I saw this interesting item today at Wal-Mart. It's called a Skull Riderz and it's from the West Coast Choppers series of remote control vehicles. He jumped out at me as quite a cultural Frankenstein. Here are a few influences that I picked up on...
-Ghost Rider skeleton-on-a-motorcycle concept
-Freddy Kruger striped sweater (well.. with black instead of green)
-Outlaw Biker red German stahlhelm
-Chuck Taylor-esque high tops (with Khaki pants of all things.)
I laughed aloud when I noticed that one of his hands is designed to form the classic "devil sign."
While in the store I had a few chuckles and moved on, but now that I've pondered the power of the Riderz I've added him to my shopping list.
I actually really like that thing. I sort of want to buy it but I don't know how guilty I would feel about putting the west coast choppers logo up on my toy shelf next boris karloff molds.
ReplyDeleteAlso I noticed the "Z" instead of an "S". is that because he's from the "streetz" and he isn't concerned about proper spelling?
ReplyDeleteThose little backstreet bastards.
Like some taffy or a slinky.
I think the WCC logo peels off.
ReplyDelete"You don't spit on superman's cape and you don't tell a Ghost Riderz not to sparkle. Good night.. baby goes to sleep."
[other readers: please excuse the inside jokes.]
Odd toy for children.
ReplyDeleteFInally they are making good toys for kids again. I think this might lead to the return of Kaballa and the Green Ghost games.
ReplyDeleteIf you like the toy you should check out the movie Psychomania. It's a campy British horror film from the early 1970s that features a biker gang called The Living Dead.
ReplyDeleteawg- I'm surprised you'd say that having seen some of the toys I've collected.
ReplyDeleteDan- I know that the Kaballa and Green Ghost original molds were recently up for sale. I'm hoping that some remakes are on the way. I have the Marx Green Ghost repro but they butchered the box art.
i.f.- Thanks for the reccomendation! I just added it to my Netflix queue.
I've actofferreually got an extra Skull Rider still sealed away in his box that I'd be glad to trade for a copy of your book, if you're interested. And on the subject of said book, is there any chance that it'll be offered through Diamond, or better yet Last Gasp? Because that would make it a lot easier to carry it at my shop, and I definitely want to stock it.
ReplyDeleteDevlin (devlin@spook-town.com)
Don't know what just happened there, but I guess you can figure out that that second word was "actually".
ReplyDeleteHi Devlin,
ReplyDeleteAw, krud. I just won a skull rider on an ebay auction. I appreciate your offer (though Adams is the keeper of the books and I only have a couple, so I probably would have failed you anyway.)
I spoke to both Last Gasp and Diamond while at comic con. They both said they were interested in carrying the book and I'm going to follow up with at least one of them very soon.
I'll try to remember to email you if the deal goes through.
Thanks so much for your interest Devlin!
Hey, no problem...as long as I can get it somehow! By the way, this year's model of Skull Riderz are riding 4-wheelers...it's the exact same figure, though. Actually, it's probably a better toy to actually play with...the cycle is a little difficult to maneuver. It works better if you have a wide open outdoor space to ride in, but not so good if you're trying to crash it into stuff in a narrow hallway at work. Still, I in no way regret my purchase.
ReplyDeleteI saw those four wheelers! They were a lot more expensive or I would have been tempted. My motorcycle should come in today. I hope to blog about some of his adventures.
ReplyDeleteOh, and on the Adams book, they do sell it to retaillers at a wholesale price.