Diamond Reveals Their Plans for Battle Beasts

April 12, 2012 | Poe

The new Battle Beasts website has gone live. Highlights:

  • There will be a new comic from IDW,  written by Bobby Curnow (Godzilla Legends, Night of 1000 Wolves) and penciled by Valerio Schiti (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Donatello, Dungeons & Dragons: Eberron)
  • At San Diego Comic-Con, DST will unveil the first full wave of Battle Beasts Minimates, which will be in stores in late fall of 2012. The first wave of two-packs will focus heavily on characters who appear in the comic, and will have a gameplay element, as well. DST will also have an exclusive two-pack of Battle Beasts for sale at the show.

So it looks like the figures will indeed be Minimates in the style of the previous con exclusives, and not the fully-sculpted action figures we saw prototypes of a while back. That’s disappointing, but the Minimates style is very popular with collectors and kids alike, and this will allow Diamond to offer the kind of variety and character selection the original Battle Beasts line was known for. It’s probably a shrewd move.

Odds ‘n Ends > Battle Beasts, Disney/WB, & a new Outer Space (Wo)man?

April 11, 2012 | Poe

  • As of this posting it’s just under a day and a half to go until we find out what Diamond Select’s plans are for Battle Beasts (probably at C2E2, if I had to guess). Keep an eye on this site.
  • As a favor to Poe Power Pal and resident homicidal maniac Doc Thomas, please “Like” the Australian store Popcultcha on Facebook. If they get 10,000 likes, they’ll have a 20%-off-everything sale, and Doc Thomas has promised to review every single thing he buys here on PGPoA. (Actually I just made that last part up, but I’m going to hold him to it anyway.)
  • Bored at work? Poester Sped linked me to this list of “30 Cool Toy Commercials From the ’90s.”
  • Topless Robot picked up on my “DC Universe Tragic” post, and Rob agrees that the problem is as much DC as it is Mattel. I noticed in the comments the growing idea that the superhero comics of the big two are a dying medium that will soon move almost entirely to movies/TV/videogames. I think that’s just as well, if only because at least that would force Disney/WB to employ some goddamned consistency (for a TV season, or at least two hours in a theater). Side note: how soon before Marvel/DC becomes Disney/WB?
  • I somehow missed this, but Outer Space Men creator Mel Birnkrant has created a new OSM member, “Terra Firma – the Woman From Space,” who will evidently be sculpted by the Horsemen and added to the OSM line. Since Major Matt Mason – the original, if unofficial, Earth OSM member – is owned by Mattel, I think the curvy Terra is a perfect fit. Or rather a “snug” fit, judging from that costume – ring-a-ding-ding!

DC Universe Tragic, Ctd

April 11, 2012 | Poe

This was posted last night on Mattel’s Facebook page:

You may have heard that the time is nearing for the end of the Young Justice toy line. While we’re as bummed as you are, we want to be sure you know this doesn’t in any way mean the end of DC toys from Mattel. In fact, it’s quite the opposite!

Next month kicks off not one, but two new lines: our DC Universe Club Infinite Earths subscription service dedicated to true collector characters you won’t find at retail. The first shipment goes out in May and features an all-new 6″ Golden Age The Flash figure. If you missed out on this awesome subscription, a limited quantity will also be available at MattyCollector.com on May 15th at 9am PT. Then, in late May, head to your local retailer and you’ll find The Dark Knight Rises, a kid-targeted Batmanâ„¢ line. And for 2013, we’re planning an innovative collector-aimed line coming to retail stores.

Keep your eye on this spot and we’ll have more details as they’re available. Our partnership with DC is stronger than ever and we couldn’t be more excited for all the amazing new collector and kid toys to come!

Here are my two cents on this announcement:

1¢: “[…] we want to be sure you know this doesn’t in any way mean the end of DC toys from Mattel” is not the same as saying “We will be making more 6″ action figures in the DC Universe Classics style” (and “an innovative collector-aimed line” could be anything).

1¢: I have significant doubts there will be a 2013 edition of Club Infinite Earths, given how we barely got a 2012 one.

I realize this post is coming off negative, but I want to balance the corporate spin with a dose of realism.

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DC Universe Tragic

April 10, 2012 | Poe

I’ll admit I’ve been remiss in covering this, but Mattel’s DC toy lines are in trouble. Young Justice’s 4″ and 6″ lines have been cancelled; JLU ends this year. But what about the DC Universe 6″ lines? To quote the Magic 8-Ball, “Outlook  not so good.” (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > New Sponsor, Facebook Question, Turtles Classics Pics

April 9, 2012 | Poe

  • New Sponsor: Please join me in welcoming our newest sponsor, Xenon Project. Xenon Project sells remote control and replica vehicles such as the Hawkspy Helicopter w/ Spy Camera, the Destroyer RC Boat, and the 1:18 Dark Knight Tumbler. I don’t collect RC stuff myself, but every year my family sponsors a family in need for Christmas, and this past year all the kids wanted RC helicopters, so if you’re into RC or know any kids who are, check out Xenon Project. And remember, my sponsors keep this site going, so the more you check out (and if the mood strikes you, order) their wares, the more you support PGPoA.
  • I’m trying to think of a way to add value to PGPoA’s Facebook page (without moving the site exclusively to Facebook which, fear not, I will never do). It’s the place I share any interested toy-related news I come across from my Facebook connections, but I’d like to make it more worth a visit. Anyone have any ideas? I was considering moving one of the regular features over there – maybe Toy Aisle Trolls – but I’d rather come up with something new. Something that would be worth checking the page out for if you’re on Facebook, but not so good that the people who don’t want to use Facebook feel like they’re missing out.
  • This came up in my post on the new DC MOTU comic, but I wanted to reiterate here that the new miniseries is a brand-new canon, and writer James Robinson is free to use any character from any of the various canons. So we could see the likes of Draego-Man or Vikor. It almost makes me wish they’d gotten Paul Dini to write it, as you just know he would have brought back Plundor and made him all badass.
  • If you haven’t seen them already, head over to Infinite Hollywood and check out the new close-up pics of the Turtles Classics Raphael. These come from Dave Cortes’s studio, so there’s no guarantee at all that the production figures will look this good, but there are some nice turnarounds that show off the articulation.