Superman: The Animated Series - SUPERGIRL!

The New Batman Adventures: Girls Night Out - Supergirl - DC Collectibles 2017

I was never much a fan of all the Timm-verse shows when they first aired. I was going through a weird too-cool-for-school phase where I would only read manga and watch vintage cartoons. It wasn't until I was much older that I really appreciated the cultural impact and Timm's unique character design. It also doesn't hurt that my better half happens to be a big childhood fan of BTAS & TNBA so the shows became a natural connection to all my adult hobbies. It's hard to be with someone who is totally detached from your obsessions, so I eagerly dove into all these cartoons as a saving grace. Of all the shows, I'm least familiar with Superman: The Animated Series, but I love how it recharged interest in Supergirl and Lois Lane (and not to mention introducing Livewire). It's nice how they are committing to the Superman Universe now. We already know that Superman and Lois Lane are coming this Summer, so this set adds an additional two characters to the lineup. Let's check out Supergirl below!

Marvel Legends - ANGELA!

Marvel Legends - Guardians of the Galaxy: Titus Series - Angela - Hasbro 2017

I would have never guessed I would be so excited about an Angela action figure in 2017. Way back in 1993 I was up to my neck in all the new Image Comics titles. I loved them all, but I'll admit my least favorite was Spawn. I was very artist-focused and although McFarlane beat them all in terms of excessive details, flowing capes and flying chains, I really didn't like the way he drew faces. I still read Spawn for the first few years though and was eagerly awaiting the first appearance of Angela (who I think I saw teased in Wizard). She was created by McFarlane and Neil Gaiman. I was pretty young for Gaiman at the time and I was convinced reading Sandman would make me turn evil. But the issue finally came along and I was really disappointed. I loved the concept of her character, but her design was the epitome of everything I disliked about 90's heroines: domino mask eyepaint, "armor" with all the soft bits exposed, oversized weapons, and gravity-defying hair. I would have written her off as another tragic blip

3.75" Marvel Legends - ALL-NEW WOLVERINE!

Marvel Legends 3.75" Series - Wave 4 - X-23 Wolverine - Hasbro 2017

Back in 2004 I was a big fan of the comic series NYX. I had been fascinated by Joshua Middleton's art since I picked up Sky Between Branches and was readily buying any title he lent his talents to. The book was a weird and fresh take on the X-universe and I was very surprised that the breakout star was X-23, the mute disturbed and murderous young prostitute. It took me a long time to warm up to her character. In fact, it wasn't until the recent All-Star Wolverine series that I truly embraced her. It took a while, but when I fall, I fall hard. She is in my top five Marvel heroes right now. Plus I just came back from seeing Logan tonight and she positively owned that movie. Hopefully she keeps the mantle of Wolverine for a long time. The classic costume looks great on her. I know Logan will come back and resume his role eventually, but my fingers are crossed for a 6" Legends figure of Laura before he does. In the meantime, we got this pretty great 3.75" figure to tide us over. Let's check her out below!

POP DC Super Heroes - NEW 52 POISON IVY!

POP! Heroes #171 - DC New 52 Poison Ivy - Hot Topic Exc - Funko 2017

Of all the main Batman-family women, Poison Ivy is the one that most often gets forgotten in the merchandising department. Until the recent DC Superhero Girls figure, it had been almost ten years since the last action figure of her was in the mainstream stores (from The Batman), which in turn was the first in almost ten years (since the Batman & Robin movie).  Of course comic shops got a decent amount of specialty figures in those years, but poor Pamela just didn't get the same exposure as the rest. Funko has definitely been doing their part to right that wrong though. In the past three years they've released nine Poison Ivy collectibles in almost every product line from their portfolio. The newest is this surprise New 52 Poison Ivy Pop exclusive to Hot Topic. Much like the New 52 Harley last year, word about this Pop hit at the same time she showed up in stores. I love that kind of instant gratification. I saw a post on Facebook and I had her in my greedy hands 30 minutes later. Let's check her out below!

Power Rangers - 12" PINK & YELLOW RANGERS!

Power Rangers 12" Movie Figures - Pink & Yellow Rangers - Bandai 2017

This is the first time I've been able to get two 12" female Rangers from the same line. The Pink Dino Charge figure was always elusive to me, so I only ever got the Purple. Now the Ninja Steel 12" figures seem to be devoid of females (at least of the four characters shown so far). So despite my hesitations to tumble down the rabbit hole with all the Power Rangers movie merchandise, I just couldn't resist these two figures when they were released right off the bat.  If you're into this scale, they're pretty great. They have only seven points of articulation: swivel hips, shoulders, and wrists, and ball-jointed heads. The hips looks like they might have a ball joints, but they do not. Also, my pictures don't show them off too well, but they have metallic "starry" stickers on their chests. The effect is cool, but the execution looks a little cheap (as stickers often do). But overall I love having them in my collection. Let's check out the 12" Pink and Yellow Rangers movie figures below!

Power Rangers - PINK & YELLOW LEGACY FIGURES!

Power Rangers 6" Legacy Movie Figures - Pink & Yellow Ranger - Bandai 2017

It's great how the Power Rangers are back in such a big way this year. I can't think of a time when they didn't have a presence in the toy aisles, but right now it's kind of insane. This of course is due to all the movie merchandise. The Power Rangers film hits theatres here in the US in three short weeks and it looks to be a pretty fun interpretation of the classic MMPR. I don't know if I'll get a chance to see it before home release, but I'm going to try. I expected these 6" Legacy figures to see a wide release, so I was really surprised to see them at TRU with an "Only at Toys R Us" sticker on them. Honestly though, that exclusivity is what made me pick them up. I had made up my mind to not be a completist with the movie lines, but apparently a little sticker and a pretty figure is enough to weaken my resolve. (I've been doing this on a weekly basis lately). But I must admit I love having these figures lined up in all their available scales (still need the 2" ones though!) Let's check out the Legacy figure below!

Guardians of the Galaxy Animated NEBULA!

Guardians of the Galaxy (Animated TV Series) - Wave 02 - Nebula - Hasbro 2017

The flood of Guardians of the Galaxy merchandise has officially arrived. Walgreens has been stocking the Marvel Legends figures for weeks, Target has an entire endcap dedicated to the team, comic shops have the Mini-Mates, and Hot Topic has a bunch of Pops and Pint Size Heroes. One of the things I was most excited about (aside from the second wave of Marvel legends with the Build-a-Figure Mantis) was this animated style 5" Nebula figure. Her absence from the action figure lines three years ago was very conspicuous. Sure we got some Nebula Funko items and a mini-mate, but there were no true movie-themed action figures. But now we have this cool 5" animated-style figure and an upcoming Marvel Legends (and perhaps they'll sneak in a MiniVerse figure while they're at it). In fact, I'm hoping the movie popularity will create ripples and give us exclusive comic versions of Nebula and Mantis like we got with Gamora. I can dream. Let's check out the animated-style Guardian of the Galaxy Nebula below!

True Heroes: Sentinel 1 - BLINDSIDE!

True Heroes: Sentinel 1 - Smash & Blindside 2-Pack - TRU/Geoffrey LLC 2017

I have a lot of obsessive compulsive qualities. For your sanity, I'll only mention the toy-related ones here. Many years ago I got the idea in my head that the "True Heroes" TRU G.I-Joe knock-off brand would eventually have to introduce a female character. In my mind, this was a certainty. Since then I have checked the military aisle every single time I've gone into the store (which is at least twice a week). FYI I also have made the same search for a random toy on Yahoo Auction Japan every day for about 10 years (I have serious issues). These obsessions almost never pay off, but last week I found this little two-pack with what I believe is the first ever female Sentinel 1 character, Blindside. These figures are cheap with minimal articulation (like the Chap Mei Discovery Channel figures), but I still think she's really cool. Years ago the True Legends line had a Medusa figure that was pretty cool too. Of course now, my obsession is not itched, but rather teased. I'll be eagerly hunting the next one now.