Doctor Strange Playing Cards by Fantasma

 Prepare your mind, dear reader, as we venture into the world of magic with Fantasma's Doctor Strange playing cards. But this is no mere deck of cards. Oh no! This deck will allow you to conjure your own feats of magic!

 

It's also not just a deck of cards.

 

 In addition to the deck, you also get a "Book of Secrets", a couple trick assisting cards, and a metal "card guard" to protect your deck. Here's a better pic of the guard (It's black and I'm terrible at lighting). The guard has a trick assist feature where is you know the suit of a chosen card, you can press a finger into the suit icon to "blister" the icon into your finger for a surprise reveal.

 

What makes this deck extra magical is that it's a tapered, or stripper, deck. This makes it super easy to find a card someone takes from it. It's clumsy to explain but here's a good video showing it in action. Even I was able to work it with minimal practice.

 

 In the top row, we have the card back and the Ace of Spades featuring Doc's Eye of Agamotto amulet. The bottom row has a 5 of Hearts with the same image on both sides, a regular Joker with Doc's long time nemesis Baron Mordo, and a trick Joker with the Queen of Diamonds printed on it.

 

 Even the deck box has a couple of trick assists built into it! If you force someone to choose the 7 of Diamonds, you can reveal it by showing them the "barcode".  The number under the barcode ends in 1089 and there's instructions for a little math magic to force someone to come up with that number.

 

 

On top of being a trick deck, this is one of the best Doctor Strange decks I've come across. Every single card has a different image on it. Going through the deck, you'll spot cameos of Clea, Wong, the Hulk, and even the Grim Reaper. How's that for a deep cut? The Queens in the deck all feature the Scarlet Witch. As someone that vibes more with the magic side of Marvel, it's a nice touch.

 Fantasma also makes a Spider-Man and Black Panther deck like this. Even if you're not into card magic, these decks are a great collectible for fans of the character. 

 

Here you'll find out why they call him the Amazing Spider-Man!

Marvel Legends - Clea

 The long time love, now wife, of Dr. Strange has finally been immortalized in plastic in the Marvel Legends line! Apparently she's a hot commodity if eBay prices are anything to go by. I got lucky and ordered her from Amazon UK for just $5 over retail with free shipping.

If you've been around long enough, you'll know Dr Strange is my absolute, all time favorite Marvel character...well, maybe my favorite hero. On any given day Doctors Strange and Doom could be holding the top spot.

I've been a fan of Strange for I don't know how long so finally getting Clea is such a treat. You can read more of me reminiscing about my history with Strange here. Clea has been around almost as long as Strange himself and she's the niece of one of his oldest, most notorious foes: the Dread Dormammu!

Doctor Strange Portal - LEGO 30652

 I hit the toy aisle at Target about once a week, sometimes there's new stock but it's not what I'm looking for. Shockingly, my local Target got in zero Guardians Legends figures, like there isn't even a hint that they got anything. But, I did have a little squee moment when I spotted this on an endcap.

Dr. Strange is one of my all time favorite comic characters and while I do have the set from his first movie, I couldn't pass up this little set to have another LEGO Strange that I can keep on my desk.

Funko Soda - Doctor Strange & Gomez Addams

Up until this weekend, I had only owned a single Funko Soda...figure? Piece? Not sure what you'd actually call these. It says collectible on the can but that doesn't sound fun. Anyway! I decided to pick up Strange this past weekend and just couldn't let him leave the store alone.

One of the reasons I don't have many Soda figures is that they're not as ubiquitous as the Pops. You can find Pops almost anywhere and I've only ever found the Soda in one store, Newbury Comics. This is a New England chain of stores that started out selling comics (surprise!) and music. Now they carry all sorts of pop culture stuff. Think Hot Topic without the goth.

Monthly Media Recap - May 2022

I don't know about where you live, but around here, Memorial Day weekend is the start of neighborhood "we can shoot off fireworks when we feel like it" season for the next two months. 

 

Being the unofficial start of summer movie season, are you planning on going to the theater or are you content to stream the summer at home? Let me know in the comments if you've seen anything good lately, I'm always up for recommendations!

Streaming

 

Spider-Woman (1979, Disney+)

I thought it would be fun to go back and check this out since I haven't seen it in 40+ years. Not only can the himbo Jessica works with not figure out she's Spider-Woman (no matter where in the world they are, she shows up) but when he's not trying to get a dinner date with her, he's putting her down for being a woman (it's too dangerous, you're not strong enough, etc). It's supposed to be a joke between Jessica and the viewer but yikes! They're also very loosey-goosey with her powers. She has a spider sense that gives her visions, she can shoot webs, and sometimes has spider telepathy. If you have a fondness for 70s/80s cartoons, this should hit the spot for you. 

 

Love, Death, & Robots (S3, Netflix)

I blew through this over a weekend. This animated anthology is definitely not for the kiddos. There's a nice variation in the settings of the shorts, some are very violent but all are a lot of fun! If you're a scifi/horror fan this series is definitely worth your time.

 

Movies

The Spine of Night (2021, Shudder)

This is the perfect love child of classic Bakshi rotoscope animation and Heavy Metal. The story follows a plant that grants wicked magical power and it's impact over generations. Add to the fantasy setting nudity and brutal violence and you're in for a treat. You'd swear this came right out of the 80s at you!

Rating: 8/10

Uno Ultimate - Doctor Strange & Scarlet Witch

If you're the type of person that regularly checks out the board game section when you're doing a toy run, you may have seen the latest incarnation of Uno, Uno Ultimate Marvel. Although I don't currently have the "base" game, I had to pick up these add-on packs for two of my favorite Marvel characters. I'd been hunting for these and finally bit the bullet on eBay only to find them in Target at 50% off a few days later! 

You might be asking what makes Ultimate Marvel different from the endless re-themes of Uno we get. In this version, each player chooses a specific hero deck to play with. The base game includes Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel. There's also one other add-on deck for Spider-Man. As you might expect, each deck has a different strategy to it.

Doctor Strange - Marvel Legends Walmart Exclusive

 The Doctor is in, baby! Strange has had a handful of incarnations in the Marvel Legends line from the movies, comics, and even the What If? animated series. None of them have really hit that sweet spot of "I gotta have it!" despite Strange being my favorite Marvel character. Well, they finally made "My Strange".

 

 Naturally, it's a hard to find (at least for me) Walmart exclusive. But by the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, I have found him! He's costs a tiny bit more than a regular Legend but with all the extras, I feel like I underpaid if anything. (Note that I'm talking about pre-recent price hike prices of $20) I popped the side panel open on the box here to show off the artwork.

 

Strange Days Ahead

 After seeing No Way Home, and being a little disappointed with how Strange was portrayed, I thought I'd dive back into Strange's comic history in the lead up to Multiverse of Madness. Now this isn't new territory for me, not by a long shot. 

 

How I discovered Strange is lost to the mists of time but there is one thing that stands out in my childhood memories, okay maybe two things.

 

 I had these two Pocket Books, so called because they were paperback size and could fit in your back pocket, that I must have read a billion times each. Like most young boys at some point, I was into the whole knights and wizards thing but my interests seemed to skew more toward the magically inclined. I was such a Strange nerd that I had a three ring binder that I would copy his spell incantations into. Just know, in a pinch, I can still recall how to conjure the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.

Dr Strange Playing Cards

Thanks to Entertainment Earth having a BOGO 40% off sale on Aquarius stuff, I got two new decks of cards! Sadly, most of their Star Wars cards are out of stock, including this really cool one, but the ones I got are pretty great.

Doctor Strange is probably my favorite Marvel character. Before I really got into comics as a teen, I had a pair of pocket sized collections of his earliest adventures and that's really where my love for him got it start. I read those things so many times! I even kept a notebook of all the spells/incantations he used. Nerd alert!

I would have picked these up no matter which era of Dr. Strange they focused on but they lean more toward the early 70s stuff. Would I have preferred more classic Ditko art or art that covered the span of Strange's appearances? Sure, but this era is classic for me. I would have done something different for the Jokers, maybe had one of the Eye of Agamotto cards be closed or the Seal of the Vishanti which is the symbol on the large window in his Sanctum Sanctorum.

They use an assortment of comic covers, comic panels, and portraits of Strange. Some panels include his long time foes Baron Mordo or Dormammu. No Nightmare or Mindless Ones though, what up with that?

Okay, who out there is good at math? In this 52 card deck, there are 25 different pieces of art used. How did they manage that, you ask? Not only do they repeat art between suits, they used one image for four cards!

Maybe they only had so much budget for different pieces of art? Who knows, but unless you're a weirdo that collects playing cards, you might not even notice it.

Tune your crystal ball in on Friday to find out what the other deck is.

Marvel Toybox - Doctor Strange Figure

Here is the other Marvel Toybox figure that I had to get when I saw him. I had no idea they were making this so it was a nice surprise to find him on the shelf.

He was definitely a lot easier to free from his plastic prison than Star-Lord was.

He comes with a removable cloak which has got some interesting checkered texturing on the inside. As I mentioned with Star-Lord, the figures have a peg hole in the back and Strange's cloak has a peg to secure it to him.

 As excited as I was to find him, I got more disappointed with the figure after getting a good look at him. I don't know if it's the amulet hanging so low or his tabard being too long but he just looks stocky.

He looks like he has stubby legs and his arms are too long. I don't think the bulky foot wraps are helping either. He's got even less of a range of leg movement than Star-Lord due to his clothes. Not that he needs it really. And then there's the paint apps. Look at the opening in his tunic on the left, it's got a bit of red on it which is somewhat puzzling as the only red is on his cloak which isn't even molded on to him.

And then there's his shoulder which looks like it's had some wear even though he's fresh out of the package. I didn't see any paint issues with Star-Lord so I'm thinking I just got a bad paint figure.

I did mention how these are a bit taller and chunkier than your average 3.75" and here's a side by side. Every time I look at him, I'm thinking dwarf.

He does look pretty cool from the right angle though. They did a great job with the face, except for that tiny white spot on his goatee on the right. His hair has got a great sculpt to it. I also have to give them credit for his clothes. They could have just done smooth but they textured everything very well.

Overall, I could overlook the paint issues if he didn't look so stocky.

If you're wondering why I reference Star-Lord so much, it's because these two are my first venture into Toybox figures.I talked about Star-Lord on Tuesday.

2016 Haul-iday Report

Wow, remember when 2017 seemed like the far future? Damn, I'm getting old.

Anyway, hope everyone had a great holiday season with friends and family. This is the annual somewhat-braggy post showing off some of my holiday gifts.

First up, some Strange things...

Those calendars may look like they've come to bargain with Dormammu, but they actually have different art inside. Also, one of them came with the set of buttons on the left. I didn't even think to look for playing cards when the movie came out. I"ll probably feature them some day when I get the comic based cards. Another thing I didn't know about was the Walmart exclusive Funko Pop "spell casting" Strange figure. Pretty cool!

From other dimensions to other galaxies! The Falcon speaker was a total surprise, which is good. While wish lists help the holiday shoppers, they kind of take away the surprise for the giftee. The ESB Topps book is fantastic. I got the Star Wars one last year. It showcases all the original trading cards from ESB, front and back. The dust cover is made from a waxy paper, just like the card packs.

The magazines were also a nice surprise. I've seen them on stands but couldn't bring my self to spend the hefty cost for them. The People one comes with a pull out and assemble VR viewer to pop your phone into. If you already have a VR viewer, go to the app store and grab Life VR. It's got a brief video where you're an X-Wing pilot. It's not a game, you can only look around but it's a fun experience. The app also has you standing in the middle of a 360 degree view of the Rogue One Jedha set where they're filming the tank ambush. You can also watch them in non-VR so you can still have the 360 experience on your device.

I was so thrilled to get all three of these! I was very sad when I found out Gravity Falls was coming to an end. Ever since the show started I was hoping we'd get a replica of the journal and here it is! It's done like the 'actual' book. It looks like someone wrote and drew in it. There's also a section that Dipper has put in his own notes.

Flipping through the Labyrinth book is amazing. So many behind the scenes photos! There's quite a few smaller pages inserted throughout the book that make it look like someone put them in there featuring drawings or script pages.

I'm almost done with Dr. Strange already. It's on par with other similar DK books. It doesn't get too in depth on anything but it does cover a good amount of his history.

New cars! I have an Ecto-1 from a previous release but I'm going to keep this one carded. A few other random Halloween rides including a Rigor Motor I don't have. On the right is a Treasure Hunt from the new Fright Cars series. I have been looking for this one for a good month or so. Very happy to finally get one...but do I open it?

Finally, a couple of neato things Mrs Dex got for me at a holiday craft fair that are right up my alley. A Creature light switch and a sparkly Labyrinth ornament.

Did you get anything killer that made your holiday season?
Let me know!

Monthly Movie Recap - November 2016

Just a little over two weeks until Rogue One! I'm very interested to see how the first anthology movie is going to play out. The movie recap is dropping a day early because tomorrow is December 1st, kicking off the 13 Days of Creepmas!

Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (2015, Netflix)
You might have heard about this shot-for-shot Raiders fan film that some kids decided to make back in the 80s. This is the story of their adult selves returning to the project to get the final scene and finish the movie. It's a pretty great story, must watch for Indy fans.

You can achieve your childhood dream, even if it takes you 30+ years...and almost losing your job.

Rating: 8/10

Doctor Strange (2016)
Dr. Strange was definitely on my top 3 list of favorite Marvel characters I would never expect to see in a movie. I'm happy to say they handled it well! There was a lot more humor than I was expecting. I was kind of hoping for a little more of a horror angle from the director of Sinister but maybe we'll get there in the future.

Cool: The visuals are amazing!
Lame: The handling of time. Not in the magical sense, but the storytelling sense. The director said Strange's training for about a year. They do a poor job of conveying this so it doesn't feel like he's prepared enough to do what needs to be done at the end. And what is the villain doing during all this time?

Rating: 8/10, if you're even thinking about seeing this, do it in IMAX 3D. You can thank me later.

Sinister (2012)
Wanted to check this out after seeing Dr Strange to get an idea of what the director might have been able to do had he gone a with more of a horror vibe. I honestly thought I had seen this as I frequently confuse the Blumhouse horror movies like Insidious and The Conjuring. It's not often I see a horror movie that creeps me out to any degree so kudos to you, Sinister! More than scares, I like a horror movie that can give a sense of dread.

Cool: The concept/history of the entity. The 8mm home movies are fantastically eerie.
Lame: Bughuul sounds more like a bodily function that a wicked demon

Rating: 7/10

The Purge: Election Year (2016)
Not as action packed as the second installment but I still really enjoyed it. It's kind of similar to the last one in that there is a group trying to survive out on the streets on Purge Night. It does a decent job of wrapping up the series...at least until the President-elect sees the movies and thinks it's a good idea to start doing this for real.

Cool:Some good fights and one really amazing headshot effect.
Lame: Some may be turned off by the "political" theme

Rating: 7/10

Deadly Friend (1986)
I haven't see all of Wes Craven's movies but this has to be the worst! The trailer doesn't even do a good job of telling what the movie is really about. Having said that, this is a really fun bad movie!

Cool: If you never watch this movie, at least watch the graphic basketball scene.
Lame: The ending is a bit...weird

Rating: 3/10 (actual), 5/10 (so bad it's good)


Stake Land (2010, Netflix)
This could have been just another post-undead apocalypse movie but the characters and slight twist on the setting make it a good time. This is how I prefer my vampire films, where they are the threat! Although the group leader has a "been there, seen it all" attitude, you do get to discover the world through the young man he rescues at the start of the film.

Cool: Really like the ghoulish, feral look of the vamps.
Lame: Only just found out the sequel aired on SyFy last month. If I'd been aware of that I would have watched this sooner!

Rating: 6/10

Month Total

 New: 6  Rewatch: 0

Year Total

 New: 65  Rewatch:3

Marvel Collector Corps - Doctor Strange

Last month, I ordered the Marvel Collector Corps box from Funko. I don't have an ongoing subscription for the Marvel one but I do pick and choose when the theme sounds good. And since Doctor Strange is my all time favorite Marvel character, I couldn't pass this one up!

I had wanted to do a whole week of Strange posts leading up to the movie's release this weekend like I had done when Guardians of the Galaxy came out. But that whole October/Halloween thing kind of got in the way. I probably could have finagled Strange into some Halloween-adjacent posts but I figured I'd hold off and give him his due when I can.

I saw the movie yesterday and thought it was fantastic! All I can say is, if you're going to see it, make the effort to find an IMAX 3D theater.

By the way, if you're a fan of the good Doctor, there are two sites you must check out:

Sanctum Sanctorum Comix, run by Ptor who not only looks like Strange, but knows a whole lot about him and has quite a collection. 

He's also 1/3 of the panel on the first Dr Strange Podcast.

By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, let us get on with the unboxing!

Not even Earth's Sorcerer Supreme is a match for the US Postal Service. The contents must have had a Shield of the Seraphim cast on them though because nothing was damaged.

 Here's what you see when you open the box. There are also a lot of Eye of Agamotto graphics on the interior of the box as well.

As with the other Funko boxes, you get a collectible patch and pin that are themed to the box. I really like the way the Eye looks on the pin. This is the film version of the artifact.

I'm guessing you're more likely to get exclusive comic covers in the Marvel/DC boxes than in the Star Wars box. The info card points out this cover is based on a classic black light poster which was also used for this 1981 comic issue. I was pretty excited to get this because it came before the actual comic was released so it was like getting a sneak peak.

Next is an adorable Pop mug of Doc's mug. The collar of his cloak wraps around the back and sides of his head. Normally, Funko makes great stuff but I was a little let down with the paint apps on this piece. If you look at the middle of his forehead, you can see some gray seeping from under his hair. There is also a faint red spot above his left eyebrow. It's hard to see in this small photo but easy to notice when you have the mug in hand.

Another staple of the Funko box is a Pop shirt. I was surprised it actually fits! However, the shirt manufacturer thinks the L in XL stands for Long instead of Large. Whatever, it's great!

And what would a Funko box be without an exclusive Pop figure? This is Doc in his astral form. I really like the pose because he's sitting lotus and only the cloak is touching the ground making a nice floating effect. In the comics, his astral form generally takes on a blue translucency. The info card says they changed the Pop to be yellow after seeing the trailer because he has more of a golden glow. I just saw the movie yesterday and can't remember for sure but I think they changed the color in the final film.

Overall, an excellent assortment of items that any Strange fan would love to have. November's theme is X-Men, and while they are my favorite team, I think I'll be holding off on the Marvel boxes until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.

LEGO Doctor Strange 76060

*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***

I have no idea about the plot and/or characters in the Doctor Strange movie. This LEGO set may or may not have spoilers so if you intend to stay as spoiler free as possible, you may not want to keep reading.