Harley Qwednesday :: Little Harley's Adventures at Megacon

Let me start this post with a warning: If you are a woman and you read this post, your ovaries will explode. If you are a man and you read this post you will grow ovaries and then they will explode. THIS LITTLE GIRL IS SO UTTERLY ADORABLE!

Okay, you've been warned. Continue at your own risk.

3 year old Floridian Kara Viciedo is a huge Harley Quinn fan, so for Halloween last year and Megacon Orlando this year she went as Harley Quinn. THE MOST ADORABLE HARLEY QUINN EVER that is.

Kara's mom Tracy sent me a link to her pictures wherein Kara...sorry...Harley Quinn meets with a veritable 'Who's Who' of Gotham City's finest, both friend and foe!

Tracy also sent along some info about Kara and her adventures, so I'll let her take it from here:

"Kara attended her first con last year in Orlando (Megacon) and dressed as Supergirl since she is named Kara. There was a Harley/Joker team there that fell in love with her and spent a lot of time playing with her. Since then she has LOVED Harley Quinn. She watches the cartoons and watches anything and everything on YouTube."

Here's Harley with Batgirl:

"When Halloween came around last year I asked her who she wanted to be. She said Harley Quinn. Since the costume didn't come in her size I tried to get her to be American Dream, Supergirl, Strawberry Shortcake, etc. but she was set on Harley Quinn. So her aunt and I designed and made a costume at home in about two weeks. It wasn't the best but it worked for Halloween and even won her 3rd place in the Florida Supercon Online Costume Contest with over 300 votes!"
 
Here's Harley with her pal Poison Ivy:

"I knew the costume wouldn't withstand 3 cons (Megacon, Florida Supercon, Wizard World plus Halloween this year) so I found a woman online who made adult Harley Costumes and asked her to make a miniature one for me."
 

Harley and Robin:

"Originally I had her just make the collar which I was having problems with but when I recieved it and saw how nice it was I couldn't pair it with my homemade outfit so I paid the money and had a minature one made by giving Holly Kara's exact measurements. Even traced her hands and feet to make sure the gloves and shoes were perfect."

Harley with...another Harley!

"Holly Messinger is the creator and designer of the costume. The two of us worked together through email to come up with the perfect design for a 3 year old Harley Quinn.


Holly's Etsy store is http://www.etsy.com/shop/hollymessinger 

This is her full time job and I even handed out her cards at Megacon to try to get her more business. She is amazing and the costume is PERFECT! 

Holly's Facebook page is Facebook.com/HollyMessingerCostumes "

And again with another Harley:

"The mallet wasn't ready for Halloween but my boyfriend made it from scratch with balsam wood and other supplies from Home Depot and then hand painted every detail of it himself. It is very light weight so she loves carrying it around." 

And again (side note: WOWZA that's a hot Harley right there!):

"She posed for over 300 pictures at Megacon with everyone asking to take her picture.
When someone would ask she would get out of her stroller, get her mallet, and then pose with her hand on her hip. When the flashes stopped she would ask me "Mommy we done?" If I said yes she would give her mallet to her brother and get back in her stroller. If I said no she would continue to pose until everyone got her picture."

Harley and Catwoman:

"I don't have any pictures of her with her hand on her hip b/c she started to do it later in the day when she got use to the "Paparazzi" as we called it. When she would pose she would get 15-30 people taking pictures at the same time.
 
She LOVED the attention and people couldn't believe it was her idea.... 
Needless to say 1 day at the con was not enough this year for me b/c I didn't get to see anything since we spent most of the day posing for pictures... lol (Have to go back to all 3 days next year like we did last year.) "

Harley and Harley compare hammers:

"She didn't win the kids costume contest sadly but did get the most applause and attention. She was the youngest contestant."

Joker, Harley and Harley!

"She does say "Hi, Mr. J" and "Hiya Puddin!" just like Harley but she is shy so it takes her some time.
She also carries around her Joker doll 24/7 and has been nagging me to get her a Harley doll too. So that is next on my list."

Harley posing by her adorable self:

"Her next Con is Florida Supercon in Miami June 29-July 2."

Harley and BATMAN!

"Some people might think this was all my idea but if they spend time with her they will realize her obsession."

Harley and Arkham City Harley:

"We took her to Disney (where she was Belle on Friday and Sleeping Beauty on Sunday) with Megacon being on Saturday. On Sunday morning I told her she was going to Magic Kingdom.."

Harley and Harleen:

"...Her reply to me was "But Mommy I want to be Harley Quinn at the Comiccon today!"
 lol The child would pick dressing up as Harley over Disney. Go figure."

Harley again posing by her adorable self:

"Since we got home on Monday every morning she asks me when she is going to be Harley and go to the Comiccon again... lol :)"

Ivy, Harley and Harley (this picture is too much awesome for me to bear!)

Wow, Kara sure is a super-fan of Harley Quinn! But who can blame her? Not me!

Harley, Harley and Penguin have defeated Nightwing and Batman!

Thanks again to Tracy for the pics and the info, and thanks of course to Kara for being so darned adorable!

Harley and Joker:

If you go to any Florida Comic Cons be on the lookout for Little Harley!

GAHHH more adorableness!!! - Rockabilly Harley shows Harley her jack-in-the-box!

And be sure to check out Holly Messinger on Facebook and Etsy. She did an AMAZING job on Kara's little Harley Quinn costume!

Harley by the mirror - TWICE THE ADORABLENESS!

We leave you now with one last shot of  the super-hot Harley and Little Harley:

Huge thanks again go out to Tracy for sending me these pictures and thanks so much to little Harley Quinn for being so awesome! Be sure to send us more pics when you go to future cons!

P.S. Tracy just sent over this video of Little Harley. Enjoy!

Batman ReTURNS 20!

Can you believe that Batman Returns was released June 19th 1992?!?!

Incredible! And to think, I haven't aged a day!

Hopefully I can get together a few toys and ephemera from that era and we can have a semi-regular 20th anniversary look at Batman Returns as the year goes by. No promises though, I'm a busy guy!

Anyways, one of the coolest moments of Batman Returns has to be when Batman narrowly escapes police pursuit by transforming the Batmobile into the Batmissile:

Completely ridiculous and highly impractical, but COME ON that scene was pure cinema gold!

Batman approaches a narrow alley and casually flips a switch on the Batmobile's dashboard. Nothing happens as the alley approaches at breakneck speed.

Batman flips the switch a few more times. Confounded, he utters under his breath 'Okay, now I'm worried' before giving the switch one last hard flip and VOILA!

Fenders and panels fly free, wheels re-align, and Batman zips through the alley just in time while the police are helpless to stop him, or themselves, as they careen into a massive pile-up!

This Batmissile is from Mattel/Hot Wheels' 1:24 scale Bat vehicle line-up from a couple years back. It seems to be the peg warmer of the line and every store I go into has about ten of them. I got this one for my birthday last year and it is really a fun toy to have lying around. I still have the Ertl version in 1:64 scale which was released in 1992, but this larger version has rubber wheels and an opening cockpit (which reveals only one seat, which means in addition to all the external re-fabrication the damn thing also ejected a whole seat!) 

I like to imagine the cops climbing out of their wrecked heaps and running over to the debris field, gathering up souvenirs to hang above their mantels and tell their grandkids about. "Grandpa, tell me about that fender again." "Well, Jimmy, one dark and stormy night, as we pursued the legendary Batmobile..."

League of Extraordinary Blogger :: Where are they now?

This week's League assignment: "The 80′s and 90′s were filled with kids and teens in the movies. Which movie would you like to see a sequel made in 2012 with the original cast members, who have aged the same as you and me."

Hmm, this might prove to be a tough assignment. There's the obvious 'Breakfast Club' and 'Goonies' and 'Ferris Bueller' answers that are sure to seed the entries from other blogs, but I am never one to go for the obvious. I also wasn't really into kid team/teen movies back in the day. I liked space movies and superhero movies and sci-fi movies. If I wanted to see a bunch of stupid kids go out and do stupid stuff I'd go outside with my friends (I grew up at a time when we as kids could do so. Sure, there wasn't a dead body to see or hidden pirate treasure to discover, but that didn't stop us from looking!)

So I'm going to cheat and say in 2037 I'd like to see a sequel to one of today's greatest movies about, well okay they are in their twenties, but twenty is the new 13 nowadays, right?

In twenty five years I'd like to see a  'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World' sequel with all the main players. I imagine Scott and Ramona will be long broken up or divorced or something. Maybe Scott now has seven evil ex-wives. Maybe Scott and Ramona have seven evil kids. Or Scott eventually marries Kim and has to deal with seven evil step-children.  I don't know, but there's bound to be a great story in there somewhere.

The same...but older.

For more info and to find out how you can join The League of Extraordinary Bloggers, check out this post over at Cool & Collected.

And for a re-cap of last week's assignment, check out the following links:

• Christopher Tupa :: One Eyed Willie’s pirate ship from Goonies.
• TL at Flashlights are Something to Eat :: The trolley from Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood.
• Nat. Not Nate. Dot Net. :: The Thunder Road ship from the movie Explorers.
• Iok from That Figures :: The Tardis from Dr. Who.
• Gina at MercanStyle :: Miss Piggy and her bicycle from the Great Muppet Caper.
• Matt Can Draw :: The map used in Time Bandits.
• Dex at AEIOU and Sometimes Why :: The Lightcycle from Tron.
• Shawn Robare at Branded in the 80′s :: A full-size AT-ST Scout Walker from Star Wars.
• Reis O’Brien at the Lair of the Dork Horde picks a few famous cars.
• Monster Fink at the Midnight Monster Spookshow :: The exclusive rights to all of the Universal monsters.
• Justin at GeneralsJoes :: A Cobra Commander prop.
• Michael May’s Adventure Blog :: Tarzan’s Treehouse.
• Brian at Cool and Collected :: A Planet of the Apes soldier ape.
• Jboy at the Revenge from the Cosmic Ark :: A bunch of ideas.
• The Sexy Geek’s House of Swag :: The 1966 Batmobile.
• Jason at I Fart Online :: The Green Hornet’s Black Beauty.
• Kevin at Team Hellions :: The Monster Squad Tree house.
• Stacey from the Pendragon’s Post :: The set from Pee Wee’s playhouse.
• Fiji Mermaid of Sideshow Cinema :: The DeLorean from Back to the Future.
• Jeremy at Geek Chunks :: The ED-209 robot from Robocop.
• Colin at FairPlay Things chose an actual person!

Poisunday Ivy :: DCUC Poison Ivy

I hate Mattel's subscription model for 'collectible' toylines and their quality control is far too shoddy for the price they ask for their toys, but they do employ some top notch sculptors and designers.

Case in point: Coming soon from Mattel's DCU Club Infinite Earths is this fine example of Poison Ivy.

I doubt I'll try to get her when she becomes available on MattyCollector.com, but I admit she does look good!

Pics courtesy ActionFigurePics.com

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Elizabeth Taylor as Catwoman...

...and Bette Paige as Poison Ivy.

Remarkable.

Art by Carlos Valenzuela

Harley Qwednesday :: The Quinn of a thousand faces.

Do you remember that Looney Tunes cartoon where the hat truck loses it's contents and Elmer and Bugs spend the entire cartoon switching personalities as different hats end up on their heads?

Well Harley remembers it! And it seems she's decided to take full advantage of the concept:

It's Wonder Harley, Amazonian Quinncess! "I'll strangle the truth outta' ya with my noose of truth! The truth or your last breath. One or the other, doesn't matter ta me."

Sherlock Quinn. "Another dead Robin? Sheesh, these things are everywhere! HEY WATSON, GETOVAHEA. And bring a mop, willya?!"

I wish they all could be Quinnafornian.  "I could really use some shark repellant right about now!"

Superquinn! "Up up and GTFO!"

Hot molls wearing Stormtrooper helmets. "I can't see $%#T in this thing!"

Edward G. Harleyquinn. "Myeah, see? Myeah myeah myeah, see, myeah!"

Quinn Beard. "Hoist the mizzen mast, weigh anchor, batten down the hatches! What'dya mean you already battened 'em down? Well batten 'em down again, we'll teach those hatches!"

Pharaoh Faucett. "I know the name doesn't have anything to do with 'Harley Quinn,' but ya gotta admit, it's a good pun!"

Napoleon Dynamite. "DON'T TOUCH MY TOTS!"

Robbin' Hoodlum. "Hey Green Arrow, let's play 'William Tell'...first stuff that apple down your pants..."

BatQuinn. "I am complacency, I am the overcast mid-morning, I'm the GeezFlippin' BatQuinn!"

Doc Harleyday. "I'm your Tom Sawyer. Get it? HAHAHAHA!"

Quinn Poncharelli. "'Miranda Wright?' Never heard of her. Now GETTOUTTATHECAR!"

Catquinn. "Here kittykittykitty."

Bob Rossquinn."I'm gonna paint a happy smile on this happy cloud THAT'S GONNA RAIN ALL OVER YOUR STUPID PARADE, BATSY! Now, where's my hair pick?"

The Fastest Quinn Alive. 'Outta the way! MEEP MEEP! HONK HONK! AHHHWOOOOOOOGA!'  

THUMPTHUMPSQUISH

"Ooops...hehe...hey Catquinn, I think I just found your kitty!"

Well, what'dya think, fair reader? Which one is your favorite AlternaQuinn?

Mattel goes Platinum

Had anyone told me they thought Mattel would make a DCUC version of Platinum of the Metal Men I would have bet them anything that they were wrong. I'd have said 'If Mattel makes a DCUC Platinum, I will eat my hat.'

And had that conversation occured, I'd be eating a hat right now.

Mattel has already released Iron, Mercury and Gold (as a gold-damned Walmart exclusive!) and although tempted by the awesomeness of the Metal Men in all their Silver Age glory, I never bought a single one of them. Because I swore Mattel would never complete the team by making Platinum. Yeah I know, they also had to make Tin and Lead to complete the team, but I know Mattel, and I figured they'd make Tin and even Lead LONG before they made Platinum (not at all) so what was the point.

Even though I am also convinced Mattel will never make Lead due to the irony of Mattel making a Lead based action figure. Get it? Hahaha! Anyone want to take me up on a bet?

Then Toy Fair 2012 and THIS happened:

Okay, I am partially vindicated that Mattel will not release Platinum at retail, opting instead to convince you that there is value to their STUPID subscription system by offering her online only as part of their Club Infinite Quality Control Issues Earths line, and maybe making some available on day of sale if you can get past their web store system which was designed on a Commodore 64.

So even though I hate MattyCollector.com and I have as many other Metal Men as I have faith in Mattel (read: zero), I will probably actually try to get Platinum when she goes on sale. Better Platinum (and companion piece Tin) and no other Metal Men than vice-versa, in my humble opinion.

Pics courtesy ActionFigurePics.com