Bowen Designs: Destroyer Thor

Bowen announced some new pieces yesterday, and out of the four new pieces, this one stood out to me the most. So I am starting there.

The other 3 pieces include an Electro statue, Captain America mini-bust, and a website exclusive Angel Statue - Yellow Variant.

Produced By: Bowen Designs
Sculptor: Helder Moreira
Type: Statue
Size: 14" Tall
Edition Size: Website Exclusive
Ship Date: October 2009
Price: 300.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Wow. This piece actually has what I felt the other pieces were missing. Some color. I know, I know. The Destroyer doesn't have that much color, but hey, I'm allowed to have my personal preferences.

Side Note: Bowen knows what he is doing.

Points in Favor

• Same as before. Great Sculpting, incredible detail, and awesome pose. I like Helder's work.
• Destroyer Thor! Great! I like this depiction better then the 2007 mini-bust, as the Destroyer should be 'bigger'.
• The Cape, happier, and wings really stand out. I'm glad that they went with a 'larger than life' cape.

Points Against

• Still think the base is a little bland; however, your getting more statue then just a lot of base on this one.

Recommendation: Buy! I originally recommended a Pass on the regular Destroyer for the Gunmetal version, and if you did not get either one of those, I would strongly recommend this one.

Final note and I said this before: I need more pieces to put in a countering pose to this one. One of the Hulk's (from the Hulk series) would look great -- or the Abomination or the one of the Angels or the Thing, or..... Okay, okay - they are already out there, if you but look a bit.

Mighty Muggs: Wolverine

Wow! We haven't had one of these in quite a while, but as always, I try to keep an eye out for them, as Robert has a passion for collecting them.

But, as you might opt to say, "I already have Wolverine."

And I would calmly respond, "Does yours have retractable claws? Does IT? Hmmmm?"

A HasbroToyShop.com Exclusive launched at Comic-Con 2009

Robert's 2 cents: It's cool! I like the Brubaker Wolverine better. I don't think the retractable claws add that much and are offset by the levers on the outside of his arms. But that's just me. Also, I'm not sure I'd call what I have a passion. It's more like, they're interesting. I like interesting things.

Gotham City Stories - Part 1: Batman

DC Direct presents a series of statues which they have labeled 'dimensional display pieces.' The piece can be either hung on the wall or placed on the desk, and as you can see from the pic below, you can either place it by itself or purchase a complementary piece (to be released later) to go along with it.

Produced By DC Direct
Sculpted By Joseph Menna
Size 5.75"H x 5.75"w x 2.25"d
Type Porcelain Display Piece
Edition Size TBD
Release Date March 2010
Price $99.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Before I get into my review, I do want to throw out some "kudo" points out to DC Direct for offering something different then the typical statue and/or bust.

Points in Favor

• Little details add a lot. The Batarang and rope. The details around the window sill. You can see through the window pain.
• I like the colors - with good detail withing the bricks.
• It makes for a nice change to the standard statue and allows you to hang it on the wall.

Points Against

• While at first glance, I liked the Batman sculpting. The sculpting eventually looked very "stiff" to me.
• I think that this would look "off" hanging on the wall by itself. You may have to buy more of the series for it not look like a piece that you just 'stuck-up' on the wall.
• With the sneak peak of the other display pieces, they are all coming out of the same window. I think I would have preferred a little bit of a difference in the display backdrop. Thus, the window backdrop screams 'mass production' to me.

Quick Sidebar - which is neither a pro or con but a personal preference. I would have preferred to have Batman looking across at the other window with the Joker and/or Catwoman staring back. (Robert: It's your prerogative. You can hang them any way you like.)

Recommendation: Pass. DC Direct has some great busts and statues that I would prefer over this one; however, I hope that DC Direct improves on the concept over time.

Robert's Two Cents
I'm happy to see DC release something like this. It's not your typical statue/bust/collectible. Plus you don't have to use up valuable shelf space for these.

Points in Favor

• Good paint and color.
  
• It's cool! It's something different. You may need two or more to make them look decent, but I think it may be worth the investment.
  
• Great details. The walls and the windows are great. Look at the acid damage on the Joker one.
  

Points Against

• The Batman sculpt is a little weak.
• I agree with Zimm, that you need more than one and it would look awesome if you had Batman and Joker or Catwoman staring at one another across a corner or something.
  
• It reminds me of the Hee Haw bit where they all stick their heads out windows and chat. You could have fun with that though.
  

Recommendation: Buy. There are other pieces out there I'd like more than these, but if I were looking for another Batman collection, this would be the one this year. Unfortunately, I'm not buying more Batman. I'm saving my money for 12 inch Umbrella Academy.

Batman The Dark Knight Returns Collector Set

In case you needed a constipated Batman for your Action Figures, DC Direct has the toy for you.

Release Date: October 2009

Price: $36.99

Am I wrong? Am I? Does he not look constipated to you? My brother, the English professor, loves this graphic novel and even covered the book in one of his courses this past year. Maybe he would like constipated Batman......

Robert: I have the original release of these. They look better in the original colors. Also, Batman looks pretty crappy (pardon the pun), but Joker is pretty cool.

Heroes of the DC Universe: Shazam!

Another bust! Wahoo! Keep them coming DC Direct. Points to you on this one.

Produced By DC Direct
Designed By Gary Frank
Sculpted By Jean St. Jean
Size 6" High
Type Porcelain Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date March 2010
Price $70.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Granted - I ranted about DC providing some other characters then Batman and Superman, and this series has provided. However, DC is starting another series titled "Gotham City Stories", and you can guess who they start with.

Okay, let me get to the bust.

I haven't really liked all of these; however, I have ordered the Green Arrow and am considering ordering the Aquaman bust.

Points in Favor

• The colors. The red and yellow are striking!
• The base includes the Seven Deadly Sins - with their names. Nice touch.
• Little Details throughout. The cape and lightening bold are sculpted and not just painted. The clothes (cape and spandex) include creases. The veins in his fists.
• Maintained the 'boy scout' look that Shazam! is supposed to represent.

Points Against

• I only really have one. While his face looks good in the one that I posted, the other shot does not look so hot. Now that may simply be some shadowing, I can't say one way or another.
• Colors on the base are a tad bland.
  

Recommendation: Buy. While I like this piece, it is not as incredible as some of the other pieces that I have seen and/or own; however, if you are a Shazam! fan (or collecting the entire line of DC Characters), then this would be a nice bust to have.

Comic-Con '09 - Umbrella Academy

Dark Horse announced 12" statues of the Umbrella Figures. Figured Robert and others would like to know, but they will not be released until next year. They showed #5, Kraken and the White Violin.

This is what you get when you don't make it to Comic-Con, and you end up watching it on G4.

Nicktoon's Fantastic Four

October 2009. I'm there....are you?

Robert's Thoughts on Barry Allen's Resurrection

I'm not a Barry Allen fan and while I'm also not a much bigger fan of Wally West, I always liked that that transition had happened and become as permanent as Bucky being dead (bad example).

One of the problems with Barry being alive, I would have thought that Iris West-Allen would have known he would come back. His future/past is one of the most mapped out, since his wife was from the 30th century.

Plus how many living Flashes are there now? Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen?

I'm not really sure why I'm going off on this right now.

With that said, my all time favorite Flash site is Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning. It's one of my all time favorite comic book related fan sites actually. It's very well written and researched. I wonder whatever happened to the old keefee.com Titans site.

Zimm's Rant on DC Direct

Okay - Robert and I have touched on this a bit, and I want to make it official. It seems that the majority of DC Direct statues and toys focus to much on Superman and Batman - and when it comes to statues, let's include Wonder Woman. They have an entire DC Universe to play with and they tend to throw out their heavy hitters time and time again.

One of the things that I love about the Bowen Designs line of statues and mini-busts is the fact that he covers everyone in the Marvel Universe. And while I may not want quite a few of the characters, I am constantly reading posts of people out there who do like them. OR - even better - I find and hear of people buying statues or busts that simply add to their collection of hero and busts. (You can check it out at Statue Marvels. Click on the link and find out for yourself!) So, two points to Bowen Designs for providing us with some great stuff - and kudo points to Marvel working out the details to let him do it.

As for DC Direct, COME ON! There are some other people in the DC Universe that I would like to see some more of - in regards to toys, statues, and even TV Series. Granted - they are expanding out on their DVD sets, but take the concept and GROW.

Okay, I'm done.....for now.

DC Classic Confrontation: Batman vs Killer Croc

I believe that this is another in the series of Batman vs. the Joker, Superman vs. Darkseid and Wonder Woman vs. Ares.

The cool part, about this one, is that it looks like DC will be providing us with these confrontation pieces going forward.

Produced By DC Direct
Designed By Walter O'Neal
Sculpted By Ray Villafane
Size 16.5" H x 12.75" W x 9.75"D
Type Porcelain Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date March 2010
Price $250.00

Zimm's Two Cents
First off, I own the Batman vs. The Joker statue and actually bought my brother a matching piece - with him being the Batman and me the Joker. I am drooling over the Wonder Woman vs. Ares statue. These are some excellent pieces - even though I am not a fan of the Superman vs. Darkseid ... or this one.

Points in Favor

• Classic confrontational pieces make for a good series and look great on the shelf.
• Level of detail in the piece are really nice. The batarang in Croc's shoulder or even the different color scales throughout his entire body.

Points Against

• The sculpture seems to be off in several places. For example: Batman's chest looks more like he has bones protruding then muscle.
• More of a 'realistic' piece then a comic book characterization or version.
  
• Batman's mouth looks wrong. Can't put my finger on it, but something seems off.

Recommendation: Neutral. This is going to be more of a personal preference; however, if I saw it in a collection, it would most likely get glanced over.

Robert's Two Cents

Points in Favor

• The wrappings on Croc's hands. Sometimes the devil really is in the details.
  
• The paint job is phenomenal.
  

Points Against

• Croc looks weird, even for Killer Croc.
  
• Batman sculpt seems a bit off. His abs shouldn't be that defined through a million layers of kevlar.
  

Recommendation:Pass . Unless you've really been looking for a piece with Batman kicking Killer Croc's butt.

Comic-Con International - July 23 - 26

I can't make it this year, but that doesn't meant that I (or you) can't still follow it. I am going to have to check to see if G4 is covering it as well. Enjoy!!!!!


Time for me to go through convention withdrawals.........

DC Dynamics: Aquaman

The second in a six part series, with Aquaman and a environmental related base.

Produced By DC Dynamics
Designed and Sculpted By Tim Bruckner
Size 10.5" H
Type Porcelain Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date March 2010
Price $195.00

Zimm's Two Cents
This piece works! And while I have seen some of the other pieces already, this one (so far) is my favorite.

Points In Favor.

• Original costume and colors.
• Great Colors!!!!
• The level of detail on this piece are perfect. The ripples in Aquaman's shirt, the detail in the water, the blue in his eyes, etc.
• Perfect action pose for Aquaman. Rising from the water.
• The face seems to fit him perfectly. Neither happy nor angry, but there. Great detail here as well.

Points Against
I don't have any for this statue. I have been waiting for weeks on when I could provide a formal review.

Recommendation: HOT BUY! It is not that often that you can get a great statue of one of the other Heroes within the DC Universe, and in my humble opinion, this is a great statue. I'm glad to see that it is not another Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman.

Robert's Two Cents
I do like it, but do I need an Aquaman statue in my collection? If I did, I would rather have the blue "camo" costume from the late 80s. This piece does look good and I think is superior to the Wonder Woman one from the same series.

Points In Favor.

• I like the color sheeny look to the shirt.
  
• Good movement. Yes, it's a statue, but the representation of movement is very fluid looking.
  
• The face seems to fit him perfectly. Neither happy nor angry, but there. Great detail here as well.

Points Against

• He should probably look angrier. He always seems a bit angry in the comics ever since the 80s.
  
• I can't see the scales in his shirt. They may be there, but I don't see them in the pictures.
• Do I really need an Aquaman statue?
  

Recommendation: Neutral It's great that it's not a Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, or Green Lantern. I'm not sure I want or need an Aquaman piece in my collection and they've released two really good quality ones in the same year (Remember the Aquaman & Mera busts). If I were to buy an Aquaman piece, I'd probably get the busts for much less money. Still it's a nice piece.

Review of Amazing Spider-Man #600

Greetings!


Okay, before we get into this review; a bit of a disclaimer. I have not enjoyed Spider-Man since Brand New Da-DISASTER. You do not wipe out a character because you are not sure what to do with her. At least be bold enough to kill her off, instead of having the hero make some kind of stupid deal with the dev-Okay, that's enough of that.

The review, right, sorry.

I enjoyed Amazing Spider-Man #600. It had one of my favorite Spider-Man villains in it, and he goes through a major, and believable, change. There were some touching moments in the book between Aunt May and Peter Parker, and some hilarious ones featuring J. Jonah Jameson.

Best of all, Mary Jane is back. It seems as though Quesada finally got the message he cannot just do away with everything waving his magic retcon wand and expect all of us Marvel Zombies to say, "Duh, ooookaaay!"

There are limits, you character-molesting fiend!

This book gives me hope that the folks at Marvel are waking up and smelling the falling sales numbers for Amazing Spider-Man. It is not the seventies anymore. Put Spider-Man back in his proper continuity.

Think of all this as you read Amazing Spider-Man #600, and it becomes an even better read than it already is.

Review of Hulk #600

Greetings!


You ever get really, really excited about something?

I mean, super-excited. It's the type of adrenaline releasing, pulse-quickening kind of excitement that makes your heart race and your eyes bug out kinf of excitement.

Well, this was how I felt about Hulk #600 because I thought that Loeb was finally going to pay his big mystery off. Who is the Red Hulk? We have been teased about this for over a year now, and it is supposed to be a big reveal.

Voila! The Red Hulk is...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Got a clue yet? The book that was supposed to tell you who the Red Hulk is does not, in fact, do so. In addition to the one Hulk story you do get, you also get "treated" (read: subjected to) a story about Hulk's daughter with Thundra from another dimension. Oh, joy, a character no one cares about except for her creator.

On top of that, the last several pages are advertisements for othe Marvel books and a collage of covers. What enrages me the most was that I ordered a bunch of them for my store, and now, being the honest man I am, I have to look at a customer who asks me, "Is this good?" and say:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I'm very upest. Comfort me, my fellow bloggers, as I go weep....(Hehe)

Robert's Commentary on the new Doctor Who, Companion, and TARDIS pictures.

I do like his look a lot better than what we were seeing in the announcement shots. I like that he's not as cool as it looked like he might be.

The updated look of the outside of the TARDIS to be more detailed (seen here) is nice. I'm now even more curious about the rumored new interior.

His new companion looks really young. She almost looks like she might be missing school to run about in the TARDIS. I was hoping they'd go a bit older with the new Doctor appearing so young. It appears this was an intentional move on the part of the production team, so we'll have to give them a bit of rope and hope they don't hang themselves.

I'm taking an optimistic wait and see on the new Doctor. No matter what he is going to have a hard time living up to David Tennant's well loved 10th Doctor. Steve Moffett is having to do the same replacing Russell T. Davies as show runner. Regardless of anything else, the next season of Doctor Who will be a new adventure for everyone.

The New Doctor Who and His Companion

One of the first shots from the filming of the new series. What do you think of his new look????? Or his companion.

The Problem With Power Girl

Greetings!

There has been something on my mind for quite some time, and I think it needs to be addressed.

One of my favorite female characters in comicdom has to be the DCU's Power Girl. She's tough, she has a great character, and there is a lot a writer can do with the character.

However, whenever I say that I like Power Girl, giggling ensues. This leads me to the problem, or should I say problems, with this character.

It would appear that people simply cannot get over Power Girl's gigantic breast size, at least, that is what is said. I think there is something else that is bothering them.

Power Girl is well-endowed, but properly proportioned. She actually has a body that is capable of supporting her back-breaking breasts, unlike other comic book females. For some reason, this is off-putting.

Have the rest of you noticed this?

Blackest Night #1

Greetings, all!

Finally ready to start my reviews, now that everything has finally calmed down. (That's what happens when someone is trying to sue the pants off of you!)

I'm starting with a bang, and reviewing Blackest Night #1.

Unlike DC's previous crossovers and big events (Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, 52, Countdown), this was an enjoyable read. First of all, it has undead, which is always a guaranteed seller. Secondly, in the first book a major force in the DC universe and two semi-important characters are killed! Thirdly, we get to see some great character development and interaction between Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. The book does a great job of getting the uninitiated to care about Barry Allen.

The artwork was really well-done, too. The coloring does a great job at making previous DC characters, formerly noble heroes, into creepy, enraged cosmically-powered undead.

In short, Blackest Night #1 has everything a comic book reader is looking for. Good story, good art, and a hook to get you to keep reading.

Get this book and read it. You'll thank me, and you'll thank yourself.


Stay well,


B. Caleb Goodson

New Torchwood Mini Series Begins Tonight

It starts on BBC America tonight, so don't forget to set your DVRs & TIVOs.

One2One: Magneto

One2One Collectibles has a number of new offerings, with some from the Wolverine and X-Men tv series. Last week we looked at Wolverine, and today I thought that I would look at Magneto.

Produced By One2One Collectibles
Size 11" Tall
Type Polystone Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date Q3 2009
Price $124.99

Zimm's Two Cents
At first glance, I did not like this statue. There is something inherently wrong with his face and helmet. This initial opinion led me to spend the weekend watching Episodes 24 & 25 of the series. Luckily, Episode 24 included Magneto!
Points in Favor

• The floating action pose with his cape and floating on his toes - classic.

Points Against

• His face. While I appreciate some aspects of the face, the mouth and nose look 'over done' when compared to the tv series.
• While the helm matches the series, the scultpting makes his forehead look too flat.
• The colors neither excite me nor turn me off.

Recommendation: Pass. I have and have seen some better statues then this one, and while the pose captures Magneto, the overall statue doesn't.

One2One Collectibles: Wolverine

From the (rather enjoyable) Wolverine and the X-Men tv series, One2One Collectibles presents Wolverine.

Produced By One2One Collectibles
Size 6" Tall
Type Polystone Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date Q1 2010
Price $124.99

Zimm's Two Cents
I had caught the first few episodes of this series and didn't see anything of significance to draw me back to it. However, over the past few weeks, I have been catching an episode here and there, and now, I have to admit that it is a nice tack on the characters.

This statue is one (of several statues) that One2One Collectibles offers.

Points in Favor

• The statue captures the style and colors of the Wolverine and the X-Men series. (See series pic).
• Base, while basic, is decent.
• Nice details in the face, with a true comic face grimace.

Points Against

• They missed some of the finer character details. Like the hair on his arm.
• Not certain of the long-term collector's value.

Recommendation: While I am not using pricing as a pro or con toward a statue anymore, the pricing on this one ensures that it is a good BUY for the money.

Final Note - watch the series and tell me what you think.

Robert's Two Cents
I really like the cartoon. It's interesting in that Wolverine is the leader of the X-Men.

One of the things I like about Wolverine and the X-Men is it feels in spirit, if not exactly in content, like a continuation of the X-Men Evolution series from a few years ago. It's clearly not a continuation due to certain continuity things, but the spirit is there. This is partially due to them sharing a lot of the writing staff from the previous series.

I completely missed this one when Zimm pointed this series out to me.

Points in Favor

• It definitely looks like the Wolverine of the cartoon and is still reminiscent of Wolverine in Astonishing X-Men drawn by John Cassaday.
  

Points Against

• Zimm's right about them missing the finer details.
  
• I think it looks a little like an over sized Hallmark ornament.
• One thing I dislike about the show is they're basing him off the Hugh Jackman depiction and not more like the comics. It's pretty clear Wolverine is 6'1" not 5'3". He should be much shorter in my opinion. That prejudice of mine carries over to this piece he's definitely not a "runt".
• Price to value ratio. It's $130 and only 6" high. Maybe I'm wrong about the over sized part in one of my previous bullet points. The DC Women statues (like Black Canary we've mentioned many times) are less than $100 and bigger, with better detailing. I'd almost rather see it as a PVC piece for about 1/3 of the price.
• One last point, I hate Wolverine's yellow costume. It just doesn't make any sense to me why he'd wear that color combination. I think my favorite Wolverine Costume was the maskless version introduced in X-Men Evolution Season 4, which carried over to the Ultimate X-Men and even into the 616 universe X-Men comics for a while. Very secret agentish.
  

Recommendation: I'm going to give it a Neutral. It is a good deal for the money, but we're talking Wolverine. There are plenty of options for better Wolverine pieces.

Robots feed off of Corpses and other Biomass

A few months ago, I found an article referencing 'zombie ants', and now I found one on "the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR)™" that survive off of biomass material (including corpses.)

Why does this entire article make me think of 'Zombie Robots'?

Take a look here...

Okay, okay. Tomorrow, I will get back to more of our geek articles.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In the theaters today, and something that my partner is a total geek about. Enjoy!

Ender's Game & Ender's Shadow

Marvel has put one of my top five books (of all times) - Ender's Game - into a comic book mini-series. These books will be accompanied with a mini-series of Ender's Shadow - which was an excellent supplemental to the original Ender's Game.

I was originally hesitant about picking up one of these, but I couldn't resist. I grabbed one and was incredibly pleased. The comic followed the book, and I was pleased with the artist depection of the the characters.

With that said, put this series on your PULL list. (OR at least wait for them to be consolidated into a graphic novel and ensure that it is part of your collection.)

Bowen - Danny Ketch Ghost Rider Statue

Saving the best (of the bunch) for last.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted by
Gabe Perna and Randy Bowen
Size 15" Tall
Type Museum Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date October 2009
Price $175.00

Zimm's Two Cents
When the fans asked for a Ghost Rider statue, this is it! I've seen the others, and I think this is going to be one of (if not) the best!

Points in Favor

• The Chain. I want to see the final product when it comes to the chain.
• The devil is in the details. (Sorry -couldn't resist) The spiked jacket and gloves. The skull and translucent flames. The stripe on the base of the statue. You can see that Randy had something to do with this.

Points Against

• N/A

Recommendation: Hot Buy. This one is truly the difficult one. If you get any of them, this is probably the one that I would recommend.

Bowen - Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider Statue

And now the Johnny Blaze museum Statue....

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted by
Gabe Perna and Randy Bowen
Size 15" Tall
Type Museum Pose Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date October 2009
Price $170.00
Zimm's Two Cents
Only a few things more that I can say about the statue, that I haven't already said about the busts.....but there are a few points.

Points in Favor

• Again - the sculpting is great on this piece. I especially like the skully and jacket. I even like how the belt piece stands out a bit.
• The base, while simple, maintains some key features that any collector would enjoy - one of which is the white road stripe in the center.
• Interchangeable left hand - nice!
  

Points Against

• For some reason, and it may only be me, but the bottom half of the torso does not seem to align with the top torso. And while I have thought about it a lot, it may be something as simple as a costume design (which has nothing to do with the sculpting). The pants have no pockets, which make them seem flat when matched to such a well sculpted upper torso. Or it could be the coloring.

Recommendation: Buy. I love the Danny Ketch museum version, and I think that this piece merely comes down to a personal preference.

Bowen Designs: Danny Ketch Ghost Rider Busts

And now, the Danny Ketch bust version of Ghost Rider.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted by Gabe Perna and Randy Bowen
Size 10" Tall
Type Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date October 2009
Price $60

Zimm's Two Cents
Points in Favor

• Again with the base....
• I love the spikes - and they are going to include a chain (similar to the statue). Definitely Wicked.
• The translucent flames look awesome.
• Great sculpting - gloves, jacket, and the skull.

Points Against.

• Not much.

Recommendation: Originally, this was a secondary choice to the Johnny Blaze; however, the more I look at it - the more that I am trying to figure out which one I would buy....if not both. Another Hot Buy.

More tomorrow.

Bowen Designs: Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider Busts

Randy (himself) provides us with both a Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider. While these statues do have some similarities, there is enough different to warrant calling out the differences.

Produced By Bowen Designs
Sculpted by Randy Bowen
Size 9" Tall
Type Bust
Edition Size TBD
Release Date October 2009
Price $65

Zimm's Two Cents
Wow! Where to start.

Points in Favor

• The base, as usual, is incredible. The detail in both the engine and tire bring the motorcycle aspects of the character to life, without having the motorcycle.
• The coloring. This is a bust that requires the shadows and highlights of the black, greys, and blues.
• The sculpting looks awesome, but - then again - it is (done entirely) by Randy Bowen. I'm loving the detail in everything - from the skull, to the leather circus jacket, to the bust. Looks awesome.
  

Points Against.

• The hair looks off, but I'm certain that it will look better translucent. So I am not quite certain I really have a point against.
  

Recommendation: It was sculpted by Randy, so this one is a Hot Buy. The real decision is do you want this bust, the other bust or one of the statues. I'm leaning toward this one so far.

More tomorrow.

Just Another thing that is Too Geeky!

So they had cologne for men, why not some perfume for women?

Release Date: July 2009
Price: $29.99

But I guess the real question is: Would a Trekky wear this stuff?

Your not even sure what it smells like! Besides, how can they prove that this the actual scent of Pon Farr? Yet, it might be a good way for the girls to tell if their boyfriend is a Trekky or not - without having to ask.

Mummy Mickey

Just in case you are considering developing a "Halloween Set", I thought I would throw this one out there as well:

He has been out for a while, but still worth the adding to a nice "Spooky Collection". Something that even I would consider.

Medicom Toy: Franken Mickey

Another great piece from Medicom Toy. They are really providing us with some great pieces . You can tell that Disney has to approve every piece, as the quality definitely shows.

Licensed By Disney
Produced By Medicom Toy
Size 5.7" Tall
Type Vinyl Collectible
Edition Size Unknown
Release Date Q4 2009
Price $69.99

Zimm's Two Cents
This one might be a great Halloween Holiday piece. Therefore, I could purchase it and pull it out once a year to enjoy. Definitely a nice buy.

Robert's Two Cents
Sweet! I love pieces like this from Disney. They're not afraid to mess with their characters. These take me back to the Pez dispensers from several years ago, where there were normal Mickey's and one in four would have an angry looking Mickey.

X-Men Universe Relationship Map

This is a very interesting relationship map from one of my favorite X-Men related sites, http://www.uncannyxmen.net.

Check this out.

Not really amazing to find out Wolverine has had nearly as many relationships as he has crossover appearances.

Sideshow Toys: Elektra

Sideshow is really starting to put out some excellent statues. So much so, that I think their fan base will continue to grow and value will continue to increase.

Produced By Sideshow Collectibles
Artists
* Mike Najera
* Anthony Mestas
* Eric Sosa
* Trevor Grove
* Tom Gilliland
* Seth Rinaldi
* The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team
Size 14.5"H x 11.5"W x 8.75"D
Type Polystone Statue
Edition Size TBD
Release Date 1st Qtr 2010
Price $209.99

Zimm's two cents:
Another great piece by Sideshow. I am still leaning toward Emma, but the details and quality of this statue may too good for me to pass her up.
Points in Favor:

• Attention to detail. From the belt to the boots and base. This statue has little details that would draw anyone's attention to this piece.
• Pose. The stance and look of the statue capture Elektra's personality.
• Color. Even painting for the skin looks great.
  

Points Against:

• In my humble opinion, there is not something obviously wrong with it.

Recommendation: Hot Buy. From the hair to the sai to the back to the base - this is a piece well worth purchasing.

Batman and Robin 2

Classic logo with a classic picture of Robin in trouble and Batman trying to get to him. I would recommend that everyone give this series a chance. This series, within one issue, has jumped to the top of my pull list.

Robert: I think Batman & Robin may be the best new series of 2009. That will partially depend on whether Frank Quitely can complete arcs on the art. Different artists working on a single arc was one of my biggest issues with their run on New X-Men. So far in one issue, I love it! I can't wait to get my hands on #2.

Umbrella Academy PVC Set Revisited

I can admit I'm wrong. I now have these in my possession, due to no efforts of my own. These are very nice PVCs. The Spaceboy is terrific. The other siblings look good as well.

I am still anxiously awaiting action figures or small statues of the Umbrella Academy family. For the time being these PVC figures are really nice. They will look really nice next to some of the other PVCs I own (Hellboy, Grendel, etc.). The only downside to these is, they're actually much nicer than the other PVC sets I own. I still want figures in Gabriel Ba's style and in the same scale as Mezco's Hellboy Comic Book figures.

First the Points in Favor:

• The Spaceboy looks really, really good.
• They really nailed Spaceboy.
  
• Vanya looks pretty good.
  
• For the most part, the characters look like Gabriel Ba's artwork.
• Great packaging.
• They look pretty good for PVCs.
• The price isn't too bad. I think the Hellboy PVCs were going for about $30 when they came out several years ago, and the packaging and production values of these are much better. I really liked the Hellboy PVCs.
  

Points Against:

• Number 5, Rumor, and Seance could have used a little more attention in the detailing, but are still nice looking figures.
  
• The Umbrella and packaging would be even cooler if they were a base.
  

Rating: Hot Buy. I really wanted the Spaceboy. The others I can still live without, but as a group they look really nice together on a shelf. I'd love to see the packaging be able to easily used as a display stand, but overall, I'd buy it if I had to go back and do it again. I'd almost pay half that amount

Get your own here.

Update: I'm going to do another post focusing on the Spaceboy later this week.