San Diego Comic Con 2010 wrap up !

Well, well .. another Comic Con under my belt 😉 Was planning to Ustream during the con and of course my iPhone could not connect at all, I couldn’t even Tweet, sigh … oh well, I suppose it would not have worked anyways as I after setting up at StrangeCo and Rotofugi booths did not have time to video anything .. in fact I barely took any pictures (!) the ones posted here are courtesy of Spanky Stokes (thank you John !) and Vinyl Pulse ( thank you Jack !)
image courtesy Vinyl Pulse

My impression of this years con was the decline of actual toy and or comic dealers continues .. just my impression but while looking for action figures with Max, unlike other years where we could not keep track of all the numerous dealers, this year we could actually find them time and again and compare what limited stock they had …was it the economy or the fact you could get any exclusive online and really for not too much more money considering hotel, plane etc costs… Big hits for Max included the giant Galactus figure and of course anything Legos.

Max checking out the actual prop suits from Iron Man movies …Daddy can we get one ? “No ” is the answer, son ;-P
Thursday Matt Walker – Dead Presidents Designs and Myself set up at the StrangeCo booth … was a great turn out and I want to think everyone for nearly buying everything I brought ;-P The power of Monster Kolor paints 😉

pic courtesy of SpankyStokes

pic courtesy of SpankyStokes

pic courtesy of SpankyStokes
I could have sold these minis in rainbow colors all day 😉 some were tempted to eat them as well .. I don’t recommend it, but in my dreams I do eat them while shopping for toys in Japan… !

these Boy Karmas and more will be available via your fav retailer and wholesale from StrangeCo .. pre orders are up now !
Friday we both set up at Rotofugi’s booth …Kirby and Company are some of the nicest folks you will ever meet and by the way they are moving to a brand new location, bigger with beautiful window space ! Look for Toy Karma 3 – 2011, next September, Chicago !! Also be sure and check out the glow in dark Kaiju Dragigus and Drazorus figures only a few remain !! Painted by Goto-san .. they are stunning …and only from Rotofugi !

I actually did not have enough time this year to do much shopping, but the few things I did manage to pick up include a new killer piece from Kill!,

above Kill! and his awesome Cat/Rat/Butterfly Kaiju .. sorry for got the name ;-(

Matt Walker hit a home run and sold out of his new HazMat figures (sculpted by Sunguts !),

the ray gun is resin, but can be displayed as 2 separate ray guns or connected as a laser rifle (!!!) whoa !

look for more figures and a collectors club soon .. http://www.cosmicsquadron.com !

Black vinyl, no paint of Jeff Lam’s GreaseBat figure, was being sold in random places at SDCC, thank the Gods one made it’s way to me ( ha-ha ) !

and this totally blew me away.. I’m gonna be honest and admit I’ve not caught the resin bug … but when i saw this 7 inch tall, Big Lou resin figure from Brand Loyalty Toys .. painted by Matt Walker .. well my hand shot forward and grabbed it ! I think Matt was taken aback at my reaction .. ha-ha .. I saw two other figures but in my dazed state bought the one and was pulled away by Max .. as soon as I got back home, i called Matt and asked if he had the other two, which he did, and proceeded to buy them 😉 I highly recommend these figures and the tiny ones I missed out on , on Sunday …!

If you have not checked them out you should .. the quality on this is perfect, the glitter is not in the paint but in the resin and is perfectly mixed.. not only that but what made me go oh wow, was the metal pins and articulation built into these guys …!

Of course, was terrific to see my good friend, Toy Punks/ Reckless Toys Justin Kolvalsky, there debuting Mad Battle Man toy along with new filming for Toy Punks volume 2 .. look for an even bigger splash from them at the New York Comic Con.

Justin and Chris are not only some of the most talented folks i know but good people, honorable folks and believe me in this toy world that’s the highest compliment. 😉

Briefly saw Mori-san, RealXHead and the talented and cute, Uamou (Ayako Takagi) sorry didn’t take a picture with her ;-P .. of course, was not able to buy anything as most of their stuff had sold out (!)

Had a really good lunch with Bwana Spoons, Keith ( BeBop Designs ) Fulmis, and many thanks to Honda and Mike for showing us their secret Mexican food spot ( yummy ! ) look forward to next year, same place, same time, buddies !
Well two days is not nearly enough time to say ” Hi ” to everyone, and I apologize to those who i did not get around to see ;-(

Went to Universal Studios , where i spotted a Killer Kaiju book at Things From Another World store 😉

I did get some time to just relax and enjoy the Del Mar beach by my sisters home …

Funny how i need a vacation after this vacation ?!!

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Next up the painted minis have shipped from Japan and will be to everyone by first week in August ( yah ! ) New Kaiju pin offer this week ( more on that in another blog ), September will be in Los Angeles for Toy Art Gallery’s Red Carpet Kaiju show, where my new Alien Argus figure will debut, October will be in Florida at the Morikami Museum for a lecture/talk on Kaiju with Professor Jim Levy, than off to Tokyo for Matt Walkers “In Living Kolor” show and live kaiju painting with several cool guests 😉 to be announced !!! phew … there’s more but my brain is mush right now .. ha-ha …

About toykarma

Over the years Mark Nagata has collected thousands of toys and a fair amount of titles. The man behind San Francisco-based Max Toy Company is widely known as: Toy Collector. Illustrator. Magazine Founder/Publisher. Toy Designer. Artist. Author. Husband. Father. But the one description that might fit best is an unofficial one – Kaiju Toy and Art Ambassador. In the Japanese-inspired art and toy area, as well as throughout the larger toy collecting community, Mark is welcomed and recognized for his personal passion and commitment to supporting artists all around the world and the unique works they create. Beginning as a collector in his youth, Mark has had for years a keen eye for great art and a personal interest in collecting that he has spread through a variety of outlets. Trained at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, Mark honed his skills working for himself and for some of the most notable businesses in the country. As a freelance commercial illustrator, he completed works for such prominent companies as Lucasfilms, DC Comics, Hasbro Toys, IBM, Sony, and numerous advertising and design firms, both national and international. Mark’s colorful style graces over 40 cover paintings for R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps book series – Give Yourself Goosebumps. After hundreds of assignments, Mark made the decision to move in another direction, and that choice has led to whole new career as a successful businessman. For four years, the owner of one of the largest Ultraman toy collections in the world co-published Super 7 Magazine showcasing the finest in Japanese toy collecting. “I’d been collecting Japanese toys all along and suddenly realized it would be cool to have a magazine of some type devoted to them,” Nagata says. Mark’s devotion to presenting collectors with a selection of original figures inspired by classic Japanese toys from the 1960s and ‘70s as well as new versions of licensed Japanese characters is at the heart of Max Toy Company. Named for his son, Max Toys specializes in custom and limited editions of “kaiju” (Japanese monsters) toys and artwork. Many of the original toys produced are hand painted by Mark, a tradition that goes back to Japanese toy makers of the past. “Since our target is the soft vinyl Japanese toy collector, which is a very small niche, our runs of toys can be extremely small,” Mark says. “Runs range from 500 pieces of one toy to just one for a hand-painted, one-of-a-kind custom figure.” Through Max Toys, Mark has taken great pains to widen the reach of his two passions – toys and art. He played a significant part in the development of the first group kaiju show in the United States. Held at the Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago, Illinois in 2007, the “Toy Karma” Show featured detailed work from artists from Japan, the U.S. and South America. Participants marveled at the custom-painted toys and art on display. “Toy Karma” led to Mark being asked to be one of the artists spotlighted in the “Beyond Ultraman: Seven Artists Explore the Vinyl Frontier” exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The October 2007 show, held jointly with the Los Angeles Toy, Doll and Amusement Museum, marked the first time – in a museum setting – that the influence of Japanese toys on California artists was explored. The exhibit featured more than 30 of Mark’s original paintings, toys and a selection of his vintage toy collection. Mark continued to be at the forefront as interest in Japanese-inspired art and toys expanded in 2008. Prestigious art houses Philips De Pury and Christie’s in New York and London sold Mark’s hand-painted custom kaiju toys in its auctions, spreading this unique art and toy movement into new and uncharted areas of the art world. In 2009, Mark once again took his love of toys and art overseas this time to a receptive and welcoming audience in Tokyo, Japan. Here, Mark curated the “Kaiju Comrades” Art Show, once again bringing together artists from various aspects of the kaiju toy realm in this first-of-its-kind toy art show. The following year found Mark in Barcelona, Spain co-curating with Emilio Garcia “Kaiju Attack,” the European country’s first kaiju art show. As the growth of kaiju art and toys increases worldwide, Mark continues in his unofficial role of Kaiju Toy and Art Ambassador. He has written and had his artwork and toy designs included in several books and magazines, both domestic and international. In 2010, Mark served as guest lecturer on kaiju and the toy-making process at the Morikami Museum in Florida. The San Francisco resident and his art can also be spotted in the first volume of the “ToyPunks” DVD and the “Toys R Us” DVD, while the video for the number one song by Owl City “Fireflies” featured Mark’s popular Kaiju Eyezon character. During this same time period, Mark has spearheaded the “Toy Karma 2” and “Kaiju Comrades 2” shows and has plans for future shows both in the U.S. and overseas. “Max Toys allows me to produce original artwork, new toys and work directly with a lot of talented artists,” Mark says. “Max Toy is a synthesis of toys and art, both life-long passions.”

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