Review > Captain Marvel (DC Universe Classics)

February 10, 2009 | Poe

shazamalexrossposter_bigSince his first appearance in 1938, Superman has inspired countless similar characters (“knock-offs” would be the unkind term), from Captain Atom to Supreme to the Sentry. But the first and greatest Superman clone is undoubtedly Captain Marvel.

Created a year after Superman’s debut by artist C.C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, Captain Marvel was Fawcett Comics’ answer to the Man of Steel. Unlike Superman, though, Captain Marvel’s alter ego wasn’t a mild-mannered adult like Clark Kent, but a well-behaved twelve-year-old named Billy Batson who transformed into the superhero by saying the word “Shazam!” (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends

February 10, 2009 | Poe

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  • I realized I completely missed last week’s Odds ‘n Ends. It didn’t even occur to me until yesterday. My apologies! I’m sure I had much more pressing business involving saving the world from diabolical forces or some such.
  • For those of you wondering whether the DCUC Wonder Twins are fake, all signs point to them being real. That’s all I’ve got right now, though.
  • Kastor’s Korner has a clearer pic of the NYCC panel Joker reveal. The mallet definitely has the Joker face.
  • Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I saw Coraline over the weekend. It’s a lovely, creepy story–I haven’t read the book, but I want to now. It’s a worthy successor to The Nightmare Before Christmas, and probably a better heir to Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal than Mirrormask (which was designed to be an heir to those movies) was.  The 3D aspect is mostly low-key, making the film a more immersive experience without being distracting. Also, DMG was quite taken with the tiny knitted items used throughout the film, such as the sweaters and gloves.
  • As a Red Sox fan, I should probably be taking some measure of schadenfreude in A-Rod’s admission yesterday. But honestly I’m just kind of sad. While I’m genetically wired to hate the Yankees, I did hope A-Rod would surpass Barry Bonds’s home run record–and do it clean. Now A-Rod would have to surpass it by as many home runs as he hit between 2001-2003 in order to avoid the dreaded asterisk (at least in my mind). Shine on, Hank Aaron.
  • To get back on topic, I should have the rest of my DCUC6 figures today, so look for reviews the rest of the week.

DCUC Wonder Twins?! (updated)

February 9, 2009 | Poe

Here’s an odd thing that popped up on a CARS blog…

[Pics removed at Mattel’s request.]

Absolutely nothing has been confirmed yet. This could be a custom. But…could the Wonder Twins be this year’s SDCC exclusive? Or perhaps a Mattycollector.com two-pack?

(Thanks to graznador at the Fwoosh for pointing this out.)

Review > Killer Moth (DC Universe Classics)

February 9, 2009 | Poe

killer_moth_2What is there to say about Killer Moth? He’s probably second only to Kite-Man as Batman’s goofiest foe. He makes the Rainbow Creature look menacing. It wasn’t until his 1990s transformation into the monstrous, Mothman-like Charaxes that Drury Walker finally got some respect. (On a side note, the Internet seems to believe Killer Moth actually inspired the name of Mothman. I’m skeptical myself.)

Packaging: The usual. Here’s KM’s bio from the cardback:

Drury Walker was an unsuccessful career criminal who took on an even more unsuccessful career as a costumed villain. What he became was a joke, both to his fellow criminals and the crime fighters alike. Disgusted with being laughed at, KILLER MOTH made a deal with the demon NERON for greater power in exchange for his soul… powers that changed him into the fierce, half-man/half-insect, all-mad CHARAXES! (more…)

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode), 2/7/09

February 9, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Sanjeev reviews the Onell Design Buildman Ranic (Standard and Reverse versions) figures. Excerpt: “… equal parts action figure and building toy.”

Thomas Wheeler reviews the Hasbro Star Wars The Legacy Collection Clone Trooper (with Cip-Quad) figure. Excerpt: “… he certainly comes with an impressive piece of weaponry that goes way, way beyond the usual blaster pistol these guys tend to be issued.” (See also.)

Scott Rubin reviews the Mattel DC Universe Infinite Heroes Crisis series Starfire, Captain Boomerang and Raven three-pack. Excerpt: “… a diverse and motley mix of figures.” (more…)

Toy news roundup, 2/9/09

February 9, 2009 | Poe

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  • NECA wasn’t in attendance at NYCC, so there are no updates on the status of their Ninja Turtles line.  It’s not looking good though, folks.
  • However, Playmates is going forward with their Mirage-based line. Here are some photos of the Turtles, Shredder, Splinter, and a Foot Soldier. The Turtles and Splinter look all right, but Shredder and the Foot Soldier look terrible. But then, Playmates seems to be having trouble with human figures lately.
  • Captain Collector has photos of DCUC series 6 and 7 up. Lovin’ that Flash. Kid Flash is way too small, though.
  • In case you missed it, Mattel announced how you can redeem those Anti-Monitor points you’ve been getting from your Infinite Heroes figures. 50 points gets you a 3 3/4″ Anti-Monitor figure at SDCC (alternatively, you can buy him for $10); while each 25 points gets you a raffle ticket for a titanic 30″ Anti-Monitor figure with light-up eyes (one will be raffled off each day at the convention). Before you ask, Mattel apparently told reporters “the figure is so large that mass production tooling was too expensive to do. Mattel instead hand-made each and every 30″ Anti-Monitor to be given away.” At least you do get two raffle tickets when you purchase a 3 3/4″ Anti-Monitor for 50 points. I can’t help but feel like this is another (unintentional) kick in the teeth from Mattel, though. They don’t seem to understand how annoyed, stressed and sometimes downright angry it makes collectors to know there are things out there they’ll never own, even if they were willing to spend the money on it.  I know if this was a DCUC thing, I’d be really annoyed. Part of me thinks it would be better for Mattel not to make the 30″ Anti-Monitor at all…what do you think?
  • Hmm…there wasn’t as much toy news as I thought there would be out of NYCC. I suppose Mattel is ahead of the curve in making NYCC their primary collector’s con. We’ll have to wait until SDCC for all the cool toy-related panels and so forth.