Odds ‘n Ends > Black Friday news, New DC Unlimited, Toy Feeder, Rom

November 21, 2012 | Poe

–I’m going to stop posting these as lists, because I want a little more room to work, add some images and whatnot.

–Mattel will be having another of their Black Friday sales. This one actually begins today at 12pm ET and will continue for six days, ending next Tuesday at noon ET. There will be savings of up to 30% off and Monday apparently will have flash sales and “special pricing.”

–Speaking of Mattycollector, BigBadToyStore has a “warehouse find” of some Mattycollector items, including the Wonder Twins and the Adam Strange/Starfire 2-pack. It’s unclear to me whether this was a warehouse find by BBTS or Mattel, but given the fact it’s a pre-order, I would assume Mattel. Not sure why they’re not just selling them at the Black Friday sale. Weird. There’s also an Infinite Heroes 4-pack if you’ve grown tired of throwing cash into open flames and want some variety in how you waste it. (more…)

Happy Great Unrest Weapons Pak Day!

October 15, 2012 | Poe

Link to the all-in-one order page

For the first time since the Wind Raider, I think, I’m actually going to be attempting to order something off Mattycollector. I’ve been remiss about posting these “Happy…” Mattycollector posts since the subscription became standard and there have been few things people actually had to order, but the Great Unrest pack is probably going to be popular enough to merit it.

Here’s a review of the Weapons Pak at Fwoosh.

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Happy Mekaneck Day!

September 17, 2012 | Poe

It’s been a long time since I’ve had to go through the painful experience of ordering via Mattycollector, so much so that I totally forgot to do a “Happy Whoever Day!” post.

I will say I’m excited about Mekaneck. He’s the one He-Man figure I distinctly remember opening as a kid, and I’ve always been fond of his design. It looks like they’ve done a good job on his Classics figure.

Today also marks the releases of the Snake Men 2-Pack, Dragon Blaster Skeletor, and from Club Infinite Earths, Black Mask – the first CIE figure I’ll actually keep (and yes, review). There’s also some JLU and WWE stuff I’m not interested in, but if you are you can check out the all-in-one page. No one’s sold out yet!

Doc Thomas Reviews > Starman (DC Signature Collection, Mattel)

August 21, 2012 | Doc Thomas

This Starman is based on the Kingdom Come version of the character.

I’ve always been a Marvel man. Sure, I’ve been a fan of the Batman since Miller’s seminal graphic novel, and I’m apparently one of the only sane people who loves Superman Returns, but I was always much more fond of the Marvel universe than the DC. This can be in part attributed to Bryan Singer’s excellent X-Men films raising the bar for comic book movies back before the 90’s ended, and then in part due to the phenomenal Marvel Legends action figures that redefined the way we collect today. But that line ended, and although Hasbro took the baton from ToyBiz it hasn’t quite been the same.

When Mattel decided to apply DC characters to that same formula the result was a great series of toys, but one that was incredibly hard to collect in Australia; while Marvel Legends were plentiful in Oz across their early run, the DC Universe Classics were barely available, if at all. Fortunately friend Poe was able to help me acquire basically the entire series, and since then I’ve been reading a lot of the great DC arcs, currently knee-deep in Blackest Night. I’m a convert; for all their mistakes and baffling choices, especially with the sad reboot last year, I’d argue DC can rise to the occasion with stories just as strong as Marvel’s.

I jumped at the chance to subscribe to Club Infinite Earths, to continue collecting characters from the DC universe, and I feel like I’ve been rewarded for it: the DC Signature Collection has offered both entirely new, and fan requested, characters, like John Constantine and Saint Walker, as well as excellent new versions of figures that have previously seen toys, like Atrocitus. Metron was an excellent incentive to subscribe – as was previously reviewed on here, he’s an excellent toy and a great centrepiece for your New Gods display. I’m happy to continue subscribing; even though I’ve fallen off the MOTUC wagon courtesy of the $75+ Fearsome Foe Whatsits, CIE’s figures are all interesting to me, even characters I’ve previously never stumbled across like Starman. (more…)

Club Infinite Earths confirmed for 2013

August 7, 2012 | Poe

While MOTUC fans await in agony for word on whether the 2013 Club Eternia went through (I’m sure it did), Club Infinite Earth fans already have confirmation.

I’ll say it: I’m surprised. I was certain CIE was dead in the water. I was wrong. It appears there was a huge surge over the last few days.

Poe’s Point > Final Thoughts on Club Eternia 2013

August 2, 2012 | Poe

Until the sub period ends on August 6 or there’s some actual news to report, this post is going to represent a hiatus on my Club Eternia 2013 coverage, as this will officially flog the horse to paste.

I was intrigued by this comment Rustin Parr made a few days ago:

I’d argue too that the subscription is also at fault because it created a false perception of security and success to the Team and Mattel. Because the bulk of us had put in for everything we simply lost our ability to “vote with our dollars” and help guide the team on what kinds of figures and price points were actually desired and viable.

Obviously variations of this argument have been made over the years – often in discussions regarding Mattycollector offering pre-orders – but Rustin articulates it succinctly here. More than once, a figure was revealed that I probably would never have bought in a store for the same price. To its credit, this made MOTUC a wonderfully inclusive line; small subsets of the fandom got figures that a more traditional mass market release would never have gotten around to. But Rustin’s right: denied an ability to vote for specific characters with our dollars (and in fact, forced to subscribe before even knowing half the product we’d be paying for), we had virtually no control over character selection or price point – aside from whether or not we subscribed the following year.

This year, it seems, collectors are indeed voting with their dollars – and suddenly, they’re being listened to. (more…)

Mattycollector Panel News & Discussion Post (Updated w/ MOTUC)

July 13, 2012 | Poe

Watch the Mattycollector panel live.

Yeah, I know I always use this pic, but I just love it so goddamned much. Sudden thought: would people be interested in a T-shirt with this image? Or maybe this one?

Anyway, the Mattycollector Fan Panel is due to start at 12pm Pt (3pm ET). I’m not sure I’ll quite be able to live-blog the event, but I’m sure Twitter will have live updates, so just keep an eye on my Toy Geeks Twitter List and you’ll get all the info as it happens. (more…)