Odds ‘n Ends > October 19, 2011

October 19, 2011 | Poe

Today’s Odds ‘n Ends is sponsored by the letter Î©, who surprisingly had a PayPal account.

  • The Spawn Message Board was taken down last Friday. Rustin Parr of OAFE has written an excellent obituary here. His comment that the Spawn Board was the birthplace of the online toy collecting community is only mildly hyperbolic–I certainly got my start there, and many other well-known online toy personalities, such as Michael Crawford, congregated there in the late ’90s. I invented the pseudonym “Poe Ghostal” for that board, way back in 1999. Of course, I hadn’t visited the board in years–ever since McFarlane Toys began its long slide into sports and statuism after the Spawn lines of the early 2000s (with the one positive blip being Halo)–but the board’s demise is still worth some brief reflection.
  • Diamond Select has created a rather awesome “Mini-Mation” video starring their pirate-themed “Calico Jack” Minimates.
  • ItsAllTrue.net has a great review of the TRU-exclusive 1970s-style Arkham City Batman (it comes free with a purchase of the game at TRU, or, like me, you can buy it separately for $14.99). Of course, the actual 1970s game skin is a completely unique model, not just some new graphics over the regular suit…
  • BigBadToyStore has two major new exclusive G.I. Joe 7-Packs: Slaughter’s Marauders and the Dreadnoks. You can save $10 if you buy both sets together. The sets include a mix of new figures and repaints.
  • Bandai let me know they’re having a Ben 10 Sweepstakes. Kids can enter the contest by submitting codes from Ben 10 toys to helpben10.com. The winner gets an all-expenses paid trip for three to London to ride the Ben 10: Ultimate Mission roller coaster at the Drayton Manor Theme Park in Tamworth, Staffordshire — plus the winner will have a bonus chance to win $10,000 on top of the grand prize. So if you’ve got a child, grandchild, or nephew or niece who’s really into Ben 10, be sure to mention it to ’em.

Review > Sickened Joker NYCC Exclusive (Arkham City, DC Direct)

October 18, 2011 | Poe

There are times I regret my rash oath to collect every toy based on Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. For one thing, I still have to cough up the cash for that Battle-Damaged Batman from a couple SDCCs ago. Then there are the disappointing figures. And then there are the figures I’m not that excited about, but get anyway. Case in point is the subject of today’s review: Sickened Joker. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Good News and Bat News

October 5, 2011 | Poe

  • Warner Bros finally announced their new Batman cartoon for 2013, Beware the Batman. Apparently instead of Robin, Batman’s sidekick will be Katana, and the bad guys will include Professor Pyg, Mister Toad, and what looks like maybe Harley Quinn?
    • I agree with most of the comments from Bat-fans: Bruce Timm’s art style does not work in CGI, Batman’s head looks like a bug, and while I don’t mind the idea of making Alfred a more active badass, arming him with guns is just wrong. Yes, Alfred sometimes picks up a rifle to protect Wayne Manor, but Batman allowing or encouraging the butler to carry guns as part of his crimefighting crusade is painfully out of character.
    • Also, I have to say that I find Grant Morrison’s work on the Batman comics very hit and miss, and in my opinion Professor Pyg and Mister Toad are big whiffas. Pyg’s gimmick (he performs unnecessary cosmetic surgery on his victims to make them “beautiful”) isn’t exactly something kids will find compelling, while Mister Toad is just…Mister Toad, apparently. Except evil. Oh, and he’s dead in the comics. I suspect these characters will be very different in the show. Professor Pyg will be some sort of generic crime boss and Mister Toad will be his Slythe-like lackey.
    • All that said, I applaud the obvious effort to do something new here. Let’s face it–Batman: The Animated Series is the definitive animated take on the classic Batman. I really don’t know how you can top it without waiting for a few generations to pass. So I guess we’ll see how the kids react to this one. If they love it, then I’ll concede that maybe the people behind the show know what they’re doing. Except for Alfred’s guns. That is just so wrong.
  • In more Bat-news, two new characters have been revealed for Arkham City: Nightwing and the Mad Hatter. Both are looking great, especially Nightwing. I hope we get an figure of him from DCD or Mattel. I’m sure we will.
  • On another Bat-related note, there is now a dedicated Batman Ask Matty forum on Mattycollector.
  • Apparently people still don’t know what the deal is with the 1970s Batman Arkham City repaint figure, which is supposed to be free if you preorder Arkham City at Toys R Us. Details are allegedly coming soon.
  • Also, we may getting a DCUC-style First Appearance Batman, which would be awesome. I’ve always loved that early look.
  • I mentioned this elsewhere, but that mystery prototype Joker is in fact an NYCC exclusive. Which I’ll be getting, since I’ll be at NYCC (along with Poester MisterBigBo). The figure still kind of grosses me out, though.
  • Mattel is going to have another Mad Matty Monday on October 10. Three mystery packs–DCU, MOTUC, and Ghostbusters–for $40.
  • The Four Horsemen have announced where and how you can buy their NYCC-exclusive Outer Space Men Beta Phase Waves 3 & 4 figures, if you’re at NYCC. They’ll also be selling some on their website after NYCC, but if history repeats itself, those will sell out right quick.

Ask Mattel > Answers for October 1

October 1, 2011 | Poe

1.) As I understand it, the first Four Horsemen-sculpted Arkham City figure will be Harley Quinn. Will the Horsemen be sculpting any future Arkham City figures as well?

Yes, they will be sculpting future figs.      

(more…)

New Joker & Robin prototypes surface on eBay

September 27, 2011 | Poe

Some recent eBay auctions have revealed some details about Arkham City-related figures.

DC Direct has only announced Robin, Bruce Wayne and Harley Quinn for their Arkham City line, but this week eBay has a slew of so-called “zombie Jokers” from China. There are so many it seems unlikely they’re fakes or customs (though they could be discarded prototypes for a figure that won’t be produced).

As the trailers for the game have made clear, the Joker is in rough shape in Arkham City, suffering from some sort of ill after-effects from the Titan formula in Arkham Asylum. This vomit-inducing prototype captures that a little too well, frankly. Moreover, he’s obviously just the Arkham Asylum Joker with a new head.  I’d been intending to buy every Arkhamverse toy that’s made, but this one may test that…it will depend on his accessories, I suppose.

Next up is a prototype Robin from Mattel’s Arkham City line. Nothing new here, just a better look at the production figure.

 

MOTUC Batman Custom by MasterEnglish

September 26, 2011 | Poe

I just wanted to post a bigger pic of the MOTUC Batman custom I commissioned from MasterEnglish, which was revealed at PowerCon this weekend. I’ll do a more thorough write-up with more pics once it arrives.

It’s made from parts of Bow along with Keldor-style boots and Skeletor-style arms. The head, cape, and belt are from a DC Direct Dark Knight Returns Batman.

Odds ‘n Ends > September 22, 2011

September 22, 2011 | Poe

  • Toynewsi has links to new pics of the Square Enix Play Arts Kai Batman Arkham Asylum figures. I’m really looking forward to these. A lot. A lot a lot. All I need is a preorder link.
  • You may or may not have heard of the campaign to save the 3 ¾ Venture Bros. toy line. If they don’t hit a certain pre-order goal, Bif Bang Pow can’t make the line. So they’ve teamed up with Entertainment Earth to try and get those pre-orders through, and I heartily comment their effort. You can do me, EE, Jackson Publick, Bif Bang Pow, and yourself a solid by pre-ordering (via my affiliate link) right here.
  • Another day, another Arkham City Batman skin–this one for Sinestro Corps Batman. What interests me here is that here’s wearing the same suit as the DCUC figure, which, to my knowledge, has never appeared in the comics.
  • As I’ve mentioned  here and on Twitter a few times, I commissioned another custom from MasterEnglish, maker of 339/1. MasterEnglish is going to reveal said custom, which looks awesome, at PowerCon this weekend…but I couldn’t resist this little, tiny preview hint.
  • It appears that the Wind Raider has been delayed and will not be in the October 17 Mattycollector sale. No word on when it will be sold.
  • I’ve been messing around with some DCUC figures lately, and I have to say that losing the rocker ankles really hurts their poseability. I never knew how much I loved that joint until it was gone.

Ask Mattel > Answers for September 15

September 15, 2011 | Poe

1.) Chrissy asks: Could the next Skeletor variation (Terror Claws, Dragon Blaster, etc.) use Kobra Khans forearms and shins? This would alleviate some of the fatigue of getting another standard Skeletor body with new gear. And it would look great with Demo-Man’s freaky Alfredo Alcala styled Skeletor head.

This is something we have discussed with the Four Horsemen. Only time will tell!

2.) Wally2974 asks: Is there any chance with the Batman Legacy line being so popular that we might se some sort of re-release of BatSignal Batman? At the very least I’d love another crack at getting my hands on a working Bat Signal. (more…)

Bat-Week | Review > Bane (Arkham Asylum, DC Direct)

September 1, 2011 | Poe

Bat-foe Bane has had an interesting history. Though many fans forgot this for a long time, as he was originally conceived he was extremely intelligent–so intelligent, in fact, that not only did he identify Bruce Wayne as Batman simply by watching Bruce Wayne at a party, but he concocted an incredibly intricate plan to wear down Batman’s strength and will before infamously delivering the coup de grace of a broken back.

Bane was meant as a “dark mirror” to Doc Savage, the 1930s pulp hero whose only “superpower” was that he had been raised to become a paragon of human development–strong, athletic, brilliant, and wise, with an iron will. Bane likewise had an iron will, but his intelligence was deviant, his wisdom corrupted by a lifetime of pain, and his strength augmented by the steroid-like drug Venom, fed to him via tubes implanted in his head. (more…)