14 of Castle Geek-Skull's Favorite Comic Book Covers of 2014

Batman #31: one of many beautiful comic book cover images from 2014.

Ever the rapscallion, Time did everything it could to keep me from enjoying comic books as much as I would have liked to in 2014. I'm far from out of the game entirely however, as I can confidently say that I kept up better than I have in a good while. I even finally got around to showing my face at Free Comic Book Day!

As I kept an eye out for the next must-have issue, tons of preview images fell before my smoldering gaze. The cover art is always front and center, and I often want everything I see based on the quality of the illustrations alone. Choosing a limited number of highlights is a daunting task, but please join me as I go through 14 of my favorite comic book covers of 2014!

Greg Capullo's Batman #31 cover proves yet again that the simplest layouts can be the most effective.

14 Unexpected Surprises from TV, Movies, Games, etc. In 2014

Surprise, Mr. Falcon!

In my attempt to keep up with pop culture goings-on this year, there were a lot of developments I never could have predicted. It seems awesome television announcements or crazy character appearances were turning up all over the place. Take my silken hand as I lead you down the path of 14 of my favorite unexpected surprises from 2014!

Community's "G.I. Jeff" lovingly parodied the 1980s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon, complete with corresponding action figure commercials.

14 Toys That Made Me Want To Break The Bank In 2014

Nyaaaah? Nyaaaaah!

Despite taking a step back from amassing action figures and other collectibles over the last few years, my interest in the hobby has remained fully intact. While staying away has obvious financial benefits, I just can't help myself from checking out all of the latest releases. There were all sorts of tempting plastic-crack goodies in 2014, so much so that I actually ended up spending some cash. Oops. Let's look at 14 toys that inspired me to do so!

I loved seeing Original Comic Book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures on store shelves this year. They aren't as swanky as the NECA versions from a few years back, but they're more than acceptable for their considerably lower price point. When I spotted this version of Raphael on the pegs of Target last month, I threw my money at it and never looked back.

FanArt Frenzy - 14 of My Favorite Pieces of Fan Art From 2014!

2014 Retrospective Edition!

As we prepare to say our goodbyes to 2014, I feel it's the perfect time to dip into the FanArt Frenzy well once more. Below you will find 14 of my absolute favorite illustrations from the year. You're here for pretty pictures, so let's skip the blabber and get right to it!

Three of my favorite Transformers designs: Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge by Golby2

Castle Geek-Skull's Santa Hat Party - Christmas 2014

Ahoy there, jolly internet users! Let's celebrate the Christmas season with 25 pictures of iconic pop-culture characters wearing Santa hats! Hit it, Google Image Search!

Santa Doom from What The?! Vol. 1, #10

Ugly Christmas Sweaters Gone Geeky

Holiday cheer is the right of all sentient beings.

Well, here we go. The holiday season is upon us yet again. I'm more of a Halloween kind of guy, but there are at least a few elements of Christmas I can still appreciate. At the very top of the list are the festive yet disturbingly ugly sweaters adorned with tacky graphics, glitter, and bells. I'm not especially keen on wearing any, but I admire their alluring mixture of goofiness and gaudiness. It's all about the alliteration, baby.

Despite admiring these eyesores from afar, I find myself feeling more swayed than ever to actually join in on the fun. This year, the wonderful world of pop culture t-shirt stores have tapped into the realm of ugly Christmas sweaters in glorious fashion. Here are a few that have caught my eye thus far:

Guardians of the Galaxy "Holiday Mix Vol. 1"

10 Transformers You Should Display For Halloween

Even if they don't realize it, Transformer collectors likely have all the makings of an exceptional Dinosaur Dracula-style Halloween mood table. The core concept behind the TF series already falls right in line with the holiday, and the evolution and experimentation of its toylines has delivered plenty of spooky/scary bots over the years. If I were to assemble a Halloween-friendly Transformers display of my own, it would absolutely have to include the following:

Generation 1 Punch/Counterpunch

Autobot double agent Punch is able to transform into Counterpunch: a completely different persona that the Decepticons foolishly accept among their ranks. It's like the ultimate Halloween costume contest.

Weekly Want - Generations Thundercracker, LEGO Star Wars, & More!

Dolla dolla bill.

Ahoy there! Last time on the Weekly Want, we took a look at Sideshow Premium Format Deadpool, Masterpiece Star Saber, and several other fun upcoming toys. Now, let's move on to some of this week's newly revealed wallet fodder!

Sideshow Collectibles' Premium Format Batgirl figure is now available for Pre-Order. Shipping in July of 2015, this is a wonderfully sculpted piece that will make for a great display. As with all of Sideshow's items, the hefty $400 price tag can be taken care of via smaller monthly installments.

Weekly Want - Sideshow Deadpool, MP Star Saber, & More!

Hey you crazy kids! It's Weekly Want time once again, so let's take a look at some of the new toy and collectible promos or newly in-stock items that graced the interwebs from the end of September through early October! Where does the time go?

The guys over at Sideshow Collectibles really know how to tease. It's not coming out until a year from now, but the Pre-Orders for their Sixth Scale Deadpool figure are now live. The hefty $230 price tag looks to be worth it given the high quality costume and elaborate variety of accessories and interchangeable parts. There are tons more pictures over on Sideshow's site, so check 'em out!

This Playstation Optimus Prime Toy is My Childhood Personified

When I saw that Takara Tomy is gearing up to release an Optimus Prime toy that bizarrely transforms into an original Playstation console, it was if they were perfectly summing up my entire childhood. My early years were spent watching the old Transformers cartoon over and over, and my afternoons and weekends were largely occupied with Playstation games as I entered my teens. Regardless of how "out of nowhere" the concept may seem, it was pretty much guaranteed that I'd be all in for Playstation Optimus.

Transformers Combiner Wars Superion and Menasor Look Promising!

Dudes made up of five other dudes.

As Hasbro's Transformers team wrapped up its upcoming products panel at Botcon 2014, they teased the audience with a silhouette that looked an awful lot like the original Generation 1 character Superion: the massive combined form of the "Aerialbots" team. Just over a month later, the company kicked off their San Diego Comic Con 2014 showing with a bang by revealing the toy in full! The upcoming Transformers: Generations Superion was shown off at the SDCC 2014 Hasbro Breakfast Event alongside a corresponding Menasor, the famous "Stunticon" combiner. We were also hit with the news that the overarching theme of next year's toy releases would be "Combiner Wars," meaning there are more to come!

"Combiner Wars" is a solid idea for the Generations line, as the combination gimmick is always one of the most clamored for amongst the Transformers collecting community. The sheer number of third party attempts to fulfill that demand over the years — as well as how much cash fans were willing to shell out for them — should make that crystal clear. I can imagine the idea will still resonate with kids as well.

While restrictions such as staying within retail price points in a less than forgiving economy and meeting strict safety regulations might keep them from matching some of the higher hopes of adult collectors, I think Generations Superion and Menasor look promising thus far. There's a nice overall balance between paying homage to the original designs and adding a bit of modern sensibility. As such, I figured it'd be fun to assemble a quick comparison of the new toys with their original counterparts (both toy and character model alike.) Let's go!

Silverbolt: now available for purchase!

Generations Silverbolt (the Aerialbot leader with a fear of heights) looks to have been approached similarly to his 2008 Universe counterpart. I recall that being an unpopular toy given its simplistic transformation. The engineering doesn't look much more complicated here, but I'm sure the ability to combine will do a lot to win over collectors that worry over such things.

Angry Birds Transformers Toys: I'm Totally Buying A Starsqueel

So Angry. So Birds.

Right around this time last month, we learned that Angry Birds: Transformers would indeed be headed our way. Now, TF fansite Transformers At The Moon has uncovered some trademark applications revealing four character names. So far, we have Optimus Red, Megahog, Bumblebird, and Starsqueel.

If there are indeed toys of these characters — and the applications suggest there likely will be — I'm totally buying a Starsqueel. I don't care how much it costs. I don't even care what it looks like. I'm buying it.

You wanna know why I'm buying it? Because it's named freakin' STARSQUEEL, that's why!

Whoever came up with that name has an open invitation to be my BFF.

That's it for this one, I s'pose. Hit me up on Twitter & Facebook until the next post rolls around!

Transformers: The Movie's "Dare" is a Great Fit For Asura's Wrath

This is his happy face.

In a recent edition of "Boss Rage," Youtube gamer Maximilian took on the DLC Evil Ryu and Oni battle from Asura's Wrath. As the fight with Oni drew to a close, he threw Stan Bush and Vince DiCola's "Dare" from the Transformers: The Movie soundtrack over the action. Despite its synth-fueled 1980's cheesiness, the song actually manages to fit the game quite well:

No "start at..." codes are working, so skip to 8:50 for the song.

Weekly Want July 2-9 feat. SH Figuarts Injustice Batman & More

Take. My. Cash.

Bills? Bah! Why pay bills when there are so many awesome action figures and collectibles to buy? Here's the latest Weekly Want:

Funko will be offering a flocked version of their Pop! Vinyl Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon figure as an SDCC 2014 exclusive. This puts the already excellent looking figure over the top. (Side note: flocked toys always make me think of Moss Man.)

Unnerving Violence & False Freedom (Transformers: AoE Review)

COME GET SOME FREEDOM!

As we all know, this past weekend brought the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction upon us. Despite all of the hype, I failed to find the motivation to venture out to see it myself. Upon discussing the film's interesting early reception, my pal GogDog, whom many of you should know from his impressive toy photography and former WTF@TFW Podcast hosting duties, offered to be Castle Geek-Skull's surrogate moviegoer. It would appear the experience left quite an impression, because he came back with quite a tale. Even if you've already had your fill of AoE reviews, trust me, this one is well worth checking out. (Please be warned: the review does contain spoilers)

Alright Gog, take it away:

"I was fairly apathetic in my desire to see Transformers: Age of Extinction. Having seen the previous three films in the series (all directed by Michael Bay) several times each, I knew what to expect. The Transformers film franchise is widely known for its over the top robot action with beautiful, state of the art computer-rendered effects and well-choreographed battle scenes, as well as two-dimensional, unbelievable characters, and confusing, jarring editing.

My interest piqued when the film began to screen. I saw such widely varying opinions from people I know quite well. Their general takes on the film ranged from calling it a noticeable, marked improvement over the previously well-known problems in the series' production, to declaring it “an utterly awful bewildering film” and giving it a score two points lower than the scale even bottomed out at. At this point, I wanted to absorb every bit of my friends' opinions that I could. I wanted to know, in every detail, without spoilers, how and why they felt the film was enjoyable or not, and in what ways it was successful or a failure. Then I would watch the film and experience just why it was pulling people in such widely different directions. I thought I knew what to expect. Let me tell you — I did not. This film managed to shock me in several different ways and for very, very different reasons.

Transformers FanArt Frenzy!

On the last edition of Fanart Frenzy, I compiled various early examples of Luigi Death Stare fan art. What can I say? The reaction to Mario Kart 8 has been a joy to behold. However, it's time to move on! As I stare the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction in the face, it occurred to me that this would be the perfect time to throw together a Transformers FanArt Frenzy! Here we go:

In the spirit of "hey, why not", Zikya from Deviant Art has blessed us with a vision of Armada Starscream playing guitar. Oddly enough, I think I'm OK with this.

Transformers Generation 1 Toyline: Autobot Highlights

Destined for pasty shoulders everywhere.

Hey you crazy kids, it's time to throw down with the Autobot side of my Transformers Generation 1 toyline highlights! My affections might lean towards the Decepticons, but there are still more than enough lovable 'Bots to go around. Now, journey with me through each year of the original TF toyline as I struggle to decide which releases are my favorites!

Disclaimer, Part II: There's no need to freak if I leave out one of your preferred 'Bots. Everyone has their own taste and I'm merely sharing mine. Blah blah, let's get to it!

1984: Optimus Prime

Picking a favorite from the 1984 Autobot assortment is actually quite difficult. Part of me would love to go with Prowl, Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, or even Hound. I don't want to immediately jump to the obvious choice, but I can't help it; I'll always have a soft spot for Optimus Prime. His original toy has an undeniable presence that really sets him apart. It's not hard to see why Hasbro assigned this guy the leadership role.

Weekly Want: Transformers Edition!

Take it all.

Ahhhhh snip snap, it's "Weekly Want" time! In honor of Botcon and the upcoming release of Transformers: Age of Extinction, this edition is all about Transformer toys! There have been plenty of cool reveals and updated official promo shots this week. Let's check out some highlights!

MP-20 Masterpiece Wheeljack

Awkward, Bizarre, & Unsettling Transformers Commercial Moments

Hell awaits.

While the lovable characters, rich mythos, and hooky underlying concept keeps us invested, the hope of selling droves of toys has always been at the center of the Transformers franchise. In its 30 year history, there has been an absolute onslaught of additional promotional material hoping to aid the cartoons and comics in their quest to send the Autobot and Decepticon toys flying from the shelves. Naturally, the copious television commercials have been the most memorable.

Despite dramatic narration and dazzling robot money shots, some of the Transformers commercials stick out more for their flirtation with the bizarre. This was especially true in the 1980s, but weird moments can be found throughout the entire history of TF adverts if you dig long enough. Let's go over a few examples!

We must go. Our people need us.

Transformers Generation 1 Toyline: Decepticon Highlights

Destined for car windows everywhere.

Hey. Wanna know a secret? The original Transformers toyline from the 1980s brought us some of the most memorable toys ever. Yeah, I know I just blew your mind, so I'll give you a minute to compose yourself.

All better now? Good! With the Transformers toyline's iconic status in mind, I figure sharing a list of each year's highlights is a fun idea. I'm going to start with the Decepticons first. In the 80's, the bad guys were always a bit more fun.

First, a disclaimer: I know from experience that some of you reading this might become enraged because I've left out one of your favorites. I'd suggest taking matters like some dude's toy preferences a bit more lightly. Anyway, let's get to it!

1984: Soundwave

Soundwave is one of the most iconic Transformer characters around, and his toy is excellent. It goes without saying that the micro-cassette recorder alt mode sparked tons of imaginations, but the biggest draw here is the tall, reasonably articulated, and solidly proportioned robot mode. If there's one must-have Decepticon from '84, I say it's Soundwave.