pixel dan | Screaming Soup!

SCREAMING AT THANKSGIVING 2023!

Howdy there, Scream Freaks! That annual belly buster known as Turkey Day is upon us ‘gain, and we’ve got plenty to be thankful fer!

First off, we just got back from one of our favorite cons still willin’ to allow us in the door — RETRO TOY CON! Presented by our amigos at Toy Federation, this playful plastic pickin’ weekend was one fer the history books we tell ya what. Three days of toy huntin’, pizza parties, lobby/room/and parkin’ lot toy swappin’, celebrity meet and greets, costume contests, panel discussions, and listenin’ to our big yap act as the emcee of the event, doin’ our best to keep folks entertained ‘tween announcements with jokes ’bout signin’ petitions fer a Popples panel and findin’ us a Polly Pocket fer our Mighty Max.

While we did manage to score some new shelf fillers from obscure Bad Eggz Bunch to bargain bin Goombas from the ’93 Mario Bros. movie (with the coats still attached! Whoa!!), the biggest highlights were the friends and memories we made. We screamed He-Man know-it-all Pixel Dan‘s name whenever he walked by (much to his annoyance, we’re sure), swapped YouTube war stories with toy fanatic Shartimus Prime, shared our favorite hot dog hang-outs with Eddie Deezen, got the skinny on Retro Toy Quest‘s new Toy Collector’s Wishbook, joked a little with WWE Hall of Famers the Steiner Brothers, and talked ’bout the current state of the film biz with Star Wars alum Chris Parsons.

The headliner of the week, however, was the reunion of the creative forces behind the ’92 X-Men cartoon from Fox Kids, and we can’t tell ya how wild it is to get to know the voices behind characters we have such fond memories of from childhood. George “Beast” Buza entertained us with tales from the set of The Brain (1988) with him playing a henchman eaten by a giant rubber monster of gray matter. Alyson “Jubilee” Court was kind ‘nough to say those famous lines of hers as Lydia on the Beetlejuice cartoon over the intercom system. Roscoe “Ms. Marvel” Handford gave us some good laughs over her photos with our Screaming Soup! props. We had a terrific sit down with Lenore “Rogue” Zann discussin’ her time playin’ Sizzle on the long forgotten Stunt Dawgs cartoon. Cal “The Wolverine” Dodd was a hoot and a half with his displeasure over some obnoxious boom box playin’ a butchered version of Wipe Out. And the ringleaders of this mutant circus, showrunners Eric and Julia Lewald with Mark Edens, were some of the kindest, most approachable folks anyone could ask to meet. The best time we had with ’em was talkin’ ’bout how many western flicks influenced the scripts fer X-Men, Exo-Squad, and Spiral Zone while tradin’ some of the dumbest jokes we could think of! If ya haven’t bought either of Eric and Julia’s books on the makin’ of the X-Men series, do yourself a favor and snatch these up NOW. Previously on X-Men has a ton of interviews with the cartoon’s cast and creators while featurin’ a ton of behind trivia per episode, and X-Men: The Art and Making of The Animated Series simply explodes with an unbelievable ‘mount of production art and notes not seen in most books based on toons from this era.

In addition to this overload of excitement, we also got to behold one mother of a 3D printin’ project an up and comin’ toy company blessed the con with — a LARGER than life reproduction of the original Masters of the Universe toy line by True Legacy Design. We’re talkin’ HUGE He-Man figures with all the same action gimmicks accompanied by unbelievably proportioned vehicles and playsets. Unreal, right? Currently workin’ on gettin’ the licensin’ rights from Mattel, True Legacy Design hopes to start sellin’ these bad mama jammas to the public in the near future and already started their own YouTube channel to get news buzzin’ on this incredible venture of theirs. Who knows? Maybe they can help us produce some Screaming Soup! figures!

Speakin’ of Screaming Soup! products, we finally got in the rest of the merch this week for the upcomin’ Screaming Soup! Fan Club Kit, and it’s shaped up to be one sweet package of tangible goodies. Full of various stickers, a mini-poster, buttons, and trading cards, this sucker’s sure to be at the top of every Scream Freaks’ wish list this holiday season and will be ready for sale shortly. Thanks ‘gain to the Scream Freaks on Patreon whose contributions made this treat possible. We’ll be contactin’ you for your mailin’ addresses to make sure you’re the first to receive this amazin’ package of soupy goodness!

And ‘fore we forget, the creators of The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes franchise just released the first handful of episodes fer their new Killer Tomatoes podcast that takes fans behind the scenes of the most hilarious cult flicks inspired by the produce aisle, and we’re a featured guest fer one of ’em! Listen to filmmakers Costa Dillon and Steve Peace yap with the series’ most recurrin’ actor John Astin aka Dr. Gangreen, Marc Price (star of Killer Tomatoes Eat France), and us fer makin’ the 3 hour long documentary on all things Killer Tomatoes! Listen to it all NOW on Spotify!

Other than that, please show your support for our show with donations through Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee, and Ko-fi, catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent bite-size reviews for the newer horror films we’re checkin’ out in our blog R-Rated Reviews, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets (are they still called that?), subscribe to our video channels, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail comin’. You can also warm up some Screaming Soup! leftovers with reruns currently playin’ on Beta Max TV, Sluggo’s The Vortexx, and Mr. Lobo‘s OSI 74 .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Scream Freaks!

SCREAMING AT HALLOWEEN 2023!

A chill hangs in the air as eerie winds weave their way through summer’s grasp, transformin’ luscious trees into gnarly silhouettes surrounded by colorful last gasps. Gourds are gutted and displayed on suburban stoops with grisly grins of fire ‘long side cacklin’ ghouls of plastic, circuits, and wires. Creeps put on their sinful bests and parade for candy as unwelcomed guests. Can it be? Could it mean? Why, yes, it’s a Happy Halloween!

Trick ‘r treat, Scream Freaks! Yup, it’s that spooktacular time of year ‘gain, and we’re happier than witches flyin’ over the full moon! Costume parties, horror flick marathons, scary pranks . . . just ‘nother day fer us ya could say, but Halloween’s a perfect ‘cuse to crank it to 11.

Speakin’ of rock references, don’t forget we got yer back when it comes to needin’ the perfect playlist of terror-ific tunes fer yer next hootenanny. With a jukebox full o’ nearly 600 diddies celebratin’ the scariest time of the year, y’all have access to 36 hours of our own hand picked songs havin’ anything to do with horror movies and TV shows as well as stand alone tunes packed with creepy themes and lyrics. Whether ya hit play and kick back, or use it as a springboard for creatin’ your own custom playlist, we just wanna help as many folks as we can who’re beggin’ fer more music than the usual go-tos like “Ghostbusters” and “Thriller.” Just visit our Howl-Inn Grub & Spirit Jukebox page HERE and enjoy!!

In the meantime, yer probably wonderin’ what’s goin’ on with Count Ted‘s situation since Frankenstein hooked him up with Wolfie in the Massacre Mountains. Well, they’re doin’ fine and Ted’s really comin’ up to speed fer how to be the Crossland’s new king of the vampires. Just in time too, ’cause he’s still game fer Wolfie’s plan to reunite Drac’s ol’ gang as part of his new regime, and the next guy we’re wranglin’ in’s gonna make one helluva splashy entrance. Rumor has it the long missin’ gill creature’s been sighted ’round the Crosslands’ favorite distraction Draculand, and let us tell ya — lookin’ for a creep ‘mong a sea of creeps in a fantasy getaway slammed with wall to wall theme park rides, mazes, and other sweet attractions ain’t gonna be easy. Parkin’s gonna be ‘nough of a nightmare!

Somethin’ else we’re excited to ‘nnounce is a Screaming Soup! Fan Club Kit in the works. Thanks to the generosity of Scream Freaks like y’all donatin’ to our Patreon, we now have ‘nough capital to produce some cool merch we’ll be packagin’ in one sweet bundle. Full o’ different kinds of stickers, buttons, coasters, tradin’ cards, pogs, and mini posters, it’s gonna be a regular treasure chest of collectables fer Scream Freaks everywhere wantin’ a piece of our show they can happily hold in their claws. So, keep ’em peepers peeled, ’cause that’ll be comin’ sooner than later!

Followin’ up on our Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective we released a few months back, we’re thrilled to learn the masterminds behind the franchise liked our three hour praise fest of their work so much, they now have it permanently featured on the home page of the Killer Tomatoes website! Just when we didn’t think it could get any better than yappin’ with every cast and crew member involved with our favorite cult series, somethin’ like this happens and makes us feel like we’re now part of that incredible history. And if that weren’t ‘nough, we just learned Killer Tomatoes co-creators Costa Dillon and Steve Peace are startin’ their own Killer Tomatoes podcast and asked us to be one of their first guests! Jumpin’ jack-o-lanterns!! Y’all know when that episode drops the second we do!

In other news, next month is the return of our favorite toy convention from our amigos at Toy Federation — Retro-Toy Con! Not only are we pumped to snag us a table at this supremo hot spot fer toy fanatics huntin’ fer plastic treasures from yesteryear and today, but the guest list we’re a part of this time is just uncanny! Believe it or not, yer favorite animated horror host will be huggin’ the celebrity wall with none other than the original voice cast of Fox’s X-Men cartoon from the ’90s, WWE hall o’ famers the Steiner Brothers, Eddie Deezen from Dexture’s Lab, Star War’s Chris Parsons, and Pixel Dan! You bet yer Halloween candy it’s gonna be one helluva good time, and ya won’t wanna miss out! We’ll be actin’ as the announcer of the dealer’s room once ‘gain and have exclusive art prints fer sale at our Screaming Soup! table ‘long with free candy and opportunities to take yer picture with Deadwest undead in person! Mark yer calendars and come out see me and the rest of these amazin’ guests next month, November 17-19 in Greenville, SC!