Sep 18 2015

DC Comics Super-Villains: “New 52” Joker by DC Collectibles

Those that know me, know that I don’t get really deep into Batman’s comics. I do, however, try to read the collections that revolve around important story arcs. That’s what dragged me into finally reading “Death of the Family” and I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Conversely, I’ve only really been collecting the DCC figures related to the books I’ve been reading, so naturally The Joker now had to be on that list. This figure has actually been on my want list for a while and when he turned up on clearance at an online retailer, I tossed him in my virtual basket, along with a bunch of other “New 52” figures I was still missing.

The package is the same style window box as we’ve been seeing from DCC all along, complete with extended back and J-hook. In this case, however, they did switch up the deco quite a bit. Instead of the white box with purple swipe down the front, we get black and green. I presume the black is for evil and the green is Joker’s hair? I dig this more than the normal boxes, but I’d still like to see some character art or something more comic-book-y. Everything is collector friendly, but I don’t keep these boxes.

And here he is out of the package and he looks great! If you need any proof as to how unswervingly popular the Joker has been as a character over the decades, you need only look at the ridiculous number of ways he’s been depicted over the years. He’s had so many different looks that it’s hard to keep track of them all and this incarnation, after his face had a run in with The Dollmaker, is one that goes for shock value. To be more specific, this figure is based on Joker after he has returned to Gotham and reclaimed his face and is basically wearing it as a mask. I gotta tell you, I dig this look and DCC did a wonderful job bringing it to life in action figure form.

We might as well start with the portrait, because… damn! All the little staples and hooks holding the face on are realized in the sculpt and neatly painted, while the face itself shows the macabre wrinkles and stretch marks. Around the border you can see the reddish-brown exposed muscle and I love how deep the eyes are set into the sculpt. The detail in the teeth is also impressive and the whole thing is topped off nicely by his tuft of green hair. You could argue that a lot of DCC’s subject matter doesn’t give them the opportunity to strut their stuff as much as this guy does, but they sure stepped up when that opportunity arrived. Bravo!

The outfit consists of mechanic’s overalls from Joe’s Garage, which includes a convincing amount of sculpted rumples and wrinkles. I dig the oversized work gloves and the sculpted laces on the boots. The real star of the outfit, however, is the tool belt, which not only includes a bunch of sculpted tools, but places to store some of his extra accessories.

The articulation here is very good for a DCC figure. That may sound like a loaded compliment, but it isn’t meant to be. Sure, apart from the waist swivel, there’s no articulation in the torso, but everything else here is plenty serviceable. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs feature a T-crotch at the hips (probably the most disappointing thing about the figure), hinges in the knees, and swivels in the ankles. The head rests on a generous ball joint. All the joints were fine right out of the package, and nothing feels like its in danger of snapping.

DC Collectibles isn’t big on accessories with their figures, but Joker hit the jackpot. He comes with four implements of torture and murder in the form of everyday tools. You get a hammer and a wrench, both of which can be stowed in the loops on his belt. You get a pair of needle nose pliers, identical to the ones sculpted into his back pouch. And finally, you get a nasty looking serrated knife.

This figure is outstanding on just about every level. The sculpt and paint are both top notch and if we’re grading articulation on a curve, even that is better than your average DCC figure. I would have been perfectly happy picking him up at the MSRP of $20, but grabbing him for $13 was all the more sweeter. He is easily my favorite DCC figure standing in my display at the moment, and that’s saying quite a bit because as I said, I’m pretty selective about the Batman books that I read. But hell, I like this figure so much, I’ll probably go scoop up DCC’s Trinity set so I can have a proper DCC “New 52” Batman to go with him. Next Friday I’ll keep this DC Collectibles train rolling along with a look at a brand new Harley Quinn figure.

Sep 12 2015

Justice League Dark: Constantine by DC Collectibles

Since Force Awakens took up a lot of the week, I thought I’d toss out a bonus feature today. Last week I checked out Zatanna from the Justice League Dark comic and as promised I’m back now to check out Constantine. I’m really pushing through the “To Read” comic stacks on my nightstand, and I’m going to be getting back to this one soon enough, but based on the dozen or so issues that I’ve read so far, it’s a book that I really dig. I’m a big fan of Mattel’s Signature Collection Constantine figure, so I’m interested to see how this one will stack up.

I still think that DCC’s packaging for these figures is pretty “meh.” It’s a simple window box with an extended back equipped with a J-hook. It’s bland and not very exciting, but at the very least it does show the figure off quite well and it is totally collector friendly. I guess that’s something. Also, I don’t feel obligated to keep it.

While I’ve had some differences with Zatanna’s wardrobe in this book, Constantine’s classic look survived the transition to the New 52. He’s still wearing his trusty long brown duster, collared shirt and disheveled necktie, all of which is wonderfully reproduced here for the figure. The coat is the usual vest with sculpted sleeves trick and I think this is one of the better executed examples of that.

The coat is sculpted to splay out at the bottom and it’s cast in very pliable plastic, so it doesn’t impede leg articulation at all. The sleeve on his watch arm is rolled up and the other extends to his wrist. I really dig how the ends of the belt hang off the coat. It adds a lot of credibility to the sculpt. The same goes for the collar, lapels, and the necktie. I can’t come up with a single quibble about Constantine’s outfit. It’s just perfect.

The portrait, on the other hand, gives me mixed feelings. It reminds me of a young, anime-style David Bowie and considering the design history of the character, that’s right on target. This is, of course, the New 52 version, and the characters are supposed to be younger and that’s definitely reflected here, although even in the comic he tends to have some stubble, which is the main place where this portrait is at odds with the character art. The crazy eyes also make him look like a crank junkie. All in all, I prefer the Mattel portrait, but this one is certainly interesting.

Articulation here is serviceable, but there are a couple things missing that I would have liked to see. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, but sadly there are no wrists swivels. That was a gripe I had with the Zatanna figure too. The legs are ball jointed at the hips and knees, but there’s no ankle articulation. There’s no articulation at all in the torso, not even a waist swivel, but the neck is ball jointed. In hand, the figure is still fun to play with, but it could have been better with just a few added points. At least the joints all feel good, with nothing stuck or fragile.

No acccessories, but that’s understandable. What were they going to give him, a cigarette? Actually, now that I mention it, two of the fingers on his right hand are individually sculpted and rather flexible. I imagine I could make a ciggy out of some rolled up paper and tuck it in there. He does at least have a nicely sculpted wrist watch.

I like this figure a lot. It nails the outfit perfectly and while the portrait is a bit weird, it’s certainly got a lot of personality that lends itself to the character. Somewhere between the Signature Collection version and this one, there’s probably a perfect figure to be had. Either way, it’s nice to have a current version of Hellblazer to stand beside my Zatanna. Sadly, DCC didn’t venture much further into Justice League Dark when it comes to figures. There’s no Deadman or Madam Xanadu. They did, however, produce figures of Pandora and Swamp Thing, both of which I’ll be getting to eventually.

Sep 5 2015

DC Mages, Mystics & Magicians: Zatanna by DC Direct

Who’s up for a bonus Saturday feature, eh? Yesterday, I checked out DC Direct’s recent New 52 release of Zatanna and I realized that I had another Zatanna figure still hanging on my Toy Closet wall that was just begging to be opened, so I thought I’d make it a Zatanna double feature. I picked up this figure many months ago in a comic shop. They had a tote on the floor full of carded figures, and while I was super excited when I started digging, this was literally the only thing that I found that was even remotely interesting. I had hoped the whole MM&M series was in there, but no such luck. It would have been nice to have scored a Dr. Fate.

I can’t say I’m all that fond of the packaging. It’s a HUGE bland gray card and about the only things that stand out for me is the rather nice logo they used for Zatanna’s name and the fact that the window shows off the figure so well. Still, there’s no reason for the card to be so bloody big and have so much empty space in that bubble, especially when you aren’t going to invest in some nice artwork. Despite being from 2000, the back of this package is soooo dated. Yeah, I realize it was fifteen years ago, I just don’t want to admit it. You do get a nice little blurb about Zatanna and some shots of other DC Direct figures from that time. Holy shit, check out that Starfire! She looks crazy! I may have to hunt that one down. Anyway, this is one instance where I don’t mind shredding a 15 year old sealed package to get at a figure. Ah, who am I kidding, I hardly ever feel bad about opening toys.

Besides my general love for Zatanna, what caught my eye about this figure was her costume. This is definitely 60’s era Zatanna, which was a fun and crazy time for her, at least according to the few encounters I’ve had with her from that era. She’s still all about coat tails and fishnets, but her top hat and coat are blue instead of black, she sports a white blouse and bowtie, a yellow vest and gray skirt. I’ve got to say for an earlier DC Direct figure, the paintwork on this figure is pretty damn good. There’s not much in the way of slop or bleeding. The fishnets are real fishnets and while things get a little f’ugly when viewed from behind, I think they’re executed a hell of a lot better than Mattel’s DCUC Zatanna.

The portrait here is passable. Again, it’s very 60’s stylized from the hair to the makeup. The paint is solid work and her top hat is sculpted as part of the head so you can’t remove it.

The package claims this is a “fully poseable action figure” to which Zatanna would say: “TIHSLLUB!” I know, this is DC Direct and I shouldn’t expect much, but then don’t put it on the package. As is often the case most of the useful articulation is above the waist where she has rotating cuts in her shoulders, hinges in her elbows, and swivels in the wrists. The legs have swivels at the thighs but with the way they’re cut, they’re completely useless. Also, because of the way her legs are sculpted, it’s pretty tough to get her to stand.

Fortunately, she does come with a figure stand, and it’s pretty spiffy. It’s a compact little black oval base with an actual name plate on the front that reads, “Zatanna Mistress of Magic.” I love this thing, it’s like a mini base from a Hot Toys stand. On the downside, I had to dig out the peg hole in her right foot to get it to go in.

I like this figure a lot. In fact, I’m actually surprised at how much I like it. The articulation is a bummer, but it’s not unexpected considering who made her and when she was made. Still, I’m stoked to have an example of Zatanna in this costume for my shelf and all in all the sculpt and paintwork here are not bad at all. Hell, Mattel could have even learned a thing or two about how they did the fishnets. Speaking of which, while I had the gals out, I also re-shot two of my previous Zatanna Features, so feel free to check out Mattel’s DCUC version as well as another DC Direct release, this time from the Identity Crisis comic book.

Sep 4 2015

Justice League Dark: Zatanna by DC Collectibles

I’m pretty bummed about how little time I make for reading comics these days. Case in point, deep within the sizeable pile of TPBs I need to get through are a couple dozen issues of Justice League Dark. I started reading this book entirely for Constantine and Zatanna and I’ve been pretty pleased with it, at least with as far as I’ve gotten, so it was a no brainer that I would go in for some of the figures when DCC released them.

We’ve seen this packaging before. Zatanna comes in a window box with an extended J-hook back so that it’s right at home hanging on a peg or sitting on a shelf. You get that same dull, white package that one would not expect from a company that butters its bread through the graphic arts. That’s fine, because despite being collector friendly, I’m going to shred the hell out of it to get to my figure.

I’ve been up and down on my feelings for Zatanna’s New 52 costume. I hated her look when the comic started, especially when other characters got to more or less keep their iconic appearance. Eventually they settled on the look that we got with this figure and while it will never replace the old style costumes, I’m OK with it because it hits enough familiar points. Yeah, the top hat is gone, but she’s still got the little one-piece with the coat tails, you get a little bit of fishnets and the super high over the knee boots. The whole package is roundedo ut by a nice pliable plastic cape.

Everything about Zatanna’s outfit is executed splendidly. Maybe there’s a little bleed through under the white paint, but it’s nothing too bad. The fishnets are simply printed onto the plastic, and I’m perfectly fine with that considering some of the f’ugly attempts we’ve seen at DC characters wearing fishnet stockings in this scale before. Her hands are sculpted into pretty typical hocus-pocus kind of poses. My only real complaint here is that while her high heeled boots look great, there are no peg holes in the bottoms of her feet and she is extremely difficult to stand. Hey, DCC. You just sold me a pack of figure stands for this line. Why would you not put holes in the feet of the one figure that refuses to stand up? Sheesh!

The portrait is excellent. DCC has been doing a bang up job with their head sculpts in this line, especially the ladies, and Zatanna is no different. She’s pretty and she matches the character art from the book quite nicely. What’s more the paint is all crisp and clean and the bare plastic they used for her flesh tone looks great.

Articulation is one area where DCC has been constantly improving. I’ve been overall impressed with what I’ve seen lately, especially with the Suicide Squad figures. Alas, Zatanna here takes a bunch of steps back. Here’s what you get… The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and hinges in the elbows. That’s it! The lack of swivels in the shoulders is bad enough, but the lack of swivels in the wrists is unacceptable to me, especially given the way they’re sculpted. If you want them palms down, you have to turn the arm at the shoulder socket, which is awkward.

The legs are much better with ball joints at the hips, hinges in the knees and ankles, and swivels at the tops of the boots. There’s no torso articulation, which was probably sacrificed for the sculpt, and the neck is ball jointed, but severly impeded by the hair sculpt. I didn’t have any problems with stock joints, which was a pleasant surprise as I’m still mourning the loss of my Starfire, who’s arm snapped right at the shoulder.

I picked up Zatanna at a pretty deep discount and only paid $13.99 for her versus the regular twenty bucks or so. As a result, I’m willing to be a bit more forgiving. She’s a fantastic looking figure that manages to sell me even a little more on this costume, but seemingly little things like the lack of wrist swivels and no peg holes in the feet take their toll on my enjoyment of this piece. I’ll probably revisit this series next week to look at Constantine, but until then come on back tomorrow and I’ll throw out some more Zatanna loving from the likes of DC Direct and Mattel.

Aug 29 2015

DC Comics: Batwoman Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

What time is it? Time for more Bishoujo of course! With Koto now running Street Fighter, Tekken, Marvel, and DC lines of these wonderful statues it’s getting harder and harder for me to keep up. And in the world of Bishoujo statues if you don’t keep up, you’re likely going to be paying for it later when you’re hunting down discontinued pieces. To that end, today I’m checking out Batwoman, a character that I have very little history with but simply couldn’t resist having on my Bishoujo shelf once I saw the preview images. Besides, it’s hard to resist a red head in a tight leather bodysuit, even if she does play for the other team.

As we’ve seen here many times before, the comic inspired statues come in white window boxes chock full of colorful artwork by Shunya Yamashita along with some pictures of the statue itself. The boxes sizes vary based on the pose of the statue inside, but in this case we get a pretty big box to incorporate this one’s bold stance. Batwoman is nestled between two clear plastic trays and everything is totally collector friendly. which is why I quite literally have a closet full of Bishoujo boxes. There’s no assembly required as Batwoman comes permanently attached to her base and all ready for display.

The back panel of the box has a blurb about Batwoman and like I said, I don’t encounter her a lot in my funnybook reading adventures. The last time was probably in the 52 run back in 2006 and before that you’d have to go all the way back to the early 80s when I was reading a lot of comics from the 70’s and that was a different version of the character altogether. And not to upstage Ms. Kane, but Koto went and put a teaser image for the next Bishoujo and it is indeed Zatanna. I’ve been waiting for her to get the Bishoujo treatment for a long while and she is easily my most anticipated statue right now. Sorry, Kate, back to you now.

If there’s ever been a fine example of me not having to be too into a character to enjoy a statue, this is it because this piece is drop dead gorgeous. I mean, y’all know that this line can practically do no wrong by me, but I was still taken aback by just how beautiful this statue turned out. There’s a lot of things going on here to gush about, but I’m going to go with what strikes me first and that’s the colors. Granted, there’s precious little diversity here, just a black body suit and crimson accents, but the black and the crimson go together so indescribably well. It’s like my eyes are having sex right now. But not with each other. Because that would be creepy.

The entirety of Kate’s bodysuit features a high gloss “new car” finish with a slightly less lustrous finish used for the red boots, gauntlets, belt and bat symbol. The cape switches things up with a matte black finish for the outside and a slightly more glossy crimson finish for the interior. I used to think the black and gold of Batgirl’s costume was the snazziest thing I’ve ever seen, but Ms. Kane here trumps it easily and a lot of that is due to Koto choosing just the perfect shade of crimson and the right balance of matte and gloss for this piece. Have I said it’s gorgeous yet? It’s gorgeous! I also love how Koto just busted out the silver paint for those two tiny shoulder clasps on the cape.

Of course, the pose is quite spectacular too. Batwoman has her legs in a wide stance with her weight tossed to her left hip, her head cocked to the left while regarding her open palm. Meanwhile she swooshes her cape around her with her right hand. Koto has done some remarkable things with capes in this line before, but holy hell is this great. It adds a lot of energy and excitement to what is otherwise predominantly a cheesecake pose. And that’s what I call great composition! It also doesn’t hurt that she’s moving it out of the way so we can get a clear look at her hinder. Mmm… Bat Hinder…

And that brings us to the portrait and to me this one is all about the hair and the lips. Kate’s lush red hair blows behind her forming some perfect little curls and with one wave of strands passing under her chin. The angular mask with the whited out eyes looks great and her tiny lips are just perfect.

Ah, but the fine folks at Koto also included a bonus unmasked portrait via a swappable head. The optional head features some sharp paint for the lovely emerald eyes and red lips and she’s sans wig and sporting her shorter, but still red, hair. This is killing me, because I think this head looks great on the statue, but I’m still going to have to go with the masked head most of the time and it’s a shame to relegate such a fine portrait to the box. Sometimes options are painful.

As always, the Bishoujo line keeps me guessing when it comes to the base designs. You literally never know what you’re going to get. In this case we get a simple oval base painted metallic crimson and with “Batwoman” etched into it. I can only remember one other time where Koto included the character name on the base of one of their character statues and that was Powergirl. Either way, I like it a lot.

Batwoman is another superb addition to this line and I’m actually surprised by how she’s shot straight up to the top of my favorites list. Maybe not the tippy top, but she’s definitely up there among the winners circle and with 26 of these on my shelf, that’s no small feat. I was able to grab her for around $55, which is a little under retail and right in that sweet spot where I think I’m getting an incredible value. With several new Bishoujo pieces out there right now for me to pick up, I was considering setting Ms. Kane as a low priority, but now that I have her in hand I’m certainly glad I didn’t.

Jun 23 2015

Ame-Comi Heroine-Series: Supergirl (v.2) by DC Direct

A couple of weeks ago I picked up my first Ame-Comi statue and I was pretty impressed, so when the opportunity to get a second one for really cheap availed itself I jumped right on board. Supergirl was an especially nice pick up because the Bishoujo Supergirl statue has become a bit too pricey for me to go back for and so the character has no representation on my “over sexualized anime statue shelf.” We can’t have that! This time I’ll spare you the long winded Bishoujo vs. Ame-Comi diatribe and get right to the goods. Let’s start with the packaging.

Here’s the packaging and it’s all kinds of beat up. The seller was looking to unload it cheap because the box took a hit to the top corner and messed up the plastic. The statue was unharmed and while I would probably not have picked up a Bishoujo with a box in this shape, I’m still testing the waters of this line, so I was more than willing to make the compromise in order to save a little cash. Anyway, the package is the same style of window box that we saw with Mera. It’s got some nice shots of the statue and an extended back with a J-hook so it can hang on a peg or sit on a shelf. Let’s bust her open.

The composition is pretty creative in that it has Supergirl admiring herself in a detached sideview mirror of a car. I’d like to think that she found it following in the wake of the holocaust, but if we’re dealing with that universe, I suppose it’s just as likely she tore it off some poor citizen’s car to check her make up with.

Her pose is pure cheesecake. She’s got her hip tossed to the right with her hand resting on it and the other holding up the mirror. Her costume features a pleated skirt, which goes slightly transparent as you get to the bottom of it. You also get the iconic S-shield and a pretty cool yellow collar with what looks like Kryptonian writing on it. The top of the outfit has cut outs on the sides and some yellow piping along with a short cape that blows off to the left. The ensemble is finished off with a pair of red boots with more yellow piping. The designer actually put a lot more detail and love into the costume then I’m used to seeing and I applaud them for that.

And, because this is an anime-style statue, you get a heaping dose of cleavage in the front and a panty shot from behind, because… fan service!

It’s only in the portrait where this statue stumbles for me. What’s frustrating is that I can’t quite put my finger on why. It’s like someone described what anime style was to the artist and he did his best to reproduce it and the result is a sort of western-eastern hybrid. I don’t hate it, but something just looks off about it. Ironically, I get a similar feel off of the recent She-Hulk Bishoujo statue, which, even with twenty-something pieces in my collection, is the first comic-inspired statue in that line that I am passing on. The hair is a little chunky, but it has a decent wind-blown look to it. The yellow paint, however, is laid on a bit thick and the paint for the eyes could have been a lot neater.

The mirror is well done with a reflective adhesive on it so you can actually see her reflection in it. Unfortunately, she isn’t actually looking directly at it. There’s actually some articulation to be had here via cuts in the shoulders. They offer a little variety, but nothing too crazy.

The base is a simple, black plastic oval with the “Ame-Comi Heroine-Series” logo printed on it in blue. The figure attaches to the base using pegs. It’s a snug and serviceable fit, but I had no problems getting her attached.

Supergirl is a decent statue, but I didn’t fall head over heels for her like I did the Mera statue. I like what they did here and honestly from the neck down it’s a total winner. Had the portrait had that more traditional anime look to it, I could have bumped this piece from good to great, but as it is, I’m sure I can find a spot for her at the back of one of my shelves. Hey, at just under thirty bucks shipped, I can’t complain.

Feb 9 2015

DC Comics: Batgirl Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

I’ve only been into statues for about four years now. It’s an aspect of my collecting that still takes a back seat to action figures, but it’s been a growing percentage of my collecting budget ever since. I didn’t pick up my first Bishoujo statue until sometime in 2011 and after I got hooked on this buxom plastic crack, I suddenly realized that there were a number of statues in the line that had come and gone and were now only available at crazy high prices on the secondary market. It’s an old story for collectors, getting into a line late and regretting those pieces that you’ll likely never own. And man, the Bishoujo line has a lot of them: Emma Frost, Rogue, Psylocke, Scarlet Witch, and Phoenix, to name a few. And also Batgirl. While I don’t recall Batgirl ever reaching the crazy prices of Rogue, she still commanded a price that was beyond what I was willing to go for. And now Kotobukiya has re-issued her and she’s finally on my shelf.

Batgirl comes in a window box that should be readily familiar to any collector of this line. You get a large window in front and smaller ones on the top and side to let some light in. As always, this arrangement gives you a glimpse of what you’re getting, but she’s wrapped in plastic, so you really need to bust her out of there to get a good look. The box is mostly white and includes some great full color art from Shunya Yamashita. I particularly like the image on the side panel where Batgirl’s cape is illustrated in the foreground and obscures some of the text in the background.

What’s bugging the hell out of me is the Coming Soon: Catwoman thing on the bottom of the back panel. Of course, Koto always has a look at an upcoming release here, but in this case what we’re seeing is most likely because of a reuse of the Batgirl box. I’m pretty sure Koto has gone on record a few times that they have no plans to re-release Catwoman, but then I never thought we’d see Batgirl again, so maybe it’s still possible. Anyway, I believe Batgirl was the 6th statue released in this line, if you don’t count variants, and I think she may been the first DC Comic character to get Koto’s Bishoujo treatment. She was also available in a black costumed variant, which followed the original blue. The statue comes out of the box fully assembled and ready to go, so let’s check her out.

Dear God, I love these statues! One of my favorite things about a lot of Koto pieces is their ability to convey energy and movement in a static form and that’s certainly the case with Batgirl here. Her pose is pretty simple, she’s got one foot up on a very “Gotham-Style” gargoyle, but it’s the spectacular twirl of her cape that makes the composition here stand out. It’s fanning out all around her and it just looks absolutely stunning. Standing fully erect (ahem), Batgirl stands roughly shoulder to shoulder with most of the other statues in the line, although you could argue she looks a wee bit more demure when displayed next to the likes of Huntress or Power Girl.

Newcomers to the Bishoujo line may find this Batgirl rather tame by comparison to more recent releases. The line has always been about pretty women in tight outfits, but it’s become quite the gratuitous T&A show in recent years. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but Batgirl certainly represents a time when the line conveyed a lot more subtlety. Don’t get me wrong, this Batgirl is still dead sexy and her costume still looks like it’s painted on, but it’s not as overtly in-your-face sexualized as say a Starfire, or Spider-Girl, or Powergirl. There’s also a lot less skin than some. Indeed, the motion that Barbara is making with her cape actually obscures her chest almost completely. Although it’s a nice counterbalance that the same motion also serves to showcase her fabulous butt.

The bulk of Batgirl’s outfit is pretty simple, at least the bodysuit part of it, so most of the sculpting here went into the motion of her cape, as well as the belt, gloves, and boots. And, of course, let’s not forget the portrait. Barbara has her head slightly lowered with her red hair escaping from her hood and flowing about her. It’s a pretty simple face sculpt, although the eyes are more defined on this piece and given a bit more depth and I like it a lot.

Batgirl’s costume is predominantly painted with a charcoal paint that somehow manages to be both metallic and matte at the same time. There’s a dull sheen to it that contrasts nicely with the slightly richer gold and the brilliantly blue glossy cape and cowl. And oh god, is the blue on this statue gorgeous! I think the last time I was this impressed by a shade of paint was the red used for Bishoujo Spider-Girl’s outfit. The blue here is so rich and vibrant and manages to capture that new car finish level of brilliance. As is usually the case with Koto’s pieces, the paint on this statue is absolutely flawless. The lines are sharp and there’s no slop to be found anywhere.

The base is a simple black disc with the gargoyle for Batgirl to practice her best Captain Morgan pose on. It’s a hideous little beastie with its tongue sticking out and some really detailed sculpting, especially on the backs of its wings. It’s pretty convincing as a piece of granite done in plastic and it contrasts quite nicely with the smooth sheen of Batgirl’s attire.

This one was a long time coming and after a long time scouring Ebay and Amazon and hoping against hope I’d find a deal, all to no avail, it’s awesome to finally have Bishoujo Batgirl on my shelf. She’s absolutely gorgeous and I’d rank her among some of this line’s best work. What’s crazy about this release is that with an MSRP of around $50 she’s hitting most retailers a good ten to fifteen dollars under what most current releases in this line are starting at. It’s still kind of early to hope that his release will open the floodgates to reissues of the other expensive early Bishoujos, but it certainly does present some possibilities. And even if this is a one-shot deal, it’s still nice to have a statue in my collection that I probably would not have otherwise gotten hold of.

Dec 9 2014

DC Comics: ArtFX+ Batgirl Statue by Kotobukiya

If you haven’t heard, Batgirl is getting a costume makeover and so I’m starting to snap up whatever statues and figures I can that are based on her previous New 52 design because, well, I really dig it. In fact, it’s probably my favorite New 52 costume. A couple of weeks back we looked at DC Collectibles’ Batgirl figure and now it’s time to look at Kotobukiya’s effort with their ArtFX+ treatment of Babs Gordon. Yeah, I said I was going to stop collecting these once I finished the core Justice League team, but these little 1/10 Scale statues are such a great value for the money I can’t resist them and my ArtFX+ Catwoman was looking rather lonely on the shelf anyway because the Justice League was shunning her.

As with the other DC ArtFX+ statues, Batgirl comes in this clear box that practically doubles as a display case. The left side panel has some translucent artwork and the back panel is frosted over, but otherwise it gives you an unprecidented opportunity to inspect the statue while still new in the box. I really like this packaging design in theory, but it’s not terribly practical. The sides are prone to scratching and the corners are easily crushed and chipped. I usually save my statue boxes, but these just aren’t worth taking up the space because frankly I don’t think they’ll survive storage for any length of time. Unlike some of Koto’s ArtFx+ statues, there’s no assembly required here, you just get her out of the box and stand her on her base.

At 1/10 Scale, Batgirl stands at about seven inches, which is a really comfortable size that allows for just the right amount of detail without taking up a ridiculous amount of space. Koto has kept the DC statues in this range in museum-style poses, which works for me as long as they continue to remain consistent. Batgirl is standing with one hand on her hip and the other on her belt and shifting her weight to one side. It’s a nice, heroic stance and maybe just a wee bit coy. The cape is mostly form fitting, bellowing out a little at the bottom, but her hair is windswept to the side so you do get a little bit of energy conveyed in the composition.

The portrait here is quite good. It still sports a bit of the anime vibe that we’ve been seeing in this line since the beginning. That style made the other characters look appropriately younger, but I think here Batgirl looks older than she should be. Still, that’s the only thing I can gripe about, so all in all not bad.

This line has been pretty great about showcasing the New 52 costumes. Yeah, I get it, not everyone likes them, but I don’t have a big problem with them and I’ve already mentioned that I love this look for Batgirl. The suit features all the sculpted panel lines and scalloped armor, as well as the segmented belt and those adorable little bat cutouts at the tops of her boots. Every detail in the outfit is part of the sculpt, even the bat symbol on her chest, which is something that DC stipulated way back in the first printings of the comics. The bat clasp on her cape is present, but not painted, which is technically not accurate to the art, but I do prefer it. If you glance back at my review of the DCC Batgirl figure, you’ll see I’m not a big fan of having that bit painted.

The DC statues in this line have all featured metallic paint finishes and Batgirl here is no different. The high gloss black for the body suit looks great and it contrasts beautifully with the matte black used for the cowl and cape, with the interior of the cape painted metallic purple. The boots, gauntlets, belt, and insignia are all painted with a beautiful metallic gold. Some may argue that it should be yellow, but in fairness different companies have portrayed it both ways in the past. These were yellow on the DC Collectibles figure, but gold on Mattel’s DC Unlimited figure. Normally, I think I prefer the yellow, but I think the gold works best here given the metallic finish of the piece. The overall paint quality here is almost perfect. My statue had a white spot on the back of her head, which might have been a chip. Either way, it was easy to fix with a black modeling marker.

As always, you get a simple, black square stand, which is made of metal to work with the magnets on the bottom of Batgirl’s feet. It’s nice to get the support, but in this case Batgirl can also stand quite well on her own without the magnetic assistance.

As much as I’m looking forward to Batgirl’s chic new redesign, I’ll still be sad to see this costume get retired. I now have three different examples of it in my collection, and I’ll likely go for the Cover Girls of the DC Universe statue before moving on. As for the DC ArtFx+ line, I’d like to say I’m done with it now, but truth be told when I come across these in the $35 range, they’re just too hard to resist. They’re gorgeous little statues with great craftsmanship for the cost. In fact, I’m still eying up the Supergirl and Nightwing, and the upcoming Green Arrow will be a definite “must have” for my shelf.

Jul 15 2014

DC Comics: Armored Wonder Woman Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s time for more plastic crack from Kotobukiya. They get my paychecks direct deposited to them now to save me the trouble. What do they do with what’s left over? Ha, there’s never anything left over! Anyway, a couple of years back, Koto gave Wonder Woman the Bishoujo treatment and the result has remained hands down my favorite piece in my Bishoujo collection. When I heard they were doing her again, I was certainly intrigued. Could they improve upon perfection? And why bother trying? Well, the result is their new Armored Wonder Woman Bishoujo, a completely new take on everyone’s favorite Amazon from Themyscira. I had this lady sitting in the receivings pile for a little while now and today is the day I’m finally getting to open her. Can she rival the previous Wonder Woman release? Let’s find out!

If you’ve been collecting the line, the packaging here should be readily familiar to you. The statue comes in a two-sided window box with an extra window on top to let the light in. It gives you a passing peek at the statue itself, but she’s imprisoned behind plastic wrap and a couple of trays so you’ll need to get her out to fully appreciate her. The box is mostly white, but kitted out with plenty of colorful shots of the statue and the beautiful source art to make it exciting. The back of the box features a little blurb about Wonder Woman and, oh wait… what’s this?

Awwww…. Yeah! While Spider-Woman will be the next Bishoujo Statue I look at here at FFZ, Starfire is still due to ship this month. With the exception of maybe Zatanna, Starfire has been tops on my list of characters I wanted to see in this line. Needless to say, I’m really looking forward to her release. Ah, but let’s not steal any of Diana’s spotlight… back to Wonder Woman. The statue requires very little assembly. You need only plug her into the stand and she’s ready for display.

Ooooh… my! The photos I’ve seen of this beauty just don’t do her justice. The first thing you may find yourself asking, “this is Armored Wonder Woman? Really???” Well, her boots look like they feature a little extra reinforcement so her feet will be OK, but I’m not sure a pleated skirt, bodice, and dainty cape constitutes armor. Not that I’m complaining mind you. Diana’s got her bullet-deflecting bracelets so why does she need armor? The composition here is a spectacular blend of action and glorious cheesecake muggery. Diana has one foot on the base with the other leg bent back, her left hip tossed to the side and her bracelets crossed, no doubt to deflect the onslaught of fanboy overtures. The piece displays great from a number of angles, but if you rotate her off to the side just a little bit, you can get her gaze looking straight at you and it makes for what I think is the statue’s sweet spot. As far as height is concerned, this statue is slightly taller than the previous Wonder Woman, but right in line pieces like Power Girl and Huntress. The only Bishoujo on my shelf that stands above her is Storm and that’s mostly because of the base.

So, let’s swing back and talk about her costume. The sexy high heeled boots feature intricately detailed buckles running up the outer sides and the somewhat chunky raised white bands do indeed give them a sense of extra fortification. The paintwork on the boots is truly exceptional. That deep, metallic red is absolutely gorgeous and contrasts beautifully with the matte white and metallic gold.

The skirt is fabricated from a light, slightly transparent blue plastic, which looks fantastic and naturally it’s kicking up in the back to showcase her star spangled panties. In this case, Wonder Woman could take a lesson from Mara Jade and lose the cape because it’s blocking the view. Of course, the cape does add a lot to the kineticism of the piece. It’s flowing out to the side and perfectly counterbalances the composition of her left foot reaching down to the base. The bodice follows the same outrageous coloring of the boots with that sumptuous metallic red paint and beautiful gold paint on her belt and eagle emblem. The right side of the belt features Diana’s coiled lasso and a finely detailed little snap to hold it in place.

The portrait here is everything I’ve come to love about this line. Her face is a little more angular than some and her eyes are a little better proportioned, making this piece a maybe a tad more accessible to the non-anime fans out there. Most of the Bishoujo’s feature a down-turned head, but Diana’s is more cocked to the side so her face isn’t really obscured and I like that a lot. The windblown hair effect is particularly good here and compliments the cape for a nice sense of energy. Naturally the paintwork on the face is immaculate and we get more of that lush metallic red and gold paint on her tiara.

The statue does actually feature a swappable left hand that’s holding a dagger. The dagger is a great looking piece and I’ll concede that it does work very well with the composition by throwing a little more balance to oppose the cape. As a matter of preference, however, I think I’ll stick to the dagger-less look for my display.

I’ve never been all that big on Wonder Woman using swords and such and I think the pose works better without it. Nonetheless, it’s always nice when you get some display options on pieces like this one. Somebody out there is going to prefer the look of the dagger.

Last up is the base. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but you never quite know which way Koto’s going to go with their bases. They’re either going to be the elaborate diorama-type (like we saw with the first Wonder Woman) or just simple and utilitarian and in this case they went with the latter. You get a very simple transparent blue circle that sweeps up at the back. I like the fact that the base is small, because my Bishoujo shelves are getting a little congested these days. However, I do kind of wish they had just gone for regular clear plastic because I’m not sure the blue tint makes much sense here. Maybe it was just to add a little more blue to the overall pallet.

I really tried hard not to come at this review as a comparison to the original Wonder Woman Bishoujo. In style and composition, the two statues are about as different as they can get and still be in the same line. The original strikes me as something that could still appeal to a Wonder Woman collector who doesn’t happen to enjoy the anime influences of this line. It also has a serene sense of nobility and beauty that’s quite remarkable. Now, that’s not to take away from this new version, which is an absolutely fantastic piece that goes for more energy but still manages to capture everything there is to say about the character. I think this one fits in with recent Bishoujo releases a little better than the previous one. Is the original release my favorite of the two? Had you asked me that based solely on the pictures of this new one, I’d say there was never any doubt. Now that I have them side by side, it’s a much harder decision. I think the original still holds its own as my favorite statue in my collection, but I never thought it would be this close and that’s a huge credit to this new version.

Armored Wonder Woman is readily available now at around $55-60 and that’s a hell of a deal for such a gorgeous piece of work. Of course, Koto has yet another Wonder Woman coming out soon in their ArtFX Sixth-Scale line and that one is looking mighty damn fine as well!

Jan 24 2014

DC Comics: The Flash ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Today I’m taking a look at the next addition to my Justice League ArtFX+ statues by Koto. This time it’s The Flash and he’s been sitting around waiting to be opened since just after Christmas. I think it’s well past time I get him out and add him to the team! I should note that there’s no particular order in which I’m picking these up. I’ve just been going for whichever ones turn up at special prices online.

There’s the packaging. It’s the same style used for Supes and Wonder Woman only this time with a Flash motif. Once again, the clear illustrated plastic box makes for a great presentation, but it is rather fragile. I worry about it surviving in the long term, but I still think the tradeoff was worth it. Besides, the character art all matches up with the other statues so chances are you’re going to opt to display the boxes behind the statues rather than put them away into storage. On the downside, I’m going to have to find a wider shelf to display them all because I estimate I’ll only be able to get five across in the display case they’re in now. I call that a First World Problem!

As with Supes and Wonder Woman, the pose here leans more toward “museum style” than it does action scene, and yet with each release, Koto has managed to work a little inferred energy into the character’s stance. In this case, Flash is standing with one fist punching his open palm. It’s a great pose as it conveys a “Let’s do this!” attitude, as if he’s getting ready to go up against a wave of Parademons.

If you aren’t up to speed on this line, it’s the “New 52” look and I’m quite partial to The Flash’s current costume. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, many of the current DC costumes were expressly designed with 3D modeling in mind and it really shows in a statue like this one. Every single detail on this piece relies on sculpt rather than just paint. As a result you get all the cut panel lines, the texturing on the boots, the raised chest emblem and even the belt is raised. On top of that Flash features some superb musculature, particularly in his back. You don’t get to see the back detail on Supes because of the cape, but here with Flash it looks pretty spectacular.

The portrait retains the same anime style as we saw with Superman and, to a lesser extent, Wonder Woman. I don’t think it’s quite as apparent here either, but mostly because Flash is looking slightly down and his mask does cover a great deal of his face. It works for me, but I know some have been put off the style. Either way, the coolest thing about Flash’s head sculpt for me are the lightning bolts. They’re slightly bent to follow the curve of Flash’s head, but each ends in a razor sharp point and boy do they look amazing.

And then there’s the coloring. No doubt, one of the high point of these statues for me has been the jaw dropping metallic paint jobs. I was a little concerned about Flash because the statue substitutes the gold for the yellow in his costume. It’s really the first time Koto had to make a significant color change to make the metallic finishes work and it obviously makes Barry Allen’s costume look more like old school Wally West’s. In hand, it doesn’t bother me so much, probably because I’m just smitten by how gorgeous it looks.

Once again, the included base is a simple black metal square with “Justice League” printed on the front. The magnets in Flash’s feet allow him to stand up without toppling over and you can position him on the stand anywhere you want without having to worry about the placement of peg holes or posts.

So far this line has not disappointed and these statues just look amazing alongside each other! Koto continues to deliver fantastic display pieces for extremely reasonable prices. Flash retails at around $40-45, but like a lot of these statues, I was able to grab him for just under $30 and that’s quite a steal for the workmanship involved. Next week, I’m going to take a week off from the ArtFX+ statues to give the Kotobukiya slot to Bishoujo and then the following week we’ll swing back around to look at Aquaman!

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Tag Archives: dc comics

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DC Mages, Mystics & Magicians: Zatanna by DC Direct

Justice League Dark: Zatanna by DC Collectibles

DC Comics: Batwoman Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

Ame-Comi Heroine-Series: Supergirl (v.2) by DC Direct

DC Comics: Batgirl Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

DC Comics: ArtFX+ Batgirl Statue by Kotobukiya

DC Comics: Armored Wonder Woman Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

DC Comics: The Flash ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

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