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03-18-2009, 08:52 AM | #1 |
bringin' 3 3/4" back
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 88
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Hey everyone, I like to review the action figures I get, and maybe a few others might join me on my crusade, so without further ado, here is my first review:
Action Figure Spotlight: Green Lantern Series 3 Sinestro So I came onto the Sinestro Corps War a little late- I waited until both volumes were available in hardcover trade until reading them, and sure enough, it became one of my favorite comic book sagas. I was in my local collector shop and noticed the 3rd wave of the DC Direct Green Lantern Series Figures- and I couldn’t take my eyes of this brand new Yellow Corps version of Hal Jordan’s nemesis. As having a large chunk of the Toy Biz Marvel Legends figures, the DC Direct stuff in general is pretty comparative. Whereas I always saw the Marvel Legends as sacrificing likeness for articulation, I found the opposite to be true of DC Direct. The GL series in general is a prime example- as they might not be able to do dynamic poses, you can almost feel the artist’s pencilling of the figure while viewing it. So let’s get right down to it- if any of you read the Sinestro Corps War, you probably noticed Ethan Van Sciver’s singular vision of Sinestro- the tall, thin frame, almost deformed cranium, and the cold calculating knowledge that made Sinestro who he is. Sinestro was never a muscle bound brawler- he is a thinker with one of the most powerful weapons in the universe on his hands- and I think this specific action figure captures that grandeur exquisitely. The uniform looks great- I was never one for Sinestro’s original uniform as I thought it made him look like a clown on crack, but the Corps Uniform gives him a totally different feel- a sense of purpose if you will of his cunning and intelligence combined with his leadership. Johns and Van Sciver took this B Grade villain that looked totally kooky on Superfriends, and gave him the makeover of a lifetime- Johns raised the bar for Sinestro, making him a top notch villain. The articulation is pretty standard here- Sinestro does have ball-joint arms, bendable elbows, rotating wrists, along with bendable hips and knees. With his power ring permanently placed on his left arm (along with armband of the Corps insignia) he is power redefined. The star emblem on his chest, which was part of the original design prior to the Corps, is meticulously outlined with raised features over a well defined body structure of musculature. For accessories, Sinestro came with 3: his yellow lantern (a recolor of the standard GL lantern) a standing base, and the sentient virus Corps member Despotellis. My main gripes are due to the base and the virus- the base is just a standard GL base- it would have been really cool to have a Sinestro Corps base in yellow with their insignia. With Despotellis, I was very disappointed- the little thing broke before I even took it out of the package on the joining point where the head stalk meets the leg base. I had to use some Krazy Glue to get it back together. With DC fans psyching up for the Blackest Night, we already know Sinestro is going to play a major part, and I think the success of this toy is a tribute not only to a newly defined character, but to Georff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver for making it possible. 1 to 10 scale ratings: Articulation: 7- standard for most DC direct figures. Detail: 9.5- You can see Van Sciver’s lines, especially in his face. It literally jumps out of the comics. Coloring: 9- brights are bright, colors are true. Size: Standard; on the same scale more or less with the readily available DC Universe figures or Marvel Legends for some campy crossovers. Price: 6- Since DC Direct is an exclusive line, you are going to pay a little more, but overall worth it. I believe I paid about $16.00 for this. Playability: 8(for Sinestro) 1 (for Despotellis) With Sinestro, he will stand up to most kids. Despotellis; not so much. Overall Coolness Factor: 9.5 – a prize piece for me. Comparative Van Sciver Art: |
03-18-2009, 07:46 PM | #2 |
bringin' 3 3/4" back
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 88
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ACTION FIGURE SPOTLIGHT: DC Direct Dr. Manhattan
Having been swayed by really cool trailers and general word of mouth, I decided to pick up the Watchmen trade that’s being plastered in display windows at just about every book store in America, and I instantly developed a fondness for this Dr. Manhattan character. To coincide with the movie release, DC released a bunch of Watchmen figures and all kinds of swag; the figures themselves are in the same scale as the other main properties they own (the Alex Ross series, pretty much all the other DC Direct figures released) so it made a nice addition to what I already had, even if we are talking about two separate universes under the same company. To date, there have been two versions of this figure: the one I am reviewing, and the variant. The main difference is the opaqueness of the plastic- on this figure, it is just a solid blue, but on the variant, it is more of a translucent plastic which was aimed at making him more “irradiated” as his on-screen character suggests (might have something to do with being the atomic man and all). I really didn’t want to spend the extra ten bucks on the variant, as I figured this version fills the need adequately. Included in the package are two sets of legs- one for the floating pose, and one for regular stance. To achieve the floating pose, a clear plastic base adapter is included. When finally fit, though, it tends to be a little shaky, given that its only attached to the base by one peg. Also, the basic fitting of the legs to the adapter is not entirely stable either- there are slots on the adapter that fit into the back of the feet on the floating legs, but they don’t necessarily lock in all the time. One little oddity I have yet to figure out is a certain piece that came bagged with the two pegs for the base- it is triangular in shape, and I have no idea what it is used for. The base itself is a square “city looking” gray metallic piece that raises the figure about an inch or so off the ground. The posability of the figure is DC Direct Standard- pivoting arm shoulders, bends at the usual places, and Manhattan’s head is on a ball joint of sorts, which allows you to move the head side to side, up and down, and everything in between. The likeness of the character is great- they nailed every little detail in musculature right down to the individual toe nails on this guy. Granted, there isn’t much to articulate as he’s basically just a “blue guy” but the sculpting was right on the mark, nonetheless. I think that is what makes the character and the toy great- it tends to really drive the movie image. Grade Scale: 1 to 10 Posability: 6: standard for all DC direct figures Articulation: 9: based on an actor’s real life portrayal of the character, you can see Billy Cruddup’s performance all over. Playability: 6.5- depending on whether you do the floating pose or the standard pose, he makes a better display piece than play piece. Price: I paid about $22 retail for this guy; hence the reason I am not pursuing the other figures at this time. Obviously, cashing in on the cashcow known as the Watchmen. Overall Coolness Factor: 8-I only bought him for the character I liked so much from the movie and comic, so he was cool to me. I would guess any fan of Dr. Manhattan would be happy as well. |
03-24-2009, 05:29 PM | #3 |
bringin' 3 3/4" back
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 88
|
ACTION FIGURE SPOTLIGHT: DC Direct Kilowog
“I want each and every one of these Spooky Kids accounted for.”- Kilowog, the Sinestro Corps War, in response to the Children of the White Lobe bombing Mogo. Well, let’s get it on, POOZERS! Up next for the spotlight is Kilowog from Series One of the Green Lantern Series by DC Direct. Standing approximately 8 inches tall, the chief training officer of the GL Corps just screams “action”. For a little backstory on the character, Kilowog was slain during the reign of Parallax, but was resurrected by Ganthet and Kyle Rayner during the Rebirth Series. Having been orphaned by a destroyed home world, he found comfort among his compatriots in the Corps, especially the planet size GL, Mogo. At the end of the Sinestro Corps War, Kilowog can be seen celebrating with the family he once had that Mogo recreated for him. This particular figure has more articulation than normal- wrists, elbows, swivel ball shoulders, and ankles, the last of which most of the other figures don’t have. Again, the sculpting artists hit the nail right on the head with the Van Sciver/Rollins likeness, right down to the tendrils under his nose and skin color. He is (at this time) the biggest DC Direct figure I have in my collection (sans the build-a-figures from DC Universe). He even trumps Mongul, who is no shorty in his own right. The paint job on the figure I got was generally good, however, it looks like some of the green paint accidentally made it onto his pink neck during production. Easy enough to hide with a quick turn of the head, though. The green on the uniform and boots has a very gloss finish versus a very matte black. For accessories, Kilowog comes with a GL Base and Lantern- the lantern being bigger than the lanterns shipped with other figures. He stands very well on his own without the assistance of the base, having the proportions of his body correct. Aside from the green paint blotch, my only other gripe is that his left hand is permanently clenched in a fist, something most of the other GL figures suffer from as well. For comparative purposes, I took a few pics of him next to some of the bigger Marvel Legends. I specifically chose Ben Grimm, as I think Kilowog is his equal in the DC Universe regarding personality and spirit. I also pitted him next to another Green Goliath, the Hulk. As you can see, he stands taller than Ben, but is still dwarfed by Bruce. There is also another pic of him with his Mattel JLU counterpart. Scoring: 1. Articulation- 8: Better than the average DC Direct thanks to the ankles. 2. Playability- 9.5: As tough as a trainer he is, he will survive kids as well. 3. Price: 7.0- I paid about 20 bucks for him at a collector’s shop. It was a little steep, but overall worth it. 4. Detail: 6- the only real detailing on the figure is on the head sculpt. Musculature is average, but on target given the figure’s size. 5. Overall: 8- Very cool figure. I would recommend it, however, get your other GL favorites first. |
04-09-2009, 09:34 PM | #4 |
bringin' 3 3/4" back
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 88
|
Action Figure Spotlight: Green Lantern Series 1 Parallax
Greetings again, fellow Lanterns. Fresh out of the bag, I just came home with Parallax- the fear entity that drove Hal Jordan mad and possessed him to destroy the entire Lantern Corps, which he did. Of course, the story didn’t stop there- Last remaining Guardian Ganthet sought out Kyle Rayner and kickstarted a new Lantern until writer Geoff Johns took the reigns on the GL mythos and made it a cornerstone of the DC Universe. Parallax was formerly believed to be just a villainous mask that Hal adopted, but when Johns came into the picture, the entity of Parallax became much more, so to save you from spoilers, here’s a hearty suggestion to pick up the Green Lantern: Rebirth trade for more info. Onwards to the figure in question: This specific representation is straight out of the Rebirth arc, which basically took the Zero Hour story and built upon it. In many ways, this figure could be seen as the DC equivalent to Darth Vader in terms of how the figure is laid out proportionally and detail wise sans a mask. Just as Anakin was to Vader, so is Hal to Parallax. So let’s take this from the head down: the sculptors captured the “crazed Jordan” look wellwith the white sides of hair and the slight smirk on the face. True to comic form, he bears no visible eyeballs, just white eye sockets underneath the mask. On to the Torso area- this is where Parallax mostly resembles the Darth Vader school of design. Yes, there are many inconsistencies in that statement- Vader is purely black with an LED regulator box on the chest, and Parallax has a total of 4 colors on his costume (black, white outlines, dark green and bright green). To my eye, the way that they are similar is in the flow of things: keeping it simple. Instead of some tricked out design, the Parallax uniform is simple yet elegant, the colors aren’t splashed around all over the place . There is a basic black jumpsuit with a simple oval chest design and torso area coverage done in the bright green with white and dark green outlines. There are also some very hefty shoulder plates which do take focus off the figure, but easily flow with the whole design. Parallax’ thigh/shin/boot pieces have the bright green armor as well with the implied black jumpsuit underneath. All this bodes for a well designed costume, just like Vader’s. Lastly, the cape is great- not made of cloth or vinyl (which tend to get ripped during play) or hard plastic (which limit the figures maneuverability) the cape is a very flexible rubber that fits well on the figure. Unlike most cape bearers, this cape attaches directly to the shoulder plates instead of around the neck, leaving the head to be moved into whatever position you want. In regards to articulation, This is one of the better GL figures out there- ankles, knees, pivoting shoulders, elbows, wrists, and head. I was comparing this to the GL Sinestro and even he lacks the same amount of articulation. For the downside of things, there isn’t much other than the lack of accessories, no visible ring (which was the first thing I noticed since Parallax grabbed all the rings of the comrades he killed in the original tirade), and there seems to be a weight issue while the figure is standing, mainly due to the heavy cape and losely jointed ankles. I had to position him in such a way that he body was almost contorted just to make him look “non contorted”. There also seemed to have been a paint application issue on the face mask-some of the green had chipped off his nose while still in the package. This is the second time I had encountered paint issues with the GL line, the first being Kilowog. Overall scores: Articulation: 7.5- much better than the rest of the GL lines, typical for the DC Direct figures in general, but nowhere near the realm of the same scale Marvel Legends. Detail: 9- excellent design thanks in part to the artist/design staff at DC, and the sculpting staff for DC Direct. Parallax always had a cool design anyway, and they succeeded in bringing that to life. Accessories: 1- only came with the standard GL base, but the cape (if it is to be considered an accessory) is very good. Price: I paid 13 dollars for the figure, which is one of the cheaper figures in the line, but well worth it in my opinion.
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04-21-2009, 07:57 PM | #5 |
bringin' 3 3/4" back
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 88
|
Action Figure Spotlight: DC Direct Green Lantern Series 3 Cyborg Superman
Get your plastic on and enjoy the ride, fellow GL’s- we got another winner here with Hank Henshaw, one of the most unlucky bastards in the DC Universe. Emerging out of the “Reign of the Supermen” arc from years ago, Henshaw was a Reed Richards voyage to space gone really bad with some rather Villainous results. For his specific role in the GL mythos, Henshaw, along with Mongul, destroyed Hal Jordan’s home town of Coast City, which drove Hal mad and allowed the Parallax entity to leech onto Hal’s soul. After Rebirth, Henshaw was found leading a group of the Manhunters (the original police force for the Guardians) in sector 666, and later became part of the Sinestro Corps. For this figure, the very first thing that struck me as being cool was the multiple yellow rings on the right cyborg arm- they are translucent yellow, and when held up to a light bulb, really seem to sparkle. On the detail side of things, the cyborg anatomy was captured in great detail, especially on the arm where you can see all kinds of servos and mechanisms that make up the machine part of the man. For the uniform part, the “S” was replaced with the Sinestro Corps insignia, which tends to work well- it meshes in quite nicely with the mechanical details. Articulation is standard, but one feature that Henshaw has is an upper torso bend, something I have not found on any other GL figures to date. This upper torso bend is on a swivel- left, right, up, down, wherever you want him to be. Another detial that impressed me was the teeth area of the jaw- it is completely open and three-dimensional, instead of just being a two dimensional carve on the head piece as a whole. Although not quite as long as the DC Universe version of Hank, the cape is quite similar in respect to being made of rubber and pre-shaped into a “wind sway” state with creases and folds. The cape itself has three main attachment points- one on either side of the neck, and a main point on the back, which I’m not entirely crazy about. They could have let that one go, just as they did on Parallax’ cape, and kept the two main points to the shoulder area. The minuses are few, but important to note in any event- namely, the right ring hand cannot be swiveled, so the hand is always in the palm-up direction. I really wanted to pose the figure for pictures with a “kiss my ring” extension of the hand. The left hand is pre-molded into a fist, which seems to be a similar feature on most GL figures, and one I’m not entirely crazy about to begin with. Henshaw comes with no accessories aside from the standard GL base in green (a feature I wish would be addressed- aside from Black Hand, every figure comes with the same base, and I don’t mind that; I just wish they would keep them color coordinated with the figures, i.e. a yellow base for Sinestro Corps members, violet base for the Star Sapphires, etc). I also noticed that, due to the pre-scult of the legs, the figure seems to be in a constant left side slump. I tried placing the legs in different poses, but I just couldn’t escape the slump. The one last thing I question about Hensahw is the color of his costume- I understand that he is the Manhunter GrandMaster, and they tried to coordinate the costume to being in tune with the Manhunters’ general color scheme, but it would have been nice to see a yellow version of this since he wields the yellow rings of fear in the first place. Now that the Red Lanterns have been introduced into the mythos, I can’t begrudge a novice for thinking that Henshaw might be a Red Lantern. Sadly, all this guy ever wanted was death; to be free of the pain he called life. Unfortunately, he never quite got it, but his pathos makes for a great character and story in general, which was adeptly brought to life via DC Direct. Overall Scores: Articulation: 7- aside from the unique torso bend, it is standard, which is to say (with DC Direct) minimal at best. Detail: 8- the cyborg elements really make the figure, and the translucent yellow rings bring it to life. Price: $14.99- I’ve paid more and I’ve paid less for other GL figures, so he basically falls comfortably in the middle. Accessories: 2- basically non-existent with the exception of the base and cape, if you even want to consider the cape an accessory. Playability: he’s tough, the cape is tough, so he will stand up to the very worst the GL’s can dish out in punishment. Overall Coolness Factor: I was after this guy for months, so I wasn’t disappointed when I got him. Standing him next to a Manhunter just breeds coolness. Definite thumbs up.
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05-06-2009, 08:20 AM | #6 |
bringin' 3 3/4" back
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 88
|
Action Figure Spotlight: DC JUSTICE Sinestro, Series 1
Surprise, surprise! Yes, I bought another Sinestro figure. I know, it must come as a big shock to you, the reader <insert lols here>. A little off the path from the normal DC Direct/Universe figures, I was at a sort of crossroads on whether to get this specific interpretation of GL’s most notorious enemy, but I bought this figure because there were things I actually didn’t like about it. For a few months, I had been eyeing it in the collector store as it collected dust on the shelves, but I made a commitment to getting all the GL-specific figures I could before purchasing this. Having only one other JUSTICE figure in my collection (that being Black Manta), I already knew I would be impressed with it on certain aspects (likeness, realism) but there were some aspects I didn’t much care for, which I will explain further. I’m dividing this review into three main points: Sinestro as a character design, Alex Ross, and the figure itself. The first time I ever saw the character of Sinestro was on the SuperFriends Saturday morning cartoon when he was part of Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom. Even as a kid, I wasn’t totally impressed with him. Truth be told, he looked corny, like a goon clown with that silly triangle design on his shirt. The big head and whiny voice didn’t help matters either. Basically, I saw a low level villain who was less interesting than most of the other villains on his team. His only special power was the opposite of Green Lantern- he could make yellow constructs, which were Green Lantern’s only weakness. It honestly just didn’t make for good story telling, and even on a comic level, it was hard to take Sinestro seriously. He never had any real depth other than being a Green Lantern gone bad, and that scenario had played out so many times before that it just came off as a Darth Vader rip off (even though Sinestro had been introduced years earlier). So along comes this guy named Geoff Johns, who task it was to put Hal Jordan back in the GL role, which he did very successfully. But the question was: where does Sinestro fit in? Is he still going to be a third rate villain who has occasional skirmishes with GL but is always defeated? Johns’ answer was NO. Finally, we get a worthy villain: one with depth, a constantly developing back story (getting in touch with Parallax during Hal’s insane reign, his relationship with Abin Sur, the formation of his own Corps, his relationship with his homeworld and daughter), and most importantly, someone who was now worthy of our attention. Along with Ethan Van Sciver’s artwork, Sinestro became fresh and new, almost risen from the dead space of the DC Universe, for which he was to become an important fabric of that tapestry. The new uniform (and corps) basically just rocked. Even in the very beginnings of the Rebirth story, his portion of the story would set up for greater things to come. Sinestro became a bit more real, a bit more sinister, a bit more in our faces. The second part of this has to do with Alex Ross, which most comic fans know as a master of realism within a fabricated world of two dimensional reading material. As a Fine Arts major in college concentrating on realism, I was immediately impressed the first time I ever saw something from Alex Ross, which I’m pretty sure was Kingdom Come. I still rank that story as one of my top ten trades in my own collection. The realism was just incredible- the shading, the placement of figure within background, the lifelike quality given to each and every aspect of any given panel- it was just great. To me, his art speaks in fluidity, constantly flowing while at the same time giving you the big bangs along with the more quiet moments. I could probably write a whole thesis on Alex Ross, but I will save you the torture. So, with this figure being from Ross’ Justice title, there were certain things implied: a realistic three dimensional rendering of characters straight from the comic. They would be faithfully sculpted by Tim Bruckner in relation to every and any aspect of the characters. So now we come to the figure itself- is it faithful to Alex Ross’ vision? Absolutely. Does it incorporate the realism and detail? Yes. However, I still can’t get past the old version being used. No matter how beautiful Ross’ art is, you can’t really change the core design flaws. This is a pre-Johns Sinestro, utilizing the original dorky costume and big head. Even in realism, this figure just screams “cornball” straight from the SuperFriends show. If one were to compare this figure to the Yellow Corps version of Sinestro from the DC Direct line, the immediate differences are notable: the bulbous head has been slimmed down to be more in scale with the whole body, the new costume design gives Sinestro a bit more serious tone as well as a better detailed overall look. The ears aren’t as exaggerated. In a total redesign, Sinestro looks more “real” than Ross’ realistic interpretation of the old design. Lastly, my least favorite aspect of this figure is the “garter” belt. It just looks rediculous. Per usual, articulation is standard; knee joints, elbows, swivel head, and hips. As always, articulation is sacrificed for detail, which isn’t always a bad thing, especially if you are just displaying the figure. He comes with a standard display base, and a yellow power rod. One thing I noticed is that the head seems to be on a permanent right tilt, not matter which position you swivel the head into. For comparing and contrasting, I took a few pics of this figure by itself, and also with other interpreations of the character, namely the two DC Direct GL versions, the DC Universe variant with yellow corps uniform, and the Animated JLU version. Overall Score: Articulation: 6- the same as always. Detail: 10- absolutely faithful to Alex Ross’ artwork, lifted straight from the pages, but a 7 also applies to a badly designed character in the first place, of which Ross had nothing to do with. Accessories: 7: Standard base and yellow power rod included. Price: I paid $15 for this, but I also waited until I had acquired certain other figures before purchasing this one. Not an immediate need, but something to pass the time with a review. Bottom Line: I got it because it was Sinestro, but I own better interpretations, especially the Van Sciver figure. If you are a character collector (focusing on anything to do with one character), then go for it. If not, you can wait.
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