Mythological Bricks

I'll admit that there's a part of me that misses the old days when LEGOs were much simpler. But there's also a part of me that thinks minifigures of things like Cyclopes and Gorgons are very cool.

From LEGO minifigures series nine comes the Cyclops...


And from series ten comes what I think just might be my favorite minifigure to date... Medusa.

Florida

There's something particularly weird about an alligator with a snow globe for a stomach that's got two alligators on a seesaw inside it. I've never been to Florida, but if I do eventually visit, and I don't actually see an alligator, I'll be very disappointed.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns... in Plastic

From the "it's about time" department, comes one of the latest from the Batman Unlimited line by Mattel: Batman from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.


I'm pretty sure that we've had figurines and a few statues in the past, but never an actual decently articulated figure of Miller's Batman before.

My biggest concern was how well they'd capture the overall look of Frank Miller's heavily stylized Batman. Ultimately I think that Mattel did an excellent job.


The extra-stocky Dark Knight has all of the articulation and play value that we've come to expect from a 7-inch Mattel figure, plus he's built and painted nicely as well.



I'd genuinely love to see more figures from The Dark Knight Returns, perhaps Robin or maybe a one armed Oliver Queen, though what I'd really like is a two-pack with Superman and Batman in his battle suit. That would be cool, but even if all we get is this one Batman figure, then I'm happy as well because it's pretty great.

Arkham City (Series 4) Batman from DC Collectibles

I've owned the game Arkham City for over a year now, but for one reason or another I haven't had the time to sit and play it. That's actually pretty amazing, and a little sad, given that I loved Arkham Asylum, and managed to play through that game once or twice.

What I have had the time to fiddle around with though, is the new Arkham City Batman figure from DC Collectibles.

DC Direct has re-branded themselves as DC Collectibles with this new wave of Batman figures, and with that change has come a new focus on articulation, and ultimately playability.

The over all sculpt and paint job are on par with everything else that I've ever bought from DC (Direct) Collectibles over the years. Things like sculpt and design are excellent, but the various figures that I looked over all suffered from some sort of minor paint issues. That's not a new thing, and isn't particularly unique to just this company, but given the relatively steep twenty-ish dollar price that these retail for, it's something to be concerned about.


The thing that's really awesome about this particular figure, is the new and improved articulation... which also happens to be something that I'd like to see them improve just a little more.

The new joints don't affect the look of the figures static pose in any kind of negative way. The overall look of how they've been integrated is actually quite nice, but what needs improving, is the fact that they do negatively effect the stability of the figure.


Generally speaking the joints are somewhat loose, which causes the figure to lean or even fall in most poses. It'd be nice if DC Collectibles integrated some simple click-stops into elbows and knees--I'd still be using Photoshop for flying poses like the one below, but wouldn't need to for everything else.

The other minor, and some what reoccurring problem that the figure has, is that he can't hold his accessory very well. All of the other DC Direct Batman figures that I own share this problem, and though I love the fact that they stay away from soft, weak plastics for the most part, the hands should really be able to grip a batarang without constantly dropping it.


So, generally speaking this is a very good Batman figure that could have in fact been excellent with a little redesign. It does make me look forward to whatever DC Collectibles has in the works for future waves of Batman Arkham figures, and ultimately I'm pretty excited to see whatever else they've got coming.

Big Things Have Small Beginnings

I liked the film Prometheus because it worked recognizable elements from the movie Alien into a new setting. The android character David is a perfect example of that.

Subtle yet iconic design similarities between the environmental suits in the early movie and Prometheus are especially cool, and the David 8 figure by NECA does an excellent job of showing off that brilliant design work.


NECA has done a great job with all of their Prometheus figures so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the line progresses from here, but honestly, I think this will end up as my favorite figure of the lot.

Michael Fassbender's version of a Ridley Scott android is one of the best parts of the movie. He's cool and a little bit weird, while being just the right mix of friendly and sinister as well. Part hero and part villain--I really like the fact that you don't come away loving or hating the guy, because after all, he's just a machine doing what he's been programmed to do.


NECA's handling of the likeness is very good. Both of the included head sculpts are fine, but I'm probably more fond of the version with the cap. The overall attention to paint detail is a bit more focused, and little things like differences in texture and those tiny decals make it a winner.


The endless number of sci-fi video games and films have made spacesuit design a bit cliche over the years, but I suppose someone like Ridley Scott can be credited with having invented a lot of that. The original environmental suits from the movie Alien were referential of the suits worn in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The suits from Prometheus remind me of a mix between those suits, and something from the Dead Space games, which obviously owe a lot to Alien, so it all kind of works.

The folks at NECA are pros when it comes to building a figure, and in this case they've done a perfect job of blending detail and design with some really nice articulation. The overall production quality of the figure is excellent, and this is one of those rare times when I actually don't mind the fact that the price of "collectible" action figures has risen so high. I never mind paying a little more if I'm actually getting my moneys worth.


That's not to say that all of the figures on the pegs were perfect, as I did need to sort through a few with less than perfect paint jobs, but ultimately I think what I ended up with was very good. The vast majority of what NECA puts out there is great, and I'm very happy that they've had the licence to do Alien, and now Prometheus figues over the years. Can't wait to see what they release next.

The Invasion Begins - Mezco's Martian Commander

If you're one of the three or four people that have been reading this blog over the last few years, then you probably know that I'm a big fan of the Mars Attacks franchise--both the '60s trading card series, and the Tim Burton film. I'm also a really big fan of Mezco Toyz, so when I heard that they were doing a figure in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Topps Mars Attacks trading cards, I got very excited.


Mezco has been responsible for a few of my favorite toy lines over the years. The Living Dead zombie line, their Cinema of Fear horror figures, and the really fantastic Hellboy figures from both the films and comic books were all excellent. I knew that their version of an iconic Topps martian would be very good, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not dissapointed at all. This thing is everything that I'd hoped it would be.

The packaging is just what it needs to be--not too complicated or too plain, with some nice artwork, and a simple bubble that can stand on its own for display. I did have to sort through the lot of these to find the best one on the pegs, as a few had imperfect paint and weathering, but for the most part the dozen or so that I saw were all very good.


Here's what I love the most about this figure: Mezco knew exactly were to put in the details with this one, and were to just leave it alone and go simple. The detailing on the head is a perfect example. It's actually kind of cool how they "got" the idea that the character has this complex and weird head that contrasts with the very simple and now retro looking space suit.

They didn't try to jazz up the suit or helmet with unecessary details. Other than a slight wash to give it texture there's nothing. But the head has all kinds of sculptural detail that's been enhanced with a fairly complicated paint job--orange and pink brain, with those grey metal ear caps--very true to the original artwork on the cards.


I love the old Trendmasters toy line that came out shortly after the Burton film was released in '96, but those figures did not have much articulation, and this one really does. Shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and kneck all bend or twist. It's maybe a little limited in some ways, as the figure can't do things like grasp the included rifle with two hands, but ultimately I think they sacrificed things like that for sturdiness and stability.


The Martian Commander is built very well, with tight joints and nice rigid plastic that isn't warped or bent weirdly. Overall it's a very solid figure for something so thin and potentially fragile. The included accessories: a small raygun, a rifle, and some kind of weird "ray stick" are nicely made as well, which is a good thing, as you'll actually be tempted to play with this figure, and it's nice that you don't have to worry about the hands, wrists or weapons breaking.


Mezco did a fantastic job designing and manufacturing this one, and ultimately it leaves me wishing that they'd do more martians... or frankly, that they'd just do more figure lines that I'm interested in. I've yet to buy anything made by Mezco that I wasn't happy with, and the Martian Commander is another perfect example. In this case, they may have actually come up with one of my all time favorite action figures.

Autograph Hound

Emerald City Comic Con, with its brilliant crowd of costumed nerds, was just over a week ago, and I had another great time visiting. What I loved the most was that I got a chance to once again say hello, and in some cases make a fool of myself in front of some of my very favorite comic book artists and writers.

Neal Adams is one of my heroes. I love the guy's art, but what's been a huge influence on me is his incredible graphic design asthetic. I schooled as a fine artist when I was younger, and then drifted toward graphic design by sort of absorbing what I saw other people doing. Neal is one of those incredible "old timers" who not only inspires you with his creative ability, but stands as a kind of icon in the sense that he's been doing what he does for decades. I guess I'm just amazed by the fact that he's been a genuine professional for so long... and still does great work today.

Anyway, Neal was kind enough to chat with me for a while, and then autographed one of my favorite covers. It was extremely hard to decide on just one book for him to sign.


The next big treat was meeting Denny O'Neil. It's no accident that the book I had him sign has a cover done by Neal Adams, as the two made history together time and time again. It's really weird walking up to a guy like Dennis O'Neil for the first time, because even though I've always been very much inspired and am more of a geek about worshipping the artists, it's the writers that are really responsible for my long time love of comic books as a form of entertainment. The only thing I could think to say was, "thank you for the great stories", and then he signed the book for me.


And speaking of writers that were responsible for getting me hooked on comics... Chris Claremont is probably single-handedly responsible for my having, in the eyes of my parents anyway, "wasted" a huge chunk of my childhood by obsessing over comic books.

I picked this copy of X-Men #94 for Mr. Claremont to sign, not for the obvious reasons, but because it represents the end of a lifespanning personal story: when I was a kid, I got hooked on X-Men comics some time after issue #100, and even at that point, back-issues of #94 were selling for way more than I could afford with my humble weekly allowance of five dollars. For years I used to sit and talk with my friends and fellow comic book nerds about how it would be great to find a copy of #94 in order to round out our collections. For the most part we all sort of resigned ourselves to believing that it would never happen, and as the decades progressed, the book hasn't exactly diminished in value.

So, fast forward to around a year or two ago, where I'm digging through a box of crappy torn up comics at a thrift store, and out comes this particular copy of X-Men #94. The book isn't in mint condition by a long shot, but it's probably in exactly the kind of shape that it would have been in if I had actually bought a copy back in 1975. I imagined that at some point a seven year old kid like me had really loved this thing, and for whatever reason, fate has dumped it into my hands... for 99 cents.

After boring him with this little story, Chris Claremont was kind enough to sign the book.


Today I tend to read mostly the various Batman titles, and it was really cool to spin past the tables where Tony Daniel and David Finch where sketching and signing.


Mike Mignola is a great artist and writer, and he was kind enough to sign this fantastic Batman variant cover that he did. I love this thing, and am very happy that I got to tell him so.


I'd spent pretty much the entire day chasing Scott Snyder from table to table, and every time I either showed up after he'd left, or got there after they'd capped the line. At around fifteen minuted before the convention was winding to a close, we wandered past the DC booth one last time. I saw that the line to see Scott Snyder was pretty much gone, so I made one last feeble request for an autograph, and the folks from DC took pity on me.

Scott's a cool guy, and the fact of the matter is that Batman and Swamp Thing have been my two favorites this past year. He Kindly signed yet another copy of Batman #1 for me--as I imagine he'd probably done a thousand times before I wandered over--and then called it a day.

Man of Steel... and Thin Vinyl

I recently found this Superman Colorforms set at the thrift store for around three dollars, and even though the thing hasn't aged very well, it's still a Pop Art masterpiece.

Mount Rushmore

I love old snow globes. Particularly the cheap souvenir kind that look only vaguely like what they're supposed to depict. This version of Mount Rushmore is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about, as it looks just a little like some kind of Planet of the Apes version of the real thing.

Topps WWE Heritage Cards

I'm not really a huge wrestling fan, but I'll admit that I do love the history and really appreciate the general idea of real life superheroes and villains come to life in the ring. So with that in mind, any kind of tribute to the past, especially in the form of a trading card series, is going to catch my eye.

Topps put out a Heritage edition of WWE cards this past year, and I finally picked up a few packs to check them out.



As with all Topps Heritage cards, these are really nice. They're based on the 1985 card design from the first ever WWE card set, and come with a seemingly massive variety of extras and inserts.



So like I said, I may not be a die-hard wrestling fan, but this set of cards by Topps is enough fun that it may just satisfy my endless need to collect something by Topps at all times.