The 28 Day Challenge has now concluded...

Well Friends, the 28 Day Challenge has now concluded, and I am proud to say that I purchased no toys during the month of February. This was a disciplined show of restraint on my part, not easy in doing I'll mind you, and I'm unsure how ChunkyB got us to do it... many of us seem to follow along with his ideas... he just has a special way of suggestion that defies explanation. I'm glad his Jedi mind trick worked- he probably saved me a couple hundred bucks LOL! I had a lot on order from January, and even a backorder of DCUCs from November that cushioned the blow, but I DID stick with it... this set me to thinking...

And another thing set me to thinking:  Dr. Nightmare's announcement on Articulated Disscussion that he's giving up collecting. These beg the questions: "Why do I do this, and when will it all end?"  "Will there come a time when it will just become ridiculous?"  "How long will all of you keep doing it?"

I realize I'm still "the baby" of us all here in Toyland, but The Super-DuperToyBox has become quite full in rather short order. Every time I get some action figures or comics, I find out about more toys & comics I want. And this blog has shot up in attendance sharply- I'm getting 200 to 250 hits a day. It's become a big part of my life. While I earnestly believe it's a fun & harmless hobby, and healthier than the sport-drinking I was indulging in before, I'm left wondering about the obsessive-compulsive nature that has seem to taken over. Now, I'm a well-rounded individual- I have two bands, I work full-time, get out to see friends, make & sell my own artwork, but have spent a lot of time & money in pursuit of the fantastic plastic. Am I okay? Do you ever ask yourself that? I am often over-analytical and racked with self-doubt, as is my nature, but seeing the end of Dr. Nightmare's run made me stop for a second... I'll be 39 in May... will that be too old to play?

I hope you will share your thoughts- you have all been great to me, and it's been fun riding along... I wonder what you think about these things. These little plastic men kinda saved my life in a real way, ya know... what's that worth?

Right now Mike's Comics 'n Stuff  has a (laughs) cart loaded at his website for me, ready to end my splendid misery here at midnight! Gotta go!

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond, 3-D

Somewhat disappointed by this 3-D tie-in of Final Crisis: Superman Beyond. It's not that it wasn't fun to look at, but  it didn't really shed any light on what I wasn't understanding about Final Crisis... as far as I can tell, most all of this was included in the TPB of Final Crisis that I have, contrary to the advice I was given, and I'm still a little foggy on what exactly happened in this extremely far-out tale. Could I have a later edition of Final Crisis? I don't know. I did, however, go all the way back to Crisis on Infinite Earths (DC, 1985) & Infinite Crisis (DC, 2005) here recently to round out some of my knowledge of the DC Universe. I would only recommend Superman Beyond 3-D if you are a die-hard collector/major dork. I qualify.

They came with the "Overvoid Viewers" to help enhance your 4-D vision while traveling through bleed space between universes... no, really- it says that. They work, too, though I'm always a little underwhelmed by 3-D for some reason, perhaps the color. I got these pretty cheap on eBay, and they are a novel and quality collector item. The team that handled the artwork on this is world-class by the way-

Writer: Grant Morrison.  Pencils: Doug Mahnke.  Inks: Christian Alamy w/Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci & Derek Fridolfs.  Color: David Baron.  Letters: Ken Lopez. 3-D by Ray Zone. 

 

*A little on DC's "crisis of continuity" & what you might want to read up on at New readers... start here!

*Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 at ComicVine.Com

*Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2 at ComicVine.Com

Little Joker!

Been awhile since we've seen that homicidal maniac!

Hey, Mr. Postman!

Though I have managed to stick to my vow of  no toy purchases for the duration of the 28 Day Challenge, I've had so much coming in that I bought in January that it wasn't all that bad. then a couple days ago, some Mattel All-Star DCUCs I pre-ordered from Amazon way back in November started showing up!

*All-Star Batman- I like this black-suited Bats. This is a just a re-release of the Wave 10 DCUC Batman, an homage to the Michael Keaton outfit, which I wasn't originally keen on prior to the 1989 motion picture. I'm now quite nostalgic about it... nice accessories on this guy!

*All-Star Deathstroke- he was originally released all the way back in 2008 with Wave 3, and I was really stoked to see him re-released- such an awesome figure!

*All-Star Joker- Also released with Wave 10, like the all-black Batman. This Silver-Age version of the Joker couldn't be more of a classic, and generously accessorized!

*Wave 16 Mercury- my thrird DCUC Metal Men member- I love the red finish, which has a slight irredesenct sparkle to it. He's a standout!

I also recieved a Wave 16 Riddler that was missing his staff- I could only return, not exchange him for another because Amazon.Com didn't have any more. I waited nearly four months to get defective merchandise. So now I'd like to share an important piece of advice: preordering from Amazon may or may not be so great. They dangled a carrot in front of my nose ($14.99 each, free shipping, no tax), I took the bait, then they failed to deliver. And I'm still waiting on the Wave 16 Robin I ordered along with these. Some friends have recently shared similar experiences with me, so I know this isn't some isolated incident. I get some amazing deals on Amazon, and I won't likely stop buying from the other sellers there, but I'd rather give Mike's Comics n' Stuff my business, who will be handling my forthcoming DCD Brightest Day orders- I get more personal service & a fair price. DCUCs can be hard to find with any consistency in this town, and forget about getting any DC Direct figures. I met Mike on the Action Figure Blues Forum, and he takes care of us AFB members!

* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!

Marvel Legends Daredevil by Hasbro

On a Marvel Legends kick at the end of this past January, I scored a good deal on this Daredevil by Hasbro. His modern, red suited variant had originally caught my eye, and while I know my enthusiasm for Daredevil's original outfit is not shared by all, I like this retro-cool version a lot!

He has an absurdly large number of articulation points, and the sculpt is meticulously detailed-  from the cloth folds in his costume down to the tread on his "waffle-stomper" boots. He's about as good as you could hope for in a mass-produced action figure- just great!

Above is Daredevil's profile in Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics: Marvel (1991, Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.). I bought this about 14 yrs ago in a used book store when I moved to St. Louis- it's a 287 page hardback full of Marvel history, stories, character profiles, art & memorabilia. I love the artwork in it! It's probably not the definitive, most up to date survey on Marvel, but it's a fun book to crack open now and again... something fun from days gone by I wanted to share. It was pretty popular, and I wouldn't be surprised if many of you have it.

Some 6" Daredevil action figure reviews at OAFE.Net:

*Spider-Man Classics Daredevil by Toybiz at OAFE.Net

*Spider-Man Classic Daredevil by Toybiz at OAFE.Net

*Marvel Legends Series III Movie Daredevil by Toybiz at OAFE.Net

*Marvel Legends Daredevil by Hasbro(IV) at OAFE.Net (the toy featured above!)

And... read about my 9" Marvel Famous Covers Daredevil dolly action figure HERE. Thanks for stopping by the Super-DuperToyBox- Play with TOYS and HAVE FUN with your life!

10" Deluxe Edition Beast by Toybiz, 1994

I gave you a peek at this toy about five months ago, but just now got around to photographing him properly.  Boy, does he love the camera- large & colorful with a lot of personality! I have several of these 10" ToyBiz action figures from the 90's, and while they lack the sculpt, paint & articulation details the toys of today possess, I find them charming and fun. Beast is one of my favorite of these- he's a big, dumb, loveable toy!  I got him for $14.04 (price included shipping), a pretty good deal. ToyBiz made a 5 1/2" version as well, nearly identical to this one, so be sure what you are looking at if you're buying.

His accessory/truncheon has a suction cup at the end of it's chain in case you want to hang him from the window, and his hands are curled so you can hang him from anything else. Beast's body is made of a hard plastic, his head from a softer rubber. Like I said- not a lot of paint application but I love how they implied his "fur" with stylized  ridges in his extremities. He's really bulky and adorable- I love him!

Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy first appeared in X-Men #1, in 1963. A world-class expert on biochemistry and genetics and mathematics instructor at Charles Xavier's School For The Gifted, Dr. McCoy possesses apelike strength and agility, superhuman durablity, razor-sharp teeth & claws, as well as a humorous wit. One of my favorite X-Men!

Here's a couple photos I snapped of Beast with my 6" Marvel Legends Scarlet Spider to give you a sense of this wonderful toy's sizeable girth:

Well that's swell- looks like they get along just fine!

*See my ToyBiz 10" Deluxe Edition Ghost Rider!

DC Direct 13" Deluxe Collector Batman

At the end of last year I bought some really cool 1:6 scale dollies action figures. Before I went nuts for the smaller DC Directs & Mattel DCUCs, Super-DuperToyBox began with a 15" 1978 Kenner Darth Vader I scored on E-Bay, followed by a slew of Hasbro & ToyBiz action figures with cloth outfits. While I had my eye on this guy several months ago, it wasn't until this past December that I ran across a deal I couldn't refuse- this guy up for auction at $59.95. I won him along with a DC Direct 13" Superman, both with combined shipping totaled $119.30, one of the best deals I ever landed. Finding this guy under a hundred bucks can be a challenge, and the "Silver-Age"/Classic blue 1:6 Batman by DC Direct goes for $200.00 on a regular basis.

Batman came in a nice windowpane box with collapsed display stand, one extra set of hands, and four different batarangs:

As I said, DC Direct produced another, Classic styled version of this guy in blue, and a Justice version based on the Alex Ross design was released quite recently as well. Both the suit and boots zip up in back, though I didn't feel the need to strip him down. Batman's belt fastens with a peg in back- the last storage compartment on the belt has the hole for this adjoining peg, and was unfortunately not glued to the end well enough to endure the stress of being fastened & unfastened. I remedied this with some epoxy after clumsily popping it loose almost immediately.

The zippered boots are vinyl with "waffle-stomper" soles- very tailored looking! Made from the same material as his boots, Batman's huge, scalloped cape looks leathery & badass! DC Direct produced twenty-three of these 1:6 scale dolls between June 2005 & August 2008, and while simple compared to a Medicom or Hot Toys 1:6 doll, I think they are just beautiful! They are definitely the most extravagant toys I have, and I just love them. After getting my first 1:6 DC Direct doll last October, I knew I would end up getting another!

I've been a huge Batman for as long as I can remember- seems to me this is the case with most all action figure/toy collectors I've known. The mythic, noir essence of the character is irresistible to people of all ages. My first Batman action figure was an 8" Mego, and I also had a larger Mego Magnetic Batman & Robin as a child- while both very cool, nothing as detailed as this DC Direct existed back then... we truly live in the most exciting times to be collecting toys.

Witnessing his parents' murder forever changed young Bruce Wayne. Vowing to avenge their deaths, he spent years honing mind & body to peak performance. Armed with wits, fighting skills, and fantastic gadget, he protects the people of Gotham City from evildoers as the Batman.

*DC Direct's 1:6 Scale collection at JoeAcevedo.Com!

DC Direct New Krypton Mon-El

 Rounding out the DC Direct New Krypton series I've been showing you is Mon-El! He came from Mike's Comics & Stuff in Anaheim, California. Mike's got the best price on these, and his personal service is top-notch! Like Superman from this series, Mon-El has swivel joints in his biceps, as well as his wrists and neck. But instead of swivel joints at the tops of his boots, there is one at the Daxamites' waist.

Mon-El is a DC character from the planet Daxam with powers similar to Superman, who sometimes fills in for the Man of Steel. Lar Gand was an explorer who had landed on Krypton, but was sent to Earth upon Jor-El's warning of the planet's impending doom. The character was retconned more that twice, this version of his red and blue costume featuring a Superman S-Shield over his left chest, like that of the Bronze-Age Supergirl. Visit his extensive & detailed history at MajorSpoilers.Com! This is a fun character I knew nothing about  :)

My only gripe about these New Krypton Series figures is the capes- the sculpt from the back isn't the best. They look great from the front though, and that's what really counts. They are beautifully sculpted and painted- Superman & Superwoman are particularly well done! I had a ball photographing this set!

*DC Direct New Krypton Brainiac!
*DC Direct New Krypton Superman!
*DC Direct New Krypton Superwoman!

*DC Direct Action Figure Archive!

DC Direct New Krypton Brainiac

The DC Direct New Krypton Brainiac! He came from Mike's Comics & Stuff in Anaheim, California. Mike's got the best price on these, and his personal service is top-notch! Like Superman from this series, Brainiac has swivel joints at the tops of his boots, his biceps, as well as his wrists and neck...

 

Brainiac is, of course, Superman's nemesis. Responsible for shrinking down the capitol city of Krypton, Kandor, as well as Metropolis in order to restore his home planet of Byrak, Brainiac has been a thorn in Superman's side since 1958 (Action Comics #242) . He's gone through many reincarnation through out his history, the green-skinned android has been updated yet again here- the diodes upon his scalp remain, but most of the pink from his original outfit was removed for the New Krypton action figure/character design. At 7 1/4", he's a head taller than Superman, Brainiac is a worthy adversary of the Man of Steel.

*DC Direct New Krypton Superman!
*DC Direct New Krypton Superwoman!

*DC Direct Action Figure Archive!