Raving Toy Maniac

Todd McFarlane to Make His First Appearance at Stan Lee's Comikaze Comic-con

Joined by Creative Team Member and Artist Collaborators

Tempe, Ariz., Sept. 4, 2012 - When comic book legend Stan Lee throws a party, everyone wants to attend. And lucky for us, we are all invited! Stan Lee's Comikaze, Los Angeles' largest pop-culture convention, opens on Saturday, September 15, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Stan has invited his old friend, comic superstar, Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn and the force behind McFarlane Toys to join him. Bring your favorite comic or action figure and get a FREE autograph from Todd. You will NOT want to miss the Todd and Stan panel, the funniest comic book panel on earth. McFarlane has created a special program cover, featuring Stan, which will only be available at the show. You know we are dying to show it to you, but it's top secret, so you'll have to wait a little longer. Look for the reveal over on our Facebook and Twitter sites soon.

Toys"R"Us® Introduces Enhanced Holiday Layaway Program with No Upfront Service Fee and No Minimum Purchase Requirement

Now Through October 31, Budget-Conscious Shoppers Can Get a Head Start on Their Holiday Shopping and Take Time to Pay with Free Layaway

WAYNE, N.J., Sept. 3, 2012 -- Toys"R"Us® today announced that it will take its layaway program to a whole new level this holiday season, waiving the upfront service fee for all layaway orders created in its stores now through October 31. Offering a free, no minimum purchase layaway program early in the season allows customers to take full advantage of the flexible payment terms provided by layaway and give themselves until December 16 to pick up their orders. In conjunction with the introduction of a layaway program with no upfront fee, the company announced it is offering special savings this week for customers who want to get a head start on their holiday shopping. Additional savings on popular toys will continue right through Christmas to help consumers further stretch their budgets.

Legendary Queen Frontman Freddie Mercury To Become an Angry Bird To Celebrate Freddie For A Day

BURBANK, Calif., Sept. 2, 2012 -- Freddie For A Day and Rovio Entertainment are proud to announce a unique and innovative partnership that sees the most iconic Rock'n'Roll frontman of all time, Freddie Mercury, become an honorary member of the Angry Birds family.

To start the week in which Freddie's memory is celebrated with Freddie For A Day on his birthday, September 5, this coming Monday, September 3 the creators of Angry Birds are releasing an all-new animation of Freddie the Angry Bird riding his bicycle to the famous Queen track "Bicycle Race." The video will be made available on Rovio's YouTube channel / http://rov.io/AngryBirdsFreddieForADay September 3 at 5:00am PT / 8:00am ET.

**Note, this link will not go live until that time.

Universal Monsters Minimates Series 3 is Haunting Toys "R" Us!

September 2012 - Halloween is still two months away, but since it's one of the greatest holidays ever invented, why not start celebrating it early? The third series of Minimates mini-figures based on the classic Universal Monsters has arrived at Toys "R" Us and http://toysrus.com, and it spotlights two classic films: The Mummy and The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Broken down into packs of two, the two-packs include The Mummy with an opening Sarcophagus, Princess Anck-es-en-Amon with Henry Whemple (a TRU exclusive!), Quasimodo with Phoebus and an exclusive black-and-white set of the Mummy with Quasimodo! Check out the in-package product below!

MARVEL COMICS REVEALS POSTER ART FOR NEW YORK COMIC CON

The Avengers Come to Manhattan!

Steve McNiven Creates Original Art for 2012 Pop Culture Event

September 1, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

BBTS EXCLUSIVE DARK ENERGON DELUXE SET OF 4 WITH BONUS DVD
This BBTS Exclusive Set will include the following figures, as well as a bonus DVD: Defender Wheeljack, Knockout, Starscream, Defender Bumblebee. The translucent figures show the effects of Dark Energon infusion. Each fan-favorite character has unique paint schemes and the Autobots and Decepticons have taken on new faction logos: Autobot Dark Energon Defenders and Dark Energon Decepticons.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=bbts10023&mode=r...

BBTS EXCLUSIVE DARK ENERGON VOYAGER SET OF 2

August 31, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Hi - a couple cool new items just added to the site. Look for our Dark Energon preorders to go live late tonight!

HOT TOYS MOVIE MASTERPIECE 1/6 SCALE CATWOMAN (SELINA KYLE)
Following the great response of The Dark Knight Rises movie and our movie-accurate collectibles, Hot Toys is proud to present the highly anticipated female character - the 1/6th scale Selina Kyle/ Catwoman Collectible Figure from this movie. The collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Anne Hathaway as the prominent character Selina Kyle/ Catwoman, highlighting the movie-accurate head sculpt, hair implantation, highly detailed costume and accessories.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=hot10414&mode=re...

PERFECT MODEL 12" WILD TIGER

The Fantastic Four are the Foundation of Marvel Minimates Series 48!

August 2012 - With fallen Fantastic Four member the Human Torch recently discovered alive and relatively well in the Negative Zone, Diamond Select Toys has decided to celebrate by making Marvel Minimates Series 48 their most fantastic assortment yet! Available only at comic shops and specialty stores, this series will feature three two-packs, plus one rare variant two-pack that will only be available one per case. With core FF members, old villains and a key supporting character, this will be one series of Minimates no FF fan should miss!

Mr. Fantastic and the Puppet Master
Team leader Reed Richards comes with an classic FF foe, the conveniently named Phillip Masters. Wearing his John Byrne-designed uniform, Mr. Fantastic will sport a new stretching fist and a grabbing arm. Meanwhile, Masters will come with his distinctive apron... as well as miniscule Minimate puppets that he can manipulate, to control the actions of his foes!

"Flame On" Human Torch and Blastaar

K'NEX® & Philadelphia Eagles Build Giant Angry Birds™ Set!

Visit Love Park in Philadelphia, September 4th, for your chance to Knock It Down!

Hatfield, PA – August 2012 – K'NEX Brands, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love™, has teamed up with the Philadelphia Eagles in celebration of their mutual partnerships with Rovio and Angry Birds, and, together have created a giant-size version of the K'NEX Angry Birds Hammin' Around building set!

DETROIT, Aug. 29, 2012 -- Fathead, the leading brand of officially licensed sports and entertainment wall graphics, releases The Star Trek Fathead Collection. The initial collection will feature twelve wall graphics comprised of REAL.BIG. die-cut and mural images. The striking likenesses were adapted from the iconic science-fiction franchise created by Gene Roddenberry and will include initial images from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation.