Bowen Designs: Battle Damaged Hulkbuster Iron Man

A tease from Bowen with another collector's club announcement! While some of these collector's club pieces are merely 'repainted' versions of another piece, this one has something to offer.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted By The Kucharek Brothers
Size About 14 1/2" Tall
Type Statue
Edition Size 300
Release Date August 2009
Price $300

Zimm's Two Cents
How cool is this! I really like this statue!
Points in Favor

• Once again, another Kucharek Brothers statue. (I think a bit of my biased opinion maybe showing through for the Kucharek Brothers.)
• Provides an excellent counter statue to the Hulk Statue.
• Limited edition size
• I think it offers a nice counter to the "pre-battle" Hulkbuster Iron Man
• Good colors - excellent details.

Points Against

• Price - however, with it being such a large statue and a limited run....this statue looks to be worth the extra money.

Recommendation: Hot Buy. If you have a Hulk or the regular Hulkbuster Iron Man, this would be an excellent counter piece. I would recommend getting one, if you can.

Sideshow Collectibles: She-Hulk

Produced By Sideshow Collectibles
Artists
* Adam Hughes
* Tim Miller
* Mike Najera
* Anthony Mestas
* The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team
Size 16" H x 7" W x " D
Type Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date 4th Quarter 2009
Price $149.99

Zimm's Two Cents
For me, it is a little harder to pin down the sculptors that I like, as they are all credited for the work. But here we go.....
Points in Favor

• The base, while appearing bland, offers a little extra.
• The colors look pretty good.
• Little bits of touches here and there - necklace, shoes, briefcase.

Points Against

• Not a fan of the face or pose. Robert probably knows the comic (Robert: Actually not from a comic, it was based on an original design by Adam Huges) that this pose references, but I would have possibly picked another one.
• Bad hair.
• Both the hands and feet look off to me as well. Something there turns me off.

Recommendation: Pass.

Robert's Two Cents
In this case, this is a series of Marvel characters designed by Adam Hughes, famed Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Ghost, Tomb Raider, and more cover artist/good girl artist and former member of Gaijin Studios (other former/current members: Brian Stelfreeze, Cully Hamner, Karl Story, Tony Harris, Dave Johnson, and Laura Martin). He's a great artist and a nice guy. Adam's throwing a little (OK a lot) of a good girl aesthetic to these designs, which has led to mixed results.
Points in Favor

• Sideshow's production values have been second to none. Their paint jobs have been phenomenal. The overall look and faces are very nice.
  
• It's a more realistic depiction of She-Hulk. Her arms are properly muscled. Boobs are still huge, but that's one of the characteristics of the character that they've played with her for years.
  
• Price. That's a lot of statue for the money.
  

Points Against

• I think the pose is awkward. I get it. I'm just not sure I like it.
  

Recommendation:Neutral . There are plenty of others I'd rather spend my money on, but if I were buying the series, I wouldn't skip this one. Also, if I were more of an Adam Huges or She Hulk fan, I'd buy it.

Update: One last comment from Robert: I think it presents a fair representation of She Hulk accidentally destroying her clothes in sooo many appearances.

Sideshow Collectibles: Emma Frost

And now some statues from Sideshow.....

Produced By Sideshow Collectibles
Artists
* Adam Beane
* Mike Najera
* Matt Aylward
* Tim Hanson
* The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team
Size 21" H x 12" W x 11" D
Type Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date 4th Quarter 2009
Price $249.99

Zimm's Two Cents
What can I say about this one.....hmmm...... WOW! What a great piece!

Points in Favor

• The eyes. It is all about the eyes. They captured the character and they draw you into the statue.
• Great choice of costume, as the cape adds to it all.
• Finally, a decent base that adds to the character.
• Paint looks great!
• Exclusive edition, which is already sold out, has her holding Cyclops glasses.
• Amazingly, she is not cold in the outfit. (Robert: I'll comment more later, but she is known to be an icy witch.)
  

Points Against

• Price. You have to be ready to put down some cash for the Sideshow line; however, this easily tops the Bowen Designs: Bucky Captain America.

Recommendation: Buy. She would be a beautiful addition to any collection. If not for the price, she would have made it to my "Hot Buy" list.

Bowen Designs: Cable mini-bust

Here we go! A rather mainstream character from Bowen.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted By The Kucharek Brothers
Size 7" tall
Type Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date September 2009
Price $60.00

Zimm's Two Cents
At first, I passed over this one, but as I look at it a little bit more, I'm actually starting to like it.
Points in Favor

• Sculpted by The Kucharek Brothers. I have usually been rather pleased with their statues and busts.
• $60 is still not too bad of a price for a good statue.
• While it is a simple bust, it fits the statue and character.
• Attention to detail in the gun, shoulder pads, and overall costume.

Points Against

• I never liked his original shoulder pads or the guns that he carried at times.

Recommendation: Neutral. If you are a true Cable fan, then you probably don't mind some of the negatives that I pointed out on this bust; however, there are images floating around of an upcoming Cable statue release, which you will definitely want to hold off and wait for.

If anything, I would prefer a more up-to-date version of Cable with a corresponding Deadpool bust.

Robert's Two Cents
This is a classic Cable in all of his Rob Liefeldy goodness. I have one issue with the bust which I'll get into below.

Points in Favor

• Price isn't too bad. There's a lot of detail for the money.
  
• The base, while not as sophisticated and fancy as we may like, it fits Terminat...I mean Cable perfectly.
  
• It is classic Cable.
  

Points Against

• Here's my problem. The head is in proportion. This is Cable his head should be way smaller in proportion to his body. Plus his face needs to be scrunched in more.
  

Recommendation: Buy. I will admit, I was a huge Cable/Rob Liefeld fan in the day. I'm only a little embarrassed to say it out loud. It was an interesting time in Marvel comics. While I've participated in my share of Liefeld bashing, I enjoyed almost all of the comics he drew through the early Youngblood issues. He brings an energy to the page that few can match. The mistake he made was abandoning his writers and inkers. Once he began inking himself in the last 3 issues of New Mutants, he went downhill from there.

I'm actually eternally grateful to Rob Liefeld, it was X-Force #8 that hooked me on Mike Mignola's artwork.

Bowen Designs: Hyperion mini-bust

Yet another obscure character from the Marvel Universe presented to us by Bowen Designs; however, shouldn't Bowen have mentioned that this is the Hyperion of Earth-712. (I believe that is the right planet).

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted By John Cleary
Size Over 6.5" tall
Type Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date September 2009
Price $55.00

Zimm's Two Cents
At first, I passed over this one, but as I look at it a little bit more, I'm actually starting to like it.
Points in Favor

• Colors - I love the rustic reflective red paint and the shimmer in the cape and belt.
• Price Point - $55.00 is a good price for a bust.
  

Points Against

• The arms seem a little too 'veiney' for me.
• The base, for a Bowens Design, is a little bland.
• Color of the arms bother me a bit.
• Again - something with the face bothers me.

Recommendation: Pass. I guess it was just the red and yellow coloring on the statue that I really liked.

Heroes of the DC Universe: The Flash Bust

This month's Heroes of the DC Universe bust is the Barry Allen Flash.

Produced By DC Direct
Designed By Gary Frank
Sculpted By Jean St. Jean
Size 5”H x 3.5” W x 5” D
Type Cold-Cast Porcelain Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date January 2010 - wow, already 2010 releases.
Price $69.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• Vibrant colors
• Great pose. Catches the forward motion.

Points Against

• Something about the face doesn't seem to be right.
• Not quite certain what the base is supposed to represent.

Recommendation: Pass. Its the face. Really throws me off. Besides, there is a Flash Statue that I might be interested in.

Summer Movies 2009

For the first time, in what seems to be a long time, the set of movies coming out this summer seem worth the effort of actually going to the theater. Lately, I have fallen into the habit of staying at home and waiting for them to come out on Pay-Per-View, as I don't want to buy the DVD if the movie stinks. So, is my list....so far:

Must See

• Star Trek - Heard it was great. Turned out to be great. Good reboot to the series. I just wish it was a weekly TV series now.
• Up - Pixar, 3-D, and Imax. How much more compelling can it get. Oh right - great reviews.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Just need to finish off the series.
  

Hmmmm. Still Debating

• Land of the Lost - Gut says no. Commercials say yes. Maybe I should look at the reviews
• GI Joe - Commercials say yes, but what else do I know.
• Transformers 2 - This is a flip of the coin. Trailers are a turning me off. Story looks, "Yawn." Toys galore.
  

Pay-Per-View

• Wolverine - I heard too many negatives about it before the movie came out, and I have heard even worse since it came out. I can wait.
• Angels and Demons - Good book, but I can wait on the movie.
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - Yawn.
• Anaconda 4: Trail of Blood - Just snake movies are like Zombie movies. You have to see them.
• Blood: The Last Vampire - This one stands a strong chance of me going to the theater by myself.
• Dead Snow - Nazis, Zombies, and screaming chopped up teens. How much more can you throw in there?

Bored and it is on TV

• Grudge 3 - Loved the first one. Hated the second one. Bored one weekend will be the third one.
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - however, this might be a good one for the kids.
  

So, as you can see, even for these few months - I listed a lot of things that interest me, and we still have some that I haven't really looked into.

Serenity Little Damn Heroes Mal Animated Maquette

Produced By Quantum Mechanix
Size 4 1/2" tall
Type Statue
Edition Size 1,000
Release Date January 2009 (Available Now)
Price $54.95 ($49.95 here)

Robert's Two Cents
I like this one. It's not really my type of collectible, but it's smart. It really represents the character of Mal from the show Firefly/film Serenity. He's here. He's smirking and his gun is drawn ready to deal with whatever comes or make a swift retreat.

Points in Favor

• Size. At 4 1/2" I can keep it on my desk without having to worry about rearranging it or keep it on a shelf with another statue.
  
• Price. It's probably a little expensive for the size, but it's still affordable. Also, the print run of 1,000 isn't too bad. At least you know there are a limited number available.
  
• It will probably be available at a discount shortly. Let's face it I'm a Firefly/Serenity fan, but there just aren't that many of us. We're just raving fanatics.
  

Points Against

• Size. It's small. For someone who wants a showcase piece, this ain't it.
  
• He looks a little too happy. Mal's not Mal if he's not miserable.
  

Recommendation: Buy If you liked the show or the film, this is a nice piece of memorabilia and it won't break your pocket book or take up half the house. You probably wouldn't need to move it if you replace all of the flooring in your house. You might if you paint the inside of your house.

Bowen Designs: Bucky as Modern Captain America

It is always good to see a Captain America statue, and it is nice to see that it is a modern version of Bucky as Captain America - but the price..... Okay, before I get to far along.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted By Randy Bowen
Size Over 12" tall
Type Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date October 2009
Price $265.00

Zimm's Two Cents Points in Favor

• Interchangeable hand - but I figured everyone would want the pistol.
• It's a Randy Bowen sculpt
• He did give us a release date for this one.
• Due to the pricing and the difficulty with the chrome, it will most likely be a very limited run.

Points Against

• PRICING. I know that the chroming caused some problems and could potentially lead to some additional defects and returns - but $265.00. There are too many other statues that I would grab before this one. As a side bar, Are Bowen's prices inching up ever so slowly?
• Something is throwing me off about his face.
• The base. After all of the different Hulk bases, I am growing to expect a little bit more from Bowen Designs when it comes to the base.

Recommendation: Pass and pick yourself up a Faux Bronze statue. They are worth it! Or at least one of the Hulk's.

Drops and Picks

My house is still in total disarray; however, I wanted to take a couple of seconds to mention a few comics which I have dropped and picked up.

Drops
While I haven't dropped these two titles, I am getting very close:

• Secret Warriors - I don't know the characters, and the story really has not pulled me in. --- And I tend to favor team books.
• Deadpool - I think he needs Cable to balance out his character. I loved the start of this series, but it seems to be trailing off in a direction that I do not like.

Pulls

• Uncanny X-Men - Wow! Psylocke and a few others are back, and it looks like's to be driving toward a classic clash of the women versus the X-Men.
• Flash - I've read this one off and on the last few years, and Barry Allen's return is turning into a descent story.

Still Recommending: Darkest Night!!!

Chaos, Catch-Up, and Geek Gear

I know you don't care, but my house has been chaos and it has been a little bit harder (then normal) for me to post some updates. In fact, my office is still in state of disarray; however, I thought I would provide you with a "what the?????"

When would the Punisher EVER carry a messenger bag? Now, I might, as it makes the messenger bag somewhat cool, but the Punisher?

Find it Here.....

Release Date: August 2009

Reg price: $29.99

Sale price: $23.99

Kotobukiya: Wolverine - Yelllow Costume

Kotobukiya presents a Wolverine bust - which makes me want to look for something else.

Produced By Kotobukiya
Size Over 9" tall
Type Cold Cast Porcelain - Fine Art Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date October 2009
Price $89.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• 2 1/3 inches long real metal claws
• Yellow costume

Points Against

• What happened to his stomach? Not a fan of the pose.
  
• Not a fan of the face; however, I tend to like the 'growling mouth'
• Blotchy paint job.
• Not much to say about the base - too bland.
• Hoping that they used a different color blue for the gloves and shoulder pads.

Recommendation: Pass. I don't like how they posed him leaning forward and lacking a stomach. I believe the Ares bust is still available.

Robert's Two Cents
This is my least favorite of these so far.

Points in Favor

• I'll agree 100% with Zimm on the 2 1/3 inches long real metal claws. That's sweet!
  

Points Against

• Yellow costume
• Paint job. Looks awful.
  
• I really don't mean to be a parrot of what Zimm has said, but the face is horrible.
  

Recommendation: Pass. The Ares bust would be sweet or Nightcrawler or Shadowcat. Or you should be able to find any of the Bowen Wolverine busts dirt cheap on eBay.

Entertainment Earth Exclusive Boba Fett with Han Solo in Carbonite Maquette

This one is an Entertainment Earth exclusive, so if you want it you will have to go here.


Produced By Gentle Giant
Type Maquette
Release Date July 2009
Price $119.00

Robert's Two Cents
It's a cool piece and would look great in any Star Wars fan's collection.

Points in Favor

• Cool pose from a cool scene from a cool movie.
  
• The details. The base is decent. They have the "smoke" from the carbonite freezing procedure and everything.
  
• It's Boba Fett.
  

Points Against

• Price.
• It's not overpriced, I just don't want it bad enough to pay $119.00.
  

Recommendation: Neutral I like it, but at that price I'd have to want it a lot more than I do to pick it up.

Bowen Designs: Planet Hulk

Planet Hulk statue is the last in a series of different Hulk's (for now) from Bowen Designs.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted By Randy Bowen
Size Over 17 1/2" tall
Type statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date TBD
Price $295.00

Zimm's Two Cents
The last, in five, and probably my least favorite of the series. However, I am still going to state that this is an impressive piece.
Points in Favor

• Detail, detail, detail. From the helm, to the shield, to the base and armored arm.
• The base. The first time I saw this base, WOW. It was only until I saw the Maestro base did Randy has only begun to show us what he is capable of.
• The armor invokes the feeling of the Romans, which is what a lot of this story was based upon.

Points Against

• The price puts in competition against a Faux Bronze piece, and I am really enjoying the Faux Bronze series.
• While I understand and respect the helm, I would prefer to see more of his face. The Helm screams too much John Carter of Mars.

Recommendation: Neutral. I love the other pieces, and I would probably grab one of the other Hulk statues before I grabbed this one.

Robert's Two Cents
I agree this is my least favorite of the current run of Hulks. I also agree it's an incredibly impressive run and an impressive statue.
Points in Favor

• That base is a major wow!
  
• Based on one of the Hulk's better stories in recent years.
  
• The detail and the paint. These Hulks are getting some of the best Bowen paint jobs.
  

Points Against

• The biggest con is definitely price. It's almost $300. Whoa!
  
• I actually dislike the shield. The Hulk doesn't need a puny shield.
• Doesn't have the companion Silver Savage piece.
  

Recommendation: Neutral to Buy. If the price was $250 or less, I'd rate it a buy.

Update: Zimm, did you see the landing page at Bowen? He has a montage of the Hulk pieces up now.

Bowen Designs Maestro Hulk Statue

The Maestro is one of my favorite iterations of the Hulk character. He's smart, but he's still mean and angry.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted By Randy Bowen and Troy McDevitt (pants)
Size Over 15 1/2" tall
Type statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date TBD
Price $225.00

Robert's Two Cents
OK, I take back what I said about the Red Hulk. This is my favorite Hulk statue and Hulk statue base. The only thing this is missing is Rick Jones' dead, crumpled body.
Points in Favor

• Great pose.
  
• Great paint job.
  
• The base. All of the different weapons and detailing on the base is to die for.
  

Points Against

• Price.
• It is the Maestro, who probably has a limited fan base.
  

Recommendation: Hot Buy! Unless you dislike the Maestro. I agree with Zimm, that if you had the money, this whole series(?) would be great to own. The only thing I might do differently with these is maybe make them look more like they're ready to fight someone. That way you could pose them in fights against each other.

Zimm's Two Cents
By far one of the best series of statues that Bowen has provided. In my humble opinion, the Maestro has become a Hulk classic, and Bowen captured all of the small details that made the Maestro character so great.
Points in Favor

• The base! I mean - really, look at it. The base is awesome. I have spent several cycles looking at it on other sites, and this has to be one of Bowen's best bases.
• Colors. Vibrant, detailed, and has some hints to numerous characters.
• Pose fits the Maestro - less yelling and more control. Great depiction of who he is.
• Facial expression (and to Robert's point) he looks both mean and angry.
• While it is the Maestro, Bowen has done quite a few other Hulk's in the past, and this is the only Maestro of the bunch.
  

Points Against

• Pricey - but you might want to save up for this one.
• Not quite certain on the number of people who will truly appreciate this statue.
  

Recommendation: Hot Buy! A definite NICE to have for any collection. As you can tell, I could not find that much wrong with this one.

Bowen Designs: Retro Grey Hulk

One of the five recent various versions of Hulk - the Retro Grey Hulk statue harks back to the original Hulk. Grey, design, and shirt over the shoulders.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Designed By Walter O’Neal
Sculpted By Randy Bowen and Troy McDevitt
Size Over 13" tall
Type statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date TBD
Price $265.00

Zimm's Two Cents
I like this one. I also am impressed with the base - though simpler then some of the others, this base represents the birth of the incredible Hulk.
Points in Favor

• This entire series has been worth mentioning.
• The shirt over the shoulders ads color and detail to the character.
• Original face.
• The desert base reminds of how the Hulk became the Hulk.

Points Against

• It is competing against several other Hulks that I would pick before this one.
• The original face

Recommendation: Buy. If I could afford two of them (and were a bigger Hulk fan), I would probably go with this one and the green version side-by-side. Overall, another great addition to the Hulk series.

Robert's Two Cents
Very nice. The Bowen paint job even works on this one. The color is very interesting.
Points in Favor

• These are great!
  
• It almost looks like the Hulk from the cover of his first appearance.
  
• The base is simple, but still very nice. I think Randy saves the best bases for his stuff.
• The paint job. The color isn't just grey. It's more of a green/grey.
  

Points Against

• Not much.
  

Recommendation: Buy. If I could I would buy all of these Hulks. The Bowen team has done a great job with all of these.

Greetings all!

Greetings, everyone. My name is B. Caleb Goodson, and I am pleased to be here.

Zimm has graciously asked me to contribute to his blog. I will be conducting reviews on comic books and role-playing games. I am the proud owner of a comic book store in Georgia known as Comic Crusade, and have been reading comic books and playing role-playing games since the age of nine.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts with all of you, and hearing your thoughts in kind.

UNI-FORMZ™ Green Lantern

Okay, maybe it is me, but I am loving this series. I keep debating whether or not to collect one of each and build myself a small DC Universe. This time it is Green Lantern. Who's next?

Manufacturer DC Direct
Designed & Sculpted by Monster 5
Dimensions Over 8" tall
Articulation 12 Points
Edition Size Limited Unknown
Release Date September 2009
Retail Prices

• Modern: $34.99
• Classic: $99.99
• Power Glow: $99.99
• Case of Three: $109.99
• Case of Six: $199.99

Recommendation: Buy. Collect the series and enjoy having your own battles at home.

Robert: Buy. This is my favorite of the Uni-Formz so far. I especially like the classic and the power glow ones.