Guest Review > Kilowog Collect and Connect (DC Universe Classics)

July 12, 2011 | Novelty

Hey y’all, welcome to the new site layout!  It’s Novelty and I’m stoked that I get to do another guest review here.  To be honest though, I also come into this review with a lot of trepidation – Poesters are a scary lot and may eat me up alive if I don’t live up to their expectations and such, so please be gentle, ‘k?
Kilowog from movie poster
Kilowog in ComicsKilowog is the trainer of the Green Lantern Corps new recruits.  He’s from Bolovax Vik, located in Space Sector 674.  He roughly resembles an anthromophic upright-standing hippotamus, towering over everyone else and is always depicted to have vast strength thanks to his physique.  Of course, as a member of the Green Lantern Corps (GLC), he also has his ring which could manifest any construct he could imagine.

His name is interesting.  Kilo, of course, is greek and means a thousand.  It’s present in the English language as part of the metric system (e.g. kilogram, kilometer, etc.).  Wog, is also an English word, although it’s a colloquial British word which has derogatory connotations.  It means a poor non-white foreigner, and survives into the modern era in such words as polliwog and golliwog.  It’s not really politically correct and is rarely used these days.  So Kilowog then, means that he’s a thousand-fold alien, an apt name.  And there ends my English lesson! (more…)

Ask Mattel > Answers for July 1, 2011

July 1, 2011 | Poe

1.) Zach asks: Many fans, myself included, purchased all four of the Ghostbusters (including slimed Peter) when they were first released. None of these Ghostbusters came with a proton stream accessory. When will fans be able to purchase a set of 4 proton streams to go with our Ghostbusters figures?

No, there are no plans to offer the Proton Streams right now outside of that Peter figure. For the Ghostbusters line the accessories are often a selling point for the figures so we will not offering them in another format at this time.

2.) wilyjeff asks: Hasbro has clearly found a winning method of producing 3.75″ figures that are fun, detailed, highly articulated, loaded with accessories, and affordable, across both their own properties (G.I. Joe) and licensed ones (Marvel), that appeal to kids and collectors alike. Does Mattel pay attention to the production and/or marketing strategies of its competition in the boy’s action figure aisle? (more…)

Pics of Batman Legacy Wave 2 Leaked – Catman, Bat-Mite

June 28, 2011 | Poe

User Samttary of the HKFigureClub, a Hong Kong-based toy site, has revealed the rest of Batman Legacy Wave 2. It looks like the rumored Catman is indeed part of the line-up, while Batgirl comes with a motorcycle and Golden Age Batman comes with none other than Bat-Mite!

I’m not 100% sure the motorcycle comes with Batgirl (can anyone read the page? – my Google Translate efforts were messy), but it stands to reason, particularly since she has no new sculpting to add value.

 

Toy Aisle Trolls > Awry Man

June 23, 2011 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: T16SkyHopp

The Problem: The Manhunter Skallox/Medphyll figures have been swapped for Orion figures.

Karmic Payback: May the legs of the figures he stole snap off at the hips, removing the meagre rewards of being a such complete waste of sentience.

Odds ‘n Ends > June 20, 2011

June 20, 2011 | Poe

  • Mattycollector is having a “Mad Matty Monday” next week on the 27th. The idea is for $40, you get three items that exceed the $40 value. There’s a DC set, a MOTU set, and a Ghostbusters set. One thing to keep in mind is that the third item in the MOTU set could be display stands, and the DC set could contain JLU items as well as DCUC items. I’ll be curious to see how these do. I suspect the MOTU sets will sell out fairly quickly.
  • Figure previews around the Web: Pixel Dan reviews Clawful, Megator and Young Justice Robin; Fwoosh has  SDCC Movie Masters Kilowog and DCUC Series 17.
  • Saw X-Men: First Class this weekend, and quite enjoyed it. I think Marvel and its licensors may have made a mistake by not giving more credit to this flick, though admittedly there aren’t many toy-friendly designs in it–maybe diamond Emma Frost, Mystique, and Beast. Much has been made of January Jones’ mediocre acting, and here’s my contribution: she reminded me of Gwyneth Paltrow’s role in the fake Austin Powers movie (as “Dixie Normous”) in Goldmember.
  • The site redesign proceeds apace. We’re getting closer to the big relaunch, but we’re not quite there yet. It’s looking good, though.

Ask Mattel > Answers for June 15, 2011

June 15, 2011 | Poe

1.) Josh asks: The WWE figures utilize the basic, elite, and defining moments methods of selling figures and different price points. Would this model ever be considered for DCUC to get more “deluxe” versions of figures? For instance, a Superman with a cloth cape or even a Clark Kent outfit; A batman with cloth cape and accessories.

Always a possibility but nothing is planned right now.

2.) Chris asks: Regarding WWE,the knee and elbow pads restrict movement. Would it be possible to switch to a more sponge like material that would allow free movement but retain it’s natural shape? (more…)

Toy Aisle Trolls > The Strife Aquatic

June 10, 2011 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: 3B

The Problem: The Aquaman has been replaced by the Alex Ross’s “Justice”-style Aquaman from the Walmart “Undersea Assault” 2-pack.

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This.

XXX writes:

I snapped this one at my local TRU yesterday. I’m not too bothered by this one, though. Why? I’ve never seen this version of Aquaman (from the Walmart-exclusive “Undersea Assault” 2-pack) at retail, so you can say it’s pretty rare in my area. This troll obviously just wanted the classic version of Aquaman and swapped in the gold one. Also, the package showed very little evidence of being opened.

Probably worth mentioning that this particular store hasn’t stocked any of the Aquaman/Mer-Man or Hawkman/Stratos packs. In fact, they have a boatload of the Lex/Skeletor packs left. I suspect this troll picked up the set at another store about 7miles to the North, which recently stocked the new sets.

As for payback… I think the fact the “Aquaman” TV series was never made is punishment enough for this troll.

Karmic Payback: Yeah, this is one of those cases where I have mixed feelings about dishing out the karmic payback. On the one hand, yes, many DCUC fans do want the Aquaman. And the guy did engage in criminal behavior by opening the pack, swapping a figure and returning it. It was dishonest.

On the other hand, that Walmart Aquaman was hard to find…anyone who bought this set would either be thrilled to get the Aquaman, or could probably sell the Aquaman on eBay and recoup enough money to buy another one of these sets and get the right Aquaman. And if they didn’t realize they got the wrong Aquaman, then obviously they don’t care enough about the figure for it to matter.

So I’m going to defer to you, faithful readers, to determine the punishment (or reward) of your choice.

Ask Mattel > Answers for June 1, 2011

June 1, 2011 | Poe

1.) Zach asks: I’ve noticed a disheartening increase in the amount of Collect-N-Connect figure pieces stolen from the packages of DC Universe Classics figures. While their placement in the package (at the bottom, behind the name card) looks great, it makes it easier for thieves to steal them unnoticed. Would you consider laying out the packaging differently, with the C’n’C piece more prominently displayed, to hopefully help prevent theft?

In-store theft is something Mattel has very little control over. We actually did a lot of testing and fans greatly preferred the pieces packed below as to not have a “floating limb” near their figure for those who wanted to keep figures in package. While this is good feedback, we don’t have plans to reposition the C&C pieces at this time.

2.) Nicholai asks: Why the decision to go with a Batman Legacy sub-line when the Green Lantern sub-line did not pass two waves? Was GLC not meant to go on longer? (more…)