SDCC – Page 7 – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Odds ‘n Ends

January 13, 2009 | Poe

odds_n_ends_09

While you can’t order MOTUC Beast Man or He-Man off Mattycollector.com anymore, on Mattel’s Facebook page they wrote, “with only a few hundred units left, we wanted to close down sales so we can have just handful for NYCC and SDCC to help spread the word on this amazing toy line at the summer conventions.” I’m glad Mattel appears to have met their sales goals with this line–it bodes well for its future.
The wait for my shipment of DCUC6 is just starting to get to me. After my ordeal with DCUC5, I knew I’d be OK for a while after wave six start popping up at retail. But now with the news that all we’re waiting on is for Mattel to get one last figure in, I’m getting a wee bit impatient, especially when I see all the great photos.
Just as the coolness of the Deathstroke figure got me buying some Teen Titans trades and back issues of his eponymous 1990s series, I grabbed Showcase Presents Hawkman and The Greatest Shazam! Stories Ever Told. I have to say, though, Hawkman has the most convoluted continuity issues of any character in the DCU (and that’s saying something).
There’s been a ton of speculation as to what the mysterious new Mattel 6″ property will be, but we now know a few things for certain: it’s not any of the Horsemen’s original properties, and it’s not Thundercats or WWE. Nonetheless, the Horsemen “can guarantee that there will be a LOT of excited fanboys.” They also say they bet we won’t guess it. According to Mattel, the first figure will be available at SDCC. I thought perhaps it might be Movie Masters Watchmen, but that wouldn’t really be a new line, since Movie Masters is pre-existing. After looking over Mattel’s previous licenses, I think it’s…I don’t know. But just to throw out some guesses: The Simpsons, Harry Potter, Captain Power, Universal Monsters.
Wow–quite a dogfight going on in this month’s poll. Everyone’s had the lead except poor Tytus (Megator led very briefly when I picked him after creating the poll). I do think the only way the Sorceress would work as an exclusive is if she came with Zoar, though–otherwise it would feel too much like a “regular” figure, which isn’t Mattel’s MO for SDCC.
Just forty-eight until Skeletor and the Starfire/Adam Strange two-pack go on sale!

The Four Horsemen are finally gearing up for the next FANtastic Exclusive. The Round 3 exclusive, Scarabus, is a bit behind schedule, so he’ll (hopefully) be available at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. The Round 4 exclusive should be available at the 2010 SDCC. (more…)

SDCC 2008: DCUC

July 26, 2008 | Poe

Where to begin? It’s funny that while DC’s comics continue to play second fiddle to Marvel, their comic-based animation and merchandising do very well–in some cases better than Marvel. I think that speaks to the appeal of the characters and universe. (Maybe DC should try starting up an Ultimate Marvel-style line of comics based on the continuity established in the animated universe, but in regular comics art style, not Bruce Timm’s. I’d buy ’em in a heartbeat.)

But I digress. Mattel’s DC panel at SDCC yesterday sounds like it was packed, and apparently some people are waiting in line for five hours to get their hands on the exclusives, so it seems DCUC is doing quite well. (more…)

Hasbro’s Marvel Museum (SDCC 2008)

July 25, 2008 | Pete

(Full pictures of everything I discuss are right here.)

Hasbro sure does show us a lot of Marvel figures, considering that they haven’t actually sold us many in the last 8 months or so.

Still, Hulk Legends has made it to retail (and Foom is worth it, even if a few of the figures aren’t), and other lines are on their way. In a weird move, Hasbro has shown another Wal-Mart exclusive wave, with no standard HML 4 yet to appear. I hope they don’t plan to continue this trend of ML appearing only as exclusives… (more…)

SDCC 2008 Preview Night

July 24, 2008 | Poe

Just a few comments on what came out of last night’s SDCC preview.

Mattel’s keeping most of their stuff under wraps (except for a few sightings of DC Infinite Heroes) until their panels on Friday, but they seem to be the exception–most companies had plenty of their new wares on display. One thing I did discover–apparently there’s a clear variant of King Grayskull. And here’s a look at the production figure.

Incidentally, Mattycollector.com is now live (well, with a preview page). You can make out some of the exclusives behind the Jughead-like Matty character. I’m really hoping Mattel ran this by Archie Comics first, given that company’s infamous habit of suing at the slightest provocation. (Note: the site seems to be going on- and offline like a yo-yo. No idea why. Keep trying and you’ll get through.)

I’m excited to see these guys. Looks like we’re getting a Foot Ninja, a UTROM (who I almost predicted in my previous post), SHREDDER!!! and a Foot Elite Guard.

Glancing at NECA’s videogame wares (including the protagonist from Prototype), I noticed in the corner some wee figures of Raving Rabbids! Here’s hoping for a three-pack with tons of accessories (I suppose Rayman would probably be in there too).

Pete will have an update on all the newly-revealed Hasbro Marvel goodies later today. The Mattel DC Comics panel is at 11am PDT tomorrow.

SDCC Predictions

July 23, 2008 | Poe

I thought it might be fun to toss out some predictions as to what new revelations we’ll see, toy-wise, at SDCC.

Here are a few of my predictions:

DC Universe Classics – I expect the wave six line-up rumored in my earlier post will prove accurate, with Kalibak as the BAF. For wave seven, I’m picking the following names completely out of the blue: The Flash (Wally West, w/ Prof. Zoom variant), Deadshot, Batman (modern), Captain Cold, Raven, Brown Man-Bat BAF.
Mattycollector.com exclusive: The Question
Movie Masters – Dark Knight Two-Face, DK Commissioner Gordon, Keaton Batman and Nicholson Joker.
Mattycollector.com exclusive: Movie Master Batpod
NECA Ninja Turtles – Foot Ninja, Shredder, April w/ opening-mouth Mousers, Triceraton

I don’t know enough about G.I. Joe, Marvel Legends, Transformers and such forth for guesses on those, so feel free to throw some predictions in the thread below.

Ode to an Odor (A poem in honor of SDCC)

July 23, 2008 | Poe

In honor of the San Diego Comic Con‘s most infamous trait, I offer this poem.

In sunny San Diego our story begins,

A starry-eyed lad’s first Comic Con.

He picks up his badge and posters and pins

And enters this geeky Avalon.

At first he is wowed by the sounds and signs

This celebration of pure fanboy bliss,

It’s only as the shock declines

He begins to sense something amiss.

At first he thinks, what’s that smell?

Faugh! Some stranger has sneaked a cheek,

He pushes his way through the swell

Hoping the putrid scent to cheat.

But our poor hero is not aware

This stench is beyond all known or reasoned.

Formed of sweat and body hair

It is many–it is Legion.

Odds ‘n Ends > Tokyo Drift

July 22, 2008 | Poe

ODD: For years now, Red Kryptonite and I have been exchanging 100-email Gmail threads. Around the 100th email, Gmail forces you to split off into another thread, so at that point we just start a new “volume.” I think we’re on the seventeenth or eighteenth volume now. Anyway, at some point we got in the habit of distinguishing them with sequel subtitles, and now I’ve decided to rip that off for future Odds ‘n Ends posts. Mostly because I hate trying to come up with those “Edition” titles.

END: Rumored line-up for DCUC Wave 6:

2601100194 DC Universe Wave 6: Dr. Impossible Action Figure
2601200194 DC Universe Wave 6: Hawkman Action Figure
2601400194 DC Universe Wave 6: Killer Moth Action Figure
2601000194 DC Universe Wave 6: Mr. Miracle Action Figure
2601300194 DC Universe Wave 6: Shazam Action Figure
2600800194 DC Universe Wave 6: Superman (Black Suit) Action Figure
2600900194 DC Universe Wave 6: Superman (Red Suit) Action Figure

Not sure what a “red suit” Superman is, but one guess is it may be a new “standard” Supes to replace the one from DCSH. I’d be more excited–Captain Marvel (Shazam) and Killer Moth are great news–but I’m too impatient from waiting for wave three.

Incidentally, my new must-have figure for DCUC is Deadshot. Given his appearance in Justice League Unlimited and the JLU line, I feel pretty confident we’ll see him in DCUC soon. Incidentally, in case you missed it, the Fwoosh has a sneak peek at a DCUC Blue Beetle (wave unknown). Congrats to VeeBee of Fwoosh, who’s been lobbying for this figure since day one. (more…)

Demons, turtles, and such forth

July 16, 2008 | Poe

I’ve got a backlog of posts to get to, including some new interviews, but today I thought I’d just pass on some of the news and pics that have been filling up my inbox. (more…)

Mattel All

July 7, 2008 | Poe

Phew! Lots of Mattel-related news and information this past week.

The big news, of course, is Mattel is finally opening a collector-friendly website (like HasbroToyShop.com). This website will be the exclusive home of the Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC) line, with a new figure being available every month. SOTA had plans to attempt something similar with their Street Fighter line a few years back, but that never got off the ground. We’ll have to wait and see whether Mattel can succeed with this sort of business model.

I’m curious as to what is motivating Mattel to try to cater to a smaller market like this. How much of a profit Mattel will clear with MOTUC? I suppose producing and directly selling figures based on an in-house license could maximize profits. While I question how successful MOTUC will turn out, Mattel deserves credit for both attempting the project at all, and for recognizing that there may be value in catering to niche markets instead of the mass market.

(more…)