Wednesday, April 27, 2016

DC Comics Designer Series Jae Lee Catwoman

DC Jae Lee Catwoman







I'm just going to go ahead and say it: This is the best Catwoman figure ever released.









Now, as I told you with the Jae Lee Batman I have not read a single new 52 issue, so I don't know what's up with Catwoman past the time when Hush stole her heart, she got it back and proceeded to take his fame and fortune. After that I have no idea what she's been up to. The figure is amazing. The proportions, the character, the sculpt, the paint...And she comes with a nylon whip! There's nothing better! Oh, and a googled and non googled head. This is her Selina head.



She is nicely articulated, though because of her feminine figure it can look kind of weird from certain angles...like the one shown above. Pictured on other angles, she looks like Catwoman! But that's the thing about turning a statuette into an articulated figure. It can be odd.



See? Catwoman is amazing. My favorite femme fatale of all time. I really wish her ankles were articulated. That to me is the biggest problem here. Same goes for Batman and basically all of DC Direct's figures.



I've never met a Catwoman figure I didn't like, but this one is as of this writing, the best. Even Batman is completely dumbfuddled.



That hypnotic state...just as always...



But let's face the reality here. Life's a b*tch, now so am I!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

DC Comics Designer Series Jae Lee Batman

DC Direct Jae Lee Batman















I reviewed everything BvS that I had, so we're gonna take a break while I go out and get some more toys. Tonight we will look at some more excellent DC Direct figures, except that these are modern! DC Direct has been expanding their Batman lines since we last looked at them (The Long Halloween/Dark Victory), and their quality has been getting better since the debacle that was Arkham Origins, which was famously plagued by quality problems. The Jae Lee series, inspired by the artist of the same name (New 52...I realize I have not read a single New 52 DC comic, shame on me, but I have looked at the art superficially) includes Batman, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Superman and...I think that's it. We will not look at Superman or Wonder Woman as I do not collect non-Batman figures unless they were included in a Batman story as in BvS.










I had this figure MISB for the longest time. I bought it at a convention for basically nothing, which was a relief, and I was in the middle of graduating so I never had time to look at it. Once I opened this whoosh of awesomeness hit my face in a way that rarely happens. This might just be one of my favorite Batman figures ever. The art of Jae Lee is very interesting. I have been meaning to look at that Batman meets Superman story that came out two years ago I think? Looks like an bunch of books, but I'm sort of waiting for a collected version to come out. Boy, I really need to go into a comic book store, don't I?



Initially I thought this figure looked very stiff, but it is able to pull off a few poses and fight some enemies, which is pretty cool, but I did not want to explore the full range of poses as I had a Justice League War Green Lantern break on me the same day...



This is a very gothic, serious Batman. The sculpt is amazing, the texture is unlike anything I've ever seen, then again Jae Lee's artwork is very different from what I am accustomed to. The paint is really well done and I highly recommend it. Next up, Catwoman!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

DC comics Multiverse Batman vs Superman Batman

DC Multiverse BvS Batman













The Batman. Taller than the mainstream 9.99 figure, for 20.00 you can get Batman vs Superman's Batman fully articulated. The box is a generic vessel for all Multiverse figures. Now for those who have collected Multiverse for the last...2ish years? Yeah, your figures just got taller. The Multiverse line always keeps changing scale, which hugely bothers me. I'm a scale fanatic, and these figures are trying to be as tall as DC Direct figures, which is ok, but they are even taller than the Movie Masters of times past. It really bothers me. I do like the inside of the box. Every BvS Multiverse figure comes with a part to build Batman's grapnel gun. The others have parts for the "Justice Buster", a huge Bat robot...thing I have not yet ready about in the comics (Yeah, I'm behind).











Well, $10 more for super articulation and a super stiff cape, as well as a golden base for the grapnel gun, and no other accessories...I don't know. The texture is nice, but I wish the silver was darker and not as shiny. But what really kills me is the lack of accessories.









It can pull off all the poses any modern superhero figure can, nothing new. Perhaps what bothers me about this figure is the lack of innovation. There is nothing new or special about it. The plastic cape really bums me out, but that is not new. I'm not saying it is a bad figure, it is just...nothing new. And it's a bit too big for the Batmobile. It's unnecessarily big.








May I borrow that? There we go. Case closed. These figures need accessories, and not BAF parts. Now, the grapnel gun is still oversized, but it works perfectly for the types of poses I want to do!



I should have added Adam West to this pantheon. Maybe I will.



The Bat of Gotham! Good figure, but for $20.00 it may be too much for some collectors.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Grapnel Blast Batman Walmart Exclusive Blue version

BvS Walmart Exclusive Grapnel Blast Batman





If you go to WalMart you'll notice there are more blue Grapnel Blast Batmen than the normal black and gray version. They also have alternate Aquamans and Wonder Women. If you want to get the full scope see the review before this one as they are identical.











Identical in every way except that the T crotch, boots, gauntlets, cape and cowl are all blue instead of black. Oh and the grapnel gun is full black. I don't know if it's the camera flash but the gray is a bit darker than the former, truly giving it the The Dark Knight Returns look Walmart figures are going for (See Batman & Superman review for armored blue and grey Batman). If you are a completist, go ahead and look for this. Otherwise one or the other are just as good. Personally I like them both, as they give the collector a choice! Black and blue! Day versus night! Bat vs Bat!