Friday, June 24, 2011

Marvel Comics Gashapon!

For those of you who don't know what "Gashapon" is, it's a fancy Japanese word for toys that come out of gumball machines. At first I was like, "Why the hell do we need a word for that?!" but then I was like, "Actually, that is pretty smart. I always just called them gumball machine toys, and this new term is much more fun to say." So, there you have it. Gashapon.

Anyhoodle, over a year ago, I scored some of those killer little Marvel Comics bubble-headed characters in a vending machine near a local comic shop and instantly fell in love with them. There was just something about their odd proportions and clean graphics. I had only managed to find three of the initial six, but one of my stellar cyber-homies, MORS, was awesome enough to track down the other three. He sent them to me and the complete set of six have held a place of honor among my toy display ever since. (Which reminds me, I think I owe MORS some original art, too.)


Basically, the way these puppies work is that you plunk in some quarters and this little round head falls out. You pop the head into two halves (like one of those plastic easter eggs) and the stubby little body is inside. There's sort of this nub thingy that works as its neck around which you snap the head on. and bam! You've got yourself an adorable little superhero!








Well, last week, during one of my many eBay trollings, I happen to stumble onto wave 2 of the Marvel buble-headed gashapon! I had no idea they even came out. The couple of vending machines in my area still have wave 1. Anyway, about $7 later, I was a proud owner of said series and they arrived the other day. Check 'em out!








Oh man, I love these toys. Here's to hoping that they make a series 3! I would kill for Ghost Rider!