POP! Heroes (NYCC 2016 Exclusive) – Classic Batgirl

Batgirl occupies a strange place in the DC canon. Though she’s extremely high profile from a merchandising perspective, the classic character that you tend to think of when the word “Batgirl”is said didn’t really exist for 20+ years. Instead, Barbara Gordon was occupying the role of Oracle after the events of The Killing Joke, back in the late 1980s.

Nonetheless, merchandise is a power driver…so waaaaay back in 2010 when POPs were first debuting, Batgirl was one of the first DC girls produced. Which is very cool, but she’s no longer in production (though the mould is still being used) and now sells for an obscene amount of money on the aftermarket. So good luck getting hold of one! More recently there’s been a “Batgirl of Burnside” POP produced, which is a great look – but I haven’t read the comics it’s based on, and it’s not really the classic look that I tend to prefer for my POP shelf.  

This costume is based on her original costume, apparently, it’s also quite similar to one of her New 52 costumes, sans armour plating. It’s not really a familiar look to me – by the time I was really old enough to be reading comics, Barbara had been turned into Oracle, so that’s how I’ve kind of always known her. And when I did come across the odd reprint or compilation that featured Batgirl, it was almost inevitably the gray/blue suit. That said, it’s a really stylish look, and makes sense in light of the whole…well, Bat thing.

The paint is adequate, but not perfect. It's reminiscent of Funko's mid-period work -- not totally sloppy, but definitely not amazing, either. Still, it looks decent at a distance. Also, she doesn't stand all that well on her own -- but she does come with a stand, so that's good. In my case, she'll be staying in the box so it becomes a bit of a moot point anyway.   

This POP is an NYCC exclusive, but I had a lot less trouble getting hold of Batgirl than I did any of last year’s SDCC (stupid rare flocked Wolfman!) or NYCC exclusives. Popcultcha’s website didn’t seem to crash, and my local bookstore had plenty of these available. How long they’ll last is anyone’s guess – but in Sydney at least, certain POPs seem to hang round for months afterwards.   

That said, if you miss out – don’t panic. Given that the original’s no longer around, I will be very surprised if we don’t get this mould in grey and blue in the near future as a regular release. Which I may also have to pick up…  

Guest Review: THE BEYOND at The Robot's Pajamas

Since 2014, The Robot's Pajamas has been running Horror Month each October -- the basic theme being that in the lead-up to Halloween, they publish a review of a horror film each day of the month.

Now regular readers might...just might...have noticed that I'm quite fond of horror. So when they put out the call back in 2014, I decided to volunteer my services, and contributed a review of Creature From the Black Lagoon, which you can read here should you feel so inclined. 

I missed 2015, but I've returned for this year with a review of The Beyond -- an weird Italian classic from 1981, recommended for gore aficionados and H.P. Lovecraft fans. It's quite a...different experience. To find out more, just click to read my full review.

Hope you enjoy it -- and have a look around The Robot's PJs site as well. If you like my site, you'll probably love theirs.

Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 3: Elvira

Horror hosts aren’t really a thing over here in Australia, but it seems there was a time where every local TV station in the USA had one of their own. Typically serving as campy gateway figures to introduce audiences to crappy old horror and sci-fi films, in many cases they’re more entertaining than the actual films they were hosting. A handful went on to become international celebrities, like Vampira – though to be fair, a lot of that really had to do with her work with Ed Wood. 

But probably the best-known to horror fans the world over is the subject of today’s review – Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Until I sat down to write this review I’d never watched any of her stuff, but I was familiar with her by reputation. But a couple of YouTube videos confirmed pretty much what I expected – silly comments about the films being shown, bad puns and double entendres. But she does it with more style and panache than many of her host contemporaries; I do plan to check her film, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, out at some point.

Elvira has made the transition to Mystery Mini in a much better form than Slimer. With her signature beehive, high-cut dress and risqué top, there’s no doubt about who this is. They’ve even managed to tatter her sleeves in the sculpt! Additionally, little touches like the detailed eye makeup and fingernails clearly demonstrate that Funko is quite capable of doing good paintwork – it’s just a shame that more of it doesn’t find its way to their POPs.  

Speaking of which, Elvira does have a POP on the way soon too; I’m torn as to whether it will make 

its way into my collection as yet, but it does look well-executed.

Overall, I have no real complaints about Elvira as a figure. My only issue with her lies in her rarity, or lack thereof. She’s a 1/6 figure, which means there’s two of her in each case. I think this is a little excessive, and it’s a bummer that as a result some other figures that might otherwise have been 1/12 – Imhotep, for instance – have been pushed to 1/24. But Funko’s rarity works in mysterious ways; hopefully there will be a better breakdown for series 4.  

Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 3: Slimer

Today we take a look at a new release from Funko – Series 3 of the Horror Classics Mystery Minis have hit the shelves, and this time I decided to kind of avoid the whole kerfuffle of searching in-store for individual figures by just ordering a box.

There’s been some interesting choices of characters this time, with the emphasis heavily on classic/retro horror – only Twisty the Clown (American Horror Story: Freak Show) and Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) are from media released in the last twenty years.

But Slimer is possibly the most curious inclusion; Ghostbusters is a horror film, I guess, but something about this doesn’t seem quite right. He didn’t do a whole lot in the original movie, but he was a pretty focal point in the cartoon spin-off, which was very much geared towards kids. I liked it when I was young, but I’m sure it would drive me up the wall these days. Still, I guess it’s cool to see them going for left-of-field choices.

So, basically this is Slimer, but Mystery Minified. You can tell it’s him, but it does feel oddly generic, like a knock-off rather than an official product. Maybe that’s because we’re only seeing him in isolation, rather than with, say, the Librarian Ghost or a Stay Puft Man. Maybe future series will correct this? 

In spite of this somewhat generic feel, Funko have obviously put a lot of care into him. His slimy base is a separate piece, cast in translucent plastic rather than just making him all one colour. The paint apps on his teeth and tongue are nicely executed too. Also, his but is oddly detailed – was the original puppet like that? I can’t remember, but it is oddly fitting for the character.

I was kind of...bummed out...that this figure wasn't better

Overall? Not bad, but I’d be disappointed if I’d picked him out of a blind box solo. The other figures in this series are great, and Slimer suffers by comparison as a result. For my US readers, there is a Hot Topic exclusive version of this series, and the Slimer in that set glows in the dark. It’s a shame they didn’t make this standard, but at least it wasn’t something ridiculous like a 1/72 chase or something. Glow makes everything cooler, and I imagine it’s no exception for this figure.

POP! Movies -- Freddy Krueger

Series: POP! Movies

Company: Funko

Year: 2011

Freddy Krueger – in a world of mute murderers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface, he stands out as one of the most distinctive villains from the slasher era. I mean, Pinhead has a bit to say for himself, but he's distinctly less...amusing...in the process. 

More than 30 years after his cinematic debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street, he’s still incredibly popular. He may not have had a film in the cinemas for a while, but the plethora of Freddy merch littering the shelves suggests that there’s still a substantial fanbase out there. Will we see Robert Englund play him again? Probably not, but the character lives on nonetheless.   

Though this figure was released under the Nightmare on Elm Street banner, this is not Freddy from the first film. His appearance has remained pretty consistent over the years, but has undergone a few subtle adjustments over the years. I would guess that this is based on the third or fourth film, based on reference images online. Maybe Freddy Vs Jason? Others more familiar with the character will have to make that call.

Considering how early this figure came in Funko’s run of POPs, it’s surprising how excellent it looks. The fedora also appears to be a solid piece, which gives the whole thing a nice weight. The paint could definitely be better, but the main area you’ll notice an issue is the left hand, which is a totally different colour to his scarred face. Perhaps it’s a more realistic take on burns damage, but it looks weird and incongruous in this format.

As a side note, the box depicts Freddy with painted eyebrows, but while the sculpt includes them, they’ve been left unpainted. I think was a better decision, as the “real” Freddy doesn’t have any. Also, pick your figure carefully in-store – the claws on his right hand are frequently a bit warped. It’s probably fixable with the hot water and ice trick, but I haven’t tried it myself.   

Freddy isn't the only horror villain with large claws.

There is a variant available too – a glow-in-dark one. Though I was fortunate enough to stumble on the Jason Voorhees variant in the wild, I suspect you’ll have a tougher time tracking down the Freddy one, unless of course you’re willing to pay crazy eBay prices. There's also been a syringe-fingers version of the character to -- this is apparently from a scene the third film. It's an interesting take, but not really as iconic as some of his other looks. 

Of all of the big horror villains, I’m probably the least familiar with Freddy Krueger. I’ve seen the first and second Nightmare on Elm Street films, Freddy Vs Jason and the 2010 remake – but with the possible exception of Freddy vs Jason, none of them are really representative of the popular image of the character as the sinister wise-cracking sadist. Nonetheless, the first film is a slasher classic, and indeed much better than some of its peers and predecessors. I’m sure I’ll get to the other films eventually, but in the interim still Freddy deserves his spot on my horror shelf. 

POP! Movies – Leatherface

Series: POP! Movies

Company: Funko

Year: 2011/2012?

More than forty years after its release, there’s not a lot left to be said about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, so here’s the basic recap: it was wildly controversial on release, marketed as being based on a true story and served as a granddaddy to the whole slasher film genre. Since then, there’s been several more movies in the series, spanning sequels, prequels and remakes. Their quality has varied wildly, as might be expected – but the fact that you’re reading this article suggests that you’re probably familiar with a lot of this stuff anyway.

Today we’re looking at the POP of the series’ most iconic villain, Leatherface. Leatherface and his freakish Sawyer family were inspired by the macabre real-life antics of Ed Gein, a man from Wisconsin whose crimes horrified America when they were discovered in the mid-1950s. Known as a bit of an odd fellow and loner, it turned out he was far more sinister than anyone would have expected – his hobbies included grave robbing, murder and making various items out of body parts, including masks*.

Leatherface wears three different masks in the film, but the POP depicts his “Killing Mask”, which is probably the most iconic. It seems he didn’t do a great job tanning it, though – there’s big gaps around the eyes and mouth, and the whole thing has a shrivelled, yellow look. It’s a stark contrast to the other two masks he wears, which were more naturalistic and as a result somewhat more disconcerting when they appear onscreen.

His outfit is basically a butcher’s one – yellow apron, collared shirt and a black tie – though instead of some knives, he’s carrying a yellow chainsaw. Gunnar Hansen, who portrayed Leatherface in the film, was a big guy, and the chainsaw looks almost comically small in some scenes – Funko has replicated this effect quite nicely here, without it looking weird, as can sometimes happen when they try and merge their stylised look with real-world proportions.

Now there is a variant available too – a bloody version, rather than a glow-in-dark one. It does look cool, but it’ll set you back a pretty penny. My suggestion would be to simply buy a regular one and add your own “blood” with paint if you find it necessary.

And on that note, paint is a bit of a mixed bag. His face and hair are well executed, but you’ll want to check carefully to make sure there’s not a ton of slop around the actual chainsaw. A minor nit is that the tie should have a white stripe on it to be screen-accurate, but its absence isn’t the end of the world. Additionally, it’s not unusual for the chainsaw to be warped in the box; you can probably straighten it with the hot water and ice trick though.

So overall? Well, I’m not the world’s biggest Texas Chain Saw Massacre fan. The years and thousands of movies that have followed in its wake have defanged it somewhat – modern audiences watching it are just as likely to be bored as they are to be frightened or disgusted. However, it still has its share of disconcerting moments, and I can appreciate its importance to horror history. Leatherface is a bona fide horror icon, and thus he’s a worthy addition to my rapidly expanding horror POP shelf. He’s well-executed (ha!) and should please fans of the character.  

*Ed Gein also served as a loose inspiration for Buffalo Bill from Silent of the Lambs, Norman Bates from Psycho and numerous others. Slayer wrote a song about him on their Seasons in the Abyss album too, called – appropriately enough – "Dead Skin Mask".  

Lego Minifigures Series 16 (Part 1 of 4)

Well, rather tragically I never actually finished reviewing Series 15 -- I will have to get to that at some point, because it was an excellent series -- and I skipped the Disney minifigs entirely.

But here we are now, already in September and series 16 now hitting shelves in Sydney. I have mixed feelings about this series; everything from 12-15 was excellent, and while this certainly isn't a bad series, I'm a little less enthused about it. I felt similarly about series 10 though, and in hindsight that was a really good release. But let's kick things off!

Cute Little Devil

Following on from the Monsters theme of Series 14, the Cute Little Devil could easily be the younger brother of Skeleton Guy from that series. He's carrying a trick or treat basket in the shape of a jack o' lantern, and carrying a devil-appropriate pitchfork. It's a good nod to the movie Problem Child, which I remember enjoying as a kid but has probably not aged all that well. Still, maybe we can hope for a pseudo-Bow Tie Killer in the next series too.




Spooky Boy

Here's the Emo boy companion to the Spooky Girl released back in series 12 in 2014. His design matches her well but he looks like a total sad case in contrast to her cool and reserved demeanour. Also, I've long loathed the stylings of bands like My Chemical Romance and The Used, so that's a big strike against him from my perspective. Still, the print on his pants could be repurposed for some kind of metal or punk custom figure.

Spy 

Though I'm not super-enamoured with the other two figures I've mentioned, this is probably my least favourite figure in the series. Not the concept; I like the idea of a spy figure, and the print on the body is good -- but the execution of the goggles is off; they attach directly to his hairpiece, but in a weird way that doesn't actually lock in properly. Still, he's quite distinctive in that he's carrying a somewhat-realistic gun.

Mariachi

Strumming up a storm, the Mariachi is easily the most fun minifigure in this review. He's a great concept, and lends himself to buying multiples -- that way you can have a whole serenade thing going on for one of your minfigure couples. Maybe even the Spooky Boy and Spooky Girl, though I don't think they'd really go for that sort of style.







Well, that's part 1 done -- look out for parts 2 through 4 coming soon!