June 20, 2006

Welcome to the Toy Box! Rather than write a regular column this week, I thought I’d do a little introduction, talk about what you can expect, and get all acquainted and cozy like. I’m going to through some photos in here as well of various 2006 product that I’ve thought was sharp, to keep you entertained. And besides, I have to get the hang of this new fangled posting software.

For those of you new to this site and this column, my name is Michael Crawford. No, I do not sing. No, I was not in Phantom of the Opera. And no, I was not Condorman. But I wish I was…well, except for that Condorman thing.

I’ve been collecting action figures pushing 20 years now. It all started with Happy Meal toys, considered by many a gateway toy. Collect enough of those, and you find yourself in the aisles at Toys R Us (or in those days, Children’s Palace), looking for a more expensive fix. Then comes the whole mint on card phase, the open everything phase, the threats of committment from concerned family members, and the eventual label of ‘geek’.

I’ve always been a geek anyway, but the whole toy collecting bit just solidified it. I’ve been featured in several magazines, including Lo-Fi, where I was selected as the first interviewee in their “I Am Geek” column. I’ve been involved in the online toy community from the earliest beginnings, back before Al Gore invented the Internet. After years of writing online reviews that were posted to message boards or Usenet, I started my own site dedicated to them in January of 2000. Hey, I wanted to be sure we’d all survive before I put a lot of time into it.

I’ve had the opportunity as a writer to contribute to several other sites, and have had articles featured on toy company sites as well, such as . I’ve been interviewed for sites like Mezco, Palisades, and Eternal Collector. And I’ve been happy to share my opinions with many companies on new and upcoming ideas and products, as long as they ask nice.

Back in 2002 I was offered the chance to write about toys for a new site being developed by Kevin Smith. I broke out in goose pimples. Fortunately, they have an ointment for that, but I was excited about my gig at Movie Poop Shoot as well. I was one of the original contributors, and it’s my pleasure to move over to Quick Stop Entertainment now.

So all that means I like to write about toys, talk about toys, take photos of toys…I like toys. I’ll do my best over the next few weeks/months/years to impart wisdom, spew opinion, and occasionally flat out lie here at the Quickie. If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them, and what I don’t know I can certainly find out from my friends in the industry. Occasionally I’ll rant, but generally you’ll get my thoughts on something in the pop culture collectible world.

You can expect to see coverage of all kinds of goodies in my column, from action figures:

…to statues and busts:

…to even plush:

…from Star Wars:

…to superheroes:

…to monsters:

Anyone who loves pop culture crap should find something to love here!

I structure my reviews in a very specific way, a way I came up with over a decade ago and still use today. You’ll also see it copied all over the net, but believe me, now you know where it started. I break my reviews into sections of interest: Packaging, Sculpting, Paint, Accessories, Articulation, Fun, Value and Overall. This structure works well because you can get a feel for the specific areas, areas that you may weight more heavily than I in you final assessment.

For example, I might be reviewing a Mcfarlane ‘action’ figure that’s pretty much a plastic statue. Now, I know it’s going to be a plastic statue, and I go in expecting it. The articulation score is going to take a major hit, but when I get down to my overall, the weight of that category will be pretty small. However, you might be an articulation junkie, and the lack thereof is a deal breaker for you. If you only had my overall score to go by – or worse yet, no score to compare at all – you’d be left to guess as to whether YOU would feel the same way I do.

Over time I’ve added additional sections to my reviews, sometimes based on reader’s input. I’ve also worked to continously improve the quality of the photography, ensuring that you see the toy as it really is, rather than as the company would like it to look. Sometimes that’s good – sometimes it’s not so good. But if you have suggestions, either on the style or the content, just let me know.

I don’t do features. I do reviews. Reviews are a critical look at what makes something good and bad – features are just fluff pieces about the particular item, good for marketing but not particularly good for you to make a valid decision. You won’t always agree with me – nor I with you – but always remember that it’s just one man’s opinion. A brilliant, handsome, and witty man, but a man nonetheless. Okay, so I’m not any of those things, but it was worth a shot.

I’ll be attending and doing coverage at both the San Diego Comic Con and the Wizard World Chicago Con this summer, so if you see me in the aisles, say howdy. Finding me might be tough though – locating someone at SDCC is sorta like trying to find a geek in a nerd haystack.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to drop me an email at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this column, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. I’ll do my best to have a new column up here every Tuesday, and I promise a review of something nifty next week!

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