Christine Spar is actually the second incarnation of Matt Wagner's seminal Assassin turned Mob Boss turned Vigilante (after Hunter Rose). Christine took up the mantle of Grendel in the first twelve issues of Comico's 1986 Ongoing Grendel series. There have been numerous people under the mask over the years, but I think Christine Spar had a certain flair which set her apart from the rest. Her original 12-issue run in the 80's was reprinted several times; First as collected edition in 1989, then as a newly-recolored miniseries (from Dark Horse) in 2001, then as a second Collected edition of the updated work. I tried my hardest to find the release date of this action figure. The closest I could find was an article announcing its future release dated December 1999. The Big Blast action figures were a great line of 8" collector toys featuring such indie great as Madman, Mage, Hellboy, The Spirit, and Grendel (both Hunter Rose and Christine Spar).
Here are some in-package pics swiped from an online auction. Note all her accessories, and Unmasked head, a 2-pronged spear staff, an extra forearm, and a "dangling" mask for her to hold.
She's a very tall and elongated figure, but it kind of suits the art of the comics.
I'm not the biggest fan of her unmasked face, mostly because I feel that it looks a little smooshed. But again, it really reflects the way she was originally drawn.
Here is the cover of Grendel #1 from 1986 and the 2004 recolored collected edition from Dark Horse Comics.
I much prefer her masked look. This is an all-around great figure of a classic character in modern comics. Her lankiness makes her a little awkward to pose or stand, but she looks very cool and is a great addition to any indie character collection.
Time for Group Shot!
Cheers!
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