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paulagnewart.bsky.social
My Life as a Teenage GoBot
@paulagnewart.bsky.social
18 followers 17 following 76 posts
Writes stuff. Draws stuff. Sometimes even has said stuff published.
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paulagnewart.bsky.social
Here for its super second year, the Sydney Comics Art Market Place has bounded over the Highway and deep into the heart of Leichhardt. Should you be travelling near today, please SCAMPer by Town Hall to meet, mingle and motivate this mighty menagerie of the finest indie creators Sydney has on offer!
"💥It’s official, SCAMP is back in 2025 💥 How incredible is this year’s artwork??? From the beautiful mind and hand of Ariel Ries!! WHEN: Saturday November 15th, 10am - 4pm WHERE: Leichhardt Town Hall, Norton Street Leichhardt WHAT: Some of the best cartoonists and comics makers from around Australia, all in one big room! Free entry! We have some absolutely amazing guests, and the craziest artist’s alley full of the best comics talents from Sydney and beyond! So it’s illegal for you not to come!!!"
November 15, 2025 at 1:07 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Aussie historians recall 13th November 2000 as a quite unremarkable day. Unless you visited Tumbalong Park, in which case somber air defied spring warmth. A ghost town for the first time in years. Why? SEGA World Sydney had officially closed, taking the cone-shaped heart of Darling Harbour with it.
Look at this photograph. Every time I do it makes elitist members of the fandom cringe. But anyway, it features action figures of Saturday Morning and Archie comic superstars Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally Acorn. Both stand side-by-side in Sydney's Tumbalong Park, staring towards the corporate building which today resides on the SEGA World site. Befitting the mood, a wave of rainclouds have eclipsed the sun. Sonic has his left glove placed on Sally's back while using the right to hold Caliburn from Sonic and the Black Knight as an umbrella. A second photo of the iconic blue-coned building itself has been overlayed on its replacement. A tad larger than real life, but predominantly there for dramatic purpose. Has it really been 25 years since all the hopes and dreams of a beautiful blue glass cone reached their final end? The decision to end SEGA World Sydney came as a shock back in the day. For all intents and purposes things were running smoothly. New attractions were already touted for 2001, as was a lucrative partnership to host an annual Junior Carnival. In their press statement, the Darling Harbour Authority placed blame squarely on the Sydney Olympics after it "failed to deliver a boost in customers it needed to continue operating". How ironic the event they heavily promoted upon opening would prove its closing. Small consolation for the 212 staff who were given less than a week's advance notice. After one last grand party seeing out the previous night, the dream was over. In a year when The Big Breakfast was cancelled taking Sonic Underground with it, a single game slated for the foreseeable future, the cost-inhibited Dreamcast plus the now abandoned SEGA World, our Blue Blur's local landscape looked bleaker than ever. Fans looking to get their fix of Sonic, Sally, Tails and Dr. Robotnik's latest escapades had only the monthly Archie comics at newsagents and supermarkets left. But even that was seen by pessimistic readers as living on borrowed time.
November 13, 2025 at 12:01 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
What more befitting way to celebrate the birthday of Sydney's widest smile than a smirking selfie featuring a quartet of congregating crooked clown princes? Wishing the happiest Mighty 90 to Luna Park!
Slashy Smiley Selfie! It's once again twisted toy photography time, and today we're celebrating the 90th Birthday of Sydney's impeccable, irreplaceable Luna Park. So who better than a quartet of DC Comics' Crown Prince of Crookdom, The Joker, all strappingly 12 inches and all produced by Mattel. Standing closest with left arm reached out like a selfie pose is the 2015 Mechs Vs Mutants Joker in his stiff legged goodness. Behind left is 2016 Justice League Action Joker. Voiced by Mark Hamill, this hot pink suited smiler's a retool of the first toy sporting a new head plus new bending knees. Behind right is 2017 DC Multiverse Joker from the Suicide Squad film. Played by Jared Leto, he may have no shoes and no shirt, but can still service up a devastating day out. Sandwiched between them is 2018 Batman Missions Joker. Based on his New 52 Batman: Endgame look complete with black suit, his gruesome mug is toned down for the kids yet still a pinnacle in Mattel Joker facesculpts. Only the World's Greatest Detective could possibly know what they're up to, and even that's not a given every time. Will they try and seek out the more recent Spin Masters Jokers? Knowing how old this photo is, they'd probably shrug and ask if that's one of the rides. But as luck would have it, these four aren't in the mood for mayhem and massacres. Instead they want to enjoy a day out of mirth and mayhem. The Joker is an IRS taxpaying citizen after all and not a complete monster. Not Pictured: The photo taken mere seconds later when New 52 Joker realised the gesture Mechs Vs Mutants Joker was making with his free hand. Something this photographer didn't realise until looking over them in the editing booth afterwards. It was a busy crowd. You try taking a decent shot while avoiding people walking left, right, in front and behind. Nevertheless it's a Joker mannerism (Jokerism?) enough so it can stay. Maybe they can win the top score on Coney Island's Star Wars pinball machine like this user did.
October 6, 2025 at 11:29 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Happy Thunderbirds Day!

60 years, huh? What a remarkable achievement. A testament to decades of sensational stories, compelling characters, but most importantly fellow fans like you who have kept the series alive.

Gerry and Sylvia would be proud.

#ThunderbirdsAre60 #GerryAnderson #SylviaAnderson
Thunderbirds Are 60! To celebrate 60 FAB years, have a photo montage. It shows our boys in blue starring Scott Tracy front and centre. Beside him are Virgil Tracy and Alan Tracy, then flanked by John Tracy and Gordon Tracy. The lineup comes from the 1989 Filmpac Holdings VHS cover released in Australia. Behind them are 30 screenshots, photos and title cards from all walks of life. Feminist icon Lady Penelope from 1965. Kallan James and Johnathan Jordan Jr. from Thunderbirds 2086. Roxette, Tripp and The Atrocimator from Turbocharged Thunderbirds. Tanusha Kayo Kyrano from Thunderbirds Are Go 2015. The lineup of Alan, Fermat and Tin-Tin from the 2004 live-action film. The TV Century 21 logo. Thunderbirds FAB: The Next Generation gets a pass too. Even 1999's cancelled Thaddeus Stone. Whatta lineup! So many memories. So much merchandise. But all of which are simply inconsequential if not for the fans. Without your love, your dedication and admiration for Tracy Island's finest, there's no doubt Thunderbirds would've faded away many moons ago. And with plenty of new adventures waiting in the wings, the future is as bright and optimistic as depicted in the show itself. Whether you're a 2065 or 2026 truther, a hardcore Turbocharger or true blue TAGer, a 90's revival fan or been a part of the action since day one; from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson would be proud.
September 30, 2025 at 12:45 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
If you're at Oz Comic-Con Sydney (& if not, why not?), there's still time to get your annual free exclusive minicomic. We're celebrating 25 years of Echidna Enclave with a new tale uniting The Dinky-Di's, Superthrill, The Worlds of Frank Strom, Razzal & more! Or you could choose... not to, I guess.
When Ellie-Za first unleashed her Echidna Enclave on an unsuspecting Archie Sonic fandom back in 2000, nobody could've guessed how beloved it would become, let alone continue to this day. As the proprietor of her site and work for well over half its lifespan, Prime Comix are proud to continue this legacy. And every year since it was founded in 2014, a free A5 minicomic of which 5 are given away at Oz Comic-Con Sydney. This time we look back on the past while moving forward with new adventures. The cover features a hefty roster of characters. From The Dinky-Di's we have Cass Koala, Aussie Roo and Equuius Emu*. From Superthrill it's Metal J, Rhodia Rapida, Li'll Chinbro and Aunty Anty. From Frank Strom we have Cheeta Pop, Monkey Khan and Li Moon**. From Waste Warriors it's Celestpool, Grasston and Crisp Burg-O. Throw in Razzal from her leading band Razzal & the Rockestellars plus Cope from the Bone Wars and a few surprise cameos, it's a mighty menagerie. All whom are filtered through the sunset silhouette of the site's current mascot, Metcalfe. A quiet loner eco warrior Manchidna (Or Emochidna for those most intimate) who made something of a name for appearing in the original The Lar-REDACTED-onicles, they would loate the idea of being mascot to anything. So let's keep this between us, 'kay? The future is wild and unpredictable. Okay, except for the dying part. None of us are getting out of this superficial social media rat race alive. One day there will be no more Comic-Con. No more comic books. No more Echidnas. That's why we live for the day while trying to keep the world at its best for tomorrow. A mammoth challenge for us humans, the most destructive and cruel animals to crawl from that primordial ooze. But it might just be possible. Until then, enjoy another whirlwind Oz Comic-Con. If we don't see you on the floor, we'll catch you next year. *The Dinky-Di's created by Mel Bradford. **Special thanks to Frank Strom's estate for the acquisition of his material.
September 21, 2025 at 2:04 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
That's Oz Comic-Con Sydney Day 1 done and dusted. A superhero-sized thank you is in order for everyone; from organisers to volunteers, guests to caterers, and every single fan who made this sellout event a success. You're all true Masters of the Universe!
And we're off! After announcing late last night that Saturday tickets had sold out, the OzCC crew went rogue and opened doors a whole ten minutes early. From 8:50am onward it was the best type of fanpede. "Abandon all Hope" indeed. For your wallets. No force in the universe could stop fiction's finest from taking the day by storm. Here we have the Galaxy's top baddies Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine pondering who to recruit next for their Galactic Empire. A Stormtrooper strolls over to cautiously remind them the line for photo ops is only getting worse. Yes these Star Wars icons are the baddest of the bad, but even they'll support a good cause like taking donations for Cancer Council NSW. For the first time in its 12 year history, Oz Comic-Con welcomed Mattel to the floor. Taking up four booths, the Mattel Creations store was situated within a two story cardboard model of Castle Grayskull. Lifesized cutouts of He-Man and Skeletor greeted fans outside while a diorama of the new Thundercats crossover and Masters of the Universe Origins Fright Zone sat inside. Unfortunately it was a credit card only zone, which may hamper how many of the SDCC exclusives fans walk away with. A shot overseeing the first hall from its right corner side. The midday rush is about to hit so don't expect to move anywhere fast anytime soon. Stores visible include Victoria's Popcultcha, Wicked Ink Tattoos, Kings Comics and many more. Castle Grayskull sits majestically in the far background, and beyond that the second hall with its scribble wall, cosplay zone, artist alley and gaming hub.
September 20, 2025 at 12:45 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Funny, I don't remember this Lucky Charm.
It's a photo taken in the toy section of one of the many Woolworths supermarkets around Sydney Australia. The focus is on a small styrofoam stunt plane stuck to a cardback which boasts how it's "perfect for throwing games that help improve hand-eye coordination". Of the different colours available, this one is a subdued red with deep blue spots that can become black if squinted just right. By total coincidence it rests on top a box of Miraculous Ladybug Miracle Box Kwami blind bag toys. The idea that Matinette Dupain-Cheng could Lucky Charm up a full working plane is bemusing fanfic fodder. Great way to take the battle to Hawkmoth. Or when needing a quick getaway from Cat Noir and his harassing antics. Or to fly Alya Césaire, Kagami Tsurugi, Zoé Lee, Sabrina Raincomprix or whichever preferred shipping interest away for a romantic weekend. Maybe even use it to bring Luka Couffaine back. Pretty sure he'd super appreciate not spending yet another season being shafted by the writing. Whichever way it's a great time and financial saver, and definitely better than blowing your family's savings on a trip to Shanghai on the off chance you might score some Adrien tail. But Marinette would never do something so selfish, right? Right?
September 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Ugh. You either die a Beast Boy, or you live long enough to see yourself become an Animal Man.
Extreme close up of one Garfield Logan from issue 18 of DC Comics' Teen Titans revival series. Titans Tomorrow Part Two: Tales of the Titans featured story by Geoff Johns, art by Mike McKone, inks by Marlo Alquiza, colours by Jeromy Cox and lettered by Comicraft. But this is no jovial Beast Boy, instead the cold-hearted future counterpart Animal Man snarling "RRRRFF".
September 8, 2025 at 7:42 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Penny was dead behind the eyes by Season 2.

Imagine atop of that spending at least a year secretly fighting a global terror group, being a social outcast, getting poor grades, her only friend living in Japan plus moving homes.

And just when Chief Quimby acknowledged her? Bam. Capeman wrote her out
Everyone's favourite niece Penny from that super successful 80's cartoon Inspector Gadget. Sourced from the final episode 'Gadget and the Red Rose', she's decked out in the red variant of her colour changing jacket while carrying that faithful computer book under her left arm. With the equally faithful and alert Brain standing beside her, this should be another whirlwind call to action. Instead she's giving audiences a thousand yard stare the likes of which only someone who's been through hell and back can pull off. Much has been said about Penny's evolution as a character over the decades, yet there's still plenty to dissect. After 65 episodes of crumbs like being the school loser, make up tests and her only peer the hideously wasted Atsuko, the second season's internal changes offered a grand opportunity to take her higher. Cree Summer is still her definitive voice, yet Holly Berger and her slightly deeper tone combined with the jacket and floofier hair made her look and feel more mature. Almost ready to follow her Uncle's footsteps and make something awesome of her life. And they almost did. In 'The Capeman Cometh', she's right there helping Chief Quimby round up MAD agents. Guess the secret's out huh? Not that he seems to mind, as two episodes later in 'Gadget's Gadgets' he directly credits her for leading the police to MAD's secret clinic. How long has he known? Does Gadget know too? Don't expect these to be explained anytime soon. It's a tough struggle. Have your role reduced because someone thought the already comedic Inspector Gadget needed more comedy? Or have your role reduced to being one half of a relationship, a recurring theme the writers introduced in the early 2000's and long overstayed its welcome by now. Ah well. Swerves and roundabouts I guess. Still, chances are by Season 2 she's moved on from superstar Rick Rocker. By this age, Penny probably has the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talk Talk and The Smiths on high rotation in her Walkman
September 8, 2025 at 6:12 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
It's sad how the fanbase still gets elitist clowns perpetually stuck in 2000 acting like people care about those pointless Sonic the Comic vs Archie Sonic rants. After both were taken out back & shot, I thought Bluesky might be a great hub for fans to bury hatchets or even find comradery. Guess not.
A hideously low effort Photoshop job that goes against every low standard this account attempts to hold. It uses two frames from the climax of classic The Simpsons episode Lisa on Ice. The top half has Bart Simpson with his face obscured by the front cover of Archie Sonic the Hedgehog issue 1 as illustrated by Dave Manak. Next to him is Lisa Simpson suffering the same treatment by Fleetway Sonic the Comic issue 1 drawn by Mick Austin. They skate away side-by-side while the crowd erupts into anarchy behind them. The second panel is Homer Simpson with his face covered by the SEGA logo pointing and shouting "They're both losers! Looosers!" while Marge Simpson looks at him nonplussed. When Bowling for Soup proclaimed over 20 years ago that "The story never changes, just the names and faces!", no guesses the last thing on their minds was the Sonic fanbase. Be it Knuckles Haven, Knothole Village or other message boards, a divide between Fleetway and Archie fans gained traction around that same time. For reasons beyond comprehension, both sides engaged in a pointless pissing challenge over which side of the pond held the one true canon because how dare the series or its audience embrace the idea of a multiverse. It's a shame the same tired bitter arguments crop up even today. What a race to the bottom for two spinoffs the license holder equally disdains. And if someone happens to find offence (along with oggate, offootpath or ollatchkey) with this post, please call our toll-free number 029978011 to vent. Or send any complaints to Not a Real Department (Don't Send in Anything, We'll Just Throw it Away), Post Office Box 515 Mona Vale NSW 2103, and they could be in the running to win a set of Amadeish Spurtles. Whether it be loitering on an alien world for a decade or prowling around as you attempt to overthrow an already tenderhooked house of cards, nothing says "We are the quiet majority!" better than one's very own set of Spurtles. Mmmm, that's... quite the wooden spoon.
September 7, 2025 at 11:50 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
If I had a dollar coin for every time a Sonic the Hedgehog comic introduced a young primate OC who through Robotnik's experiments becomes cybernetic, spends years universally reviled by readers only to later get a redemption arc, I'd have... two dollars.

Either way, Happy International Primate Day.
Dual panel image of characters lifted from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics. On the left is Monkey Khan. Created by the late Frank Strom, his artwork shows the cybernetic simian using that mighty atom bat to pummel a batch of Eggbots all while spouting self-aggrandising exposition, as witnessed in Archie Sonic issue 55. On the right is IDW Publishing's coincidental counterpart. Sourced from issue 78 and illustrated by Aaron Hammerstrom, the character nervously raises his right arm behind his head, and left hand resting on hip. Such a maligned monkey they are that the series has yet to even give a formal name, with the only title readers have being the IDW Sonic Wiki's less than glamorous "Pine Grove Villager". Is SEGA harboring a big anti-monkey agenda? Or is it just one big funny coincidence? Yeah, we're going with the latter. Unless ol' PGV starts yearning to teach Knuckles martial arts and buys out the local jeweller. Oh. And speaking of Khan, one of the great things about Bluesky's descriptive alt text system aside from its most vital and most welcome use to aid low-vision users, is that other people tend to skim through or ignore it altogether. Combined with the fact this comes from yet another in a wide sea of accounts nobody cares about, it makes this user feel a tad less guilty when resorting to public shameless plugs. Such as the following. Thanks to an agreement with Frank Strom's next of kin, if you're one of the handful of people who genuinely liked this heavily hated character, then Prime Comix is proud to announce that Monkey Khan's story is far from being all over. Check back during this month's Oz Comic-Con Sydney for the reveal of another official minicomic adventure. It's got a new story, new battles, a team of all-Aussie Dinky-Di's ready to help out and... a new look for Khan? Say it ain't so! How can one possibly improve primate perfection?
September 2, 2025 at 2:00 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
With a taste of a poison paradise, I'm addicted to you. Don't you know that you're toxic?

Even Australia's ready for some high-action, high-mopped hijinks. Welcome back to both the cinemas and our hearts, Toxic Avenger!

#TheToxicAvenger #ImWithToxie #ShowUsYourToxie #ShowMeYourToxie
Look at this photograph. Every time I do it leads to a family-friendly bloodbath. Which isn't too much of a hassle since for Tromaville's greatest hero, it's always Clean Up Time! The photo depicts the insides of a Hoyts Cinema lobby. On their 'Coming Soon' frame is a poster for The Toxic Avenger featuring an image of Toxie pulling his best Uncle Sam impression with the tagline "The hero we need now!". In front of said poster is a vintage 1991 Playmates Toys action figure of our hero from The Toxic Crusaders line. Mighty mop raised triumphantly while gripping the edge of a large empty Pepsi cup, there goes one happy if not battle worn customer. After Hoys ran a three day 'preview screening' blitz across 25-27 August, The Toxic Avenger returned to Australian cinemas for his fifth filthy outing on the 28th. Some cinemas showed it up to 4 times a day, while others much like the recent Hellboy: The Crooked Man adaptation reduced it to single 9:30pm screenings. Huge thanks to Umbrella Entertainment for bringing the film down under, though Toxie tragics would have to be quick. The movie only got a limited screening and will disappear come the night of Wednesday 3rd September.
August 31, 2025 at 9:56 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Is there a reason or excuse why hardcore purists of that first Masters of the Universe minicomics canon are turning out to be hard-right MAGA supporters? Like it keeps happening and I wonder if there's something I've missed. Is it the ideal of a barbarian He-Man that makes them go "Yeah 'Murica!"?
Cover of He-Man and the Power Sword, the first in a series of four minicomics produced by Mattel to promote the initial eight toys in their Masters of the Universe series. Written by Don Glut and illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. It shows Eternia's newest hero He-Man alongside Man-At-Arms about to go mano a mano against Skeletor and Beast Man, with the fate of Castle Grayskull hanging in the balance.
August 29, 2025 at 4:27 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
"Watch this, Lis. You can actually pinpoint the second when the author got sick of fans openly critiquing their writing style!"
Panel taken from issue 23 of Skybound Entertainment's 'The Transformers' comic book by Daniel Warren Johnson, Jorge Corona, Mike Spicer and Rus Wooton. It depicts Decepticon leader Megatron furiously peering down at Starscream, telling the treacherous air lieutenant that "I have deeper plans than vapid, one-note violence!". A reference to both a popular exchange between Bart and Lisa Simpson in 'The Simpsons' episode 'I Love Lisa', plus an increasing common critique towards the current Transformers comic about its descent into misery porn and shamelessy offing at least one named character per issue for shock value.
August 16, 2025 at 12:10 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
And in another different world in another different time, the milestone 375th issue of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog was due to land with an almighty thud at comic shops across the USA this day in 2023.

There he is, sneakin' just in time and right on the mark for its 30th anniversary. Or something.
From the same mind who puts the "creative" in "creatively bankrupt", it's another Archie Sonic parody cover. Or was another one, being created and shared elsewhere two years ago. Where does the time fly? This all-new all-cancelled edition features an extreme overhead closeup the six main Freedom Fighters' paws meeting in the cover's middle. Sonic's on top, followed by Sally Acorn, Miles Tails Prower, Rotor Walrus, Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot. They're itching to fight back against cruelty, injustice, reviews constantly calling them "weird" and SEGASonic/Fleetway purists. Now as for that solicitation: " THE FIVE PHASES OF DARKNESS PART 5: 'Forever is a Hog Time Coming!' In July 1993, a speedy blue hedgehog and his rag-tag group of rebels burst onto the comic book scene. Now 30 years later, everyone's favourite Erinaceus Acceleraceus faces down his most exhilarating challenge yet! The impossible has happened. Having barely survived the perilous Starfall Islands, our Hero of Mobius is gone, his consciousness split across past, present and future by the insidiously insipid 9-T1. From atop the majestic Marauderaider with Time Stones in hand and ascended to her fifth and final form, this ethereal empress is poised, primed, ready to unleash simultaneous swarms of Skeledroids across the planet. Who could possibly help Sally and the remaining Freedom Fighters in their darkest hour? Snaptrap, Sandstorm and the Gondwanian Freedom Riders led by Sticks the Badger, that's who! But will it be enough? Witness the earth-shattering end of an era as Sonic the Hedgehog speeds into the next three decades, kicking off with... Origins of the Speedcies! Script: Stephen Harris, Robin Bland Art: Andrew Lias, Tara Samms, Richard Alan CVR A Main Cover: Michael Crutchfield CVR B Var: Susan Dennom " Sadly fans will never know the advent of 9-T1, how she managed to steal Mephisto's minions from The Dinky-Di's or any subsequent fallouts. But then again, maybe it's for the best.
July 7, 2025 at 5:03 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Riddle Me This.

What holds but must let go after two hours, thrills yet others call obnoxious, kisses although can never commit, and kills regardless of complaints?

No question it's Batman Forever, which swooped into cinemas taking Australia by storm this day 30 years ago. Happy Battiversary.
The Caped Crusader was back to clean up crime, but this time faced a double dose of villainy. Former squeaky clean district attorney Harvey Dent had descended into the maniacal Two-Face, flipping Gotham between calm and calamity. Meanwhile former Wayne Enterprises researcher Edward Nygmna hatches a plan going from Bruce's biggest stan to the city's leading man, thanks to his brain broadcasting invention, The Box. Both egocentric enemies soon find kindred spirits in one-another, funneling their resources to steal everyone's money and minds. Tackling their twisted scheme would prove a challenge, but thanks to invaluable aid from leading psychologist Chase Meridian and orphaned circus performer Dick Grayson, the citizens of Gotham could sleep soundly knowing Batman was on the case. His greatest challenge however would be convincing Australian moviegoers to see this latest adventure. The behind-the-scenes turmoil for Batman Forever is the stuff of legend. Be it sudden changes in several actors, demands from major licensees for a more family-friendly script, hostilities on set, entire subplots left on the cutting room floor, plus Warner Bros. heavily breathing down neck of new director Joel Schumacher, it's a miracle the film saw light of day at all. But somehow against all those odds it persevered, arriving just in time for the mid-year school holidays. And what an arrival it was too, bringing plenty of tie-in's and merchandise to keep fans and profit-counting studio executives happy. Glow Zone released official jigsaw puzzles and caps. Dynamic Marketing offered trading cards, available at stores or a chance to win the whole set through The Sun Herald. The Bat was also back in POG form, thanks to a range of 60 POG milkcaps. Purchase any McDonald's burger and for an extra $1.75 receive a Batman glass mug. Topps and Horwitz Publications printed several fancy magazines dedicated to the film. Village Cinema Sydney ran a 24 hour Batman movie marathon with free posters. Channel Seven produced three specials; a 15 minute afternoon feature on the film's production, a half-hour evening 'Riddle Me This - Why is Batman Forever?' sit-down interview with Nicole Kidman, along with an hour-long prime time 'The Making of Legends' special where Tayer Kane interviewed Val Kilmer, Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones. Not to be outclassed, Channel Nine had Ray Martin host his own special several days later. And of course came all the usual t-shirts, video games, stationary, MAD Magazine parody and expansive range of action figures by Kenner. The Bat Hype was real. As were critics who didn't quite warm to the changes. "A big, loud Hollywood blockbuster that hits all the marks in the most obnoxious way" bemoaned The Sydney Morning Herald over how it was "a faster, funnier, more romantic Batman - but not necessarily a better one". The Age however disagreed, calling it "the best of the series" with its "stylish, Expressionist comic-book vision". It's a sentiment audiences followed. Up against the likes of Casper, A Goofy Movie, The Never Ending Story 3, Crimson Tide and Braveheart, Batman emerged triumphant, grossing $971,664 on opening day to overthrow previous record holder Jurassic Park. U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" spent 6 weeks atop local music charts, swiftly followed and equaled by Seal's "Kiss from a Rose". Moviegoers kept coming back, and by year's end, Batman Forever was Australia's top-grossing film for 1995. Now what about these pictures? They feature the Mattel Batman Mission 6 inch toys of Bruce Wayne Batman, a Tim Drake inspired Robin, New 52 Two-Face plus The Riddler. Both duos are ready to face off at John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, linking Covington Kentucky and Downtown Cincinnati Ohio. Both grainy photos were taken at night when the bridge was closed to traffic over the June 2019 weekend of Pete's Robot Convention / RoboCon. They were intended to homage Batman: No Man's Land, but Forever *is* a long time coming.
June 29, 2025 at 1:50 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Congratulations on thirty four years of fantastic fleet-footed 'ventures, Sonic! What an achievement!

Hm. It's been some time since my own 34th, so no doubt the rules of celebratory etiquette have changed. Don't believe me? Go and search up 'Sonic the Hedgehog Rule Thirty F-'.

I'll see myself out.
It's a punchline that takes tens of seconds to create, and even less time for people to roll their eyes at. But here we are scraping the bottom of the Carnival Night barrel, putting the 'media' in 'hedgehog mediocrity', and all other associated excessive low-hanging quips to garner attention and fill a 2000 character limit. Now what about the picture? It's an intentionally slapdash piece mixing animation frames, character models and real photos in some unholy abomination befitting the joke. On the right is our hero Sonic the Hedgehog, lifted from that same pose used by DiC and Archie Sonic numerous times, right arm crossed and left outstretched towards the audience. "Come with me if you gotta go fast!" was his quote from those early days. Probably. And was it really necessary to drag Princess Sally Acorn into this mess too? And the same publicity pose mirroring Sonic's one-arm-crossed-other-arm-outstretched-with-open-palm no less. She's standing next to Sonic in all her vest-less first season glory. In Knothole Village titles are meaningless, as are upper body clothes. Added atop their heft heads are photographs of birthday party hats, readily available as of this writing at Australia's Spotlight stores. Sonic has the varying shades of blue number with a large '1' in the middle. Sally has the royally regal golden sheened variant sporting some golden tassels on top. Not quite a crown, but befitting a princess in its own right. Beside them is a photograph of Reddit user lilbakerbigdreams' hot dog shaped cake. The bun and the hotdog are both vanilla cake, crumb coated and covered with fondant. The cake itself is iced with Swiss meringue buttercream. A valiant effort for a 4th July contest they somehow lost. The foolish judges. The fooools! Culminating the disasterpiece is a Michael Gallagher inspired 'Wish You Were Here' postcard quote on the top-left corner. Instead it says 'The (Knot)Whole Gang's Here!', but beyond a blurred Knothole background, no gang. Groan.
June 23, 2025 at 11:17 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
In a world bereft of revoked licenses, COVID-induced delays & collapsed distributors, the 400th edition of Archie Sonic would've arrived in US comic shops today.

But could the book have endured enough to make it that far? Would Aussies still wait 2 months for a newsagent copy? Who can possibly say?
What would happen if someone were to sit down & count the hypothetical release dates for every unpublished Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comic from issue 290 to now? Chances are those social media elitist fans would tell them to get over themselves & move on embracing a preferred, supposedly always superior canon. But they'd furthermore realise that, assuming COVID delays & schedule slips never happened, its 400th edition would've been released on 4th June 2025. Surely no-one's crazy enough to do that, right? Nor create a parody screenshot with fake solicitation coinciding perfectly with the leaks of Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot & Antoine D'Coolette in Sonic Blitz. Or paste it in the alt test for ease of reading, such as: "Four Score (and Three Decades Ago)! Be it shattered worlds or shattered prisms, ancient aliens to ethereal empresses, roboticization viruses and even a darkly resurrected Professor Gerald, everyone's favourite high-speed hero and his Freedom Fighter friends have worked tirelessly to topple the forces of evil. Yet as the current chapter of his adventures draws to a close, nothing could've prepared Sonic for the trials of... appearing on live television? Invited as guest of honour for the milestone 400th edition of EBC's top-rating lifestyle show, what should be a breezy walk down memory lane swiftly descends into a living nightmare. Host and network head Throbbin Screech has reunited the worst of Sonic's past foes and failures for an all-too real, all-too deadly parade blitzing for repeat revenge. Can Sonic escape the reprobate retrospect on his life with his life? Otherwise this narcissistic network executive will execute the order to see him cancelled... permanently! Script: Michael Crutchfield, Susan Dennom Art: Andrew Lias, Robin Bland, Manny Hahns Cover: Sam Timpletonn 32 pages" ...Huh. If this user is still breathing by the time it reaches issue 500, the parody title will probably be "Five Alive!" or "Carry On, My Wayward Sonic!".
June 5, 2025 at 4:20 AM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
Do you wanna come with me? 'Cos if you do I should warn you.

You're gonna see all sorts of things. Ghosts from the past, aliens from the future, the day the Earth died in a ball of flame. It won't be quiet, won't be safe, won't be calm.

But I'll tell you what it *will* be. The trip of a lifetime!
Happy 20 years of modern Doctor Who in Australia! Let's travel back to 21st May 2005. The long-awaited climactic duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi may have been on everyone's lips, but that wasn't the only sci-fi classic making a grand return. All the critics, naysayers and doubters were about to be proven wrong when Australia scored our turn to welcome an old hero. Doctor Who was back, and it was about time! Fresh from his role in Russell T Davies' prophetically-titled 'The Second Coming', BAFTA-nominated Christopher Ecclestone was announced as the Ninth Doctor. Casting choice for companion Rose Tyler went to Billie Piper, who had made quite a name for herself on the music scene with several chart-topping hits. Eight months of filming began and despite dramas, time crunches and multiple leaks, managed to deliver 13 episodes with 3 days to spare. Armed with a bold new direction while retaining its quintessential British-ness, updated music and effects plus return of fan-favourite 1970's baddies The Autons, BBC's gamble was a roaring success. But what about here? The Doctor was most definitely 'in', with over 1.1 million Aussies switching on that fateful night. It was ABC's most-watched program for the day, effortlessly won its 7:30pm timeslot in every state (except Queensland who decided Inspector Linley was more important), plus set a ratings record for the show. A record unchallenged until June 2008's premiere of 'Voyage of the Damned'. Fans loved it. Audiences loved it. Even critics loved it. "Can Dr Who be too sexy?" pondered The Age paper's Sophie Cunningham, who was "All in a lather" over Ecclestone being "So sexy it's scary". A positive sentiment shared by Courier Mail, calling it "State-of-the-art magic", and guaranteed "Newcomers and nerds alike should be well pleased". Sydney's Roselands shopping centre hosted a Tom Baker signing event decades ago, thus it's only fair for another Doctor to drop by. Here's to 20 more fantastic years!
May 21, 2025 at 12:11 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
It is a world transformed, where things are not what they seem.

It is a world of heroic Autobots waging their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons.

And on Saturday 18th May 1985, time came for the land down under to become part of that world.

Happy 40th Aussiversary, Transformers!
Optimus Prime. Bumblebee. Hound. Wheeljack. Jazz. Tracks. Sunstreaker. Twin Twist. Topspin. Grimlock. Snarl. Huffer. Cosmos. Brawn. Gears. Combat Deck. Spike Witwicky. A chaotic cacophony at first, but were about to become household names. Having already infiltrated newsagent, supermarket and selected independent outlet shelves, the time was now for Australia's mainstream public to discover Transformers. Slated to air at 8:30am as the final segment of Network Ten's Saturday morning Cartoon Capers lineup, 'More Than Meets the Eye: Part One' was abruptly brought forward an hour to make way for supposedly more important extended Rugby League coverage. This would be the first of multiple times Ten's sport-shunting schedule plagued the series. Compared to other preempted programs it's a miracle anyone saw it at all, but young fans did, and its popularity swiftly skyrocketed. "Attack the Autobot Commarnduh!" echoed across playgrounds as plastic and metal clashed with Earth's fate hanging in the balance. The Transformers triple-pronged invasion of imaginations, screens and shelves was a success, but local distributor Milton Bradley were far from finished. The latter half of 1985 would hit with an unprecedented and seemingly unending wave of Autobot and Decepticon names, faces and emblems emblazoned across almost any piece of merchandising imaginable. The struggle to keep up with demand took a fatal hit when Milton Bradley were unable to supply more in time for the holidays, causing chaos among shoppers. Described in publicity material as "A space-age range of cars, aeroplanes and boats which change into robots" guaranteed to "Charge the children's enthusiasm", The Transformers were for a time the biggest craze to hit this land, truly earning their badge of "Superstars of the Toy World!". It's a hype which gradually subsided as later years and later toys came along, but Australia's love for those Robots in Disguise remains to this day undeniably, passionately steadfast.
May 18, 2025 at 12:44 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
-= #Trans40mers Pt. 16 =-

13th May 2020: 760,000 Aussies tuned in to watch the mid-season finale of ABC's long-running TV series Hard Quiz, where Tom Gleeson submitted superfan Sebastian to several rounds of brain-bending Transformers-related questions.

Much to the delight of fans, Sebastian won!
Five months into 2020 and Australia had seen its fair share of controversies. One of the worst bushfire seasons ever leaving thousands homeless & upward a billion wildlife dead. A rapidly spreading pandemic throwing domestic & international travel into chaos. A Prime Minister refusing to hold responsibilities let alone a hose. Toilet paper became the nation's highest currency. Plus a televised battle between Clarinets, Pythons, Transformers and Islamic political movements. Guess which drew fan ire most. From its October 2016 inception, multiple self-proclaimed "high-ranking influencer" fans tried applying. Hard Quiz's vetting process is notoriously rigorous, and those early attempts were rejected due to ABC considering it too broad a subject. A later change of policy saw management more open to the idea, so after months of competing applicants put through both knowledge and on-screen appeal wringers, one immensely lucky local made the grade. In the epic tradition of Steven Bradbury, our champion was an outlier. Victorian teacher and long-time Ozformers lurker Sebastian was equally shocked at the selection and began heavy rounds of secretive robotic research. By the time it went to air, they stood third among musician Ash, logistics manager Darren plus government contractor Penny. An agonizing twelve minutes of clarinet queries and python ponderings followed before Gleeson gave fans what they wanted & turned topic to Transformers. Representing the whole Australian fandom is an immensely unenviable mantle, but after some early Diaclone-induced nervous jitters, Sebastian presented well & managed to score four out of five correct. A barrage of generalized questions followed ranging from Rambo to Alvin and the Chipmunks, and by final round came second with 40 points. Transformers vs Pythons. Ten more questions & five minutes stood between them. But with four correct answers and Darren crashing out, he was handed the win. Well done Sebastian, you lit our darkest hour!
May 13, 2025 at 12:15 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
-= #Trans40mers Pt. 15 =-

10th May 1999: ABC underwent a wild new transformation. Premiering at the prestige 5:30pm Monday slot, Protocol and Scholastic's live-action Animorphs series treated viewers to the secret battle between humans and alien Yeerks, plus a cameo by the Beast Wars PC video game.
In this space year of 2025, it's easy for Transformers collectors to take anniversary years for granted. New movies, cartoons, toys and every type of ancillary merchandise under the sun are expected. Sometimes they strike it lucky and get (almost) everything one could've hoped for. Other milestones saw a bare minimum of material for one reason or another. Such was the sad case of 1999, where Australian fans were limited to Animorphs plus a handful of long-delayed leftover Beast Wars episodes and Transmetal 2 toys. Upon their arrival to shelves the first week of April, fans greeted this new breed of mega morphing heroes with nothing short of disdain. "NOT Transformers!" and "A disgrace to the Transformers name!" hollered the usual masses on Usenet. Opinions and profanities were in plentiful supply, as soon would be the toys themselves. Whether it an attempt to cash in on the show and book's popularity or simply corporate greed, Animorphs were treated by retailers as a 'prestige' line and increased their prices accordingly. Compared to their $22 beastly counterparts, Deluxes sold at $28 each. Megas jumped from $34 to $40, and the triple-changing Visser Three a staggering $68. Some stores like Toys R Us, rather than play competitive, decided to raise their respective Transmetals prices to match. This had a staggering knock-on effect by the time Beast Machines and the nation-sweeping GST kicked in a year later. As so memorably said in the song, there was no turning back, no backing down, nowhere to run and no solid ground from an onslaught of unsold toys. Such sharp prices put many of these figures well out of reach from both show's intended audiences, thus were left to languish on shelves across the land for years. And years. Though if it's any consolation, stock was plentiful for ABC's later repeats. To this day there's no doubt Australia is home to more boxed Visser Three's floating around among collectors and forgotten factory stock than there are loose samples.
May 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
-= #Trans40mers Pt. 14 =-

27th April 2000: The battle of Beasts deepened a divide between poor and rich Australian kids. Free TV's Channel Seven returns Beast Wars to its weekly afternoon timeslot with Optimal Situation, while Pay TV's Foxtel premieres the Beast Machines episode Mercenary Pursuits.
Cometh the hour, cometh the machine. An exciting new millennium meant exciting new things. The Sydney Olympic Games, K-Zone magazine, Sam Neill's hit 'The Dish', Bardot's rise to fame, plus Dragon Ball Z. The TV arrival of Beast Machines on Easter Monday should've by all rights been just as grand, but almost immediately found itself taking one side of a fierce rivalry over conglomerate media control. It's a feud which could be traced all the way back to October 1998, when Optimal Optimus led the charge among Hasbro's third wave of Transmetals toys. Just in time for the premiere of Beast Wars' second season, boasting a then-unprecedented $80 price and limited to a handful of stores, fans itching to see this primate powerhouse in action would have to wait longer. Significantly longer. Seven's summer of sports played havoc among all three installments of 'The Agenda', and with no news of more episodes anytime soon, fans were left to explore other avenues. In their attempt to win back a steadily rising crowd switching over to Foxtel, Seven resurrected the idea of hosted weekday morning cartoons. Thus 'The Big Breakfast' took on a second life in August 1999, where among the lineup was a batch of Beast Wars repeats running erratic on alternating days at 6:45am. Here the third season premiered with little promotion and even less fanfare in November. By comparison, Beast Machines began its invasion of local shelves come late March 2000. Bigger, plentiful, pricier, but the only way to watch their adventures was via a Foxtel subscription. 5pm weeknights soon marked an evolution revolution, while Seven returning Beast Wars to 3:30 pm Thursdays hoped to recapture glory days. Viewers had three choices; watch old episodes again with now outdated characters, keep up with expected societal trends and dump them all in favour of the hot new toys on the hot new channel, or for many poor fans, miss out entirely. Once again The Transformers brand was competing against itself.
April 27, 2025 at 1:32 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
A huge thank you to each and every one of you fellow fans who braved the long weekend traffic to attend this evening's exclusive 30th anniversary, 4K remastered screening of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, right here at Sydney's own Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace.

You're all morphinominal!
Mighty Morphin' Movie Memories! 31st October 1994 might not seem a landmark day in Australia's immense history, yet it signified a major shift in moviemaking. For some thirteen hours, the surrounding streets of Queen Victoria Building were closed. Filming had begun for some international film about six teenagers with attitude fighting oozy evil space aliens in armour-padded spandex. Only nine months after premiering on local TV screens, the Power Rangers had arrived live in Sydney. The production side of this movie is equally wild a ride as the story itself. Hiring three new actors with only six weeks notice, months of reshoots, budget blowouts, unfinished sets, unworkable suits and suit actors, a major recast, the lead villain wheeled to a local hospital in full makeup, CGI vs costumes for the final act, deleted scenes and so much more. Better articles and videos have done a magnanimous covering the calamity, and are well worth the read and watch. It's something of a miracle the film got finished at all, let alone retain a comprehensible plot. So what about tonight's screening? Befittingly held in Cinema 4, they proudly boasted a new "4K remaster". And to their credit, the film looked fantastic on the big screen. Did they manage to procure a new pristine copy from Twentieth Century Fox? Was it an imported edition of the Shout Factory Blu Ray? To date it's never recieved a proper HD disc release in Australia, thus it really was quite a treat. About 57 fellow fans were here, which made for a cozy and friendly atmosphere. There's no stopping the Rangers' enduring popularity as several multigenerational families attended and took great pleasure pointing out whenever a recognisable Sydney street or landmark popped up. A home ground advantage if ever there was one. Nonetheless it was lovely to see our heroes Tommy Oliver, Kimberly Ann Hart, Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Aisha Campbell and Rocky DeSantos back in Sydney for their long-awaited return to the big screen.
April 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
paulagnewart.bsky.social
-= #Trans40mers Pt. 13 =-

19th April 1987: Canberra's Bruce Jones takes aim at The Transformers in a scathing Sydney Morning Herald article, proclaiming a direct link between the TV series and increased violent behaviour at schools. So which character do they use to draw reader attention? Voltron.
Ah, the Australian mainstream media. Can't live with them. Can likely live without them. In this desperate, conservative-leaning bid to perpetually win The Right Side of History™, it doesn't take much for a person, politician or brand to go from yesterday's dream teen to media trash queen. The 80's were no different, as barely a week after running a colouring contest to win Betamax and VHS copies of their first movie, The Transformers became blacklisted under The Sydney Morning Herald's poison pen of publishing persecution. "Kids Copy TV Violence at School!" bellowed their bold, boisterous headline. Taking up top third of page 19, Bruce dove into detailing a Federal Parliamentary Committee meeting over whether to include mandatory messages of "Research shows violent and degrading entertainment has a harmful effect on children and adults" on videos. Spearheading talks were Joint Select Committee on Video Martial chairman Dr Dick Klugman, plus National Coalition on Television Violence research director Dr Thomas Radecki. A controversial figure then as now, no expense was spared in Radecki's mission to demonizing Cybertron's finest. According to studies carried out among Australian schools, "Children playing Transformer war games were more likely to lose their tempers and get into fights", "Develop aggressive attitudes in school" and "Were more likely to get into drugs"! He further took aim at the Australian Censorship Board's decision to give the show a G rating. "It is an extremely violent war cartoon produced by Hasbro Toys, America's second largest toy company... to maximize the sale of Transformer war toys", and how "Violent entertainment was a $20 billion a year industry, with war toy sales of $1.2 billion". Other 'offensive' cartoons such as ABC's 'Battle of the Planets' and 'Mysterious Lost Cities (sic) of Gold' took a hit, though in spite of being used for the article's eye-catching image, The Herald made zero mention of Arus' legendary defender Voltron.
April 19, 2025 at 1:23 PM