Needless Things

On today’s episode, Phantom Troublemaker talks to Christopher DePetrillo, the Chief Marketing Officer of Figures Toy Company! Phantom talks to Christopher about the history of Figures Toy Company – from their Legends of Professional Wrestling line to their current robust roster of licenses, including The Three Stooges, Batman ’66, KISS, the characters of Robert E. Howard, and their newest acquisition – Ring of Honor wrestling! The conversation ranges from personal preferences in toy collecting to marketing toys in a modern digital environment. Tune in as Phantom gets an education from a veteran of the toy business!: “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com    This episode’s theme song is “Psycho Beach Party 3000” by Kill, Baby… Kill! Kill, Baby… Kill! on Reverb Nation Kill, Baby… Kill! on Facebook

Phantom Troublemaker, The Belligerent Monkey Jay Hornsby, and Needless Things’ Lead Researcher Ryan Schweck convene to look at the current state of comic book adaptations on television. Specifically – Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, and Constantine. The guys also get into the potential of Marvel’s Netflix series and interaction between the movie and television universes. Listen in and find out how the Needless Things crew feels about each franchise and what they’re hoping for in the future!: “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com  "Jet Black Heart" by Radio Cult Needless Things Website Needless Things on Twitter Needless Things on Facebook

Phantom Troublemaker and Mr. Beau Brown reunite to take a look back at last year’s Masters of the Universe Classics releases from Mattycollector.com! As it turns out, 2014 was the penultimate year of the Masters toy line and Mattel delivered big. While there wasn’t a big release like Castle Grayskull, the releases were more consistently good than they’ve ever been. With impressive toys like Modulok, Extendar, and the surprisingly good Eldor, there were more highs than lows. Mattel also offered the second vehicle in the line – the Battle Ram – and yet another specialty subscription – Club Etheria. Beau and Phantom run down all of the releases of the regular line and Beau gives attention to the Battle Ram and Club Etheria, which Phantom passed on. Tune in and listen as two guys that genuinely love toys and He-Man have fun talking about the next-to-last year of what has turned out to be a legendary toy line worthy of the Most Powerful Man in the Universe!. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

Phantom Troublemaker talks to himself and looks at 2015 month by month.    From January’s Royal Rumble Party to the far-flung wilds of October’s Monsterama Con, our host discusses his plans for 2015 and does a little pontification on the side, brought to you by Angry Orchard Cider and Fireball Whisky. Settle in and get ready for an episode that borders on rambling, but is snatched back from the brink by some actual, for-real notes. Here’s the list of topics that kept Phantom (sort of) on track: January 1/25 - The Royal Rumble – The promised rules for the Rumble Game: Determine how many entrants are in the Rumble. Come up with a system to draw numbers (I use a bowl with ping pong balls in it) and number accordingly. You can get ping pong balls from your local Dollar Tree for – wait for it – a dollar. I think six come in a pack, so it should cost about five bucks to have enough. If you need me to tell you where to get a bowl then you might not be equipped to handle the rest o

Phantom Troublemaker has been trying to get in with the folks of the Great Atlanta Toy Convention for a while now. Last year things didn’t work out due to his work schedule, but this year it looks like Needless Things will be well represented at the con in March. Before that happened, Phantom wanted to get to know the folks who run the show and they, rightly, wanted to know what they were getting into by working with us. This is how Phantom ended up getting invited to one of the group’s secret meetings. Every so often, a group of Atlanta toy enthusiasts meets in an undisclosed location at undisclosed intervals to talk toys. Today, for the first time ever, the outside world gets to listen in on one of these meetings and learn a little bit more about the folks who run the Joelanta toy convention and how they came together with the Atlanta Toy Convention to form one of the best toy shows in the Southeast; as well as how that combination of shows has continued to grow over the years.    Listen in

Earlier this year Phantom Troublemaker became quite taken with the idea of Record Store Day. If you don’t know, Record Store Day was started by a group of independent store owners as a way to draw attention to independent shops and create hype around the hobby of record collecting. For more information visit the website: RecordStoreDay.com We’re doing things a little backwards, as the actual Record Store Day occurs in April. The subject of today’s episode is Black Friday and what special Record Store Day releases will be hitting then. That’s why, just a few days from the event, Phantom Troublemaker recruited local expert Joel Brody to talk about the event, the releases, and music in general. Listen in and learn about this great event! For the full list of releases go here and to find a store near you go here.    Phantom and the rest of the Needless Things crew will be visiting Joel at his home base at CD Warehouse on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth, GA. Check them out here. Not all particip

On this week’s Needless Things Podcast, Phantom Troublemaker sat down with Emmy winning television host, restaurateur, chef, artist, musician, writer, and comedian Jim Stacy of Offbeat Eats with Jim Stacy.    Jim talks to Phantom about growing up in a hardworking Southern family, playing in bands like Greasepaint and Grand Moff Tarkin, and the long journey to opening his unique, freestanding restaurant Pallookaville. As always, Phantom is fascinated by such an impressive drive and work ethic, especially from a man like Jim with so many fields of expertise. Listen in as the guys talk food, art, and rock n’ roll! Offbeat Eats with Jim Stacy can be seen on The Cooking Channel on Thursday nights at 10:30 PM. Jim’s restaurant, Pallookaville, can be found in the Avondale Estates area of Metro Atlanta and has a website here and a Facebook page here. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Shake Appeal” by The Stooges

If you read Phantom Troublemaker’s post about The Headless Horseman of Silly Hollow, then you know about his recent visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.   After the puppet show Phantom was able to sit down with the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers – siblings Robin Erlandsen and Brian and Erik Torbeck – to discuss the fourteen year history of Silly Hollow as well as their own backgrounds in puppetry.   Listen in and find out what goes into a puppet show and how it evolves over time, as well as what motivates the puppeteers. The siblings also discuss some of their other family oriented shows, including a Western and one about pirates! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by The Monotones

In this week's episode we divert from Halloween festivities (sorry, boils and ghouls) to address what is potentially the biggest news the toy industry has seen in over a decade - Scott Nietlich - AKA Toy Guru - has resigned from Mattel due to an offer from an as-yet unnamed competitor. On hearing this, Phantom Troublemaker scrapped plans for a horror toy episode and assembled the Needless Things Toy Irregulars - Mr. Beau Brown, Ryan Schweck, and Jay Hornsby, the Belligerent Monkey. The quartet discuss the announcements from Mattel and Hasbro at this year's New York Comic Con and then delve into a discussion about the past, present, and future of the toy industry's most recgnizable name. No matter what you think of him, there's no denying that Scott Nietlich had a huge impact on the collectors' market and the way that collector toys are marketed and sld. He was passionate and innovative and worked hard to see his visions come to life and be delivered onto the shelves of fans and customers. Tune in now ans

Shane Morton has been a fixture of the Atlanta scene for pretty much all of his adult life. From rock n’ roll to tattooing to haunted attractions, he’s always stayed busy and contributed to many different art forms. In this episode Phantom Troublemaker traveled out to the Morton homestead to talk about Shane’s many pursuits over the years. He’s rocked in the bands Super X-13 and Gargantua, owned Black Cat Tattoo, and entertained and delighted people from all over the country with the Silver Scream Spookshow and Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. They also touch on Shane’s world travels and some of the legendary names he’s met and worked with. So listen in as Phantom and Shane talk tattoos, haunts, and rock n’ roll! This episode is sponsored by Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. Join us for our final year of creating the most unique and innovative haunted attraction in the Southeast! And be sure to come out for the grand finale on November 1st for the grand return of Atlanta’s own Monster Bash! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex

In this week’s episode Phantom Troublemaker sits down with “Howdy” Mike Gordon, host of the Earth Station One Podcast and creator of Tiki Zombie. Phantom and Mike discuss the creator’s history, his views on the art of creating comics, and which franchise he'd galdy take over given the opportunity. It's a great conversation that gives a great insight into the mind of a great creator and a talented podcaster. Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “A Fistfull of Terror” by The Bomboras

This is literally the biggest episode so far! Needless Things wanted to do something really cool for the first October episode, so we gathered a whole bunch of folks together to talk about horror and fear. Featured in this episode are: Phantom Troublemaker – Your Host Beth V – Needless Things’ Top Reporter R.T. Ewell – Author and Needless Things Contributor Ryan Cadaver – Lead Vo-Kill-Ist for The Casket Creatures Nathan Hamilton – Son of Celluloid Jonathan Williams – Wrestling With Pop Culture The crew discuss their own histories with the horror genre, favorite movies and events, and personal fears and how they’ve been reflected in media. We also get the lowdown on what everybody will be up to this Halloween season. Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Judgment Night” by ONYX & Biohazard "Zombie Werewolves From Outer Space" by The Casket Creatures

Dragon Con is over and I may only have one podcast to show for it! Due to many different factors – one of which was me neglecting to turn on my digital recorder – I only recorded one panel. But that's okay because it was a great one! I felt very fortunate to once again be at the table with the wonderful and talented William Stout, this time for a discussion of Conan the Destroyer. Listen in as Tegan and Gary from RevCast and I talk with Mr. Stout about his work on all of the Conan-centric films! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Conan the Barbarian Theme” by Basil Poledouris

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be part of a conversation with the DCW Hooligans? Today’s Needless Things Podcast is your opportunity to find out! Of course, none of that may mean anything to you. If you’re not a regular visitor to NeedlessThingsSite.com then you probably don’t know what the heck a DCW Hooligan is. The DCW Hooligans are a group of people that attend Dragon Con Wrestling (DCW) every year. We started off as a tight-knit group of probably ten friends, but as of this year we have forty-five members. Last year we got our own section. We fucking love DCW. We have shirts made, we make signs, and we are the loudest and most ridiculous people there. That’s saying something, because the audience at a DCW event is the loudest and most ridiculous audience you’ll ever see or be a part of. That’s because DCW itself is the very best and most insane wrestling event of the year. Today I sit down with Beth V, Ryan, Jay, and Noel to discuss Dragon Con in general and DCW specifically. But bef

this episode I welcome Mr. Beau Brown back to the Podcast, this time not as my co-host, but as a guest! He’s here in his role as Director of the Dragon Con Puppetry Track. You’ve heard Beau talk about his passion for Masters of the Universe, but today we turn the spotlight on the true great love of his life – puppetry. Join us and our guests Stacey Gordon and Madison J. Cripps as we discuss the National Puppet Slam coming to Dragon Con, as well as the specifics of the Puppetry Track. We also learn about Stacey and Madison’s backgrounds in puppetry and the roles they will be playing at Dragon Con this year. So listen in as we talk puppets, scheduling, busking, and – yes – just a bit of Masters of the Universe. Because Beau is still Beau. And thanks goodness for that. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “The Young New Mexican Puppeteer” by Tom Jones

It’s no secret that I adore Gary Mitchel and Joe Crowe – the men behind Dragon Con’s American Sci-Fi Classics Track. A large part of that adoration is the fact that they so wholly embrace the way that I present myself and my opinions on pop culture. I’m not above letting my ego influence my likes. Or anything else, for that matter. My respect for these two guys goes far deeper than that. Sure – it’s great that they like me. But what they do at Dragon Con every year is nothing short of a miracle. Joe and Gary take a bunch of wildly varying, disparate franchises and turn them into an ongoing experience that brings all kinds of very different people together as one. And they manage to jam so much into the weekend. I’ll be honest – before I saw any American Sci-Fi Classics panels I was very dismissive of fan panels. To a certain extent I still am. But this track finds the best selection of presenters. Everybody that’s part of the track has a ton of personality and passion. I have yet to see a panel that was a

Time to get these Dragon Con episodes underway, Phantomaniacs! Last year Beau and I talked to DJ Spider about cosplay and conventions. She was so delightful we knew we wanted to have her back this year. I’ve been wanting to have Sean Patton of SMP Designs on since the first time I spoke to him. He’s the guy that sparked my desire to learn more about cosplay and feature it like I did during last year’s Dragon Con coverage. This year we managed to schedule some time before Con to talk. Join me and Beau as we chat with Spider and Sean about cosplay and Dragon Con in the first Needless Things Dragon Con episode of 2014! Plus, find out more about what Needless Things will be doing at Con. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Lame Claim to Fame” by Weird Al Yankovic

It is time once again for the Knights of Needless Things to assemble and discuss the goings-on at the biggest media event on the planet – San Diego Comic Con! Sadly Reverend Dan Wilson and The Oncoming Josh were unable to join us due to calamitous acts of one form or another. But we sallied forth with Phantom Troublemaker, our lovely co-host Mr. Beau Brown, the Belligerent Monkey, and Sir Ryan of House Schweck. In this roundtable discussion we cover the SDCC reveals from our favorite toy lines – Star Wars, TMNT, DC Collectibles, Marvel Legends, Masters of the Universe Classics, and many more! This one went a little long and we still weren’t able to cover everything. But we did get in a bit of movie and television talk. Tune in now and see what the Needless Things Irregulars had to say about the Comic Con toy scene. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “The Toys Go Winding Down” by Primus

You guys – it rained on us again while we were driving to Charlotte for Heroes Con. That makes three years in a row. This year’s deluge wasn’t the sort of violent meteorological upheaval that the prior years had provided, but we did encounter some very heavy rain and lightning. Thankfully it was brief and did not impede our travel to the only proper comic book convention that I attend. If you don’t know, Heroes Con is a specifically comic book-oriented, family-friendly convention. The guests are comic book creators and independent artists. You will not find actors, athletes, or other types of personalities at the guest tables. You also won’t find adult-themed prints and media littering the floor for kids to see. The folks that run the con are very serious about maintaining an all-ages atmosphere. That’s why my family makes a point of going every year. This year I only managed to get interviews with three creators before the con floor got too busy to allow for it. In this episode I chatted with Jor

Everything really is awesome. Today's Needless Things Podcast continues my special LEGO coverage that is leading up to this weekend's LEGO KidsFest at the Cobb Galleria Centre. I had the opportunity to talk to somebody that I consider to be a true superhero of the toy industry – LEGO Master Builder Chris Steninger. Chris has been a Master Builder for five years now and has worked for the LEGO company for seven. If you don;t know, the Master Builders are the guys that design and build the large-scale LEGO displays you see in malls, amusement parks, and various exhibitions around the world. And there are only seven of them. I talk to Chris about his career, his love of LEGO, and the various aspects of the modern and classic LEGO toy line. It's a very interesting conversation about one of the most legendary and high-quality toy lines ever! When you're done listening, be sure to check out the LEGO Kids Fest website and see what's going to be going on this weekend. “Procrastibate” by LeSexof