Superhero Times posted a few details about the upcoming Brave and the Bold line, which will be based on a Batman team-up cartoon to air this fall. Apparently, the single pack figures will retail for $9, which seems a bit pricey if the figures are in the same scale as The Batman figures. Superhero Times also has a Brave and the Bold gallery from the SDCC. You can see some of the heroes and villians featured in the cartoon, including Aquaman, Black Manta, and Red Tornado. You can also see that the articulation is a bit lacking. I've been spoiled with knee joints in The Batman figures, and no such articulation in BATB is a step backward.

Regardless, I love the design and the concept of the cartoon (which will depict a more adventurous, less grim Batman). Fans of the gritty Batman will likely hate the cartoon and toyline, but this is the kind of Batman that I grew up with in the old 70s DC comics like World's Finest, so I'm cool with it. Besides, Batman has trended so much towards the grim and glum side that he's become almost a caricature of himself. Batman in DC comics nowadays is less the cool detective with nifty bat-gadgets, and more a suspicious bat-jerk. So I welcome this change in Brave and the Bold.

By the way, check out this Medieval Knight Batman. Does this mean that the classic BATB character, Silent Knight, will make an appearance? :o

Labels: Batman, Conventions

Check out this preview of the upcoming Ghostbusters video game shown at SDCC! The game's script was written by Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd, and all the original cast are lending their voices, so it's about as close to an official sequel as a video game can get. They're shooting for a Halloween release, and I can't wait... the game looks like a blast!

Labels: Conventions, Misc

Mattel's showing off a new Beastman figure from the upcoming Masters of the Universe line at the SDCC! It's a great resculpt of the character that maintains the look and feel of the classic line. It's been a year since the new He-Man was unveiled... what's taking this line so long to come to market? And can I even begin to hope for a new Stinkor? Anyway, check out some pics of Beastman at Action-Figure.com!

Update (7/29) - Figures.com has some more images of the MOTU display, with Merman and Zodac (not Stratos, as is labelled). Very impressive... it looks like they're going for a style that's more in line with the mini-comics.

Labels: Conventions, He-Man

Action-Figure.com has some coverage of the Preview Night at the San Diego Comic Con. There isn't much that we haven't seen before, but there is one display that is super-sweet. NECA unveiled its Fall 2008 TMNT line, showcasing not only a painted proto of the Foot Ninja, but also Foot Elite and the Shredder himself! They all look like they're straight from the Mirage comics, and the Shredder is the star of the assortment. There's also an Utrom, which is kind of weird because Utroms had absolutely nothing to do with the Shredder or the Foot. Hopefully this means we'll be getting an Utrom exo-suit as well!

Labels: Conventions, TMNT

Every year Metropolis, Illinois hosts a Superman Celebration. Superhero Times has coverage of this year's event, featuring pictures of plenty of interesting Superman artifacts on display. There are plenty of Superman-related toys and prototypes, but the most interesting pics showcased TV and movie artifacts. Check out the Bizarro masks from Superboy, and the Christopher Reeves wigs. Weird!

Labels: Comic Book Movies, Comic Books, Conventions, DC Action Figures

Huckleberry Toys will debut its upcoming McDonaldland figures at the San Diego Comic Con by offering exclusive versions of the figures in classic vintage packaging (as reported by ActionFigure.com)! The figures are inspired by the vintage McDonaldland line but are not direct reproductions (as far as I can tell), and will debut at retail in August. Whether they're cool in a kind of Sid & Marty Krofft way, or somewhat creepy and strangely disturbing in a Pennywise way, is up to you. But regardless, where's Big Mac? Was he finally thrown off the force because of his summary judgment style of justice?

Labels: Conventions, Misc

NECA announced its exclusive for San Diego Comic Con: a TMNT mouser 3-pack! The mousers come with a stand and nifty San Diego manhole cover. It's a cool-looking exclusive, and I wish it was more widely available as I think they would sell like hotcakes.

Labels: Conventions, TMNT

At the New York Comic Con, Mattel announced its plans to bring back Masters of the Universe by unveiling King Grayskull! Although this has been speculated since Mattel showed its He-Man prototype at last year's SDCC, this is a definite confirmation of the return of MOTU. Mattel states that the line will be more geared towards older collectors and judging by both the previous He-Man prototype and King Grayskull, the line will definitely have a more vintage feel. Check out the article with pics of King Grayskull here. I'm not 100% sure which is cooler: this new vintage style or the sleek detailed 2002 style. But I think what would totally send the new line over the edge in terms of awesomeness would be vintage-style packaging! And if the figures come with a bonus glow-in-the-dark ring I'll be quite happy. ;)

Labels: Conventions, He-Man

Rebelscum.com posted a few Toy Fare images from Hasbro's first wave of figures of this Fall's animated Clone Wars series! The figures look like good representations of the new animation style and they have pretty good articulation, although the leg movement is tragically hindered by those annoying plastic "skirts". It's still a bit too early to know whether or not I'll dig the show, but it's neat to see Hasbro going in a different direction with its 3.75" line. Yoda and Artoo are cute, and even I, a prequel pessimist, admit that the General Grievous looks pretty sweet.

The article also shows shots of other upcoming "normal" Star Wars figures. Of note are Ewok with baby (finally!), white Vader (I don't know what it is, but it looks great), and a kind-of-cool Prince Xixor. Also shown are some figures that prove that Hasbro is really scraping the bottom of the barrel in regards to OT subject matter, with Tatooine sandstorm Han, Luke, and Chewie figures (which are from a cut scene in ROTJ). And what's the deal with this build-a-figure astromech? What a train wreck. Check out all the pics (including some other figures and nifty vehicles) here.

UPDATE 2/27/08: Some of the best Toy Fair coverage that includes all lines, no matter how obscure, is at ASMzine.com.

Labels: Conventions, Star Wars

Toy News International updated with some pretty interesting Toy Fare shots of Mattel DC action figures. Apparently, Mattel will be diving into the 3.75" scale with its DC Universe Infinite Heroes line. This line is very much hit and miss, with some winners (Killer Croc, Hawkman, and the GCPD Officer) and a whole lot of real stinkers (Batman, Supergirl, and Bizzaro). I hope these are prototypes and the end figures look better, or this line will be a huge disappointment.

Mattel also showed off its DC Universe Classics line, most of which we've seen already. But one figure I haven't seen yet is this super-cool Wonder Woman! Finally, WW gets some props!

Labels: Conventions, DC Action Figures

TMNT
Figures.com has some great photos of upcoming toys from Toy Fare 2008. To start, we have this April O'Neil figure from the super-awesome NECA TMNT Classic line. It's an okay figure but a tad too much like a super-model to be the classic April. The figure comes with mousers, which also look okay, but need to have much more elongated heads. Overall, it could have been worse and the set looks good enough to pick up. But it just underscores the difficulties with capturing the classic TMNT style.

STAR TREK
The Original Star Trek line from Diamond Select Toys has some pretty sweet figures. Not only is there an interesting Kirk vs. Spock set from Amok Time, but also Kirk and Spock from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I'm not a big fan of ST:TMP, but the costumes are distinctive and kind of fun.

There's also this Borg Wave featuring Seven, the Borg Queen, and what I assume is a random drone. They're good figures, but the Borg are more over-exposed than Jedi, so I'm not too excited about this wave.

CULT CLASSICS
And finally, also from NECA are some some great Cult Classics figures. Of note are Stuntman Mike, Machete, and an incredibly awesome Beetlejuice!

Labels: Conventions, Star Trek, TMNT

Wow, lots of cool toy news over the weekend! First, we have this He-Man prototype from Mattel (from ToyNewsI.com). While nothing definite was announced, it seems like He-Man might be making a comeback soon. I dig the prototype... it's very vintage-inspired.

Then, we have Indiana Jones figures (from GalacticHunter.com). It's about time Hasbro did some decent Indy figures! The figures aren't perfect, but they're certainly much better than the Disney figures from a few years back. (Be sure to check out pages 8 and 9 for better shots of the prototypes.)

Finally, TFormers.com posted some great shots of the Transformers: Animated toys planned for the upcoming cartoon. The figures have a cool styling and this Optimus Prime is probably the most dynamic Prime ever. Also, Slag makes his return!

Update 7/31/2007: TFormers.com posted some better shots of the actual TF: Animated prototypes.

Labels: Conventions, He-Man, Indiana Jones, Transformers

Pics of the SDCC have started popping up online. Check out Figures.com, Toy News International, and Galactic Hunter for all the coverage. Here are some highlights:

~ Matt Wagner style Batman: I love this guy's artistic interpretation of the Batman.
~ Robo-Batman: I'm not sure what the story is behind this figure, but it's pretty awesome nonetheless.
~ Gentle Giant Captain Picard: This figure is pretty impressive, but I'm sure it'll be expensive.
~ Cyborg Superman: Sure to be a strong seller!
~ 300's Xerxes: Is this in 12" scale? If so, it would go perfectly with the 12" Leonidas.
~ Ares Armor Kratos: Kratos before his fall from grace!
~ 25th Ann. Zartan, Firefly, Shipwreck: Hasbro continues the 25th Ann. Joe line!
~ Saavik, Spock: Saavik looks pretty good... not too sure about that Spock, though.
~ Concept Grievous, Concept Yoda/Obi Wan: There wasn't much interesting on the Star Wars front (pretty much all rehashes and weird comic book figures), but these concept figures are pretty cool.
~ Voltron Sneakers: What the hell..?

Update 6/27/2007: Figures.com has updated with new painted protos of Shipwreck and Firefly.

Labels: Batman, Conventions, DC Action Figures, GI-Joe, Star Trek, Star Wars

TFormers.com has some great coverage of the Bot-Con Transformers convention. Check out the whole gallery here, and some highlights follow:

Transformers Action Figures: Non-transformable Transformers might seem like an oxymoron, but these actually look pretty fun. The action figures are able to get the likenesses and proportions down pretty well. Check out Bumblebee and Optimus in particular.

Ultimate Bumblebee: My friend Jason was right, for a premium price, this toy had better be a great likeness, but judging from this pic, there's not much "Ultimate" about this Bumblebee. BB has some serious kibble!

Movie Jazz in Classic Colors: Some of these classic-style movie figure repaints don't work very well (Starscream in particular), but Jazz looks pretty cool.

Masterpiece Starscream: This makes it official! I'm not sure where this figure will be available, but it looks great! Also, be sure to check out its alt mode.

Inferno Costume: It's doofy, but I'm always impressed when people try to pull off TF costumes.

Labels: Conventions, Transformers