Sideshow comes out in Force!

X-Force, of course! Oh, AFB is such a whacky wizard with words!!

Ahem. Forgive the excitement, but it's not every day you get a whole team full of heroes in one statue. That's what Sideshow's X-Force Diorama has brought to my shelves, with the original team line-up of Wolverine, X-23, Warpath and Wolfsbane, and I'm delighted to be able to give it a bit of a review.

First off, the box and packaging. I have to say Sideshow's box art is not the best around. Perhaps it's a cost saving thing to keep the cost down, but it's all a bit close up and fuzzy for me. At the end of the day it's the insides that matter, but it's something that's always struck me about Sideshow product, so I'm saying it. As for the statue, each character is individually packed and fits into the base (or in Wolfsbane's case, Warpath's shoulder) securely.

This is a very fun piece in terms of character selection - Warpath and Wolfsbane don't get alot of toy time, and Rahne in her human form even less! One thing you do have to forgive right away to enjoy this statue is scale - there's some pretty major licence taken here with Warpath's size in relation to his teammates in order to make him the anchor of the piece. He could have been a smidge smaller without wrecking the symmetry of it all!

The sculpting and paintwork are both excellent here. You might think that four characters in basically the same uniform and colour scheme could be a bit dull, but it's actually rather visually striking. There are some nice details here, like the sculpted belt buckles, the veins on the guys' arms, and the claws on Wolvie and X-23 which look great but are of a flexible material so they aren't likely to snap off. Another thing I really like about this piece is that it actually doesn't have a huge base and so doesn't take up a massive amount of shelf space.

I missed out on the Exclusive version of this diorama, which included a swap-out for Rahne in her wolf form, but I wasn't too fussed about that as this is the way I would have chosen to display the statue anyway. The regular version does have both a masked and unmasked head for Wolverine, as shown. For display I've gone with the masked version, but both are great.

Of course, only Wolvie remains on the team after everyone else got the boot at the end of Second Coming. All the better then that the original line-up (which I much prefer to the new) has been captured here in this fine piece! This is certainly the kind of thing I'd love to see Sideshow produce more of in the future.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the September AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

Okay, I Caved! A Piece of DCUC Wave 14

I should say upfront to my American friends that it's still to early to rush out to your local Wal-Mart and start looking for the WM exclusive Wave 14 of DC Universe Classics. This advance appearance of that wave's Collect and Connect figure, the terrifying Ultra-Humanite, isn't the product of any amazing retail find - it's the result of me caving in a moment of weakness and buying him on eBay from Hong Kong.

In my defense, I shall offer weakly that it was a very cheap Buy it Now, that I didn't seek him out but rather just stumbled upon it, and hey, I'm a pretty big fan of Superman's original arch-foe, okay??

I don't have anything to compare it with at the moment, but any concerns I had about buying what is quite possibly a factory reject were unnecessary - there's nothing I can really fault. Sculpt and paint all look top notch, and he even has his computer console accessory. Ultra-Humanite seems to share Gorilla Grodd's arms, but everything else here is new - including legs with articulated knees and ankles which makes a number of different poses possible. Perhaps the one issue with this particular figure I've bought is that the knee and ankle joints are rather loose. It's not enough to impact on him standing, but I normally find the joints on CnC parts are very stiff, so this is something different.

This really is an exciting choice for a Collect and Connect, both in terms of character selection and quality. He's a great JSA villain, an Earth Two character, and he looks great! This sort of diversity in CnC choices is very important in ensuring that the DCUC line really does cover the entire DC Universe, so I'm very pleased to see a character like the Humanite getting his turn!

This big white ape is so amazing that I have no qualms about collecting him again piece by piece as my DCUC Wave 14 collection comes together - which won't happen by paying scalpers on eBay. I'm very fortunate to have friends on a couple of forums Stateside that have banded together to help us "internationals" get access to these exclusives at reasonable prices. Collectors unite!

You can see more pics on Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the September AFB Comment of the Month Contest.

Until next time!

AFB is Bewitched!

I had the great fortune of traveling to Singapore recently, and amongst all of the amazing culture and unbelievable food, I discovered what I have come to call "Toy Nirvana". It was a nondescript little shopping centre called China Square Central, located on the edge of Chinatown (best place to stay and eat in Singapore, by the way). I wandered in there on my last weekend in Singapore just looking for a coffee, and nearly fell over when I walked in. The place was basically two floors of toy stores. Not Toys R Us style, but action figures and statues. Two floors of the them. Wowza!

There was pretty much everything you could want, including retailer exclusives of all descriptions. I also worked out where all the Mattycollector.com stuff goes to - It was the end of July and I saw a guy walk into a shop with two boxes of She-Ra figures and sell them to the owner. I enjoyed looking around but didn't buy a great deal as I hadn't budgeted for it and the prices were pretty much on the mark for what I'd pay in Oz. However, as I left one shopkeeper told me that there were flea markets the next day where people could pay for a table and sell their own stuff, so I decided to come back.

The flea markets were a pretty amazing scene, and I ended up at a table where a guy had a huge bunch of statues and busts he was selling for a steal. Quite I few I already owned, but I was pretty gobsmacked to walk away with the brand new Sideshow Scarlet Witch Comiquette for a complete bargain, and delighted when the hotel I was staying at told me they would send it home for me. Whoo-hoo!

This is an utterly amazing piece. The sculpt is exquisite, particularly the amazing job done on the Scarlet Witch's headsculpt and her flowing cape. I love the sense of humour that Adam Hughes infuses into his designs, and the concept of Wanda remote controlling a toy version of the Vision is just genius. This is really great fun! The paintwork on this piece is also incredibly vibrant - rich colours and a nice mix of metallic and matte paint.

The one issue I have with this beautiful piece is that the base is utterly gigantic. The Sideshow Comiquettes are on a rather large scale to begin with, and the base on this one is round - 12" in diameter, which makes it just too wide to fit in Andy's display. The downside is that I can't display it at the moment, but the upside is that Mrs AFB has stated that I'll have to get another display cabinet to show it off!

I've recently acquired the older Mystique and Rogue Comiquettes, and I couldn't be more impressed with Hughes work for Sideshow. I'm worried that it looks like the series is coming to an end with the announcement of the new "Women of Marvel" Comiquette Series starting with Sue Storm, and if that's so, that's a shame - it's great stuff!

You can see a multitude of pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the September AFB Comment of the Month Contest.

Until next time!

Marvel Select's Latest are some of the Greatest!

Marvel Select has been cranking out some great figures lately, and the two most recent releases are amongst the best in the line, and also the heaviest!

The Thing is the first member of the Fantastic Four to get the Marvel Select treatment, and he's been done proud here. His rocky skin is well done in texture and colour - great fun! I do find the head a bit small - The Thing has certainly been portrayed in many proportions over the years, but I would alter this slightly to make the head a tad bigger and the fists a tad smaller. Not much though - he's nearly perfect.

One odd thing is that Mr Grimm doesn't come with the pictured personal hovercraft accessory, but instead with a really bizarre and pointless sign / landscape thing. Really, an amazing figure like this doesn't need a pack-in to make it worthwhile - it's amazing enough on it's own!

The Hulk family now has another Marvel Select member courtesy of Abomination. If I thought The Thing was heavy, this is mammoth - five pounds! So heavy in fact that there are special supports required to keep the pack together, which could bother MOC collectors. I'm an opener, however, and this figure is really an amazing piece - the fantastic headsculpt, detailed skin and amazing claws on his hands and feet.

The level of articulation for figures this size is really quite impressive, and that's one thing I really like about the larger figures in the MS line as opposed to the regular size. The ball jointed hips of the regular male figures are the biggest downfall of the line for me. These are present in some of the larger figures but the scale thankfully makes them less of an issue.

The oversized figures are the real gems of the Marvel Select line, and I much prefer them to the smaller figures with a base, unless it's something really meaningful like the gate to Xavier's or Dr Doom's throne. It really is great to see Diamond increasing the output of the line, and joining threads together like the Hulk and X-Men families. After all, while these figures are amazing on their own, it's when you get them together - particularly the Hulk crowd - that they really come alive!

It's also great to see the line picking up some heat on the interwebs - with people discussing wish lists and wanting more. My friends at Critical Mess recently did a poll on most wanted Marvel Select figures, which you can see here. The very deserving (tied) winners were Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Nova, both of which would be great additions to this line. Bring them on, I say!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this to enter the AFB September Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

The AFB Comment of the Month Contest - September!

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on last month’s blog posts. Congratulations to "Stephen" for being our randomly selected winner! Once we hear from Stephen (you can contact me through the AFB Forum - "Andy"), his choice of either the DC Direct Nekron figure or the SDCC Exclusive 90's X-Men Minimates will be on the way when available from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff.

Now to September’s Contest: on offer are two great prizes, either the Marvel Universe Wave 11 Thanos figure, or your choice of one the Venture Bros Retro Style figures!

A few bits and pieces:

• every genuine comment on a post from the calendar month will be eligible for receiving the prize. I’m going to stick to my own time zone and call it at 23:59:59 Australian Eastern Standard Time – best to comment often and comment early!

  if my super scientific randomizer comment selector system chooses an Anonymous comment, I’ll skip it and go again – you need to leave a name, a link, your AFB Forum username or email addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner. Blogger comments allows you to do this, as long as your profile is not set to private – check your settings.


• you will be given a choice of one of the two figures on offer from the month’s contest – figures will be in their original packaging.

• figures will be sent by first class mail within the US (Mike is sending them, remember) and first class international to any overseas winner. An overseas winner can elect to chip in for Priority Mail or Insurance, but otherwise we can’t take any responsibility for a parcel that doesn’t arrive – after all this is coming out of AFB’s not dreadfully deep pockets!

Once again, thanks to Mike for making this all possible for us, and here’s to another happy month of commenting!

Until next time!

SDCC Shakedown - the Top 10 things that will take my money in the year to come - Part 2

Carrying on with my rundown of the items and lines that caught my attention, and will subsequently probably capture my paycheck, at this year's SDCC, here's the Final Five (again with thanks to Michael Crawford's amazing SDCC 2010 coverage at www.mwctoys.com):

Hot Toys Ghost Rider

Oh wait, I said I wasn't going to buy any more Hot Toys after War Machine. Oops! I forgot about good old Johnny Blaze, but it's not just because HT is making Ghost Rider - they're making his bike too. His bike! That's just too amazing to miss. War Machine is due out soon, I'll be picking up Ghost Rider, and then that's it for me and Hot Toys. We are totally, totally done. Unless, oh, you don't think they'll make Green Lantern movie figures, do you? Uh-oh...

Marvel Universe

I'd much prefer to be listing Marvel Legends here, but while I'm keen to pick up this year's Two-Packs (Valkyrie!) I will wait to get too excited about the promised revival of Marvel Legends until I see it. In the meantime, Hasbro is keeping the Marvel flame alive for the 3 3/4" collectors with an ever expanding range of characters (and endless IronSpiderene variants, natch), an extension of the Secret Wars Two-Packs to a wider range of themes, and adding some sweeteners like Thanos, Bill Foster Goliath and the amazing Galactus!

If Hasbro could only do something about the widely varying quality of these figures, most likely due to the use of a range of factories for production, they'd have my undying enthusiasm. In the meantime, Galactus will do!

Kotobukiya Bishoujo PVC Statue Series

I will soon be reviewing Psylocke and Phoenix from the Koto Marvel Bishoujo series, and it was great to see the final proof of the upcoming Emma Frost statue at SDCC, plus a sketch for Ms Marvel. The best news of all, however, is that Kotobukiya will producing a DC line of this series as well, with Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Catwoman the first on the way. These statues are a bit on the pricey side for vinyl, at least here in Australia, but as much as I've enjoyed some of DC Direct's Ame-Comi series, I much prefer Koto's more "comic accurate with anime stylings" approach to the genre, and will be happy to my anime-styled vinyl super-ladies of all denominations at the same scale on my shelves - a phrase which I realise would sound very, very bad if it were taken out of context!

Bowen Statues and Busts

Bowen didn't have any new reveals to show at SDCC, mainly because Randy Bowen does such an amazing job of providing regular sneaks of upcoming pieces, and in fact consulting fans about poses and styles and even making changes to sculpts based on fan feedback. Still, there's no way I can leave Bowen off of this list, as they did make a showing at SDCC 2010 and they are going to be getting a good chunk of my entertainment budget in the year to come.

I have a pretty big collection of Bowen Busts already - focusing mainly on the Avengers and X-Men with some odds and sods thrown in, but there is SO much coming up in the year to come from Bowen that I'm really excited about, including Busts of Daimon Hellstrom and the Wrecking Crew, lots of Asgard love, including the Enchantress and Hela, and Full Sized Statues of Banshee and Valkyrie. When it comes to Marvel - make mine Bowen!

DC Universe Classics

Leaving DCUC til the end is of course saving the best until last. Distribution problems, numerous retailer exclusives and a lacking female buck aren't enough to take the shine off the amazing thing Mattel is doing with the DC Universe. Mattel continues to amaze by filling out the ranks of the big names of the DC Universe (Martian Manhunter is just a few months away folks, you can make it...) while continuing the provide those "wow" characters and teams - Metal Men and Doom Patrol anyone? For anyone who loves the breadth and depth of the DC Universe, this line continues to be a dream come true.

Not that Mattel needed to do any more to win my allegiance, but the Legion of Superheroes 12 Pack that will be exclusive to Mattycollector.com in 2011 kinda seals the deal. Yes, I would have liked to see more female characters, but the inclusion of Matter-Eater Lad seems to me to be a nod from Mattel to just how weird and wonderful the world of the Legion is, and I am confident we can expect more to come. Thanks Mattel!

And that's a wrap on my SDCC wrap-up. Agree or disagree with my choices? Discuss it at the AFB Forum, or comment here for a chance to win the August AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Finally, don't forget there's still time to win the Mattycollector.com versions of MOTUC's Orko or DCUC's Plastic Man in our current contest!

Until next time!

SDCC Shakedown - the Top 10 things that will take my money in the year to come, Part 1

Now that the euphoria of this year's San Diego Comic Con is fading, and the hunt for those elusive exclusives has most likely concluded, either through expensive success or a painful admission of defeat, I thought I'd take a look back at my personal highlights from the products shown, and those that are most likely to end up in my collection (and on my credit card statement). Most of the reference pics for these are taken straight from Michael Crawford's great coverage of the event, so all credit where credit is due - it's guys like MWC that allow the rest of us to live vicariously through their SDCC experiences, and I for one am extremely grateful!

Now to the stuff that grabbed my attention:

Sideshow’s She-Hulk Premium Format Figure:

I’m already locked in to the MS Marvel Premium Format Figure, which is going to be my gift to myself for an upcoming significant birthday (one of those that end in an “0”). I was thinking that Ms Marvel was going to be a bit lonesome, and when I heard that Sideshow was producing the ever’ lovin’ She-Hulk in this line, I thought she’d make the perfect companion. I have to say I am a tad put off by the purple pants, but I am really in love with the headsculpt of this piece. I passed on Sideshow’s Adam Hughes She-Hulk Comiquette because I didn’t like the bimbo-esque portrayal of the lovely Jen Walters, and this is just the antidote – a beautiful, strong and elegant version that is going to look great on my shelves.

Justice League Unlimited

Mattel’s JLU line is the toy line I just can’t quit. Frustrated with the lack of distribution here in Australia and starved for shelf space, I packed up my JLU collection awhile ago and decided not to add more figures to it, but then Mattel made Amanda Waller, General Eiling, Captain Boomerang and a few other much-wanted firsts, which roped me back in. At this SDCC, amongst some gems like Angle Man and Killer Frost, we also saw Kalibak and Parademons. Parademons!! Sigh! The JLU may not be making its way back into my display just yet (them little buggers are hard to keep standin’ up!), but somehow I’m still going to be spending money on them in the year to come!

Masters of the Universe Classics (Club Eternia 2011 Subscription)

There’s definitely split opinions out in MOTUC fandom land about the revised Club Eternia “All In” Subscription for 2011. It happens to suit me, because I really can’t do the middle of the night get-ups here in Oz to get all of the extras, which are some of the best parts of the line, but I hear the detractors who are put off by not being able to opt out of some of the bigger expenses, and not knowing everything that's going to be included. I liked the look of the characters shown at SDCC, but would have been happier if one of the big “wants” for the line had been revealed, but I still think that there’s enough steam in the MOTUC and PoP lines to make 2011 a stellar year.

DC Direct’s Brightest Day Figures

Turn the clock back a few years, and pretty much all I bought action figure-wise was made by DC Direct. Now, I’m looking forward to exactly two upcoming 6” figures – Mera and Deadman from Brightest Day. After DCD doing a very DCD-type thing by announcing Red Lantern Mera before a regular version, I was pretty stoked to see this one announced and to see her looking fabulous. For sure, I want Mattel to hurry up with their version and make it a classic one, but this is a beauty. Deadman wasn’t a huge drawcard for me to start with, as I’m satisfied with the perhaps slightly too skinny DCUC version, but when I saw that he comes with an unmasked head with a mask prop – sold! Now I just can’t wait for Brightest Day Wave 3, with Hawk, Dove, Capt Boomerang I and.. oh wait, this is DC Direct. I shan’t get my hopes up.

Hot Toys War Machine

I’ve resisted the lure of Hot Toys for a very long time. Those prices don’t translate very nicely into AUD, and that’s not even counting international shipping. Recently, however, a friend offered me a great deal on a Hot Toys Iron Man Mark IV, and I just know he’s going to get lonely, so it’s a good thing HT is making War Machine as well. Once he arrives, of course, I’m totally quitting the Hot Toys thing. I mean, unless Black Widow ends up needing a home….

Okay, that’s the first half of the Top Ten – I need a breather before I put the rest together – and so will my wallet!

You can comment on this post to enter the August AFB Comment of the Month Contest, and don’t forget that there’s still a chance to win the SDCC Orko or Plastic Man toys in our current Contest!

Until next time!

Contest! Win Orko or Plastic Man in the AFB SDCC 2010 Contest!

Oh, the generosity!

There has to be some benefit to getting up at 2:00 in the morning to face the White Screen of Death, doesn’t there? AFB managed to resist the temptations of a warm and cozy bed to stay up long enough to get some post-SDCC spoils from Mattel, and while I was there, I decided to try to help out my fellow collectors by grabbing a couple extra to share.

As such, we at the AFB Forum have one each of the Mattycollector.com versions of the sold out Masters of the Universe Orko (regular version with Prince Adam pack-in) and the DC Universe Classics Plastic Man (sans suitcase) to give away to two lucky action figure fans!

But hey, winning prizes as great as these requires a little bit of work, right? If you’d like to enter to win, you’re going to need to put together either an “Ode to Orko” or a “Plea for Plastic Man”. This could be in the form of a verse, song, graphic, video, whatever you choose, as long as it’s safe for work and entertaining, because the best Ode and Plea, which will be the ones our panel of judges (the three other AFB Forum admins: FB, fishmilkshake and dozymuppet) find the most amusing, will be selected to win the respective prize for that category.

To enter, go the Ode for Orko and Plea for Plastic Man threads at the AFB Forum, and post your entry. You can enter both contests, but to keep it fair there will be different winners for the two separate prizes. There is also a general thread for the contest to answer any questions, etc.

We hope you enjoy this chance to win one of these two great items, and we’re sure we’ll all have some great fun along the way! Start getting your Odes and Pleas together – the competition closes on 20 August, 2010!

Have fun, and remember you can also comment on this post for a chance to win the AFB August Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

The AFB Comment of the Month Contest - August 2010!

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on last month’s blog posts. Congratulations to "Total Toyz" for being our randomly selected winner! Once we hear from Total Toyz (you can contact me through the AFB Forum - "Andy"), his choice of either the DC Direct Batgirl figure or the Marvel Select Cyclops will be on the way when available from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff.

Now to August’s Contest: on offer are two great prizes, either the SDCC Exclusive 90's X-Men Minimates (Magneto, Bishop, Wolverine and Jubilee), or the Blackest Night Series 5 Nekron figure from DC Direct!

A few bits and pieces:

• every genuine comment on a post from the calendar month will be eligible for receiving the prize. I’m going to stick to my own time zone and call it at 23:59:59 Australian Eastern Standard Time – best to comment often and comment early!

  if my super scientific randomizer comment selector system chooses an Anonymous comment, I’ll skip it and go again – you need to leave a name, a link, your AFB Forum username or email addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner. Blogger comments allows you to do this, as long as your profile is not set to private – check your settings.


• you will be given a choice of one of the two figures on offer from the month’s contest – figures will be in their original packaging.

• figures will be sent by first class mail within the US (Mike is sending them, remember) and first class international to any overseas winner. An overseas winner can elect to chip in for Priority Mail or Insurance, but otherwise we can’t take any responsibility for a parcel that doesn’t arrive – after all this is coming out of AFB’s not dreadfully deep pockets!

Once again, thanks to Mike for making this all possible for us, and here’s to another happy month of commenting!

Until next time!

The Party's Over, but the buying has just begun!

I hope you that all of my collecting brethren and.... sistren (?) enjoyed the latest of our peoples' religious festivals, the 2010 San Diego Comic Con. AFB took a hiatus during the Con as there are a number of sites that do a fabulous job of covering the reveals and news of SDCC, and I was too busy keeping track of everything they were reporting to post here as well!

As always, I especially enjoyed Michael Crawford's brilliant photo coverage of all of the toys and statues displayed and revealed during the course of the Con. Michael's up close photos really allow you to check out what's going to be on offer in the year to come. Thanks MWC for another great year of coverage!

AFB will be back on track in August, starting with our Comment Contest, and then some post-SDCC posts on the things that I'm most excited about adding to my collection. From the looks of things, there will be no shortage of things to spend our hard-earned money on!

That's it from AFB for July! In the meantime, what was your favourite reveal at SDCC? You can comment on this post for a last minute chance to win the AFB July Comment Contest!

Until next time!

DCUC Wave 20 Collect and Connect: The Choice is Ours!

One of the announcements in the news-heavy TOYFARE #157 was that Wave 20 of DC Universe Classics will feature another Fan's Choice poll, but in a bit of a twist, the choice this time is not a single figure, but the Collect and Connect character that holds the wave together!

The choices we can vote on are: Blockbuster, Girder, King Shark, Nekron, Shaggy Man and Wildebeest. An interesting selection, which the cynic might say is heavily weighted towards Nekron in the wake of BLACKEST NIGHT. Odd, too, since it seems Nekron would make a great choice for a Green Lantern Classics Wave. Still, I'm holding out hope that one of the more classic characters like Blockbuster or Shaggy Man will come good, as it would be great to see them get the nod!

Most importantly, go to www.wizardworld.com to have your say before 31 August, but while you're at it, jump over to our own fan poll on the top left of the site to give us an idea of how you'd vote!

You can discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the July AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

The New "Gatchaman" Film Lives!

Last I knew, the planned update of the "Gatchaman" franchise (which you may better know as Battle of the Planets or G-Force) was dead in the water due to studio finance issues, but Imagi has released a new trailer for their film, which is back on track for 2011! I have to admit my inner geek did a happy dance on viewing this little gem!

This is great news, especially if it leads to some new Gatchaman toys!

Are you a Gatchaman fan? Drop in to the AFB Forum to discuss! And as always, comment on this post to enter theJuly AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

I Spy an Eye, a Fish Guy... and a Very, Very Big Guy

I must admit I'm totally unfamiliar with the New Adventures of He-Man and any characters that were introduced therein, as I'd "grown out" of Masters of the Universe well and truly by the time it came on the scene. I know Optikk wasn't high on some people's lists, but I have to say that for a character I knew nothing about, he looked pretty groovy from the start, and since I'm a subscription holder and in the line for the long haul, I never thought of selling my sub Optikk off. One bizarre thing I encountered as soon as I opened the package was that I found that his "extra" eye, the orange one, was covered in some sort of oily substance. Maybe someone at the factory really, really liked the orange eye? I don't want to know, but I don't want that to happen again either.

Bizarre oily substance aside, I was pleased with the amount of detail that was involved in putting Optikk together. Considering that this line is built around reusage of the same bucks, I do like the figures that make the most of the sculpting and detailing to make something really quite different. This eyeball chappy definitely falls into that category! Great stuff happening here with his armor and circuitry and this is supported by excellent paint application. He also has some very groovy weapons, and the brilliantly done swappable eyes top it off perfectly.. He might be more futuristic than most of his MOTUC counterparts, but unfortunately he still suffers from the loose ankles that plague the line. Seeing as he's a bit top heavy, this makes posing a tad difficult, and sadly that's a problem that can't be wiped away as easily as bizarre oils.

Also out at the same time was the reissue of Mer-Man. Mer-Man is one of the characters I remember most from the original line, which isn't surprising since I'm always a fan of underwatery type characters. I really can't remember if I had the figure or just coveted it. Either way, next to Moss Man, this is the figure I'm happiest to have added to my collection. Like most of the characters that come with an two heads, Mer-Man came packaged with the head that I like the least, so we quickly swapped from moderately menacing to slightly goofy. I'm sure that doesn't say anything about me.

The thing I like about Mer-Man (the goofy version) is that he's just plain hokey fun. Something like this fishy guy could only have been created in the 80's, but he's been given a suitable update here. His - and sorry for getting technical here - bodice-y thing - is very detailed and his trident is all kind of goodness. Once again - loose ankle syndrome plagues this otherwise excellent figure. Still, I'm very glad this fishy fellow got a re-release!

Last but not least from the May MOTUC gang is the big guy, Tytus. I knew this fella was going to be huge, but I still wasn't prepared for just how big the box was, let alone the figure. He is truly huge! I'm extremely impressed with the sculpting on this figure - especially the muscle definition. The articulation is somewhat limited, which, according to Mattel was a cost concern. I'm all for keeping the price point as low as possible, and certainly don't see how the figure suffers in this instance, although I'm a displayer, not a player.

Tytus comes with a groovy accessory, which I must say I don't fully understand. It's either a giant ice cream scoop, or something to trap and catch smaller foes. Either way, it's good fun, and despite it's weight the figure can hold it quite easily without impacting on its balance if placed at the right angle.

Tytus is the kind of product that makes the MOTUC line so much fun to collect. Taking a character that never saw a U.S. release like Tytus or a mail-away character like Wun-dar, so rare that some think he was just an urban legend, and making them a reality is the kind of stuff that toy collecting dreams are made of! All I can say is long may it continue!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum and comment on this post to enter the July AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

AFB Enters the Original Comic Art World with SECRET SIX

I've long been a fan of DC Comics Artist Nicola Scott, especially when she's illustrating the wonderful stories of Gail Simone (who is #1 on my Fanboy I-Will-Meet-You-Before-I-Die List - .but not in a creepy way. Really. Okay, maybe a little). However, I only recently learned that the lovely Nicola is in fact an Australian! Gail and Nicola's work on SECRET SIX is right up there as one of my favourite runs of books out there at the moment, and SECRET SIX is still always at the top of my reading pile in the week it comes out. The book stands alongside LEGION OF SUPERHEROES and X-FACTOR as the only books I collect in single issues AND trades. If they print SECRET SIX toilet paper I'll buy that too. But never use it of course. That would be REALLY creepy.

Nicola was recently a guest at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo in Sydney. I had hoped to stop in and get a sketch from her, but alas, I couldn't stay long enough to do so. To console myself, I did a bit of searching to see if she sold her artwork anywhere, and I discovered the comicartshop website, and more specifically, Royd Burgoyne's Comic Art Shop, which sells original pages from a number of artists, including Nicola! Score!

I've bought a couple of commissioned pieces, but never having purchased original comic art before, I decided to stay at the lower end of the price range and buy an interior page. My final choice was page #5 from issue #9 of the Secret Six ongoing series. My main criteria was a page that featured Bane, who has become one of my favourite characters in comics thanks to what Gail has done with him in this series. Some Catman and Scandal certainly didn't hurt - and for my other fave character in the series, Deadshot, there's always next time - sorry Floyd!

I've taken some of my own photos of the piece, which are on Facebook, but I'm posting the scan of it from Royd's shop here as my photos simply don't do it justice. Click on the pic for a bigger version. Nicola's artwork compliments Gail's writing perfectly. Gail writes such strongly developed characters, and Nicola has an ability to convey characterisation and emotion through her artwork that reminds me of the master himself, George Perez. Gail's words may be missing from the page, but her intentions are clear. Doug Hazelwood's inks are brilliant as well. Mrs AFB and the AFB-ettes, despite being totally clueless as to what the whole thing was about, were really impressed with this, and Mrs A gave me much more than the usual "that's nice, dear" I normally get for new toy acquisitons, and in fact urged me to get it framed right away to ensure nothing happens to it. High praise indeed!

I have to give huge props to Royd Burgoyne's service. His communication was excellent, and the way the piece was packed was so amazing I had to take a photo of it for you - see Facebook. I'd happily recommend his store to anyone. Just don't buy the pieces I want please!

So, many thanks to Nicola, Doug, Royd and Gail for making the popping of my art-buying cher... er, my first tim... uh... oh, goshdarnit - for making me so happy! I hope it was good for you too! I definitely want to do it again!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the July AFB Comment of the Month Contest.

Until next time!

A Different Dynamic Duo - DC Direct's Latest DC Dynamics Statues

Good grief, I am really getting behind in some of my reviews. One of the pieces I'm looking at today was purchased on Free Comic Book Day! I've been talking about the backlog for awhile now and I really need to get moving on addressing it, so get ready for some two or three-in-one reviews to try to get up to date!

The DC Direct Wonder Woman DC Dynamics Statue was sitting on the shelves at my LCS pre FCBD, and while I was interested in it I was prepared to take the risk of missing out to try to get it in the Free Comic Book Day Sale (which, by the way, all self respecting comic shops have, but that's another story.) Happily, the Woman of Wonder was there in all her on-sale glory and I was able to take her home, as part of a very decent swag.

Right off the bat, this statue reveals one of my great statue pet peeves once I unbox it. There are times where the solicit and packaging photos have been taken from a slightly different angle which misrepresents the angle the statue sits at. That's annoying enough, but then there are times where it seems there has to be some photoshopping involved to get the picture, as just a different angle wouldn't achieve the effect. I can't be 100% certain, but that seems to be the case here. In statue form, Diana's face is angled much higher, in fact oddly high. Paired with a very un-Diana like face, which seems more porcelain doll than Amazon, it takes some getting used to.

From the neck down, this is a great piece. The way her lower torso and hips blend in to the base ins beautifully done, and the burst of light and smoke that forms the bottom of the base is my favourite of the three statues I've seen in person so far. This piece is great in concept - it's just a shame that the execution of the head doesn't do the rest justice. Being a Bruckner sculpt I'd say this a design choice, but it just doesn't work for me.

The Batman DC Dynamics Statue is another one of those things that I hadn't ordered but was quite taken with when I saw it in person. I was very lucky to get a good sale price on it. This is a really impressive looking piece, and I've been quite surprised to read a number of negative comments about it on various forums. For me, Bruckner has knocked this one right out of the park. I love the impressive arch of his cape at the top and the wispy tendrills at the ends. The inside of Batman's cape is painted a deep metallic blue for effective contrast. All this is topped up with a fantastic headsculpt.

The billowing smoke base may be on the bottom, but it tops off a wonderful piece. I need to find some sort of light that I can place under the bases of these to get the full illuminated effect.

As I mentioned when reviewing the Aquaman statue in this series, the price point on this series is hefty - it's in line with a Bowen Full Size Statue, and that seems rather pricey. Being the mad Aqua-fan that I am, I paid full price for Arthur, but like Wonder Woman and Batman, I can only see myself buying the rest of the series if I happen to find them on sale.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the July AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

The AFB Comment of the Month Contest - July!

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on last month’s blog posts. Congratulations to AFB Forum member "slangards" for being our randomly selected winner! Once we hear from slangards, his choice of either the Jonah Hex movie figure or the Marvel Select Abomination will be on the way when available from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff.

Now to July’s Contest: on offer are two great prizes, either the Batman Reborn Series 1 Batgirl from DC Direct, or the Marvel Select Cyclops figure from DST!.

A few bits and pieces:

• every genuine comment on a post from the calendar month will be eligible for receiving the prize. I’m going to stick to my own time zone and call it at 23:59:59 Australian Eastern Standard Time – best to comment often and comment early!

  if my super scientific randomizer comment selector system chooses an Anonymous comment, I’ll skip it and go again – you need to leave a name, a link, your AFB Forum username or email addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner. Blogger comments allows you to do this, as long as your profile is not set to private – check your settings.


• you will be given a choice of one of the two figures on offer from the month’s contest – figures will be in their original packaging.

• figures will be sent by first class mail within the US (Mike is sending them, remember) and first class international to any overseas winner. An overseas winner can elect to chip in for Priority Mail or Insurance, but otherwise we can’t take any responsibility for a parcel that doesn’t arrive – after all this is coming out of AFB’s not dreadfully deep pockets!

Once again, thanks to Mike for making this all possible for us, and here’s to another happy month of commenting!

Until next time!

DCUC Wave 13: Saved by a BAF

With rumours of the imminent arrival of DC Universe Classics Wave 14 to Wal-Marts nowhere (well, not here anyway...), I thought I'd best get my review for Wave 13 up and running before it's overtaken. As the title of the post suggests, this is a wave that is very much carried by an amazing Collect & Connect figure which mostly overcomes some of the weaker points of the DCUC line. Let's look at the individual figures first:

Blue Beetle III is the standout figure of the wave. I've always been fond of DC Direct's version of Jaime Reyes, and was wondering if Mattel could top that with their version. This one well and truly bests the previous figure through the use of extra articulation new to the DCUC line which makes the Beetle extremely poseable. This is backed up by very solid sculpting and paintwork, and topped off with a fantastic set of wings. I couldn't get the DCD version off the shelf fast enough to put this beauty in pride of place! I hate to rank Negative Man second, as he's definitely the "Oh wow!" character of the wave for me, but BB's detailing and articulation win out. I think this is one character that could make use of a slightly thinner, less buff buck without going to the Shrimpestro extreme, but this is still very fun and well executed, and I'm delighted to have the figure to fill out the Doom Patrol ranks. I passed on the exposed skeletal face variant of Larry, disappointed that we didn't get a Negative Form variant which would have been a highlight of the whole line for me. Someday, perhaps!

I'd rank Blue Devil as my next favourite figure of the wave. While I'm disappointed overall with DCD's History of the DCU line, the over-bulkiness suits Blue Devil, but the headsculpt really let the figure down. While this one needs a slightly bigger bulk, the headsculpt makes it a winner in my book. Cyclotron, despite my lack of interest in the character, is well done in terms of execution and presentation of the character. He also has the groovy removable face a la the original Super Powers figure.

This version of Superboy is another figure I'm not overly fussed about owning, but I am pleased to see that he's not been done with the way too small "teen buck" that has been one of the lowlights of the line so far. We really need a boxed set of characters like Kid Flash and Beast Boy redone in this buck to make up for their teeny-weeny first appearances in the line. Nice points for Superboy: his jacket is well sculpted and his glasses are removable. Let's hope for a similarly scaled Impulse and Robin for the Young Justice fans!

The ladies of the wave automatically fall to the bottom of the rankings because of the limitations of the female DCUC buck, which I won't repeat my frustrations over again. The Golden Age Cheetah comes off the best of the bunch, although I think she needed a lighter yellow to really recapture her look in both the comics and the Superfriends cartoon to which we doubtless owe her presence in the line. It's the same tone as the "skin" of the modern Cheetah, that is what can be seen under her modern costume which was been painted on. I have managed to pick up the "animal skin" version (not pictured) and I really don't get the reason behind the last minute change to add the black outfit, as all that the plain black does is accentuate the faults of the bulk in the legs.

The bottom dweller of the wave, very sadly, is poor old Donna Troy. The only thing more mixed up than Donna's origin is this figure. The wonky paint application on the eyes is just a killer. Add to that the lack of any sculpting for the halter top, the especially chunky thighs and the slightly different shades of red on the legs, and you have a figure that Mattel should have killed that got murdered instead. Big shame.

And finally, to the piece (or pieces) that greatly lift the overall standard of the wave: the Trigon Collect and Connect figure. This big red guy is all kinds of wow. It's great to see a totally different buck in use, and the use of some really intricate pieces like his collar and loincloth. The inclusion of a cloth cape and his staff are also big wins, and this has to be up there as one of the best CnCs in the line to date. The only thing I'd improve is to make his horns a bit bigger, but that's by the by. He's awesome.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the June AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

It's Magic: Kotobukiya Scarlet Witch Bishoujo Statue

At long last, I've managed to get ahold of the most recently released statue from the Kotobukiya Marvel Bishoujo Statue Series - the lovely Scarlet Witch. This one has definitely been worth the wait!

As I said when I reviewed the Rogue statue from this series, I like the anime styled superheroines in the Bishoujo line better than DC Direct's Ame-Comi series for two reasons - one because the character's original look is kept more intact in the Bishoujo line than Ame-Comi's "reimagined" characters, and secondly because of the scale - the Ame-Comi's larger figures and very wide bases take up too much room on the shelf for what the figure merits. .

One thing I like about this statue in comparison to the previous edition, Rogue, is the way that the base is incorporated into the design via Wanda's flowing cape as opposed to the more contrived and plain steps that Rogue stands on. One thing I don't like is the cutesy pose of the finger to the mouth, but I realise that's the genre. I just like my Marvel ladies powerful-like.

Pose issue aside, this is an excellent statue. Wanda's traditional costume is well executed, and the paintwork is excellent in colour choice in execution. Despite appearing like it could topple easily, the base is stable. Plus - it's just plain fun. Definitely something I'm glad to have in my collection.

My fabulous LCS owner has been ordering these in specially for me as apparently she can't order them through Previews due to some issue with the Kotobukiya license in Australia. I'm going to need to find a cheaper way to get these if I want to collect them all. I'm getting best deal my LCS can get me but it's dear for what the product is. With Koto starting a DC Bishoujo line in addition to the Marvel pieces this could become a pricey habit!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the AFB June Comment of the Month Contest.

Until next time!

The Power of Shazam!

Gary Frank's run on the Heroes of the DC Universe Bust series continues with Shazam - or as I like to call him, the artist formerly known as Captain Marvel. (Don't get me started on that whole silliness). While Shazam / CM isn't particularly one of my favourite DC Heroes, I have to say that this is one of my favourite busts in this line so far.

For starters on a basic level, it's nice to see that Gary Frank isn't afraid to draw eyes, unlike all the squinty Carlos Pacheo versions. Shazam definitely needs to be looking at the world with his innocent and hopeful eyes wide open, and Frank's sketch certainly captures that. That's essentially what I like about this bust - it captures the character so well.

Paint is solidly done, and I love this design - the flow of his cape, his sash, and the fold in his collar all make for a dynamic sculpt. Overall - a great piece.

It's great to have the original Captain Marvel in my collection, but the future of the Heroes of the DCU Bust line is a bit uncertain. We have some villains to look forward to, and an amazing looking Etrigan bust, but then it looks like the label is going to be taken by Blackest Night busts in 2011, which are a fine idea on their own, but I'd hate to see that supplant the main line and the opportunity to get a wider range of characters in bust form much like the opportunities that the Women of the DCU Bust line is providing us.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the June AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

The AFB Comment of the Month Contest for June 2010!

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on last month’s blog posts. Congratulations to "chrismandesign" for being our randomly selected winner! Please get in touch with me – probably easiest to do so through the AFB Forum – just log in and message me (“Andy”). Once we hear from chrisman, his choice of either the Blackest Night Wonder Woman or DCUC Wave 13 Donna Troy will be on the way when available from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff.

Now to June’s Contest: on offer are two great prizes, either the Marvel Select Abomination from DST or the Jonah Hex Movie Figure from NECA. Two great prizes, both of which I'm looking forward to adding to my own collection!

A few bits and pieces:

• every genuine comment on a post from the calendar month will be eligible for receiving the prize. I’m going to stick to my own time zone and call it at 23:59:59 Australian Eastern Standard Time – best to comment often and comment early!

if my super scientific randomizer comment selector system chooses an Anonymous comment, I’ll skip it and go again – you need to leave a name, a link, your AFB Forum username or email addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner. Blogger comments allows you to do this, as long as your profile is not set to private – check your settings.

you will be given a choice of one of the two figures on offer from the month’s contest – figures will be in their original packaging.

figures will be sent by first class mail within the US (Mike is sending them, remember) and first class international to any overseas winner. An overseas winner can elect to chip in for Priority Mail or Insurance, but otherwise we can’t take any responsibility for a parcel that doesn’t arrive – after all this is coming out of AFB’s not dreadfully deep pockets!

Once again, thanks to Mike for making this all possible for us, and here’s to another happy month of commenting!

Until next time!