Tag Archives: Bandai Namco

Comic Timing Episode 277 – Toy Fair 2026 In Review

We’re back for what has now become our annual Toy Fair episode! Ian and Kris are here to give their takes on this year’s trade show. How did 2026 compare, as the toy industry faces some real life hurdles such as tariffs and inflation? Highlights include their experiences at booths manned by Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master, Lego, Bandai Namco, and Funko, thoughts on the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie and the related toy line, WWE x Street Fighter, swapping Barbie heads, Cars as a franchise turning 20 years old making us all feel old, Optimus Prime is our Truck-Dad, Pokémon pinball, the return of Crossfire to have its theme song get stuck in all of our heads again, KPop Demon Hunters toys EVERYWHERE, some New York City geography and survival guide tips, and so much more.

Show notes:

Mattel: 0:16:04

Hasbro: 1:21:04

Spin Master: 1:53:58

LEGO and Bandai Namco: 2:10:05

Kris’ Day 2, including Funko: 2:47:50

You can support future releases of Comic Timing and get in on the occasional early releases of the show at http://www.patreon.com/ComicTiming. Video versions of most episodes are at http://youtube.com/@comictimingpodcast, along with Raph’s new shorts series, Raph’s Comic Catch-Up, so go ahead and subscribe if you haven’t already done so.

You can also follow Comic Timing on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/comictiming.bsky.social, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ComicTiming/, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/comictimingpodcast. And please, if you can, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts; it helps attract new listeners! Finally, you can join in on the conversation at our Comic Timing Fans group on Facebook, which is a great place to hang out and talk comics.

Follow Ian on Bluesky, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/i_am_scifi. Kris is lampbane on Bluesky, and you can check out her various other works at http://linktr.ee/krisnaudus.

Thanks for listening, we’ll catch you next time, and as always, there’s always time for comics!

Comic Timing Episode 265- RIP (?) Super Sentai, Peacemaker S2 and more with Julian Lytle

As news broke this week on the possible farewell to the Super Sentai branding in Japan, we here at Comic Timing had to have longtime friend of the show Julian Lytle on to talk about it! Ian, Brandon, Donovan and Brent are also here to discuss just what the heck is going on with the franchise, how it all ties in to what is or isn’t happening with Power Rangers here in The States, how Bandai and Toei both can grow their reach in foreign markets, especially as Japan takes over the box office here in America and Gashapon has finally caught on, and more. Then we delve into a spoilery discussion on Peacemaker Season 2 and some convo on whether Matt Reeves Batman should be part of the DCU, some Marvel Zombies talk, our favorite superhero films of the year, recent reads, and even more where that came from!

And here’s the YouTube video version:

Show notes:

Sentai talk: 0:03:25

Peacemaker Season 2: 0:53:37

Best Superhero media of the year: 1:23:58

Marvel Zombies: 1:30:04

Recent reads and viewing: 1:39:23

Be sure to check out Julian’s movie reviews on RIOTUS and Comics Beat, listen to his podcasts Ignorant Bliss and Culture Trappin’, you can follow him on Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube, and you can join his Patreon. And anything else not mentioned here is on his Linktree.

You can support future releases of Comic Timing and get in on the occasional early releases of the show at http://www.patreon.com/ComicTiming. Video versions of most episodes are at http://youtube.com/@comictimingpodcast, along with Raph’s new shorts series, Raph’s Comic Catch-Up, so go ahead and subscribe if you haven’t already done so.

You can also follow Comic Timing on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/comictiming.bsky.social, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ComicTiming/, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/comictimingpodcast. And please, if you can, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts; it helps attract new listeners! Finally, you can join in on the conversation at our Comic Timing Fans group on Facebook, which is a great place to hang out and talk comics.

Follow Ian on Bluesky, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/i_am_scifi. Brent posts regularly to YouTube on his channel, BK’s Bullets and can be found on Bluesky; Donovan is on Bluesky, writes for DC’s blog and The Batman Universe, and check out his podcast, Questions: We Don’t Have Answers. Brandon is on Bluesky and Twitch, and will be running a panel at AnimeNJ++!

Thanks for listening, we’ll catch you next time, and as always, there’s always time for comics!