Where is everyone? Two new posts since Friday and not a word of comment. I suppose I can’t really complain, since I’ve been sort of in toy hibernation myself, anxiously awaiting the arrival of wave three of DC Universe Classics. The waiting has already driven more than one collector over at Fwoosh and RTM insane.

Much of the complaining among the online community is based around Mattel’s perceived distribution problems. In terms of quantity, I understand where that’s coming from–the second wave of DCUC has been difficult to find, though I think it’s worth pointing out that there’s plenty of the first wave around, and it’s probably only fair to wait and see how easy it is to find waves three, four and beyond before condemning the company. DCUC2 could be a fluke (or, as Mattel has promised, more shipments of the wave may hit, particularly at Wal-Mart).

Now, as for the collectors who, like me, are going crazy with the wait for DCUC3…

I was too young to really be aware of how toys were released back in the 1980s. But a cursory look at the historical release lists for He-Man and G.I. Joe reveals I’m apparently a spoiled brat. The biggest year for new figure releases for the original He-Man line was 1984, when twelve new characters were made. Counting vehicle drivers, the debut year of G.I. Joe: RAH featured fifteen unique figures. There were a mere eight figures in the first year of Kenner’s Super Powers line, followed by fifteen the next year and ten the final year.

Since December, we’ve seen twelve figures in the DCUC line. While the availability of these (particularly DCUC2) is definitely a problem, I think complaints about lateness are a bit unfair. If Mattel manages to get out even four waves this year (rather than the planned six), that will be twenty-four unique figures (not counting variants) in a single year–four of them BAFs. Twenty-five if you count Lobo!

That’s pretty good for a mass market line. It will be interesting to see, at the end of the year, the final counts for original DCUC/Marvel Legends figures in 2008. I’ll revisit the topic then.