Word from a poster over at Fwoosh who says they had contact with Dorkside (I guess via email, not sure) indicates that Dorkside said they did not get the Apocalypse wave in this week, only a few shipments of the Venom wave. I have no reason to think they're not being honest, but also because it's third hand information, there may be more to it than that or things miscommunicated. Just repeating what was posted. If that's the case that's disappointing. I know Dorkside wants to get these in so they can start filling orders. The longer it takes, the more people find at retail and that means less sales for them.

I hope they get them soon. I've got a lot of stressors for a lot of reasons right now and sadly one thing that's keeping me going right now is looking forward to the Apocalypse and Sauron waves.

I hope things go better for you, dude.

Thanks I appreciate that! One thing with collecting, there is ALWAYS something to look forward it. It may seem like a silly or odd reason to keep going, but sometimes any reason at all can be a beacon in the dark.

@Nash have you checked your local targets? I came from mine earlier this morning and they had everyone from the wave but Magneto and Sabertooth. I came home with multiple man and Wolverine.

Not a thing. They are fantastic!

I have not. I haven't been able to get out for a couple of weeks now. (so glad for a work at home job!) Hoping one day soon, was going to try and do that this week but I've been too injured nursing a hurt back since last week. :(

I feel like....the last year, since I've been unable to get out and do a hunt really, that the figures are all out there on the pegs just waiting for me to come find them. But then the very rare occasions i manage to get out and go to 2-3 places, I find nothing except what I already have. I feel like if I could just get out and go places I would find them, but right now that's not possible.

Damn I’m sorry to hear that! Hopefully you feel better soon. I’ve had something similar before I’ve had a pinched nerve in the back. Any Back Injury is Completely debilitating. Next time I’m out I’ll look out for them for you if you want. I’d happily help ya out.

I appreciate that. I think though I'll just wait for the Dorkside order. I know it will come eventually, just like so many others wish it would come sooner than later lol. of course, if I do happen to make it out and see any myself, especially Psylocke or Madrox, I'm scooping them up and will have doubles...triples of Madrox....quadruple Madrox--Madri? Many multiples of Madrox.

I think an additional factor for concern could be the other waves that are all dropping now. Between the Cull, Apocalypse, Sp//dr, and Venom waves I could totally see stores skipping on some in favor of others unfortunately. Plus there's the First 10 Years line which is also supposed to be hitting about now, I've only seen those at Gamestop and online.

Did you custom-make that background? It looks awesome.

It's from NECA's TMNT set. There will be a retail version of the diorama eventually.

That looks awesome.

“Okay everyone keep a stern eye out for ironfists shirt.”

I just found the Cull Wave at the Walmart across the street from me on Monday. They don't have a big action figure section and they were sitting on the endcap on the side. I picked up Thor and BK for a friend.

Just heard that Dorkside will receive their Xmen wave Thursday or Friday.

GameStop got them in here (Michigan) when they first released and they were so eagerly snapped up they practically vanished over that weekend.

Amazon is the only other resource I've been able to get them after that. As far as my region is concerned, they've not shown up at any major retail, even after all this time and with so many with bare pegs. Adding to the frustration is Meijer (Grocery store) got restock with Black Panther and Sasquatch waves in the last three weeks and even then the pegs are still more empty then not.

Didn't they say that last week though?

I wonder if the Psylocke change is the reason for this hold up.

If so then its worth the wait.

I was able to find the first two figures from the Venom wave in Venom and Carnage earlier this week at a local Walgreens. Here are a couple of thoughts on Venom.

At first glance, this looks like a straight-up reissue of the Sandman wave Venom with a couple of additional items such as the Brock head and the forming tendril piece. There is a bit more to it however as the figure itself has a seni glossier finish on most of the parts, as well as a new standard Venom head, which features no extended tongue.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/924/4...2c2a4e_k_d.jpg

The figure itself features identical articulation and is on the Hyperion body mold we all know. There are no new parts to it. The figure has a softer and gummier feel to it, but it is not distractingly so. And while all the parts from the Sandman figure work perfectly with the new figure, the problem is they will look different to the trained eye, since the new figure has formentioned sheen to it. It is hard to spot at a distance, but in hand you will notice it, especially when the figure is displayed under a light. (New Venom is the figure on the right.)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/851/4...05d122_k_d.jpg

The new figure also features some QC issues, as the paint apps on my Sandman figure were much more crisp with less fuzziness. The eyes were missing a small bit of paint on the corner, and the spider symbol itself, while fairly straight, does display some blurryness on the pinchers. The glossiness of the figure is also an issue, as it is not evenly distributed among the entire figure, with some parts featuring more sheen than other (like the Defenders boxset DD did.) However, that mismatched gloss does not stand out anywhere near to the levels of that previous DD figure.

It should also be noted that the hands on this new Venom are not removable unless you were willing to apply heat and mod them in some way to be easily removed. Know that if you want those open Venom hands from the previous figure to work, you're going to need to put some TLC into it.

So should you pick it up if you already have the Sandman figure? It really depends on what you want. Honestly I actually have found myself preferring this one more than the Sandman release, simply because of the new additions, the Brock head (which has been tweaked in size since the reveal, and does not look as big in person as it does in photos,) the tendril piece, and tongueless Venom portrait. With all of the specific artist's looks that Hasbro has been trying to capture lately, it is obvious that this was their love letter to Todd McFarlane. The Venom portrait is the dead giveaway, as Todd McFarlane never drew Venom with the dragging, drooling tongue. While I never cared much for Todd, I always enjoyed his work on Venom the most, just barely behind Bagley's interpretation.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/851/4...6c6dce_b_d.jpg

I'm a bit biased in saying I recommend the purchase, however, if you can live without the extras, save your money and buy or trade for the BAF part on the secondary market. It's a mostly good looking figure with some nice bonus parts to those who missed out on the original release, but that's about it. It's not better than the original release, but it's not so much worse that you should hunt down that one instead if you missed out.

I have forgotten which Venom I have is but he is big with lots of Detail and accessories.
https://i.imgur.com/bmfaM99.jpg

Select Venom: The Madness. Great figure. That's actually what I thought when I heard the BAF was "Monster Venom." That or Ultimate Venom.

So the goo bit around the neck isn't a permenant piece?

Thor and Widow back up

https://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/en/hts...9as00?catName=
https://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/en/hts...0as00?catName=

No, it's removable and will work with the previous Venom figure, although the tint on the piece is different and doesn't quite match the original Sandman wave figure. Nevertheless it does work.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/840/4...ce4e6a_k_d.jpg

The tendrils from the Flash Venom will also work on the newer Venom Wave Venom in case anyone was wondering, and can be combined with the new headpiece.

Hasbro dropped the ball. They could have just reused the head you used, instead of sculpting that overly big, stoic Eddie Brock head.

They could have saved money and gave us an angry Brock like he shoulod be.