A few fellow collectors have asked me to promote Club Infinite Earths. I recommend you read NoisyDvL5’s thoughts on the matter, as he’s much more passionate about it than I am.
Thing is, the Club isn’t doing so well. As of this writing it hasn’t even hit 20% of the subscriptions needed to put it into production. And as I imagine the majority of these subscriptions are sold in the first day or two of the sale, I have to say this seems like a lost cause already.
I didn’t order the sub; I only collect Bat-characters these days. Of course, if there had been some sort of Batman Legacy Club, I’d be here screaming at you to sign up for it. On the other hand, part of me suspects a Batman club wouldn’t be as hard a sell.
CIE isn’t going to be the only place to find 6″ Mattel DC figures at retail. But moving forward, Mattel will be focusing on more modern looks (i.e., the September reboot) for characters in the retail line and eliminating BAFs, while many of the “Classics” of DC Universe Classics and the large figures will move to the Club–if it gets enough subscriptions.
And now a bit of editorializing: if this subscription doesn’t happen, Mattel will no doubt say, “Well, enough fans just didn’t sign up!” But that will only be part of the story. Since its inception DCUC has been plagued by quality control problems, poor production values, and the occasional lame figure–and all of those problems are hurting this subscription’s chances.
I think the QC issues are the most relevant; many fans don’t want to take a chance on receiving a single DCUC figure in a subscription and find it has a duplicate bicep or frozen hip. And sure, you could mail them back and get a replacement from Mattel, but I can certainly understand if there are people who would rather just not bother.
Again, I urge you to read NoisyDvL5’s post, especially if you’re on the fence. He’s making the case for the sub. I’m not here to make one against it, but as I’m no longer a diehard DC collector, I can’t make one for it, either–and I’m certainly not going to spend my own money on a sub. I might consider it if it looked like the numbers were getting really close, and I could help put it over the top. But right now, Club Infinite Earths looks very finite.
One final note: how painfully cruel does Matty’s smirk look next to that meter? “Pffft. You guys are pathetic.”
Anton Phibes
"One final note: how painfully cruel does Matty’s smirk look next to that meter? 'Pffft. You guys are pathetic.'"
I have never liked the look of Matty's avatar. Reminds me of the Mac vs. PC adverts where Apple was incredibly cultish; it was an advertisment which drove me away from Apple's products. The snarkiness almost seemed calculated to make me uncomfortable to do business with apple. At some point, Apple shifted the advertisment theme: "see this cool thing: look what it can do." I now happily own an iPhone, without guilt or that sick feeling I'm wallowing in slime. (and the phone is just fun to use!)
Matty, to me, just looks like some damned too-cool preppy drug pusher, mocking me for some invented infraction. Not the association i would imagine a company would want from their ad campaign.