IGN has a cool interview up with DC Direct’s Georg Brewer, about what sorts of figures will be coming out during the upcoming Green Lantern megaevent, Blackest Night. A highlight:

I always love when we work on project with Geoff. Not only is he a great storyteller, but he is a huge toy collector as well, so his insight and participation always makes things better. We run as much by him as is practical, from selecting the figures, to writing the copy, and he is a great collaborator. Out of our brainstorming sessions sometimes cool ideas come up that he then can support or play with in the story as it unfolds.

I found that to be particularly interesting — that the toys and licensed products might actually give back to the story side of the equation. But then again, I’ve heard of editors and artists occasionally looking at toys and statues for reference (because seriously, how many of us know how to draw ’80s Nightwing’s back without reference?), so maybe I’ve just been underestimating toys all this time!

In addition, Brewer announced the list for the upcoming waves of figures that will come out soon:

Wave #1
- Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman 6.5″
- Alpha Lantern Boodika with removable face plate 6.75″
- Blue Lantern Saint Walker with power battery 7.5″
- Atrocitus with power battery 7.25″

Wave #2
- Black Lantern Martian Manhunter 7″
- Green Lantern John Stewart with power battery 6.75″
- Indigo with Power battery 7″
- Kryb with removable back cage that stores 2 alien children 7″

Wave #3
- Black Lantern Aquaman 6.75″
- Green Lantern Arisia with power battery 6.5″
- Star Sapphire with power battery 6.625″
- Larfleeze The Orange Lantern with Glomulus and power battery 7″ GLOMULUS is 2.375″

Wave #4
- Black Lantern Firestorm 6.75″ to top of head (helmet increases height)
- Green Lantern Kyle Rayner with power battery 6.75″
- Black Hand with Batman skull 6.75″
- Wonder Woman 6.625″ to top of head (hair increases height)

Brewer mentioned that figures for Hal Jordan and Sinestro would not be forthcoming, only because they have had their own figures released fairly recently.

Mez-itz 6″ rotocast vinyl collectibles that are cool by design.

seriesOne of Mezco’s designer vinyl line presents Hellboy & Abe Sapian. These figures, based on the character designs from the film Hellboy 2:The Golden Army unleash the potential of the Mez-itz designer figures. Applying the essence of these dynamic heroes onto the canvas like Mezitz vinyl Mezco produces something exciting and original.

These two figures are exclusive to Toys R Us and ToysRus.com.
They can be purchased at

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3684540

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3684541

or at your local Toys R Us retail location.

We have to go back — to the toy store!

Bif Bang Pow! has announced it will be unveiling a line of Lost action figures and bobble heads at the San Diego Comic Con.

At the Entertainment Earth booth, you can have your very own Benjamin Linus bobble head, at $17 including tax!

“The twists, turns, and multiple threads that characterize Lost give rise to a host of distinctive and unforgettable characters. These characters lend themselves to the creation of unique figures and accessories that have terrific fan appeal and serve to memorialize this exceptional TV series,” said Jason Lenzi, CEO of Bif Bang Pow! in a written statement. “We’re thrilled to be bringing new bobble heads and poseable action figures to market in the vein of what Bif Bang Pow! has done with licenses in the past. As always with Lost and Bif Bang Pow!, expect the unexpected!”

This figure will be a Comic Con exclusive, limited to only 1,008 copies.

Via Topless Robot, this hilarious video from College Humor:

IDW has posted on their blog that Linkin Park has released a video for “New Divide,” the theme for the upcoming film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Linkin Park – “New Divide”

The soundtrack will be available in stores on June 23rd.

Marvel has announced that Activision has released a fun online minigame for those who just can’t wait to get your Civil War on!

With Civil War Online, you can put together teams of four heroes, to play on an online board, with the outcome of these individual battles being tallied out for a global count. Based on my current count, it’s looking like the Anti-Registration heroes are enjoying a lead of about 23.

This will reflect at least some of the storyline for the upcoming game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion, which will chronicle the struggle between Captain America and Iron Man over the Superhuman Registration Act. This next-gen systems game is due out in the fall.

Abe Sapien, the psychic humanoid amphibious paranormal investigator of Hellboy fame, gets the deluxe treatment with this super-sized figure. Standing a towering eighteen inches tall, this Abe Sapien is faithful to the design of Abe as seen in Hellboy 2:The Golden Army. Abe features fifteen points of articulation, removable goggles, and removable breathing apparatus.

Abe will be available at San Diego Comic Con in July 2009 or through Mezco Direct at
http://www.mezcotoyz.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=728

Abe Sapien photos by Jason Jerde.

Marvel is getting the sound and the Fury out about their Digital Comics program.

According to the publisher, new and renewing subscribers to the program will receive an exclusive Nick Fury action figure from Hasbro, inspired by his return from isolation at the climax of Secret Invasion. The figure costs $4.99 for shipping and handling.

“Hasbro is very excited to be teaming up with Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited for this exclusive giveaway,” Billy Lagor, Senior Director of Hasbro’s Global Brand Strategy & Marketing, Marvel, said in a press release.  “We truly value and appreciate the connection that we have with our Marvel fans and hope that shows in our action figures.”

On the web site, you can either get a yearly plan for $4.99/month, or a three-month plan for $8.33/month. You can click here to find out more.

…That’s right, a brand-new Ghostbusters web site.

With a new video game in the works, as well as some strong hopes to a third film in the making, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Dan Aykroyd-led franchise is getting itself a facelift.

The new site has message boards, photos, as well as resources for the upcoming video game.

Today is the day that toys from Hasbro’s Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen line roll out in a toy aisle near you. (Or at least, this is the day they’re officially scheduled to go on sale. Lots of stores jumped the gun and put them out early.) Hasbro’s website has a large assortment for view or sale, including one item I would love to have had when I was young enough to play with it:

The Bumblebee Voice Mixer. Actually, the item description says “Adjusts to fit head sizes ages 5 through adult”, and while I’m sure there are plenty of older toy enthusiasts who are going to have a ball cosplaying with it, I don’t think somebody my age could wear one without looking like someone from “To Catch a Predator”. More’s the pity.

However, there is one Transformers 2 toy that just might be too cool to pass up:

(Picture courtesy the fine folks at Figures.com)

Aww yeah, it’s Devastator! Seeing the Constructicon combiner kick some Autobot ass is going to be the best thing about this movie not named Megan Fox. The toy looks pretty sweet as well, even though I haven’t been a big fan of most of the movie designs so far. (I’m not a grumpy purist, I just think some of the characters look too generic. Especially Starscream and Megatron.)

After an underwhelming stretch recently of reissues and box sets that have felt like déjà vu the ninth time over — enough to make fans look to Mattel more and more as a reliable source of new DC action figures — DC Direct this week announced a new batch of figures that are buzzworthy and genuinely appreciated by this particular collector.

Expected to drop in January of 2010, the Justice Society of America’s second wave was solicited Monday, action figures based on the hit DC Comics series, masterminded up until recently by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross. While we’re still waiting for the delayed first wave of figures (featuring Green Lantern, the Flash, Starman and Sandman), what DC Direct just unveiled is most welcome. Based off the highly regarded “Thy Kingdom Come,” this lineup, while not perfect for my own selfish needs, is solid for JSA fans.
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Despite zombies being en vogue after Marvel Zombies (volumes 1 all the way through 4, natch) as well as DC’s upcoming storyline Blackest Night, I’m pretty sure nobody saw this toy coming:

Aw yeah. Zombie Solid Snake, from Metal Gear Solid. Or as I propose we call him, Rotting Snake.

I can pretty much see him at work — he’s sneaking up on someone under his trademark cardboard box, when suddenly a security guard is like, “jeez, what is that awful smell? It’s like somebody left the garbage out in the sun or something.” And then Snake’ll jump out and yell, “I have a condition!!!”

This toy’ll be available for order starting in October (appropriate, I guess) for about $79.99. There’s also a more “realistic” version of Zombie Snake available here.

[Link spotted via Ryan Penagos]

About a week ago, Matty Collector, the “boutique” site for Mattel action figure collecting, posted an announcement on Facebook regarding their delays in getting 2009 DC Universe product into the stores…

It is no secret that their has been a delay in getting new JLU figures into Target stores. This is entirely do to our factor[sic] shutting down last December. We have already found a new factory and we have new packs ready to ship, the problem is, while we waited for the new factory to produce the new 2009 figures, we had to continue and ship 2008 product to Target to hold the place in the toy aisle.

Stuff happens, especially on the distribution end of the action figure trade. But where Matty starts to lose me is in his pitch to clear 2008 inventory to make the newer items available…

So right now Target is full of 2008 packs. We need to get all of these sold before Target will take orders for new 2009 packs. So, to help, Mattel is funding a month long price reduction on 3 packs. So tell your friends and allies, swing by a Target and grab some JLU packs this month on sale. Once we move all of the older product, we have fresh new figures ready to ship and get into your hands!

Annnndd… that’s where you lost me. Having a Target about 5 blocks from my home, I get into the store at least once or twice a week, and I’m always checking the toy section in case something new or hard to find pops up. For what feels like months, I’ve been seeing the same stuff warming the pegs because Mattel had no business producing and distributing an excessive amount of certain figures that were never a guaranteed sale in the first place (see image above). But basically Mattel is saying, “Hey, we’re slashing prices, so hurry up and clear our inventory so we can make new merchandise available to you!” Over at a forum hosted by our friend and colleague, Action Figure Insider’s Julius Marx, the discussion on this has been robust.

Bear with me, I didn’t take any business or economics classes in college, so am I failing to grasp some supply and demand principles or something?

Or not-gettin’-any-action-figures? (OK, OK, that was awful, I’m sorry). Lucas drew my attention to this on Twitter (via GeekGirlDiva), and I just had to share it. I stopped collecting action figures ages ago, though I still have my Death and a few McFarlane NHL figures. I’m certainly not going to break that streak for Twilight figures, but maybe someone else will.

There are also quite ridiculously priced dolls of Edward and Bella that are temporarily out of stock–which means there’s a significant number of people who spent $139 plus shipping and handling on them.

PAWTUCKET, RI – April 15, 2009 – Hasbro announced today that G.I. Joe: Resolute, an adult fan oriented animated mini-series, will be broadcast via Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim on television as well as online.  Based on the classic G.I. JOE brand, Hasbro created 60 minutes of total content for this new story which will be presented as 11 episodes.

Beginning on April 17, fans will be able to see the first five minutes of the brand new, stand-alone animated mini-series on AdultSwim.com.  These episodes are broken down to ten 5-minute episodes and one 10-minute finale.  Following the first episode on April 17, subsequent installments will be posted on the Adult Swim website leading up to a full presentation of the entire series.   This finale will be broadcast on Adult Swim April 25 at midnight.  This televised event will not only feature all episodes seen online, but will be the first time fans can watch the final 10 minutes of the G.I. Joe: Resolute saga.  All episodes, including the finale, will be available to view online after this airing.

Intended for the adult fan that grew up with the brand in the 80’s, G.I. Joe: Resolute received standing ovations at both the G.I. JOE Convention, “JoeCon,” and San Diego Comic-Con in 2008 where sample clips were previewed.  Since then, fans have eagerly been awaiting the announcement of air-dates for the series.

“In a very exciting year for the G.I. JOE brand, we’re thrilled to be able to bring the G.I. Joe: Resolute animated series to the adult G.I. JOE fan,” said Michael Verrecchia, Director of G.I. JOE Entertainment Marketing.  “Adult Swim is the perfect broadcast platform to deliver the series, which features a more sophisticated animation style and story than prior animation.”

Hasbro developed the animation with executive producer Sam Register as well as a powerhouse creative team at Titmouse Studios including Joaquim Dos Santos, a veteran animation director, who worked closely with award-winning comic writer Warren Ellis, who penned the entire series. This highly regarded team brings an edgy, intense feel to the series, which will feature the most popular characters in the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA canon.  Iconic characters such Duke, Snake Eyes, Scarlett and Roadblock will do battle with Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness and Storm Shadow.

Fans can learn more about G.I. Joe: Resolute by visiting www.gijoeresolute.com

Mattel today sent out images and a little bit of information about Wave 9 of their DCUClassics line, and this one is a doozy. Black Canary and Green Arrow are present, along with villains Deadshot and Black Adam. Mantis is here, with a Robot variant. The coolest looking Wildcat figure I’ve ever seen will also have a variant, though what that’ll be was not ready for announcement yet. Classic Guardian rounds out the line, and each figure will come with a piece of a translucent Chemo build-a-figure. Click Read More for images of the rest of the line, and start saving your money up. (more…)

Today I picked up Mister Miracle from Mattel’s sixth wave of DCU Classics figures. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, because I love Mister Miracle and I think his colorful, Kirbytastic costume translates pretty well to toys. It’s a pretty good figure on the whole, though considering how much I was anticipating it, I can’t help but be disappointed.

Let’s start with the good stuff. The figure’s sculpt, by the Four Horsemen, is pretty freaking great. That goes without saying though, as all of the DCUC figures have had outstanding sculpts.

Mister Miracle comes with some neat accessories. First, there’s the requisite levitating foot discs (do they have an official name?) that plug-in to the bottom of the figure’s feet. In a really nice touch, both the bottom of the discs and Miracle’s feet are sculpted with Jack Kirby-flavored technology features. The extra-detailed sculpting wasn’t necessary, but it is much-appreciated. Also included are nicely sculpted manacles that fit over the figure’s forearms (Mister Miracle is an escape artist, after all), and a mini Mother Box that clips onto the back of the figure’s belt. The Mother Box is cool enough, but kind of useless since Miracle’s hands are sculpted into fists, and thus can’t actually hold it. Pity. And, of course, the right leg of the Kalibak collect-and-connect figure is also included.

And now, the bad: Mattel used a fairly hard plastic for the cape, so it isn’t very flexible. I hate hard plastic capes. DC Direct and Hasbro use softer, flexible plastic for their figures’ capes, so why can’t Mattel?

The paint applications are pretty sloppy in a lot of places on the figure, particularly in the areas where the green and the red meet. The plastic base is solid red, so the yellows and greens are painted on, and there’s a lot of overspray. There’s also some weird ash-colored paint wash on the upper thighs, which is not only completely unnecessary, but also quite unattractive since it makes Mister Miracle look like he’s been playing in mud.

I’ve read a number of complaints on line about collectors having issues with stuck or brittle joints on a number of figures in this line. I’ve bought about twenty of the suckers and this is the first time I’ve had this sort of problem. The right shoulder joint is stuck solid and restricts the arm from moving forward or backward. Boooooo! I hope this isn’t a going to be a regular occurrence for me, because the prevalence of immobile joints was the main reason I stopped buying Marvel Legends figures.

Despite my complaints, I’m still glad I bought Mister Miracle. It’s one of the better Mister Miracle figures produced over the years, though it doesn’t hold a candle to the sublime version from DC Direct’s New Gods line, which is my figure of choice for my action figure display.

Just to show how much I loved He-Man growing up, this is from memory:

I am Adam, Prince of Eternia and defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull. This is Cringer, my Fearless Friend. Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said, “By The Power of Grayskull. I HAAAVEEEE THE POOOOWWWEEEEERRRRR!!!!”

So, the new live action He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has been in something of development hell for a few years. After all, how do you top Dolph Lundgren facing down Skeletor on Earth? I mean, it’s what every kid dreamt of!

Regardless, Joel Silver, Matt Reilly (Warner Bros), and Barry Waldo (Mattel) are bringing the most powerful man in the universe back to the silver screen. Now, John Stevenson has joined the forces of good as Director. His only directing credit to date is a co-direction of Kung Fu Panda, but he’s worked in the industry on the art side of things for over two decades. The script is by Justin Marks, who may sound familiar to geek culture fans; he wrote the soon to debut Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li and is also working on the Hack/Slash comic adaptation screenplay. The script will be another strange meld of the classic cartoon story and modern elements, with He-Man leading the forces of magic against Skeletor’s technological army. No word yet on when all this will come together, or if He-Man’s voice will echo no matter where he is, even if he’s in the middle of a field, but hopefully it’s faithful enough to evoke some great memories.

And just for fun:

[Via]

Japan has all the coolest toys. Whether it’s Transformers that turn into shoes or Hello Kitty… um, “back massagers”… our wacky friends in the east come up with all sorts of neat stuff that puts our toys to shame. For example

Watchmen Kubricks! If you’re not familiar with them, Kubricks are block figures produced by Japan’s Medicom, and can be based on damn near anything from comic books to movies (according to Wikipedia, there was even a series of Kubricks based on the French movie Amelie). Unfortunately for us, Medicom releases the figures strictly to Japan, though they are occasionally licensed to American companies. DC Direct released a few of the Batman Kubricks, so hopefully they’ll pick up the rights to release the Watchmen line. If not, we’ll have to hope that a designer toy shop in the States imports them. (I recommend trying Kidrobot, though a quick scan of their website comes up empty. Maybe someday… )

The rest after the jump . . .

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