Green Lantern Statue

Next up is a 1/4 Scale Statue of the Green Lantern. This statue includes a mixed media of hand-painted resin and fabric.

I appreciate the fact that DC is offering me some characters other than Batman and Superman; however, if I am going to pay this much for a statue, it had better be a little more detailed and worth the $300.

Produced By: DC Direct
Designed By Walter O'Neal
Sculpted By Ray Villafane
Dimensions: 18"H x 10"W x 9.5"D
Type: Resin - Fabric Statue
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: November 2009
Estimated Price: $325.00
Sale Price Here: $253.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Once again, I feel as if this is another statue that DC Direct has fumbled on; however, I wouldn't mind a battle pose between Green Lantern vs. Sinestro next to my Batman vs. Joker.

Points In Favor:

• Colors are vibrant
• Holding the lantern was a nice touch.

Points Against:

• Price - an immediate deterrent
• Fabric does not appear to provide that much form to the physical aspect of the body.
• Sculpting on this statue seems to be lacking - in his face and body. Legs look a little too short for the body.
  
• Pose seems a little strange, as he is aiming the ring at himself - at least the squirrel is ready to fight the fight.

Does anyone remember the Green Lantern Squirrel?

Recommendation: Pass - get the bust instead and save your money for another bust or future GL statue.

Robert's Two Cents
Zimm, did you see the Green Lantern/Sinestro book ends from a few years back?

Points In Favor:

• Fabric costume is well made.
• Pose is good.
  

Points Against:

• Price. $300? Whoa!
  
• Ch'p. I like Ch'p OK in the comics, but don't really want him in my statues.
  
• Face is a little weak.
  

The squirrel? His name is Ch'p. He's died at least twice, including once in the fantastic GL Mosiac drawn by Cully Hamner in the early 90s. He was hit by a truck.

Also, I've seen pictures that make the face look better. I'm not sure if it's good airbrushing/photo retouch techniques or if it's not as bad as this picture makes it look.

Recommendation: Pass - The price knocks this one out of the running for me. Plus the quality could be better.

Heroes of the DC Universe: Green Arrow

The next bust in the Heroes of the DC Universe is the Green Arrow, and with this Bust, I know that DC is going to be creating their entire universe in bust format.

Pro - You could end up with one of everyone; which is totally awesome.
Con - Not all of them are worth collecting.

Produced By: DC Direct
Designed By Carlos Pacheco
Sculpted By Jean ST
Dimensions 8.25"H x 7.25"W x 3D
Type: Cold-Cast Porcelain Bust
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: November 2009
Estimated Price: $70.00
Sale Price Here: $54.99

Zimm's Two Cents
These busts continue to excite me. I am seeing different characters, decent pricing, and items that I could easily add to my collection.

Points In Favor:

• Good pose for a the bust.
• Colors are vibrant
• I actually like the sculpting. I'm going to have to look for some of Jean ST's other work.
  
• Base incorporates the various types of arrows that GA uses
• The pricing isn't that bad if you can get it on sale.
  

Points Against:

• Skin tone looks a little bit off - but that could be due to the porcelain.

Recommendation: BUY - especially if you want to start collecting more of the DC Universe characters. Also, one would a good match to the Green Lantern - if you don't mind paying for GL. (I wasn't that thrilled with GL).

Robert's Two Cents
While many of these have been hit or miss. This one looks like a hit.

Points In Favor:

• Great paint job.
• Good posing. I'd probably prefer he wasn't aiming upwards though.
  
• Really not so much a bust as a statue without legs.
  
• The bases on most of these reflect the character.
  

Points Against:

• Would prefer the Mike Grell costume.
  

Recommendation: BUY - It's a nice piece. I've been impressed with some of the busts in this series, including the Aquaman.

Batman Family Multi-Part Statue: Part 2: Huntress And Nightwing

Batman Family Multi-Part Statue: Part 2 - Nightwing and Huntress. Similar to the Justice League collection, DC is now offering the Batman Family. Broken down as:

• Robin and Catwoman
• Nightwing and Huntress
• Commissioner Gordon and Batwoman

With all three statues providing a piece of Batman who will hover in the background.

Produced By: DC Direct
Designed By Andy Kubert
Sculpted By Oluf Hartvigson
Dimensions: 10” H x 7” W x 5” D
Type: Cold-Cast in Porcelain
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: November 2009
Estimated Price: $149.99
Sale Price Here: $116.99

Zimm's Two Cents
While I initially liked the idea and had hoped for more, the quality of this statue appears to be declining.

Points In Favor:

• Vibrant colors

Points Against:

• Huntress' hair looks very flat.
• Nightwing appears to have the same build and bodymass as Robin. I would think he would be a little older.
• Robin's head is unproportionate to the rest of his body.
• Statues appear to be very unemotional.

Recommendation: While my first review recommended buy, I am now a firm Pass.

I hope that DC Direct can start turning out some statues that I can not pass on and have to add to my collection.

Robert's Two Cents
Told you so.

Semi-Spoiler: Blackest Night.

Maybe not really a spoiler - but some insight. After catching a glimpse of the most recent Blackest Night action figure, I have a clear understanding of where the story is headed.

Marvel is having such a hot run on its "Marvel Zombies" series - DC had to come up with their "Zombie Like" Superhero/Villains.

Enter "The Blackest Night".

I am still excited about the entire breakdown of corps, and I doubt that the Blackest Night will have as much flesh eating as the Marvel Zombies. BUT - we can definitely look toward a number of key heroes rising from the grave.

Who's next? Batman? Flash (a.ka. Kid Flash)?

What about some villains?

Robert: But at least he looks cool. Figured they were going somewhere like that with the recent high profile deaths in the DCU.

More Geek Attire

This time, it is for the men, and from what I can tell - we need all of the help with the muscles. The Hulk rocks though - as it INFLATES! That's what I am talking about. While Cap and the Punisher have some great shoulder "muscles", I have to give it up to the Ghost Rider's hair.

Pull List

OK, I do have one recent addition to my pull list:

Warlord - This is a revival of the Warlord Series by Mike Grell from the 70s/80s.

While not a direct continuation of the original series, Mike Grell isn't throwing out any of the continuity of the original series. At the same time, he's not tying himself down with any of it either. This will pick up several years later and allow the uninitiated to catch up with the long time fans of the book.

I've read part of the original series and love Mike's artwork on the 70s Legion of Super Heroes. He also wrote/drew the Green Arrow series in the 80s.

Mike Grell's other creation Jon Sable had a short lived TV series with one claim to fame, it introduced Rene Russo to the world as an actress. (Actually it has two. Gene Simmons appears as Sable in the intro to the series. You can't quite make him out, but he's there. Apparently Gene was a huge fan and wanted to be in the series, but ABC asked him to step out of the role.).

Issue 1 will be in stores in April and issue 2 will be available in May.

If you enjoy Warlord, you may also enjoy these books by Mike Grell:





Also, there is the Sable novel written by Mike Grell which retells/updates his origin:


Oh, yeah before I forget, he's also drawing a web comic over on Comic Mix called the Pilgrim. I haven't read it yet, but I'm betting it's pretty good. You can read more about it here.

The Losers

OK, this one's been out a while, but I love it. Amongst other things it's the first place writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock (his art blog is here) came to my attention. Both are from the UK and have been working for many years for 2000AD and others.

The Losers has the same feel as the movie The Three Kings but better. And the characters share an origin with the A-Team. They were a special forces team who were sent into the middle east and setup. The mysterious Max thought they were dead. He was wrong. Along with their CIA contact, the team go after Max and his entire organization. Who is Max? Max is a code name that has been in use by a CIA operative since the end of World War II. He also runs a multi national conglomeration and illegal black ops.

That's where the Losers come in. They want to bring him down.

The thing I especially like about this series is how they totally threw out everything from the Jack Kirby Series the name is taken from, but managed to keep enough tributes so if you were a fan of the old series, you would get them.

It's also completely different from anything out there at the time. I've, in the last few years, discovered crime comics. Mostly in the pulp family (like Criminal by Brubaker, etc.). The Losers was the book that made me realize that. If you don't enjoy crime comics/novels, you may not enjoy The Losers. If you do enjoy 24, you probably will.

For me, it's definitely a buy. Plus it's complete. You can now read the whole series in 5 trades.

The Losers:



Other books I recommend by Andy Diggle:


Additional work by Jock:

This one could go under Andy Diggle too, but I don't have any other books by Jock to recommend. Especially since I didn't like Faker, but that wasn't due to the art.

What the.......????

I personally think that Marvel may be over playing the whole "Zombie Universe." Not only are they coming out with a 4th mini-series - as if the 3rd mini-series wasn't bad enough, but now they are going to be selling more of the toys and paraphernalia to match the series. I didn't like the busts and statues when I saw them, and I definitely don't want a toy that looks like it is going to break before I even start to play with it.

I used to enjoy the Zombie concept, but now Marvel has ruined it for me. Time to find a new villain.

At least in the packaging, Spider-Man is holding his leg, but in actuality he should have been holding Mary Jane or Aunt May's half-eaten head.

Pick 3 Graphic Novels/Trade Paperbacks For This Week

Pick 3 Graphic Novels/Trade Paperbacks For This Week

This is the part where I pick 3 graphic novels/trade paperbacks and give them a grade. You'll probably mostly see B's and C's because I don't normally read books I don't like and I don't really think there are that many out there that you gotta own/read. I'm going to ignore the obvious ones, Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns, although I will probably eventually get around to the sequel to Dark Knight and maybe the Absolute Edition. Also, since I'm randomly selecting these books for review, I'm probably picking books I have at hand, so mostly new books and there are probably more of the ones I like lying around.

In no particular order:

1. The Witching Hour - A - The Witching Hour by Jeph Loeb and Chris Bachalo is one of the books I'd like with me if I ever ended up stranded on a deserted island (along with every survival manual I could find and Warren Ellis' Planetary). The series is about a group of witches who through the centuries have met and protected one another and interact with the rest of the world to provide opportunities to have all of your dreams come true. This series reminds me a lot of the Fantasy Island tv series in the way the group intervene in these people's lives, but they don't try to save them. They provide them with the opportunity to make their greatest wishes realities. Mostly, they all fail to make good on their desires. You can read it as just an interesting story, or you can read into it a commentary on humanity's nature.


2. Global Frequency Volume 1 & 2 - B+ - The whole concept is brilliant. It keeps any artist from holding up the series. It's a twelve issue limited series, each chapter is drawn by a different super star artist. Warren Ellis, writer extraordinaire, came up with the concept of an organization that the whole world relies on to fix the problems our governments don't want us to know about. The mysterious Miranda Zero and the equally intriguing Aleph lead an organization of a thousand operatives, each a specialist in their field, all linked up by super cell phones. There was a pilot made for the WB network, but the show didn't get released. You can find the pilot on the internet if you try. Too bad. It was a great concept.

Global Frequency is a totally different concept from Planetary, however, it feels like it owes a lot to Planetary. From the unique feel of each chapter (Planetary invokes a different genre/feel each issue) to the secret organization out to protect the world, there are hints of echoes between the two.



3. Northlanders - B - I really wasn't feeling the idea of a Viking story told in a comic book. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The protagonist of the first arc, is Sven. Sven has been living in the middle east and serving as a member of the Byzantine Guard from a young age. He meets an old man who knew him from his youth and asks Sven to return home to liberate his lands from the man who has usurped Sven's father's crown. Sven returns to selfishly regain his inheritance and finds himself along the way. And even finds a little happiness.

Northlanders is told in anthology form with a different set of characters in each arc. I haven't read the second arc yet, but have very high expectations. Northlanders is a monthly ongoing series written by Brian Wood.

DC Comics Tin Shield Assortment

I saw this the other day, and I thought, "How cool is that!" I was just thinking about adding some 'geek art' to the walls in my home office. The set will include 12 tins and such symbols as those shown below. Not a bad price - for 12 tins, but I do want to figure out how big they really are.

Release Date: May 2009
Price: $89.99

Robert's Commentary on Zimm's Pull/Drop List

I started off adding this to Zimm's list and then when I started my rant, I decided this was probably a separate post.

Robert's Two Cents:
I've already cleaned up my pull list, so I don't really have a list, so I'm going to comment on Zimm's.
PULLS

• Green Lantern & Green Lantern Corps - I gave Geoff Johns and friends a chance. I followed as long as I could stand it and had to give it up. I tried to follow in trade, but they were coming out so erratically, that didn't really work.
  
• Dark Reign - Sorry! Already suffering crossoveritis. I've already dropped the vast majority of my Marvel comics and I've bought over $100 worth of Marvel per month for years.
• Justice Society - Who's writing JSA these days? I'm not that big of a fan of Geoff Johns work. He's talented as hell. I've just lost interest in super hero action books. I need something more. Like Umbrella Academy. I liked the first half of the previous run titled JSA.
  

DROPS

• Most of the X-Men Titles - Sadly, I've already dropped these, except Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men. I've been buying the X-Men since I was 14 (somewhere in the 220's) and had read them long before that. I have the complete run going back to the first Dave Cockrum run on the book up through some time last year. T00 bad! I really used to love the X-Men.
  
• JLA - Not really reading it, but I think it's still being written by Dwayne McDuffie. McDuffie's one of the greats who made the Justice League cartoon as wonderful as it was. I think the cartoon only got better when they took the focus away from the big three and would expect the same of his comics work. The only reason I'm not buying it is because I quit caring about the DC Universe somewhere in one of the recent Crisis crossovers. Which ever one led into 52. (Update: OK, I stand corrected, Zimm doesn't like it because it doesn't have Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.)
  
• Iron Man and War Machine - Been dropped since before Civil War. I wasn't feeling the whole Warren Ellis/Extremis thing. Plus the book was coming out so irregularly. Iron Man, as a comic, barely keeps my attention most of the time, so I was lost until I found all the issues after Extremis and read the whole story.
  
• Batman/Superman - Well, personally, in it's original form, while in continuity, I personally treated it kinda like All Star Superman. It was kinda its own thing. It was fun. Personally I dropped it shortly after Jeph Loeb left the book. Which is interesting in its own right. What most of the ongoing Superman titles are missing 90% of the time is fun.
  
• Moon Knight - Don't go pinning that on me. You noticed something was wrong. I just pointed out the writer change. Too bad too! And according to this article, it's all Bernie Mac's fault (God rest his soul!). Texeira art on a Moon Knight book is a good thing.
  

Additional Commentary: Geoff Johns is a talented writer and does straight forward super hero action books like no one else. This is a good thing, but I feel I've already read the best he can do and if his name's on a book, I'll pass it by. I appreciate him getting the classic Legion of Super Heroes back into existence and will be checking out the Adventure Comics series.

My reasons for not being interested in Geoff Johns' books are exactly the reasons Zimm likes them. They're straight forward super hero action. It's kinda like the conversation we were having about the Watchmen the other day. Zimm doesn't really like it and I do. I'm not a raving crazy fanatic about it, but I like it. There's a lot to it. Zimm wants a story he can relax, read, and just go with the flow. I think he's more of a the "cigar is a cigar" reader and I'm typically looking for the meaning behind the cigar. I get it and he's right about that. I also [originally] suspect this is part of the reason he doesn't like the current JLA run, Dwayne McDuffie doesn't just write straight forward stuff. His stuff is much deeper.

So, now I'm a bit surprised in retrospect that he enjoyed Y the Last Man (or he was lying to not hurt my feelings, which I appreciate). BKV (or Brian K. Vaughnn) is anything but a straight forward writer. Which reminds me, Zimm, are you watching Lost? (Zimm is watching Lost and enjoying it.)

Part of the reason I will follow Geoff Johns' Legion work is his love of Silver Age comics is obvious. The classic LSH book from the 60s/70s was the first super hero stuff I bought on a regular basis. They were being rereleased in digest form in the early 80s and I was able to pick one up a month at the local grocery store. So I know he will treat the characters with respect just as he does with the JSA, GL, and Superman. Actually I think a world where Geoff Johns isn't writing at least one Superman book a month is a sad world to live in. Superman is one of the characters with whom (did I use whom correctly?) a Geoff Johns style writer should always be involved.

The next comic series I bought on a regular basis was GI Joe, written by Larry Hama. Larry Hama GI Joe in the 80s was one of the best written ongoing series around. One fo the things I think is wrong with the X-Men now is Marvel realized it was their meal ticket and they should be paying attention to what is being done with the book. This is also one of the reasons, almost everything we've seen out of the X-Office has been a retread of the 80s and early 90s, including Grant Morrison and Joss Whedon's runs. It's why I'm surprised Warren Ellis' run is happening. He's the last guy you'd expect Marvel Corporate to want writing an X-Men book.

Additional thought: I guess I can see where Y might be read as a straight cigar is a cigar story. Whereas something like Watchmen or Promethea, really probably can't.

BTW, Zimm, the "Little Witch" says Hi and thank you and Jamie for Winker (the cat you guys sent for her birthday).

Pulls and Drops

This is my first stab at this, and I am not going to be nearly as articulate or historical as Robert. However, I thought that I would give you a look into the comics I have been reading.

Zimm's Two Cents:
PULLS

• Green Lantern & Green Lantern Corps - Since I never have been a that big of a Green Lantern fan, I think that I am able to enjoy the Darkest Night series a little more then most. I admit, the Sinestro Wars is what caught my attention at first, and I was very skeptic about this story line - but I do like how it is unfolding.
• Dark Reign - I already feel like they have a couple of good tie-in to this cross-over. I know that Marvel is going to most likely have some overkill, with what would otherwise be a great story, but some of the ones that I have enjoyed are (1) Uncanny X-Men Annual, (2) Dark Avengers, (3) New Avengers and (4) Secret Warriors.
• Justice Society - What a great family story, and now we are dealing with Black Adam again.
  

DROPS

• Most of the X-Men Titles - I'm not really seeing anything new here. The stories, characters, and plots are rehashed snooze fests.
  
• JLA - Without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, why read the series? They are what brought me back to the series, and the new team has no real star appeal to me.
• Iron Man and War Machine - I've never been a real big Iron Man fan, so with the stories failing, I think that this is one that I can pick up at a later date in trade paperback.
• Batman/Superman - Batman is dead, and Superman is off planet. How can this series continue?
• Moon Knight - The writer changed on me, Robert pointed it out, and I lost interest in the story.

There are others, but these are some of my pulls and drops for March 2009.

Think Geek: NERF N-FORCE THUNDER FURY

I don't have much to say here - but I want one. No, no - wait. I actually want two of them. Nerf Swords!!!!! It is about awesome and fricken time. And they are a decent price too.......

By the way - if I am late to the game on these - who fricken cares.

N-Force Thunder Fury Away!!!!

Or should it be Thunder Cats?

Robert: I was thinking the same thing. Thunder...Thunder...Thundercats Ho!!!!!

Zimm, what you do is buy 2 or 3 for the kids in the neighborhood and invite them over to play sword fight.

Geeks for Everyone

While reviewing the unique Halloween costumes for everyone, I also noticed that they are starting to provide costumes for EVERYONE - and that includes sizes for the majority of us out there. Take the new Star Trek costumes. I am posting the red shirt costumes in both small next to the GT sizes for your comparison.

Not only did they tell us that they were available, but they also showed us.

Knowing how clothes shrink these days and realizing that I have some ice cream in the fridge calling to me, I am thankful that they are offering the GT sizes.

Robert: Or the Mr. Scot edition.

Sci Fi is dead. Long Live SyFy!

What? According to the New York Times, the Sci Fi Channel is changing their name to SyFy with the new tagline "Imagine Greater".

I guess, first, the good news. Sci Fi isn't going to do like the Cartoon Network and MTV and change their brand and keep their branding. I mean Cartoon Network now plays live action movies on Saturday night and MTV doesn't play music videos any more.

The bad news. Sci Fi is changing their overall brand to encompass even more than Sci Fi has in the past. Part of the rebranding has to do with trademarking. They can't trademark the term Sci Fi, but they can Syfy. Actually, I dont' think they're going to change what the channel has been doing over recent years. They're just finally being more upfront about it. They're also trying to move away from the "stigma" that the Sci Fi genre carries with it. Personally, the science fiction part of the channel was the best part they had. I dislike Ghost Hunters and most of the non genre shows/movies they release. YMMV.

I miss the old Sci Fi channel as it is. I mean where else could you go to see all of those old bad (and some good) science fiction shows and movies from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I was there when Sci Fi was born. I watched the original Star Wars Trilogy on Thanksgiving 1992. Sigh!

Sci Fi is dead! Long live SyFy!

The new brand image begins on air and online July 7, featuring the premiere of the new scripted drama, Warehouse 13, and the return of Eureka.

For more info, click here.

Geek Attire

Okay, I started to realize that there was just too much out there for me to pass up showing and commenting on all of the fine fashion available to us geeks. For starters, let's look at some of the Halloween costumes coming up this year.

Are these actual Halloween costumes or are they fantasy play costumes?

Oh - and they had an Emma Frost as well, but her hair scared me too much to post the pic.


Zimm, where's the link. I need to order one of these for my wife...for Halloween. Yeah, that's it. Halloween.

Tooned Glorificus

Yet another tooned maquette from one of my all-time favorite tv series, BUFFY! This time, it is Glorificus. How am I ever going to be able to truly review these statues? I think that some of my reviews for this series may end up a tad bit biased.

Designs by: Tracy Mark Lee
Sculpted by: Elliot Sumons
Type: Statues
Statue: 8"
Release Date: May 27, 2009
Limited Size: 500
Price: $89.99
On-Sale Here: $71.99

Zimm's Two Cents:
Points in Favor

• It is another edition to an ever growing collection of Buffy statues.
• I actually like these tooned out versions.
• Colors are nice and bright.
  
• Sculpting is clean. Points to Elliot Sumons.

Points Against:

• I think that I would have preferred some other characters before this one.

Recommendation: If you are a Buffy Fan, like myself - BUY! I may still start this Buffy collection.

Oh yeah - this reminded me. I need to pick up the most recent Buffy Graphic Novel.

Robert's Two Cents:
Points in Favor

• Good design and sculpt.
  
• Good price point.
  
• The tooned versions of many characters turn out pretty well. I've been watching the Firefly/Serenity series of comiquettes.
  

Points Against:

• I'm not really a Buffy fan.
• I don't even know who Glorificus is.

Recommendation: If you are a Buffy fan, like Zimm - BUY! If not, there's nothing to draw you to these. If you're not a Buffy fan, you're not going to see this in the store and be pulled over to it to just stare, like people who walk into one of the Marvel stores at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. So, I'm going to call it neutral.

I do own the first Buffy Season 8, but still haven't read it. I just looked at the pictures. The Fray trade I really, really liked. Same with the Tales of the Vampires.

In Stock Now --- The Joker Jim Lee Statue

From the BATMAN BLACK and WHITE series, Jim Lee's Joker. While I have not been a big fan of the black and white series or an initial fan of this statue, I thought that I should at least mention it.

Manufactured by: DC Direct
Based on Artist: Jim Lee
Product Type: Black & White Statue
Size: 5.6" H x 4.6" W x 3/5" D
Edition Size: TBD
Ship Date: In Stock Now!!!!!
Price: $75.00
Sale Price: $59.99

Zimm's Two Cents: Points In Favor:

• Gun! How classic is that.
• Attention to detail

Points Against:

• Never been a fan of the overally exaggerated face.
• Base is rather dull.
• Not certain if I would like a statue that is simply black and white

Recommendation: Neutral. I think that this is one that I would have to see prior to my passing judgement. So, on this one, I am leaving it up to you.

Cloak and Dagger Comiquette Maquette

Cloak and Dagger.......I think that I feel about these characters the same way that Robert feels about Blaastar. However, my feelings can not get in the way of a good statue - especially after a bust of the two characters that sparked little to no interest in me.

Manufactured by: Sideshow Collectibles
Artists: Mark Brooks
The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team
Product Type: Maquette Statue
Size: 17" H x 9" W x 9" D
Edition Size: TBD
Ship Date: 4th Quarter 2009
Price: $174.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Overall and initial impression, I am going to give it a "nice", with a slight nod.

Points in Favor:

• Cloak has been represented in the most subtle of ways - by Dagger stepping out of the cloak.
• Cloak's face is smooth and still somewhat innocent.
• The paint and colors look awesome.
• For a statue, these days, the price isn't too bad.
  

Points Against:

• Her breast augmentation
• The way that her hands are holding the cloak. Too dainty.
  

Recommendation: Buy. Overall - this is a good statue. Face, hair color, pose, and character representation - all make it one of the nicer statues to come out as of late.

Robert's Two Cents
I am a Clock & Dagger fan. I really like the characters. Their origin doesn't really work for me, but the characters are cool

Points in Favor:

• Good solid sculpt.
  
• Her face is very spot on for Dagger.
  

Points Against:

• Wait! Did Adam Huges design this one? Those look like his work.
• This really does look like an Adam Hughes design, which isn't a negative, but Dagger shouldn't look so...talented.
• Where's Cloak? I mean Dagger's standing on him. Is that all there is to him?
  

Recommendation: Pass. I am a Cloak & Dagger fan. It's a good statue, and her face is the face of Dagger. But the rest of the sculpt doesn't fit the character to me. Plus Tandy Bowen is supposed to be a bit on the younger side. She was a teenager when the book started and at the rate Franklin Richards is aging, she may be just 18 now. She's never been under developed, but she shouldn't be built like Pam Anderson from the Barb Wire days.

Personally I'd like to see a sculpt of Cloak and Dagger designed by Chris Bachalo.

Red Corps Hoodie

Now this may be a total waste of a post; however, I have to say something about it. Especially since I get a kick out of these hoodies, and the fact that I am enjoying the Darkest Night story line. I know that Robert doesn't like it, but what the hey.

So with that said, "RED CORPS HOODIE!" What could be cooler? Something from the Black Corps....

Robert: So wait. The Black Hand are the Black Lanterns? Somebody 'splain it to me.

What the.....Halloween Already!

Okay, I have already figured out what I want to be for Halloween; however, this will be the extent of my costume. It would probably be cheaper to recycle my zombie costume from last year, but how often do you get to wear a Thor Helmet? However, do I want to pay $80 plus for the helmet and another $20 for the hammer?

Find it all here.....

Bowen Designs: Destroyer

First off - before I get into my points. If they are going to keep producing the villains in these poses (which in my opinion rock), then we are going to need more heroes in counter poses. Right now, I have Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Black Panther - to name a few - that could go opposite this. Thor would rock.

Produced By: Bowen Designs
Sculptors: Helder Moreira
Type: Statue
Size: 14" Tall
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: June 2009
Price: 205.00

Zimm's Two Cents
I did not comment on this statue earlier, as I really did not have anything to say about it; however, with the recent "gunmetal" release coming out at the same time, I thought that I had better.

Points in Favor:

• Good sculpting - clean sharp details.
• Lots of detail for a character with little detail
• Nice pose - see previous comment.

Points Against

• The base, for a Bowen statue, is rather bland.
• Not a very colorful character - guess that is why they did the gunmetal version.
• Its the Destroyer - not much to him.

Recommendation: Pass. Grab one of the bronze statues while you still can, and if do go for one of these, go ahead and spend the extra money and try and get the gunmetal (website exclusive) version for $250.00.

Robert can probably provide some better insight into this character than I can.

Bowen Designs: Incredible Hulk Statue

Another potential candidate for a face off against my HUGE Juggernaut statue.
Produced By: Bowen Designs
Sculptors: Randy Bowen and Troy McDevitt
Type: Statue
Size: 13" Tall
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: Fall 2009
Price: $200.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• It is a Bowen sculpting, so I have to give chops to the details in the hands, face, body, etc.
• I like when they do more "comic type" mouths and facial expressions.
• It will include another classic Bowen Designs bust. (Bust shown was for the prototype.)
• Sculpted in a pose to counter a number of other Bowen Statues, which is starting to drive up my preference in which ones that I do purchase.
• It is an accurate rendition of what you would expect from the "Incredible Hulk."
  

Points Against

• Future statues will be Retro Grey Hulk, Red Hulk, Planet Hulk and Maestro Hulk - which may all be the same base and general format.
• A little pricey for my pocket book.

Recommendation: Neutral. A good Hulk overall, but I'm not certain that it is the one that I want. I think my problem is that I am comparing it to the November 2006 Randy Bowen Hulk statue, which I really liked. If you are a Hulk fan - then Buy it!

Robert's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• The overall look and feel of the sculpt.
  
• The face is great. It looks a lot like the recent Hulk bust. Reminds me a lot of the John Byrne Hulk from the 80s.
  
• Like Zimm says, Classic Incredible Hulk.
• This is the Hulk before Peter David took over writing the Hulk.
• The only thing better would be the Hulk after landing after jumping a very far distance (in a crater).
• The Bowen style paint job even works on this one.
  

Points Against

• Price.

Recommendation: Buy. This is classic Incredible Hulk.

Bowen Designs: Modern Nova Statue

Bowen Designs presents another Kucharek Brother's Nova! This one includes the modern costume design and a salute to the Annihilation mini-series.

Now, there was a good mini-series!!!!!

Produced By: Bowen Designs
Sculptors: Kucharek Brothers
Type: Statue
Size: 15" Tall
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: Fall 2009
Price: $175.00

Zimm's Two Cents Points in Favor:

• Its another Nova statue!
• Another great sculpture by the Kucharek Brothers; however, I may have to recognize some bias to their work.
  
• It includes Annihulus in the base; thus, the two shots.

Points Against

• This is becoming a standard pose for some statues. I would like something a little different.
  
• The coloring looks a little tarnished or a little dark.

Recommendation: Buy. Originally, I was leaning toward a hot buy, but I think that I liked the original costume statue better. With that said - I am going to have to get one, as I need a Nova for my collection.

Kotobukiya Infinity Gauntlet

Kotobukiya released a montage sculpture saluting the 1991 Infinity Gauntlet mini-series. (That statement alone has me floored. Why a 1991 series?)

Produced By: Kotobukiya
Artisan: Keiji Iwakura
Type: Cold-Cast Diorama Style Series
Size: 9.5"
Edition Size: Limited Edition
Ship Date: June 2009
Price: $199.99
Pre-Order Here: $149.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• Attempt at Detail.
• Attempt to incorporate a group of characters into one statue.
• Spiderman's "spidery" arms.
• I'm leaning more supporting the base. Not to bad.

Points Against

• All of the faces bother me. Except for Spiderman and Ironman - whose faces are covered.
• The sculpting does not seem to be as "clean" and/or as "perfect" as I would like it to be.
  
• The coloring is off and "wrong" in some cases. (e.g. Cap's shield is not as brightly colored as it could be.)
• Silver Surfer is smaller than everyone else. (Did that happen in the mini-series and I missed it.)
• Trying to throw too much into one statue.
  

Personal note: Doctor Strange's grey is supposed to be thicker.

Recommendation: Pass. This statue just fell flat for me. I am going to spend my money on some other statues scheduled for release.

Robert's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• Lots of characters.
  
• Base looks great.
  
• Paint/color is off.
  

Points Against

• Looks a little flat to be a 3D representation.
  

Recommendation: Pass. Decent attempt, but definitely a miss. Just go out and find the issues or the trade paperbacks. I'd rather you spend your money on good comics. We're talking Jim Starlin writing Marvel cosmic characters. How much better does it get?

Happy Birthday Sparky!

Happy 5th Birthday, Sparky!

OK, if you're not my daughter, move along. I'm usurping this blog for a personal message to my daughter. I know she can't even read it.

Terminator Salvation Trailer

Too cool!

I may actually be looking forward to this.

Barbie Famous Friends Supergirl Doll

Barbie Famous Friends Supergirl

Why does Zimm assign all the Barbie pieces to me? Hopefully, it's because I have a daughter.

This is a neat line. You can usually find them on clearance at Toys R Us if you wait long enough. My favorite so far has been the Black Canary. My daughter likes the Batgirl.

Produced By: Mattel/DC Heroes Toys
Dimensions: 36 24 34 if memory serves
Type: Doll
Ship Date: February 2009
Estimated Price: $50.99 ($49.75 at Westfield Comics)

Robert's Two Cents

Points In Favor:

• She's a good looking Barbie. By that I mean the design fits the character she's portraying.
  
• The Supergirl costume is spot on for the current design of Supergirl.

Points Against

• Price. I'd be curious to see actual production numbers on this piece.
  
• She's a Barbie Doll.
  

Recommendation: Buy! If you're a Barbie Collector or have a comic book geek daughter or niece or sister, you gotta have this if you haven't bought the previous Supergirl Barbies (including the Linda Danvers version with the white shirt). If not, then move along and this post doesn't really exist. It's just a figment of your imagination.