Common Questions and Comments.
Some people have questioned a great many things about Toxie's 1:18th Universe and Scale Wars so I thought I might take some space to answer some people's common statements.
Many questions have been answered in the following essay so please take a moment to read if you have any questions specifically about the origins of Toxie's 1:18th Universe.
Otherwise just read the questions below.
The Website is "too plain": Can I say this one gets under my craw. Not because of any lack of skill on my part necessarily, but to my mind the story of Toxo-Zombie and everyone else is the important piece of the puzzle, not if I have cool GIF's or flash players in the corner or dogs barking when you click a certain spot. That stuff is fun but it also isn't what I am about. I would rather have a great story in a plain looking website than have a plain story in a flashy website. Also, I am sensitive to those fans who are still on dial-up. Some people haven't the means to install a T3 line in their living room, sad but true. I know when I pull up websites that I have to sit for a few minutes to view when I have DSL, I think "I would have given up on this if I were still on dial-up." And yes not everyone is on high-speed internet folks. I know plenty of people who simply can't afford the extra charge. So here I am, plain but easily accessible to all. Well except the pictures for the story itself take a bit to load, no way around that one.
Dude, What is with the cats on the front page?: Got a problem with cats? Too bad, those are my babies (well one in the box in the pic is no longer with us unfortunately, but she is missed). Anyway they ain't going anywhere.
Your stuff is too Silly: This is one that I always scratch my head about so allow me to get up on a soapbox for a second. Obviously anyone who comes here has some interest in toys (Or at the very least comedy). Yet it seems there are a ton of deathly serious toy collectors out there. Now I want you to think about this for a second, grown men and women who purchase, display and often play with toys being deathly serious. It boggles my mind.
That isn't to say a toy collector can't be mature, but mature is not synonymous with 100% seriousness either. Some think it is and maybe that is where this comes from, of course another supposed sign of maturity is putting away the toys so maybe I am missing something somewhere. At any rate my point is that (in as far as toys go) no I am not serious. I don't want to grow up (at least in that respect) cause if I did I wouldn't be a Toy R' Us kid ;-)
See, I can't even take being serious seriously.
But one more thought here, in case people were not aware Warren Zevon passed away several years ago from cancer. In his last interview on the David Letterman Show he remarked how he had learned to "Enjoy every sandwich" in life. This became the title of his tribute album and is a philosophy I tend to try to adopt. I am not 100% successful, but the attempt is what is important. Thus this labor of love I do is something I try to make fun as well. Not sure if that was clear, but I know what I mean.
What is with blanking out the cuss words like F*&^: Well on the same token as the grow up thing, I want to remain kid friendly as possible. I have nothing against the F-bomb and in real life I drop it more than a B-52. Still one major thing bothers me when I see someone who has taken pictures of toys and adds in adult language, its as natural as an oral bowel movement to me.
On that same token though, a great many Samuel L Jackson jokes (as played by Mace Windu ;-) ) would lose a great deal of flavor without cursing every other breath, so my solution is just use the first letter and block the rest out. Keeps the idea there and any adult (and most kids) can fill in the blanks if they chose to. Now I just said most kids probably could fill in the blanks, that's right I am not stupid. So what is the point you might ask? Its that oral bowel movement thing, just doesn't look or feel right no matter how hard I try to look around it.
On top of that, it just much funnier to let your mind fill in the blank than to just toss it out there, most of the time at least.
Hey your daughters are hot, can I get a date: No, but only because I raised them to be smart enough not to date someone who is so desperate they would try to contact them through a toy fan site looking for a date. They might be hot, but they ain't stupid.
So wait, your a Grandfather: Step-Grandfather, but yes. Before anyone insults my oldest's virtue, let me ask what you were doing (or at least trying to do) at 18. Well she did the same, nothing wrong with that. Also how many of you had that moment of "Oh CRAP! Please no." Yeah well she did too but got the other answer.
My point is that she made a mistake but got a very nice payoff in the form of a wonderful son. She is lucky in that she got such a wonderful payoff when she knew she wasn't ready for the responsibly. She stepped up, met the challenge and (although had some struggles) is raising her son the best she is able, there is no shame in that. No one has the right to look down on her for it.
Does your Grandson like your toy collection?: Dude he's one, he likes everything ;-). Actually he is scared of the T-Rex though.
So what happened to all your work from the early '00's?: I took most of it down for space purposes, also the stuff wasn't getting looked at anyway, which is fine. Also its an overall story I am not ready to finish yet, I am sure I will someday but I have no clue when so why keep it up there to tease people.
If anyone wonders I am talking about my GI Joe Story in when Cobra takes over a huge chunk of the United States as well as the world.
You sure I can't have a date with one of your daughters?: Yeah, pretty sure.
Are you positive: Totally.
Why haven't you converted your GI Joe Collection totally over to the 25th style?: Why do I have to? Yes another soapbox here so bear with me. I know there are some Rabid fans of the 25th style GI Joes, and hey if you like them, great, more power to you. However, I do despise those who try to say "You can't accept change." or "You're negative" just cause I am not enamored by that hideous chest hump that plagues this line.
How much to you spend on toys a month? And what is the Gross National Product of Pakistan? Yeah that was smart-arsed of me to say, but I know there is some geek out there who actually knows the GNP of Pakistan and is remarking what an idiot I am at this moment. Anyway to the point, I really and truly have no set amount. I do try to budget and get only those things I truly and honestly feel I need. I try to avoid getting too many of the same character (but will bend that rule when a truly unique version of a character that is constantly redone comes out) and I despise Repaints (with the exception of Army Builders, as those make some degree of sense, and helps to build armies over time rather than all at once).
Point is I really don't know cause it keeps changing. A recent example would be the Iron Man 2 figures, I set out for three and ended up with eleven. Of course those are laced with crack or something, but I digress a bit.
Ok so your girls they- Dude, let it rest ok, I used to be a horny guy too but come on man.
In case you all are wondering why I keep going to this well over and over, seriously I do get that many e-mails.
So how many toys to you have? A great question and one I cannot answer at the moment. I do know I have over 1,700 action figures (which includes lines like Marvel Legends, DC Direct, DC Universe ect. ect. Along with all the 1:18th figures I have). But I still don't have an accurate count due to some changes that keep occurring in my life. Still I hope at the end of this year I will know. Also I know I got rid of a ton of stuff in a purge of my figures earlier in 2009. Things like GI Joe Army Builders, Power Team Elite, Corps, many repeated Star Wars figures (with the exception of the vintage figures of course), and the list goes on. Point is a ton of stuff just got moved out of my collection, which also sets back the idea of an accurate count. I know I was over 2,000 before that, and at this point it looks like I might still be. As it is I am only at a little more than 1,700.
Now before people gasp, you need to keep in mind I have been collecting since 1975 or so. We are talking about more than 35 years at this, and it wasn't until this year I decided to get rid of some stuff.
So you have been doing stuff like this for 8 years? Hard to believe eh. I have a page I am working on which is all about Toxie and how the history came to be, but yes I have been doing photo-comic like stuff in one form or another since mid 2002.
So why have I never heard of you? If you have not been in certain communities is probably why. It wasn't until late this past year (2009) that I began discovering communities for Webcomic and Humor or even Fan Fiction. So now I am introducing it again to an all new audience. Before anyone faults me, hey you weren't coming to the toysites either ok ;-).
OK so I will add to this as the need arises.