Toy Hunting!

Well look who showed up in the mail today... DC Universe Classic Sinestro Corps Batman! And they sent the button (Thanks!).  I've been bidding on some loose figures on E-Bay lately, forgoing the package for a lower price- it's been fun! Also on the way are a loose DCUC Catwoman, Cheetah, and Hal Jordan Green Lantern:

I also caved in and preordred a DC Direct Sinestro Corps Arkillo, and Orange Lantern Lex Luthor... just too cool to pass up:

 ... they were on sale at ToyWiz.Com and TFAW.Com, respectively, and I'd bet they will sell out, in spite of DCUC releasing each character this spring. They looked a little more artful than their DCUC counterparts to me, and I wanted to get them while all my bills were paid & they were still available. FUN!!

More pics of SinBats later...

Happy Hunting!

Hey Mr.Postman!/DCUC Wave 13 Blue Beetle III

I knew things were gonna be good when this glowing blue package was found at my front door this afternoon, and upon opening it I found one of the coolest DC Universe Classic action figures made, Blue Beetle III...

This version, the Jamie Reyes Blue Beetle, was my first introduction to Blue Beetle- I saw him on Batman: The Brave & The Bold animated TV show a year ago, and thought he was a great character! I have a DC Direct First Appearance Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle I (laughs) still haven't opened, but saw this one loose for cheap on E-Bay, so...

I sure like this one- the job they did on his wings is great with the transparent blue plastic, and I like the addition of the hand weapon. His pissed off, teeth-clenching visage is worth the price of admission alone, I say. I love his spindly little body and detailed outfit sculpt- this is a FUN toy!

The E-Bay seller sent the collector button along with him (Thanks!), featuring a portrait of the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, which Mattel also created a version of for the DCUC line. Jaime Reyes became the Blue Beetle after finding the lost mystical scarab which fused to the boy's spine overnight, giving him control over the alien powered suit.

*Blue Beetle at Wikipedia!
* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!
*Review of this action figure at PoeGhostal.Com!
*Review of DC Direct's Series 4 First Appearance Blue Beetle at OAFE.Net!

DC Direct Reactivated Series 1 Batman

I wanted to stop here and show you some pictures I snapped of a  DC Direct Reactivated Series 1 Batman I scored on E-Bay some time ago. I opened him to photograph on some lonely night a few weeks ago, but never got around to putting him up here. This series was released in Nov. 2006, along with a Superman, Wonder Woman, and odd-bedfellow Lobo (?). In fact, this whole assortment is across the board, with a Golden-Age Wonder Woman, Silver-Age Superman, and a somewhat Bronze-Age looking Batman... and then Lobo ?? Their points of articulation vary quite a bit as well, Superman appearing to have the most.

I got him for not much more than six bucks if memory serves me correctly, and was getting an excellent combined shipping rate from one of my favorite sellers on E-Bay, Langley Sports. There wasn't a lot to the blister card he was on, but I just liked his classic looks... he reminded me of the Batman from my childhood with his blue & grey outfit, black shorts, and yellow utility belt. I had also grabbed a Reactivated Series 4 Batman, that is very similar but slightly more ... retro- I was going to say "more SuperFriends" styled, but they made those too!

His cape and belt are a softer rubber than his hard plastic body, and his boots have combat, waffle-stomper type soles for kickin' ass- I like that. I also like it anytime a toy company gives me a display stand- Thank You! There are some uneven areas in the cape's sculpt/moulding around the extremities, but nothing too terrible...

This particular 6" action figure has somewhat limited articulation compared to the DC Universe Classics I've been getting, but their are less breaks in the figure due to multiple joints also, so he's pleasing to  the eyes. He has no ankle articulation, and oddly, only one of his wrists swivels?? Batman has jointed knees but this movement at the hips is extremely limited, as is his arms at the shoulders. I love the head on this guy, and the way he can look up & down, as well as sarcastically cocked to the side- it gives him a lot of personality!

DC Direct has released a lot of cool figures styled after the characters in their featured titles and on-going series, as well as other themed series like the First Appearance and 1:6/13" line. DC Direct has released so many action figures from as far back as 1998/1999 that it would make your head spin, but I listed a couple sites I found somewhat helpful:

*DC Direct Action Figure Archive!
*DC Direct Action Figure Checklist!

DCUC "All Star" Nightwing

I've been showing you a lot of DC Universe Classic 6" action figures by Mattel in the boxes as I'm (laughs) obsessively hoarding them, but have neglected to show you how much fun they really are when opened. Cal over at The Canadian Cave of Coolness said in regard to the DCUC line, that we live in The Golden Age of Action Figures, and that currently one may acquire a toy in decent likeness of nearly any comic book/action hero. I couldn't agree more, and the Four Horsemen have put out some great superhero toys of both well known and lesser known characters. These DCUC action figures have great playability with an impressive number of articulation points, the sculpts are good, and they usually nail the likeness of these characters. In a word, they are FUN...



This is an All Star re-release of the 2008 Wave 3 Nightwing. I have a couple or three All Star DCUCs coming in the mail, as well as an All Star Green Arrow and Renegade Nightwing caught in the wild. Two complaints: Nightwing's hands don't securely hold his Eskrima sticks, though I managed for the photos... I wonder if I could fix that? Also, there are some unsightly mold seams on the shoulders that look sloppy. I've also observed the blue on the shoulders has a varnished finish missing from that of the torso, yet the boots appear shiny as do the gloves- I'm usure if this is design or munfacturing limitation. Otherwise the paint is cleanly applied, if simple, and the likeness is satisfactory. He came with a small plastic base, which I prefer as opposed to a "collect & connect" piece to a figure I will never collect all the pieces for, Thank God.

If you aren't familiar with Nightwing, his name is Dick Grayson, also known as Robin the Boy Wonder- former partner of Batman. When he was excused from his duties with the Dark Knight Detective, Richard John Grayson assumed the alias Superman (his favorite superhero) used as a vigilante on the Kyptonian city of Kandor. On Kandor, a city shrunken down & stored in a bottle, Superman had none of his famous powers, and fought crime alongside Jimmy Olsen, who assumed the vigilante persona of Flamebird. No, I'm not kidding...

 Nightwing went on to patrol Gotham City's neighboring city of Bludhaven, working as a cop during the day, but returned to aid Batman and Batgirl when necessary.

The other DCUC Nightwing I scored in the wild recently is merely a repaint, but DC Direct released a twin-pack that included a version of his first costume that looks pretty disco if you ask me.

What a wonderfully FUN toy this is! I recently scored some loose DCUCs on E-Bay, including a Sinestro Batman and Hal Jordan Green Lantern, so you'll be seeing more of these babies soon!

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

DCUC Hunting Around Town

I've shared my regret concerning my completely missing the release of the first (gulp) fifteen waves of Mattel DC Universe Classic 6" action figures, but I have managed to get my hands on some, such was the case in the past few days. I find some good deals online, but lately I've been venturing out into the wild to hunt down some toys the old fashioned way! And that's really the MOST fun...

*DC Universe Classic Wave 6 "Shazam" (Captain Marvel)! There's an obvious legal reason why the can't use Captain Marvel's proper name on the package, and I'm not going to go into the history of that. But I will say that I couldn't believe my luck when I stumbled upon this toy, the ONLY DCUC on the pegs, at a local Target! There is a God... and he loves toys (laughs)!

*DC Universe Classics Wave 13 Donna Troy- let's face it: I'm never gonna get a DCUC Wonder Woman or Batgirl, so Donna will fill the need for some female influence among the (laughs) sausage-fest of a DCUC collection I've got going! On a more serious note, I passed on the sole Donna Troy I've seen a couple weeks ago, and when I returned to my local Wal-Mart later she was still there waiting for a special daddy, so I took her home :)

*DC Universe Classics Wave 9 Black Canary- while on the subject of six inch, plastic women, I was particularly thrilled to find this beauty at a local Target- I had recently stumbled onto a single, lonesome Green Arrow, so now he had reunited with his lover...
*DC Universe Classic Wave Golden Pharaoh! I've noticed the DCUC's at K-Mart are two bucks less than at Wal-Mart, but not all DCUC waves are released in every retail store, some released as exclusive to one or another chain. My Golden Pharaoh had a "K-Mart Exclusive" sticker, but I did see him at Wal-Mart before. I'm glad I waited and saved my two bucks...

*DCUniverseClassics.Com

Hey, Mr. Postman!

I actually ordered these toys in 2010, bridging the gap in my (laughs) 6" action figure obsession into the new year in true Super-DuperToyBox fashion! The DCUC fascination continues at a fevered pitch...

*DC Universe Classics Wave 15 Martian Manhunter! I can't say enough about how obsessed I am with J'onn J'onzz- I'll just let my past posts on this guy do the talking. As with a lot of past DCUC waves, I was certain I'd never see one of these in the wild, being so far past the release date. I bit the bullet & got the cheapest one I could on E-Bay, only to find him at an off-the-beaten-path K-Mart for about $10.00 less. Ugh!  Lesson learned: be sure to exhaust all possibilities before buying off E-Bay (laughs)! Still, I love him... he has a variant figure that I wasn't that interested in...

But before Martian Manhunter arrived...

On New Years Eve there was a note from the post office explaining I had a package to pick up with postage due- Denied! Luckily, the Amazon seller graciously refunded the $3.95 extra postage, reinforcing my strong faith in humanity...

*DC Universe Classics Wave 6 Mr. Miracle! I just read about Mr.Miracle, super-escape artist, in Final Crisis (DC, 2008). A relatively new superhero, artist/writer Jack Kirby created Mr. Miracle in 1971. This is one of those action figures I bought purely out of fascination of ridiculous costumes... well, that & also that I already have his variant figure from this wave, Dr. Impossible... I like the tall-collared capes!

Up Next: DCUC Hunting Around Town! Stay Tuned!

The Fantasy Shop

I kicked this year off by hittin' the comic shop on a beautiful, if chilly, Sunday afternoon.  I've received great service at The Fantasy Shop's South St. Louis county location both times I've been in, and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere as well as my purchases. This is a GREAT establishment that you'll want to just hang around and take in when you walk into. Check them out at 10560 Baptist Church Road- easy to get to off Lindbergh, or take the Tesson Ferry exit East off  I-270, then left on Baptist Church Road. See their great website, FantasyShopOnline.Com for their locations, insightful blog entries, interesting links, and events calender. Salesclerk Dan said the St. Charles location is three times as big, too... I'll have to check that out Man!

What a heavenly sight- comics,comics, and more comics...

Comic hero statues, and gaming accessories...

Superhero gear and memorabilia...

Salesclerk Dan and a customer enjoying the afternoon together...

Dan sold me Robin & Batgirl: Fresh Blood (DC, 2005) today, a good book he said...

Last time I was in, I picked up Final Crisis (DC, 2008) which was excellent- what a ride! Thanks for the guidance (explaining to me what I was buying), Salesclerk Tim...

I already saw what I want to read next, so I'll be making another trip in a couple weeks or so- still reading a lot of Martian Manhunter, as well as Marvel Essential Silver Surfer, Vol.1, so I need to finish up with all that AND this new copy of Fresh Blood first!

*Fantasy Shop manager Scott Samson's podcast, ComicDorksCast!

*FantasyShopOnline.Com