Dueling Ogres

The next interview is with artist Lavana Lemley! She easily had one of the most peculiar, beautiful, and eye-catching pieces at the expo (pictured above)! Instead of attempting to livestream this year's , decided to hit up a few tables and bother people for interviews! Pay close attention, kids. He's really terrible at this, but had some great interviews! Listen to the audio above and read the transcript lovingly produced by ! Remington: I'm here at the Classic Plastic's Toy and Comics Expo and right now I am with Lavana Lemley. And Lavana is an artist in the area, and she has a very interesting piece here. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about this piece? Lavana Lemley: Well the one beside is us a six-foot sphinx. It is based off of antelope, and tree roots, and just a twisted creature (laugh). R: It's very eye-catching and your placement of it here on the floor is perfect to catch people's eye. So how long did it take you to make this particular sphinx? L: This one took about two to three weeks. There's a lot of dry time with it, so it always extends like how long it takes to make it. And it's made in multiple pieces. R: Gotcha, so I can see a little bit of the different pieces put together here. You also have fleece blankets and prints as well. I heard you tell somebody earlier that all of your fleece blankets and things like that are machine washable? L: Yeah they're machine washable, microwave safe, dishwasher safe. Um, the mugs anyway...don't put the blankets in the dishwasher, but (laugh) yeah they're all really durable. I get them printed and I design them. R: So how long does it take – I see a lot of sphinxes. A lot of nature-oriented things. What do you enjoy about painting all of those nature forms? L: I just think nature itself is really weird. It can be really dark and really beautiful at the same time, so it's really easy to get inspiration from it. on Aug 4, 2015 at 2:50pm PDT R: Do you have any film or other artists that inspire your particular…style, yeah (both laugh). L: Um sure! I love Guillermo Del Toro's work – Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favorites. And of course I like Tim Burton and stuff like that. People who make dark, interesting creatures but they're not always actually dark on the inside? They're...I don't know. (laugh) Unusual? R: Right I gotcha. Well thank you very much! If there is anybody who would like to see your art – because there have been pictures up here at the con on their Facebook and things like that – But if they would want to get a hold of you or see your art in some way, where can they go? L: Let's see...I have a permanent display at the Riverside Artist's Gallery in Marietta, it's the one that's by Tampico's and Pizza Place. And then I also have stuff on display, usually, at the Vienna Public Library. And then I usually will do random shows and stuff at the Parkersburg Art Center. R: Do you have a website or a Facebook page or anything where people can order stuff? Anything of that nature? Or do you just usually sell merchandise at shows? L: I do just sell merchandise at shows, but people could contact me through my email on my website. It's . And then I have the Facebook page, it's “” as well as an Instagram which is just “”. R: Alright, well thank you Lavana! I appreciate you taking the time to do my first interview! L: Yay! (both laugh)

The next interview is with artist Lavana Lemley! She easily had one of the most peculiar, beautiful, and eye-catching pieces at the expo (pictured above)! Instead of attempting to livestream this year's Classic Plastic Toy & Comic Expo, Rem decided to hit up a few tables and bother people for interviews! Pay close attention, kids. He's really terrible at this, but had some great interviews! Listen to the audio above and read the transcript lovingly produced by Brandon! Remington: I'm here at the Classic Plastic's Toy and Comics Expo and right now I am with Lavana Lemley. And Lavana is an artist in the area, and she has a very interesting piece here. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about this piece? Lavana Lemley: Well the one beside is us a six-foot sphinx. It is based off of antelope, and tree roots, and just a twisted creature (laugh). R: It's very eye-catching and your placement of it here on the floor is perfect to catch people's eye. So how long did it take you to make this particular sphinx? L: This one took about two to three weeks. There's a lot of dry time with it, so it always extends like how long it takes to make it. And it's made in multiple pieces. R: Gotcha, so I can see a little bit of the different pieces put together here. You also have fleece blankets and prints as well. I heard you tell somebody earlier that all of your fleece blankets and things like that are machine washable? L: Yeah they're machine washable, microwave safe, dishwasher safe. Um, the mugs anyway...don't put the blankets in the dishwasher, but (laugh) yeah they're all really durable. I get them printed and I design them. R: So how long does it take – I see a lot of sphinxes. A lot of nature-oriented things. What do you enjoy about painting all of those nature forms? L: I just think nature itself is really weird. It can be really dark and really beautiful at the same time, so it's really easy to get inspiration from it.

A post shared by Lavana Lemley (@lavanalemley) on Aug 4, 2015 at 2:50pm PDT

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js R: Do you have any film or other artists that inspire your particular…style, yeah (both laugh). L: Um sure! I love Guillermo Del Toro's work – Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favorites. And of course I like Tim Burton and stuff like that. People who make dark, interesting creatures but they're not always actually dark on the inside? They're...I don't know. (laugh) Unusual? R: Right I gotcha. Well thank you very much! If there is anybody who would like to see your art – because there have been pictures up here at the con on their Facebook and things like that – But if they would want to get a hold of you or see your art in some way, where can they go? L: Let's see...I have a permanent display at the Riverside Artist's Gallery in Marietta, it's the one that's by Tampico's and Pizza Place. And then I also have stuff on display, usually, at the Vienna Public Library. And then I usually will do random shows and stuff at the Parkersburg Art Center. R: Do you have a website or a Facebook page or anything where people can order stuff? Anything of that nature? Or do you just usually sell merchandise at shows? L: I do just sell merchandise at shows, but people could contact me through my email on my website. It's lavanalemley.carbonmade.com. And then I have the Facebook page, it's “Lavana Lemley Art” as well as an Instagram which is just “Lavana Lemley”. R: Alright, well thank you Lavana! I appreciate you taking the time to do my first interview! L: Yay! (both laugh) https://lavanalemley.carbonmade.com/ https://www.facebook.com/lavanalemleyart/ https://www.instagram.com/lavanalemley/ //z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=bb6f5413-04cd-4058-bb9b-ee1ce671b122

Our first interview is with James Patrick, writer of Harley Quinn, Green Arrow, Star Trek, Batman, Death Comes to Dillinger, and much, much more! Instead of attempting to livestream this year's , decided to hit up a few tables and bother people for interviews! Pay close attention, kids. He's really terrible at this, but had some great interviews! Listen to the audio above and read the transcript lovingly produced by ! Rem: We're here at the Classic Plastics Toy and Comic Expo with - James: James Patrick! R: James Patrick, creator of Hero Hourly and Impostor and and all of that sort of thing. Writer extraordinaire! How have you been? J: I've been doing great. This show has been wonderful. R: Has it? So you said that you've been received really well. It looks like you have a primo spot here. So, uh... J: This spot was actually the result of a mistake. So we'll call it a wonderful mistake. R: Oh really? That's awesome. Good. Glad to hear it. So, what have you been doing since the last time we talked and what have you got going in the works? J: Um, right now I have a bunch of pitches in at different companies. Companies people recognize. I can't get into what I'm talking about what I'm working on yet. R: Sure. J: But those things are developing. And then I have different creator owned books. For instance I have a book that we're about to pitch – it's related to giant monsters, it's a Kaiju book. I'm not going to get into the hook or the specifics but it's a giant monster book with a twist. Actually...ah, we'll leave it at that. It's a giant monster book with a twist. R: Haha, aw man. You're going to leave me hanging with that? That kind of sucks because I'm kind of excited about the Kaiju stuff. The Godzilla stuff, there was this, uh, I guess not a leak so much but they were talking about how in the credits, they released the credits - J: For Kong? R: For Kong, yeah. And they had some of the other TOHO monsters? J: Right, like Mothra. Monster X. And I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard they're – I don't know if they're in the credits or I don't know what's going on. But I've heard something, and I'm looking forward to Kong. I haven't seen Logan yet so I've got to cross Logan off the list, then I'll cross Kong off the list. R: Gotcha. I haven't seen Logan yet either, I don't know if I'll be able to see it in the theatres, but are you excited to see it as well? J: I'm VERY excited to see it. I'm probably going to go tonight or tomorrow, depending. I don't know. I'm just really looking forward to it, it hear it's really good. R: Awesome. So is there anything else you'd like to NOT pitch to me that you're not NOT doing? J: (Laughs) No…Um, no I can't get into specifics. If the wrong person...I'll get in trouble. Um, let's just say I've got a bunch of stuff out there I'm working on and I'm talking to different people about doing different things right now. So that's pretty much all I can say. Um, that's it for now. I'm working on a Kaiju book and I'm working on a book with the Devil and a couple other things. And that's all, for now. That's good enough. R: With the devil? (laugh) J: Yeah. A devil Kaiju or something, I don’t know. R: laugh Nice. So that being said since you have to keep everything hush-hush, you'll keep me in the loop when you get something that you can actually talk about, won't you? J: Absolutely. When something develops and I can announce it, and I will. And I'll tell you. I'll phone you up and I will say “Remington, I...you are the first.” R: I won't be the first, don't lie to me man. J: Okay, I've been lying. So you're right. R: Thanks a lot man, I appreciate it. If anyone wants to find you, where can they find you at? J: Do you mean like at home? Like my address? Or do you mean at the show? R: Yeah, I mean if you just want to give out your home address, your date of birth, your social security number or something like that? J: Yeah, sure, whatever. No. Yeah if they want to come down to the Classic Plastics Show I'm here. I don't know. Is this airing, is this live? R: No, it's not live. J: Okay, well like I told the other people at the other podcast. Everything is 90% off if you come down today. So come on down. Everything is 90% as long as you get here today. Also I'd like to say a big, big thanks out to Schmo from SchmoMo News because if people don't thank her, well, she gets upset. R: Yeah I was very upset I couldn't make it here yesterday to see her in her Supergirl outfit. [caption id="attachment_2053" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Picture courtesy of The Schmo; Schmo Mo News[/caption] J: She looked amazing. There were a lot of cosplayers here who looked amazing, and she was one of them. And I encourage everyone to check out . R: Alright, thanks James! J: No problem! [amazon template=iframe image2&asin=B00I2ZQFP4,B00N13T8SS,B01LZV3KTO,B01CKK1Q3M,B01859XF04,B01AMUT3N2]

Our first interview is with James Patrick, writer of Harley Quinn, Green Arrow, Star Trek, Batman, Death Comes to Dillinger, and much, much more! Instead of attempting to livestream this year's Classic Plastic Toy & Comic Expo, Rem decided to hit up a few tables and bother people for interviews! Pay close attention, kids. He's really terrible at this, but had some great interviews! Listen to the audio above and read the transcript lovingly produced by Brandon! Rem: We're here at the Classic Plastics Toy and Comic Expo with - James: James Patrick! R: James Patrick, creator of Hero Hourly and Impostor and 21 Pulp and all of that sort of thing. Writer extraordinaire! How have you been? J: I've been doing great. This show has been wonderful. R: Has it? So you said that you've been received really well. It looks like you have a primo spot here. So, uh... J: This spot was actually the result of a mistake. So we'll call it a wonderful mistake. R: Oh really? That's awesome. Good. Glad to hear it. So, what have you been doing since the last time we talked and what have you got going in the works? J: Um, right now I have a bunch of pitches in at different companies. Companies people recognize. I can't get into what I'm talking about what I'm working on yet. R: Sure. J: But those things are developing. And then I have different creator owned books. For instance I have a book that we're about to pitch – it's related to giant monsters, it's a Kaiju book. I'm not going to get into the hook or the specifics but it's a giant monster book with a twist. Actually...ah, we'll leave it at that. It's a giant monster book with a twist. R: Haha, aw man. You're going to leave me hanging with that? That kind of sucks because I'm kind of excited about the Kaiju stuff. The Godzilla stuff, there was this, uh, I guess not a leak so much but they were talking about how in the credits, they released the credits - J: For Kong? R: For Kong, yeah. And they had some of the other TOHO monsters? J: Right, like Mothra. Monster X. And I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard they're – I don't know if they're in the credits or I don't know what's going on. But I've heard something, and I'm looking forward to Kong. I haven't seen Logan yet so I've got to cross Logan off the list, then I'll cross Kong off the list. R: Gotcha. I haven't seen Logan yet either, I don't know if I'll be able to see it in the theatres, but are you excited to see it as well? J: I'm VERY excited to see it. I'm probably going to go tonight or tomorrow, depending. I don't know. I'm just really looking forward to it, it hear it's really good. R: Awesome. So is there anything else you'd like to NOT pitch to me that you're not NOT doing? J: (Laughs) No…Um, no I can't get into specifics. If the wrong person...I'll get in trouble. Um, let's just say I've got a bunch of stuff out there I'm working on and I'm talking to different people about doing different things right now. So that's pretty much all I can say. Um, that's it for now. I'm working on a Kaiju book and I'm working on a book with the Devil and a couple other things. And that's all, for now. That's good enough. R: With the devil? (laugh) J: Yeah. A devil Kaiju or something, I don’t know. R: laugh Nice. So that being said since you have to keep everything hush-hush, you'll keep me in the loop when you get something that you can actually talk about, won't you? J: Absolutely. When something develops and I can announce it, and I will. And I'll tell you. I'll phone you up and I will say “Remington, I...you are the first.” R: I won't be the first, don't lie to me man. J: Okay, I've been lying. So you're right. R: Thanks a lot man, I appreciate it. If anyone wants to find you, where can they find you at? J: Do you mean like at home? Like my address? Or do you mean at the show? R: Yeah, I mean if you just want to give out your home address, your date of birth, your social security number or something like that? J: Yeah, sure, whatever. No. Yeah if they want to come down to the Classic Plastics Show I'm here. I don't know. Is this airing, is this live? R: No, it's not live. J: Okay, well like I told the other people at the other podcast. Everything is 90% off if you come down today. So come on down. Everything is 90% as long as you get here today. Also I'd like to say a big, big thanks out to Schmo from SchmoMo News because if people don't thank her, well, she gets upset. R: Yeah I was very upset I couldn't make it here yesterday to see her in her Supergirl outfit. [caption id="attachment_2053" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Picture courtesy of The Schmo; Schmo Mo News[/caption] J: She looked amazing. There were a lot of cosplayers here who looked amazing, and she was one of them. And I encourage everyone to check out SchmoMo News. R: Alright, thanks James! J: No problem! [amazon template=iframe image2&asin=B00I2ZQFP4,B00N13T8SS,B01LZV3KTO,B01CKK1Q3M,B01859XF04,B01AMUT3N2]

In this special episode, the guys were invited to a local Podcast Night hosted by Asylum Comics to celebrate Marietta, Ohio's "First Friday" event featuring Ka-Pow! The Pop Cultured Podcast, Source Material Podcast, and of course your very own Dueling Ogres! The audio got a little squirrely on us since this was the first time we've done this, but trust me, it's much better than it was before! I think it really accentuates the pure chaos that was the episode, anyway. Please enjoy, and check the links in the description below for our other podcast brethren! Ka-Pow! The Pop Cultured Podcast: http://www.kapow.podbean.com/ Source Material: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/411mmaradio Two's company, seven is ludacris! Interested in writing geek-centric articles? Got a fever to let your inner writer out? Email us with an article to be published for thousands of readers to see! [email protected] SMASH ALL THOSE LIKES AND SHARES AND SUBSCRIBES FOREVER! They help us stay alive one more day! Literally, there are larger ogres over us. They're ruthless and terrifying. We cry tears of blood! CALL or TEXT us so we can play/read your question on air @ 978 DU-OGRES (978-386-4737)!! (Intro uses the "Black Vortex" track by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com). Licensed under CC by attribution 3.0. Outtro: Battle of Kings by Per Kiilstofte, licensed under CC by attribution 4.0 Int'l.) //z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=bb6f5413-04cd-4058-bb9b-ee1ce671b122&storeId=duelogre-20

In this special episode, the guys were invited to a local Podcast Night hosted by Asylum Comics to celebrate Marietta, Ohio's "First Friday" event featuring Ka-Pow! The Pop Cultured Podcast, Source Material Podcast, and of course your very own Dueling Ogres! The audio got a little squirrely on us since this was the first time we've done this, but trust me, it's much better than it was before! I think it really accentuates the pure chaos that was the episode, anyway. Please enjoy, and check the links in the description below for our other podcast brethren!   Two's company, seven is ludacris! Interested in writing geek-centric articles? Got a fever to let your inner writer out? Email us with an article to be published for thousands of readers to see! SMASH ALL THOSE LIKES AND SHARES AND SUBSCRIBES FOREVER! They help us stay alive one more day! Literally, there are larger ogres over us. They're ruthless and terrifying. We cry tears of blood! CALL or TEXT us so we can play/read your question on air @ !! (Intro uses the "" track by Kevin Macleod (). Licensed under . Outtro: , licensed under .)

The other day, I finally had a chance to sit down with Tony Workman, owner of the in Parkersburg, WV for our very first on-site interview. Listen in!! This is a transcript of the conversation, cleaned up for your reading pleasure! Rem: We’re here today with Tony Workman, owner and operator of the Classic Plastics Toy Store located in downtown Parkersburg, WV and progenitor of the Classic Plastics Toy and Comic Expo which is quickly approaching on March 4th and 5th at the Parkersburg Art Center. Tony, how are you doing? Tony: Pretty good. R: You ready for take two? T: Definitely! Both: *shared laughter* R: So I may or may not have screwed up the last recording, and I really won't know until I get it into the computer to find out. So we're going to do it again and I'm going to make Tony suffer through it because he's awesome like that! Tony, what got you started in selling toys? T: Pretty much my love of them. I've always had toys and I never really grew out of it, so I wanted to keep that going and so I turned a hobby into a business. R; You started off by having a shop in a local flea market, what drove you to make the jump to having a retail space? T: It came down to availability — with the flea market being [open] three days and me growing out of the space I was in. I kept getting a bigger and bigger space, and I just figured it was time to get a building. R: Gotchya. What kind of toys and other items do you carry? T: There is a little bit of everything. We started at the flea market with vintage used toys that people would bring in to us, and then when I moved here, I started getting into new toys from NECA and Funko — stuff like that. R: So do you have any primo stuff for the fine dining toy collector? T: Every now and then we'll get stuff from collectors that we'll bring in, like packages Ninja Turtles from the 80's or stuff from NECA that is really highly detailed or articulated. Stuff that might be pricier, but worth the money. R: I notice you also have vintage functional arcade machines. What inspired the decision to include those in your space? T: I always loved going to the arcade when I was a kid. There was a movie theater that my parents would take my brothers and I to; and before every movie, we would sit there and play arcade games until it was time to go in and watch it. I've watched them all shut down all over the place, and I just wanted to try and bring that back. R: Gotchya. Do you host any special extended hour events like arcade or Collectible Card Game tournaments? T: We do with the arcade games. We have free arcade day once a month that we try to do toward the end of the month. It's what it sounds like: just come in and play free arcades all day. () R: Awesome! So, as I said, you are the progenitor of the Classic Plastics Toy and Comic Expo coming up again March 4th and 5th. This will be the fourth year you’ve hosted the CPT&CE, the third year it will be taking place at the Parkersburg Art Center. What sparked the truly daunting task of organizing an expo? T: My buddy, Todd Wines works for The Red Cross and they were looking for a fundraiser that would be in different age groups with different types of people that they don't normally get any kind of support from, so he came to me and asked "Do you want to do a toy and comics expo?" – with him being a huge comic nerd - and of course, I said yes. *laughter* R: Is it just you pulling the strings, or do you have a crew helping to get all the gears moving? T: For the most part, it's just me. Todd does help when he can, but with his job being in disaster relief, it's just a matter of if there's going to be a flood or something. So if that happens, he really has to focus on that which leaves me to be the only one. But I do have employees that I can pay to help me out as well. R: This year you’re featuring nearly 100 vendors and guests. How well has the attendance grown over the past four years? T: The first year was in a church on South Side [Parkersburg], and it had 300 people. Last year - our 3rd year - we had 1200 people. We're hoping to get over 2000 people with it being the first two-day show, but it is just a kind of wait-and-see. R: And as you said, this is the first multi-day event. Why was the decision made to extend the expo? T: Last year there were so many people. The Art Center is a pretty decent-sized building, but there were so many people on the floor that it was hard to get through the aisles and see all the inventory and enjoy the show as much as people wanted. So we thought spreading it out over the two days would give people the opportunity to choose when and what day they wanted to come. R: Awesome! Who can we expect to see this year, then? T: This year we have Steve Cardenas, the second red ranger from Power Rangers — Rocky, the red ranger if anyone watches the show. Along with Tim Clark, an 80's toy designer. He did stuff like Boglins and Sectaurs. He worked a little bit on Fraggle Rock. And then the local legend, Jordan Patton is back again this year from SyFy's Face Off and does the show Deadnecks. R: We have the expo, and then we have some external events that are happening as well. What are some of the events that are happening at the expo and outside of it that will really make for the first weekend of March to be a truly grand adventure for anyone coming to downtown Parkersburg? T: Starting with the outside stuff first: It's being done by Downtown PKB again. They did an event last year that they got really good reception from - Savor Saturday - that they're going to be doing again this year. It's going to include 12 different restaurants [in the downtown area] that you can walk around and get dollar samples from. So if you haven't eaten at any of the downtown restaurants, it gives you a really good chance to try out some of what's on their menu. There's also going to be this guy, - I don't even know his name - he came into the store one time and said "You let me into the show one day for free, and I'll go around all the PokeStops downtown and put lures on them." So that is going to be at noon — the same time as people are walking around for Savory Saturday. You can take advantage of a whole bunch of lures and sample a whole bunch of restaurants down here. Inside, the Vienna Library is doing events like Lego Building and Story Time on Sunday. J&M Bookstore on South Side is doing board games and tabletop events both Saturday and Sunday; along with Rare Drops from Huntington doing video game tournaments. Both of these will be in the basement of the Art Center. Then there will be a cosplay contest and I'm probably forgetting something else. *laughter* R: *laughter* It is hard to keep track of all of it, isn't it? T: It is! R: So finally, do you have anything you’d like to add that I may have forgotten to cover? T: I can't remember if it was mentioned, but proceeds to the show go towards Downtown PKB and the Arts Center — they'll be split in half. I do not get any profit from this. This is something that is done for the community and as a promotion for my store. In the past, it was done for the Red Cross, but we changed to Downtown PKB this year. So if you guys are really wanting to support your local area and your local businesses, coming to the expo is going to be really important. Rem: Awesome! You can join us in the fun at the Classic Plastics Toy & Comic Expo, March 4th and 5th at the Parkersburg Art Center, located at 725 Market Street in Parkersburg West Virginia. Admission is $5 per person each day, or $8 for a two-day pass. Children 10 and under are free with paid adult admission. All proceeds go to the and . More information about the expo can be found at , link in the notes; or you can search on Facebook for real-time updates on the event. Don’t forget to come down to the as well – , located at 406 Market Street in Parkersburg, West Virginia – and give Tony all the love and support you can! Thanks again, Tony, for having me down and wasting time with me! I really appreciate it! Tony: Thanks for having me! Links: https://www.classicplasticstoystore.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ClassicPlasticsToyandComicExpo/ https://www.facebook.com/ClassicPlasticsToyStore/ https://www.facebook.com/downtownpkb/ https://www.facebook.com/parkersburgartcenter/ https://www.facebook.com/events/614611755413106/

The other day, I finally had a chance to sit down with Tony Workman, owner of the Classic Plastics Toy Store in Parkersburg, WV for our very first on-site interview. Listen in!! This is a transcript of the conversation, cleaned up for your reading pleasure! Rem: We’re here today with Tony Workman, owner and operator of the Classic Plastics Toy Store located in downtown Parkersburg, WV and progenitor of the Classic Plastics Toy and Comic Expo which is quickly approaching on March 4th and 5th at the Parkersburg Art Center. Tony, how are you doing? Tony: Pretty good. R: You ready for take two? T: Definitely! Both: *shared laughter* R: So I may or may not have screwed up the last recording, and I really won't know until I get it into the computer to find out. So we're going to do it again and I'm going to make Tony suffer through it because he's awesome like that! Tony, what got you started in selling toys? T: Pretty much my love of them. I've always had toys and I never really grew out of it, so I wanted to keep that going and so I turned a hobby into a business. R; You started off by having a shop in a local flea market, what drove you to make the jump to having a retail space? T: It came down to availability — with the flea market being [open] three days and me growing out of the space I was in. I kept getting a bigger and bigger space, and I just figured it was time to get a building. R: Gotchya. What kind of toys and other items do you carry? T: There is a little bit of everything. We started at the flea market with vintage used toys that people would bring in to us, and then when I moved here, I started getting into new toys from NECA and Funko — stuff like that. R: So do you have any primo stuff for the fine dining toy collector? T: Every now and then we'll get stuff from collectors that we'll bring in, like packages Ninja Turtles from the 80's or stuff from NECA that is really highly detailed or articulated. Stuff that might be pricier, but worth the money. R: I notice you also have vintage functional arcade machines. What inspired the decision to include those in your space? T: I always loved going to the arcade when I was a kid. There was a movie theater that my parents would take my brothers and I to; and before every movie, we would sit there and play arcade games until it was time to go in and watch it. I've watched them all shut down all over the place, and I just wanted to try and bring that back. R: Gotchya. Do you host any special extended hour events like arcade or Collectible Card Game tournaments? T: We do with the arcade games. We have free arcade day once a month that we try to do toward the end of the month. It's what it sounds like: just come in and play free arcades all day. (Going on right now! 2.25.17) R: Awesome! So, as I said, you are the progenitor of the Classic Plastics Toy and Comic Expo coming up again March 4th and 5th. This will be the fourth year you’ve hosted the CPT&CE, the third year it will be taking place at the Parkersburg Art Center. What sparked the truly daunting task of organizing an expo? T: My buddy, Todd Wines works for The Red Cross and they were looking for a fundraiser that would be in different age groups with different types of people that they don't normally get any kind of support from, so he came to me and asked "Do you want to do a toy and comics expo?" – with him being a huge comic nerd - and of course, I said yes. *laughter* R: Is it just you pulling the strings, or do you have a crew helping to get all the gears moving? T: For the most part, it's just me. Todd does help when he can, but with his job being in disaster relief, it's just a matter of if there's going to be a flood or something. So if that happens, he really has to focus on that which leaves me to be the only one. But I do have employees that I can pay to help me out as well. R: This year you’re featuring nearly 100 vendors and guests. How well has the attendance grown over the past four years? T: The first year was in a church on South Side [Parkersburg], and it had 300 people. Last year - our 3rd year - we had 1200 people. We're hoping to get over 2000 people with it being the first two-day show, but it is just a kind of wait-and-see. R: And as you said, this is the first multi-day event. Why was the decision made to extend the expo? T: Last year there were so many people. The Art Center is a pretty decent-sized building, but there were so many people on the floor that it was hard to get through the aisles and see all the inventory and enjoy the show as much as people wanted. So we thought spreading it out over the two days would give people the opportunity to choose when and what day they wanted to come. R: Awesome! Who can we expect to see this year, then? T: This year we have Steve Cardenas, the second red ranger from Power Rangers — Rocky, the red ranger if anyone watches the show. Along with Tim Clark, an 80's toy designer. He did stuff like Boglins and Sectaurs. He worked a little bit on Fraggle Rock. And then the local legend, Jordan Patton is back again this year from SyFy's Face Off and does the show Deadnecks. R: We have the expo, and then we have some external events that are happening as well. What are some of the events that are happening at the expo and outside of it that will really make for the first weekend of March to be a truly grand adventure for anyone coming to downtown Parkersburg? T: Starting with the outside stuff first: It's being done by Downtown PKB again. They did an event last year that they got really good reception from - Savor Saturday - that they're going to be doing again this year. It's going to include 12 different restaurants [in the downtown area] that you can walk around and get dollar samples from. So if you haven't eaten at any of the downtown restaurants, it gives you a really good chance to try out some of what's on their menu. There's also going to be this guy, - I don't even know his name - he came into the store one time and said "You let me into the show one day for free, and I'll go around all the PokeStops downtown and put lures on them." So that is going to be at noon — the same time as people are walking around for Savory Saturday. You can take advantage of a whole bunch of lures and sample a whole bunch of restaurants down here. Inside, the Vienna Library is doing events like Lego Building and Story Time on Sunday. J&M Bookstore on South Side is doing board games and tabletop events both Saturday and Sunday; along with Rare Drops from Huntington doing video game tournaments. Both of these will be in the basement of the Art Center. Then there will be a cosplay contest and I'm probably forgetting something else. *laughter* R: *laughter* It is hard to keep track of all of it, isn't it? T: It is! R: So finally, do you have anything you’d like to add that I may have forgotten to cover? T: I can't remember if it was mentioned, but proceeds to the show go towards Downtown PKB and the Arts Center — they'll be split in half. I do not get any profit from this. This is something that is done for the community and as a promotion for my store. In the past, it was done for the Red Cross, but we changed to Downtown PKB this year. So if you guys are really wanting to support your local area and your local businesses, coming to the expo is going to be really important. Rem: Awesome! You can join us in the fun at the Classic Plastics Toy & Comic Expo, March 4th and 5th at the Parkersburg Art Center, located at 725 Market Street in Parkersburg West Virginia. Admission is $5 per person each day, or $8 for a two-day pass. Children 10 and under are free with paid adult admission. All proceeds go to the Parkersburg Art Center and Downtown PKB. More information about the expo can be found at classicplasticstoystore.com/classic-plastics-toy-show, link in the notes; or you can search Classic Plastics Toy & Comic Expo on Facebook for real-time updates on the event. Don’t forget to come down to the storefront as well – Classic Plastics Toy Store, located at 406 Market Street in Parkersburg, West Virginia – and give Tony all the love and support you can! Thanks again, Tony, for having me down and wasting time with me! I really appreciate it! Tony: Thanks for having me! Links: https://www.classicplasticstoystore.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ClassicPlasticsToyandComicExpo/ https://www.facebook.com/ClassicPlasticsToyStore/ https://www.facebook.com/downtownpkb/ https://www.facebook.com/parkersburgartcenter/ https://www.facebook.com/events/614611755413106/ //z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=bb6f5413-04cd-4058-bb9b-ee1ce671b122&storeId=duelogre-20

We're back and bringing all the energy we can muster! Is Star Wars really lasting the Jedi? What will we call them now?

• Brandon regales us with tales from Tamriel in Elder Scrolls, Rem bores us with Archeology tales from World of Warcraft.
• Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 gets a PERFECT SCREEN TEST!
• Josh Gad finally quits harassing Daisy Ridley for information about Star Wars. He gets his friends to do it, instead (including Chris Pratt and J. J. Abrams)!
• Rick and Morty Trailer for season 3 "rolls" out for our viewing pleasure.
• Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will have a higher-than-usual rating due to ditching the milk and bringing the booze.
• Netflix's next animated series (along with Frederator, who owns the title) reboots the Castlevania franchise by bringing Warren Ellis on to write the first season.
• Kong: Skull Island to feature other Toho monster properties in some way as indicated by the credit roll which appeared online.
• The Batman loses Affleck as director, but (as of this writing) Matt Reeves has officially signed on to direct the project...for now (insert sinister voicover).
• Will DC and Warner Brothers ever be able to catch up to the juggernaut that is Marvel?! Do they stand a snowball's chance in Hell?! Oh, bt dubs, David F. Sandberg of Lights Out is in talks to be the director of Shazam, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson set to play Black Adam over Captain Marvel/Shazam.
• The Han Solo solo solo movie solo appears to have begun production with a shiny new cast photo!

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We're back and bringing all the energy we can muster! Is Star Wars really lasting the Jedi? What will we call them now? Brandon regales us with tales from Tamriel in Elder Scrolls, Rem bores us with Archeology tales from World of Warcraft. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 gets a PERFECT SCREEN TEST! Josh Gad finally quits harassing Daisy Ridley for information about Star Wars. He gets his friends to do it, instead (including Chris Pratt and J. J. Abrams)! Rick and Morty Trailer for season 3 "rolls" out for our viewing pleasure. Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will have a higher-than-usual rating due to ditching the milk and bringing the booze. Netflix's next animated series (along with Frederator, who owns the title) reboots the Castlevania franchise by bringing Warren Ellis on to write the first season. Kong: Skull Island to feature other Toho monster properties in some way as indicated by the . The Batman loses Affleck as director, but (as of this writing) Matt Reeves has officially signed on to direct the project...for now (insert sinister voicover). Will DC and Warner Brothers ever be able to catch up to the juggernaut that is Marvel?! Do they stand a snowball's chance in Hell?! Oh, bt dubs, David F. Sandberg of Lights Out is in talks to be the director of Shazam, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson set to play Black Adam over Captain Marvel/Shazam. The Han Solo solo solo movie solo appears to have begun production with a shiny new cast photo! [su_box title="Answer this Important Question!" style="soft" box_color="#330000" title_color="#FFF5EB" radius="0"][poll id="3"][/su_box] If you do not see the poll for "Which Tabletop Roleplaying Game are you interested in reading a review for?", please click here to answer!  There's some Big Trouble in Little China! Interested in writing geek-centric articles? Got a fever to let your inner writer out? Email us with an article to be published for thousands of readers to see! SMASH ALL THOSE LIKES AND SHARES AND SUBSCRIBES FOREVER! They help us stay alive one more day! Literally, there are larger ogres over us. They're ruthless and terrifying. We cry tears of blood! CALL or TEXT us so we can play/read your question on air @ !! (Intro uses the "" track by Kevin Macleod (). Licensed under . Outtro: , licensed under .)