Coming Down from Comic Con

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to thank everybody who made it out to the Evil Ink booth this year to check out Kill Audio and The Amory Wars and say hi. It was great to see some familiar faces and a bunch of new ones as well.

As for the long awaited Kill Audio dolls, for those of you who were unable to score a gold one at the con, do not fret! We should have the black and white and bloody variants in about 6-8 weeks, which will be available online as well as in a slew of local shops. Keep checking back for more info here. Again, we apologize for the fiasco and appreciate the overwhelming enthusiasm for the figure and the strip. It's been a lot of fun to do on our end.

Speaking of the strip, a new page was posted in the comic strip section this afternoon, with more to follow throughout the week. Hope you enjoy meeting Chi-co;)

Thanks again!

Vinylpulse.com Info on Kill Audio

http://www.vinylpulse.com/2008/07/claudio-sanchez.htmlmore

Keep checking back for more info on Kill Audio at SDCC. Also, don't forget to scroll down in the comic section to see the newest KA strip released yesterday!

San Diego Comic-Con Signing Schedule

Claudio Sanchez will be signing at the Image Comics autograph area (Booth 2729) during the following times:

Thursday, July 24th 3-4PM
Saturday, July 26th 2-3PM / 5-6PM
Sunday, July 27th 12-1PM

...more announcements soon!

Toy of the Week 4

Veering a bit off the beaten path of the rather dark and somewhat serious toys we have been posting, comes the bright pink King Ken IV from Amos Toys as 4th toy of the week from our collection.

This little darling, the 1st anniversary Clutter Magazine special edition King Ken was a gift, toted all the way from the UK and one that is (straight from the horse's mouth) "rare as rocking horse shit now." Designed by James Jarvis, the King Ken character was originally created as a special bonus character to the "In Crowd: House of Horror" collection, a series of mythical misunderstoods, doomed to walk the foothills in search of people to engage in theoretical and brilliant discussion. King Ken was an instant hit and thus became a staple all on his own.

With delightfully sharp finger and toenails, King Ken is a commanding piece, yet there's also something about a bubblegum pink gorilla that screams, "Play with me!" Whether a designer toy, an action figure or something from the quarter machine at a convenience store, it can be easy to forget that the most important aspect of a toy isn't anything but whether it beckons to be picked up and actually played with. Mr. Ken here certainly does. Amos and Clutter are examples of independent organizations trying to keep the art of creation as fun as possible: And we love that.

Toy of the Week 3

This week's toy is a double header of vinyl delight, brought to you by a man who goes by the name of KAWS.

With a start as a graffiti artist in Jersey City and NYC, KAWS made a name for himself by integrating his signature cross bone image into popular ad campaigns from Paris to Tokyo. His designer toys and art features the image that has become synonymous with the name KAWS, many times cross-breeding it with cultural icons like Mickey Mouse and the Simpsons. His work has been called "a disruption of, as well as a tribute to, all objects produced, bought, sold, exchanged, desired, and cherished."

The pieces that have made their way into our grubby little hands are KAWS Dissected (left, obviously) and Darth Vader Companion.

The Dissected figure was released in three colorways: grey-scale, flesh toned and the black/fluorescent featured here, which was limited to 500 pcs. There are a couple 5 foot tall pieces floating around out there someplace too, though finding one of those is like locating the Holy Grail. Dissected is just one of those toys that is awesome to look at with its 80's style colors and guts exposed.

Darth Vader Companion is a classic example of what KAWS does best; an amalgamation of his own brand with a hugely recognizable presence like Star Wars. It makes for a vinyl piece that serves as both a social commentary on consumerism—and a reminder of what a brilliant character Darth Vader is. Check out the nice crafting in his cape…you can almost see it fluttering in the wind as he walks. Check out more at www.kawsone.com.
[Some images via OriginalFake]

Toy of the Week 2

The toy that sparked our interest this week is 74b from Kenn Munk. Kenn was asked to customize a 1966 Action Man, along with 40 other artists. He chose to do 6 versions of the figure--inspired by a childhood love of Star Wars and THX 1138--all in black and white. His only self-imposed restriction was to give the figures absolutely no back story. 74b was the first piece born in the series.

Kenn has said the figures are "part manufactured by me, part re-sampled existing bits of toys - inspired by the way graphic design/art direction works. You get these pieces, texts, messages, photos, logos and so on and your job is to make these many things one thing." He wanted to explore the idea of harnessing in rampant creativity to fit the needs and mental images of a group of people. The results are beautiful.

VinylCut ended up with 74b after seeing him featured in an issue of Clutter Magazine. The contrast of colors, clean lines and underlying homage to military styled robots sent us on a hunt to track Kenn down. After his show "Everything is Black and White" was finished, we acquired the piece. Though 74b is a conglomeration of new and old toy parts, the pieces come together seamlessly and give the figure the personality of a machinist samurai.

Sometimes a little restriction can be a good thing. 74b is a sleek, shiny reminder that it's not always a bad thing to have outside input or direction on something. Just a thought.

Toy of the Week

Hello hello!

As promised, we started to take some pictures of some of the best toys we've come across and thought they might convey why we fell in love with them in the first place.

This little beauty above is called Bertie, World War Robot (the Dirty Deeds edition.) We were one of 6 winners chosen in a blind lottery to purchase a piece at this year's New York Comic Con. What's so great about a toy that it would have to be raffled just for the chance to buy it, you might say? Well, allow us to explain.

Bertie is a robot based on the work of comic illustrator and artist Ashley Wood. The man does gorgeous work and this piece absolutely does it justice in 3-D form. The piece has 40 plus points of articulation, with 3 points in each finger alone. In the toy world, this means Bertie can hold just about anything, as you can see from his firm grasp on the decapitated head here. The rust on him is hand created, the consistent attention to details in coloring, packaging and nearly a dozen well-executed accessories-- is pretty incredible. Bertie is a great example of spending the time and energy to make things not just perfect, but really badass. The designers of this toy were hands on and involved in its creation from start to finish.

We think that's how things should be, whether it's a comic, a toy, an album...whatever. Creating something really cool is about the process. Hopefully, our love for the mediums we work in will shine through as much as Bertie.