Playmates

Everyone loves trivia about their favorite animated features and series, but with over 100 years of animation history behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in cartoons in this continuing video series. You think you know cartoons? Well, here’s a few things you might not know! This week we're taking a look at the heroes in a half-shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

There are several times in my life where I have tried to stop buying action figures, for all the reasons that you'd expect. They're expensive, they take up space, and while I'm not above making Storm Shadow drop a Stone Cold Stunner on Batman while I'm on the phone and need something to do with my hands, it's not like I actually spend enough time playing with them to keep them form just sitting on my desk gathering dust. But every time I try to get out, something brings me back in, and nothing has ever gotten me as hard as the new line of Ninja Superstars figures from Playmates, in which WWE Superstars are combined with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And they are amazing.

If you're like me, you've at some point said to yourself, "Gosh, I sure do love the Undertaker, but I wish he was a little more like Rat Fink!" If so, you're in luck! Playmates' new WWE Nitro Machines line of toys features an outsized Undertaker popping out of the roof of a tricked out purple hearse, leading the way with his scythe-topped cane like he's in a race against Dracula's Dragster.

This Sunday on Nickelodeon, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are going back in time. Well, at least their Half-Shell Hero versions are anyway. The new animated special, Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past, takes our ninja buddies to the prehistoric era, where they'll have to stop an alien race from altering the future of the planet. In addition to this animated special, there will also be some action figures based on the adventure. It just so happens, we've got a few sets to give away.

Welcome to Wednesday's Link Ink.

Playmates had two showrooms at Toy Fair 2014: One for its toy line based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles CG animated series on Nickelodeon/the '90s TMNT movies, and one for toys based on the upcoming live action TMNT movie. One of these rooms didn't allow photography (and may or may have not involved taking a mutated blood oath to enter). So you can probably guess which room we focused our att

Season two of Nickelodeon's CG animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has expanded the show's cast of characters significantly, but for as many hideous new mutants as it's introduced, the show's also welcomed a steady stream of new vehicles. Both figure prominently into the latest batch of Playmates products arriving in toy stores in the near future, as stores welcome new figures of Mutagen

Knowing what to buy anyone during the holidays can make for a pretty dicey season of giving. But toy collectors with discerning tastes? That's usually gift card territory. But it doesn't have to end that way! We're here to help with a guide breaking down some of the most awesome action figure and toy options for the young and young at heart (mostly the latter). Whatever your articulated plastic bu

Like the younger April O'Neil on Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles CG animated series, Nickelodeon's new teenage Casey Jones is a little different from the original sporting good themed antihero. I mean, he's not wearing sweatpants, for one. The core of the character seems to be intact, however, as he's a rebellious bruiser with a code of honor who has already said things like "I’m t

Much as I love the core team from Playmates' new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, a few characters have left me cold -- namely the evil Shredder, who sports few paint applications and minimal articulation. At Toy Fair 2013, Playmates revealed a much sharper take on the Shredster that will feature a removable helmet, a righteous cape and overall improved posability - but San Diego Comic-Con 2013 attendees can snag an extra shiny version of it this July.