More San Diego Comic Con pictures, taken from Michael Crawford's Review of the Week, Toy News International and Action Figure Pics. Looking at DC Direct items today.
Kotobukiya showed off way too much cool Marvel and Star Wars stuff to repost even the highlights, so I'll just link directly to Michael Crawford's Kotobukiya pics. I like Koto's stuff a lot, unfortunately I have neither the room nor the money to buy it, but I love the few pieces I have.
DC Direct is mostly known to me through their action figures, particularly the Superman/Batman line, but I'll cover action figures in another post, they also do some great statues and mini busts. Last year they did a Batman versus Joker Statue, and this year they follow it up with Batman vs Killer Croc. It's a really nice looking statue, very dynamic, though with Batman's splayed cape it'll take a lot of room. Not my room, of course, because I can't afford it, but somebody's room.
However, as nice as that statue looks, the one I really want is the Build-A-Scene statue. The idea is they take a big statue of a group of related characters, and break it up into three separate statues, so it's either more affordable, or so it's easier to produce, or something. Last year it was a statue of the new Justice League of America, two characters to a statue, Batman and Wonder Woman, Superman and Black Canary, and Green Lantern and Flash, each comes with a piece to build Red Tornado, who hovers above the others. I think the JLA statue looks really cool, and I wish I could get it. Each piece is around $150, so maybe if I save my money and try hard enough I could get each piece for $100 on ebay, maybe (some Gentle Giant statues have gotten really cheap when they came out, and some have stayed really cheap). Anyway, this year's statue is The Bat Family, and it's really cool and I really want it. The sections are Nightwing and Huntress, Commissioner Gordon and Batwoman, Catwoman/Gargoyle and Robin, assembling Batman.
Looks like there will be a Green Lanterns statue as well, which I'm assuming will be a Build-A-Scene also, with John Stewart and Guy Gardener, a Manhunter and Kyle Rayner, and Hal Jordan with two Guardians (one is Ganthet), building Alan Scott.
And finally (that I'm covering) a Wonder Woman vs Ares Statue. Ares looks really cool. The DCUC figure is great, but it is overwhelmingly blue (a nice metallic blue to be sure), but I really like the darker theme this one has, with silver trim.
And of course, DCD realizes that putting Batman and Superman on something isn't the only way to sell something, you can also use beautiful women, hence (or so I suppose) the Cover Girls of DC Statues and Women of the DC Universe Busts (har har). I spent a couple of years collecting the Gentle Giant mini busts, being smaller and cheaper than statues they were easier to collect, so naturally I like the Women of DC busts. I don't have any, because they're about the same price as GG busts (which I also don't collect currently), but they're even a little smaller. Also, there are a few my wife wouldn't be happy about me having, so if I can't have them all I'd rather not have any (until I can actually afford to buy a few). Anyway, upcoming Women busts: Raven, Hippolyta (who was the Silver Age (I think) Wonder Woman, which makes this third Wonder Woman bust), Batgirl (this is the second or third Batgirl bust), Vixen, Supergirl (second, I believe), Mera and Catwoman (also the third, I think). I like them all, and someday I may even get some of them.
All pictures of statues and busts from Michael Crawford's San Diego Comic Con Coverage.
I just noticed that Catwoman's base is a bag full of gems and jewelery and money. Very cool.
The Cover Girls of the DC Universe statues are based on actual comic book covers, featuring the title character in the same pose as the cover. They did a Batman, Superman and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) statue in a similar vein a couple of years ago, so it's a natural progression, but also seems to take advantage of the fact that Super Heroines are very well built in a physically appealing way, and better looking than the heroes. So far announced are Black Canary, Power Girl, Catwoman, Wonder Woman and Zatanna. I think the Wonder Woman is my favorite, but she's also my favorite character of the five, so I could be biased. I don't recall off the top of my head how much these cost (and the internet is unavailable for me to check), but I think they're around $200-$250, so predictably I won't be buying any anytime soon. Or maybe ever.
Apparently realizing that while sex sells, the Heroines aren't the only characters in the DC Universe that deserve busts, even if theirs are better looking, DC Direct have started a Heroes of the DC Universe line. Of course they're starting with the heavy hitters: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, again), Aquaman, The Flash, Shazam and Green Arrow. In contrast to the Women of busts, wherein the subjects seem to be posing for us, the Heroes busts feature the subjects in action, Flash running, Superman heroically breaking chains, Aquaman looks like he's heroically fighting a giant squid or something, GL and Shazam are heroically flying, Green Arrow heroically shooting his bow. I think they'll be an interesting contrast to the more static, flirty and cheesecake-y poses of the girls when displayed mixed together. Unfortunately, it'll be a long time before I have any to display at all, let alone mixed together in interesting ways.
And of course, what is a Hero without his villain? Just a guy in some silly tights, that's what, so DCD is also giving us a Villains of the DC Universe line, currently consisting of The Joker and Darkseid.
Yet another line I'd like to collect, and actually the one I've come the closest to actually buying any of, the Ame-Comi statues. Anime renditions of DC Heroines. Already released we've seen Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Catwoman, Supergirl, Power Girl, Wonder Woman (Armored) and Cheeta. Wonder Woman is by far my favorite looking of the bunch, though I also like Supergirl and Power Girl quite a bit. Upcoming ones include Huntress, Harley Quinn, Hawk Girl, Poison Ivy, Batgirl (Cassie Cain), Catwoman (classic, cool boots!), Black Canary, Wonder Girl, Steel (Tasha), a new Wonder Woman, a girl Robin (as in The Dark Knight Returns and War Games), and a first Hero in the line, Evil Looking Batman.
I wasn't sure how I felt about Batman when I first saw the pre-sale photos, but with the pics from SDCC I'm really liking in. Steel has a very Spawn-esque thing going on, with the asymmetrical costume, particularly the One Big Boot. Something looks odd about it too me, I'm thinking it's her skin color. Maybe it's the lighting, maybe it's just my failing eyes, or perhaps it's even the actual paint, but it seems to have a greenish tint to it, which looks really strange to me. Or possibly it's the giant goggles on her head. Or maybe it's that taking a suit of armor that's supposed to make her invulnerable and turning it into a swimsuit with a Giant Boot and Giant Glove is so incredibly illogical that I can't accept it. Who knows. Or Who cares? It's not like I can afford to buy them anyway. These tend to run for $40-$50, and I'm still kicking myself for not bidding on the Wonder Woman (Armored) that went for $20 the other day on ebay, or having enough to buy Supergirl and Power Girl when they were on clearance at FYE for $18.
The new Wonder Woman is the most risque of them all, followed by Wonder Girl, and the first series Catwoman. I'm not sure how I feel about Wonder Woman, the outfit is odd, and yet kinda cool, her arm bracers are really neat, she's got that Spawn One Boot thing going on again, but the rest of it is really out of character for what I know of Wonder Woman, and even more ridiculously impractical that the swimsuit she normally wears. But she also has a cool axe and Medusa's severed head, so that's pretty cool. Evil, scary looking Batgirl (Cassie) is my favorite of the upcoming ones, but I more or less like them all. Anyway, on to the pictures (pictures by Michael Crawford, except Black Canary and Catwoman by Toy News International).
And one final item from DC Direct to talk about, from their line of Prop Replicas. They've done Superman's cape and belt, Joker's Cane, they announced Batman's utility belt (cool, but not what I want to talk about) and Wonder Woman's tiara and bracers (also pretty cool). But the one I would be most excited to get, is the Lantern Rings, containing a ring from each of the eight lantern corps. I love the idea of the various lantern corps, and a display with all the rings would be a highlight of my collection.
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