Marvel Legends Fantastic Four

I assembled this Walgreens Exclusive Marvel Legends Fantastic Four team at the end of September, but postponed photographing them until I completed the Sci-Fi Laboratory diorama featured in my last post. The diorama was in fact inspired by finally collecting them all over the course of their months long, one-by-one release. A number of Walgreens within my immediate vicinity limited this to a mere task of patience as opposed to grossly overpaying on the secondary market, even purchasing Human Torch and Invisible Woman at a significant discount on sale last spring. Check out the video:

While collectors have expressed their nitpicks particular to this wave of figures, but it's hard to deny Hasbro's overall improvement over the figures ToyBiz produced in the 2000s. Like the 3.75" scale Fantastic Four sets I had from a few years ago, Hasbro included H.E.R.B.I.E. in this 6" update of the Fantastic Four, a nod to the '70s cartoon that quicly became Marvel canon. And to get a big figure like Thing with alternate hands and head sculpt at the price of a regular figure was an outstanding value. Great set I'm glad to have finally collected!

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1:12 Scale Custom Sci-Fi Lab Diorama

Earlier this year, I was inspired to build my first action figure diorama, and enjoyed it so much that I dove into a second within a week of finishing. The result is this Sci-Fi Laboratory measuring approximately 19 x 16 x 16". While lighting could certainly be installed, I designed it so it could be simply lit from behind the translucent blue mylar attached to the "power radiators". Check out the video for a closer look:

The scale of this diorama is roughly 1:12, making it perfect 

6" figures like my new Marvel Legends Fantastic Four!

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Wave 48 Fantastic Four MiniMates

Back to one of my favorite subjects lately here on the Super-DuperToyBox, Marvel MiniMates by Diamond Select! In this post we'll look at three of the four 2-packs released in the 48th wave of these fun 2 1/2" action figures, completing the other half of my Fantastic Four MiniMates team, and adding a couple villains I was interested in, namely Blastaar and Puppet Master!

Right off from the start, I'll say I was disappointed when the ball peg from Reed Richards' neck extension broke off inside his head. Fishing it out of his head so I could have a serviceable Mr. Fantastic left his head wobbly as well. That's a shame because this is otherwise such a great MiniMate, and one I looked forward to getting.

I love the classic blue & white FF outfit this wave featured! Reed came with normally proportioned extra limbs, but his stretched alternate limbs make him great! His twisted base and giant fist are the same as the Super Skrull MiniMate, one of my favorites.

Diamond thoughtfully gave Mister Fantastic the Ultimate Nullifier, which he used against Galactus as a last effort to stop him from devouring Earth. Appearing first in Fantastic Four #50, the exact functionality of this weapon has remained vague, but is described as the most powerful weapon in the Universe, able to wipe out any opponent or his whole timeline if not destroying the one who wields it first.

At first I wasn't so keen on Puppet Master, having read very little about him, but his accessories make him a unique and fun MiniMate. The work apron is a nice piece, but the tiny MiniMate dolls he comes with really make him great, and he can be dressed completely civilian using the additional arms and torso overlay included- really great!

Sue Storm the Invisible Girl, who later went on to marry Reed Richards, also came with great accessories. In addition to extra limbs cast in transparent plastic, Diamond included a force field base and alternate 90's hair piece that is... well, a mullet.  Her alternate limbs were difficult to change, so I'll probably leave them on, as I prefer anyway. 

Sue came with a Moloid from Subterranea, one of Mole Man's minions in her 2-pack. I read about the Moloids in  X-Factor Annual #3 a couple years ago, part of the Evolutionary War title crossover that ran through several Marvel annuals in the summer of '88. More recently, I've enjoyed their antics as children (Mik, Kor, Turg, & Tong) in Matt Fraction and Mike Allred's FF.

So with the addition of Sue and Reed, I now have the complete Fantastic Four!

With parts from Reed Richards and the Flame On Human Torch that came in the wave of MiniMates, I can assemble Johnny Storm, younger sibling to Sue, the Invisible Girl. Now I can photograph him in different phases of his transformation into the Human Torch! Johnny came with a normal head, but the Flame On head is the star, alight with translucent plastic, and blank yellow eyes, under a fiery & furrowed brow. A tornadic swirl of flames circle his bases, cast in the same translucent orange that most his body is composed of...

Flame On Human Torch with Nova Flame Human Torch...

Flame On Human Torch came packed with Blastaar...

Blastaar is a super-villain from the Negative Zone, enemy of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Inhumans, and Earth in general. He's a beefed up MiniMate whose blast accessories fit nicely over his over-sized hands. The hair piece on this one is great, as are the Silver-Age armor details on the torso overlay.

Blastaar makes a great enemy for Johnny and the Thing to battle...!

Since I now have such a broad swath of Fantastic Four characters, such as Annihilus, Super Skrull, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Doom, I thought it would be another great opportunity to shoot a group photo with one of my favorite toys, my ToyBiz Cosmic Power Galactus...!

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More Recent Marvel Now! Pick-Ups...

There is an enormous amount of reading going on here at the Super-DuperToyBox lately, so much that I haven't had time to talk about it all. In addition to Indestructible Hulk and Iron Man, I bit the bullet a couple weekends ago on some other Marvel Now! titles that have piqued my interest. I'm unsure how long I will continue each title due to the expense involved, but it's been hella fun so far. As I explained previously, Marvel NOW! is a 2012 relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics following the conclusion of the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline (which I also want to read at some point). To attract new readers, publishing changes include new creative teams for each of the titles, new character designs and new storylines.

*Marvel Now! Thunderbolts
The cover art sucked me in on this, I admit it. Originally, the Thunderbolts were the Masters of Evil led by Baron Zemo in disguise, a successful marketing stunt that sold big time in 1997, after the Avengers were thought dead following the Onslaught Saga. A later incarnation was government sponsored, and led by Luke Cage. I was unfamiliar with all of this however, drawn in by this dangerous looking roster of Red Hulk, Deadpool, Elektra, Punisher, and Venom. Red Hulk assembles his incarnation of the Thunderbolts to be a strike team that is clandestine in nature, similar to X-Force, the members "conditions" incurable. I'm interested in the Red Hulk more lately, (General "Thunderbolt" Ross, the classic green Hulk antagonist), and have seen more of this paramilitary  version of Venom around lately.

*Marvel Now! Thor: God of Thunder
I kept hearing this was a must, and I have not been disappointed! There's been a God Butcher on the loose throughout Thor's life, and we get glimpses into his life across the millenia at points when this phantom from his past has reared it's head. Really different! Esad Ribic's art is outstanding, like a modern age N.C. Wyeth in it's illustrative beauty. Excellence, I say!

*Marvel Now! Cable and X-Force 

I'm a huge Cable/X-Force fan so I had to give this a go. Starts off with a bang, an immediate conflict with the Avengers. Cable's makes his obligatory, mysterious reappearance, followed by a hidden agenda, his obtuse lack of explanations to all involved, and of course he dying. And breaking his daughter Hope's heart. We'll see how it goes. Art is fantastic, dark & moody...

*Marvel Now! Captain America

I am crazy for John Romita Jr's art- it reminds me a lot of Frank Miller's sketchy line in The Dark Knight Returns, an influence I'm sure Romita would claim. I haven't picked up a great deal of Captain America, during my youth or my 2 year-old return to comics as an adult, but again, that cover pulled me in. Marvel is pressing a lot of the right buttons for me on these Marvel Now! titles. The story gets cosmically bizarre in a Jack Kirby kind of way, pulling Cap onto Dimension Z to protect a child from Arnim Zola and the murderous inhabitants of his desolate world. This has been fun...

*Marvel Now! FF
This book featuring Mike Allred's cool artwork is what originally brought the Marvel Now! titles to my attention! I loved the X-Force books I read recently, and his guest pencilling on Wolverine & the X-Men #17 was hilarious! She-Hulk, Ant-Man, Medusa, and Johnny Storm's rock star girlfriend Darla Deering in a Thing suit take the F.F. Mantle over for Reed Richards while he looks for a cure to his "condition" in another dimension. The Fantastic Four was only supposed to be gone for four minutes, but as expected, something else happens. This is turning out a lot of fun  :D

*Marvel Now! Fantastic Four

I'm a Fantastic Four fan I'd say, and in spite of the criticism I've heard about the title recently, I wanted to see the other side of the group's journey as it pertains to the Marvel Now! FF title. I just couldn't let it go. More fleshing out of the transfer of power, the temporary replacements, and Reed's condition are given in the first two issues. I'm glad to be reading them, and I think they do and will tie in well with the title above, but I'd imagine you could enjoy Marvel Now! FF without reading this.

In addition to these new titles by Marvel, I'm getting into Brian Bendis & John Romita Jr's run on Avengers: The Heroic Age from 2010, a stack of Future Foundation issues for that title just before it relaunched under the Marvel Now! banner recently, and John Romita Jr's run on the Mighty Thor with Dan Jurgens from the 90's. I'm also still reading DC's New 52 Earth-2 and World's Finest: Huntress & Power Girl as they are tied into the same universe, the latter of which I'm loosing my enthusiasm for somewhat. I'll try to touch on those as time permits. 2013 is starting out pretty busy!

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More Marvel Comics Shopping!

 

My haul of Marvel comics from last Wednesday must have really hit the spot- Sunday afternoon found me back at the racks looking for more Fantastic Four and Captain America...

 

*Captain America & Hawkeye, # 629-632

I enjoyed reading author Cullen Bunn's recent run on Captain America & Scarlet Widow so much that I hunted down his issues of Captain America & Hawkeye, # 629 - 632. I had been kicking myself for missing it after he told me about it's coming debut in person months ago, so I'm really looking forward to this...

 

*Captain America & Iron Man # 633 & 634

Speaking of our local-boy-done-good, I discovered a couple issues of Captain America & Iron Man from the end of summer which Cullen also authored. I'm unsure if there were any issues past these two, but I'll be on the lookout...

 

*Heroes Reborn: Fantatic Four (2006)

In spite of being advised otherwise, I actually enjoyed my TPBs of Heroes Reborn: The Avengers and Heroes Reborn: Captain America that I picked up on sale this past summer. They were splashy, fun, and fresh to me. Artist Jim Lee is one of my favorites (Batman: Hush anyone?), and a quick thumbing through confirmed I would likely enjoy this as well. My recent picks of Marvel Now: Fantastic Four #1 and FF #1 reignighted my interest in this legendary group!

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Marvel Comics Shopping!

While I love seeing the latest thing as much as anyone, buying individual comics is not a great value, especially when they are $3.99! I get deals on trade paperbacks that really drive home that belief, and have been lucky to find plenty in the dollar comics bins to keep me entertained, but it's fun to occasionally pick up a few new titles. I inadvertently ended up shopping at Slackers due to a southbound traffic jam, but worth mentioning is this retail establishment's thoughtful inclusion of bag & board in the price of their titles. I buy from a variety of local comics retailers in the area, and Slackers is the only I know of that doesn't charge for this. It's a small thing, but with the price of comics nowadays, it adds a lot of value in my book...  

*Marvel Now, FF #1
I had my nose so deeply into my recent TPB hauls that I completely missed news of Marvel's recent reboot of several titles, including FF. This issue featuring Mike Allred's cool artwork brought the relaunch to my attention! I loved the X-Force books I read recently, and his guest pencilling on Wolverine & the X-Men #17 was hilarious! Is that She-Hulk, Ant-Man, and Medusa...? And what's going on with the girl in a Thing suit?? This should be FUN! Hot off the press today, Kids  :) 

*Marvel Now, Fantastic Four #1
I thought I'd pick this up to compare to the FF issue #1 above- I've read nothing about it, but I dig on the Fantastic Four in general, and I like the team in their "Future Foundation" black & white...

*Marvel Now, Captain America #1
I bought this for the cover alone- the art looks killer! I don't pick up a lot of issues of Captain America, but this sent me over the edge. At a whole dollar more than the two Fantastic Four books, I mildly resent that some titles are more than others- like they are gouging us for the more popular, marquee heroes. I wanted to pick up the #1 issues of Thor: God of Thunder and All-New X-Men, but at $3.99 each I held off. Maybe later. I'm looking forward to the upcoming Cable and X-Force, and Guardians of the Galaxy in December 2012 and February 2013!

*Captain America & Black Widow #636 - 639

While shopping around I picked up four issues of this title, for the first time having noticed homeboy Cullen Bunn's credit as author. I was aware he worked on Captain America & Hawkeye awhile back, which I regrettably missed, so I snatched these exciting-looking issues up. Cullen is a personable guy, and I enjoyed his "Sorceror Kings" run in Superman/Batman last year. Looking forward to this!

While on the subject of comics. be sure to visit a couple of comics blogs I added to my "Blogs of Note" on the sidebar here at the Super-DuperToyBox recently, The Peerless Power of Comics and Too Busy Thinking About My Comics These men are very knowledgable on their subjects. Comicsfan covers a lot of Silver/Bronze Age Marvel with a slightly whimsical take & lots of great pictures, and Colin is a particulary astute critic with a more academic voice. Both are great!

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