Nun is the Loneliest Number

My recent post about the new Kabuki action figure from Shocker Toys got me thinking about other comic book craziness from the nineties. And in that decade, it didn't get much crazier than Warrior Nun Areala:

Warrior Nun Areala was a comic book about, well, a warrior nun.

There were actually two different action figures made of Sister Shannon Masters. This one is obviously the Anime version.

I originally had the standard, or comic book, version back in the mid nineties. Until my dog chewed it up one day. A couple years later I won a contest on some toy forum and received this Anime Warrior Nun Areala as my prize. I guess God didn't want me to be without.

"Thunder...Thunder...THUNDER CATS HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

I admit, I also had a few Warrior Nun Areala comic books...

...I also admit, I probably still have them here somewhere...but I don't recall the relevance of the bejeweled gauntlet. You are more than welcome to read up on her at her Wikipedia entry if you care.

She came with a big old sword too for demon fighting fun.

What's more spectacular than this comic and action figure is that in my search for info for this post I discovered that a cartoon was actually in the works at one time!



I'd watch it.

Abra-abra-cadabra...

...I want to reach out and grab ya!

This alluring illusionist is Zatanna Zatara from the JLU action figure line representing her Justice League Unlimited animated look.


Zatanna is a magician who can cast magical spells by speaking in reverse. Her father was Giovanni Zatara - the magician who trained a young Bruce Wayne in the magical arts!


This figure is the single carded release of Zatanna. I think her leggings were different (fishnet) if you got her in the three pack release.


The carded release of Zatanna also came with a magic wand, but she can't really hold it very well.


Zatanna has a pretty simple but unmistakable and classic design, and I much prefer this classic magician looking costume over the more super-heroish look she had in the eighties.

Zatanna was a must have figure for me even though I'm only a casual collector of JLU because the character is so cool and fun. I hope she ends up in the DC Universe Classics and DC Infinite Heroes lines really soon!


"Ouy lliw evael a tnemmoc gnillet enoyreve tuoba rouy evol rof ciffiryot!"

I'm Bringin' Sectaur Back

Remember the Sectaurs?


These guys were Caleco's answer to the pseudo-science-fiction slash barbarian-warlords toys of the eighties - a Masters of the Universe type insect-human hybrid world of giant bugs and guys with antenna growing from their foreheads!


I had a few of these guys when they came out but they didn't survive in my collection to adulthood. I found Prince Dargon here at the local swap meet a couple weeks ago.

When I had my original Dargon, he came with a giant Dragonfly steed with movable wings. Another cool gimmick Sectaurs incorporated into their steeds was the fact that they were actually puppets - their legs were gloves that your fingers fit into (and I think you could also manipulate the creature's jaws.)

Another awesome part of the Sectaurs toyline was that each figure had a "pet" insect, and where Masters of the Universe figures each had a different action feature, for Sectaurs it was their bugs that had the mad skills!

I found this bug at the same swap meet, from the same seller, a week later. He wasn't Prince Dargon's bug, but buggers can't be choosers. His name is Toxcid and he belonged to the evil Skito. Toxcid's "action feature" is that he can squirt water. That's a pretty cool action feature for a toy bug!

Someday I'd like to get some complete and well conditioned Sectaurs again, but in the meantime I'm glad to have these fine specimin skittering about.

Kabuki Fever

Shocker Toys has just released their Indie Spotlight Comic Book Heroes Series 1 and I was lucky enough to get my hands on Kabuki!

Shocker Toys is focusing this new line of action figures based on independent comic book characters. Series 1 focuses on characters from the 1990s. I was an avid comic book reader and collector at that time, and while I am familiar with Kabuki in a general sense, I never followed any Kabuki comics. So for a character synopsis, I'll had you over to Wikipedia and I'll do what I do best - talk about the toy!

The packaging is designed with the collector in mind. You can easily un-tape the backer card and slide it off the plastic bubble, and re-attach it later for storage or display. This is a real nice collector-friendly touch, Shocker Toys!

In addition to showing the rest of series one's line-up, the back of the card has a nice file-card type bio on the character. Click for a larger image. Okay, now on to the figure itself!

Shocker Toys has designed Kabuki with all the articulation we have grown to expect in six inch comic book action figures. The figure is very similar to a Marvel Legends figure when it comes to articulation, although it does have it's own subtle engineering solutions - for instance, Marvel Legends' female figures tended to suffer from Pampers-Panties, and this problem has been well addressed by Shocker Toys with a good balance of aesthetics and function.

Another high note is that, instead of opened hands and removable weapons, Kabuki comes with two sets of hands. One set holding her weaponry, and one set of fists. Obviously they can be mixed and matched for cool results. The only downside to this is that no other figure could use her weapons, but that's a minor quibble.

The coolest thing about this Kabuki action figure, in my opinion, is her removable mask! Part of the reason I love superheroes is my obsession with masks, and I love that Kabuki has her own mask which can be easily attached and removed (instead of an alternate head or a permanent masked face.)

Kabuki is a well made and well painted figure. She moves easily but isn't too floppy, and holds many great poses.


Her mask stays put and comes off with ease as well.

Her hands are easily snapped on and off and the weapons don't outweigh her causing her to lose balance in action poses.

And because she's in the same 6-7" scale, Kabuki will fit right in to any Marvel Legends or DC Universe Classics collection.

Kabuki also has this cool dragon tattoo on her back! Groovy!

Her hip and torso swivels are really nice and allow for great contrapposto positioning.

With limited knowledge of Kabuki, I wouldn't have necessarily sought her out, but now that I have her I'm glad I do! I'm sold on the quality of this series and may need to get me some more of them soon! Future releases include Dick Tracy and an absolute must for me - The Phantom!

Apparently series one of Indie Spotlight is also known as the Maxx Series. If you collect all seven, you can mail away for a Mr. Gone! That's pretty cool. Each figure in the series also comes with an Isz from the Maxx universe:

Kabuki comes with a female Isz, natch!
If you're a big fan of Kabuki I would not pass this figure up. If you're a casual fan you can't go wrong with her either.

We Been Dancin' With Mr. BrownCostume

Brown Costume Wolverine
(sung to the tune Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison)

Hey where did you go,
days when new toys came,
back in the eighties?
To buy a new game.
Or maybe an action figure hey, hey
Secret Wars or somethin',
Oh yeah that toyline really
Got my heart a thumpin' with you,
My brown costumed Wolverine,
You my brown costumed Wolverine.

You know I never
Got a Magneto,
But that was okay
cuz Wolvie was neato!
Playing in the sunlight laughing,
Hiding behind a sandbox wall,
Snikt-ing and a slicin'
All them bad ol' guys would fall, with you,
My brown costumed Wolverine,
You my brown costumed Wolverine.

Do you remember when we used to sing,
SNIKT nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik; claws ta dah!

So hard to find good toys,
Now that I'm growin' old.
I saw you listed on eBay,
My your price has grown,
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometime I'm overcome thinking 'bout
Secret wars in the green grass,
Behind my childhood home with you,
My brown costumed Wolverine,
You my brown costumed Wolverine.

Do you remember when we used to sing
SNIKT nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik nik; claws ta dah!

The Secret Wars Wolverine is the greatest Wolverine action figure ever made. So much so that I have never been compelled to purchase or own another Wolverine action figure since.

Until now:

SNIKT Baby!

Booyah! This is the way Wolverine will always look in my heart and soul. Blue and yellow is for sissies!

This Wolverine is from the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine line of action figures, which mixes movie and comic book characterizations into one great toy-line. Seriously, why hasn't any other comic book movie toyline taken this approach? It seems so simple yet so brilliant - there's something in it for everyone.

Wolverine comes with a red Katana. I don't know if this is relevant to any specific comic storyline but it seems familiar. Anyways, it's sort of redundant, seeing as how Logan has six of these sticking out of his body...but kudos to the toymakers for at least adding something cool and not a big satellite-laser or jet pack (I'm looking at YOU Mattel!) EDIT: I found info on the comic relevance of the red sword HERE

Speaking of Mattel - here's a side by side with Wildcat of DC Infinite Heroes fame. While the DCIH figures lack the uber-articulation of the Marvel Universe and Wolverine movie figures, they are the same scale and there's nothing cooler than the potential for all the DC/Marvel team-ups that will be happening on nerd shelves everywhere!

"Nice duds, bub."

SNIKT again, baby!

Like I said earlier, I have never taken ownership of Wolverine's blue and yellow spandex. When I met Wolvie this is the costume he was wearing, and it was many years until I even read a Wolverine comic, so he is indellibly etched in brown in my brain.

Someday I will track down a decent Secret Wars Wolverine to replace my long lost favorite, but until then this guy is everything a Wolvie lover could ask for in an action figure.

*sniffsniff* "SHHH! I hear something comin'"


STOMP!!!!!!!!!


"Hulk SMASH puny Canadian."


"Whoa...did anyone get the license number of that big green truck?"


*Flip* "Ha! Whose got the advantage now, Jolly Green?"


"Hulk just want to give Wolvie fashion advice. Hulk hate earth tones...Hulk like sissy blue and yellow!"


"Hulk been watching new show: Queer Eye for Super-Guy. They say color is in this season! They say Wolvie look Faaaabuloooooos in yellow and blue! Hulk agree!"

"Oh boy."

TMNT Redux

Although TMNT week has already been left in the past like so much discarded ooze, I realized I have one more favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle "toy" that I completely forgot to mention:


This is the cover for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nintendo game by Ultra. Dig the standardized red mask/belt look! That all changed when the cartoon came out in order to give the turtles more distinct looks.


This game came out in 1989, which is pretty early in the TMNT merchandising juggernaut that we know today. Notice the blurb about the Playmates action figures.


The instructions are ironically (or maybe intentionally) black and white - reminiscent of the original turtle comics which were also published in black and white.


The pictures for the bios of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello look more like their action figure counterparts, with their initials on their belts and their different belts/straps.


"Enemies Galore" - you can tell which characters were from the TMNT comics/toons etc by their "TM" trademark indicators next to their names. I like "Fire Freak - an ex-pyromaniac from Brooklyn."


Mecaturtle's blurb is hilarious - "Appearing like your average turtle," oh yeah...I almost walked right past him he's so non-descript - what with those massive blade hands and all - just like an average turtle!

This Nintendo game really is fun but also extremely complex and difficult. It's not your average beat-em-up game either - with complex maze-like levels, difficult bosses and the ability to switch turtles mid stream for maximum weapon efficiency.

You can play the game directly on your computer at Virtual NES

And here's a video of the game's intro that I pulled off Youtube. Yay laziness!