iz e d lig h t-g re e n fly in g M e g a lo n .
U nlike m o s t o th e r M a rm it fig u re s , th is m ini fig u re has n o t b ee n released in any
o th e r fo rm .
A n o th e r m in i fig u re th a t M a rm it has o n ly released o nce is a sm all g ree n vinyl
s ta n d in g M e g a lo n as p a rt o f a fiv e p ie c e m ini set. Recently, M a rm it has a d d e d
M e g a lo n to th e ir la rg e r M o n s te r H eaven line, re le a sin g th e fig u re in black vinyl,
d a rk g re e n vinyl and g lo w v in y l. A n u n p a in te d b ro w n vinyl was also in c lu d e d in
200 6 's new y e a r set.
O th e r M e g a lo n fig u re s in c lu d e th e ra th e r in g e n io u s M ic ro m a n M e g a lo n su it
(in w hich a n e w -s ty le M ic ro m a n fig u re can a c tu a lly w e a r a M e g a lo n c o stu m e !),
YMSFs vinyl M e g a lo n fig u re m o d e l, and th e Iw akura m in ia tu re B ullm ark replica
c a n d y toys. This m in ia tu re fig u re was released in th re e ve rsio n s— a flesh vinyl
w ith g re e n re p lic a , a g re y vinyl w ith d a rk re d re p lic a , and a v a ria n t g ree n replica
in g lo w vinyl instea d o f flesh.
So, ju s t as q u ic k ly as it b e g a n , it e nd s again. M e g a lo n takes u p ju s t as fra c tio n
o f tim e in th e h is to ry o f G o d z illa m o n s te rs , a nd fo r b e tte r o r w orse , he only
m a na g e s to ta k e u p ju s t as m u ch space o n c o lle c to rs lists fo r v a rie ty . B u t fo r
ra rity, M e g a lo n , fo r once , sta n d s su pre m e .
L eft: 1989 8 " B a n da i la rg e size figure.
Bandai 8" Large Scale Figure
09 /1 9 8 9 release
10 / 1995 M e m o ria l B ox rele ase
11 / C h in e se B o o tle g
ALL THINGS MEGALON /
A ch e c k lis t fo r th e M e g a to n c o m p le tis t. L iste d h e re is e ve ry
kn ow n va ria tio n o n th is classic character.
Marmit Vinyl Paradise
12 / B la c k vin yl
13 / G ra y vin yl
14 / T ra n s lu c e n t b lu e u n p a in te d
15 / D ark g re e n vinyl
16 / L ig h t g re e n vin yl
Bullmark 9" Standard Size
01 / Flesh vin yl w ith g re e n and re d sp ra y / N o rm a l ve rsio n
02 / G ray vinyl w ith m e tallic red, yellow , g re en spray /
Hawaii version
03 /
04 /
05 /
06 /
B andai 1991 reissue
M1 reissue
/
/ D a rk
g re e n vin yl
Flesh vin yl w ith m e ta llic re d sp ra y
(n o t p ic tu re d )
Takara
25 / M ic ro m a n
vin yl
Marmit
17 / P arab ab y / O ra n g e vin yl
18. P arab ab y / D a rk B lue vin yl
M1 reissue / Flesh v in yl w ith g re e n sp ra y
M1 reissue / Flesh v in yl u n p a in te d
Bullmark 5" Middle Size
07 / L ig h t g re e n vin yl w ith d a rk g re e n sp ra y
08 / M1 reissue / G ra y vin yl w ith d a rk re d sp ra y
19 /
20 /
01 / 02
0 7 /0 8
1 9 /2 0
Marmit Monster Heaven
21 / G re e n vinyl
22 / B lack vin yl
23 / G lo w vin yl
24 / B ro w n u n p a in te d vin yl (n o t p ic tu re d )
M in i fly in g fig u re / L ig h t g re e n vinyl
M in i s ta n d in g fig u re / G re e n vinyl
2 -p a c k w ith J e t Ja g u a r
(n o t p ic tu re d )
YMSF
26 / B lack v e rsio n (n o t p ic tu re d )
27 / G lo w u n p a in te d v e rsio n (n o t p ic tu re d )
Iwakura Mini Bullmark Candy Figure
28 / Flesh v in yl w ith g re e n sp ra y (n o t p ic tu re d )
29 / G ra y v in yl w ith d a rk re d sp ra y (n o t p ic tu re d )
30 / G lo w v in yl w ith g re e n sp ra y (n o t p ic tu re d )
■ & K J 3 Q
BEU9SHB
M IM H ®
B
WE LOVE YOU
ON THE
OUTSIDE
l v n
i i t 'Q
REBEL8 0,2}
S U P E R 7 (3 4 )
S.T.A.F. (Hj
A r tis t M ike G ia n t and his p a rtn e r in
H id e y o u r s o ft v in y l a n d y o u r '7 0s
T h o u g h it m ay s o u n d lik e a m e d ic a l
crim e , Jo sh y D have b e e n b a k in g
to y c a ta lo g s fro m Ja p a n b e c a u s e
c o n d itio n , th e o n ly th in g in fe c tio u s
so m e th e i I lest ta tto o - , g r a ffiti- and
th e In te rn a tio n a l Toy P irates are on
a b o u t S.T.A.F (s h o rt fo r S uper Te rrific
s tre e t-in s p ire d fa s h io n s via th e ir
a crazed co lle ctin g mission. W ear this
Anim al Friendlies) is th e heaping helping
clo th in g bran d Rebel 8. C heck 'em o u t
o rn a te ly d e s ig n e d S uper7 h o o d ie to
o f cu te th a t a do rn s th e se ladies' tees.
and im p re ss 'h o o d rats, ro ckers and
s h ow y o u 're p a rt o f th e crew. W e also
D esigned b y Super7 b e h in d -th e -s c e n e s
h ip s te rs across th e p la n e t.
m ade o u r perennial favorite Spaceship
e m press, D ora D rim alas, th e se shirts
w w w .re b el8 .co m
d e s ig n on a b la ck h o o d ie ju s t in tim e
w ill make even th e m o st unsalvageable
to face th e ch ill o f fa ll!
fa sh io n vandals look u be r adorable.
super7store.com
w w w .super7store.com
.i.u i tn n n
■ if ic
ie t v t f , e S
SHOCKER m
This rin g fro m Balzac's fa s h io n lab e l
S hocker is th e b e st b lin g g o in g rig h t
now. S te rlin g silver and a va ila b le only
a t th e S h o cker b o u tiq u e in O saka,
Japan, th is rin g is ju s t one m o re ite m
in a sea o f am azing p ro d u c ts fro m th is
p un k s tre e tw e a r b ran d . D o y o u rs e lf
a h ug e fa v o r a n d lo o k in to Balzac's
music, toys and fashions, w hich are all
a vailable n ow in th e US.
w ww .Evilegend13.com /shockerworldwide
VANS NATIVE *
AMERICAN
This issue, it's all a b o u t th e th ro w b a c k
in th e s h o e d e p a rtm e n t. You m ay
recall th e se o ld fis h -h e a d e d h i-to p s
fro m th e e a rly '8 0 s a n d n o w th e ir
b a ck c o u rte s y o f th e in im ita b le O.G .
skate brand, Vans. Vans has just never
s to p p e d ru lin g w ith th e ir g u m so le
g rip and o ff th e w all style .
w w w .vans.com
HOSOI VANS 10,
SECRET BASE
S k a te b o a rd le g e n d C h ristia n H osoi
In a d d itio n to m aking som e o f th e b est
k ille d it in th e '8 0s, g o in g b ig g e r and
vinyl fig u re s fro m Japan, Secret Base
w ith m o re s ty le th a n nea rly e v e ryo n e
o w n e r H id d y know s th e im p o rta n c e o f
e lse o n th e c irc u it. He's b ack n o w —
lo o k in g slick w h ile p e ru s in g to y m ags
o lder, w iser and show ing all th e refined
a n d s e a rc h in g fo r c o o l to y s . These
g ra c e o f a tru e m aster. These shoes
n ew sunglasses w ill save y o u r eyes
im m o rta liz e H osoi's s ig n a tu re g ra p h ic
fro m d a m a g e , k e e p in g th e m fresh fo r
fro m his e arly '8 0 s p ro m o d e l on th e
h ard co re to y h un tin g . A va ila b le at th e
ic o n ic Vans Sk8 h i-to p sneaker.
SB s h o p in H arujuku w ith clear o r black
w w w .vans.com
lenses, th e se shades w ill also b e sold
in th e US a t Super7.
w w w .s e c re t-b .c o m
LIVING LARGE
TRAVERSING TIM E
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MIKE GIANT
M ike G iant is truly a renaissance artist. N o t simply because of his creative
use of religious iconography, but because he's helping to red efine th e role
of th e m odern day artist. How, you ask? It's throu gh his d e ft incorporation of
varying mediums and styles th a t G iant has reached such a high level. He is a
leader in th e worlds of ta tto o and graffiti a rt, but he's sim utaneously segued
into illustration, book publishing, fashion design and gallery shows across th e
globe. By com bining trad itio nal cholo a rt, V ictorian w om en, Day o f th e D ead
skulls, ta tto o lettering and Buddhist ideals, this man has created a singular
vision th a t swarms o f a rt enthusiasts have been cham pioning.
S7: Let's first ta lk ab o u t your roots as an artist. M y understanding is th a t you
cam e up in g raffiti, becam e a ta tto o artist, and have now segued into every
thing from gallery installations to your very own fashion label, R ebel8. That's
a seem ingly divergent path to travel, but perhaps not. W h a t connections do
you find b etw een these worlds? Do you ever find it difficult to switch gears?
G iant: M y w o rk has always b een a m a nife statio n o f m y lifestyle . I d ra w th e th in g s
a round me, o r I d raw th in g s re la tin g to ideas a b o u t th e th in g s a rou n d me. I've
always been draw n to th in g s th a t so m eh o w satisfy m y h u n g e r fo r in d iv id u a lity .
I d o n 't feel like I e ver "sw itch gea rs" so to speak. (I p re fe r fix e d gears.) I have
always e n jo ye d w o rkin g in va ryin g m edium s, sw itch in g b e tw e e n th e m at w him .
b e ca u se I th in k o f re a lity as a m ix o f th e e n tire ty o f h um an e xp e rie n c e , w hich is
tim e le s s and u n s e g re g a te d . T h e re is n o c o n flic t in m ix in g ideas if all ideas are
p a rt o f th e w ho le .
The m e diu m is never as im p o rta n t as th e idea th o u g h . A n d I really w a n t to share
m y w o rk (and ideas) w ith a b ro a d aud ie nce , so I have fo u n d ways to g e t my w ork
o u t the re , using o u tle ts th a t I fin d g ra tify in g and b en e ficial. From an o u ts id e
p ersp e ctive , I can see h ow it m ay loo k as th o u g h I'm all o ve r th e place, b u t I feel
like I'm rig h t at h om e w o rkin g w ith w ha te ve r m a te ria ls su it m y vision.
I b e lie v e m y c re a tiv e d riv e is th e fu n d a m e n ta l e n e rg y o f u ltim a te reality, th a t
w hich is b e y o n d th o u g h t. To to u c h th a t fu n d a m e n ta l e n e rg y is to u n d e rs ta n d
re ality. A r t is ju s t o n e o f m y e x pre ssio ns o f th a t e n e rg y. M y p ra c tic e shows
m e h o w to ch an n e l th a t d riv e in to all a s p e c ts o f m y life, a lle v ia tin g stress and
d is c o n te n t a lo n g th e way.
You've recently done som e gorgeous w ork fo r th e perennial Japanese fashion
THE MEDIUM IS NEVER AS
IMPORTANT AS THE IDEA.
brand, H ysteric Glam our. Can you tell us abou t your exp erien ce w orking in
Japan as op posed to th e US? W h at's your ta ke on th e w hole Japanese s treet
fashion w o rld as an ou tsider looking in?
T h e m ain th in g in Ja pa n th a t I see as d iffe r e n t fro m th e US is th e m edia . In g e n
eral, I th in k A m e ric a n m agazines r e p o r t o n w h a t's c o o l on th e s tre e ts. W hereas
in Ja pa n , th e m agazines te ll th e c o nsu m e rs w h a t's c o o l. So, to g ain access to
In term s of early influences and inspiration, which artists really m ade you
th e Ja panese m a rk e tp la c e , th e firs t p la ce to s ta rt is th e m e dia , n o t th e stre e t. I
w ant to pick up th e sharpie? Do you com e from a skateboarding background? th in k it's a b it m o re grass ro o ts in A m e ric a , a t lea st on th e s tre e t fa sh io n level. I
c o u ld b e w ro n g th o u g h .
Comic books? Both?
I had som e b o o ks b y Lee J. A m e s th a t sh o w e d s te p -b y -s te p h o w to d ra w e v e ry I really e n jo y th e fa sh io n s tyle s I see on th e s tre e ts o f Ja pa n . I am v e ry h a p p y to
day o b je c ts in p e rs p e c tiv e . T hey m a de an e arly im p re ssio n fo r sure. I also had
see R ebel8 in sto re s th e re . I h o p e o u r m a rk e t th e re g ro w s and really takes h old
a b o o k ca lle d "H o w to D raw C om ics th e M a rvel W ay". I th in k Stan Lee w ro te it.
o v e r th e lo n g haul. I love Japan a nd m y frie n d s th e re . I h o p e to v is it fre q u e n tly
I lea rn e d a lo t a b o u t d ra w in g p e o p le fro m th a t b o o k . I had th o se b o o k s w hen
th ro u g h o u t m y life. W e c o u ld all learn a lo t fro m th e Japanese. I have th e
I was 6 o r 7. A s I g o t o ld e r, I was in to D u n g e o n s & D rag o n s, BM X b ikes, s ka te
u tm o s t re s p e c t fo r Ja pa n e se c u lture .
boa rd s, ta tto o s , h o t ro ds, h ip -h o p , heavy m e ta l, and p u n k rock. The a rt fro m
all th o se su b cu ltu re s sh ap e d m y w o rld v ie w e a rly o n. I've n eve r b ee n m uch o f
Let's ta lk a bit abou t R ebel8. H ow did this SF com pany begin and w here do
a co m ics reader. The o n ly c o m ic a rtis t I've fo llo w e d is C harles Burns. I a ttrib u te
you see it all headed in th e future?
my in kin g style d ire c tly to m y s tu d y o f his w o rk.
W e ll, firs t o f all, Josh and I are o ld frie n d s . W e 'v e alw ays had sim ila r intere sts.
O n e of th e most fascinating aspects o f your work is th a t th e re are some very
w he n he p itc h e d th e idea o f p a rtn e rin g on a lin e o f ju s t m y w o rk , I w e n t fo r it.
H e's a g o o d d u d e . H e'd b ee n p rin tin g t-s h irts fo r a fe w years, as had I, and
beautiful Eastern spiritual elem ents com bined with notions o f d eath, sexual
It's b ee n a lo t o f fu n th u s far. I h o p e w e can rid e it o u t fo r m any years. I have
ity, ta tto o and stre e t culture. Do you find it hard to reconcile these ideas?
s o m e frie n d s in th e s tre e t fa sh io n w o rld th a t have had th e ir lines since th e early
Does th e conflict born from this mix o f ideas fuel your creative drive?
90s, and th e y 're c h illin ', and s till h avin g fu n w ith it. I h o p e to achieve th e same
The sp iritu a l p ath I'm on d o e s n 't m ake d is tin c tio n s . I tr y n o t to se p a ra te th in g s
re sults w ith R ebel8.
in to ca te g o rie s. E v e ryth in g is one. I b e lie v e th a t, and m y a rt m a nife sts th a t
way o f th in k in g . I s o m e tim e s m ix e le m e n ts o f m any d iffe re n t c u ltu re s and eras
Have Rebel8's designs been inspired at all by Japanese stre e t brands, leaning
tow ards larger, b o ld e r graphics? O r is this an approach th a t you and your
p artner, Joshy D, already had in mind?
I've alw ays like d t-s h irts th a t had h u g e p rin ts . I've b ee n h o p in g to d o a ll-o v e r
p r in t s h irts since w e s ta rte d Rebe!8. M y o rig in a l d ra w in g s are g e n e ra lly a b o u t
14x20", and I like to p r in t th e m as close to a c tu a l size as p o s s ib le on th e shirts.
T h e tre n d to w a rd s larg e o r sm all p rin ts alw ays flu c tu a te s . I th in k a g o o d g ra p h ic
sh o u ld lo o k g o o d w hen p rin te d sm all o r large. B ut, yo u kn ow I like to g o b ig .
Finally, w h at do you think you'd be doing if you w e re n 't a g raffiti artist, a ta t
to o a rtist and successful illustrator on th e brink of som ething, if you'll pardon
th e expression, giant?
I c a n 't im a g in e my life any o th e r way, a nd in fa c t I w o rk hard to n o t le t my m ind
w a n d e r to th o u g h ts o f "W h a t if? " and " If o n ly ..." The co urse o f my life changes
m o m e n t to m o m e n t. A lw a ys has. I'm ju s t try in g to g o w ith th e flow . I've never
set o u t w ith a p a rtic u la r g o a l in m in d . I fin d jo y in m y successes, b u t I tr y n o t
to c o v e t success fo r its o w n sake. I ju s t tr y to revel in th e m o m e n t, and e a g e rly
a w a it th e next.
S7
MUSIC
62
V14
A LONG TIME COMING
THE NEXT BEST THING BY JEREMY FISH AND AESO P ROCK
Two kids fro m N ew York. Both g re w u p sk a te b o a rd in g . Both have a love fo r h ip
at an early age. W h a t tw o a rtists co uld b e b e tte r role m odels fo r th e program ?
h o p . Both have a love fo r a rt. O n e chose p a in tin g . The o th e r, ra p p in g . This is
Super7 c a u g h t up w ith th e d u o on tour, and asked them a b o u t th e co llaboration.
w h e re o u r s to ry beg in s.
Super7: H o w d id this b o ok c o lla b o ra tio n com e abou t? W e re you fans of
Je rem y Fish is a San F ra n cisco -b a se d a rtis t w ith th e k in d o f im a g in a tio n th a t
each o th e r's w o rk b e fo re g e ttin g to g e th e r on this project?
m any a d u lts w ish th e y s till p ossessed. R e m e m b e r w hen you w ere a c h ild and
you w o u ld d a y d re a m a b o u t th e m o s t a m a zin g p e o p le and cre a tu re s in fa r
away places? W e ll, Je re m y still d o e s and he b rin g s th e m to life in his a rt.
A e s o p Rock: J e re m y Fish was o ffe re d th e chance to p itc h a c a rto o n to Disney.
He c o n ta c te d m e th ro u g h a m u tu a l frie n d and w an te d to know if I'd b e in te r
este d in d o in g m usic fo r it if it w ere to g o th ro u g h . I was a m p e d to learn he was
A e so p Rock (a.k.a. Ace Rock) is a le a d in g vo ice in th e w o rld o f h ip -h o p . Rather
a fa n , cuz I to o was a fan o f his and o w n e d o n e o f his p rin ts . A ro u n d th e tim e
th a n b o a s tin g a b o u t m o n e y and hos, he expresses th e tria ls and trib u la tio n s
all o f th is w as h a p p e n in g , I had m o v e d o u t to San Francisco, so he was nice
o f e v e ry d a y urba n life. A lo n g w ith fe llo w D e fin ite Ju x a rtis ts M u rs and El-P,
A e s o p Rock has re ce ive d u n d e rg ro u n d success w ith a lb u m s such as Bazooka
To o th and Fast Cars, D anger, Fire and Knives. A cce ssib le y e t s m a rt, his lyrics
speak to th e average person because th e y are a ctu a lly a b o u t avera g e p e o p le .
The co lla b o ra tio n was ine vita b le . A fte r b e in g fans o f each o th e r fro m afar, Fish
and A e s o p w e re in tro d u c e d b y a m u tu a l frie n d to w o rk o n a c a rto o n p ro je c t.
A fte r th a t p ro je c t w e n t so u th , th e tw o a rtis ts realized th a t th e y had to cre ate
EATING GREASY DINER FOOD AND
TALKING LIKE THE TWO OLD MEN
IN THE BALCONY ON THE MUPPET
SHOW—STATLER AND WALDORF.
s o m e th in g to g e th e r. This le d to T h e N e x t B e st T h in g , a 7 -in ch p ic tu re d is c
in s p ire d b y o ld re a d -a lo n g c h ild re n 's b o o k s . W ith each c h im e on th e re c o rd ,
e n o u g h to show m e a ro u n d th e c ity a b it. W e h it it o ff p r e tty w ell and w h ile the
th e v ie w e r is in s tru c te d to tu rn th e p a g e and fo llo w a lo n g w ith th e 2 4 -p a g e
c a rto o n is on th e b ack b u rn e r fo r now, w e cam e u p w ith th is b o o k / 7 " th in g , as
b o o k c o n ta in in g p a in tin g s b y Mr. Fish. Each p a in tin g illu s tra te s a s e c tio n o f
w ell as so m e ideas fo r fu tu re c o lla b o ra tio n s th a t w ill all surface eventually.
th e song. The re c o rd /b o o k te lls th e ta le o f a fic titio u s c h a ra c te r and his search
fo r th e re m e d y to a c re a tive b lo c k . In th e b e g in n in g , o u r s u b je c t te lls h im sle f
Je re m y Fish: It has b ee n re ally g o o d fo r me. It fe e ls like a real a c c o m p lis h m e n t
"A ll I have to d o is cre a te th e g re a te s t m a s te rp ie c e e ve r c o n c e iv e d by hum an
to w o rk w ith o n e o f y o u r heroes. W e w ere in tro d u c e d by a m u tu a l frie n d w hen
s tu d e n ts ..." A lo n g th e w ay w e learn o f th e c o n s is te n t p itfa lls o f th e cre ative
A e s o p m o v e d to SF last year. W e w ere w o rk in g on a c a rto o n p r o je c t th a t g o t
process. By th e end o f th e ta le , w e learn th e lesson th a t "You w ill fo re v e r be
sh elve d , and th a t's w he n th e ide a fo r th e b o o k and 7 " re c o rd cam e a b o u t.
e m p lo y e d by th e n e x t b e s t th in g ."
W h a t is it a b o u t each o th e r's w o rk th a t speaks to you as an artist?
Produced b y U p p e r Playgroud/5024SF, th e b o o k sales b e n e fit 826 Valencia in San
Francisco, a g ro u p th a t offers creative w ritin g w orkshops and p u b lis h in g o p p o r
AR: The p a rt o f J e re m y 's w o rk i id e n tify w ith m o s t is th e fa c t th a t m any o f his
tu n itie s fo r c h ild re n . T h e ir g o a l is to g e t kids in vo lve d in a rt and c re a tiv e w ritin g
im a g e s c o n ta in a h e a lth y m ix tu re o f e v il e le m e n ts and c u te e le m e n ts .
v. m
For e v e ry evil skull th e re is a fuzzy a nim a l. It's a lo t o f w h a t I w ro te a b o u t; its
w h ile I was w ritin g . Then s o m e tim e s I'd see s o m e th in g he d id and g o back and
all kinda d e p ic tio n s o f g o o d /e v il in th e sa m e d ra w in g , o r e le m e n ts o f scary
c h a n g e s o m e th in g . The m o s t c h a lle n g in g th in g a c tu a lly was th e fa c t th a t b e
and frie n d ly . It is v e ry sim ila r to h o w I tr y to d e p ic t NY in m o s t o f w h a t I w rite .
cause w e w ere d e a lin g w ith pag e s o f a b o o k , it was a large m ath e q u a tio n . How
It is a c ity th a t is y o u r b e s t frie n d a n d w o rs t e n e m y. Fo r e v e ry a s s h o le y o u
m any lines s h o u ld e q u a l o n e pic? H ow m any p ic s s h o u ld th e b o o o k have? W e
m e et, th e re is a fly g irl, o r a frie n d ly p e rs o n . It is p ro b a b ly tru e o f m any c itie s ,
w a n t th e choruses to b e 2 p a g e spreads, so it all has to be tim e d o u t like th a t.
o r to w n s. It's a w ay to lo o k a t th e w o rld th a t is as b u g g e d o u t and surreal as
T h a t w h o le a s p e c t was a w e ird c u rv e b a ll th a t n e ith e r o f us w e re used to .
it is on p o in t and re le va n t. I re ally like s tu ff th a t w he n yo u see (o r hear) it, you
firs t th in k d am n th a t's w ie rd , b u t th e n yo u realize, w e ll, th a t's a c tu a lly p r e tty
JF: E a tin g g rea sy d in e r fo o d and ta lk in g like th e tw o o ld m en in th e b alco n y
m uch on p o in t.
on th e m u p p e t sh ow — S ta tle r and W a ld o rf.
JF: S to ry te llin g in its fin e s t fo rm , th e lite ra l. Fie p a in ts a b s tra c t scenarios and
W h a t can th e w o rld e x p e c t fro m you b o th in th e n e x t year?
landscapes using p o p c u ltu re references, sym b ols, and ch ara cters fro m d ay to
day life. Fie creates surreal sto rie s and real lessons to b e le a rn e d . A n d fo r me,
AR: W ell a new album . I have no title yet b u t I am full steam ahead on this record.
at th e end o f th e day, th a t is th e jo b o f th e a rtis t. C o m m u n ic a tio n . A n d in th is
I have a b o u t seven b e a ts fro m m y lo n g tim e frie n d b lo c k h e a d , five o r six fro m
case, te llin g ta ll ta le s. T h e y can s tir a ra n g e o f e m o tio n s fro m te a rs to ra ge
m yself, and th e re w ill b e a co u p le o u ts id e p ro d u ce rs. As o f now, I have El-P and
a nd a fe w laughs in b e tw e e n , and th a t is am azing.
Rob S onic's v o ice s on so m e s o ng s. T h e re w ill b e m o re c o lla b o ra tin g to o . I am
try in g to make th is record reallly visual. I w a n t it to re fle c t th e v ib e o f s to ry te llin g ,
W h ile c o lla b o ra tin g on th e song lyrics and c re a tin g th e 2 4 p a in tin g s fo r
even w hen th e songs a ren 't te llin g a s tra ig h t story. Some o f th e songs are stories,
th e bo o k , w h a t was your fa v o rite p a rt o f w o rk in g to g e th e r?
oth e rs are m em ories fro m high school, o r b efore. A n d som e are c u rren t b u t there
is v e ry little "I ru le " cuz w ell th a ts a lready b een e s ta b lish ed , kid. I ju s t w a n t it to
AR: W ell, I mean w e h it it o ff p re tty w ell fro m th e ju m p , so th e w o rk was really
be visual. I have also co m e u p w ith a gen iu s (hehe) plan fo r th e packa g ing o f this
fu n . I have b ee n re la tiv e ly c o n s is te n t o v e r th e years in re le a sin g s o lo m a te ria l
th in g , and it d o e s invo lve J e re m y Fish as w ell, b u t it also invo lve s a w e ird idea
p r e tty o fte n , since b e fo re I e ve r h ad a re c o rd c o n tra c t, so th e se d ays w he n a
th a t I s o m eh o w cam e up w ith on to u r in Brazil w hen I c o u ld n t sleep. If it pans o u t
cool o p p o rtu n ity to co lla b o ra te com es up, I take it. I was e x c ite d to w o rk o u ts id e it w ill b e c o o l, b u t I c a n t really say its g o n n a h a p p e n cuz th e n if it d o e s n t I loo k
o f my norm al e le m e n t. Je rem y is easy to w o rk w ith 'cause I g e t siked on w h a t he
like an ass. O th e r than th a t ju s t m ore show s [and] to u rin g ... There is a bunch...
d oe s, and I th in k he likes w h a t I d o , so its n e ve r a fig h t really. A ll c ritic is m s are
th a t I w a n t to announce, b u t it is s lig h tly p re m a tu re and w he n e ver I say to o much,
c o nstru ctive. It was really a tru e co lla b o ra tio n to o ; it w asn 't like he d re w all th e se
I re g re t it. There w ill be rap.
pics and I w ro te a song fo r th e m , o r I w ro te a song and he d re w it. W e cam e up
w ith an idea to g e th e r based on expe rie nce s w e shared. I w o u ld w rite p o rtio n s o f
JF: I am g e ttin g a d o g , and h o p e fu lly a new p la ce to live. As fa r as w h a t th e
th e song, say 1/3 o f a verse, th e n em ail it to him , o r ju s t re co rd th a t little p o rtio n
w o rld can e x p e c t fro m th a t, p ro b a b ly n o t m uch.
a nd give it to him . W e 'd g e t on th e p h o n e o r m e e t u p and discuss it, m ake
sure I was a d h e rin g to th e d ire c tio n th e e n tire p r o je c t was s u p p o s e d to g o,
then discuss w h a t lines o r w ord s w o u ld make fo r g o o d im agery. He was d ra w in g
— G e o ff A lle n
63
DVD
REVIEWS
6 4
v ,4
THE WAR IN SPACE (1977)
YOU W O N ’T BELIEVE A ROMAN GALLEON CAN FLY!
W W W .DISCO TEKM EDIA.CO M
O n e o f many in te rg a la ctic adve n tu re s spaw ned in th e successful w ake o f Star
day's h o tte s t a cto rs such as Shochiku's su pe rstar Kensaku M o rita (Castle o f Sand),
Wars (n o t screened in Japan until Ju ly o f '78, seven m o nth s a fte r th is was re
then u p -a n d -c o m in g Yuko Asano, and Masaya O ki (who sadly c o m m itte d suicide
leased) is n ow available in an a n a m o rp h ic w idescreen DVD fo r th e firs t tim e in th e in 1983). Plus, th e re was an A -L is t o f veteran Toho thesps, such as A kihiko Hirata
US. Garish and gaudy, Jun Fukuda's The W ar in Space seem s to re in fo rce visual
(Godzilla) and Ryo Ikebe (Pale Flower). Even Toei's supe rh e ro a c to r extraordinaire,
cliches o f '70s bad ta ste w ith its m in d -b o g g lin g p ro d u c tio n desig n , b u t a t th e
Hiroshi M iyauchi (Kam en R ider V3) played one o f th e lead characters.
core, has m ore in co m m on w ith th e tre n d -s e ttin g anim e Space B a ttle s h ip Yamato
(1974) than Star Wars. Just co m pa re th e m , and d e s p ite th e a pp e a ran ce o f
The end re sult is a w elco m e, and fa r m ore e n e rg e tic, th ro w b a c k to th e a p o c ry
C hew ie's h o rn e d cousin, th e e p ith e tic evid e n ce w ill slap you rig h t to y o u r senses.
phal and d e lirio u s Italian Space O p e ra s o f th e '60s, such as Plane on th e Prowl
The farew ell to Earth and th e cast o f characters w ho d ro p like flies as th e nar
and W ild W ild Plane— w o e fu lly clich e d , s tylistically o v e r-th e -to p , tre m e nd o u sly
rative progresses, are sign a tu re e le m e n ts s tra ig h t o u t o f th e Yam ato p la yb o ok.
d e riva tive , u na bashedly o u tla n d ish , and m o re Star Crash than Star Wars— b u t
A lso, any resem blance to th e p lo t and titu la r supe rsu b o f Ishiro H onda's 1963
w ho cares? Filled w ith Toshiaki Tsushima's (The S treet Fighter) e le c tro -ro c k and
sp ecta cle , A tra g o n, are p u re ly inte n tio n a l.
orche stra l s o un d tra ck, b a ro q u e spaceships, R om a n -g arb e d aliens, disco -d a z
zling lasers, g ra tu ito u s viole n ce, sacrificial d e rrin g -d o , and vo lcanic pyrotechnics
Initially envisioned as a fo llo w -u p to H onda's B attle in O u te r Space (1959), th e
(thanks to e ffe c ts d ire c to r Teruyoshi Nakano, in te rv ie w e d on th e DVD), it sim ply
plan n in g s ta ff d e c id e d th e y already had th e ir own a lm ig h ty w arship, and p u t
spells f-u -n on a lazy a fte rn o o n . The only th in g m issing, besides a not-so -fa m ilia r
A tra g o n in to space, literally, rig h t d ow n to th e nam e o f th e vessel (G ohtenin b o th
screenplay and a less ye n -p in c h in g b u d g e t, is Sonny C hiba karate cracking alien
film s)— even co m b in in g u be r-w eapon ele m e n ts fro m b o th th e Yam ato and th e
skulls on Venus (his Japan A c tio n C lu b p ro v id e d th e s tu n t w ork). N o m a tte r w hat
original G ohten, inclu d in g th e massive b o w d rill. Toho h o p e d this was g o in g to
o ne m ay th in k o f The W ar in Space, it sure beats th e hell o u t o f s ittin g th ro u g h
be th e ir b ig N ew Year's release, and packed The W ar in Space w ith som e o f th e
o v e rw ro u g h t S tar Wars p req u e ls. — A u g u s t Ragone
SUKEBAN DEKA
21 JUMP STREET W AS NEVER LIKE THIS!
W W W .M EDIA-BLASTERS.CO M
A fte r years o f fan a n ticip a tio n , Toei's Sukeban Deka th e a tric a l fe a tu re has b een fin ally released on DVD. Based on the
m anga by Shinji W ada, th e s to ry fea tu re s th e e x p lo its o f specially tra in e d , d e lin q u e n t schoo lg irls tu rn e d secret agents, w ho
route o u t crim inal m a lco n te n ts and subversives in learning in s titu tio n s . The g o ve rn m e n t's main a ge n t, no m a tte r w ho she
cu rren tly is, is co d e n a m e d Saki Asam iya. Sukeban Deka is o u t on th e fro n tlin e , w ith a license to kill, w ie ld in g her deadly
steel yo-yo. The upshot? If you a p p re c ia te cute girls in sailor u nifo rm s kicking som e serious b oo -tay, this is th e film fo r you.
D ire cte d by H id e o Tanaka and w ritte n by Izo H ashim oto (Akira) w ith Tokio Tsuchiya (M aison Ikoku) as a fo llo w -u p to th e fa n
tastica lly p o p u la r teleseries Sukeban Deka II: G irl in th e Iron Mask, th e film was cre ate d as a vehicle fo r Yuko G odai (reprised
by id o l superstar Yoko M inam ino) to hand o ver th e Saki Asam iya co de n a m e to her successor, Yui Kazama (Yui Asaka).
Yuko's return to a norm al life is sh atte re d w hen she stu m b le s across pap e rs d ro p p e d b y a yo un g man w ho has escaped a
p riva te island re fo rm school. These d o c u m e n ts lead to th e headm aster, H a tto ri (M asato Ibu), w ho is really a p o litic a l radical
th o u g h t dead, readying a v io le n t c o u p d 'e ta t w ith an arm y o f b rainw ashed stu d e nts. B anding to g e th e r w ith her o ld co m
rades, M a rble O kyo (H aruko Sagara) and Yukinoi Yajima (Akie Yoshizawa) - Saki Asam iya II, Sukeban Deka is reborn!
Sukeban Deka is w ell d ire c te d by Tanaka, a veteran o f th e TV series, a lth o u g h it never feels e pic. It com es o ff m ore like an
e xte n d e d e piso d e, sym p to m a tic o f Japanese film s o f th e p e rio d — m ore like a m ade-for-TV m ovie than fu ll-b lo w n feature.
However, th e a ction scenes are e xcitin g , fo r th e m o s t p a rt, ch o re o g ra p h e d by Masaru O kada; th e girls a re n 't professional
stu n tw o m en , b u t th e y p ull o ff th e ir scenes n ice ly e n o u g h. The sta g in g and p h o to g ra p h y o f th e action scenes a lm o st erase
th e bad m e m orie s o f h a n d -h eld h i-jin x o f previo u s Toei a ction film s. You can actu a lly see th e m ovem ents and strikes
w ith o u t g e ttin g a headache, fo r a change. For th o se w a tc h in g th is on DVD fo r th e firs t tim e , bew are o f e x tre m e schoo lg irl
cuteness th ro u g h o u t, ju x ta p o s e d w ith b o n e -b re a k in g violence.
The tim in g o f this release c o u ld n 't be b e tte r, as Toei is p re p a rin g to release an u p d a te d version o f th e franchise und e r the
title Yo-Yo G irl Cop. D ire cte d by Kenta Fukasaku, th e son o f late cinem a iconoclast Kinji Fukasaku (B attle Royale), th e film
stars singer Aya M atsuura, and prom ises to take th e c o n c e p t to a tru ly epic and h igh-gloss level. G o o u t and g e t Sukeban
Deka, so you can g e t up to speed on these yo-yo w ie ld in g w om en th a t break necks in m ore ways than one. — A u g u s t Ragone
SUPPLY AND DEMAND:
THE ART OF SHEPARD FAIREY
BOOK
REVIEWS
PUBLISHED BY G ING KO PRESS
W W W .O BEYG IANT.C O M
S u p ply a n d D e m a n d is th e la te st a ll-e n co m p a ssin g b o o k fro m a rtis t and
V.14
d e s ig n e r S hepard Fairey. If you d o n 't kn ow w h o S h e pa rd Fairey is, hang y o u r
head in sham e and leave th e ro o m q u ie tly. He is th e m a ste rm in d b e h in d tw o
o f th is era's m o st im p o rta n t m o vem e n ts in b o th a rt and g r a ffiti— th e A n d re th e
G ia nt has a Posse and OBEY stre e t ca m pa ig ns. B oth o f th e se b o d ie s o f w o rk
stem fro m Shepard's in te re s t in p h e n o m e n o lo g y , w hich is m e a n t to make th e
vie w e r ta ke a close r lo o k at th e ir su rro u n d in g s and q u e s tio n th e ir e n v iro n m e n t.
R ooted in p un k ro ck and ska te b o a rd in g , Fairey uses th e se influ e n ces to create
his sign a tu re style th a t ta ckles va ryin g social issues, p o litic s and war. From his
b e g in n in g s as a s tu d e n t at th e p re s tig io u s R hode Island School o f D esign to his
c u rre n t h e a d q u a rte rs in Los A n g e le s, th is man has m o ld e d g ra ffiti, d e s ig n and
s tre e t a rt in to a c o m p le te ly n ew m e d iu m th a t can be seen e ve ryw h e re fro m th e
side o f a d u m p s te r to th e insid e o f m useum s. The b o o k covers e ve ry inch o f th e
physical m a n ife sta tio n s o f Shepard's 17 years o f p ro p a g a n d a th u s fa r— th ro u g h
stickers, posters, p h o to s, w ritin g , g ra ffiti, in te rvie w s and a d v e rtis in g . B e a u tifu lly
d e s ig n e d and p ro d u c e d w ith a linen co ve r and g o ld fo il s ta m p in g , th is e p ic 3 60 p age case stu d y co ntains e very OBEY p ie ce e ve r m a de and m any n e v e r-b e fo re seen p h o to s o f Shepard's w o rld w id e w h e a t p aste ca m pa ig ns. S u p p ly a n d D e
m a nd sh ou ld be used in classroom s as a g u id e to c u ltu re and, m o re im p o rta n tly ,
as a re levant c h ro n icle o f a tru e co u n te r cu ltu re . — G e o ff A lle n
WIMBLEDON
GREEN
PULLING TEETH
PUBLISHED BY SPACE 1026
W W W .S PAC E1026.C O M
Space 1026 is a u nique a rtis t s tu d io space lo ca te d rig h t in th e h e a rt o f
Philadelphia. It is loca te d on th e to p flo o rs o f a o ld b u ild in g ; th e m ain space is
used as a re volving a rt show, th o u g h th e re is a silkscreen s tu d io , a m usic s tu d io
and a lo t o f small room s fille d w ith yo u n g a rtists w o rkin g on th e ir versions o f
art. The a rt g a lle ry has d isp la ye d a rtw o rk fro m m e m be rs o f th e s tu d io as well
as many a rtists fro m a rou n d th e w o rld . Live m usic and th e m e p a rtie s fill in th e
gaps b e tw e e n a rt shows. Space 1026 is like an a rt army, each m e m b e r w ith its
s p e c ia lty and e ve ryo n e w o rk in g to g e th e r to ke ep th e space o p e n and alive.
Pulling Teeth is a d o c u m e n t o f th is g ro u p e ffo rt to g e t p e o p le fro m o u ts id e o f th e
walls o f 1026 to take n otice o f th e ir m essage. The b o o k is fille d w ith insp iratio n a l
q uo tes, ca nd id p ho tos, in stalla tion shots, w orks in p rog re ss and gen e ra l fu n ! O ne
te llin g q u o te in th e b o o k reads, "P e o p le d o n 't co m e to P hiladelphia to 'm ake it',
th e y co m e here to d o th e ir sh it because th e y w a n t to , and th a t's w h a t th e Space
is to o - i f th is place w ere in N ew York o r so m ep la ce it w o u ld have g o tte n p layed
o u t so fast, lots o f va m pire s sucking th e life o u t o f it and using it."
The artists a t Space 1026 have show n as g ro u p at th e In s titu te o f C o n te m p o ra ry
A r t in P hiladelphia and th e Yerba Buena C e n te r fo r th e A rts in San Francisco.
-Isa a c Ramos
BY SETH
PUBLISHED BY DRAWN
AND QUARTERLY
DRAWNANDQUARTERLY.COM
W h o is th is W im b le d o n G re e n ,
w o rld 's g re a te s t c o m ic c o lle c to r,
anyw ay? W h e re d id his fo rtu n e and
k n o w le d g e c o m e fro m ? U n fo rtu n a te
ly, w e m ay n e v e r kn ow , b e ca u se like
th e m y th ic a l c o p y o f th e G re e n G h o s t
#1, G re e n seem s to have d is a p p e a re d
fro m th e fa c e o f th e e a rth . A n o th e r
fo ra y in to th e im a g in a tio n o f th e
ta le n te d c a rto o n is t kn ow n as Seth,
th e tru e d e p th o f th is b o o k m ay n o t
be e v id e n t a fte r ju s t o n e pass. C ha lk
it u p to its fro lic k in g p ace and c le v e r
s to ry lin e s th a t are an a b s o lu te jo y
to re ad . W ay to g o S eth, w hen is th e
fo llo w up? -B r ia n Flynn
65
S7
LIFE
V.1 4
6 6
SUPER7 VS. SAN DIEGO
0 1 . Super? superstar Isaac
Ramos g ra b b in g som e lo o t
fro m everyone's fa vo rite hero,
Karhen Rider. A pparently,
th e R ider rocks paisley. W h o
knew? 0 2 . The b o o th crew
re p p in ' th e seven. W hat!?
03.
Let's g e t ready to rum ble!
H a u n te d G hostfig h te r, a.k.a
"T h e Tokyo Terror" vs. "Glass
Ja w " Skuilbrain, It's all bets
o ff w hen these tw o ta k e 1
it to th e ring. 0 4 . Super7
hea d q ua rte rs fo r "T h e C o n ."
05.
Super7 w e b guru Isaac
Ramos, sales w izard Devon
M o d , e d ito r JuStion Kovalsky
and o w n e r Brian Flynn all
m arvel a t th e fresh s h ip m e n t o f Bwana S p o on s' Steven th e Bat
fig u re . 0 6 . Isaac, super c o lle c to r C arl K en t-S m ith , Brian, Glen
Pogue and his w ife Lisa w ere all liv in ' in u p o n p re v ie w n ig h t!
07 . D avid H orva th and S un-M in Kim o f U g ly d o lls fa m e w ere
in itia te d in to th e In te rn a tio n a ! Toy Pirates crew. T hey are show n
here w ith th e lim ite d e d itio n "m em b e rs o n ly " bandana. For legal
reasons, w e c a n 't te ll yo y a b o u t th e in itia tio n , b u t it was ugly.
08 . Tom Franck's h and ca ste d G arada K-7 0 9 . The G a rg a m e l
to y g a n g , w rite r K o ji H arm o n , Justin and Brian c o ld k ic k in ' it
live! 10 . Pushead and Secret Base o w n e r H id d y jo in th e g ang,
11 . Thanks to p revie w n ig h t m ayhem , Isaac is lo s in g his m in d ...
and his hair. 12 . 1 th in k th e jo k e g o e s like th is - So tw o guys
w e a rin g o n ly C he e rio s w a lk fh to C o m ic -C o n :.. S uper? d e s ig n e r
D arle ne G ib so n a n d Isaac a g re e d th a t it was like so m e k in d
o f w e ird d rea m w he re th e y really w is h e d th e y a b o w l o f m ilk.
W in k . 13 . HP's y o u n g e s t crew m em ber, D oria n, re p re s e n tin g th e
g a n g b y flyin g th e fla g . W ay to g o , d u d e . 14 . N e rd love at firs t
e p iso d e . Isaac (the o rig in a l Han C holo) c h illin ' w ith his h o m e g irl,
125 MINUTES OF PUS
15 . To celebrate the 25th anniversary o f Pushead,
u p w ith th is g e m —- an unskated, o rig in a l C raig
Super? h eld a ve ry exclusive sign in g a t C om ic-
Johnson skateboard deck (Zorlac Skateboards) th a t
Con. Lim ited editio n backstage passes were m ade
Pushead had designed in the mid-80s. This one
fo r th e diehard Pusfans. First in line to snatch u p
was defin ite ly a crowd pleaser fo r any skateboard
custom paited toys was co lle cto r Keith O kabe. 16 .
ing enthusiast. 18 . H iddy join e d the Super? crew
Here are just a few o f th e tasty treats th a t Pushead
fo r th e tw o hours o f Pushead madness. 19. Say
unveiled to the fans a t Com ic-C on — hand-painted
hello to my little friend. C ustom toy artist Paul Kaiju
Kaws vs. Pushead C om panions, hand-painted Skull
show ing o ff his latest acquisition, th e Sea Skull
Pirates, Jar o f Pus Circus Punk and th e nightmarish
Pirate. 20 . The line fo r th e Pushead s ign in g was
bandana th a t each Skull Pirate was w ra p p e d in.
lo n g e r than th e line fo r The Eagles reunion tour.
A lso m aking an app e a ran ce was th e fa n fa vo rite ,
N o w th a t’s rock n' roll. 21 . Vans Creative D irector
g lo w -in -th e -d a rk C ococroc. T hey have been
M a tt Shipman was one o f th e lucky ones to g e t his
described as beautiful horror. 17 . O ne fan showed
Skull Pirate signed by th e m aster o f the m angled.
NERDQUAKE PARTY
22 . N erdquake a tte n d e e " M in t in Package" was recruited to join
th e international Toy Pirates. See, I to ld you th a t girls can be nerds.
2 3 . D avid H o rva th a nd S u n -M in Kim o f U g ly d o lls fa m e are
b a ffle d b y th e se cret h an d g e stu re th ro w n u p b y S uper? o w n e r
Brian Flynn. 2 4 , T hug lif e . You have to g e t past th e se tw o g o o n s
to g e t in to th is party. Isaac and C arl w ere g u a rd in g th e d o o r and
runn in g th e show. 25 . The c ro w d was on p in s and nee d les listen
ing to th e silky sm o o th v o ice o f Mr. Ramos d u rin g th e to y raffle.
2 6 . H ailin g fro m Brooklyn, DJ Caesar was p o p p in ' th a t collar...
o r m aybe he was try in g n o t to pass o u t fro m th e e x tre m e ly h o t
set he was sp in n in g . The w o rld w ill n ever know . 27 . M u g g s and
Super7 e d ito r Justin Kovalsky just ch illin ' out, w ith a little help
fro m th e sangria. 28 . H id e y o u r children. Paul Kaiju is on th e
loose! 29 . W h o le t th e nerds out? W e asked these g en tle m e n to
h o ld u p th e n u m b e r o f tim e s th e y had kissed a g irl. W e 're p re tty
sure th e y are lying.
SUPER7 VS. SAN DIEGO
30 . H id d y and th e Secret Base crew in fu ll effect. 3 1 . A s lig h t te a r
was b ro u g h t to th e eye o f RFSO o rig in a to r Isaac Ramos when
he saw th is custom Real Fan te e m a de b y Jackson Tao. T h a t is
som e real fan shit! 32 . You know th a t o ld jo k e a b o u t th e w ife o f
a s u pe r g ee k, a deer, an Indiana Jones im pe rso n ator, and a guy
w ith earrings? N o? W ell, its a lm o st as o ff-c o lo r as th is p h o to . 33 .
N o o ne e ver knew th a t inside th a t Kam en R ider costum e was a
little b o y ju s t d re a m in g o f th e e x c itin g life o f an a ir-traffic co n
tro lle r. 3 4 . Brian s ig n in g an a u to g ra p h fo r a rtis t R hode M o ntijo .
35 . A rtis t extro a din aire Jaiden and th e inspiration fo r his original
superhero, C aptain Jeff. Keep yo u r eye on this kid, he's goin g
places. 36 . C o lle c to r Carl show ing o ff w ha t he likes to call "The
British Invasion." 37 . M enage a nerd - Super7 desig n er Caleb
and his g irlfrie n d tryin g to seduce a storm trooper. 38 . K ing o f the
w o rld ! A rtis t M a rtin O n tiv e ro s is th e ch am p io n o f co ol new art
p rin ts. 3 9 . If you like M a gic cards, y o u 'll love this guy. Dora spots
a rtist M ike Sutfin lurking a round th e b o o th . 4 0 . Brian and Gary
Baseman discuss th e headaches o f b e in g so dam n sexy.
4 1 . The Secret Base kids w ere
rockin' th e i Ilest jum psuits since
Devo. So rad. 42 . Super? prince
o f darkness Chad Hensley
ca ug h t posing w ith his new ly
undead w ife. 43 . Flashing
th e m g rills...The cre a tive force
b e h in d th e C ure to y b o u tiq u e
s to p p e d b y to g e t hyphy. 44 .
Super7 e xtended fam ily m em
b e r Chris Kohler shows th e
k in d o f e x c ite m e n t th a t only
a m o uth fu l o f Pop Rocks and
a can o f J o lt C ola can usually
muster. T h a t kid's g o t moxie.
45 . Super7 am ig o M ugg s and
his son Jaiden strike a pose fo r
th e San D ie g o paparazzi.
rake
ART TOYS • MONSTERS • ROBOTS
SECREL ® v GODZILLA • ULTRAMAN
BASE fiMkVV SHO-GUN WARRIORS
REAL
< GIGANTOR • GAMERA
ASTRO BOY • JOHNNY SOCKO
X HEAD
SENTAI-RANGERS
PUSHEAD
GARGAMEL
BILLY G A L A X Y
3 1 2 W. B u rn sid e P o rtlan d , OR 9720:9
5 0 3 . 227.8253
www.tofHygaifflty.com
V in t a g e
N
E
s
E
T
D
s
Y
ROBOTECH • MACROSS
KAMEN RIDER
SPACE-GIANTS
SPEED RACER
GATCHAMAN
KIMBA
AND
MUCH
MORE!
SKULL HEAD BUTT
A N D MORE!!!
CCP
M -l
POPY
BULLMARK
B A N D A I* UNI-FIVE
M ARM IT *MARUSAN
TSUBARAYA • B-CLUB
BARE MODEL • NAKAJIMA
TAKATOKU • NITTO • YAMAKATSU
BANPRESTO *X -P LU S • BILLIKEN
TAKARA • MARUII • PLAYSETS • GODAIKINS
SOUL OF CHO-GO-KIN • PROMOS • JUMBOS
CALL STEVE AGIN!
(908) 475-1796
WWW.AGINTOYS.COM
P .O . B O X 4 6 1 6 1 2
L A „ CA LIFO R N IA 90046
FALL ‘06 M U S IC STUFF
D NP026
IV IN G ”
D e b u t CD from th e s le e p y e ye d B ro oklyn gro u p . D riftin g on
th e s tra ig h t aw a y s a nd h ittin g th e gas on th e turns,
D re a m D riv in g ” is ne w m u s ic to ta k e a trip w ith.
iR B L E R /W E Q U IT SPLIT 7”
S F ’s fa v o rite c o u p le , W A R BLER, th ro w d o w n w ith a d ru m m e r fo r tw o
knock o u t tra c k s . U p and c o m in g P o rtla n d te a m W E Q U IT te a r th e ir
s id e up w ith tw o rhythm h eavy n u m b e rs . W H IT E V IN Y L ! 5 0 0 C O P IE S !
D NP027
SARAH S H A P I R O “ I W IS H I W A S A N
Project Meptoon and all associated characters are trademark and copyright Sam pouf and Moon Toad Productions 2006 .
A N IM A L ”
L im ited e d itio n LP and M P 3 re le a s e only! A fie rc e fu ll-le n g th
from a w ild w o m a n b e n t on m ak in g m usic. You w ill now have
th e c h a n c e to ow n m ag ic
NOW BUY THOSE ONES AND MORE AT W W W .D N P 0 0 6 .C O M !
THE INTERNET LIVES! LINK T>
BARRARR.COM, URBANCOWGIRLPRODUCTIONS.COM. TOYMACHINE.CO
STEVEKEENE.COM. RVCAANP.COM, MYSPACE.COM/LEADING & SKULLBRAIN.ORG
S7
GEAR
70
02
03
04
05
01
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
T-SHIRTS
A ll s h irts are availa ble in S, M, L, and XL
fo r a c o s t o f $22.
01. SUPER7 LOGO(mens)
02. TICKET(mens + youth)
03. SPACESHIPS(mens + youth)
IS B B a H
3 ® H 0
< ** ^ ® M \ m
04. S7 RIBCAGE(mens)
05. MOTHER(womens)
06. JUMPROPE(womens + youth)
07. CYCLE(mens)
08. SUPER TERRIFIC ANIMAL
FRIEND LIES (womens)
M jX k if t *
<r f W . g - a T U , ■
r ^ t% w
09. GODAIKIN(mens)
10. CAM O WALKER(mens)
11. ELEPHANT(womens + youth)
12. MONSTER(mens + youth)
13. CAT(womens + youth)
14. WORLD(womens)
15. SKID(mens)
16. BATTLESHIP(mens)
17. INT’L TOY PIRATES(mens)
BACK ISSUES
A ll b ack issues are $5.95.
ISSUE 06. A le x R o s s /G a tc h a m a n /M irro rm a n /A n g ila s
ISSUE 07. G odzilla 50th A r t and Toys/R aideen/Transform ers
ISSUE 08. G o d a k in /M a s c h in e n K rie g e r/U g ly D o lls/S u p e rso l
ISSUE 09. Japanese Talkers/ T ig er-7 /T im B is k u p /S e c re t Base
ISSUE 10. K e iji-K /R ob b y th e R obot/M AR S -1/G argam el
ISSUE 11. King W a ldar/B arom -1/B alzac/C am ille Rose Garcia
ISSUE 12. KAWS vs. P ushead/B ounty H un te r/B lo b pu s
ISSUE 13. M icron a u ts/R o da n /F ig h ting Figures/V otom s
S7
GEAR
v.1 4 y -j
ART PRINTS
$40
01. HEART BREAKOUT
16"x 2 0 " silkscreen p rin t
A rt by D ora D rim alas.
02. VISIBLE G H O ST
$40
1 6 " x 2 0 " silkscreen p rin t
A r t by Brian Flynn.
03. ANATOMICAL
$40
16"x 2 0 ” silkscreen p rin t
A r t by D ora Drim alas.
04. SPACESHIP CO LLAG E
$40
16" x 2 0 ” silkscreen p rin t
05. BIKE LOVE
$40
16" x 2 0 ” silkscreen p rin t
A r t b y D ora D rim alas.
06. ROCKET
*
$40
19.75"x 27.5” silkscreen p rin t
A r t b y Brian Flynn.
07. ROBOT ORIGIN
$40
19.75"x 27.5” silkscreen p rin t
08. CUPCO
$40
16"x 2 0 ” silkscreen p rin t
A r t by C upco.
01
02
04
06
03
05
07
08
ORDER SUPER7 GEAR
Call th e Super7 store at 415.409.4700 o r visit th e w e b site a t super7store.com to
Please send ch eck o r m o n e y o rd e r
Be sure to s to p by o u r w e b s ite s fo r
purchase o u r exclusive toys, t-sh irts and su b scrip tio ns. S u b scrip tio ns to Super7
(d o n o t send cash) to :
s to re u p d a te s , e v e n t in fo and news
are ju s t $30 p e r ye ar (fo r fo u r issues). Plus, n ew a nd c u rre n t su bscrib e rs g e t
S uper7 M a g a zin e , A ttn : O rd e rs
on e xclusive m erch!
e xclusive access to s u b s c rib e r o n ly te e s, a rt p rin ts , to y s and m o re ! Be a p a rt
540 D e la n c e y S tre e t, S u ite 303
w w w .s u p e r7 s to re .c o m
o f th e Super7 fa m ily and su b scrib e now . A ll m agazines are m a ile d in a s tu rd y
San Francisco, C A 94107
w w w .s u p e r7 m a g a z in e .c o m
e n v e lo p e via US Postal M e d ia M a il. W h e n o rd e rin g b a ck issues, p le a s e a d d
$5.50 fo r posta ge . Back issues are sent using US P rio rity M ail. A ll prices are fo r
th e US o nly, and are s u b je c t to ch an g e . M a jo r c re d it ca rds a c c e p te d . C A resi
dents m ust add 8.5% sales tax. For intern a tio na l p o sta g e q u o tes, please e-m ail
us at info@ super7m agzine.com .
betaToys.com ['<-•5* bri'
is an importer and retailer
offering a broad selection of
anime & popculture collectibles
from Japan.
Based on T u x the Lin ux mascot created by La rry Ewing
C h a rlo tte Link
A le x Pa rdee
C. Spliedt
Christie
Voltaire
El Maz
Kruse
www.bwi7irtnny.Goni
S a v e 1 0 % - use c o u p o n co d e : S u p e r 7
L O O K IN G F O R D R P R N E S E I T E M S ?
IF S O , P L E R S E E M R IL M R S R T O !
O U R S E R V IC E C O N T E N T S /
1 / D R P R N E S E R U C T IO N S E R V IC E
We can place bids on any Japanese auction and arrange
transactions for you. Talking to sellers and translating
descriptions are free!
2 / P U R C H R S IN G S E R V IC E
We can find anything you are looking for in Japan.
• toys/hobby
• car/m ortocycle parts
• collectable items
• Japanese traditional items, etc.
3 / S E L L IN G S E R V IC E
We can sell your items at Japanese markets.
We will be your agent/business partner in Japan!
Please consult us about whatever!
You can use our staff as your personal/business agent in
Japan! One specific person will be in charge of you!
Please compare our service with other deputy services!
Searching service is free! Asking service is free!
Translation service is free! (Translated by person,
not machine.) Fast! Safe! Reliable!
We have many large networks in Japan! We reach out
helping hands for your collection or business in Japan.
Please feel free to e-mail us at any time.
M -IAIO RLD
SERVICE
www.m-world-service.com
[email protected]

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