Interview with Bill Faries of matt-trakker.com

Following on from my previous interviews, I was recently in contact with Bill of matt-trakker.com fame.

maskcomics: Who are you?

matt-trakker.com: My name is Bill Faries (Ferris). I’m 30 years old, live in Moorestown, New Jersey. I was born in Philadelphia but grew up in North Wildwood, New Jersey. If anyone lives in the area, feel free to reach out to me if you ever wanted to meet up and talk MASK.

maskcomics: What first got you into M.A.S.K.?

matt-trakker.com: I first got into M.A.S.K. after watching the cartoon. The 80’s was all about the show and the then the toy tie in. It was the greatest time for both action figures and cartoons.

maskcomics: Did you collect the comics growing up?

matt-trakker.com: I did not collect the comics growing up. I recently got a few from my wife this past Christmas. I’m a big DC / Marvel fan as well. Still no comics but lots of other items.

maskcomics: Do you still have your collection and have you added to it?

matt-trakker.com: My collection was a causality of me being a kid. I beat my toys up pretty bad when I was younger. Out of my original collection, I had a Matt Trakker figure, broken down Bulldog and Jackhammer. As of today, I have a complete collection of the vehicles and action figures (Loose). Thanks to Kevin Mills for randomly helping me track down pieces and thanks to Brent Scarano for helping me with some empty boxes.

maskcomics: What was your favourite aspect of the comics?

matt-trakker.com: When I did get to take a look at them, I liked that the stories were completely different for the most part. It’s like looking at little pieces of art on each page.

maskcomics: How do you think the Comic compared with the toys and the cartoon?

matt-trakker.com: As stated earlier, I wasn’t too big into the comics when I was younger. From I have seen though, they tend to hold to the main characters but go in different directions with their story lines which I like.

maskcomics: Are the toys the main focal point of your collection?

matt-trakker.com: Yes, the toys are the main focal point of my collection. I started with just getting the figures back at first (over 10 years ago) because of space issues. I can now say proudly that I have a complete (loose) collection. I also managed to track down two of the rare black Collider masks in my travels.

maskcomics: How do you think M.A.S.K. toys compared to others of the time e.g. Transformers and G.I. Joe?

matt-trakker.com: MASK was always my favorite but not always the case with everyone else. I feel that because of the whole who owns the copyright issues that have taken place over the years, it has made it much harder for the generations that grew up with it to get back into it. GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man, Voltron, etc… all had multiple variations over the years to keep the thought alive.

maskcomics: Are there any toys missing from your collection?

matt-trakker.com: Some random Argentina figures and prototypes like Ramp Up and Thunderball that were never released.

maskcomics: How excited would you be if the fabled Shark toy existed?

matt-trakker.com: It would be great. I never understood why it wasn’t made. It was a staple of the show and sure, Gloria was a girl character and I would imagine that most of the viewers and toy owners were boys but still, it kind of leaves a sour taste that it was never made.

maskcomics: As a Matt Trakker fan, do you think the recent Specialist Trakker M.A.S.K./G.I. Joe crossover toy worked?

matt-trakker.com: I was really happy to see this come out. I was never a big fan of GI Joe but I had to own this. I’m not a fan of all the extra weapons (that make it GI Joeish) but I feel that they did a great job with the figure (and hopefully, more will follow in the future).

maskcomics: Tell us about your website, Matt-Trakker.com?

matt-trakker.com: The website started out as a way for me to teach myself web design/development. It then quickly helped me regain my love for MASK and start my collection back up. A lot of time has gone into it since 2001. We have interviews with the cast and crew, a very large message board and some really good information about the cartoon and toyline.

maskcomics: What draws you to the character of Matt Trakker?

matt-trakker.com: When I was younger, Thunderhawk was the first toy that I got from the MASK line. It became my favorite pretty quick.

When I was trying to come up with a name for the website, boulder hill was taken and I didn't want to confuse people with the Jim Carey movie so I picked the name that people remembered the most to help identify the site.

maskcomics: What plans do you have for the future?

matt-trakker.com: Well, we just launched a new version of the message board which was a long time in the making. Hopefully everyone enjoys it. I will be tying it directly into my main site soon so it won’t open in a new page.

I hope to track down a few more interviews from cast and crew that I haven’t been able to get in touch with yet.

We have a charity auction coming up soon to benefit the Red Cross. Stay tuned for that. 

maskcomics: We certainly will and thank you very much for taking the time to answer a few questions.

Keep up-to-date at Matt-Trakker.com and on Facebook.

And remember that Mask Comics is also on Facebook.