DC Collectibles Earth 2 Hawkgirl

I bought the Earth 2 Hawkgirl at the end of 2014 with a bunch of other DC Collectibles, opening her only recently to discover she had two left hands! I contacted DC Entertainment concerning the issue, and a very nice Kevin Kiniry said he'd do his best to find me another, which surprisingly he did! This was a relief, as she was a character I enjoyed in Earth 2, with a great update to the classic Hawkgirl...

The wings are hinged, pegging securely into two holes in the figure's back- they can be swiveled without falling out because of their tight fit. The ponytail is a separate piece with no articulation, which prefer draped behind the wings. Her pistol and knife sheath onto the figure securely and fit in her hands nicely. Hawkgirl has a fair amount of articulation, but the true appeal of a DC Collectibles figure are their artful aesthetic, for which this one is a particularly fine example. These are not toys for little kids, they're art and to be handled with care. That said, they're also poseable and fun, evident in the pictures below...

As if finding me a new Hawkgirl wasn't enough, Kevin went out of his way and sent an additional Batman figure I had confessed to have admired- wow! I really enjoyed artist Greg Capullo's work on Batman: Zero Year, and the visual homage to the Caped Crusader's origins with the flanged cape and purple gloves. I look forward to busting him out of that package and getting some photos. It's true we live in the Golden Age of action figures, and DC Collectibles are responsible for that with their groundbreaking work as DC Direct, producing figures based on the art from different DC Comics stories. This tradition has continued in DC Collectibles production of  figures of rare specialty as heroes of Earth 2. Se my post on DC Collectibles' Earth 2 Flash and Green Lantern...  

Thanks to Kevin Kiniry at DC Entertainment 
for giving me a great experience!
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Dargo Translucent Thor

I'm unsure why so many Asian BootLego dealers are manufacturing/selling minifigs in translucent plastic, but perhaps even more so than the Star Wars Clone Troopers from my last post, Thor seems like a natural for this treatment. If it's due to his association with lightning, would be my guess, but I love translucent plastic toys indiscriminately, so maybe it's just me. Thor came with a collector card- I love using these as bookmarks for the number of trade paperbacks I may be reading at any given time. Check him out...

My translucent Dargo Hulk makes a perfect adversary for this Thor ...!

God of Thunder ...!

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LeLe Translucent Star Wars Clone Trooper Minifigures

More BootLego figures from eBay, these translucent Clone Troopers, Rebel X-Wing pilot, and Ezra Bridger figure. I'm mad for translucent toys! They came with clear stands, each outfit with a hinged sort of minifig schematic panel.

Looks like a battle between the old Republic and Darth Vader and his Imperial Stormtroopers ...!

I've enjoyed the handful of episodes of Star Wars: Rebels recently, and really like the Ezra Bridger character, who does have skirmish with Darth Vader in one scene, from which he and his Jedi master, Kanan Jarrus...

I'm really excited about the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie coming out next weekend, the nostalgia it rekindles showing in my toy interests of late. I was five years old when the first movie came out, and obsessed like any other boy at the time...

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Marvel Knights X-Men: Haunted

Like Batman:Dreamland from my last post, I enjoyed the expressive art of the Marvel Knights X-Men: Haunted recently, which reminded me somewhat of Darywn Cooke stylistically. Artist/Writer Brahm Revel made his big league Marvel debut in 2014's Haunted, otherwise known for his Guerillas book from Oni Press, I was fascinated by his sketchy,dynamic art, and the interesting tension created between X-Men Kitty Pryde, Wolverine, and Rogue. Revel has a lot of talent, and I look forward to seeing more of his great work!

In a backwoods Virginia town, the X-Men search for the murderer of a young mutant, running into two young mutants reluctant to accept help, an isolationist cult using mutant blood to amp up their drugs, and a crooked sheriff pulling all the strings. Things get pretty surreal as the X-Men physically battle the subjects of their self-loathing and regret, come to life through the powers of one of the young mutants they are trying to save. I remember seeing these released as single issues, but I'm glad I experienced it in this TPB format, which found used at a much better price. I've said before that I'm not qualified to judge or review literature in the conventional sense, and while this will never be an essential book, it was a good read.

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Batman: Dreamland

I found this thin TPB of  Batman: Dreamland (2000) in the used section of a local shop for about three bucks, and really enjoyed it. Artist Norm Breyfogle was working on the Detective and Batman  titles during my teen years, so I really identify with his angular style on the character. I've read descriptions of it as X-Files meets Batman, and it's received some less than favorable online ratings, but it was fun. Yes there is a certain contrivance to the government conspiracy/military madman plot, but the clandestine nature of the character lends itself to that handily, so why not? While I don't review comics in a comprehensive sense here on the Super-DuperToyBox, I would say if you read comics for fun, you would enjoy this. A certain amount of nostalgia should be accounted for in my sure certainly, but it was a fun read with little investment of time.

Breyfolge and writer Alan Moore had a good run on Batman from the late eighties into the early nineties that is celebrated to this day, introducing characters like the Ventriloquist and Anarky into the Dark Knight's gallery of rogues.Breyfogle is often overshadowed by Batman artists like Jim Aparo and Neal Adams, he did his own thing with the character, often venturing toward expressionism in his rendering. I learned that Breyfogle had a stroke in 2014, leaving him paralyzed on his left side and affecting the hand he draws with- it seems the comics community came together to help with expenses, DC Comics even rushing a compendium of his work on Batman, Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle, Vol. 1. This appears to be the kind of deluxe volume I'd love, full of stories of the Dark Knight of my youth!

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Kotobukiya ArtFX+ Justice League Series Batman Statue

Using a chunk of points on my Amazon card, I chipped about 1/3 off the price of this Kotobukiya Justice League Series Batman statue. This may very well be my first real statue, and while I like even minimal articulation, this 7 1/2" Kotobukiya Batman doesn't take up much room, and is perhaps the most beautiful representation of Batman I've ever seen...  Check out the video:

Batman's metallic gloss armor pops against the flat black cowl and cape, which drapes exquisitely down the verso of the figure. I'd prefered it flatten out all the way down to the base, mainly for aesthetic reasons, but the magnets in his feet provide enough stability and it's not too distracting. There is a less noticeable anime look about this Batman than the other Kotobukiya ArtFX+ Justice League Series statues, but just enough to make him interesting while acknowledging Jim Lee's original character design. I'm not sure if or when I'd buy another statue, but this will make a splendid addition to my growing collection of Batman figures. Wow!

The Kotobukiya and 6" Mattel Unlimited Series Batman side by side...

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DC Collectibles Justice League Cyborg

Time finally caught up with me and I found a smokin' deal on the DC Collectibles Justice League Cyborg, which is about as handsome an action figure that any boy could ask for. His articulation is more limited than recent DC Collectibles in this 7" scale, but he's so beautiful it doesn't matter. Check out the video:

Cyborg has an interchangeable left arm- a clawed blaster extension that amplifies his robotic aesthetic. In typical DC Collectibles fashion, the elbow was cranky, requiring a hairdryer to loosen, and the end plug now has difficulty fastening into the regular fisted arm. Still, I prefer the clawed arm, and the secondary market price I got was pretty good as these were $25.00 when released into retail last year. Pictured below are DC Collectibles Cyborg with the DC Universe Cyborg- quite an evolution! Also in the video above are comparison shots of Cyborg with other DC Collectibles figures:
*DC Direct New Krypton Series Brainiac
*DC Collectibles Darkseid
*DC Collectibles Justice League Series Martian Manhunter
*DC Collectibles Justice League 2-Pack Katana

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DC Collectibles Earth 2 Flash & Green Lantern

Finally digging into some of the DC Collectibles I got a year ago from BBTS, specifically the Flash and Green Lantern- two heroes I tend to couple together because of their friendship. I enjoyed the first many issues if the New 52 Earth 2 book, taking the Scarlet Speedster and Galactic Cop on an updated tale of Jay Garrick and Scott Alan's characters' origins. I liked the variant costumes given the revamped heroes...

In 2014, DC Collectibles started expanding the articulation of their 7" figures, these being some of the first. They aren't quite as expressive as Mattel's DCUC line, but certainly more poseable than than before, and more unique than the DCUCs. DC Direct could occasionally temperamental in their quality control, historically- forgivable for their beauty in my book. Some of the shading is a little splotchy on Green Lantern's face, rough casting artifact in the shoulder/chest armor, and sloppy painting on the line work up close. I'm not enchanted with Flash's facial expression or craned neck, but nothing that's a total deal-breaker on these two. From where I sit, it would seem DC Collectibles has made some of the most beautiful and unique figures ever recently, so many in fact there seems a glut of them on the market currently- you can get some great prices on these now.

DC Collectibles has added an increasing amount of articulation to their action figures in recent years, which oddly doesn't necessarily make me like them anymore than their past work. I've long been a fan of DC Direct's comic art-specific action figures, preferring looks over articulation, and it's my hope that as DC Collectibles, the company will remember that. It's the adult collectors like myself that are buying them, and they spend most of their lives sitting on a shelf looking pretty.While these are nice action figures, I still love the Justice League Flash and Green Lantern from 2014...

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