Sep 9 2016

Justice League (New 52) Box Set by DC Collectibles, Part 2: Aquaman and Green Lantern

It’s been another killer of a week for me at work, folks, but the show must go on here at FFZ. Fortunately the figures I have on tap for today won’t require a lot of time from me, so I can crawl back into bed with a bottle of Jameson and some comic books. On the last DC Friday, I started checking out DC Collectibles’ New 52 Justice League set with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Today, I’m pressing on with a look at Aquaman and Hal Jordan. If you want a refresher on the packaging, have a look back at Part 1, otherwise, let’s start with Aquaman…

It may be the New 52 look, but Aquaman’s costume still retained much of its classic and timeless design. The figure features the scale armor tunic with some gorgeous metallic golden-copper paint, a stylishly sculpted belt, green gauntlets, and the green leggings with sculpted fins on the backs of his calves. As far as the costume itself goes, there’s nothing really groundbreaking here, but when it comes to this costume, I always love the contrast between the dark matte hunter green and the glittery top and this figure showcases that perfectly.

There are a couple of nice touches that make this figure rather distinctive. First, he has a pretty cool necklace hanging around his neck. Secondly, his trident is attached to his belt with a gold chain. The trident itself is nothing special, just a simple sculpt cast in gold plastic, but the chain is a cool addition, that is unless you want to display the figure without the trident, because it’s clearly not meant to be taken off.

The portrait here is fantastic, somewhat unconventional, and easily one of the best looks for the character I’ve seen in action figure form. I just love the scruffy beard and sideburns over his usual clean shaven look. He has a fairly pissed off expression. the paint used for the skin tone is excellent, and I really love what they did with his hair. Moving on to Hal…

Green Lantern features one of the simpler sculpts in this set. He does feature some cut panel lines in the shoulders as well as his chest emblem being sculpted. Other then that you mainly just get some nice muscle definition. The costume features a mix of matte black, metallic green, and some lovely pearlescent white for the gloves and face of the chest emblem. The metallic green paint on this guy is quite the eye catcher and it reminds me a lot of the finish Kotobukiya used on their excellent ArtFX+ Hal Jordan only not quite as brilliant.

They did a particularly nice job with his ring. It’s both well defined and neatly painted.

The head sculpt here doesn’t impress me as much as Aquaman’s, but it is very good. It features a rather stern expression, the mask is part of the sculpt, and the paint is all on point. I like the stray wisps of hair over his forehead and more of that lovely green paint on the mask.

The articulation is identical for both of these figures. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, hinges in the elbows and knees, ball joints in the necks, and t-crotches for the hips. These aren’t super pose-able by any means, but I can still have a little fun with them.

So, overall there aren’t a lot of surprises with this pair, but what’s here is exceptionally well done. The sculpts are solid, the portraits are excellent, and while they aren’t going to feature the play value of DC Icons or even Mattel’s 6-inch DC lines, they look fantastic up on my shelf, especially when displayed with the rest of the Justice League. I believe these are pretty much the same as the individually boxed releases, but I have yet to see those in person, so there may be some variations at work. On the next DC Friday, I’ll wrap up this set with a look at The Flash and Cyborg!

Sep 2 2016

Justice League (New 52) Box Set by DC Collectibles, Part 1

It’s DC Friday, I’m almost caught up on my DC backlog, and so it’s time to dig deep and go into the reserves. I’ve had this set sitting around for what seems like forever. It feels weird to be getting to it only now that the New 52 has been rebooted to ReBirth. Still, this set was a nice way to snatch up the entire New 52 Justice League in one shot and, if you managed to get the original “We Can Be Heroes” release of this set, you were not only getting the figures before they were released individually, but also helping the relief efforts against drought and famine in Africa. I’m going to go through this set in three parts. Now, while this was the first way to get these figures, I actually did a Feature on the later released, Trinity War box set, which included a variant version of this Superman along with straight repacks of Batman and Wonder Woman. So, today I’ll start out with a look at the package and a quick comparison of those figures to the later Trinity War releases, and then tackle the other figures, two at a time, in the following couple of weeks.

When you’re getting seven 7-inch scale figures in a single box, you know it’s going to be sizable. In this case DCC put the figures all in one epic lineup and into a long window box. The box’s deco is very simple and mostly white with a blue slash down the far right side showing some of the characters in silhouette. The set is also set apart from the original release by not having the “We Can Be Heroes” motto printed above the word “Justice.” This box is one of those cases where the packaging itself would be totally forgettable if the figures didn’t look so damn good all lined up like that. It’s a box that makes a statement and arguably displays the figures just as well as if they were lined up loose and on the shelf. Happily everything is collector friendly. You just slit the tape on the side flap and pull out the tray. There’s a clear plastic cover over the tray to keep the figures in place, but no pesky ties to worry about. I like that my set happens to have Wonder Woman looking at Superman, Superman discretely looking back at her, and all the while Batman looks off to the other side as if pretending not to notice. Anyway, this is most definitely a box that I’ll be keeping to display the figures in. I’m going to start with Superman, because he’s really the only one that’s different from the one in the Trinity War box.

From the neck down, the sculpt here is identical to what I showed off December of last year. The only difference in the costume is that the metallic paint has been replaced with a more appropriate flat matte look. Now, I really did dig the metallic version a lot. It felt like a cool callback to Kotobukiya’s ArtFX+ Supes. Of course, the deco was more about giving collectors who already owned the figure an excuse to buy the set, then it was about anything to do with Superman’s appearance in the Trinity War story arc. Here we have a more conventional paint and just a beautiful representation of Krypton’s Last Son in his New 52 outfit. And yes, I do really love this outfit. Every detail on the outfit is part of the actual sculpt, from the panel lines and edges of the boots, right down to the belt and S-Shield. The colors, which consist of rich and vibrant blue, red, and yellow are absolutely gorgeous. I’m just totally in love with the look of this figure.

The cape cascades over Superman’s shoulders and stops right about at the tops of his boots. It’s a fairly pliable plastic and doesn’t throw the figure off balance at all. The back of the cape features a black S-Shield stamped right in the middle.

The portrait is the only difference in sculpt between this release and the Trinity War figure, which had Superman offering up a goofy smile. I was pretty happy with the Trinity War portrait, but this one just blows it out of the water. It’s definitely a more stern look, but I think it’s a great 3D likeness of Jim Lee’s art from the book. The paint is very clean and the hair is more neatly sculpted on this version.

The articulation is pretty standard stuff when it comes to the earlier days of DC Collectibles’ figures. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, hinges in the elbows and knees, a ball joint in the head, and a simple T-crotch. You can tweak a few different poses out of him, but nothing too crazy. Moving on to Wonder Woman…

I loved this Wonder Woman figure when I got her in the other set, and I still do. This is a great look for her and the sculpt really brings out the details in the costume beautifully. Yes, for all the guff that the New 52 costumes got, and some of it was well deserved, this version of Diana’s digs is just fine with me. I still find it odd, however, that DCC never gave us the costume with the pants, but that’s a discussion for another time. Once again, every detail in the costume is part of the sculpt.

The paint here is nice and clean and pretty consistent with the later Trinity War release. The blue and red is darker than what we saw on Superman, but it has that silver and a little white to help lighten things up. Even the skin tone, which is achieved through bare flesh colored plastic, is smooth and warm. The articulation here is identical to that of Superman, so it’s not all that fantastic, but at least Diana got herself some swivel biceps. That’s not always a sure thing when it comes to the female figures.

dcwcbh18

Diana comes with her golden lasso sculpted on her right hip and her left hand is sculpted to hold the sword she doesn’t come with. Now, that surprised me, as it was also vacant from the Trinity War set. Apparently the only way to get her sword was to buy the individually boxed figure or the set that paired her with Katana. Now, it’s bad enough to buy the same figure twice, but three times? That would be crazy, right? Well, I’m not saying I did, but I may be getting around to looking at that Wonder Woman/Katana two-pack at some point. Just saying.

When I did my Trinity War Feature, I suggested that Wonder Woman was sporting a new head sculpt, but it turns out that isn’t the case. There are some natural variances in the paint, but they’re quite subtle and it is the very same portrait. I’d say I like this one a little more, just because the eyes are a wee bit straighter, but otherwise they’re both fine and very attractive. I really like the detail and paint on both the choker and the tiara. And oh, look! Bewbs!

And last but not least, we have Batman. Like Wonder Woman, this figure is exactly the same as the one released in the Trinity War set and I’m going to irk a lot of people by once again saying that I really like this costume a lot. Granted, it’s not a huge departure from some of Batman’s iconic looks. You get the same sculpted detail as the other figures, right down to the panel lines and mesh material at the joints, and some very spiffy high gloss black paint for the boots, gloves, and cowl. It makes for a striking contrast against the matte gray finish of the suit. Just lovely!

The cape falls beautifully behind the figure and the scalloped edges drag on the ground. It’s a bit heavier than Superman’s and I love the way the folds are sculpted up near the top. It looks as much like a shroud as it does a cape, and that’s certainly appropriate. The articulation here is identical to Superman and Wonder Woman, so there are options, but I really can’t get any super cool fight poses out of him.

Once again, a really solid head sculpt with a beautiful contrast between the skin tones of the face and the gloss black paint of the cowl. Batman sports a grim expression, which is quite fitting. Let’s check out some quick comparison shots of the figures with the Trinity War releases on the right and the figures from this set on the left…

I knew when I was going in that I was going to be double dipping on some of these figures, but that was OK by me, because I didn’t have any of the other members of the Justice League in this set. And besides, the Superman is different, so it was really just two figures that were already in my collection. And while the set was originally about a hundred bucks, I found mine for a ridiculous $45. And if you hunt around, the set can still be had for very close to that price. They aren’t the most articulated figures out there, but the sculpts and paint on these three are truly fantastic. On the next DC Friday, I’ll have a look at Aquaman and Green Lantern!

Aug 26 2016

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Vixen by DC Collectibles

As many of you know by now, Cover Girls is a line that I love to collect, but it often has to take a backseat to other priorities. It’s a gamble, because sometimes they get discounted and other times they sell quickly and skyrocket in price. Getting backlogged on this line can be a scary prospect. Most recently, I was torn between picking up Vixen or the second version of Catwoman next, but then I figured I already have the first Catwoman release, so why not expand the family? And besides, Vixen is awesome.

It’s been a few months since I last visited with this line. The boxes haven’t changed. They’re simple, and collector friendly, and they show a number of shots of the collectible inside. The back of the box has images for Starfire and a new version of Harley Quinn. Vixen has been getting a little love in the DCTV media lately, with both animated and live action appearances. And seeing as how DC Collectibles is already producing second versions of some of the A-Listers in this line, it’s nice to see that they aren’t completely ignoring some of the B-Listers. No offense, Mari. Anyway, getting Vixen set up is easy, you just peg her into the base and she’s good to go, so let’s do that and check her out!

Grrr, baby… Grrrrr! If you’re a newcomer to this line, these ladies tend to be approximately 9 to 10″ in scale. Vixen stands with legs apart and her arms held out, as if she’s ready to pounce right off her base. The Cover Girls line has offered a reasonable compromise between action and museum style composition, and I think Vixen is another good example of that. In this case, what we get really captures the character nicely. This is just such a simple and elegant pose.

Vixen sports her rather simple body suit with sculpted cut-outs to resemble animal stripes, and long sleek gloves. You also get some sculpted seams, boot lines, and whatever that strategically placed silver fixture is right above her you-know-where. The paint on the costume is almost entirely… ochre? Is that what you’d call that? Yeah, let’s go with ochre… with a hint of metallic sheen to it. There’s also a low plunging neckline for those of you who like a little sumthin-sumthin with your lady statues.

The portrait here is among my favorites that this line has done in its current series. Mari’s got a beautiful face with a stern expression that shows she means business. The skin tone is warm and soft and the paint lines around her tribal necklace are pretty nice and sharp. In fact, all the paint on her facial features are equally sharp and precise. I especially like her yellow eyes and the sheen on her lipstick. There’s a little spray around her hairline, but I’m thinking that is intentional. Speaking of the hair, it’s sculpted beautifullly, and I dig the way it trails down around her high collar and over her right shoulder.

This line continues to use simple and standardized oval bases, in this case personalized with an animal head cut out at the cardinal points. It features a silver top and stripe and the edges are painted to match her costume. The limitation is hand numbered on the bottom of the base. Mine is 874 of 5,200.

As beautiful a piece as this is, I’m guessing that Vixen isn’t selling all that well, because she’s available everywhere and at pretty deep discounts. That’s a shame for two reasons. One, at this price point, you’re getting a stunning statue of a great character. Two, a lot of people complain that these lines stick to the safe A-listers, which brings me back to my earlier point. Doing lesser known characters is a gamble for these companies and if it doesn’t pay off, they won’t keep doing it. And honestly, Vixen isn’t exactly obscure. It’s something to keep in mind when we’re seeing the second versions of Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman, and still haven’t seen a Zatanna, Jessica Cruz, Fire, Ice, Stargirl, Star Sapphire… I could go on and on…

Aug 19 2016

Justice League War (DC Animated Movie Series): Shazam by DC Collectibles

It’s DC Friday again, and I’m almost to the point where I’m caught up on opening my backlog of DC figures. It’s possible that I might start switching up Friday content a bit in the future, but I’m hoping it won’t come to that. I’ve got the rest of August and part of September covered, and by then, I’m hoping some new stuff will start rolling in. Today, I’m looking at my last figure from the Justice League War animated film, Shazam!

Here’s the obligatory shot of the packaging, or at least the best one I could salvage after my cat hit the table while I was taking it and I didn’t realize the picture was wrecked before I tore open the package. Whoops! Again, it’s clean and simple, and it shows the figure off beautifully. There are some stills from the movie printed on the card behind the figure, and some shots of other figures in the series on the back of the card. It’s not at all collector friendly, so let’s rip this sucker open and see what we’ve got!

Because of the animated style, this line focuses more on paint than individual sculpts. Indeed, Shazam here is a repaint of the Superman body, and that’s a good choice that works well. The costume is mostly deep red with gold paint for the boots, belt, wrist bracers, and some gold and yellow for his chest emblem. Overall the paint is neatly applied, although there are some areas, particularly around the cape’s trim, which could have been sharper.
The cape is the only newly sculpted piece for the costume. It’s fairly light and very pliable, but it still makes him a little back heavy. The hood is sculpted down, which is the way I prefer it. I have passed on at least a couple of Shazam figures because the cape was permanently up.

The head sculpt is one of the better ones in this line. Yes, that’s a loaded compliment. Superman’s sculpt was a lumpy mess, Green Lantern’s was a painted nightmare, the rest have been OK. I think they did a pretty good job capturing the animated style in this portrait and the paint is fairly clean. There are, however, a couple of stray marks on his bottom lip that unfortunately look like cold sores. Hopefully them old wizards have a cure for herpes!

The articulation has been a standard in all the male bucks of this line. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, swivels in the biceps and wrists, ball joints in the hips and neck, and hinges in the knees. There’s no articulation in the torso at all. These are not highly pose-able figures, but I’d still rank them as better than most of the releases from the dark days of DC Direct’s premier lines, where nothing but t-crotches and swivel cuts were the order of the day. Still, there’s only so much you can do with him, hence the limited number of shots I used for this Feature.

By now, you all know that this line has been hit and miss for me. Shazam was the last one I have to open, and seeing as he’s one of the better ones, so I’m happy to ending my look at this series on a positive note. If I ever stumble across The Flash at a decent price, I’d probably grab him to complete the Justice League War set, but otherwise it’s safe to say I’m finished with these. Even though I picked up all of these for ten bucks a pop, my hindsight is telling me I should have passed on them. At a time when I’m trying to tighten up my collecting habits, the amount I spent on these figures could have paid for a Cover Girls statue I needed, or even one of Mezco’s upcoming One:12 Collective releases.

Aug 5 2016

DC Icons: (#11) Aquaman by DC Collectibles

Apologies that today’s DC Friday Feature is going up so late. It’s been a bitch of a week and I’m glad to put it behind me. But after a detour last week, I didn’t want to delay wrapping up Wave 3 of DC Icons any longer. Yes, today’s figure is Aquaman, and while he tends to take a lot of guff from a lot of people, I’ve always had a soft spot for the guy. I was happy to see him getting a slot in the DC Icons line, as the series continues to alternate between classic versions of cornerstone characters and more fleeting appearances of back-benchers. And so some may shake their head when a wave goes from Harley Quinn and Superman to Atomica and back to Aquaman, but scoff if you will, this is what Universe building is all about.

We’ve seen this packaging many times over by now. It’s clean, attractive, and collector friendly. Aquaman’s box is branded with orange coloring, indicates that he is the 11th figure in the line, and the side panel notes that this figure is taken from the pages of “The Legend of Aquaman,” a limited run origins story that was published in the late 80’s. I actually remember reading that one way back when, it was probably one of the last comic series I read before the 90’s hit and I started drifting away from comic books for a time. I revisited it after getting this figure, but unlike my re-reading of “Man of Steel,” it completely failed to capture my interest.

Nonetheless, the book features a very classic look for Aquaman and a great basis for this figure. But is there really a lot to say about this guy? With a few exceptions, his costume has changed the least out of anyone over the years and whether I’m looking at the original DC Universe Classics version or the New 52 Justice League version from DC Collectibles, there’s not a lot new here to talk about. You get the gorgeous gold fish-scale patterned top and dark green gauntlets and legs. From the back you can see the sculpted fins on the back of his lower legs. This is a fine treatment of the character, but I don’t think it’s really anything we haven’t seen before plenty of times.

You get two portraits with the figure. The regular head is one of the better ones I’ve seen in the DC Icons line. At the risk of overusing the word here, it just looks very classic Aquaman. The paint is very clean and the figure features a strong jawline.

The alternate head features a hole in the forehead to insert his telepathy effect part. I like the look of this piece and I’m glad DCC included it, as it’s one of the few things that makes this figure truly stand out as something genuinely new and different. The head sculpt is virtually the same, and I’m not sure why they bothered to make the effect piece removable. It’s not like anyone is going to use the head without the cone telepathy cone pegged into it. Maybe it was just cheaper to do it that way.

If you’ve been collecting this line, or reading my Features on it, the articulation here should present no surprises. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders, double hinges in the elbows and knees, hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles, ball joints in the hips, an ab-crunch hinge just above the waist, a ball joint under the chest and again in the neck, and swivels in the biceps. It’s all pretty good stuff, but the lack of a waist swivel in this figure really irks me, as does the lack of thigh swivels. The wrists are on hinged pegs, allowing for swappable hands. Aquaman comes with a total of three pairs, including fists, relaxed hands, and trident-holding hands.

And conveniently, you also get a trident for those-trident holding hands to hold! I have my share of Aquaman figures and I can safely say this is the best trident that’s come with any of them. The prongs are super thin and fragile, but I think that’s what makes it look so good. The head will pop off the shaft to help slide it through his closed grips.

If you’re in the market for a very classic and solid Aquaman figure, you can’t go wrong here, and thanks to the timelessness of this look, he works fine as a modern version of the character too. I should also note how cool it is that Icons has so far been pulling the core Justice League characters from appearances published in the 80’s and that gives me a very classic and cohesive looking team so far. And this Feature also gets me current on DC Icons, but I’ll be anxiously awaiting Wave 4 to ship with Firestorm, John Stewart, and The Joker. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve been delayed well into 4th Quarter.

Jul 29 2016

Son of Batman (DC Animated Movie Series): Batman by DC Collectibles

I know, a lot of you were probably expecting me to wrap up Wave 3 of DC Icons today on DC Friday. Pfft… like I’m going to buy Aquaman! Kidding! Kidding! Of course, I picked up Aquaman and he’s a fantastic figure. Truth be told, I’ve had a busy week and I didn’t have enough time to do Aquaman justice, so I opted to take a little detour and check out another one of the DC Animated Movie Series by DC Collectibles. These are pretty simple figures and don’t take nearly as long for me to look at. So let’s have a look at Batman from the Son of Batman movie! Hopefully his arm won’t fall off like Green Lantern’s did.

It’s confession time! I haven’t seen Son of Batman yet, but I hear it’s pretty good. I actually bought this figure as a stand in for a Justice League War Batman that was never produced. Regardless, the figure comes carded in the same style as the JLW figures only with Son of Batman on the front insert and stills from the movie on the card behind the figure. The back of the card shows other figures in the line: Robin, Nightwing, and Deathstroke. If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll say a quick prayer to the QC Gods and get Bats out of his package.

Alright! I’m happy to report that Batman made it out of the package without any breakage and looking pretty sharp. I was expecting a recycled buck from the JLW Hal Jordan or Barry Allen, but Batman looks mostly new. The overall shape and style of the body is similar, but Batman lacks the detailed muscles in the abs, making this look more like light armor. Most of the costume is achieved through paint apps. It’s a very dark charcoal gray with black painted panel lines, boots, gloves, and bat symbol on the chest. The gold belt is a mix of sculpt and paint and looks pretty good.In fact, all the paint on this figure is quite solid.

The cape is particularly well done. I love the way it covers the shoulders rather tightly, it fans out just the right amount, and the scalloped edges end just a bit above the ground, so it’s not dragging. Nice!

The head sculpts have been hit or miss in this line. We’ve had the sloppy Hal Jordan, the deformed Superman, and a pretty solid Wonder Woman and Cyborg. I’m happy to report that Batman can be counted with the better ones. Not only is the cowl excellent, but the exposed part of the face is clean and sharp and actually looks great.

The articulation on these figures is the same throughout all the male bucks. It’s OK, but not great. It’s loads better than what we used to get from DC Direct, but not quite up to snuff with the other modern DC Collectibles lines. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, hinges in the knees, ball joints in the hips, and a ball joint in the neck. A couple of my figure’s joints were a little tight out of the package, but I was able to coax everything into moving without breaking.

That’s it! I said today was going to be quick and it was. I’d rate Batman among the best of these figures so far, or at least of the ones I’ve already opened. The stylized sculpt suits him beautifully, the paint is sharp and neat, the portrait is solid, and I’ve really got nothing at all to complain about. Well… at $20, the original price is a bit high for what you’re getting here, but I’ve been picking these up for ten bucks a pop, and I’m certainly satisfied here.So far, the best I can say is that I’d be happy to just own this one and Wonder Woman as stylized stand alone figures, but it’s not a line I’d recommend at anything other than deep discounts.

Jul 22 2016

DC Icons: (#12) Atomica by DC Collectibles

It’s another DC Friday and I’m winding my way through the most recent wave of DC Icons figures. I’ve already checked out Superman and Harley Quinn and today I’m opening up that traitorous bitch, Atomica! And yes, that’s a spoiler for an old comic.

The packaging is the same as we’ve been seeing throughout the run of this series. It denotes that Atomica is the twelfth figure in the line and that she hails from the pages of Forever Evil, although she was in the company of The Justice League for a while before that. It was right before Forever Evil that she showed her true colors as a mole who was sent ahead to assist in allowing the Crime Syndicate to escape their Earth and conquer our own. Where the hell does The Atom fit into all this? Ray Palmer was busy screwing around in the pages of Frankenstein: Agents of SHADE, a book that got shit-canned after 16 issues, and if you ask me deservedly so. But don’t worry, Ray is in this box too… and so is Ryan Choi!

The beautiful and sadistic Rhonda Pineda dons her striking red and blue outfit, which gets by with very little in the way of sculpted detail other than the new belt. Now, with the first two ladies appearing in this assortment, it would be understandable to assume they were straight repaints of the same buck, but that’s actually not the case. The Harley figure features a number of slight rumples and wrinkles on her costume, whereas Atomica’s is totally smooth and skin tight, with just a handful of subtle sculpted lines. That’s not to say the lack of detail is an oversight, as the figure’s appearance is quite faithful to the costume as it appears in the panels and thanks to the vibrant colors, this is a beautiful figure in hand.

And speaking of beautiful, the head sculpt here is no slouch. Her mask is part of the sculpt and she has her goggles up on her forehead. The hair is also nicely done, but as expected it can get in the way of the neck articulation. That can be frustrating at any time, but a little more here, since Atomica is a flyer and she can’t look up. I’ll also note here that the paint on the face is really curious in that through the lens, it looks really mottled up close, but in hand it looks really good. I noticed that a bit with Harley too. Weird!

The rest of the articulation is unhindered and features everything we’ve seen in this line before. The arms have rotating hinges at the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and double hinges in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, and feature both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. The neck, is ball jointed, there’s another ball joint just below the chest, and there’s an ab crunch hinge just above the waist. Still no swivels in the legs… Insert sigh here.

Atomica’s only accessories are an extra pair of hands. These are sort of gripping hands, but not quite. Truth be told, they aren’t really different enough from the fists that come attached to the figure, so I doubt I’ll be swapping these out a lot.

You do, however, get two additional figures in the box, or at least one figure and one display piece. The figure is a mid-sized version of Ryan Choi. Both the paint and the sculpt on this little fella is pretty damn impressive considering his size. He also features a standard 5-POA articulation with points in the hips, shoulders, and neck.

And lastly, you get a super teeny-tiny Ray Palmer with a stand and translucent atom shrinking effect. I really love the way this guy looks. The paint isn’t as clean as the other figures. Mine actually has a stroke of blue paint on the face, but considering the size and how close you need to get in to see any issues, I’m not bothered by it. I am, however, going to go on record and just say that I’d rather they given us a midsize and small versions of Atomica herself, as opposed to the other Atoms. Given the context of this figure, it just seems more appropriate.

And so we have another DC Icons release, and another very solid figure. Of course, with this particular character, the mileage may vary. With a wave that includes very classic versions of A-Listers like Aquaman, Superman, and Harley Quinn, Atomica definitely feels like the odd figure out. As for me? While I was admittedly disappointed by the payoff of the whole Pandora’s Box thing in The New 52, I actually enjoyed Forever Evil and Trinity War quite a bit. The reveal of Atomica’s true nature was a neat little twist and both she and Johnny Quick were memorable characters to me, because they were just so damn twisted. In other words, I am very happy to get her, but also bummed that we’ll probably never see a Johnny Quick in this line to go with her. On the flipside, in DC Collectibles’ regular New 52 line, we got a Johnny Quick, but no Atomica. Bummer.

Jul 15 2016

DC Icons: (#10) Superman (With Kelex) by DC Collectibles

It’s DC Friday again and what better way to spend it than looking at another of DC Collectibles’ newest DC Icons figures? Today I’m checking out Superman! The fact that he’s appearing for the first time in Wave 3 is a great indicator of how diverse this line is. Think about it. We got Earth 2 Mister Miracle before Superman! It’s a risky move and I commend DCC for making it, as opposed to just flooding the pegs with A-Listers like Batmans, Supermans and Harley Quinns. Um, Harley Quinn was in this wave of DC Icons, so… SHUT UP!!! Anyway, hopefully it’s paying off for them.

We’ve seen the packaging before and it’s as attractive and collector friendly as ever. The blue and white coloring looks sharp and I dig the placement of the S-Shield in the “O” of ICONS. The box indicates that Superman is the tenth release in the series and calls out that this is Superman as pulled from the pages of John Byrne’s landmark “Man of Steel” miniseries way back in 1986. The big window not only gives a good look at Supes, but also the other figure he comes with, Krytonian helper-robot, Kelex!

And this is indeed honest-to-goodness Classic Man of Steel! Before they took away his red undies, textured his suit, and turned him into a brooding shit. As has been the case with this line, everything about the suit is part of the sculpt. And while that doesn’t really amount to much here, it’s nice to see it in the raised S-Shield, the sculpted belt buckle and loops, and the top edges of the boots. Even the S-Shield on his cape is sculpted on. The costume features some gorgeous red and blue coloring with some welcome variations, like the use of matte red on the undies and cape, and gloss red on the boots. There’s just something about this costume that does it for me every time, and everything here looks so bright and vibrant and the applications are sharp and clean.

The cape flows out from the front of his shoulders and hangs close to the body. It’s just the right size and heft so as not to throw off his balance or get in the way of articulation.

The portraits in this line have been good, but not always exceptional. In this case, I’m very happy with what we got. The detail in the structure of the face is very impressive and I dig the stoic expression. There’s a little bit of red in his eyes, and while I doubt it was the intention, I’m just going to assume he’s charging up that heat vision! Probably the best thing is how they did his protruding cowlick, it’s epic! Note to self. Rename my band, Epic Cowlick!

Superman holds no surprises in his articulation. We’ve been getting pretty much the same thing across the board in the Icons series. Here you get rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows and knees, ball joints in the hips and neck, swivels in the biceps, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. There’s an ab crunch hinge in the abdomen and a ball joint just under the chest. Normally, I complain about the lack of thigh swivels, but here I’ll point out that an added hinge in the neck would have been very welcome so Supes could look up when flying.

Superman himself only comes with an extra pair of hands, so you get fists and relaxed open hands. That can, however, be forgiven because you also get this…

Kelex is more of a bonus figure than an accessory. He’s big and he does have some limited articulation, with a ball jointed neck and rotating shoulders. He also comes with a clear display stand to allow him to “hover.” I can’t say he was high on my want list, but I’ve always liked this design a lot, so I’m happy to get him.

I don’t know if it’s the attractive coloring of his costume or how much the character meant to me as a kid, but I get excited every time I pick up a new Superman figure. I can still remember getting the DC Universe Classics version and smiling ear to ear. Needless to say this getting this figure has been no different. I’ve had him within reach for the last few days to fiddle around with while I work and he and Lex have been slugging it out for supremacy of my desk. Superman is a refreshingly simple and classic release and he’ll find a place of honor on my expanding DC Icons shelf!

Jul 8 2016

DC Icons: (#13) Harley Quinn by DC Collectibles

It took a little longer than expected, but DC Collectibles has finally shipped out the third assortment of their DC Icons line. And so pleased I have been with the first two assortments, here I am ready to scarf up more. Today I’m checking out a very classic looking Harley Quinn pulled from the pages of 1999’s Batman: No Man’s Land, although this look works for her on any number of levels if you’re after a well-rounded Harley for your collection.

The packaging hasn’t really changed at all from the previous waves, so I won’t dwell on it. It has a bright and clean look to it with a window that shows off the goods splendidly. It’s also collector friendly so you have somewhere to store the extra bits if you want to keep it. The side panel has the figure’s name and number, in this case Harley is unlucky number thirteen, so you can store these on a shelf book-style and still know which is which.

And this is indeed, good ol’ Harley before The New 52 turned her into a stripper and the Arkham games turned her into a stripper in a nurse costume. Hey, I’m not hating, I like Harley’s trashy look, but I also know that I’m in a very small minority when it comes to the sentiment. I’m sure a lot of collectors are thrilled to see this figure introduced into the line. She dons her trademark black and red jester outfit and while a good part of this figure is a generic painted female buck, you do get some unique sculpting on her wrist and ankle ruffles, as well as the collar piece. She comes wearing a pair of fists, but you also get three additional hands designed to interact with her accessories. The paint here is fairly basic, but extremely clean with sharp lines.

The portrait is a winner. I think they really nailed both her smile and her eyes. Of course, she has her jester hood with the tassels hanging down on the sides. The paint here is a little less crisp than what we got on the costume, with some over-spray along the top edge of her forehead, but it’s not too bad. The paint work on her vibrant blue eyes is absolutely haunting.

Harley is the first female figure in this line that I’ve opened, but the articulation is consistent with what we’ve been seeing so far. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and double hinges in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, with hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles, and double hinges in the knees. There’s an ab crunch hinge just above the waist, a ball joint just below the chest, and a ball joint in the neck. The only thing that I’m really missing here is some sort of swivel in the thighs, but she’s still a fun and highly pose-able figure.

For accessories, we start with Harley’s pop gun. The sculpt and paint are particularly nice for such a small accessory and she comes with a left hand that is designed specifically to hold it. The cork looks very realistic.

And of course, you can’t have a Harley figure without an over-sized mallet, right? This is another beautifully done piece with some great detail and paint, particularly in the barrel-style head and the red wrapped grip. She comes with a pair of hands designed specifically for this accessory, but if you aren’t a big fan of swapping out hands, the left gun hand works just fine with it.

So, here we are into the third wave of DC Icons and I’m still extremely happy that I got on board with these figures. I can remember waffling quite a bit in the beginning because the scale didn’t match up with DC Universe Classics and I didn’t want to start over. But in the end, I believe these are the best figures that DC Collectibles have ever put out and and I’m both thrilled and excited to see that it’s been successful enough to keep going. And I have a feeling that Harley here will be a stand alone pick up for a lot of fans who aren’t yet collecting this line. And I think she’s good enough to maybe convert some of those people into jumping on board.

Jul 1 2016

Justice League War (DC Animated Movie Series): Green Lantern and Cyborg by DC Collectibles

I had hoped to have the most recent wave of DC Icons for today’s DC Friday, but sadly it arrived a little too late to make my deadline. So today’s consolation prize will be opening up some more figures from the animated film, Justice League War. Some weeks back, I looked at Superman and Wonder Woman, today I’m checking out Green Lantern and Cyborg.

The packaging isn’t anything special, but it is bright and clean. The figures come on a simple card and bubble,which aren’t at all collector friendly. The cards are generic, but have some stills from the film and the inserts and bubbles feature the name of the character inside. The bubbles here really let you inspect a lot of each figure, and I highly recommend giving the paint a good once over if you have the luxury of buying these at retail. Let’s start off with Green Lantern…

Here he is, and we’re not off to a good start, because Hal’s left arm broke off at the elbow when taking him out of the package. Normally, that would earn a fail all on its own, but there’s so much else wrong with his figure, that I think it’s worth pushing on, so I did some temporary arm surgery to get us through the review.

Whenever a company does an animated style figure, the paint is of paramount importance, mainly because the sculpt tends to rely more heavily on the paint for details. And in this case, Hal Jordan makes use of a buck shared with The Flash, so a lot of that extra effort should have gone into some top notch paint work. From the neck down, things aren’t too bad, but there are some notable inconsistencies in the striping, but really everything could have been a lot sharper. Even the power ring, which is kind of a big deal for a Green Lantern, is just a little green square that feels like an afterthought. I actually dig the stylized look of this buck a lot, and I’d imagine that any hobbyist with a basic level of customization skills could have done a much better job. But as sub par as the paint on the costume is, it’s nothing compared to this…

I mean, seriously? There are white splotches all over his face, the hairline looks terrible and the line between the top of his mask and his forehead is just all slop. I don’t even know what’s going on on the top of his lip. It looks like he has a half-shaved blonde mustache. This would be unacceptable even on a 3 3/4-inch figure, but on a 6-inch collector line, there’s just no excuse for it. But then, let’s remember that this figure did break right out of the package.

Articulation, for what it’s worth, features rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, ball joints in the neck and hips, and hinges in the knees. Of course, in my case I have to take back one articulation point in the left elbow, because when I do a permanent fix on this guy, it’ll lose that joint. I’ve had enough of this guy, let’s move on to Cyborg…

Cyborg came out of the package without any crippling injuries, and I’ve got to say, he looks pretty good. It can’t be easy to take a complex design like Cyborg and simplify him for an animated model, and then rework that model into an action figure, but I think DCC has pulled it off here. He features a unique buck with some added parts, like the shoulder armor and knee pads, neither of which get int he way of articulation. Overall, I really like the mix of organic curves and angular cybernetic bits. The paint is mostly silver and black, with some red and blue accents, and while it is dirty and scratched in some areas it works OK for me as a version of Cyborg who has been out in action, even if that wasn’t the intention.

The head sculpt is pretty solid for a line that has had more stumbles than victories in that department. The paint is overall solid here as well.

Cyborg features the same level of articulation as the rest of the line and the joints here feel a lot chunkier and solid, particularly in those elbows. It’s serviceable, but there’s only so much he’s going to be able to do with this level of pose-ability.

While it’s true that I’m picking this line up on the cheap (about ten dollars each), the fact is that they originally retailed at $20 a pop. Obviously, Green Lantern doesn’t reflect that kind of price point, even if his arm didn’t break. And while Cyborg is a very cool figure, I’d be hard pressed to justify paying $20 for him either. Indeed, having now opened four of these, my satisfaction is at the 50% mark, with only Wonder Woman and Cyborg so far being worthwhile pick ups. If I hadn’t already grabbed a load of these on clearance, I would probably be ready to stop now, but alas, there’s more to come! Next Friday, I’ll be moving on to those DC Icons figures, and I’ll be saving these Animated Movie figures for filler as I run out of better stuff to look at throughout the rest of the year.

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Tag Archives: dc collectibles

Justice League (New 52) Box Set by DC Collectibles, Part 2: Aquaman and Green Lantern

Justice League (New 52) Box Set by DC Collectibles, Part 1

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Vixen by DC Collectibles

Justice League War (DC Animated Movie Series): Shazam by DC Collectibles

DC Icons: (#11) Aquaman by DC Collectibles

Son of Batman (DC Animated Movie Series): Batman by DC Collectibles

DC Icons: (#12) Atomica by DC Collectibles

DC Icons: (#10) Superman (With Kelex) by DC Collectibles

DC Icons: (#13) Harley Quinn by DC Collectibles

Justice League War (DC Animated Movie Series): Green Lantern and Cyborg by DC Collectibles

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: