McFarlane Toys DANGER GIRL Series!

J. Scott Campbell's Amazing Trio in a Great 1999 Release from McFarlane Toys

The Nineties were a difficult time for comics fans.  There was decade's worth of painful, yet necessary transition that we all waded through in one way or another.  On the positive side, creator-owned comics and independent companies finally became major players; paper and color quality skyrocketed; and diversity in the types of comics on the market exploded. On the negative side, prices rose drastically; cheesy gimmicks overshadowed story/art quality (holographic prismatic glow-in-the-dark polybagged-with-collectible-card nonsense); most titles took on an awkwardly forced "extreme" tone (overly sexualized and overly violent); and overall comics just became very difficult to read.  At this time, I turned most of my attention to Dark Horse and VIZ comics who were steadily translating some amazing Manga titles and my distaste for what was happening to my beloved characters over in superhero

Eaglemoss Chess HUNTRESS Revealed!

DC Chess Collection #21 White Rook - from Eaglemoss Publications

I'm loving Eaglemoss these days!  I just bought the Poison Ivy piece last week and I'm getting very excited to collect all the bat-ladies together.  This time last year there were rumors of the line getting the axe; pre-orders being cancelled; uncertainty of how the DC reboot would affect merchandising; and just general doom and gloom about the whole series.  But now we've seen solicit pics for about 2/3 of the pieces and about 1/3 are actually in the stores.  While I am sad that we won't be getting Oracle or Stephanie Brown Batgirl, the excellent Babs Batgirl and the rumored upcoming Black Bat help ease the pain.  I love the look of this Huntress.  I was never the biggest fan of the previous Eaglemoss Huntress (although she was still amazing.. see pics here and here), but this figure makes up for her in spades.  She looks sexy, tough, and no-nonsense.  She should be on the shelves in November.

Vintage Goodness: The Women of M.A.S.K.!

Vanessa Warfield and Gloria Baker in all their 80's Glory from Kenner

For me, the 1980's are defined by toys and cartoons.  I was seven years old when all the 80's greats were at their prime.  M.A.S.K. was right in there with the best and was extremely popular for a few years between 1985-1988.  We had quite a few figures and vehicles around the house (mostly my brothers' however) and I have very fond memories.  At the time M.A.S.K. was created, it was presented as a sort of hybrid between G.I.Joe and Transformers.  The basic premise was two opposing forces (M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M.) each had a team of drivers/pilots who had transforming vehicles.  Like a motorcycle that transforms into a one-man helicopter, or a racecar that pops out some fins and becomes a speedboat.  The drivers all had intricate masks that enabled them to control these vehicles.  It was pretty genius and had some great characters and awesome toys.

Character Spotlight on BATGIRL (CASSANDRA CAIN)

A Darker, More Deadly Batgirl Than We Ever Expected!

In 1999, nearly 10 years after Barbara Gordon was paralyzed by the Joker, the mantle of Batgirl was taken up by this very unique young girl.  Cassandra Cain is the daughter of the assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva.  She was raised with no reading or writing skills, just combat.  Her only language was body language and her dependency on subtleties and instincts as her sole form of communication made her an extremely deadly assassin.  She came into contact with Oracle and Batman during the No Man's Land storyline and was eventually adopted into the Batman family as the new Batgirl.  I was a latecomer to the Cass bandwagon.  It wasn't until near the end of her 10-year run as Batgirl that I began to appreciate her.  I liked the personal obstacles she had to overcome; a murderous lineage (and personal history); a severe communication handicap; and struggles with teamwork.  Plus I love that her Eurasian heritage added some much-needed racial diversity to the Bat-universe.

Two CATWOMAN Mez-Itz!

Both Movie and Comic Version Collectible Block Figures from Mezco

I swore a long time I would never buy any cutesy, Super-Deformed, Urban/Vinyl toys.  They weren't "serious" enough for me and they just looked silly.  Years later I have a small shelf dedicated to these little monsters.  Kubricks, Mini-Mates, SHS, Blammoids, Cosbabies, Lego, and Funko Pop have invaded my heroic world and I don't think I will ever look back.  I even made room for Imaginext, Little People, and Polly Pocket.. what is the world coming to??  My one caveat is that they have to be small, I don't want giant looming marshmallow men peppered throughout my collection.  Because of this, Mez-itz were off my radar until they introduced their Mini line of 2-inch figures.  These two Catwomen are my first Mez-Itz and I must admit I am won over.

DC Collectibles Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN Bust!

Movie-Accurate Likeness of Anne Hathaway on a Mini-Bust from DC Collectibles

I love collecting Catwoman Busts.  Of all the DC females, Selina has had the most distinctive and differentiating looks from era to era.  If I had a collection of Wonder Woman busts, you know almost all of them would be the traditional longstanding star-spangled red, blue, and gold.  Catwoman, however, keeps reinventing her appearance every few years, yet there is never any doubt who she is.  Ears and skin-tight suits provide more successful variations than I ever dreamed imaginable.  It's kind of amusing that when I heard that Anne Hathaway was cast as Selina Kyle in DKR, one of my first thoughts was "Awesome! They'll definitely make a bust of that!" ..and I had the same thought when I read rumors of a Catwoman solo movie yesterday (Hopefully with an updated costume if it happens).  I have my fingers crossed that the same marketing logic that brought us the Reeves Superman, Carter Wonder Woman, and Keaton Batman busts will someday provide me with Pfeiffer and Newmar Catwomen.  This DKR Bust marks the 5th Catwoman bust in the DC Direct/Collectibles roster, and I'm sure it's not the last.

Eaglemoss Chess HARLEY QUINN Revealed!

DC Chess Collection #17 Black Queen - from Eaglemoss Publications

I'm glad to have some non-Catwoman woman news this month!  The DC Comics Chess collection is going strong and I'm really excited to see the sculpts of all the upcoming figures.  Just revealed this past weekend were Bane, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Mr. Freeze, Nightwing, Scarecrow, and Ra's Al Ghul.  I'm eagerly awaiting the pieces for Batwoman, Huntress, and Black Bat to be solicited.  I have the Catwoman and Batgirl pieces already and they are great additions to any bat-family collection (I'll review them shortly).  I should note that in the magazines shipped with those first two figures of mine, there is a thumbnail image of Cassandra Cain as Black Bat shown on the chessboard of upcoming pieces.  The image is just a panel from a comic book, but it's exciting news for Cass fans.

Target Exclusive Dark Knight Rises 4" CATWOMAN!

DKR "Battle for Gotham City" Target-Exclusive 5-Pack Catwoman from Mattel

This little beauty totally snuck up on me.  I recently moved and have been suffering all the typical move-related traumas:  my toys are packed away, I was without internet for weeks, and I can't find my razor anywhere.  The internet guy finally came Saturday morning (albeit with the wrong modem) and I was finally able to catch up on things I had missed in the previous weeks.  CoolToyReview had a post featuring a sneak-peek image of the Target Exclusive DKR 5-Pack.  The article was focusing on the Stealth Batman figure as a possible plot spoiler (which I'm skeptical about), but I was blown away by the cool-looking Catwoman figure off to the side.  Monday at work I made plans to hit three Targets on my lunch hour, and luckily I found the set on my second stop.  They had about eight sets on the shelf and I spent some time picking a decent paint job, but I'm very happy with this surprise figure.