Random retail rant.....

Oh for enough money to go to all my local retailers and buy up all the Superman Returns dreck that is clogging the shelves, take it to a secluded location and burn it to ashes!

Since that rubbish hit the shelves and stayed there I haven't seen a new wave of JLU or Marvel Legends and we are falling farther and farther behind with both. Ebay is an expensive way to get toys that I should be able to pick up at my local mall.

Here's to no more stinker superhero movies with crappy mega-merchandising campaigns in the the near future......

Truth in Advertising

I was gathering up all the rubbish from unpacking my JSA Wave 1 figures to take out to the bin today (and for those who are wondering, no I don't mean the actual figures - I was in a generous mood).

For those who haven't seen it, here's the photo on the back of the card. Can you spot the errors in this pic as quick as I did?

For starters, the figures are pictures as solicited as opposed to what hit the shelves, so we have the original GA Atom headsculpts (still urky but better than what we got) and Hawkgirl without the green stripes on her helment (what are they about anyway??).

That's pretty standard of course. What really caught my eye was the scale of the Atoms in relation to the other figures - nothing to give away the reality of the scale and quality of these figures. In the same manner there was nothing in the solicit photos to point to this.

It makes me think one of two things - either DCD thought what they'd done was great and never thought to show someone who actually knew the character to get a reaction, or DCD knew that we were going to freak over this and kept it to themselves.

What's your call?

More Celebrity Inspired DCD Fare!

First up, we have "Fat Albert"'s Dumb Donald as the Modern Age Hourman:

Followed by "Rocky Horror" star Tim Curry as the Fin-Headed Golden Age Atom:

Keep them coming DCD!

The Great JSA Debate

Being here on the other side of the Tasman, I generally get my action figures about 18-24 hours after my stateside friends, which means I either have to stay away from the Net for that time or hear the opinions and reactions of others before I pick up my own set. I've come to see it as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it makes it difficult for me to have an unprejudiced first reaction, but it does have advantages as well, like knowing I need to keep an eye out for sloppy paint apps on that character's boots for example. There's often another positive by-product of this delay as well - by the time I make it to my local comic shop, I've often read so many angry, sometimes hysterical rants about what's wrong with what I'm about to buy that what I'm picking up doesn't look that bad by comparison.

That was my initial reaction when I picked up my JSA Wave One set yesterday. These figures have set the online collecting world on fire and I didn't know what to expect. In the package the two things that stood out to me were that the Atoms looked a bit short and that Hourman's headsculpt was nothing short of rotten. Otherwise I was pretty pleased.

This blog isn't about detailed figure reviews - there's enough places to find those already - rather it's about one collector's journey and thoughts - so I'll skip most of the individual figure critique here. Essentially once I had them unpacked and laid out with their mates (you can't really judge them til you get them out there on the shelf), my verdict was this: MA Figures really not that bad, GA Atoms a travesty. Yes, the Hourman headsculpt should never have been approved and the legs for H-man and Mr Terrific are awful, and yes I had to put Hawkgirl in boiling water to make the holes in her back large enough to insert the wings to avoid the breakages others have experienced (!), but the MA JSA I'm building on my shelf doesn't look too shabby. Some of the earlier MA JSA figs are going to look shorter but I'll deal. I did note the irony that the Hawkgirl headsculpt is one of the best female headsculpts we've had in quite a while and it's one you stick a helmet over. Where's the mask for my Alex Ross Justice Zatanna or my Michael Turner Identity Crisis Black Canary??

The disappointment over the Atoms is totally justified. As has been pointed out elsewhere these are quite different from the solicits, are totally out of scale and not at all worth the very long wait. Wretched.

The wash up is that one of the most anticipated DCD Waves in a long time should have been done well and it just wasn't, right down to the packaging which looks lame and very last-minute. For some this seems to be the proverbial straw. Online, folks are talking of ending their DCD collections. Some of the loudest critics I have heard of these figures are people who haven't seen them in person, and they've come under some fire for that. The reality of course is that there's alot under the surface of the reaction to this wave. We are battered and bruised from a long run of solicits ranging from the predictable to the farcical (Armoured Justice anyone?). There are scale issues and less than great paint applications everywhere we turn, and the list goes on.

So what's the deal here? Do we want to much? Are our expectations unreasonable? Do we need to face the fact that a bunch of (mostly) middle aged guys who have actually read the comics and understand the characters are NOT the target audience for these toys (and let's remember, they are toys....) and either shut up for move on?

Sometimes I think this, and then I pick up my AR Plastic Man, my IC Power Girl, or even an older figure like Uncle Sam, which captures the character in every flawless way, and remind myself that DCD can and has done this well, very well, and I believe that it's fair and reasonable to hold them to doing what they do well all the time.

This collector is down but not out and determined to be more vocal. DCD, your quality control and your character selection suck. They suck big time, and this little blogger is going to call you on it, every time. As an incentive, I'm also going to be just as loud about what I think you've done right.

So get going!

Yours in blogging,

Scott

Another Daring, Groundbreaking DCD Wave Announced

Did you know that Green Lantern and Batman were in "TRON"? I'm going to have to go out and rent that flick to work out where they appeared. Thank goodness DC Direct remembers, and they've even produced new figures to commemorate one of the more unusual cross-promotions of its characters. Oh, for some reason Hawkgirl and Scarecrow are in "Tron Wave 1" as well. That's a head scratcher. Ah well, DCD knows best. All I can say is that I hope we get some groovy DC / Tron vehicles, and even though I'm pretty sure that Superman, Wonder Woman and Flash weren't in the film, we might as well get some Tron-ned out versions of them as well just to make up the set. Are you listening DCD? I know we can count on you......

DC Direct presents Donny Osmond as 13" Nightwing (or What the Heck is with that Dude's Hair??)

Okay, up until now I've been somewhat of a fan of the DC Direct 13" Deluxe Collector Super Special whatever figures. Green Lantern and Aquaman have hit the nail right on the head and while I would have preferred a Silver or Bronze Age Batman the MA version is a decent item. I'll be buying Flash, Shazam and Martian Manhunter but passed on Lex Luthor out of lack of interest and Two-Face because I thought his suit was poorly done. Probably won't go for Catwoman because again I'm not really a fan, but it looks like a good product.

Anyway.... courtesy of Toy News International we have pics of the recently announced 13" Nightwing. Hard to know where to start here, but I'll try. This character selection highlights one of the problems with the 13" scale - to see Nightwing (and Catwoman for that matter) before Wonder Woman or characters like Green Arrow, Hawkman or Black Canary demonstrates that DCD is obviously having trouble making this format work for some of their top tier characters. Brewer has made some reference to this himself. I can understand some villians needing to be done, but getting a character like this before the "Big 7" have been completed doesn't work for me. These issues need to be sorted out, because if it means we see B-listers and endless SuperBat variations instead of the characters we're hankering for, the future of the line looks grim.

Secondly, could DCD have picked a character with a blander, more booooring costume? Why a Modern Age Nightwing when there have been several variations of the costume with more detail and interest? It's probably good for production costs but it doesn't make for much to look at. Blah.

And finally... an early contender for the "What the....?" award for 2007 must be the Donny Osmond-inspired headsculpt. I defy you to find me a (well-drawn) comic where Dick's hair has looked anything like this. It looks more like Ken as Nightwing Barbie-style stuff than the actual character. And perhaps it's all the black in the costume, but the full-body shot makes him look a bit pin headed to me. Particularly frustrating when the MA Nightwing headsculpt has been done quite well with Hush Nightwing. Come on, guys......

That's my rant for today. Want to rant back at me? Your comments are welcome!

DC Direct: 2006 in Review: The Good, the Bad and the Really, Really Ugly

2006 has been a year of pleasures and disappointments for the DC Direct Collector. Here's my picks for the highlights and the lowlights for the year that's about to pass:

Single Figure of the Year: AR Justice Plastic Man
Not at all a favourite character of mine, but from the excellent head sculpt to the interchangeable arms and body this figure is a winner hands down. The esssence of the character has been truly captured and the options for display make this figure loads of fun to boot.


Honourable Mentions: COIE E2 Huntress and Infinite Crisis Power Girl Crisis on Infinite Earths Wave 3 received alot of negative press (more on that later) which somewhat overshadowed the excellent work done on the Earth Two Huntress. She blends in beautifully with other JSA figures, has an excellent head sculpt and I love the longer, flowing cape, Power Girl isn't a favourite of mine either, but for me this is an outstanding sculpt that reflects the character outstandlingly and thus it deserves a mention.

Wave of the Year: Green Lantern Wave 2
Great character selection (Salaak!!), great quality control, there's nothing much one can say bad about this wave. To quibble, while it's great to have Sinestro as a Green Lantern, this could have waited until we've seen some other characters in plastic for the first time, such as Abin Sur, G'nort or the recently returned Arisia. Still, it's a great figure to score.

Honourable Mention: Infinite Crisis Wave 1, JLA Classified Wave 1
Infinite Crisis Wave 1 has a major flaw for me: the super-sized Mongul. Yep, on its own he's a great figure, but why is that big? Have we ever seen him that big in the comics? It clangs for me. McGuinness haters will scream about me including JLA Classified Wave 1 here, but I was totally taken by surprise by these figures. I expected to hate them but when put together with the Superman and Batman from Supes/Bats Series 1 they make an awesome Big 7. For some reason the cookie-cutter sculpts don't bug me. Again, Martian Manhunter is too big in this line compared to what we've seen in the comics, and that's my online gripe about this wave.


Action Figure Tragedy of the Year: Turner Supergirl from Superman / Batman Series 2
Okay, we're all clear on the fact that Michael Turner's art does not a good action figure make (Identity Crisis Black Canary anyone??). That being said, this is without a doubt the worst piece of rubbish I have ever seen. She looks straight out of an annorexic freakshow, not to mention the fact that someone or thing really heavy obviously sat on her face for a very long time. To add insult to injury, the blasted thing cannot stand up, even on the display base!! How this one ever got out of the gate I have no idea.

Dishonourable Mention: Reactivated! Wonder Woman
There's a reason these figures have earned the nickname "Regurgitated!". Look no further than poor WW for the reason. If the Turner Supergirl looks like someone's sat on her face, than this figure looks like she's done a couple of rounds with a steamroller and come off the loser. Another one that never should have left the station.

Disaster Wave of the Year: Superman / Batman Series 2: Turner Attacks Again!
Yep, this wave takes out the award for Worst Leading Lady and Worst Ensemble. The Darkseid is almost funky (but again too huge - check out the comics DCD, he's actually NOT that big) but the rest of the team is a train wreck in motion, If there was ever an argument to bring artist-specific lines to an end, this is the poster child.

Dishonourable Mention: Anything based on Tim Sale art. Nuff said.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: COIE Wave 3 Batman Many fans have been hanging out for this figure, one that many feel may be as close as we
get to a Bronze Age Batman. I have to be honest here and say that on its own I don't dislike this figure, but in terms of what it should have been, its a disaster that even Mr G. Brewer himself has acknowledged: the scale is way off and the resemblance to anything near a Perez Crisis Batman just isn't there. Brewer says we'll get our Bronze Age Batman. I won't be holding my breath.

Dishonourable Mention: Superman Silver Age Wave 1
Again, something else that many fans have been waiting for that DCD botched. Poor character selection and slightly oversized figures mean we've probably seen the last of these, which is a giant shame.

And finally, the "What the...." Award for 2006: The Weaponer of Qward from COIE Wave 3.
Oh. my. God. Since when is "Super Squatting" a power?? And the expression on this dudes' face? He looks like he's doing a..... or someone's shoving a..... well whatever it is, it just isn't right.

That's my potted summary of the year that was in DCD land. I've only touched the 6" (or thereabouts) figures here but I am loving alot of the 13" stuff and will write on those another time.

If you stopped by, thanks. If you made it to the end, even better. Most of my posts here won't be quite so long-winded but I do hope to make it a regular thing so please come back.
Agree with me? Think I'm nuts? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Thanks for reading

Scott

Why Action Figure Blues?

Recently some friends of mine at one of my online haunts were discussing whether or not their action figure interests were public. I'm proud to say that after years in hiding I'm now officially "out". It's just coming on three years now since I dusted off my comic book collection and unpacked my old Super Powers figures from my childhood and decided that I was a happier, more balanced being when I had things in my life besides work. I think I also said something to the wife about a hobby like this being less expensive than a sportscar and bringing less shame on the family than having an affair. I was right about the affair but as to being cheaper than a sportscar, well the jury's still out on that one. One thing's for sure - it's a happier, healthier me, and here I am.

My collecting interest is mainly DC Direct, with some DC Superheroes, JLU and Marvel thrown in. The reason I chose "Action Figure Blues" as the title for my blog is that it's a rough time to be a DC Direct collector. Scale issues, character selection issues and quality control issues are dampening the enjoyment that many collectors once took from what should be an excellent line of toys.

This blog is going to record the triumphs and tragedies of my collecting journey. It's my opinion only but I hope you'll enjoy it and talk back to me so I can hear what others have to say as well.

Let's start talking!

Ciao

Scott