Merchandisers love VARIETY of offerings and EXCLUSIVITY of products at the same time. But above all else, they love a healthy PROFIT MARGIN. To those ends, you see ads like this one from the mid 80s a lot. Take the … Continued
Spotted in Pismo Beach, California today. Bad strip mall sign spacing, or greatest crossover business idea ever? I imagine students hand-wringing your dirty clothes, whipping them around like weapons to dry alá training montages in old Gordon Liu and Jackie … Continued
Spent the weekend selling vintage toys and collectibles at the big Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank. Normally, details of this wouldn’t land on this site, but to my surprise there was quite the array of martial artists and Japanese film legends … Continued
Anyone local to Burbank, CA, I’m set-up for the weekend at an, admittedly off-topic, convention called MONSTERPALOOZA. I’m having a “monster-kid” yard sale of sorts, selling off a bunch of collectibles, toys and movie memorabilia from storage. The highlight of … Continued
Everyone knows Toshiro Mifune, right? Shogun, warlord, admiral, ronin. But who knew he once played a ninja!?!? Born on this day in 1920, let’s celebrate Mifune’s birthday with a look at a lesser-known chapter of his storied career – two ninja … Continued
Amazing Arabic market poster for Alexander Lo-Rei’s Ninja in the USA. Wow… I mean, WOW!
Don’t own an antique Japanese print of a ninja (or ninja-like) wizard doing TOAD MAGIC? Well, end the shame and embarrassment of it right now over at Japanese art acutioneers Fuji Arts! I’d love to a be a heavy hitter … Continued
So-called “Motion Comics” released on DVD and partially-animated graphic novels adapted for tablet devices are familiar now, but go back a few decades and experiments in using still art in moving media are less frequent, and with mixed results at … Continued
I love the somewhat goofy Henshin Ninja Arashi and I love this cheap 7″ semi-articulated vinyl figure too. Bandai produced this in 2005, and it sold for $10-14. I dig this size and price range of collectible – one only … Continued