Thank You for 9 Years!!!

Just like a stealthy clan of cyber ninjas, you guys struck with a powerful force last Wednesday night! Thank you so much for a truly exciting 9th anniversary release and for warmly welcoming Bit Figs into the fold. All the production numbers balanced out and the store operated without any major insanity or shurikens to the skull, so the mission continues!

The inspiration behind these seemingly random ninja themes dates back to the powerful influence that the early 80's ninja craze had on us when we here at Onell were kids. Even though Marcus and I are 10 years apart in age (and were raised in different states), we both still developed a lifelong love of those shadowy assassins imported from esoteric Eastern legends.

Ninjas were everywhere in those days, from movie screens, videotapes and magazine stands all the way down to the ubiquitous quarter muncher machines that peppered the walls of seemingly every grocery store and pizza joint. There was just something about the ninja concept that resonated across the country, especially with the latchkey generation.

Maybe it was the barrage of Kung Fu flicks that seemed to perpetually play on our local channel 56 (WLVI) every Saturday afternoon, but I personally went bonkers over anything ninja related. I remember wrapping an ACE bandage around my head and terrorizing the neighborhood not long after watching Enter the Ninja on video at my Uncle's house in Beverly, MA (and this weirdness took place years before playing The Revenge of Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden around the clock).

Eventually, my growing obsession graduated to a full on "child sized ninja uniform" that I had begged my mother to order for me from the amazing Ninja Magazine. Can you imagine the level of unintentional comedy that I spread running around at night as a pudgy little kid in an ill-fitting ninja outfit, punctuated by a massive set of scratched up Coke-bottle thick glasses? I even had my own ridiculous homemade katana that was fashioned in our family garage from a busted hockey stick. Of course it had an equally cruddy matching scabbard thrown together from old socks and scraps of duct tape to complete the look. Pitiful? Yes. Unforgettably fun? Absolutely.

Thinking back to those days of true childhood freedom, I'm made even more aware of how crazy lucky we've been over the last 9 years, especially with the constant shifts in an increasingly volatile market. I hope we can keep this extended trip going for some years to come, but no matter what happens, I couldn't be more thankful for everything leading right up to this very moment.

Thank you straight from the heart for making Glyos more than just the fever dream of a chubby little ninja kid.