Spring Loaded: A Message From the Editor
"Scores!" Says He: May 2022
Some Pez Room Updates
Pez Poetry
And Finally...

Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor | top

Hello and welcome to Pezhead Monthly! Summer is nearly upon us and I am very excited. There are lots of fun things coming up and it will be good to get out there, hit the road, and take it all in.

In the Pez world, the 2022 Sweets and Snacks Expo took place in Chicago, IL in May. At this event, there were many announcements of upcoming Pez releases for 2022 and 2023. I encourage you to check out Nenad Markov's excellent PezPalz blog for several pictures from the event. Lots of really nice stuff coming for sure!

And, as I am sure Ward Cleaver said at some point, June is looking great! There is a big Pez event coming up in just a few weeks: the 5th Michigan Pez Convention. Postponed for 2 years due to the pandemic, this convention is finally coming back to Ann Arbor, MI for what is sure to be a grand time. This will be my first year attending and I am really looking forward to it. I was one of the last people to secure a registration and hotel reservation. I don't plan on bringing a lot of stuff to sell or trade (maybe nothing) but I definitely expect to add some more to my collection. And of course I'll also be seeing many of my Pez pals and hopefully meeting some more. If you would like to attend the convention but are not registered, you can still go to the Saturday floor show for FREE. Click here for details.

Speaking of Michigan, this month's cover image is a Pezzified version of a photo of one of music's most famous Michiganders, Madonna. In the original picture, the Queen of Pop has her head tilted back. As a Pezhead, it was natural for me to imagine this as a Pez head tilting back to deliver some candy. (As for the candy itself, as previously noted, you gotta have grape.) This may or may not make another appearance at the Michigan Pez convention in the form of swag; I am still in the planning stages with this idea. Fingers crossed that it will work out.

What's that, you say? An animated version of this month's cover image? Well here you go!

Also in this issue, I provide an update on a few areas of my Pez room: the IKEA Detolf that I finally put together that puts a spotlight on the many scores I've received from my Pez Pal Topher over these last several months, and an update on my Batcave, which has grown considerably since its last appearance on these pages. In addition, this issue features some Pez Poetry to perhaps put a spring (or would that be summer?) in your step. I also run down last month's scores in the latest installment of "Scores!" Says He. And finally, Pezhead Monthly takes the highway to the danger zone, while dutifully observing the speed limit.

Did you miss last month's issue? You can still read it here. To search the full Pezhead Monthly archives, hop on over to the archive page, where you can browse by feature, Pez Poetry Slam, or issue. There's also a Google search bar to help you search the content across the site. And hey, maybe you would like to submit some words, photos, artwork, or videos to Pezhead Monthly to be featured in an upcoming issue? That would be great! Check out the submission details here.

Thanks as always for reading Pezhead Monthly. Take care and see you next month!

Joe Durrant
Editor, Pezhead Monthly
joe@pezheadmonthly.com

"Scores!" Says He: May 2022 | top

Welcome to the May 2022 version of the new Pezhead Monthly feature "Scores!" Says He. Well, it's not so much a new feature as it is no longer part of the editor's letter. This feature debuted last month and its title is an ode to one of my favorite directors, Martin Scorsese. Last month for this feature, I put together a Pez parody of a behind the scenes photo from Scorsese's "Taxi Driver." As for this month... well, funny story. I thought I'd put together another photo to switch it up. So I went with a photo from another Scorsese film, the amazing "Goodfellas," which is one of my favorite movies, period. The Pezzified result can be seen to the right of this text (and can be clicked for a larger view). That was just 2 days ago from the time of this writing, and today I learned the sad news that Ray Liotta, one of the stars of this film, died unexpectedly. Ray is in the picture above, on the far left. He gave an amazing performance in "Goodfellas" and many other movies over the years. I also enjoyed his voice work as Tommy Vercetti in the classic video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." He will be missed for sure!

Anyway, on to my Pez scores from May 2022. The pace of my scores dropped off a bit from the last few months, and that's okay. I did not manage to find anything in the wild in May, but thanks to the magic of the Internet I was still able to grow my collection. Most of these came from Facebook groups and/or friends, including an Israeli 2016 Pez Gathering Emoji on card and a couple of box sets from the first Frozen movie that I did not already have.

I also added 2 new Pez Outlaw dispensers to my collection, Jailbird and Phoenix. The Phoenix one came with a firepit and a sign. The sign's message is no doubt related to the Pez Outlaw movie, which is making the film festival rounds these days. I definitely hope to see it soon!

From Topher, I picked up a bunch of great custom pieces, including a number of skulls (one even has horns on its head!), another very well done Mascot, and, oh yes, some more Batmans.

Also, from eBay I picked up the 2022 black Batman on card.

Here's a picture of my May scores. You can click on it for a larger view.

Coming next month: Scores from my first Michigan Pez convention and more!

Some Pez Room Updates | top

A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to assembling the Detolf that's been in its box for a number of months. When I bought it, it was not an immediate need but more of an eventual one once my collection grew significantly.

Spoiler alert: my collection grew significantly!

One of the biggest areas where it's grown is my fantasy Pez collection, mostly from my Pez pal Topher. Over the past 9 months I have added over 120 custom-painted Topher Pez to my collection, as has been chronicled on the pages of this newsletter. But they've largely been in box tops on a table and not where they belong, which is on a display.

So with the Detolf assembled, I put together a couple of foam displays made specifically for the Detolf, which I picked up from my Pez pal Molly at the PIGPIGPIG convention in Cincinnati earlier this year. I also added some remote-controlled lighting that I had also used in my other Detolfs.

Then came the fun part, which was adding Topher's Pez to the display. I really like everything about this display: how the Pez looks in Molly's displays, the way they are lit in the cabinet, and of course the artistry of the dispensers themselves. Here are a couple of pictures that you can click on for larger views.

It's hard to pick my favorite pieces or sets, but if I had to I would say the skulls, Palpatines, Mascots, and Marilyn Monroes are all standouts. Also, the rainbow hearts are fantastic. They are only in this photo to show them with the others. They are not stable here but I do have plans to move them to another shelf once I get that display put together in a little while.

Also worth noting is that this display does not include any of the Batmans that I've received from Topher (nearly 30 of those in total!). Those are displayed separately in my Batman display, which I fondly refer to as The Batcave.

Speaking of which, it's time for a Batcave update!

The last time I shared an update of this display was in the November 2021 issue. In the past 6 months or so, it has continued to grow thanks to the contributions of Topher and a few others as well.

First off is the top shelf of my Batcave as of May 2022. Below is a picture of the top shelf, which you can click for a larger view.

The first row and first half of the second row are the official dispensers, counting the most recent 2 that came out this year. While the softhead Batman is missing from this group, it is displayed with the other superhero softheads on another shelf in my Pez room. Still, I am thinking I may need to get another softhead for this display! It just so happens that I'll be attending 2 Pez conventions over the next couple of months, so maybe I will pick one up there.

The rest of this shelf contains my favorite various Batman customs, along with 2 signed Batmans on the top shelf (Adam West and Kevin Conroy). They include painted pieces from Topher and others, chrome, and other pieces. Lots of fun colors, capes, and other varieties here. I could look at this shelf for days!

Next up is the second shelf. Below is a picture of this shelf, which you can click for a larger view. The only official dispensers on this shelf are the Batman POP+Pez that are displayed on the first half of the top row. The rest of this shelf contains customs that are mostly just some fun stem swaps. Some of the more unique pieces are the 2 steampunk POP+Pez in the upper right that I got from my Pez pal Misty, the Batman truck I got from my Pez pal Karen and her husband Ronnie, and the 3 Batmans with custom body parts, one of which I received from, you guessed it, Topher. Also, how cool is that custom Batman with red face and cape! There are other capes on the back shelf of my top row in the picture above.

Lastly, below is a picture of my entire Batcave as of May 2022 (click for a larger view). Notable recent additions here are the new Batman 2-pack on the third shelf, as well as the pop swaps on the very top of the display (here is a closer picture of those from the January 2022 issue).

My Batman display is more than just the Batcave, however. Here is a picture of how it looked in November 2020. I've added some more cards, artwork, and other pieces, some of which are not displayed yet. This is a work in progress (as is my entire Pez collection, today and always!) and I will be sure to post another update again down the road.

Thanks so much to Topher for his amazing work on all of the Pez dispensers I've picked up from him in the past several months. I hope to get more from him sometime later. Thanks also to everyone who has helped me grow by Batcave over the years. It's only going to get bigger and I can't wait to see where it goes from here!

Pez Poetry | top

Pez Haiku #161

In a few short weeks,
Ann Arbor's going to be
The Pez place to be.

IKEA Detolf Number Five

In my Pez room it's arrived:
IKEA Detolf Number Five.
Four more shelves to fill with Pez,
For more days of happiness.

Allen wrench, you are the key!
I turn to start the assembly.
Feet are added, then comes glass
As music makes the time go fast.

Next the top and next the door,
Next to Detolf Number Four.
Some lighting? Well, if you insist!
Like Bender now I raise my fist.

Now what shall grace these hallowed shelves?
This question I ask of myself.
Will it be minis, maybe giants?
It's partly magic, partly science.

Where I was blind, I now can see:
I'll start out with some fantasies!
A display made of Camden's foam
Will give those babies one sweet home.

IKEA Detolf Number Five,
Long may you stand and may you thrive!
And when you're filled, I'll have a fix:
I call it Detolf Number Six.

And Finally... | top

To celebrate the new movie "Top Gun: Maverick", here is a Pezzified version of a picture of Tom Cruise from the first "Top Gun" movie in 1986. Here, his thumbs up is re-imagined as a flick of the wrist to reveal some Pez candy inside, fittingly enough, a Pilot Emergency Hero Pez dispenser. He feels the need, the need for sweet!

But wait! It just so happens that also released in 1986 was Madonna's "True Blue" album. Are we doing a callback? Because it kind of feels like we're doing a callback!