Guest Review: Deadman #1 at Supanova

Another post over at Supanova from last week. Click here to find out what I thought of issue 1 of Neal Adams' Deadman #1.

Turtle Monster Pin Set – Junkship

Like many of you, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a huge phenomenon during my childhood. They’re still popular now, but it really was a whole different level back then. The action figure line alone was huge, spawning all manner of wild spin-offs which spanned both awesome and totally crap – sometimes at the same time.

One of the more inspired was a Universal Monsters/TMNT crossover range of action figures. Two waves were released, covering The Mummy (Raphael), Dracula (Donatello), Frankenstein’s Monster (Michelangelo), The Wolfman (Leonardo), the Metaluna Mutant (Raphael), the Invisible Man (Michelangelo), the Creature from the Black Lagoon (Leonardo) and the Bride of Frankenstein (April).

To celebrate those heady days of the early 90s, Junkship have recently released a series of pins based on the first wave of those figures – The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and The Wolfman. I missed the initial release of these pins last year, but fortunately they were re-released last month.

They showed up today, and they are excellent. Though I like all of the designs, my favourite is possibly Donatello. I think the combination of purple, green and black works most effectively out of all of them, with the glow in the dark elements adding a nice touch. Following close behind is Raph, who’s primarily glow-in-the-dark, which makes him an automatic favourite.

I don’t really collect pins as such, but last year I put together a battle vest – and along with the patches, quite a few have found their way onto the denim. So when I came across these pins combining my love of Universal Monsters and the Ninja Turtles, I knew that they were a must-buy. You can get your own set here – but be fast. After the success of the initial run, I imagine they’ll sell through pretty quickly.

POP! Movies: Pinhead (Glow in the Dark)

Company: Funko

Year: 2016

I’ve been in a Hellraiser kind of mood of late – I rewatched the first one over Halloween, and finally saw the second one a few weeks later. But the third film is the first one I actually watched, back in 2005; it was where Pinhead first made the transition from minor antagonist to main character and focal point of the series. It’s a pretty terrible film, but it has its share of memorable moments, primarily thanks to Doug Bradley doing a great turn in the role.

Now, as I said in my previous Pinhead review, Funko have been smart – officially, this figurine is licensed from Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth. The costume differences between this and the first film are pretty minor to a layman like me, and I’m sure the costs involved were a fraction of those for licensing the original film.

And it's a good variation on a previous release; I’m almost certain it’s the same head sculpt that was used on the previous Pinhead pop, though the cuts in his face do seem much “softer”. This is probably the result of it being cast in glow in the dark plastic, and the lack of paint and wash. The arms are now folded across the chest, rather than extended, and the Lament Configuration is nowhere to be seen.  The lower half of the body looks to be identical, probably using the original prototype or sculpt as a base. It’s distinct, but not miles away from the original; for me, the glow was the main differentiation.

Paint is not as tight as the previous version, but I didn’t look very closely at the options I had in the store; I was just too excited to come across it in the wild! The glow itself is quite bright too, displaying as a luminous green on the head and also the hands.

Considering that the Hellraiser films have many visually interesting characters/villains, it’s a bit of a shame that we haven’t seen more figures released in the line. I can appreciate that some characters are not as retailer friendly as others – skinless Frank and Julia would likely elicit a protest similar to the whole Breaking Bad/Toys R Us fiasco – but I hope that we’ll at least get some of the other Cenobites sometime in the near future. Butterball, despite being my least favourite design in the actual film, seems like he’d lend himself nicely to the format -- and this custom Chatterer is quite impressive.  

This new version of Pinhead originally saw release alongside new versions of Beetlejuice, Jason and Alex (A Clockwork Orange) as Hot Topic exclusives, randomised in mystery boxes. Fortunately, in Australia they’ve been released in much easier-to-obtain form single form, though I suspect they will end up vaulted much sooner than their regular counterparts. Though not an essential purchase if you have the existing Pinhead figure, it’s still distinct enough to be worth considering. As aterrible tragic for all things that glow, I simply had to have it; I probably would have skipped it otherwise, but a good use of glow will push me over the line every time. 

Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2: Cthulhu (Glow version)

Company: Funko

Series: Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 2

Year: 2015

Back in October last year, I posted an article about how I ended up with a Cthulhu Mystery Mini. That article ended up being one of my most popular articles last year, for whatever reason. You may or may not recall that I mentioned that Cthulhu was quite a rare figure in the series, being packed at a 1/24 ratio -- but there was an even rarer variant...a glow in the dark one! 

That article I've linked back to above covers the details about the sculpt; I don't really need to repeat them here. The primary difference with this guy is that he's been moulded in glow-in-the-dark plastic. The only paint apps included this time around are the white for his eyes, and the grey that surrounds them. All of the spots and splotches are gone, with the plastic left bare to glow. And glow he does, lighting up the room by night.  

This Cthulhu is a good example of a variant -- he's fun, but not essential, and acts a complementary piece to the original, rather than detracting from the fun. In the past the Mystery Minis have made some really unusual (and irritating) choices in their series ratios, but with the exception of Hellraiser's Pinhead being a 1/72 figure, I think Funko did a pretty good job with this one. An enjoyable, but not essential addition to the collection.

POP! Heroes – Swamp Thing (glow-in-the-dark variant)

Company: Funko

Series: POP! Heroes

Year: 2015

It has not been a good few weeks over here at the LBC. For the last few weekends I’ve been laid low with various illnesses and maladies, so updates have been pretty thin on the ground. So I’m sitting at home, struggling to keep to it together as snot emerges from my nose at a frightening speed. What connection does this have to Swamp Thing? Well, he’s quite green and is presumably always dripping with ichorous fluids, so yeah, let’s go with that. 

I always liked comics as a kid, but Swamp Thing is the one that really pulled me into my current level of interest. Y’see, back in the late 1990s, DC republished a bunch of Alan Moore’s run on the title as black and white single issues. Flash forward to 2006 and Gosford Book Exchange had a bunch of them in stock – a relic of the long-closed Phantom Zone store that had once been next door. This was right around the time the film of V for Vendetta had been released, so I held Alan Moore’s name in quite a bit of esteem. They were going cheap, so I picked them up and promptly became a huge fan, rekindling an enjoyment of comics that actually became quite unhealthy for a while. 

But I emerged better for the experience, and here we are today. Pretty much ever since I started collecting POPs, I’ve wanted Funko to do a Swamp Thing. But I wasn’t confident that would happen – his complex design was quite far removed from the simplistic style Funko was working with at the time, and the character’s peak popularity was a couple of decades ago.    

The box art is great. The Funko art style is a good render of the character’s distinct look, and they’ve incorporated the old-style logo, rather than the New 52 version. The back of the packaging is a little curious; as Swamp Thing has been released solo (I’ll get to that in a moment) rather than in conjunction with other characters, the box just depicts the first few DC POPs that were released, including the now-rare Batgirl. Fingers crossed for a re-release of her, as I didn’t pick her up in back in the day and she’s now exceedingly expensive…

The sculpt is some great work from Funko. Lots of little details have been worked into the sculpt, like the vines, the I think the nose should have been a little bit more prominent on the face, like this, but it’s otherwise quite well executed. He's cast in semi-translucent plastic, which is a good idea, but does mean that the head and body are slightly different shades of green. He’s been given a black wash to bring out all of the little details, which is a good touch. But on the subject of paint…     

Paint…sigh…well, I don’t need to tell any regular readers or fellow POP collectors that Funko tend to do a below-average job when it comes to paint. Swamp Thing does not buck that trend, unfortunately. The front of him is okay; the brown vines could be a little neater and red eyes, but they’re within the acceptable range. But turn him around and you’ll see he just hasn’t been painted – all the details are just blank!

Now, I should clarify that this may be because I picked up the glow in the dark version specifically. There are three versions of this POP available – a regular, a glow one and a flocked one. All of them look pretty good. The regular and glow versions look virtually interchangeable; you’ll notice on the box that there isn’t the usual “Glow in the Dark” sticker, so how these will be told apart in a shop setting (as opposed to ordering online) is a bit of a mystery to me. The flocked version also looks fantastic, and I was tempted to order that too – but we’ll see.         

Overall, Swamp Thing is a good addition to the collection -- I never really thought we'd see him released, particularly not in multiple forms. While I don’t think they quite knocked it out of the park, I do think that Funko have delivered a solid product in sculpt, if not paint. Highly recommended for Swamp Thing fans, regardless of era. 

POP! Movies – Jason Voorhees (Glow in the Dark Chase Edition)

Year: 2011

Series: POP! Movies

RRP: See below…

I watched a LOT of horror films between the ages 18 and 25, ranging from more tame, mainstream fare through to the highly disturbing and Z-grade. The Friday the 13^th series really straddles both worlds – though Jason is a pretty iconic protagonist/villain, a lot of the films are objectively terrible. Camp sensibilities get more and more pronounced as the series goes on, but the energy just isn’t there to sustain it, especially in clunkers like Jason Takes Manhattan. Some of the latter-day instalments like Jason X and Freddy vs Jason were certainly not masterpieces, but at least they were self-aware enough to be fun. So though I definitely used to be a fan, I don’t have strong reasons to recommend other people spend their time watching them! There are plenty of better films – horror and otherwise – to watch. 

But as I said, Jason is iconic. He’s a character who has grown much larger than the films that spawned him, thanks in no small part to his hockey mask. He’s also not an entirely unsympathetic character – Freddy Krueger was a bad, bad man before becoming an undead nightmare monster, Pinhead was a total hedonist, and Michael Myers was a psychopath from childhood. Jason, on the other hand, was a child with some kind of severe medical issue who was unfortunate enough to drown at a summer camp. His motivations are never really explored, but you can extrapolate that this may have played a role in why he acts the way he does.

At any rate, he is a sure-fire movie merchandising success these days, so it’s not really surprising that he was one of the first POPs Funko produced. Jason has had a number of looks through the different movies – not surprising, given that the series has had numerous changes in direction, many different people handling the mythos and multiple actors playing the character. This figure looks to be mostly based on his appearance in Freddy vs Jason, which, while not as detailed as his appearance in some of the other films, is a nice “generic” look for him. It captures how the public tends to think of him, even if it’s not entirely reflective of most of the actual films. His machete is spattered in blood, unsurprisingly. Jason hacks up just about everyone he runs into, which skews against Funko’s cutesy aesthetic, but is certainly character-accurate.

Paint is pretty good (what a shock!), but the mask is a little rough with the way the grey is applied around the holes. This is accentuated a little as the mask is not painted – it’s cast in glow plastic, so errors couldn’t really be covered up with other paint, as you could theoretically do with the regular release. Nothing especially problematic, particularly considering that this is one of Funko’s older figures when paint was regularly much, much worse than this.  

Overall, it’s a good example of the kind of figure I like from Funko’s earlier years. While the more detailed sculpts they use now are still frequently very cool, I like the simplicity of the older ones – it didn’t work perfectly for every character, but it helped give a slightly more unified aesthetic to the your collection. 

Now…to cost. As Jason here is a chase version, some retailers will just sell him at the same price as a regular POP, if you can actually find him. I’m not sure if Funko has re-released this figure, or if this is genuinely old stock that has just shown up in store now. I came across him in an EB Games store in Sydney a couple of months ago, and he was just sitting in among all of the rest of their POP section. I paid RRP, but on eBay he goes for absolutely silly money. So think wisely before going ahead with the purchase – the only real difference I can see is that his mask glows in the dark, so the “regular” version is perfectly serviceable. Don't get me wrong, I love glow in the dark stuff! Just not at that kind of price tag. 

I don’t watch a lot of horror anymore – I don’t get time to watch a lot of movies, and I don’t have the same stomach for gore – but Jason is a well-made POP and a fun reminder of those younger days. Now, if only they’d make some Zombie Flesh Eaters POPs…  

POP! Marvel: Frost Giant Loki (glow in the dark variant)

Company: Funko

Series: POP! Marvel

Year: 2014

I have always had mixed feelings about Marvel’s take on Norse mythology. Though I don’t mind the Ancient Aliens take that the Cinematic Universe has offered, and the “Is Thor legit or crazy?” take from The Ultimates, the mainstream universe version has never really grabbed me. So if you had told me a few years ago that I would be buying anything to do with Marvel’s Loki, I would have laughed in your face.

Yet here I am. One of the best things about 2012’s The Avengers was Tom Hiddleston’s take on Loki. It retained a lot of the character’s visual trappings, but upgraded for more modern sensibilities and made them much cooler, at least to my eye. So three years on I’ve finally picked up a Funko POP of him – albeit one that seems to be based on a moment that I don’t think ever actually happened in the movie. Why, you ask? Well, he glows in the dark. The regular Loki is still a pretty cool POP, but I needed something to bump it up to the next level before I was willing to take the plunge – long-term readers of the site will recall that I am a glow in the dark tragic. 

Paint is a little tricky to judge – most of the paint on his body is fine, though there’s some fuzziness here and there; nothing too major. The face and helmet are a different story; he’s got a bit of paint missing on the top of his helmet and he’s got some missing on the area of the helmet covering his cheekbones. It’s not terribly noticeable in the photos, and I didn’t notice it in the box – but now I’ve seen it, it bugs me a lot. I may end up repainting the whole helmet and doing a pseudo-custom.

There are now a whole bunch of different Lokis from Thor: The Dark World – there’s the regular version, the B&W version, the Frost Giant version and the one reviewed today. All use the same sculpt; there’s an unhelmeted Loki from the first Thor movie, which I believe had a few variants too. This particular variant isn’t terribly rare. I’d say I’ve maybe seen 1 or 2 for every 5 regular Frost Giant Lokis, though this is far from an exact figure. The glow is – as you might expect – fun but not amazing. It looks like it needs an awful lot of light to get a good glow going. It’s better than Ant-Man was, but it’s no Gillman. But it looks virtually identical to the regular Frost Giant version, so why not just get this one instead?

This was a good POP for me to get personally, as I’m not so invested in Loki as a character and didn’t really need a “standard” version of him. He’s a fun, but non-essential variant; just make sure you check the paint more carefully than I did -- and don't pay some crazy aftermarket price for him either.    

POP! Heroes: White Lantern Wonder Woman (glow version)

Company: Funko

Series: POP! Heroes

Year: 2015

A couple of months back I picked up White Lantern Batman, and I mentioned that Wonder Woman was on the way too. Initially I thought it was an SDCC exclusive (and it was certainly selling at exclusive prices for a few weeks there on eBay) but it’s now received a wider release.

As might be expected, she re-uses the same mould as the original release. If you read my earlier review, you’ll know this a little bit mixed. When compared to Black Widow or Scarlet Witch, she’s a little underwhelming. Add to this that her neck/head connection isn’t quite properly assembled, and it’s even more irritating. I ordered this online and so I didn’t get to pick it out myself – well, that’s the risk you take, I guess. With that said, just today I saw three more instore and they all had the same issue. Curiously, the non-glow ones don't have this problem. 

There are two versions available – regular and glow in the dark. I went with glow in the dark, as with White Lantern Batman, one looked pretty much like the other. The difference is a little more pronounced with this figure. Though I like the glow, I wonder (lol) if I should have actually gone with the regular version. No, actually, I’m happy with my decision. It’s a rare day that glow isn’t the best option. Her leotard, boots, tiara and bracelets all glow quite well, though to varying degrees of brightness. 

Paint is not as bad as the original, but it is very sloppy on the body. Flesh-toned paint is splashed around inappropriately, and there are splashes of silver too. I was able to scrape some of it off, but managed to damage the White Lantern logo in the process…only slightly, but this is why I generally prefer to see how POPs look in person before I buy them.             

Much like White Lantern Batman, White Lantern Wonder Woman is not essential. The design is fun, and the control art on the box looks good – but it’s an old figure that is showing its age. Given her prominence in the DC Universe, Wonder Woman needs an updated and improved figure. A Lynda Carter one would be good, but I suspect we’ll see a Gal Gadot first to coincide with the imminent release of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Till then, I'd suggest the regular or New 52 version instead, but it's a fun addition to the Rainbow Lantern POPs.   

POP! Marvel: Ant-Man (glow in the dark variant)

It's Funko POP! week again -- Hooray! So let's kick it off with a look at one of my least favourite characters of all time.


Series: POP! Marvel

Year: 2015

RRP: $16.95

Back when I was about 14 or 15, my local library started getting in a whole bunch of Marvel Essentials paperbacks – the big black-and-white ones. I remember reading the Avengers and X-Men ones, which compiled some of the very early issues of both titles. To the jaded eyes of a teenager raised on the X-TREME 90s school of comics, they were more than a little twee. Unfairly, they put me off Marvel quite a bit for a number of years.

In hindsight, I can appreciate a little more how important the books were at the time – the idea of a shared universe was really only sort of burgeoning at the time, and these titles did a lot to further that, even if some of the stories are a little hokey by today’s more sophisticated standards. Jack Kirby also had a very distinct art style, and though I sometimes have mixed feelings about that style, one would have to be a fool to deny the very real and positive influence he has exercised over the comics that have followed.

But one thing that I can’t really appreciate in hindsight is a key character – Ant-Man. Marvel and DC both have their share of decidedly average characters, but Ant-Man has always been one of my least favourite, across any company. Truly feeble, even by the “anything goes” standards of the early 1960s, Ant-Man was always a C-Lister trying to play in an A-Lister’s title. Tales to Astonish? The only astonishment experienced was at how lame he was, and that he continued to get published.

But more than 50 years since his debut, Ant-Man has just made his big-screen debut, defying all expectations. And I’ve done something even more shocking, something that I never, ever thought I’d do – bought a piece of Ant-Man merchandise.

Perhaps appropriately, I didn’t get off to a great start with this particular POP. He felt out of the box awkwardly as I was trying to get him out, and then his head was wonky. To be fair, this is a problem that affects a lot of Marvel POPs; as they’re contractually obliged to be bobbleheads rather than just figures, the wire can get a little bent out of shape. It’s easier to fix at some times than others, but this one looks just plain lopsided, his head cocked to one side. And then I tried to move him for the turnaround shot and he just fell over, due to the head being so heavy. Were it a lot of other characters, I’d be pretty irritated, but it’s keeping well within my experience of disappointment with Ant-Man.    

But on to the positive. Ant-Man is a very detailed sculpt, with loads of little details captured on both the suit and on the helmet. There are a few areas of paint slop around some of the smaller details, which isn’t really surprising – but the paintwork is relatively clean, much more so than a lot of POPs I’ve owned.

There are two other versions of this POP available – the non-glow version, which looks pretty similar, except the helmet has transparent lenses and Blackout Ant-Man, which was a repaint for SDCC. Yellowjacket, the film’s villain, is also available in both regular and glow versions too. The shop assistant who sold me this guy tells me Yellowjacket’s glow is not terribly amazing. I can confirm that Ant-Man's is definitely not great, though it is novel that his shirt and eyes glow red. I've found this mediocre glow to be spread across most of the GitD POPs I've bought. But I have yet to learn my lesson and stop buying them...

This POP has not turned me into an Ant-Man fan – he still kind of sucks – but I suspect that will be a big part of the humour in the actual movie. So this POP comes recommended for fans, but is unlikely to convert you if you're anti-Ant-Man or simply on the fence. 

Funko POP! Games – Vault Boy (Fallout)

Fallout 3 was one of my favourite games throughout late 2008 and early 2009. I was going through a bit of a rough patch personally and it was an absolute lifeline at the time. Ever since, I’ve really enjoyed the series – New Vegas was hilarious fun (though I never did finish it) and I am eagerly anticipating the imminent arrival of Fallout 4.

I was quite pleased when I found out Funko had picked up the Fallout license. One of my favourite games meeting one of my favourite collectables? Should be great!

In practice the Fallout POPs are kind of a mixed bag; the male and female adventurers look great, as does the Brotherhood of Steel figure, but the Deathclaw isn’t as great. I like the Super Mutant, but feel like he should be a 6” POP (as should the Deathclaw too, really). The Feral Ghoul is fun, but it would be better if he glowed red in the dark.

Last but not least we come to Vault Boy, the subject of today’s review, isn’t actually a character in the game; rather, he’s something of a mascot for the series, both in-game and out. In the game's backstory, he’s the mascot of Vault-Tec, the company that produced the vaults which play such a central role in the game. In practice, this means he turns up in your skills menu (wearing a variety of zany outfits) and may show up on the odd bit of background scenery, like an in-game poster or something.

Though I like that Funko have done this figure, I’m not sure it’s entirely necessary. Vault Boy, after all, appears in-game as a variety of different bobbleheads -- and  a number of companies have already released real-life bobbleheads rendered in a game-accurate style. Funko has also just confirmed it will be releasing Fallout blind-boxed figures, which hew closer to the game’s art style (I must confess, I plan to order a box of them). Perhaps most curious is that they decided to sculpt him with his hands on his hips, rather than in his signature "thumbs up" pose. 

But there is also a fun variant – the Green Screen Vault Boy. What’s so special about him? Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you’ll know that I am a huge sucker for things that glow in the dark. Which this guy happens to, and so I had to have both versions of the character. It's a nice touch, actually; the glow is more relevant here than on most occasions, given how much of the Fallout series revolves around radioactivity.   

In America, this variant is a Hot Topic exclusive; in Australia he’s available from a variety of sources, including EB Games and Popcultcha. In all likelihood he’ll show up in a few other places too, though they’ve only hit stores in the last couple of days.

To summarise, Vault Boy isn’t my favourite POP -- but he does conjures up a lot of fond memories and will tide me over nicely until the game arrives.

POP! Heroes: White Lantern Batman

Company: Funko

Year: 2015

Series: POP! Heroes

I’ve mentioned before on here that between late 2006 and early 2008 was my prime time for buying comics. It was a good time to join the scene; DC had just undergone a mini-reboot with Infinite Crisis and a few key titles had relaunched at issue #1.

The seeds were being sown for the next company-wide event – Blackest Night. I dipped out of comic collecting for a variety of reasons just prior to its proper beginning, but I’ve read the odd bits and pieces of it in the years that have followed, and it was (like most of these company-wide crossovers) okay but not amazing. The backstory is far too convoluted to get into here, but let’s assume that you’re familiar-ish with Green Lantern. Remember that oath he recites when he’s charging his ring? Specifically, the line about “Blackest Night”? Well, turns out that wasn’t just some ritualistic hyperbole – Blackest Night was a prophecy of a real, and pretty horrific, event to come.   

And so came the era of the “Rainbow Lanterns” – pretty much every colour got its very own Lantern Corps, including the White Lanterns, who arose to save the DC Universe…or something. I’ve got mixed feelings about the story itself, but it did give us a few cool spins on characters – one of them being this White Lantern Batman.

It’s a repaint; as far as I can tell it’s exactly the same Batman that was released back in 2010 (even though the foot is stamped as “2014”), but with a new coat of paint and some glow-in-the-dark moulding. It’s not to my taste as an everyday look for Batman, but it’s an interesting novelty.  

However this novelty should be slightly tempered. Appropriately, given that it’s an old mould, it has some of the “Old Funko” problems too. The eyes are not quite painted properly and there is some overspill of glue on his left leg where it has been glued in. Your mileage will vary according to the figure you get of course, but make sure you check it carefully in the store.

There are currently three White Lantern POPs available – Superman, The Flash and Batman. Wonder Woman is apparently on the way too (as an SDCC Exclusive in both regular and glow in the dark form). Given that it’s a relatively easy repaint, I’d be surprised if we don’t get a few more Rainbow Lanterns in the future.

   

White Lantern Batman is not essential, but the glow-in-the-dark feature is fun. He doesn’t come highly recommended but he is a cool variant for Batman obsessives.  

Creature from the Black Lagoon Funko POP! (Glow in the Dark variant)

Series: POP! Movies

Company: Funko

Year: 2015

Late last year I reviewed Funko’s Creature from the BlackLagoon POP – it was a great figure, one of my favourite purchases of 2014. I really hoped that there would be a glow in the dark release* of him too, but I didn’t dare get my hopes too high – I’ve been burned before. But then I was browsing Popcultcha.com.au late one night and discovered that there was one in the offing. That was back in April, but he only turned up a couple of weeks ago.  

This guy is the same sculpt as the original, cast in glow in the dark plastic. This alone would have been enough to sell me on the concept. Funko have decided to go one step further though; certain details have been picked out in paint – the tongue, his nails, his stomach, some of the shading on his fins and his eyes.

The glow is very satisfying – a bright green, as might be expected. Awesomely, his box also has glow in the dark “slime” applied to the window – this is a great little touch, and I plan to keep him stored in the box most of the time for display.

The glow in the dark aspect is obviously the most appealing part of the figure, so as a standalone release, he’s a little mixed. It doesn’t really capture the iconic look of the Creature, but it does have a considerable novelty factor that supplements the first release nicely. I’m glad I got him, though I would definitely suggest that if you’re only going to get one then you should get the regular release. But for GitD obsessives like myself, it was an essential purchase.

*On the subject of variants, there’s another one which I haven’t seen in the flesh as yet – a metallic one, apparently a Gemini Collectibles exclusive. I’ll probably pass on him, as these two are enough for me, I think.   

Hulk – Avengers: Age of Ultron (POP! Marvel -- Gamma Glow variant)

Series: POP! Marvel

Year: 2015

Company: Funko

Hulk has never been one of my favourite comics characters. Visually, he’s pretty spectacular, and I appreciate that he taps into some Jekyll and Hyde archetypes and all that sort of thing, but I don’t feel like I’ve ever read a really good take on him. The Ang Lee Hulk movie was a step in the right direction (controversial as that opinion will be for some) but it lacked a good villain, which severely undermined it.

The Ultimates version was probably the most entertaining for me, as it laid a good framework for just how frightening a creature like the Hulk would actually be – unpredictable, full of rage and genuinely as dangerous to his allies as to his enemies. The regular version just seemed to be a little bit more of a sooky la-la most of the time.

Nonetheless, today we look at Funko’s take on him from the soon-to-be released Avengers: Age of Ultron. What can I say, I’m a sucker for glow in the dark stuff.

There have been a few Hulk POPs already – a comic-based one, an Avengers one (which was the comic-based one with a different paint job) and Red Hulk. There are also a few paint variations floating around there too (e.g. Compound Hulk). However, this sculpt appears to be all-new, looking bigger and buffer than his original iteration.  

No longer wearing his ripped trousers, he’s now decked out in a set of purple Avengers bike shorts.  I don’t know if this look will catch on; it doesn’t seem quite as iconic, though it does skirt the whole “how do Bruce Banner’s pants fit the Hulk” issue which is often raised.

Appropriately, the look on his face is one of rage, eyes wide open, heavy brow locked in a scowl and mouth clenched into a grimace. I tend to have mixed feelings about POPs with mouths, but in this case I think it was a good call.

The hair on top of the head is sculpted and is actually quite dense, which makes the whole figure quite top-heavy. Not a big deal on a regular POP, where the head is firmly connected to the body, but it’s a bit trickier for these Marvel ones, which are all bobbleheads. I initially had a bit of difficulty getting him to stand, and you may need to fiddle with his neck a little to get him to balance. His left foot doesn't sit flat, and I'm not sure if it's a molding fault with mine or a more widespread thing.       

There are three versions of this sculpt I’ve seen doing the rounds at the moment – the original, the glow in the dark version (which looks virtually identical) and the Savage Hulk repaint, which looks kind of like Grey/Ultimates Hulk with a severe case of conjunctivitis. I assume this is some sort of plot point in the movie, but as I haven’t seen it yet I can only speculate. All have been released in Age of Ultron packaging. As might be expected, the glow in the dark version is my pick – if you weren’t told and the lights were on I think you’d have a hard time picking it as distinct from the original. The glow is not amazing, truth be told, but considering they’re the same price you may as well go for a 2-in-1.

For Hulk fans, this is a pretty essential buy. For a more casual non-fan like myself, it’s the best Hulk POP they’ve done yet and a good addition to my small but growing collection of Marvel POPs. Additionally, it allows us to see how Hulk would fare against Thanos (probably not well, just quietly).  

Funko POP! Books – Cthulhu (Glow in the Dark variant)

Company: Funko

Year: 2015

Series: Funko POP! Books

About a month ago, I looked at the regular version of the Funko Cthulhu. The sculpt is identical, so if you want to read about that and a bit of background on Cthulhu himself, best to have a read there. I ordered this guy from Popcultcha.com.au, but it’s apparently an Entertainment Earth exclusive – at least in the States, anyway.

The only real difference is that mine had a slight chip in the nose area – the glow in the dark plastic is slightly softer than the regular plastic POPs use, so it’s entirely possible that this happened during the packing process, or even when it was pulled out of the mould. It’s not a major deal, as the different-coloured plastic mutes the details of sculptured details slightly, making it less obvious.    

Rather than the dozy expression seen on the original version, with half-closed eyes, this Cthulhu appears to have awoken from his long slumber and arisen from the deep to unleash his monstrous powers upon the earth. Presumably the glow is representative of his sinister powers, though the copy on the box doesn’t confirm or deny this. Speaking of the box, it’s identical to the original – no art changes – save for a sticker which reads “Glows in the Dark”.  Though I don’t normally keep the box, I think I will probably keep this guy boxed most of the time.  

The paint is a little on the sloppy side – especially on the mouth tentacles. The eyes are done reasonably neatly though. So overall, as with the original version of this sculpt, I have some reservations about the paint. Nonetheless, the piece is overall a fun addition to the collection. If you’re only going to get one, get the original, but I am a glow in the dark tragic and naturally had to purchase both. I'm happy with my decision.

   

Universal Monsters Funko POP – Frankenstein’s Monster (Glow in the Dark variant)

Perhaps the most iconic of all the Universal Monsters (it’s even on the logo featured on the box of these guys), Boris Karloff’s version of Frankenstein’s Monster has been a massive influence on popular culture – arguably more so than Mary Shelley’s original novel – so he was a natural shoe-in for inclusion in the Universal Monsters Funko POP range.  

Regular readers are probably aware of my predilection for glow in the dark items. I was always going to get myself a Frankenstein’s Monster from this range, but discovering that there was a glow in the dark version was the icing on the cake (currently he’s the same price as the regular version, but don’t be surprised if he ends up going for drastically more on the secondary market). One Christmas present later, and he was in my possession – thanks must go to my sisters!

The sculpt is an excellent rendition of the Monster in the cutesy Funko style, complete with all the signature elements like the bolts in the neck, the staple on the forehead and the outstretched arms. He’s a nice return to the simple style of some of the older figures, providing a nice contrast to the more intricate sculpts that have been appearing lately (though I do love some of them too).

The figure is made up of multiple pieces – one for the head, one for the neck/torso, one for the legs and separate pieces for the arms. The legs are not inserted into the torso properly, which leaves a gap around the base of his jacket. I would suggest checking yours carefully before you purchase it. As for the paint, it’s fine, but shows some traces of that Funko sloppiness around his hairline (though it is still much better than many of the older ones). Just check carefully before purchase.     

The glow effect is solid but not spectacular. Both his face and his hands glow, but as as they are cast in a fairly dark green, they seem to need a longer charging period, and they don't retain their glow for as long as other more run-of-the-mill glow items, like stars or Nightfighter RoboCop.

Overall, Frankenstein’s Monster doesn’t grab me in quite the same way as the Wolf Man and the Creature from Black Lagoon. Still, the glow in the dark aspect bumps him up a few notches, and he’s a fun addition to the collection overall. I’m curious to see if they do a “Son of Frankenstein” version in future; they could re-use the head and put a robe over the rest of the body. Another solid effort from Funko!     

Kidrobot TMNT Ooze Action (Glow in the Dark) Raphael

Company: Kidrobot

Year: 2014

Price: $15AUD

THE BACKGROUND

Kidrobot have been producing vinyl toys since 2002, and are well-known within the art/designer toy community, a scene which I know very little about myself. I’ve never bought any of their stuff previously, as it’s an aesthetic I have mixed feelings about, and I could never quite justify the price even when I did see something I liked.

 

However, I have noticed that in the last few years – and it’s quite possible it’s been going on even longer overseas – they seem to have developed a number of products at a lower price point and with greater availability, presumably to appeal to the more casual collector. I suspect this has something to do with the growing popularity of Funko, a brand that has traded on the designer vinyl aesthetic very effectively, managing to snag a huge number of licenses and bring the whole scene a little more mainstream in the process, all while doing it at a very affordable pricepoint. 

Your own thoughts on this will vary of course – as with any underground scene there are always those loath to see things become “mainstream” or to have things “ruined” by “casual fans”. I’ve had many a moan about things over the years myself! But as someone who enjoys Funko’s work, I’m pretty happy to see the style gaining wider acceptance.   

Anyway, Kidrobot recently picked up the TMNT license, and have produced a number of products based on the 1980s TV series. The shop I picked this up from also had keyrings (approx. 1”), these “Ooze Action” figures (3”) and blind-boxed figures (also 3”), which cover all of the same characters in the Ooze Action set, plus a few more. Online I've also discovered that there are 7" Bebop and Rocksteady figures, and I suspect there may be more in future. Time will tell.  

Today’s figure, Raphael, comes from the Ooze Action subset. These guys are in the same scale as the blind-boxed figures, but have slightly different paint apps – including ooze splattered on their weapons or bodies, which is depicted via glow in the dark paint. Additionally, they’re not blind-boxed, which makes it much easier to get the character/s you want. Being a huge sucker for anything glow in the dark or TMNT related, I decided that I was going to make the investment. How did that pay off for me? Well, read on to find out!

PACKAGING

I don’t often talk about the packaging much these days, but I thought this one was worth a mention. It fits with the 1980s TMNT blister packs, modernising the “green on brick” aesthetic, all printed on nice thick card with a j-hook. It’s printed with an open sewer pipe, over which the figure in its blister is positioned, as though he’s bursting out of a pipe to say hello, or attack. For a brief period I did consider keeping him MOC, but that brief period lasted only a few minutes. A second one to keep MOC would be good though…

The back of the card depicts the other characters available in this line – Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Splinter and Shredder – while also including a few lines of flavour text about the ooze, which mutated the turtles and Splinter into their current form.

However, in spite of all the character designs being clearly based on the 1980s cartoon, it uses the logo from the 2012 TV series. Not wanting to create confusion among the (presumably) younger audience that this release is targeting, perhaps?

More strangely, the text on the back of the pack specifically states “this is not a toy”. This seems a little strange – if it’s not a toy, what is it?  But perhaps this is as a legal protection against some of the safety requirements that toys need to adhere to – types of paint, sharp edges, etc.

But these curiosities aside, the packaging really enhances the overall product. It’s not essential to enjoying it, but it’s a great bonus for those who want to keep it mint.

SCULPT AND ARTICULATION

Kidrobot seem to use a base body for most of their creations, which can be seen on their rabbit-like “Dunny” and monkey-like “Munny”. Their products do cover a broader range, of course, but for the purposes of this review that’s all you need to know about.  

(Incidentally, “dunny” is Australian slang for “toilet”, so it gives me a childish little giggle every time I see Kidrobot stuff being sold around the place.)

For this range, that means all four turtles use the same body and head, with the differences coming in paint app form. Likewise, Shredder and Splinter use the same body, but have different heads. Splinter…did not turn out so well. The sculpt is not poorly done, but it just doesn’t look like Splinter – he looks more like a dog than a rat.  

Raph (and all of them) is articulated at 3 points – his neck and at both shoulders. All are cut joints, and the articulation on the arms is a little restricted due to the shell on his back. But this isn’t necessarily a minus; these figures are bought for their overall aesthetic as opposed to their Marvel Legends-esque contorting ability.

It’s a very basic, kiddie-looking thing, somewhat like a bath toy. Once upon a time, I really disliked the vinyl toy look, particularly during my prime comic buying days of 2006-2007. It seemed so pretentious – who would pay insane amounts of money for a toyish, under-articulated piece of crap?  Why not get a real action figure?

With the benefit of a little bit of exposure to stuff that was more to my taste – and a bit of general growing up on my part – I’ve come to appreciate it more. And of course, in this case the license definitely does a lot of the heavy lifting. Being inherently cartoony, the 1980s TMNT lend themselves to the aesthetic much better than say, Cthulhu does. But of course there’s a market for that too.

ACCESSORIES

Raph comes with his two sais, which are spattered with “ooze”, which is actually glow in the dark paint.  Both of these fit neatly in his hands and will stay in place, though you’ll want to consider arm and head position before clicking them in – otherwise they’ll just poke straight into his face.

PAINT

There isn’t a great deal of straight paintwork on Raphael – as far as I can see it’s restricted to his bandanna, the belt across his shell and possibly his sais. Everything else is tampographed, and they’ve done an exceptional job. Just about everything looks neat and clean, and doesn’t look likely to rub off anytime soon. However, the glow in the dark paint scratches quite easily, so be careful with it. I scraped a little bit off just by my thumbnail banging against it accidentally.

My only real disappointment is that Raph himself doesn’t glow. Given that the turtles are all primarily green, it seems like they could have done it reasonably easy – but perhaps a future series or variant/ComicCon/online only exclusive release will do this. And it’s certainly a viable project for any keen customisers out there.

OVERALL

I’m really happy to have picked Raphael up from this range. I have no real quibbles about the execution or the price, and as my perennial favourite turtle, Raph will make a fine addition to the existing TMNT collection. Nonetheless, I don’t plan on picking up any more Kidrobot TMNT anytime soon. Not because the figures are bad quality, but I collect enough stuff already and don’t want to funnel hundreds of dollars into completing a set of the blind-boxed figures – which I can definitely see myself doing, if I don’t nip it in the bud now!

But for TMNT and designer toy fans alike, these toys come highly recommended.   

Lego Monster Fighters -- The Mummy (9462)

Theme: Monster Fighters

Pieces: 90

Construction time: 15-20min

Year: 2012

RRP: $14AUD

THE BACKGROUND

Well, I’ve moved on from being fairly unimpressed with the Monster Fighters theme through to owning most of the range. Funny how that works, isn’t it? So today we look at my latest (and likely last) purchase from the range – The Mummy.   

MINIFIGURES

There are two minifigures in this set – the Mummy himself and Ann Lee. Both of them are okay, if not great. The Mummy has printing on the front of his head, chest, back and legs, but the arms are blank. He fits in well with the Pharaoh’s Quest sets, but as a standalone figure, I still prefer the Mummy from Minifigures series 3.  

Ann Lee completes my set of the Monster Fighters themselves. She’s the only female fighter among the gang, and has a similar kind of visual aesthetic – Victorian-era meets combat fatigues. Ann Lee has two printed faces – a stern, determined one, and one with more of a smirk on it. She’s got some cool little details on her, like the garlic and stakes printed on her trousers (though it won’t be much use against a Mummy, of course). But overall, I’m not really sold on her. I think my main problem is with her hair – she reuses the same hair as the Cave Woman from Minifgures series 5, but styled with a crossbow bolt instead of an arrow. It’s a good piece, and it worked fine for that character, but here it looks a little strange. Maybe they should have just given her a ponytail or something.

 

THE BUILD

There are two vehicles this set – a one-person helicopter and an Egyptian-style chariot.

Like most of the Monster Fighters vehicles, I wasn’t overly impressed with the helicopter on first glance, but it’s grown on me since. It’s got a cobbled-together look that ties in well the overall theme – the Monster Fighters are facing deadly supernatural foes with very little in the way of resources. Of the vehicles I own from the range, but it’s still kind of cool – just a little too specific to be used in other settings too, I think.    

But the real centrepiece is the Mummy’s chariot. It’s got lots of ornate little details – the golden scorpion, the moonstone, the spears put on the side of the harness, the gold horns on the front and the green “lamps” on the chariot itself. There’s a lot going on, but never so much as to overwhelm the eye.    

 

I can’t speak for how “historically accurate” it is – not very, I suspect – but it nonetheless conjures up a great pop culture idea of what an undead Ancient Egyptian chariot should look like.  

AVAILABILITY

I first saw the Monster Fighters theme in stores around Halloween 2012, and apparently they had their American release in May that year. Most of them disappeared pretty quickly from stores; Halloween isn’t that big a deal in Australia, so I suspect that most retailers didn’t order a huge amount. However, since late last year, Kmart stores have had the range popping up in larger quantities than I ever saw them during their “official” release period. I can only assume that they got a good deal with an overseas warehouse or something. Still, they’re thinning out in numbers now – if you’re keen to get this set I would suggest grabbing it ASAP.  

Apparently there are two versions of the set – initially the Mummy and the skeletal horse both glowed, but the later runs of the set have only the horse as a glowing piece. Mine appears to be from the later run, which isn’t surprising that I bought it about two years after initial release! 

OVERALL

I bought this set as a birthday present for a friend earlier this year, but I fence-sat on it for a long time for myself. However, with my recent acquisition of the Rise of the Sphinx and the Scorpion Pyramid sets, I thought the chariot would be a cool supplementary piece. Taken as part of the Monster Fighters range, it’s not my favourite set (which would probably be the Vampire Castle), but it’s a great Egyptian-styled piece and a welcome addition to the collection.