Mystical Warriors Of The Ring Comic Book Cover Colors

One of the most exciting new indie toylines on the mini figure market today is none other than my pal Mark Vasquez's nostalgic anthropomorphic wrestlers "Mystical Warriors Of The Ring!" The figures are very reminiscent of the classic M.U.S.C.LE. line of the 80's with a more modern aesthetic and wild flare. The figures are around 2" but have varying shapes and sized dependent upon the character themselves, and have a lot of fun and flex packed right into them (just like back in the day!) Mark has 6 mini figures & 1 deluxe figure available including a female wolf character named "Yvonne" (my personal fave, and a rarity in the mini figure market!)   Another enjoyable aspect of this line is how much media has already been produced for it, including comics, animation, & cards that you can view right on the MWOTR site.  There is even a wrestling ring playset and play mat to add to your battles or dioramas.  Great for both kids and collectors alike you will be seeing even more MWOTR characters in the future, as there is big plans to keep this line expanding.  Proof of great things happening is that we have seen the beginning of the 1st spin-off line of deluxe figures called "Mystcial Warriors Of The Ring Evolution." This new era of MWOTR features poseable figures that have Glyos joints that are compatible with other Glyos figures!  The 1st figure "Goliath" is already available and is an instant hit with the now expanded fan-base. Mash him up with your favorite Kabuto Mushi figure or Glyos Neo Granthan and you have a battle armored Goliath ready to fight outside the ring on worlds unknown! 

Mark recently asked if I would do some colors on his talented friend's JB Roe's line art, and I was more than happy to oblige, the result is what you see above, the cover of volume 4, featuring the plucky twosome"Winged Fury!"  This was a lot of fun for me and I'll be doing some more color work for Mark in the future!  =)

And here's some pics of my own collection, including an extra  special "Manager version" resin figure of Yvonne!

 You can pick up some MWOTR figures of your very own right here at the Ringside Store!

Recreating a Toyline: BUGMEN OF INSECTA

In 1983, DFC Multi-Toys Corp created a line of insect warriors called the "BUGMEN OF INSECTA."  These 6 figures & 2 vehicles proceeded Coleco's (more popular and remembered insect warriors,) the"Sectaurs," and were released at popular toy outlets like Toys R Us. As a child my Aunt Leta had a way of finding us a variety of toys that my brothers and I weren't currently collecting on our own to help spark and further our adventures with playtime, & imagination. Receiving 1 figure each from her that Christmas, the BUGMEN have always had a fond place in my heart as a durable, fun, and little known figure line from my childhood.  Although the figures had no media and just a brief blurb on the back of their cards, both the figures & packaging resonated with me as a 50's-70's kind of sci-fi throwback tale of giant monstrous bugs reclaiming the Earth.  My brothers & I  had the characters  KING STINGA, CARNIVORA, & WEBSPINNER IV (the other 3, LORD GRASSA, ELEPHAS, & the lone female BLACK WIDOW were equally cool) but as with most little known toy lines of the 80's, these figures moved out of the toy infested aisles as quickly as they arrived, and have been mostly forgotten except by the savviest of today's adult collectors.  Today these are near impossible to come by, as carded samples are so rare, and loose samples usually are very worn, but through the building power of the Glyos system I saw a way within THE GODBEAST'S exciting KABUTO MUSHI figure to rebuild these characters using 95% of what the Kabuto Mushi figure already came with as the aesthetic.  So in a an usual attempt to recapture a small sample of my childhood, I started looking at Glyos in a new way, to homage figures & characters of my past, something the current Kabuto Mushi line is doing right now with slick paint applications. I'm proud to say that in just about a little over a year of it's original release, through the help of Marty Hansen and his investor Kaleb's kindness and inventiveness, through Kabuto Mushi I have been able to complete this project and rebuild a 2015 updated version of the 80's infamous BUGMEN OF INSECTA!

*special thanks  to Onell Design & Spy Monkey Creations for also helping to complete my recreations/reimaginings.