Wow. Mattel had no fewer than nine ten Q&As yesterday. Here’s a list for reference:
About 50% of the questions had something to do with quality control or distribution, but there were still some good questions and answers in there. Here are a few highlights. (more…)
While the line’s existence was announced months ago, DC Direct raised a few eyebrows this week when it released the first photos of its upcoming “History of the DC Universe” line. Inspired by the 1986 book by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, the figures are based on Perez’s art. The figures appear to share certain body parts, such as torsos and limbs, resulting in the inevitable conclusion by some collectors that this is DC Direct attempting to cash in on the popularity of DC Universe Classics. (More pics below the jump.)
The figures appear to have at least the following articulation: ball-jointed heads, shoulders, torso and perhaps even hips; swivels at the biceps, forearms, waist, and calves; and hinged joints at the elbows, knees [and wrists – update]. That’s a lot more than your average DCD figure–the only one I can think of having anything close to that is the 2003 Superman figure. (more…)
Is it Tuesday again already? Man, time flies…
ODD: I beat The Simpsons Game over the weekend. Wow, that game is short. I think my total play time was under six hours. And I still got through 60% of the game, meaning I could wander around and find all the other hidden items and so forth and still only spend another four hours on it.
END: I’m reading a great book by Susan Jacoby called The Age of American Unreason, about the history of anti-intellectualism in America. I highly recommend it. It’s great up until the last few chapters, where Jacoby’s discussion goes from history to the present day; her criticism of the “culture of distraction” loses the sense of objectivity found earlier in the book and begins to read like an older person shaking her head at the sad state of the world’s affairs without entirely understanding it (I was particularly miffed by her assessment of videogames, which she seems to think are still based entirely on points and body counts–which, ok, it is for many, but not nearly to the degree it once was). But I’m being unfair by dwelling on these minor criticisms; it’s really a great book. Check it out at your local library.
ODD: One of my OAFE compatriots, Shocka, has referred me on occasion to Walter Chaw, the acerbic and often contrarian film reviewer for Film Freak Central. I find him an enjoyable read; you could chop down a forest with all the axes he has to grind. Anyway, here’s his review of The Incredible Hulk. Guess what? He didn’t like it.
END: Lots of cool news out of Mattel’s recent Q&As; in addition to mine, there’s also one here, here, here, and here. Phew! I think everyone had a question regarding the difficulty of finding DCUC wave two. I just want wave three to arrive…glad to hear we’ll be getting a new DCUC Joker, though.
ODD: In case you missed it, here’s my review of the Helm of Xaanm over on OAFE. In looking over my site stats recently, I was surprised to find how popular my review page is–I don’t really think of PGPoA as a review site.
END: The recent spat of controversies over at DC have me seriously questioning my pull list at my LCS, particularly Final Crisis. I may trim it down to just Batman and Detective Comics. It’s become increasingly clear to me that DC’s Editor-in-Chief, Dan Didio, changes his mind about major plot points and character developments on a daily basis, and that lack of consistency makes reading an exercise in frustration. As I’ve written here before, Alan Moore called it ages ago. It’s this carelessness and improvidence that’s hurting DC’s sales–ironic for a company so obsessively obsessed with continuity. They may maintain a certain continuity of universe(s)–unbelievably convoluted as it is–but their continuity of character consistency and character development is becoming a joke.
ODD: Yes, I saw Iron Man over the weekend, and yes, in the parlance of my home region, it was wicked good. Or at the very least, it was an entertaining blockbuster action flick with no pretentiousness, pretty good pacing, good acting, some great humor and good characterization. I’ll probably see it again, since Mrs. Ghostal-to-Be wasn’t able to come along this time. Incidentally, somehow I completely missed the fact that there was a post-credit sequence; if anyone else was that oblivious, you can see it here. (more…)
I thought I’d give a non-humorous figure comic a try. I’m hoping/planning to make more–I have an idea for a whole storyline.
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For the purposes of this comic, the only “canonical” texts are the first Predator film and the first Batman vs. Predator miniseries–all other comics and movies involving the Predator are ignored. As for when it’s supposed to take place in DC continuity–I don’t really care. By including the miniseries as history I’ve already placed it outside the DC canon anyway.
Poe: Howdy, Poe here, and with me is my good friend and PGPoA Power Pal Pete of Fanwank.net.
Pete: Hello!
Poe: Today we’re going to do a review of a few of Hasbro’s new action figures based on the upcoming film Iron Man, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. The figures hit stores last Saturday, and it looks like they’re already selling well. I picked up the “Mark 03” Iron Man, as well as the villain called Iron Monger.
Pete: I got the Mark 01 Prototype Armor and the Target-exclusive Repulsor Red Prototype version. (more…)
Welcome to a brand-new feature I made up about ten seconds ago: Poe’s Action Figure Hall of Fame. These posts, appearing as regularly as I feel like writing them, will honor fine examples of action figure artistry.
The inaugural inductee is: Marvel Legends Face-Off Hulk!
Name: The Hulk
Line: Marvel Legends (Face-Off)
Year: 2006
Manufacturer: Toy Biz
Sculptor: Sam Greenwell
I prefer to have a nostalgic connection to the character of any action figure I buy. I can remember getting a little rubbery Hulk toy at Building 19 when I was a wee tyke (sadly, I can’t remember at all what it was or who made it). I was familiar with the character–what little kid wasn’t?–but I hadn’t read the comics, and I didn’t until the early 1990s during Peter David’s run. While David was making the Hulk smart by integrating his Bruce Banner and Hulk personalities, I got my second Hulk toy–the classic purple pants-wearing titan, made by the then-fledgling toy company Toy Biz. That first Toy Biz Hulk was shorter than most of other figures in the line, most likely because he was so muscled and the young Toy Biz had to conserve plastic to maintain prices (I’ll discuss this issue in more detail below).
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Captain Collector over on AFTimes has used his magical networking powers to score a full set of DCUC wave 2–and they look great.
I’m particularly pleased to see Grodd isn’t nearly as tall as I was thought he would be. That’s pretty much in line with his size in the comics (I’ve got a whole Poe’s Point planned on the topic of oversized gorillas in fiction). Check out the link and enjoy the pics.
