Of all of the characters inhabiting the Mushroom Kingdom and its surrounding lands, the Shy Guy clan continues to be the most mysterious.  What's really under those cute masks and adorable robes?  Only Luigi knows for sure (as seen in Mario Power Tennis), and the sight chilled him to the bone, so there must be something really sinister about the Shy Guys.  Today's edition of the online comic Shortpacked picks up on that thread as the Shy Guys send a friendly letter of intent to Princess Daisy.  When will they step out into the world and not be afraid?  The comic comes paired with artist David Willis's thoughts on the latest collection of PopCo's Super Mario figurines.

Man, I love these Mario things so much. Sure, they're little statues, but they're incredibly-faithfully sculpted and painted. And just the idea of having a bunch of to-scale Mario guys, and all the army-building that implies, tickles me to the friggin' bone.

It's been a year since the first wave hit retailers. I was anticipating the Shy Guys the most, I think. I love me some Shy Guys, and I was glad when they started showing up in other Mario stuff after Super Mario Bros 2. Now that I have some, I want to take one of these things, chuck them at someone's head, and see if they fall off the world. They might! Who's to say they won't?

I have my own little collection of figurines on display at my computer desk (there's the old Applause line of Mario figures from 1989, plus Ryu from Street Fighter IV, Simon Belmont from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and the not-gaming-related Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000), but I find that I'm limiting my figurine intake these days.  They're fun to get as packed-in freebies with larger purchases, but it's difficult to justify the cost of buying what eventually end up as very detailed dust collectors.  Still, I wouldn't say no to a Shy Guy or Koopa Troopa figurine from this PopCo series if I ever stumbled upon them for a reasonable price.  They are my favorite Mushroom Kingdom baddies, after all.

By request, here is the moment in Mario Power Tennis where Luigi gets a peek at what's really behind a Shy Guy's mask.