Gargo
Blackstar (Galoob) - Laser Lights
Rated 3.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Ah, Blackstar. The almost-He-Man. Our hero has roughly the same origin as Queen Marlena, he's got half a legendary weapon while the villain has the other. Sorcery and science coexist. And all of this has very little to do with Gargo. What we have here is possibly the only character exclusive to the toyline: a colorful warrior with no identifying info other than the title of "Vampire Man". No fictional representation or lore. Do the rest of his people look this weird? Maybe. Is he Overlord's servant, or rival? Hell of I know. Can he sell on design alone? It worked on me. As a design, he owes a lot to medieval depictions of demons. And maybe some dime-store novel art. Piercing eyes, enormous ears, cartoonish bat-wings and a sagging posture pair with garish colors to really stand out on the...[See More]

Warlock Dragon (Green)
Blackstar (Galoob) - Accessories
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Well, this was a lucky find. $3 at a thrift shop? Yes please. I never got into Blackstar as a kid, but I can certainly appreciate the aesthetics, and Warlock here is a solid example. The hollow, unarticulated body (as was the custom) captures the oddly smooth, almost equine build and featureless tail. Even the head isn't quite your typical dragon: toothy, short horns, yes, but the mouth is cartoonishly large, and very square. The wings are the only points of movement here, on somewhat flimsy swivel/hinges. Now, there are two versions available: this all-green one, and one with yellow wings. Only the yellow-winged version came with a saddle, though frankly, I can't imagine how that would have worked, given that Blackstar can barely straddle the thing as is. No matter which version you...[See More]