Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

I took my lunch break today and ran down to Best Buy to get the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD on the day of it's release. I have been loving all the DC/WB direct to DVD animated movies, and although some have been stronger than others the fan-boy in me has never been disappointed. While I don't always run right out to buy them on day one, the exclusive mini Owlman offered with the Best Buy release, in addition to all I had heard and seen regarding this newest feature (Spectre short, people!) had me waiting in breathless anticipation for it's release today.

Let me start at the beginning. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is the first DC/WB animated feature to include a short "Showcase" cartoon. I imagine this is going to be a common occurrence now, and damned if they didn't blow the concept completely out of the water with their Spectre short.

Holleee Hanna!

I had tears in my eyes this thing was so good! Set in Los Angeles in the seventies, Jim Corrigan is a detective on the case of a murdered Hollywood mogul. The storytelling style is very old-school horror flick with an era relevant cop movie flavor, with a lot of homages to the genres mixed in. If you've ever read a good Spectre story, THIS is a damn good Spectre story!

After such a power packed opening act, I wasn't sure the main feature could live up to the adrenaline charge. My fears were put to rest about two seconds into the title sequence, and the fun didn't end until the credits rolled.

The story for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths was originally envisioned as a bridge between the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series, and fans will immediately feel the vibe. But those who did not follow the two series won't be lost or left behind, it hits all the right notes and doesn't leave anyone feeling like they "missed an issue."

The story is deep, the characterizations are spot-on, and the fight sequences are choreographed to near perfection. There's real gravitas to the threat hovering over our heroes, and real victory in their achievements. Cameos abound for the geeks, but again (and I can't emphasize enough the value of this component) the casual viewer will enjoy it without feeling like they aren't "in on the joke." For instance, my daughter enjoyed the film immensely without having to know that Superwoman's minions are Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Uncle Marvel (in evil form, of course.) But I knew it. And I squeed a little on the inside.

So here's my recommendation. Buy it. Rent it. Borrow it. Steal it. Do whatever you gotta do to SEE IT!

I personally set out for the Best Buy release because of the Owlman figurine, which I recommend if you're into that sort of thing. It's smaller than DC Infinite Heroes figures, so it doesn't really fit into any current DC toyline, and it isn't really an action figure anyways as only the arms and head have articulation (and the arms are pretty useless with that massive cape.) But it's a nice add-in and the 2 disc DVD set with him included is only $19.99 right now at Best Buy, so it's worth it if you can get it.

The second disc includes a featurette with the DC editorial/creative team that came up with the recent Crisis comics storylines and two episodes of the Justice League animated series (appropriately enough: A Better World parts 1 and 2.)

Also included is a "First Look" at the next DC/WB animated offering: Batman Under the Red Hood. Man oh man, I am SO looking forward to that one!

Blue Monday

Guess who!

It's blue!

About a month ago Darius Whiteplume of Adventures in Nerdliness held an online scavenger hunt. The prize? His original Sears Cantina Playset exclusive Blue Snaggletooth! I'll cut to the chase real quick and point out the obvious...I WON!

It wasn't an easy scavenger hunt, a big component of it felt like the challenge was reading Darius' mind to figure out what he was looking for. But the chance to win a Blue Snaggletooth, one of the holy grails of original Kenner Star Wars figures, was impossible to pass up.

Or was it?

Unbelievably, only two people even entered the contest; myself and Reis of Geek Orthodox. Sadly for Reis, he lost. Even sadder, he lost to me. Because I've been sure to remind him on several occasions.

Like now ;)

The Blue Snaggletooth was released immediately following the movie, and is terribly off-model. Yes, even moreso than all the other Kenner figures that immediately followed the release of Star Wars. Therefore this Snaggletooth never saw release outside the initial Sears exclusive Cantina set release. For a toy series that has seen about 438 different releases of even the most obscure background character in the last 30 years, that is no small feat and makes this guy a rather tough find. In fact, until now I had never seen one in person before. That too is no small feat, as I am obsessed with toys to the point of it being a bona-fide affliction.

My "main stream" Snaggletooth has appeared on Toyriffic once before but is currently stored away. I'll have to dig him out for the side-to-side reunion soon. But as you can see, Blue Snaggletooth is unnaturally tall for an...um...Snaggletooth.

He is also shod. By Ace Frehley*

I can't thank Darius enough for this epic add to my collection. Rest assured, good sir Whiteplume, he is in good hands.

"Hi Reis!"




*thanks Brian A. for the spell-check!

Like a Bat Outta' Hell

I didn't collect TMNT figures when they first hit the scene back in the late 80s and early 90s. The only one I ever bought "new" was Slash, (who ironically I have since lost and no longer have in my possession.)

I have, however, picked up quite a few over the years from secondary sources, and my collection has recently grown by leaps and bounds. Since I get so many from garage sales or the swap meet, they are usually incomplete - missing weapons or a belt here and there, and I am generally fine with that fact as long as the figure itself is in good shape.

But one specific character has tempted me for a while, and an incomplete version just wouldn't do. So I went to eBay recently and for a very good price (cheaper than most current toys on shelves now) I grabbed him mint-on-card and immediately tore him open when he arrived!

Who is this mystery TMNT I speak of? Without further ado...I present...Wingnut!

A face only a mother could love.

Wingnut is so freaking cool! Get a good look at this crazy not-Batman! Wingnut came in under my radar (ha ha) when released in 1990; a time when my collecting jones was focused full-force on toys from the recently released Batman movie. But Wingnut is a Batman parody! How did it take me so long to discover him?!?!

When I did recently start looking at TMNT characters and learned about Wingnut's existence, finding him wasn't too difficult. He pops up all the time at the swap meet. However he always, and I mean always, appears sans wings.

Now, a belt, or a gun, or even his sidekick I can miss, but a bat ain't shat without his wings!

So I finally went the eBay route and got one complete, and I am stoked at my newest not-Batman figure!

Speaking of his sidekick, here's the mosquito Screwloose. Wingnut and Screwloose are, according to their bio, previous residents of the planet Huanu. Huanu was destroyed by Krang. Wingnut and Screwloose somehow escaped the destruction and ended up on Earth to fight the good fight.

I've even stumbled onto a loose Screwloose (ha ha) at the swap meet before, but passed on him at the time, not having a winged Wingnut (the wordplay just writes itself.) That's the type of collector I am.

But now, thanks to eBay, I can finally stop looking (which means I will probably find a complete Wingnut as early as this weekend.)

A complete Wingnut comes with two removable "Plasma-Propelled Bat Wings," a "Utility Bat Belt," a "Blood-Burstin' Bat Bomb," a "Bat Gun," and his sidekick Screwloose.

I know why the caged bird sings...

...it's because I finally got a DCUC Black Canary!

Black Canary is from DC Universe Classics wave 9 - a wave that somehow completely avoided landing anywhere near me. With reports coming in that people are already finding wave 12, I figured my chances of getting any wave 9 figures was pretty much nil. Not surprisingly it is also a wave with an abundance of characters I want: Wildcat, Deadshot, Guardian, Green Arrow and of course, Dinah Lance. Fortunately I was able to make a trade with a friend of mine and I just got Dinah in the mail today!

Black Canary's fishnets are real cloth, which is a nice touch and really stands out in person. Her leg articulation is more limited than most DCUC female characters in order to allow for actual fishnets, but I feel that the aesthetic trade-off is well worth it.

Black Canary really is a stand-out DCUC figure. Her head sculpt is exceptional, and her design is straight out of the comic books.

She has all the articulation and sculpting pros and cons of all DC Universe Classics figures, so you should all know what you are getting in that department by now. At this point if you are still with DCUC as a collector, it merely comes down to character selection and availability. Who do you like, and who can you find?

It's a real shame that distribution is an unmitigated mess for these figures. If it were otherwise, I would glady give Mattel a lot more money. For instance, not counting the cool characters in wave 9, Dinah's Collect and Connect piece is for Chemo, a fun looking character who would be really neat to build. But the pickings are ridiculously slim for DC Universe Classics in my locale, so I don't have the luxury of "team" or "C-n-C" building without adding a level of collector strain to my already heart-disease-prone ticker that just isn't worth it. Thank goodness I have been able to build a decent community of fellow collectors who can help each other out on occasion! Now that is a REAL Collect-and-Connect!

This looks like a job for...

Clark Kent!

Clark Kent was released by Kenner in 1986 as a mail away exclusive. I think you had to send a couple Super Powers UPCs and a couple bucks for shipping and handling to get him. He was never sold at retail. He didn't come with any accessories, but I'm sure there's a playmobil phone booth and brief case out there somewhere that I'll need to eventually track down to make this figure complete in my own mind.

Clark isn't impossible to find, but he isn't the cheapest Super Powers figure to acquire either. Imagine my surprise then when I found this farm boy at the swap meet today! AND I was able to knock fifty cents of the asking price - I got him for $1.50! Now that's a deal worth reporting!

I have mentioned in previous posts that I did not have any Super Powers figures when they were first released. In fact, somehow I had not had any Super Powers action figures until last year!

Counting Smallville here, I now have five. I certainly didn't ever expect Clark would be one of them!

"Taxi!"

The best part about this figure is, like all Super Powers figures, he has an action feature. His arms wave back and forth when you squeeze his legs. So you can recreate those subtle rushes to the phone booth!

Up, up and awaaaaay!

Smallville Absolute Justice JSA Painting

The amazing artist Rodolfo Migliari, who painted the JSA round table painting appearing in last night's Smallville Absolute Justice posted a great scan of it on his blog, and has allowed me to re-post it here!

This will have to hold us all over until DC or WB or whoever holds the reigns lets loose of a full sized print. So what are you waiting for, click it for a larger look and make it your computer's wallpaper - oh, and be sure to swing by Mr. Migliari's blog and tell him how utterly awesome his work is!

Tin Soldier

Iron Man 2 toys are starting to hit retail! I spotted the whole first release line-up of 3 3/4" figures at Toys R Us the other day. They all look spectacular, and if I had the funds I would have bought them all on the spot. The first movie Mark I and Iron Monger looked especially nice in this scale with tons of detail and articulation, and the comic-book armors all look amazing as well.

I didn't buy them all (yet,) but fear not True Believers. My self control is only so strong. I had to have one in particular on the spot, simply named "Iron Man."

This Iron Man is clearly IM's 1st comic book appearance, as seen in Tales of Suspense #39.

I've wanted this version of Iron Man's armor for a looong time. I missed out on the Marvel Legends release, and although the movie Mark I is very cool and a nice "realistic" look at this armor, I must say this figure finally fills the void in my collection and does so perfectly.

In addition to his very comic book accurate sculpt, this figure also has great subtle paint apps. He's brushed to appear like real metal; both freshly scratched and rusted up a bit in places. Very nice details...until you turn him around...

Mine has none of the "rust" coloration on his flip side. I don't know if this is standard or just a flaw on mine, (why would they do the shiny scratches but not the rusty wash?) but it gives him a sort of sunburned effect depending on how you pose him, as if Stark fell asleep on the tanning bed. Either that or Stark stores this armor against the wall, and needs to look into the humidity of his armory.

Paint flaws aside, Hasbro is REALLY on the ball with this scale, and by allowing movie based figures to fit seamlessly into comic book based toylines, they are guaranteed to please kids, casual fans and life-long collectors alike.

Iron Man, like all the figures in this series, comes with a base and a file card with two overlays so you can see what mixed and matched armor components look like when you mix in more cards from the set. The card also has a code on it, but the website it lists (ironmancard.com) currently re-directs to marvel.com. I'm sure that'll change as we get closer to the movie's release.

Oh yeah, Iron Man comes with one more thing: His "Repulsor Blast" accessory, which looks more like a marital-aid and should be called a Repulsive Blast, especially when strategically placed (which I won't show you here but I guarantee you will try when you get this figure in your hands.)

"Oh Pepper? Come here...I've got something for you!"

The 3 3/4" Iron Man 2 figures are $7.99 at Toys R Us. This price is pretty standard nowadays for figures in this scale, so Mattel better wise up and start making their Infinite Heroes figures contenders in this competition. I love DC in general and DCIH as a toyline, but come on Mattel, next to this Iron Man your DCIH are all pretty bad and they aren't worth half what this guy costs. But Mattel insists on matching the price point while avoiding a match in quality. I hate to kill teh line, but let's face it, if I'm standing on a toy aisle with fresh cases of Iron Man 2 figures and DCIH figures, guess which toy company gets my money.

This Iron Man 2 movie line also has all the articulation Marvel Universe fans have come to expect. I'm not an articulazi, but I think Hasbro did an excellent job integrating all that articulation into this Iron Man figure without sacrificing aesthetic; none of it feels like it steals from the sculpt, and the bulkiness of the figure really feels like a guy in armor.

So until Mattel gets on the ball and/or until I have them all (Iron Man 2 figures that is,) make mine Marvel!

Big Green Army Men

I found two super sized green Army men at my magical thrift store recently for something like thirty cents each. They're about 5" tall, and exactly like your regular little green Army men, but with a little more detail.

This guy is rushing into battle, ready to blow some commie bastard off the face of the Earth.

Get a good look at that face! He reminds me a little of Cotton from King of the Hill. "I'm comin' to getcha, Tojo!"

This second recruit is ready to burn some Ratzi scum with a flame thrower; either that or he is getting' to ROCK!

This guy is really digging his Kraut cookout. Get a load of that hair-cut. Pretty hip, daddy-o!

These guys have a lot of detail. The running-man has his grenade always at the ready!

And the cook has napalm filled tanks strapped to his back.

Sadly these guys are missing a load of accessories they would have originally come with, as well as one of their "Battling Buddies."

I found this picture on the internet. These guys were originally made by MPC in the sixties, and came with rifles, backpacks, helmets etc. Wish I had all that stuff, but I'm pretty sure I can someday find similar stuff to improvise with. In the meantime these guys are pretty cool characters to have in my crazy toy collection.