BootLEGO Jokers HA HA HA HA!

"The pen is truly mightier than the sword. But I left my pen in my other coat."

The BootLEGO makers are at it again, putting out incredible minifigures you didn't know your life was so empty without until you see them!

Jack Nicholson's 'mime' Joker from the 1989 Batman movie! You really get the impression when looking at this minifigure that this is how The Joker would have looked had Tim Burton not held back a bit on his first Batman outing. The minifigure came with a standard LEGO Joker hairpiece but there's no point in having that piece when you have the top hat! He also came with a sword, I assume since LEGO doesn't make a feather quill.

The BootLEGOers often go further than one would think they need to, considering the fact that they are making these figures illegally and selling them for pennies. Mime Joker is no exception, as he includes tails for his fancy coat!

Another BootLEGO Joker new on the scene is Bat-Joker!

Bat-Joker comes with a grappling gun/hook, two faces printed on his head (under the cowl he's Leto Joker, complete with 'Damaged' tattoo on his forehead.) and printing details galore all over the minifig. Another BootLEGO I couldn't live without!

You can find these guys (and more) on eBay for waaay cheaper than your official LEGO minifigure. I'm not saying you shouldn't be buying official LEGO minifigures, you should, but when things like these don't exist in any official form, well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

LEGO Batman Movie Blind Bag Minifigs In Stores NOW!

The LEGO Batman Movie Blind Bag Minifigures aren't officially scheduled for release until January, but word got out a couple days before Christmas that Targets across the land were letting them hit shelves. I ran out and, via the squeeze method, found my two 'must-haves' and grabbed a couple more to surprise myself, and boy is this a great series! I'll be collecting them all at a relatively liesurly pace now that I have the two I couldn't live without. Who are those two? Read on, true believer...

I ended up with Red Hood and Nurse Harley (my must-haves) as well as James Gordon, Calculator, and Pink Batman! As with all LEGO blind bagged minifigures, there is a dot-code on the back of the packages, but I find that frustrating and unreliable, and simply squeeze the packages to find the piece or pieces unique to a specific figure. For Red Hood I felt for that massive dome, and for Harley those pig-tails are unmistakable. We'll look at those two last, and SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: If you don't want to know who Red Hood is under his red hood, then turn away before you get to the bottom of the page!

First up is Calculator. I like this guy because he's a great unexpected villain, who ever would have expected a Calculator minifig? My only gripe is that his visor says 07734 instead of 58008. I'll have to make a custom visor methinks.

Under the visor, Calculator has a sinister grin MWAHAHAHAHAAA! To find Calculator via the squeeze method, feel for that massive backpack/shoulder-piece and confirm via the helmet or the little square piece that makes the 'calculator' portion of his chest-piece.

Commissioner James Gordon is great, and the first Gordon minifig I have in my collection. An integral part of any good Batman story, James Gordon was long missed in my minifig world. Gordon comes with a Joker 'wanted' poster and your generic LEGO walkie-talkie part that's been around for decades. Feel for those to confirm you have yourself a Jim.

Fairy Batman. Of all the bat variants in the LEGO Batman movie entourage, this one has to be the best. One word: Tutu. Feel for that, the wand and/or the wings to be sure you have this wonderful pixie-Bat. Bonus: a pink cowl to re-create that episode of the Adam West series about the radioactive cowl.

HHHEEELLLLOOOOOOO NURSE! I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I needed the Nurse Harley minifigure the most. I adore the LEGO Batman movie Harley Quinn design, that hair is amazing!

The nurse hat is removable too!

Finding Harley is all about feeling for the hair. The 'clipboard' piece will further confirm you have the crazy candy-striper in your grasp.

Lastly...SPOILER WARNING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO IS UNDER THE RED HOOD'S HOOD IN THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE!!!!!

Okay, you've been warned...

The LEGO Batman blind bagged Red Hood is a thing of absolute beauty. The perfect little classic Red Hood, he has that wonderful dome, a bow tie, a red cape and a couple uzis.

Red Hood is even wearing a tuxedo. I wouldn't have thought in a million years LEGO would have any reason to make a classic Red Hood! I can't wait to see what part, if any, he plays in the movie. Flashback perhaps?

And underneath that hood hides...

HHHARRRRLEEEEY!!!!!!

Kidding, kidding.

Under the Red Hood hides...

...Red Hood. More questions than answers here. Will Jason Todd Red Hood be in the LEGO Batman movie, and will he be dressed as classic Red Hood? Only time will tell.

Regardless, the Red Hood is (Harley Quinn not withstanding) the best of the LEGO Batman blind bag series in my humble opinion. Feel for that dome, you can't mistake it for anything else in the series.

That's all for today, kids. I'll be grabbing more myself in the future, but I'm glad I won't feel any pressure or jealousy as I read about others finding them, and I won't be sad if I come across an empty or overly picked over box at the store.

In the meantime I bid you all 'happy hunting'!

Harley Qwednesday :: Suicide Squad Harley Quinn and Joker ReAction figures

I've never been a fan of the blind box or blind bag concept. Primarily because my luck tend to lean towards getting multiples of my least wanted figure. I am also no fan of not knowing what I'm spending my hard earned money on. Blind bags I can deal with, because I can squeeze them and determine what's in them. And sometimes they have codes you can decipher to learn what's inside.

As for blind boxes. I avoid those as a rule. I'll just rely on buying a much-needed figure second-hand if/when they become available.

Then there's the latest in 'taking your money': Blind subscription boxes. These are the absolute worst. You don't know what you might even end up with until you end up with it. Are you insane?

Anyways, like with blind boxes, when I find out there is something awesome in a blind subscription box, I just either try to get it for a good price second-hand, or forget about it because the price is too damn high.

Fortunately when I found out about the recent DC Legion of Collectors subscription box that included a ReAction styled Suicide Squad Harley Quinn and Joker and went looking for them second-hand, I was able to score both (honestly I'd have been happy with just Harley) for less than one would have cost me at retail...shipped!

I've looked over plenty of these ReAction figures at places like Toys R Us, but these are the first I've owned. The detail on Harley and Joker seems above par. They're definitely good looking figures (I've yet to open them so I can't yet attest to their physical quality.) Harley is especially nice and even comes with her bat!

Joker looks good for this iteration of the Joker. Not my favorite, and this may very well end up being the only version of Jared Leto's Joker I ever own. But I've got to have at least one version of this Joker, so I'm glad I have this guy. The packaging design is excellent on these figures, with the bomb shape and bullets circling the figures. Which is why I'm still on the fence on opening them. They're pieces of art unto themselves.

I've read online that a full line of ReAction Suicide Squad figures are set for release, and as a fan of the movie I may be tempted to complete the team in ReAction form. But if I don't get any more I'm glad I have these two (or at least Harley.)  This Harley is definitely a highlight of my Harley Quinn collection. And thankfully I didn't have to sign up for a bind subscription box to get them!

66 Batman BootLEGO Minifigs

Since the 66 Batman Batcave LEGO set is priced way out of my range (and I wouldn't know where to display the thing if I did buy and build it) I did the next best thing and bought a set of eight 66 Batman bootLEGO minifigs off eBay for about a buck each!

As great as the character selection is with this set (it lacks a Riddler, but otherwise has all the minifigs from LEGO set 76052) the quality of these bootLEGOs is relatively low. Not low enough to pass on them for around a buck each, but not the best quality bootLEGOs out there by any means. There's lots of plastic 'flashing' and many paint apps don't line up. A couple of the figures' feet' barely lock into the base (or other LEGO pieces) and there's been some plastic stress marks show up on pieces that fit tightly together. Also, as happens with many bootLEGOs, once I had Batman's cowl in place it's pretty permanent. So he does have two expressions, but it's going to be a task getting the cowl off to turn his head around. That's ok, as I picked the expression I liked best first. I've learned what to expect with bootLEGOs!

Robin has two expressions too, and fortunately his hair pops off easy enough to spin his head around. Unfortunately...

...the paint apps are not too clean and it looks like he may be missing a tooth or something.

'The umm, ahem, blue phone, sirs.'

Alfred is a welcome addition tot he set, the first minifig Alfred I've ever owned, LEGO, bootLEGO or otherwise.

Alfred also has two expressions and, inexplicably, a translucent blue phone. But who cares, he's awesome!

Adam West's Bruce Wayne. Keen!

Brucie also has an alternate expression.

Burt Ward's Dick Grayson.

And alternate expression.

Catwoman. She looks more like Lee Meriwether to me, but who can say.

Catwoman's alternate head is a masked face! 

Cesar Romero's Joker!

With mustache and yellow teeth!

This Joker's alt expression is classic Romero! I love it!

Burgess Merideth as Penguin! Penguin only has one expression, but he comes with a bootLEGO umbrella so I guess that makes up for his lack of a cigarette holder in his mouth.

The best part of having Bruce and Dick minifigs is being able to make maskless Batman...

...and maskless Robin minifigs!

Even Alfred got in on the fun...

Umm...err...ahem...nevermind, nothing to see here. Goodbye.

Harley Qwednesday :: Unofficial Joker/Harley Quinn Mash-up Minifigure by SickBricks

I spotted this set of SickBricks minifigure/builds at the Goodwill, and in this set I was shocked to find a Joker/Harley Quinn figure! It looks like Joker is experimenting with cross-dressing (which has gotten laughs for everyone from Milton Berle to Bugs Bunny so who am I to judge?)

This minifigure's official name is Jack Wisecracker. But we're no fool! (See what I did there?!?!)

Also included in the set is parody minifigures of Green Lantern, Aquaman, a Goth guy with a Misfits haircut and Dean Idol who is the lamest of the bunch until you realize you can stick his nondescript blonde head on the Aquaman looking figure to make him a little more Aquamanny.

We'll take a look at all those other chaps later, but today is Harley Qwednesday so Jack Wisecracker is all you get!

Imaginext Bat-Family Foil Packed Figures :: A Christmas Miracle!

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...and he got my wishlist! Hot off the digital presses, Imaginext.com just released images of a new wave of foil packed single bagged (possibly blind bagged) Batman themed figures! No word yet on a release date, but the website gives these figures a suggested retail price point of $4.00 each. GOTTA HAVE THEM ALL!

 The most shocking addition to the Imaginext Gothamite collection is Red Hood. Hokey smokes!

Maskless Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. This is a fun one although I do already own a masked Deathstroke. If I could pass on any of these, this would be the one.

New 52 Nightwing. I never liked the red Nightwing symbol, but this one will look cool next to my other Imaginext Nightwing. I suppose I could pass on this one too but it's always tough to pass up any version of the original sidekick Dick Grayson!

FORCED PERSPECTIVE! Purple Catwoman appears to be a straight repaint of the original Catwoman and also comes with the same cat her original version came with. Still, she's PURPLE so of course she's a must have.

Two-Face. Two-Face was one of the first Bat Villains Imaginext made, and he looks a little dated now that the series is so much slicker and more streamlined. So it's nice to see an updated version.

Batman unmasked! I love it!

Zero Year Batman. PURPLE GLOVES! This is a fun bat variant styled after Greg Capullo's Zero Year Batman. A definite must have.

Imaginext didn't have a single shot of Joker, but he appears to be a repaint of the modern Imaginext Joker with a giant wrench. Because reasons. I do like that they painted his saddle-shoes though. Classy!

Expect to hear more about these the second I or others start to find them at retail. Stay tuned!