Marvel Legends - ASHLEY BARTON SPIDER-GIRL!

Spider-Man Legends - Venom Series - Web-Slinging Heroines - Hasbro 2016

I'm still reeling over Marvel's 2014 Spider-Verse storylines. I've always been a fan of Spider-Man, but this event - which brought together dozens of Spider-People from countless dimensions - just made me obsessed. In one Summer we were introduced to both Silk and Spider-Gwen and saw them in storylines with Anya Corazon, Mayday Parker, Lady Spider, and many others. Aside from Gwen and Cindy though, the character I was most intrigued by was Ashley Barton. In her world, she is the granddaughter of Peter Parker and daughter of Clint Barton Hawkeye. I don't know too much about her but she reminds me a lot of the Huntress over in the Batman Universe. She's a little violent (she beheaded Kingpin), she doesn't follow orders, and she has a sexual vibe that none of her peers really exude. Plus I think her costume is perfect in its simplicity. I'm frankly shocked we got a toy of her, and a stunning toy at that. They really captured that combination of feminine wiles and testy attitude. Let's check her out below!

Masters of the Universe Classics - DESPARA!

MOTUC Collector's Choice - Despara - Mattycollector Exclusive - Mattel 2016

I really enjoy all the He-Man comics that have been coming out over the past few years. The Eternity War series was especially good. But as much as I enjoy them, I'm a purist at heart and I always prefer the original cartoons as far as design and storylines go. However, one thing I always thought was silly in the original She-Ra animation was the design of Force Captain Adora. For someone living as the 'daughter' of her kidnapper Hordak and acting as a leader for a squad of Horde Troopers, she sure did look pretty and nice. The DC Masters of the Universe comics changed this up in a 2012 digital issue and portrayed her as Despara, a ruthless military leader with a frightening mask to tie appearance her to Hordak. I loved this revisionist twist. This figure is the subscription exclusive for the Collector's Choice sub and is one of the last MOTUC females we'll see before production switches to Super7 in 2017. It should be interesting to what the future holds for this line. Let's check out Despara below!

Batman Returns CATWOMAN Dorbz!

Batman Returns - SDCC / GameStop Exclusive Dorbz 3-Pack - Funko 2016

I just can't get enough Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman toys in my life. I'm thinking the 25th Anniversary of Batman Returns in 2017 is playing a big part in the recent burst of products. The Mini Mez-Itz and upcoming NECA 1:4 scale figures join this surprise SDCC Exclusive Dorbz set to really bolster our Pfeiffer collections. (I'm still waiting on a mini-bust though!) This three pack was a shared Summer Exclusive between SDCC and GameStop. I heard that most GameStop stores only got one or two sets, but they were available on GameStop.com on SDCC Preview Night so hopefully everyone was able to snag a set if they wanted it. I'm becoming very addicted to Funko's secondary product lines like Rock Candy and Dorbz and I'm already eager for the NYCC exclusives. Since Funko products have a knack for making me appreciate underwhelming costumes, I'd love to see their take on a Batman & Robin Alicia Silverstone Batgirl. Fingers crossed that we'll get her! Let's check out this Catwoman Dorbz below!

Miraculous - LADYBUG & MARINETTE!

Miraculous - Action Figures Series 01 - Ladybug & Marinette - Bandai 2016

We are in the middle of a revolution of female-led action properties and toylines. The I Am Elemental Kickstarter got the ball rolling last Summer. Then DC Superhero Girls burst onto the scene this Spring. Then Ghostbusters flooded the shelves. And next year Mysticons will be sure to be a hit. But right now we're seeing the first figures for a lesser-known but very cool property called Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Miraculous is a French CGI-animated series following the adventures of Marinette, a young fashion designer and her male model crush Adrien who fight crime as Ladybug and Cat Noir. The first season began in December 2015 here in the US (on Nickelodeon) and I believe seasons 2 and 3 are already completed and airing in foreign markets. I've seen about 6 episodes (last night!) and I really like it. Hopefully this action figure line continues because there are a lot of cool characters I would love to see in my collection. Let's check out Ladybug and her secret identity Marinette below!

Rock Candy - HARLEY QUINN (New 52)!

DC Comics - Rock Candy - Summer Exclusive - Harley Quinn - Funko 2016

When DC launched the New 52 back in 2011, I was left with a lot of conflicting emotions. On the positive side, some of my favorites like Barbara Gordon Batgirl, Amethyst, and Hawk & Dove were all making comebacks. But on the negative side were some really unfortunate costume changes. Some, like Poison Ivy's, really grew on me after a while, but this red and blue ill-fitting corset with clown collar and thigh-high socks is just about the most ridiculous outfit I've even seen on Harley. (Yet somehow it looks pretty cute on a Rock Candy). She only wore this in the 2011 Suicide Squad series which lasted about 30 issues and for the first few issues of New Suicide Squad in 2014 before it got phased out in favor of her Rollergirl costume. Funko made some good choices with their Summer Exclusives this year. Neither this costume nor the Purple Catwoman are iconic enough to be absolute must-haves for collectors, but they are really fun if you have the resources to hunt them down. Let's check her out below!

Rock Candy - CATWOMAN (Purple Suit)!

DC Comics - Rock Candy - Summer Exclusive - Catwoman - Funko 2016

I've never been a huge fan of the 1990's Purple-suited Jim Balent Catwoman. I didn't like much about superhero comics at all in the 90s and even a favorite character of mine like Selina wasn't an exception. I felt that her constantly gritted teeth, oversized chest, and impractical mane of hair was just silly. The gray catsuit that preceded it and the Darwyn Cooke version that succeeded it were two of my favorites, but the purple one always made me wince. That said, I think this SDCC/Hot Topic exclusive is too cute for words. I'm now a big fan of these Rock Candy figures. They don't really fit in with my collection, but that's never stopped me before - although I'm strictly limiting myself to Bat-family characters for real estate reasons. I expected these SDCC/Summer Exclusives to be impossible to find. But I was able to preorder one for myself easily, and then this afternoon I went into my Hot Topic and they had 5 or 6 of her. Hopefully all my future hunts go so smoothly. Let's check out Catwoman below!

3.75" Marvel Legends - ROGUE!

Marvel Legends 3.75" Series - Wave 3 - Rogue - Hasbro 2016

Rogue's popularity really exploded in the early 90s during the Jim Lee run on Uncanny X-Men and the success of the X-Men The Animated Series. Her sultry relationship with Gambit suddenly highlighted her sex appeal and she became a supermodel right along with Psylocke and Storm. However, I was never too taken with this interpretation of her. I liked the moody, conflicted girl whose power alienated her from her peers. I also love characters that start out as bad guys and have a rocky beginning before joining the good fight (think She-Ra, Spider-Woman, Cassandra Cain, etc). This figure represents Rogue in her mid-1980's John Romita Jr design. Her costumes in the 80s were ever-changing and rarely lasted more than a few issues, but they always retained the same color scheme and protective black body suit underneath. To me this is a very classic Rogue looks that I wish we would see in a 6" scale. But in the meantime I'm happy with this newest addition to the 3.75" line. Let's check her out below!

Character Spotlight on SNOWBIRD!

A Collection of Alpha Flight's Most Mysterious Inuit Demi-Goddess Snowbird

I discovered Alpha Flight very late in the game. I believe I was in college in the late nineties and I won an eBay auction for the first 50 issues for like ten dollars. I had become a fan of John Byrne through all his Legend titles and realized that he was the man behind Alpha Flight. I loved this series. The characters were interesting and weird, the stories were compelling, and the art was on point. I liked all the characters, but Snowbird always stood out to me. I always leaned towards Sorceress-type characters. Wise, powerful, mysterious, and animal-themed - it's like she was custom-made for me. Snowbird is the daughter of the Inuit Goddess Nelvanna and a mortal man. She is tasked with protecting Canada against the Great Beasts and is mystically bound to Canadian land. She can transform into any native animal, albeit snow-white in color. I always thought she was an odd addition to the team, but she captured my imagination like no other (except maybe Marrina). Let's check out her collection below!