SDCC 2014 Hasbro Marvel Highlights

Now that San Diego Comic Con is over, it’s time to pick out some of the best news from the convention. Though I wasn’t in attendance, I was glued to my Twitter feed catching updates as they poured in. The next best thing to actually being at a convention is connecting with friends and strangers on social media to circulate news.

As a huge action figure collector, I tried to catch all the news I could from the usual suspects. Judging by everything shown, it’s easy to see how hyped collectors likely were. But none stood out more than Hasbro’s Marvel Legends and Avengers Infinite Series (3.75”) figures. I’m still unsure of what the new name is for the 3.75” line, formerly known as Marvel Universe. It’s either Avengers Infinite Series or Marvel Infinite Series. I was thrilled to see some of the characters that will get the action figure treatment come 2015 and beyond. The Marvel Legends line will produce an Avengers series as well as a Spider-Man set. Here are my highlights from Hasbro’s Marvel display.

Avengers Infinite Series (3.75”)

Beast (‘90s)
Oh my stars and garters, mutant lovers and toy collectors, Beast from the ‘90s is finally here. This isn’t the first Beast figure Hasbro has produced for this line but it’s the first in this costume. He appears a little slimmer than you’d expect but come on, it’s Beast. Of course you want him.

Bishop (‘90s)
I must admit being surprised to see Bishop on display. He’ll definitely have a good home here though. One aspect of his design I can already see limiting rests in his legs. For those familiar, he appears to share the legs with earlier figures such as Moon Knight and Mr. Fantastic. Still, it’s great to have another X-Man and Black action figure.

Black Cat
Black Cat isn’t a character I’d have given much priority for this line. But she’s a welcome addition in a line with few women figures, one of which being Mary Jane. I expect to see a lot of dioramas featuring Black Cat and the web-slinger once she’s released.

Sandman
Though Sandman doesn’t make my top-5 in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, the character is cool enough and I like his powers. Collectors have been treated quite well in terms of Spidey villains and this figure adds to that. He’ll also have a variant which depicts him in fully covered in sand.

Spider-Man (Big Time costume)
The Big Time costume now comes in 3.75” scale to match its Marvel Legends counterpart. Though it didn’t see long-term use, it does look good. Now all we need is another Hobgoblin figure, this time matching the design of Phil Urich’s costume.

Speaking of Hobgoblin…

Marvel Legends Infinite Series

Hobgoblin
When I saw Humberto Ramos’ newly designed Hobgoblin in Amazing Spider-Man #649, I was ecstatic. After reading it, I flipped back and forth through the issue to take in the visuals. It’s a fantastic design. So you can imagine the grin on my face when I saw this figure. My initial joy waned when I discovered he’ll be a Build-A-Figure constructed by pieces paired up with several figures, some of which have yet to be revealed. I would’ve liked to see more scales across his top to match his comic look more but I’m still more than pleased.

Scarlet Witch
I’m not particularly invested in Scarlet Witch’s character but I don’t have any problems with her. Well, except for that whole “No more mutants” episode. I do acknowledge and appreciate her place within the Marvel Universe and she makes for some decent action figures.

Captain Marvel
As a proud member of the Carol Corps, I couldn’t contain my excitement upon spotting Captain Marvel on Instagram. My love for the character has grown in recent years and I’ve been a big supporter of her books. Seeing this figure (with interchangeable heads!) geeked me up more than I can describe.

Ms. Marvel & Radioactive Man
These two figures will be packed with yet another Captain America. This one is a repaint of the previous Ultimate Captain America. But he’s nowhere near as important as Ms. Marvel and Radioactive Man. I’ve wanted a good Ms. Marvel figure for some time and while we’ll have Carol in her Captain Marvel costume, her previous one is still worth picking up. Seeing Radioactive Man yields some hope that he won’t be in action figure limbo for too much longer after being revealed last year. Also, I just want more villains in my collections of both scales. Initially I thought, and still do to a degree, that it was odd for these figures to be packed together. But as an Avengers vs. Avengers baddie pack, it has extra appeal.

Hawkeye (classic costume)
Another figure we’ve seen before only to be hidden away by Hasbro is Hawkeye in his classic costume. He was originally set for release as part of Hasbro’s train wreck of a variant program in 2013. This entailed figures being swapped in for others during production as “running changes.” I’m not exactly sure how well it worked. All I know is there are plenty of characters sitting in a Hasbro prison waiting to be freed. The only Hawkeye to hit the market featured his modern costume. So let’s hope this one sees release as I’ve held a spot for him in my collection.

What did you think of the toys shown at Comic Con? Which figures stood out to you? What toys disappointed you? Were there any you expected to see that weren’t shown? Sound off below.

*All photos courtesy of ActionFigureFury.com. You can find more images on their site here, here and here.

Comics, Posters, and Toys...Oh My!!

New Comic Book Day was a glorious one for me this week. As the title indicates, get ready for comics, posters, and toys. I'll kick it off with the comics.

I haven't been reading Scarlet Spider, but you better believe I'm picking it up for the Minimum Carnage storyline. Dark Horse Presents #13 is rather redundant because my reason for ordering it was to read the section on Ghost. What I didn't know was it would all be collected in Ghost #0. Which I read last week. But since I have it, I'll of course read the rest of it. I was planning on ordering Saga TPB Vol. 1, but my shop was already on top of that, so I grabbed one.

And the best part? I'm all caught up on comics, so I can actually read these and discuss them in a timely manner. As you can see, I have some good reading ahead of me.

I am a fan of decorating walls with comic posters. If you could see my place, you'd probably fall in love with it. When I walked into my shop yesterday, I noticed they'd put up new posters. The owner pulled some out for me and the X-Men and Carnage posters jumped out to me. Let's just say my love for the X-Men and Carnage has been well documented.

Now on to some toys. You know how I love some action figures, especially Marvel Universe. For those of you who don't know, Hasbro's Marvel Universe toyline consists of G.I. Joe sized (roughly 3.75 inch) representations of Marvel Comics characters. Most of the figures below are from wave 18 (part of series 4). I missed this wave at retail but did fine wave 19, which you can see here. I am a bit of a MOC collector. I limit it to characters I really like, who also look good carded. So Beta Ray Bill got a twin.

All but Magneto came from Hasbro Toy Shop, while he came from Walmart. When I was placing my order, I was $0.05 short of free shipping. The difference between shipping cost and another figure was minimal, so I figured if I'm going to pay that, I'd rather take another toy. I went with Ghost Rider because I wanted to see how I could make him look in black. I grabbed Magneto so I could paint him in his true colors. GR and Mags are from earlier waves, 10 (series 2) and 16 (series 3), respectively. I'll post updates when I'm done with them.

I've been looking forward to Beta Ray Bill since he was announced and I'm not disappointed. His jaw even hinges which is a great touch on a smaller sized figure. Toy Biz had the same feature on their Marvel Legends version. His shoulder pads are attached to his cape. It's a serious issue, just a design aspect to note. If you look at Beast in package, you might be able to see his right leg is warped. In this picture, you can see him leaning a bit. It's easily remedied and as of this posting, he has been fixed. Easy peezy.

I'm digging the new Hulk sculpt. Here's a comparison with the Secret Wars comic pack Hulk. The first one is bulkier and the articulation suffers for it. I like the new paint job too. So my vote goes to the wave 18 Hulk.

So that's my amazing haul for the week. Did you have a great haul you wanna share? Are you reading any of the same comics? What do you think of my decorative material? Are you a toy collector? Let the world know. Thanks for looking.

Comic and Action Figure Haul

Another new comic day has come and gone. That doesn't mean the fun ends though. Here's my haul for the week. I had some good books waiting for me and also some surprise action figure pick-ups. I did miss out on Ultimate Spider-Man #15. That's my own fault because I haven't updated my pull-list in a while. I expect Daredevil #18, Cobra #17, and Ghostbusters #13 to be the best books of the week. I'm quite curious to see how Ghost #0 reads. I'm a bit behind in reading, so I won't know too soon.

 

I also hit up a Wal-Mart (one which hasn't been friendly to collectors of cool action figures) to find Marvel Universe wave 19. It's always nice when you can catch a full wave in one spot. It doesn't get any better than that. They were acually restocking that night, so I caught a fresh case. Check out wave 19 below.

 

The figure I was looking forward to most in this wave was She-Hulk. She's had some recent appearances of which I was fond. When I pick up my books this week, I'm going to see if I can order some trades from her last solo series. I'm curious how she holds her own. I know a few people who are still searching for Kang and Scarlet Witch. Good luck to them.

The paint apps are good for the most part. Punisher and Future Foundation Spider-Man have some questionable spots though. I was thinking about touching up both of them. The problem area on Punisher isn't that bad. FF Spidey's are a bit different. I'm not sure if Hasbro wanted his costume to have a more grayish look or shaded effect as opposed to the Marvel Legends Future Foundation Spider-Man which is pure white and black. Looking at it makes me think of art by Mike Deodato Jr. I happen to like that, but it didn't translate well. But then again, it could just be bad paint application. Toy collectors are quite familiar with that. Here are a few pictures to see it for yourself.



Well that's that. Of course I'll be picking up my books this week, but I'm also hoping to find Marvel Universe wave 18. Yeah, I missed a wave. How? I'm still not sure. That wave consists of Beast (in Astonishing costume), Beta Ray Bill (hell yeah), Hulk (new sculpt), and Kraven. Also in that wave are two versions of Ultimate Spider-Man. One of which is the Miles Morales variant. I don't want Ultimate Spider-man though. But I do want two of Beta Ray Bill as I'll be keeping one MOC.
Thanks for looking. Happy reading and toy hunting to everyone.

Transformers Chat

I was never a huge Transformers fan as a kid. In the battle of what I consider the 80's powerhouses, G.I. Joe and Transformers, I was quick to shout "Yo Joe!" There were obviously more franchises that held our interests, such as the Ghostbusters, which was probably my first love. But G.I. Joe and Transformers are still very relevant in multiple forms. That was my brief disclaimer so as not to discount the impact of other franchises. Now back to Transformers.

I've seen the TF movies and just recently watched Dark of the Moon for the first time since its theater release. The movies aren't great and despite what longtime fans may have rated them, they always tempted me to buy TF toys. I never actually did, but I spent a few minutes browsing the toys when the movies were out.

How things have changed. I've actually purchased not one, but two TF figures within the last week or so. I picked up Dark of the Moon Mechtech Jolt and Sideswipe on clearance at Wally World. These are the first Transformers I've owned since I was in elementary school. I grabbed these because I prefer the faster and more finesse vehicles (motorcycles, sports cars, and jets) over the larger trucks other characters transform into and because they were on clearance. I'm just checking these out, I'm not quite ready to commit to the prices I pay for Gears of War or Marvel Legends.

Originally, I had this post planned before purchasing any of the toys. I picked up Jolt on a whim so that changed how this was going to go. I was going to ask where one should start with multiple TF lines still in stores. I've been to the usual retailers, except TRU, and have seen Prime and DotM still on shelves. With DotM having been out for some time and the figures on clearance, they're obviously not a major factor.

I'm watching TF: Prime on netflix now and it's decent at best. Plot-wise, it's far from a masterpiece. I've grown fond of Arcee. She's a hell of a fighter, she's blue, and she's a motorcycle. Those all earn major points in my book. I spotted TF: Prime Arcee at Target the other day and have watched reviews of her, but the way her robot mode has her motorcycle parts looking like a backpack kinda turns me off of the figure. She's still a potential purchase though.

I don't have much knowledge on the characters, so there's not much to draw on there. However, the figures do appeal to me more as an action figure collector. From a design standpoint alone, they're worth at least looking into. I'm sure others can attest to this as well, sometimes a figure from a line you don't collect just looks cool and you want it.

This point is almost what got me to pick up a Star Wars General Grievous figure. His two arms split into four, which is slick by itself. Plus he has four lightsabers (the only aspect of the SW universe I actually like). There are a few out there and I have no idea which one I saw that I liked. I must investigate. And once again, back to TF.

For the more dedicated TF fans out there, what do you think of the current TF toys? What figures do you like? On the flip-side, which would you suggest avoiding? Also, I'm curious what people think of the Prime television series. Thanks for any help and comments.

Christmas in July

MERRY CHRI--wait a second. *checks calendar* Hmm, it's still July...nevermind. Well, I don't remember when I first heard the phrase "Christmas in July" nor did I understand its meaning at the time. That's no longer true of course. As toy collectors though, Christmas kinda runs year round for us. And we love it. No decorations or music. All toys.

Retaliation Storm Shadow and Red Ninja as well as Marvel Legends Spider-Man (BIG TIME!) and Thunderball were adopted from Target. MU Iron Fist and DotM Jolt fought their way out of Wally World. The Masters of Evil conquered Hasbrotoyshop.com. The Ghostbusters busted all the ghosts on ebay to round out my haul for the month.

I wanted the SDCC Uncanny X-Force set and the Jinx figs, but missed out on them through several HTS restocks. I might be able to acquire them from some tankers over on Hisstank.com. I also wanted the NECA's SDCC Gears of War 3 Savage Theron and the MU Guardians of the Galaxy set (which is really only 2 figures since Rocket Raccoon is an inch tall or something).


I planned on skipping most or all of the Joe Retaliation figs, but I like this Storm Shadow's modern look. In case it's running through your mind, yes, I do have the Renegades Stormy as well. As far as the Red Ninja: it's a ninja. I really don't have much to say beyond that. With Retaliation going through it's problems, these could be the last Joes I'll pick up for the rest of the year.

I wasn't too sure about picking up Iron Fist seeing as how I have all three of his previous releases. The only reason I picked him up is because it appears he'll be rocking the white costume for sometime. If I didn't read comics, I would've left him on the peg. I already planned on liberating the Masters of Evil from their plastic prison, but I might enjoy them in their package for a bit. Call it an extended sentence.

I had been hoping I would catch Big Time Spidey and Thunderball at some point. I have FF Spidey and Piledriver already. As you'll see in a bit, Thunderball is huge. Spidey looks great. I was expecting more black, but I like this too.

I missed out on the Ghostbusters when they were first released. I actually didn't even know about Mattel's new series until much later. I have the GB2 TRU exclusive set, but I had to have these. And someone on Hisstank mentioned that Mattel actually cancelled the Ghostbusters line. That sucks.

Quick note on Jolt: this is the first Transformer toy I've owned since I was in grade school. I have another post lined up discussing him and TF in general, so be on the lookout for that later.

Who loves action shots? Great! If you didn't, well check out these shots anyway.

I told you Thunderball was huge.

Let's take a look at another entry in the eternal battle between good and evil.

Here's hoping Iron Fist has enough qi to fell Thunderball.

Maybe not.

What do you think of my haul? Have any of these in your collection? Let me know. I'm hoping my area sees new Marvel Universe stuff (unlikely), but they'll get posted if I find them. Thanks for looking. Keep collecting my friends.

SDCC 2012 Exclusives are Amazing!

It's June, so of course means that SDCC, San Diego Comic Con (for the few hypothetical people that don't know what that means) is approaching fast. As with any other convention, only multiplied ten-fold, it brings us, amongst other things, comics, video games, great costumes, and tons of people who share our interests. And yes even movies, television shows, and their stars (blah blah blah). Can you sense my enthusiasm there? I’ve wanted to go for years even though it seems as if the comic presence isn’t given the love it once was. In 2011, I was able to make the trek and I had a ball. Well for the most part anyway.

Of the many aspects that attract people to the show, the toys definitely stand out. The exclusives debuting at SDCC pull in the collectors as well as the career eBayers. Do a search on eBay and you’ll see what I mean. Some of the prices people set these toys at are ridiculous. But I digress. I am quite the toy collector and Hasbro has gotten a nice amount of my dollars over the years. At last year’s show I picked up a few of Hasbro’s goodies including two G.I. Joe Zarana figures, one for me and the other for someone on hisstank.com as well as a Marvel Universe Sentinel (in its’ classic colors). The latter of which made my top toys of 2011 which you can view right here.

Hasbro's had some great exclusives over the years and this year will be no different. They'll have figures from each of the three current lines I collect: G.I. Joe, Marvel Legends, and Marvel Universe. But wait, there's more. Not to be outdone, NECA Toys, will be rolling out a ton of toys for the con. This of course includes my beloved Gears of War. Well it's actually Gears of War 3 at this point. So let's take a look at the figures I would quickly adopt.

I'll kick it off with some G.I. Joe action. Have you ever been jinxed twice? Well you will be. Jinx, who's set to show up in this year's next year's G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie, gets two figures. Both which come on 25th Anniversary styled cardbacks as opposed to the hideous Retaliation packaging. Thank you for not making that mistake Hasbro.



I can't remember which of these is the variant. And I wouldn't know which to open as either could fit in my Joeverse. I might even be tempted to pick up extras to keep moc as I should have done with Zarana in 2011.



Making their return to shelves earlier this year, Marvel Legends made an appearance at the 2011 show and brought with them an exclusive Thor figure wrapped in a Mjolnir designed package. I waited for the retail release though. For San Diego, Hasbro is hitting fans of the line with an Uncanny X-Force 3-pack featuring Archangel, Psylocke and Wolverine. I haven't seen the back of the box, but the front does feature art from Clayton Crain. This set will go great with the Fantomex sitting here. And apparently we're getting a Deadpool soon. That'd be a nice set to have sitting on the bookshelf.



First, just look at Archangel's wings. I have this great appreciation for winged characters. There's just so much design-wise that can be done with them and it's always nice to see each artists' interpretation of someone's, especially Warren's, wings. Hasbro should make this pack in their standard colors. It would be great to have Archangel in his blue and purple costume.







Next up is a set from the Marvel Universe line, which is definitely my favorite line out of these. Here is a Masters of Evil 3-pack featuring Baron Zemo, Radioactive Man, and Tiger Shark. I'm not big fans of the characters, but I definitely appreciate them and I want more villains in my collection. And look at Radioactive Man, who doesn't love a translucent figure? Oh you don't? Well I don't believe it.



And the final toy I want to get my hands on comes from NECA. It's the recently revealed Gears 3 Elite Theron. The Gears figures aren't great on articulation, but I love Gears and I like having the toys. This guy will fit in just nice with the rest of the Locust Horde.


So there we are fellow toy collectors. I really did want to hit SDCC again, but it appears that won't be happening. You might have an idea of how geeked I'd be if I could still go and managed to grab all of these. It looks as if I may have to pay attention to HasbroToyShop.com after the con is over. I already have low expectations because I know there will be a mad rush for these and there will undoubtedly be issues with their website from the traffic. As for the Elite Theron, I have no idea. Ebay will likely be my only option for him. I'll figure out something.

What do you think of these? Would any of them have a place in your collection? Let me know. Happy toy hunting.

Spring Break Toy Haul

Recently I was on spring break and let me tell you, it was pretty good. Around the beginning of that time and during the following week I found some great stuff at retailers. Target, Wally World, TRU, and F.Y.E. were all good to me and at the same time for some reason. Not complaining. I've also spent some time on ebay.

I certainly was not expecting any of these items to be on the pegs. Each store visit where I found something surprised the hell out of me. Particularly stores which haven't carried many good toylines in recent years. I've got Gears of War 3, several lines within G.I. Joe, Marvel Legends, and Marvel Universe. Take a look.

Here are the more militaristic toys of the haul. Gears of War 3 and the Joes. One Sci-Fi figure will be kept moc. The 25th figs I've wanted for sometime but never made the effort. The vintage-styled Joes were some random purchases on ebay. The time spent looking at them let to other evilbay pick-ups.

And here is the Marvelous aspect of the haul. Some Legends and some MU. I'm still missing a couple Legends figs though. Since I already have an Iceman, Magneto, and Wolverine, they'll be kept moc as well as one of the Psylocke and Storm figures.

I know what you're thinking. What a glorious haul, right? This I know. Now I get the fun of opening most of them. This is gonna be fun. Keep it nerdy my friends.

My Top 5 Toys of 2011

Toys, toys, toys. Beyond the comics, I have a fondness for action figures and know many people who share that love. While most of my collection consists of comic characters, video games and anime characters are well represented.

2011 was a great year for toys. I purchased many action figures throughout the year and thought it would be cool to pick my top five of the year. This gave me a chance to look through pictures of my hauls from the previous year. That's not to say I don't do that anyway, because I do. It took me some time to look through everything because I wanted to make sure my initial list was made up of toys actually released in 2011.

From there, I had to narrow down my choices, which wasn’t as hard as I originally thought for a couple of reasons. One, there are a few figures who were standouts to me and were clear choices. And two, I’m only collecting about 3 current toylines including Marvel Universe, G.I. Joe, and Gears of War. But those are the only actual full ongoing toylines, it’ll be four when Marvel Legends hit shelves again. I’m not counting the figures connected to movies.

Getting that out of the way, let's get to the toys. Because that's why you're here, right? And to the toys we go.


#5. G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary Crimson Hiss Tank

I found this lovely vehicle at Toys R Us. I really dig this new design. I have three of them; one of each release. And yes, that includes the inexplicable brown one. I planned on painting that one black, but then I got my hands on the second release which was black. I still want to customize it, but have yet to decide on a design. Hasbro decided to release it a third time, in glorious red, or crimson as the box dictates. The actual color isn’t as glossy as the box would indicate, but it still looks good. I don't really care for the driver Cobra Crimson Horseman. I hate the mold they used, it's the same as the PoC wave 1 Firefly. The Firefly I didn't like then. But since I keep all my drivers and pilots anyway, he'll always have a home.


#4. G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary Vamp Mk.II

I know what you’re thinking. Two G.I. Joe vehicles? Really? Yes, really. I found this along with the Black Dragon VTOL at Wally World. This new Vamp design is my ideal Joe vehicle. And that model is a jeep/tank type vehicle fitting 4 or more figures. Because of this, it has actually become my favorite Joe vehicle. It has taken the spot of the A.W.E. Striker which has been number one for many years. I actually have two Vamps; both the PoC one and this 30th one. It joins the new Hiss and the A.W.E. Striker as the only vehicles of which I have multiple forms. I don't find the driver Steel Brigade Delta as cool as other people on the internet. But I definitely like him much better than the Cobra Crimson Horseman though.


#3. Gears of War 2 Skorge

I’ve been a gearhead since I played the first one and absolutely love the franchise. I’ve got the games, novels, comics, cog tags, a shirt, other apparel, and of course the toys. When NECA Toys announced Skorge, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him. I had him set as my default Locust character in Gears 2. His mask or hat or whatever it was looked like dreads. I found him over the summer at TRU along with Kantus. The articulation is getting better on these figures. The first sets were pretty much statues. This deadly Locust comes with his dual-edged chainsaw staff.


#2. Marvel Masterworks SDCC Sentinel

If you don’t know, I’m a big X-Men fan. Always have been and always will be. As such, I’ve seen the Sentinels in action many times. I’ve had them in toy form before too. Hasbro produced these Sentinels in two colors. These classic colors were originally the SDCC 2011 exclusive. The other version, painted in silver and blue. 2011 marked my first trip to SDCC so I was already geeked out. But when I heard about the Sentinel, I knew I had to do what I could to get my hands on at least one. I won’t go into all the details, but anyone who’s been there knows the effort it takes to get some of Hasbro’s exclusives.

It came in a large box covered in art by Joe Quesada featuring six X-Men taking on the mechanical mutant killing terror. It even has lights and sounds. I originally planned to purchase two, but several factors came into play that made me stick to just the one. One of those was the size. I had trouble packing the one away; two would’ve been a struggle. I even carried it on the plane ride back. I wasn’t letting that Sentinel out of my sights for anything. I did receive several strange looks at the airport, but of course I didn’t care; I had my Sentinel. However, sometime after the convention, Hasbro Toy Shop got in some of the formerly SDCC exclusive items. I didn't spend any time deciding on whether to grab a second one and I’m glad. As I told a friend, I couldn’t have just one Sentinel.


#1. Marvel Universe Cyclops

These top two spots could’ve been switched around. That’s how close it was. But in the end, it had to go to Slim. Cyclops is one of my favorite comic book characters and I think he’s the best and most important X-Man ever. And despite all the unexplained pouches, I’m a huge fan of this costume. I actually picked up two, having gotten more into MOC figures. He’s got great articulation which includes the new rolling ankle joints. An awesome figure all around.

And just for fun, here are some more pix for you. I may have had a little fun with this. Not that much, but you know you thought of Night of the Sentinels with Cyclops and that Sentinel, didn't you? Yeah you did.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, my top five toys of 2011. There are a lot of toys coming out this year that I can't wait to get my hands on. Most of it will be Marvel stuff; Marvel Universe of course and the return of Marvel Legends. I wonder what SDCC exclusives Hasbro will have. What a year this will be indeed.

Feel free to comment. And thanks for looking.