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 The 2008 Poppies - the Judges!

For our second year, I decided to up the judges to almost 150 folks from 5 different categories - Companies, Websites, Collectors, Retailers, and Artists.  The final list shows a fairly even distribution amongst these groups, with a grand total of 140 people.  They come from all aspects of the industry - large companies to small, general websites to niche, online to print, contract artists to customizers, and fans of just about every major license.  I'm also happy to say that there's a global influence, with judges from North America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

And so without further ado, here's the folks that will be selecting the winners of the 2008 Poppies: 

Companies:

In this category of judges, 33 companies are represented by 39 different judges.  The companies represented range from one guy operations to multi-billion dollar organizations, from mass market to specialty market, with headquarters around the world.

- Scott Tipton serves as design consultant and copywriter for Toynami, and also currently writes STAR TREK and ANGEL comics for IDW Publishing.  His first book, COMIC BOOKS 101: THE HISTORY, METHODS AND MADNESS, will appear in bookstores in June 2009. He has a startlingly large toy collection, but in this crowd it's probably about average. 

- Scott Neitlich is a Associate Brand Manager for Mattel responsible for daily management of the DC Universe Classics, Infinite Heroes, Justice League Unlimited and Masters of the Universe Classics lines. A lifelong toy fan himself, Scott began his career in advertising but quickly followed his heart to the toy business to help start up MattyCollector.com and run Mattel's convention and fan relations presence.

- Shingo Nakagawa works as the Media and Marketing Coordinator For Kotobukiya's International Division.

- Jim Wampler is the Director of Sales for Quantum Mechanix, Inc. He's been a toy collector and fan for longer than he wants to remember and has 20 + years experience working in the toy and hobby industries.

- Richard Gottlieb is a well known toy industry commentator and President of Richard Gottlieb’s USA Toy Experts, a provider of business development services to the toy industry. Richard combines an MBA in Global Management with thirty-five years of toy industry experience to help small, medium, and large toy manufacturers increase their market share. Richard is frequently interviewed by media worldwide, and has been called on by CNN, PBS, ABC and other media outlets. He is also a Contributing Editor to Playthings magazine in the US, Toys n’ Playthings in the UK, Juguetes in Spain and other European toy magazines. Richard has written a book, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Wal-Mart and his blog, “Out of the Toy Box” is a popular destination for those who want to know what is happening and is going to happen in the toy industry.  Richard produces a monthly bulletin called “What’s Next” which focuses on coming trends. In recognition of his prominence in the toy industry, Richard was recently selected as a voting member of the National Toy Hall of Fame voting committee.

- Frank Supiot, VP of Kotobukiya - Japan's #1 Collector Toy Company.  Aside from overseeing the North American business operations, Frank also works creatively in product development for US based licenses, such as Marvel, Star Wars, DC, Halo and others.  Frank has been in the toy industry for over ten years (with two of them spent in Japan), and is a lifelong collector.

- we have a judge who will remain nameless from Hot Toys. Hot Toys is a Hong Kong based production house, established in 2000. They devote their efforts to designing, developing, and manufacturing highly detailed collectibles with actual likenesses to worldwide markets. They started initially producing 1/6 military special force gear sets and have grown and expanded to specializing in 1/6 scale movie character action figures and collectibles as their focus.

- Ethan Collings is the Manager of International Licensing at Jakks Pacific INC.  As the title says, he manages international licensing for the numerous toy lines at Jakks.  He has been working in toys for the past three years, but has been a toy collector/fan ever since he got his first fast-food job and was able to buy toys for himself.

- Ken Lilly is president of Creatus Maximus, a company he formed after leaving Palisades Toys.  CMX has produced their first product this year, the Smart Bombs, and have many other products in the hopper.  While at Palisades, Ken was the driving force behind many lines, including the very popular Muppets action figure line.

- Corrinne Robinson is the Brand manager of licensed products for Mcfarlane Toys. She is currently working on product for Halo, Halo Wars, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and all "in-house" McFarlane brands. She has also worked in both public relations and sales, but she attributes most of her success in the toy industry to her child-like wonder and inordinate fascination with things that are shiny.

- Rick Phares is well known in the action figure industry.  He was a Executive Vice President at Full Moon Toys, and they produced a variety of figures including the popular Puppet Master line. He started Majestic Studios, and produced sixth scale figures based on the past and present Battlestar Galactica series, as well as some very cool horror properties. Currently, he runs Boom Ltd, a full time consuting company working with manufacturers in Hong Kong and China.

Amanda Burns is working as Marketing Coordinator at Bandai America by way of Gentle Giant Studios and Lucas Licensing. She's traded Star Wars for Power Rangers and loving every minute of it!

- Ashly Powell is the Senior Manager of Product Development at Gentle Giant Studios. Before landing on the west coast she worked for DC Direct/DC Comics making Batman and Superman action figures, and before that, she found her real love and passion of urban vinyl while working for Kidrobot in New York City.  Slogan: "I Love Vinyl" (and marshmallow peeps!)

- The Phrenologist: This anonymous judge has worked in some area of the toy industry for over a decade.  He oversaw all action figures for what was once the largest toy specialty retailer in the US and Mexico.  He has handled contests, press releases and public relations for several toy companies.  As a writer his work has appeared in Fangoria, Baby Boomer, Omni, Psychology Today, Playboy, ASB Magazine, Time Out New York, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and numerous other publications.  He is the author of two books currently available on Amazon (and at a bookstore near you!) has just finished a book on the artwork of imprisoned artist Michael Lee Ford, and is working on a new book about Halloween in New York City.  He believes that the MAC Rescue Center (aka MAC Mountain) is one of the greatest toys that ever was, and misses old fashioned toy commercials of the 70's.

- Jess Bansal has been involved in the toy industry for years, working with companies like Toycom, SOTA and the Stevenson Entertainment Group. He's leadership with sales and marketing has been a key factor in seeing many of the cool action figures, statues and busts from these companies make it to market. He's currently VP of Sales for Huckleberry Toys.

- Damien Glonek is product manager at Mezco Toyz and co-creator of Living Dead Dolls.  He is a horror movie junkie and collects everything dealing with horror, please find him a bigger house to hold his collection.

- Mike is the owner of Peril Unlimited, a toy maker, horror movie, and comic book fan, and works for the local fire department.

- Mark Weber is the Sports Brand Manager for McFarlane Toys.  He worked as a producer and host for sports radio stations in Phoenix and Washington D.C. for seven years before joining Mcfarlane as their Sports Brand Manager in 2003.  He guides the planning and creation of the Sports Picks lineup.

- Terry Scott is a senior vice president at Hasbro. His responsibilities include management of global creative services, which includes the packaging team, and creative director for Cake Mix Studios which is Hasbro's internal IP creative engine and video production team. Terry's team is responsible for all packaging graphic design for both boys and girls toy lines including; Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe, Spider-man and other Marvel lines, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Nerf, Playskool, Easy Bake Oven and many more Hasbro core brands. He's a lifelong action figure collector of Transformers, Thundercats and the Thunderbirds.

- Jesse Falcon has been a featured performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC since 1998, which helped launch the careers of comedians like Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and The Daily Show's Rob Corddry. Falcon also performs with the comedy group "Mother" and is the co-creator of "Video=Nasty!" and "Telethon" and has been a featured player on "The Chipperton Family", "Showgirls = The greatest Movie ever made....EVER!", "Cracked Out" and "Girl Crush 2040". He has also appeared in the comedic short film Running with Scissors. When he's not bringing laughter to the masses, Falcon has created some of the world's most popular action figures for Marvel Comics, like Marvel Legends and Legendary Comic Book Heroes. In 2005, Falcon was named a Contributing Editor to the national humor magazine "Cracked".

- Bill Kerner is co-founder of Far East Monsters Ltd. He's responsible for all graphics for the company's packaging, web graphics, co-developing new product and marketing/PR. Bill is a huge fan of japanese toys and kaiju movies.

- Charles Howell is the Art Director for Toy Factory, an amusement and crane plush company that produces original designs as well as licensed designs for some of the top properties out there. He has worked in the creative end of the toy industry and the amusement ride industry for over 12 years, plus has produced illustrations for magazines and books including Star Wars Kids Magazine for Scholastic.

“I have always wanted to be involved with art, toys, and licensed properties early on. Along the way I have amassed a good sized collection. So, yeah I’m a collector as well, I think it comes with the territory.”

- Mike Kochis was formerly an intern at Palisades. Mike has been an account rep with Master Replicas since August of 2005.

Randy Falk is the Director of Product Development for NECA. He manages the development and production for all of NECA's action figures. He is also an obsessive completist when it comes to his toy collection especially 3 3/4" Star Wars and the classic MEGO Super-Heroes.

- Brock Otterbacher is the licensing guy over at Sideshow Collectibles. Lover of all things Terminator, Aliens, Predator, and pulp (esp. Conan), as well as many other geeky things. He prays to Crom every night, and before climbing into bed with his stuffed Cthulhu, he makes sure that his Devilman UnderoosŪ are nice and snug. In all the right places.

- Brant Bridges is the Operations Manager at Sideshow Collectibles, providing support to the creative services and production management teams, and assisting with the product marketing and forecasting. He's a sucker for all things Lego and Star Wars, but has a weakness for great sculpts from any property.

- Between volunteering as a crash test pilot for NASA and serving 10+ years in the toy industry, Deihl Betz is about as tough as they come. He currently resides in Chicago, IL enjoying his gig as Sales Director at MGA Entertainment.  Over the years, Deihl has also spent time with McFarlane Toys, Play Along Toys, and Art Asylum.  Deihl's Wii Fit age is 192.

- Jesse DeStasio is the Sales Director for Mezco Toys. He started in the industry as an intern cutting out millions of Care Bear packaging comps, before stints at Jazwares as Product Manager and then New Line Cinema as Associate Director of International Licensing and Merchandising. He also created SubCultures: Art of the Action Figure, a traveling exhibit showcasing original toy creations. If you put rolls in front of him, he will fill up, and ruin his dinner. His Wii fit age is currently 30 years old.

- Steve Forde, Owner Go Hero / Designer / Consultant. Steve’s first word was "Batman"! His affection for heroes, monsters, and toys led him to work for Kay Bee Toys & Toys "R" Us. His love for art moved him on to hone his skills over 10 years with corporate & freelance media design for celebrities, multi-million dollar companies, as well as many of the independent designer toy companies. In 2004 Steve launched Go Hero, an independent toy & entertainment company at the forefront of the vanguard movement in designer collectibles, making original and licensed lifestyle products and properties. Go Hero products, art, and designs have been featured in several leading edge books, magazines, online publications including Sci-fi Channel, Giant Robot, Juxtapoz, MTV Books, Wizard Publications, Lee's Toy Review, Dot Dot Dash, Full Vinyl, and many others. Steve's work has also sold at the Philips de Pury Auction houses in New York and London. In 2007 Go Hero re-launched and began work on creating never before made licensed retro collectibles based on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Flash Gordon, works by Ray Harryhausen and more. These new products represent the highest quality, expert engineering, and a variety of disciplines in plastics, woods, metals, soft goods, electronics and more. One of the notable offering is a patented internal MP3 player for a new line of 1:6 scale figures called the ATOMedia. In 2009 look for more 1:6 scale figures, vehicles, replicas as well as a return to vinyl.

- Jason Lenzi is the founder and CEO of Bif Bang Pow! Jason lives and works in Los Angeles, as a freelance writer/producer for television, and as a voice over actor for television and radio. He started Bif Bang Pow! over three years ago, and in that time has released action figures and bobble heads for 'The Big Lebowski', the 1980 movie version of 'Flash Gordon' (with figures 'art directed' by Alex Ross), Showtime Networks' hit series 'Dexter', and Scott Ian of Anthrax. He is a Leo, loves long walks in the park, and has no time for mean people. This is his first year voting on the Poppies, and he hopes to win in every category.

- Michael Leavey has spent most of his 10-year professional career in the toy industry. Most recently at Diamond Select Toys as the head of the marketing department and oversaw tremendous growth and change. Aside from DST, and action figures, Mike has worked in several other boy’s toy segments including model trains, slot car racing and swim toys. Since leaving DST Mike continues to consult for both toy retailers and manufacturers.

- David Lee is the co-owner of Cast-a-Way Toys, and long time action-figure collector and customizer. Starting back into toys in 1995 as a collector, he has progressed from aficionado into toy maker, along with best friend Jason Schiermeyer, to make 8 inch toys reminiscent of their favorites MEGOs from childhood. 

- Matt Peck was a (self-described) lowly internet fan-boy who spent all his time discussing Buffy the Vampire Slayer before connecting with Diamond Select Toys.  He now serves as Marketing Assistant when he can take time away from getting his Minimate collection organized.

- Patrick York Ma was born in Brussels, Belgium and at the age of 4 years, moved to the United States.  On a whim he enlisted in the US Army at 18 and after jumping out of various wheeled and flying machines, shooting machine guns, blowing things up, wearing lots of green colored clothes, and other army stuff, went to "Art School".  Patrick received his BA in ART at University of California, Santa Cruz, and his MFA in 3D ARTS at San Jose State University.   Currently residing in the California Bay Area, Patrick works in his studio on a variety of projects, from sculpture and digital photography to furniture, apparel, and product design.

Much of Patrick's earlier sculpture was created with an emphasis in metals and glass casting.  Some of the works presented here at Rocket World are ongoing investigations into science fiction as a form of contemporary popular mythology combined with sculptural objects created as "artefacts" found within that context.  Other projects include installation work with motifs and sculptural icons from the natural world created in a pop-contemporary visual language, prompting viewers' reactions on various levels.

A number of Patrick's photographs use motifs and icons from "pulp science fiction" media, and portray contextual vignettes which tell a story or a captured scenario.  Some of the other photographs presented are simply snapshots from various travels and/or subject matter the artist found interesting.

Many of the images and "artefacts" on view here at Rocket World, were created as commentary on the human dynamic regarding exploration, pursuit of the unknown, and  the objects we create, which become cultural-techno sign posts. These works are created ultimately to provoke a better understanding of ourselves as one people who are homogenous in many ways, by demonstrating how advantageous technology and the motivation to explore, crosses any cultural , national, and perceived "ethnic" borders.

Patrick's interests and explorations of the studio arts and design are also colored by his awareness of our intrinsic participation in the natural, "Darwinian" world.  The characters of the "Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo" were created as irreverent commentary of how our zoological heritage & natural world are being decimated and squandered.  Part of the proceeds from purchases made from this area of Rocket World are donated to a variety of non-profit groups and organizations such as the Gorilla Foundation, the International Rhino Foundation, Zoo Conservation Outreach Group, Friends of the Sea Otter, and the World Wildlife Fund.  When time permits, Patrick spends time in the field with wildlife groups, often in remote locations which are difficult to pronounce,  doing conservation work.  His favorite color is still green...it reminds him of the forest.

- This is Alex Schondorf:

- International Licensing at Paramount Pictures  - Includes Hard Lines & Collectibles worldwide - Japan to Hong Kong
- Look after all the Studios properties for licensing
- Collector of Vinyl & comics
- Los Angeles Native
- Gamer with a passion for Call of Duty franchise
- Licensing networker extraordinaire
- Lived in Milan, NY, Holland working in licensing for licensee
- Pop culture fiend & lover of the arts and more so the artists hehehee

- Peter Ki-Bong Wong: Head of Public Relations at Symbiote Studios. Peter has worked in the industry for over thirteen years. Five of these years were as a quality control inspector in China under the direct supervision of General Mao.  As a boy he was always interested in toy creation. At the age of six he built a cage out of Legos in which he locked his younger sister in. Sadly, she escaped, disowned her family and moved to America were she became an underwear model. Peter still stays up at night drinking and building complex Lego traps with the hopes of returning her back to Communist China.

- John Wong will represent PopBoxCollectibles.com.  Besides having found ActionAce.com, a pop-culture entertainment content/community/ecommerce in 1997, which was sold in 2001, he also started up ActionHQ.com in 2003 which he is still a director.  In 2006, he founded and is the managing director for PopBox, providing leadership in biz dev/product dev.  He also works closely with production to ensure the realization of the items and collectibles.

-  and there are 3 additional company judges that wish to remain Anonymous.

Media:

Where would our hobby and the industry be without the many websites and magazines out there that report the news, promote the collectibles, and provide the social networks for our geek selves.  The judges in this category represent websites and print publications that cover every aspect of the industry, from niche licenses and products to general themes and news.  There are 30 judges from 25 outlets, some of which I'm sure you'll recognize.

- Justin Aclin is the Editor of ToyFare Magazine from Wizard Entertainment, the #1 action figure magazine. Prior to the past six years with the magazine, Justin was merely an amateur toy, comic book and geek culture enthusiast. Justin is also the head writer of ToyFare's award-winning humorous comic strip, "Twisted ToyFare Theatre," a fact which he never fails to use as an excuse to promote his own comic book, "Hero House," scheduled for release in 2009 from Arcana Comics.

- Zach Oat is the editor of TelevisionWithoutPity.com and MoviesWithoutPity.com. Before that, he was the editor of ToyFare magazine. He is currently working on a book about sculpting action figures, and he still loves C.O.P.S.

- D. Martin Myatt is photographer/ editor/ creative director for Cool Toy Review, and photographer/ editor at Rebelscum.  For more than a decade, he has been contributing to the toy collecting community through numerous media outlets and has been a contributing editor and photography covering Star Wars collectibles for Rebelscum for seven years.  Myatt's Cool Toy Review continues to grow in content and popularity as it approaches its third year of toy news and photo archiving.

- Brian Slivka has been covering the designer toy industry for 5 years.  It started with a few Happy Meal toys and a dream.  But that just lead to eating thousands of unnecessary calories and waking up from the dream 30 pounds heavier.  Plastic and Plush started up over 3 years ago, and it continues to deliver daily news and reviews from the designer toy and limited edition toy worlds.

- Mark Picirilli is the admin and webmaster of several large collecting websites, including Yodasnews.com, GentleGiantCollectors.com, IndianaJonesCollectors.com, HaloCollectors.com and VoldemortsVault.com. He has been involved in the collecting online community for over 11 years.

- Adam Pawlus has been writing about toys online since 1995.  As a contributor to ToyFare Magazine, several web sites, and other publications, his currently best known for his daily "Figure of the Day" and weekly "Q&A" columns at Galactic Hunter.  He maintains a general toy news blog at 16bit.com, and his day job is the merchandiser/Toy Evangelist for Entertainment Earth.

- Jess C. Horsley, like Luke Skywalker, grew up on a farm and dreamt of escaping his small-town life to travel other worlds. After enlisting in the USMC as an infantryman, he realized this dream. A decorated combat veteran, Horsley continues to escape the monotony of a routine life as the managing editor of Figures.com, where he's free to play with toys and actually gets paid to do so.

- Daniel "Julius Marx" Pickett is the co-creator/co-owner of Action Figure Insider, a toy news site with a focus on the creators and process of making pop culture collectibles.  He has been writing about toys for just under 10 years and has been collecting his whole life.  He also consults with many companies on projects, hosts panel discussions at conventions, and answers questions from readers all over the world.  Action Figure Insider has recently been featured on Wired.com, G4's "Attack of the Show", and USA Today's "Pop Candy" blog.

- Norman "Ronin Six" Apalis is the co-founder, and senior editor of the OneSixthWarriors, a prominent website devoted to showcasing the best of 1:6th scale action figures of all brands, genres, and eras. Having been an action figure buff for over a decade, he has amassed a collection of "man-dolls" ranging from science fiction to modern military bordering on excessive. Supported by a horde of highly passionate 1:6 hobbyists, along with an equally fanatical group of staff members, Norm hopes the OSW continues to remain an integral part of the ever-growing action figure community focused on collecting, kitbashing, and customizing.

- Jeremy Wilcox (aka blueduck37) is the administrator for the Simpsons Collector Sector web community, the largest Simpsons collecting website on the net.  His collection was recently featured in Time Out New York magazine, making his mother very proud.

Matt MacNabb is the owner / editor / webmaster for Legions of Gotham. A driving force in the collecting community for over five years, LOG has taken leaps and bounds to break down the barriers between the industry and the collectors. Their coverage focuses on Batman collecting and animation. Matt is a lifelong Batman fan, and has been a serious Batman collector for over a decade, with well over 3,500 pieces in his personal collection.

- Ben Leach confuses most of the other media representatives at major conventions like Toy Fair and Comic Con, and has even been accused by some convention attendees as not being old enough to be a media representative.  His driver's license says 25, but that still doesn't explain why he's obsessed from toys that came out before he was born!  Ben has written for Lee's Toy Review, about.com, thejawa.com, and Toyfare magazine, and as long as there are action figures to collect, he will spend money on them!

- Andy Livingston: From Product Management in the video game industry, to Marketing Management in the toy industry, and now a freelance writer for ToyFare Magazine, Andy has all your money-wasting vices covered on his resume. And he's very, very pretty.

- David Stephan has worked in motion picture distribution for many years, but his true love is for the collectibles of classic Sc-Fi/Fantasy entertainment.  To that end, he is the creator and administrator of the fan forum "Sideshow Freaks", the largest website and forum dedicated to Sideshow Collectibles.  Residing in sunny Southern California, he constantly battles for living space with piles and piles of Sideshow boxes.

- Jack Muramatsu - Founder and editor of Vinyl Pulse, the premiere news site providing coverage of designer vinyl toys.  After opening countless toys over the past four years, he's got a strange gleam in his eye -- one too many sniffs of vinyl fumes. He's living the dream of blogging full-time about toys and loving every minute of it from sunny Pasadena, California.

- Phil Reasoner (philnjill) aka Darth Dug is a father of five and collector of too much. He did image guides for the late great Palisades and now is the primary Image Guide supplier for GentleGiantCollectors.com. He's been collecting Star Wars since 1977 and in the past decade has diversified into everything from Palisades Muppets to Medicom Be@rbricks, from DST's Battlestar Galactica to KidRobot Dunny's, from NECA's NBX and Gentle Giants...everything...to Rocketworld I.W.G., Jamungo BUDS and October Toys GWIN's.

- To his few remaining enemies, Ron "SamuRon" Mirasol is known as "The Adversary" - the evil mastermind who engineered the takeover of the internet by TheFwoosh.com (your home for action figure news, reviews, and discussion.)  Outwardly, SamuRon remains the amiable customizer of legend, polite and caring - you may admire his customs at his woefully stale website, ron.mirasol.us.  His pleasant exterior, however, hides an utterly ruthless man whose forces are responsible for countless bannings and flame wars across the interwebs.

- Mr. Stinkhead is the editor of MillionairePlayboy.com, and he also runs NonToxicReviews.com to review baby/childrens' toys and gadgets for Dads. He has written for ToyFare Magazine and the Washington Post. If any playmobil has been nominated, it's his fault.

- Chris Holoka is the graphics designer for such Star Wars sites as Rebelscum.com, TheForce.net, and ToshiStation.com.

- Jeff Saylor - Editor of www.Figures.com. Artist, writer and admitted toy addict, his passion for pop culture collectibles dates back to a Micronaut/Star Wars/Shogun Warrior laced childhood. If not online, Jeff can be found playing video games, painting or rearranging his extensive toy collection. Currently trying to find more space for his growing army of robots and Aliens... 

- Pete Svab is the Director of Marketing & Promotions for ACME Archives in Burbank, CA.  He is also the co-owner of GalacticBinder.com, the largest Star Wars themed directory on the internet.

- Frank Patz Batista left the weird and wonderful world of Mexican Lucha Libre to start, Eternal Collector. The internets ultimate gallery of Collectors and their Collections from all over the world. While this career choice is just as fun as his first, it certainly is easier on the back. He has been a toy Collector is entire life and even remembers sneaking out of arenas before a wrestling show to run to the local toy store to see what is available. "Everyone had a time in their life where they stopped collecting toys, because of school, work, or girlfriends. I have never stopped." Eternal Collector has been featured on G4TV, the Discovery Channel, Treasure HD, various magazines, and websites.

- Karen Ross is the webmistress of KrossToys, the first Spanish website about Toy Collecting. It started back in 2007 and there she works on her own, writing the articles and reviews and posting interviews to people from the Toy Collecting world.

- David Yeh is a product of the 80's, raised on true gems such as G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-man, and yes, even M.U.S.C.L.E.  David had outgrown toys until the 1995 release of Star Wars lured him back for more.  Since then, he has gotten hooked on dozens of other toy lines as well.  David has written for mwctoys.comgalactichunter.com, Geek Monthly and currently writes toy reviews for Figures.com and Yojoe.com.

- Paul Rudolph is the chief writer monkey for the toy collecting themed blog Toybender.com. His work has also appeared in ToyFare and on WizardUniverse.com.

- Bradley "Crazyjaco" Jacobs is a co-founder, admin, and contributor for Powet.TV, a site dedicated to bringing high-quality web programming on pop culture subjects to a new level. Crazy is probably best known for his regular video series called PowetToys, a segment where he gets to show off the latest and greatest toys he has encountered  in an information-rich format all his own. As an avid collector of many lines (Transformers, Marvel Legends, Marvel Minimates, MOTU and the Four Horsemen's Fantastic Exclusive project to name just a few), Crazy decided he wanted to give back to a fandom that he had so actively been a participant. Thus, the launch of Powet.TV and PowetToys, its first regular feature.

- Eric Resnick is a long time collector and has been writing about the industry for the last five years. After working as a features writer and collectible reviewer for Toy Shop Magazine until it closed, Eric just launched You Bent My Wookie, a site that blends collectibles news and reviews with entertainment news and exclusive interviews.

- Curtis (aka. lilwingman) is owner/admin of The Harry Potter Collector's Guide, and specifically, among other things, a big Gentle Giant collector. "Being a collector and student means sometimes I miss a really cool piece.  But most times, I get the piece and just skip eating for the week.  It's all about priorities.

- Eric "measle" Lind: Works in the glamourous and sexy world of IT by day to fund his various movie, game, comic and toy collecting addictions, and then money allowing, buy food, pay the mortgage, etc.  Eric is a cofounder of the sorta new pop-culture website Criticalmess.net.  Criticalmess is a pop-culture community that affords any and all members the ability to contribute site content, submit reviews, commentaries, rants or raves, or just hang in the forum, it exists as a vehicle for the fans to be heard and/or use as a creative outlet.

- and there is 1 anonymous media judge.

 

Artists:

You can't produce amazing products without designers, fabricators, sculptors, painters and other artisans.  These judges come from that side of the business.  Many are freelancers, but some work for specific companies. Others are well known and respected customizers, who do commission work for individuals, magazines and others. There are 22 judges in this category:

- Jin Han is the Lead Concept Artist for McFarlane Toys, and colorist on the Spawn monthly comic book. Prior to becoming a full-fledged member of Todd McFarlane Productions, Jin’s career as a designer/illustrator partnered him with clients such as Mattel Inc., Playmates Toys, 20th Century Fox, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and award-winning author of Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card. How he was able to weasel his way into these gigs still remains a mystery. But one thing is for certain; he is the geek who recently purchased an Optimus Prime voice changer helmet, which, luckily, happened to fit over his gigantic dome. It’s a good thing he stuck with art and not science while in school.

- Bill Mancuso - sculpting your favorite Dog Poo, Vomit and Spilt Wine Glass novelty items since 1994.  MWC note: Actually, Bill has sculpted some of the best action figures on the market today, including many of the Muppets, Marvel Legends and and Marvel Toys.  He's just too shy to tell you.

- Cason Pillod - Not satisfied with the limited options available at retail, Cason Pilliod has been crafting his own toys since he was a child.  his passion for toys merges with his background as a theatrical prop designer, allowing him to find unique customizing solutions, which he shares with the ever-growing customizing community via Inanimate Objects.

- Jonathan Matthews is an eight year veteran sculptor for the toy industry, currently on contract with DC Direct as a sculptor of action figures and statues.

- Joe Dunaway has been a painter of resin model kits for over 15 years, and is also an avid toy collector.  He loves his aliens and monsters, but also enjoys any figure that's well sculpted.  Check out his work at his site, ModelZone.

- Timothy K Miller (but please just call me "Tim") sculpts for Mcfarlane Toys and Sideshow Collectibles, usually portraits.  Teaches Sunday School.  Likes puppy-breath, snowboarding, sushi, and women.  Hates writing bios.

- Ed Wires: Prototype Painter.  Ed has been painting toy prototypes since 1998.  He has painted thousands of prototypes for all of the collectible genres: Marvel, DC, Muppets, The Hyborian Age, Star Trek, NFL, 2,000 A.D., and many others.

- Rudy Garcia is a mid-west based artist working in the action Figure, industry.  He started off, way back in 1996, working as a Conceptual artist for a St. louis based toy company called Trendmasters.  His duties included lllustration concepts and product development for both boys and girls.  By 1998, his attention turned to the 3D side of the business and he began to sculpt as well as design.

In I999, he left Trendmasters and went to work for the biggest name in action figures at that time, McFarlane Toys.  He was hired on as an in house designer and sculptor, creating lines such as Tortured Souls and Spawn:The Dark Ages Samurai Wars.  During his tenure at McFarlane, he also worked on other licensed product such as Shrek, Austin Powers and of course the 18" Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on elm Street.

As 2001 rolled around, he relocated back to the mid-west and started freelancing with a relatively new, toy and collectibles company called Diamond Select Toys.  There, he sculpted mostly Marvel Characters in statue or bust Form.  He has also worked on a handful of licensed product including Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek.

In the Fall of 2002, he landed an in-house, out-of-state sculptor/designer gig with NECA, creating action figures for the Hellraiser line and bobbleheads for Nightmare Before Christmas.

As of 2005, he has been a full time employee of Diamond Select Toys, designing and sculpting product for a whole new generation of collectors.

- Jin Saotome of Jin Saotome's Dangerous Toys. Customizing maniac and keeper of the sacred 'steel Wolverine claws'.  Responsible for the plague of Iceman customs on Ebay years ago that mankind shall never forgive him for.

- Andy Bergholtz ---- Professional sculptor and founder of A.B. Sculpture Studio. Andy has been in the industry for 9 years and has worked as a sculptor for such companies as McFarlane Toys, Palisades, Diamond Select, Sideshow Collectibles and DC Direct.

- Adam Hughes is a world-famous comic-book cover artist, who regularly misses deadlines because he loves playing with his 1:6 scale toys a bit too much. When he DOES get to the drawing table, his covers have graced WONDER WOMAN and CATWOMAN for DC Comics, and STAR WARS for Dark Horse. He is designing a line of comiquette statues for SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES based on MARVEL super-heroines.

- Matt 'Iron-Cow' Cauley, probably best known for his custom action figure work, formed Iron-Cow Prod. LLC to better serve his illustration, animation, design, and toy production clients. In addition to being a featured contributer to ToyFare Magazine, there are over 50 ICP-designed DC Direct, Battlestar Galactica and Marvel Comics Minimate action figures currently on sale. His artwork is exhibited and published worldwide and he is currently hard at work developing a line of t-shirts for Macys featuring his illustrations. Matt's illustration, broadcast, fine art, and toy design portfolios can be seen at the official Iron-Cow Prod.

- Mat Falls is the resident sculptor and a co-founder of Sideshow Collectibles. Falls moved to Los Angeles from Northern California in 1983 and established himself in the burgeoning make up effects industry, working for Oscar winners Rick Baker and Greg Cannom. After several years in the waning effects make up industry, Falls realized a transition was in order and helped co-found Sideshow Collectibles as the Dir. of 3-D design.

- The Shiflett Brothers, Brandon and Jarrod, are professional sculptors who have been working in the comic book statue industry for 12 years. Their body of work includes The Hulk, Juggernaut, and Grendel Prime Statues for Bowen Designs. Also, the Draco and Kabuki statues for Moore Creations and collaborations with Alex Ross including the Earth X Captain America Statue for Dynamic Forces. Their work has been featured in three Spectrum books, which collect the year's best fantasy art.

- Jean St. Jean is a musician turned sculptor, who began his career in a small upstate NY toy sculpting studio doing mostly preschool toys and dolls. Five years later he joined McFarlane where he spent almost 7 years helping them develop their hyper realistic style, the last 4 years as Sculpting Supervisor. In 2004, he left McFarlane to start his own company, Jean St. Jean Studios offering sculpting, painting and prototyping services working on such licenses as Diamonds Select’s Stargate SG-1, SG Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica lines, Mezco’s Cinema of Fear, DC Direct’s World of Warcraft and Ame-Comi and Amoktime’s Killer Klowns and Day of the Dead lines.

- 2dtoys loves toys.  He makes, plays, and talks about toys for a living. And like the circle of life, he spends that paycheck buying toys. Then he turns that circle into a triangle by coming home and making custom toys, then plays and talks about them.  He dreams of someday kissing a real live girl.

- Tony Robles of TonyzCustomz.com. Up and coming customizer that specializes in made to order customs for private clients, as well as some recent professional work for toy company Shocker Toys with more on the way.

- Kat Sapene has been a prototype painter for the toy industry since 1999. Kat has painted everything from Disney characters to monsters, from action figures to statues and busts. She was head painter at Sota toys for a number of years before deciding to try work as a freelancer. She now runs her own studio, WAK! Toys, with the help of her cat who dutifully wears a tie to work everyday.

- Chris Howes has been a designer and sculptor in the toy and giftware industries for 20 years. His wide ranging career has included a strange assemblage of works including maniacal axe wielding Garden Gnomes (as seen on TV's "Third Rock From The Sun"), high end Star Trek cold cast figures, talking light up "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" ornaments, Celebriducks (rubber ducks that look like well known personalities), ID4, Jurassic Park and Godzilla model kits, Beatrix Potter collector plates, many different action figures... In other words, from the ridiculous to the ultra cool. Actually, he thinks it's all pretty darn cool when you get right down to it. He has had the privilege of being involved with creating product for many of the most popular motion picture, television and pop culture properties of all time, and he's thankful for every moment of it! When asked what he does for a living, Chris likes to sum it up like this: "When I was a kid I used to love playing with rubber alligators..... now I'm the guy who MAKES the rubber alligators!"

- Joe Allard is a toy designer that works with companies like Hasbro, Mattel and Sideshow Collectibles, as well as in the Comic Book industry. His resume includes everything from action figures to board games, from collectible to plush, and a lot of other fun stuff in between. You can see an impressive display of his work at the official Design Devil website.

And there is 1 additional judge in the Artist category who wishes to remain anonymous.

 

Retailers:

Without retailers to sell the stuff, there'd be a whole lot less to buy.  In fact, that's one of the current issues for the industry, as fewer and fewer retailers carry the figures, statues and busts we love.  These 25 judges represent some of the best known specialty and mass market retailers, from small to large.

- Joel Boblit is the owner of the retail website Big Bad Toy Store and lifelong fan of 80's action figures.  To quote Joel "I'll use my experience dealing with the manufacturers as well as customer feedback and order levels when voting this year".

- Thomas Gaul is the owner of the CornerStoreComics and AmazingToyz online retail stores, as well as the CSC Comic Shop and Collectibles Showroom located in Anaheim, California.  He became a slave to the plastic back in 1977 (at age 7) when he purchased his first Kenner Star Wars figure (Han Solo/Fat Head/ 12-back) for $2.29 at the local department store.

- Dat Ma is the buyer for multi-channel retailer and distributor Entertainment Earth, Inc. Entertainment Earth, Inc. is a worldwide multi-channel retailer and wholesaler of action figures, toys, gifts, and collectibles with a state-of-the-art website and popular print catalog.

- Marc Bowker is the owner of AlterEgoComics.com and the Alter Ego Comics retail store in Lima, OH.  Alter Ego has been around since 2003 and Marc has been a fan of comic books, figures and collectibles for over 20 years.

- Jason Dorough is the general manager of Comics Infinity, an online retailer in the business of selling toys, busts, comic books, statues and other collectibles for almost a decade. He also is the managing editor and founder of Fandomania and is the co-host of the weekly Fandomania Podcast.

- Adam Stinson is the founder of Dark Shadow Collectibles, which started online in 2004 and is based in Leander, TX.  Dark Shadow Collectibles sells products such as statues, busts and prop replicas.  Adam has been a collector of Marvel and Star Wars items since the early 90's.

- Steven Loney is the founder and CEO of Toynk.com. Toynk is a toy, collectible and costume company specializing in licensed pop culture related products. Toynk markets/distributes its product library worldwide through various retail and wholesale channels. Toynk is also involved in the creation, development, and manufacturing of similar licensed and non-licensed products through its subsidiary company, Locoape, LLC. Toynk is primarily based in Elk Grove Village, IL USA. Toynk recently opened its first distribution center overseas in Adelaide, Australia in June of 2007.

- Russell Kay and Jason Forkos, are the owners of krazykingsoftoys.com, which admittedly is a bit of a newbie to the online retail circuit, as they officially opened for business on August 2nd of this year. Russell Kay, also known in the majority of the toy community as KingRandor for many years, has done several reviews for action figures for mwctoys.com, and was responsible for the original Suncoast Area Report, back in the day. Russell was first introduced to the world of action figures back in 1985, receiving the MASK Jackhammer as a present for his 3rd birthday- and he's been hooked ever since.

- Rick Whitelock is the owner of New Force Comics and Collectibles, and has been a collector of action figures and comics since the mid-1970's, as well as a retailer and wholeseller of both since 1995.  Collectors of Star Trek or World of Springfield figures will certainly recognize Rick, as he has been a huge factor in the online success of both lines.

- Patrick Wang is the president of Action Figure Xpress, a worldwide retailer and distributor of exclusive and limited edition products since 1997.

- Noel Lee will represent ActionHQ.com.  He has been in the collectibles retail business for over 8 years.  First with his own collectibles store in Singapore where he was one of the first to feature glass cubicle showcases.  He has frequented Japan regularly on buying trips and attending many shows.  In  2005, Noel joined ActionHQ.com as head merchandising manager.  He is also a very proficient hobbyist, and builds and paints models.

- Matt Williams is the owner and operator of Toys and Cool Stuff, a Canadian source for awesome action figures and toys.  Like many people in the toy world, he got his start with an addiction to the original Kenner Star Wars figure line back in the 1980's.

- Kevin Kriese is the founder of Time and Space Toys, an online retailer that specializes in several key areas of collectibles, including Buffy/Angel, classic television shows and Christmas related lines.  He also founded the Buffy Collector Club, where members can get discounts on Buffy and Angle merchandise.  He is also the proud owner of the original puppest of Santa and Rudolph from the classic Christmas TV special "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".  You can read all about the discovery and restoration of these two critical pieces of Americana at the website.

Joshua K is a huge toy collector, has been selling online for 10+ years, and is the owner of PastGenerationToys.com. His love for toys started as a child and returned when in college where he trolled AOL message boards and Internet newsgroups (remember those days?) which has now turned into a professional business. Joshua currently sells all over the web including on Amazon, eBay, and through his newly designed website. Past Generation Toys is headquartered in Virginia (no physical location, yet) and fulfills orders via a fulfillment center in southern Florida. Although they sell toys, Past Generation Toys realizes that this is service oriented business and has made customer service the first priority – go and see for your self!

- Joe Donato is Vice President of Sales and cofounder of HobbyPlanetUSA.com a worldwide retailer and distributor of high end collectibles and prop replicas. When not spending hours upon hours hanging out a various Toy Message Boards, Joe likes to watch professional sports, movies and cook. He has been invovled in the Toy Industry since 2001 He has a decent size collection of movie posters, 80's GI Joes and Sideshow Premium Format Figures.

- Andrew McIntire is the Online Marketing Coordinator for Things From Another World and an independent art director. He has been a comic and toy enthusiast since he was a boy, and to his great pride (and his wife's great embarrassment) boasts that he owns enough classic Star Wars figures, vehicles, and play sets to stage reenactments of almost every pivotal scene from the original trilogy. An endeavor which his long suffering wife would probably prefer he not indulge in when company's over.

- Jeff B. is co-founder of Urban Collector and a passionate collector of LOTR, Star Wars and DC collectibles.

- Andrew Agnello has been an avid Star Wars collector for well over a decade. While he holds Star Wars close to his heart, he enjoys collecting many other collectibles such as Batman, Iron Man, and Harry Potter. He started Andrew's Toyz out of out of his passion for collecting action figures and statues. When Andrew isn't working he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey. Andrew has a B.A. in Economics & Business Strategies from the University of Rochester and is looking forward to participating in the Poppies this year!

- The online toy store, PalOOza! Toys, was started in 2005 to bring a select group of imported toys and games based on popular video-game characters to their fans. Roland Edwards, Jr. (“Pops”), the store’s owner, continues to build an extra special web site, adding interactive games and unique offerings.

- Emmanuel Tanghal is the owner of Showpiece Collectibles, an online retail store that offers premium collectibles such as action figures, prop replicas, statues, and more.  He is also an avid collector of movie and comic book figures ranging from action figures to prop replicas.  His passion for “toys” began when he read his first superman comic book at the age of 8 years old.

- Michael Richards is the owner of Razor’s Edge Collectibles. Razor’s Edge is an online store / retail warehouse open to the public. Razor’s Edge is located in Valley Stream, New York. Mike has been in business for over 20 years with several store locations in Brooklyn, New York before moving to one larger location in Valley Stream several years ago. Mike started out selling collectibles on Ebay under the name mrichards2002 for over 8 years and is a power seller with over 18,000 positives. Michael has worked with several companies (like ACME and Master Replicas) to produce several Star Wars Exclusives specifically created and sold exclusively at Razor’s Edge. Razor’s Edge is a direct dealer with just about every toy and collectible company including Hasbro and Sideshow Collectibles. In addition to running his business, Mike is also an avid collector and owner of many high end collectibles produced by Sideshow, Compulsion Gallery, Master Replicas and Gentle Giant. His Lord of the Rings Collection which consists of every Sideshow / Weta piece ever produced adorns his Living Room as does his 7 foot Tall Sideshow 1:1 Endoskeleton. His customer service, participation at collectors’ websites and message boards and extensive product knowledge has made Razor’s a collector’s favorite and common household name in the collectibles industry.

- George Zotti is the Manager of Silver Snail Comics. For over 32 years the Silver Snail has been a Toronto hobby cornerstone, a must see destination for both locals and tourists alike. When George started working for the Snail, at 16, he was already an avid fan of toys and action figures. As Manager George was a driving force for the Silver Snail to carry both new and vintage toys. His passion for toys has just grown with working in retail for over 18 years.

- and there are 2 additional retailer judges that wish to remain Anonymous.

 

Collectors:

In the end, it's the buyers that decide what gets made and what doesn't.  They vote with the money in their wallet, and smart companies and retailers listen.  I selected 24 collectors that I feel are opinionated, respected, and experienced.  Some are collectors of very specific lines, while others buy just about anything, but they all know the industry well.

- Brian Ashmore is an illustrator that has produced work for many companies including Marvel and DC Comics.  Among his work is a painted Batman hardcover and a series of painted Hulk comics.  To irritate his wife, he is also an avid toy and classic videogame collector. His studio is teeming with little plastic people.

- From 1977 to 1989, Action Figure Insider blogger Jason Chirevas' parents bought him action figures to play with. Since 1993, he's collected action figures, this time with his own money and everything. A lot happened between.

- Willie Goldman is an LA based screenwriter and television producer, and also the co-creator and co-executive producer of Ace of Cakes, currently entering its sixth season on Food Network.  After starting his career at NBC in Burbank, he moved to Warner Bros. Television where he worked on the Emmy-winning drama ER for seven seasons.  In addition to selling two original drama pilots recently to Sony Pictures Television and CBS/Paramount Television respectively, he is currently seeing his feature film screenplay The Last Good Kiss (hopefully) enter pre-production.  Goldman has also worked and written for Master Replicas, Sideshow Collectibles, and Sony Computer Entertainment, and consulted with several studios and licensors on several projects including various home video and video game projects.  He also maintains the website, alienscollection.com

- Joshua Izzo has been leaping around the toy, licensed brand and entertainment industries for over a decade.  Joshua has had the pleasure of hanging his proverbial hat in the hallowed halls of such industry giants as Topps Trading Cards, 4Kids Entertainment and Hasbro.  During his career Joshua has manufactured trading cards and magazines, sold and bought some of the biggest brand licenses in the world and helped createover 100 plus cartoons.  Joshua has also been going to the local comic book store every week for close to 20 years, and has an ever-expanding toy collection that threatens almost every inch of his home.  Joshua's wife is extremely patient and forgiving about his mania....

- Jason "Poe Ghostal" Clarke writes Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation, a blog about action figures and the industry at large. He has written for Toyfare magazine and for websites such as IGN, OAFE and ToplessRobot.com.

- John Bonavita is the author of the very successful action figure guide book, Mego Action Figure Toys (currently in its third edition by Schiffer Publishing). John is a early pioneer in action figure collecting and was instrumental in organizing collectors and spreading hard to find action figure information during the decades leading up to the advent of the Internet.  His early 1980s fan-produced action figure photo guide books are still used today by thousands of Mego, GI Joe and Captain Action collectors world wide.

- Jeff Parker aka Wookster, is a freelance illustrator and designer whose work has graced everything from BBC television titles through to a burlesque fetish artist’s logo (you should have seen the perks!). Though it has to be said toy collecting and reviewing seem to be taking up more and more of his time. He’s interested in all areas of pop culture and collects anything and everything, with a special penchant for high-end 1/6 scale, especially if it’s from the ALIEN series of movies. He also has a soft spot for Bettie Page memorabilia, Guinness (the drink, not the book of records!) and kicking back with a good DVD (new ones are increasingly hard to find you know!).

- Mark G. Meyer - "The Tekwych" is owner and editor of Go! Figure.  he is a figure collector and industry historian believing that knowledge of the toy industry's history and an understanding of the manufacturing process can make one a better collector.  While Japanese robots and Microman make up the bulk of his collection, almost every format and scale can be found some where on his shelves.

- Joranthalus spends a lot of time on various toy message boards while pretending to work.  A full-time Network Engineer, part-time Musician, and a pop culture junkie with a multitude of obsessions that include the classic Universal Monsters, pre-80's B-movies, cigars, running and obviously collecting toys.

- Tommy Sanchez is the co-founder of the "Custom of the Year" competition (coming soon for 2007!), a collector of many things 6 inch scale, a freelance artist, and an overall decent guy.

- Sean Whigham, aka MaulFan, is a freelance graphic artist and a diehard collector of pop culture memorabilia.   Sean's mix of creativity in his graphics and passion for collecting have blended into a steady stream of creative imagery posted around the various thread of the Sideshow Freaks forums, and has even made its way to SideshowCollectibles.com.

- Engineererd (John V.) has been collecting Star Wars figures since the original 12 came out.  To appear to his wife that he's doing something with his varied collection, he posts reviews, action figure comics, and other related items on his website, TV and Film Toys.

- Khalil Quotap aka Kastor is a toy and comic collector who runs the blog Kastor's Korner.  On the blog, Kastor mixes toy reviews with the joys and frustrations of collecting.  Khalil also writes a weekly column on Fwoosh called Demanded Characters which is a short biography on DC characters that fans want to see made into toys.

JediJones (Eric S.) is a programmer/analyst by day and an action figure collector by morning, noon, night, and later night. He began collecting when his mom bought him Kenner's original Han Solo in 1982 and he hasn't stopped since. His favorite toy lines of the way too many he collects include Hasbro's classic and modern Star Wars and G.I. Joe lines, Playmates' Simpsons World of Springfield, 6" Marvel Legends and DC Universe, and movie tie-ins from the smaller companies like Mezco's King Kong and NECA's Ghostbusters. Good sculpting is more important to him than high posability and he believes accessories such as vehicles and playsets are what have truly set the great action figure lines apart from the rest.

- Guy Klender - A Los Angeles based toy collector, he moved to California ten years ago and brought my love of toys to the sunny state. IHelucked out with a collectors show or a major show, i.e. SDCC nearly every week so the lust for toys is easy to nourish. He started years back with the new STAR WARS line and it all grew from there. He gained recognition as a toy collector with the film STARWOIDS that made for a fun time at shows with the occasional autograph and he did receive a fan letter as well. He moved on to the higher end products and Sideshow Collectibles sees his bank statement nearly as often as he does. He loves finding the rarity or the obscure toy that he may not have known of but for some reason must have. It's a wacky life sure but he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world….except for a 12 back vinyl caped Jawa perhaps.

- Scott Rogers is a video game creative manager for THQ by day and an action figure customizer by night. He is an amateur comic book historian who has served as a creative consultant on several toy and game lines including Heroclix and Corgi and is the world's foremost authority on Matchbox's Fighting Furies line. When not working, Scott's convincing toy manufacturers to make toys of his favorite comic character: The Killer Moth.

- Chip Cataldo burst on the local New York internet collecting scene in 1984, Usenet's in 1991 (post #13 on rec.toys.misc), helped found The Star Wars Collector's Archive in 1994, and launched The Bruce Timm Artwork Archive in 1996. He has been in Bruce Timm's office, gotten drunk with Pinky & The Brain, and had a private conversation with Chuck Jones...all within 24 hours. He's even bummed around Toy Fair with Jason Geyer the Toy Otter multiple times.  He currently collects DC Universe Classics, Justice League Unlimited, and carded Super Powers.

- Paul M Kelly prefers to operate under the liberating anonymity that internet pseudonyms provide. You may also know him from RTM's ToyBuzz, where he posts as gonzo, simian* and JJJason*.

*This info may be fabricated.

- Monte Williams has been collecting and photographing toys for two decades. He is the founder of the Geek Creek weblog and a columnist for PopMatters.com.

- Jason Jerde, aka TCM Hitchhiker, is a toy photographer and toy collector. He has been collecting toys for 22 years after discovering an ad in Starlog magazine back in '86 for a collectibles shop that was selling new/old stock Mego action figures from his childhood. Since then he has been seriously collecting and has amassed a very diverse collection over the years. You can find all scales, styles and companies on his shelves. He collects vintage, as well as modern, loose as well as carded. He spends most of his Interweb time browsing and interacting on forums and websites dedicated to the hobby. He is in it for the long haul. Collect them all!

- Josh Long: Computer Technology Teacher/Avid Collector. Josh has collecting something in some form for as long as he can remember. When he was a kid, he was very big into sports cards of all the major sports but one athlete in particular. That athlete was Michael Jordan. During his playing career he hit nearly 2,000 different cards filling multiple books and shelves so they could all be displayed. After he retired the second time, Josh decided to take a break from collecting but he didn't know what he would find that he was so into.

In 2003, just about the time Return Of The King was going to be hitting the big screen, he found a little site called Sideshow Collectibles. Josh saw all the various statues from the movies and kicked himself for not having found them sooner. He didn't waste any time getting into it though going back and getting several that he had missed and getting his Pre-Orders for ones that where still to come.

At one point, Josh was very close to having all the Sideshow Weta statues but have since cut back on that to balance his collection out. However, he has replaced that with several items from Sideshow's Lord Of The Rings lines, The Dead, Indiana Joines, and Star Wars. He has also ventured off into buying some pieces from Hot Toys and Medicom with the great products they've been producing.

- There are 3 more judge in the collector category who wish to remain anonymous. 

 

And there you have the 147 judges for 2008!  I'll be looking to expand this group of judges in 2009, so if you or a colleague are interested, please drop me an email.

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