It’s Friday night, and here at The No Seatbelt Blog, I celebrate it by writing about toys. Because that’s what nerds do. Every week, I showcase another piece of my collection of Funko’s Pop! vinyl figures, offering some background on the featured character, its origin, and significance to me. Funko has won a piece of my nerdy heart with this line of compact, inexpensive, big-headed collectibles, and my collection of them has grown exponentially over the last few years. Continue reading
“Some men just want to watch the world burn,” said the great Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth in The Dark Knight. That morbid desire was certainly true of The Joker in that incredible film, and the character’s portrayal by Heath Ledger made you believe that without a shred of doubt. Ledger’s performance as Batman’s nemesis was unexpectedly scary, and is to this day, at least in my book, incomparable. As a self-proclaimed “agent of chaos,” he wanted to bring Gotham City to its knees, if for no other reason than the fact that he could. Everyone knows that the scariest motive for a villain to have for the death and destruction they wreak is no real motive at all, and that concept makes movies such as The Dark Knight so much more fun. Continue reading
I picked up this Funko Pop! Doll that resembles the marble-mouthed villain from The Dark Knight Rises in a shop on the boardwalk in either Ocean City or Wildwood, New Jersey. I got him for about ten bucks, and not long after that, Funko discontinued it, sending its value skywards. I’ve seen him going for as much as $230 on Ebay and Amazon. I’ve been tempted to sell him, but I think I’ll hold onto him for a few more years or until someone gives me an answer I can’t refuse. For toy collectors, the Funko train is a great one to be on, since the Pop! dolls are very inexpensive, and when they are retired, their sale value often goes through the roof, assuming you can overcome whatever sentimental value is attached to the character. Continue reading
Since the trailer for next year’s Suicide Squad movie has been released, having magnified the uproar following the casting and look of Jared Leto as The Joker, I have decided to examine the evolution of the character in movies in anticipation of the upcoming film. Follow me, Batman fans! Continue reading
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