Court of the Dead - GALLEVARBE (NAGA)!

Court of the Dead Wave 2 - Gallevarbe (Eyes of the Queen) - BossFightStudio 2024

I'm taking a leap of logic and labeling this version of Gallevarbe as a Naga. I base this purely on the lack of a final fluke fin on her tail and the sculpted reptilian scales on her shoulders. On the flip side, her written description and water effect accessory makes me think she might be another aquatic form like her Death's Siren figure. Either way, I'm mentally making making a Mermaid/Naga distinction in my head. This Eyes of the Queen version of Gallevarbe actually looks better than the Death's Siren version (in my humble opinion). Something about the color gradients and the headsculpt just appeal to me more than the mermaid form (which really surprises me as a mermaid loyalist). Plus they both have a sinister creepy vibe which made them perfect for October. I'm also curious to put the BFS parts-swapping intent to the test with these figures. I might just combine all my favorite parts into my ultimate sea witch. I'll add pics if I do. Let's check out Gallevarbe, Eyes of the Queen, below!

Court of the Dead - GALLEVARBE (DEATH'S SIREN)!

Court of the Dead Wave 2 - Gallevarbe (Death's Siren) -Boss Fight Studio 2024

This figure was a rough one for me. Overall I love it. But I am super squeamish about gory or zombie-like toys. It's a completely ridiculous mental thing. But after I hold a Walking Dead action figure or any superhero "blood-splattered variant", I feel odd and immediately feel compelled to wash my hands. On the other hand, I love mermaids. Especially if they're evil. Reading Mermaid Forest back in the early 90s was a formative event for me and happy pretty mermaids have played second fiddle to the wicked ones ever since. Luckily, the gory/decaying parts of this toy are a rich pink color against the dark green of her tail, so my brain registers it more as a natural skin pattern rather than open wounds. This Gallevarbe character can change shape and was given two pretty awesome figures in Wave 2: This Death's Siren mermaid figure, and the Eyes of the Queen naga figure I will be reviewing next. I'm hoping for a larger mermaid in the new 1:12 line next. Let's check out Death's Siren below!

POP Funko - HALLOW'S EVE!

POP! Marvel #1560 - Marvels Strange Tales - Hallow's Eve - Funko 2025

I'm a spineless weakling. I broke my Funko Pop collecting parameters by picking up a modern character. I typically try to limit all my Pops to nostalgic Comic, Movie, and TV characters from my 1980's youth. But I have a strong fondness for Halloween and this time two years ago I fell head over heels for the new Spider-Man villain, Hallow's Eve. So when I saw this Pop in Gamestop last week, I couldn't resist. Hallow's Eve is a longtime civilian character in the Spider-Man universe. Janine Godbe was simply Ben Reilly's love interest for nearly 30 years of comics before she was swept up in a storyline involving Limbo and the Goblin Queen, and emerged as Hallow's Eve. I would describe her as a sympathetic villain and a great lead character. She has a bag of cursed masks that imbue her with the traits of that mask character, often with corruptive effects. Her stories are a lot of fun and I can't wait to start re-reading her TPB tonight, it's my annual October tradition. Let's check out Hallow's Eve below!

Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - COVER GIRL!

G.I.Joe: The Movie - ReAction+ O-Ring Action Figures - Cover Girl - Super7 2024

How crazy is it that after 40-some years, this original version of Cover Girl is getting so much attention. I frankly never understood why she got the weird redesign after her 1983 debut. I assume it had something to do with Hasbro's avoidance of long hair on their figures. But giving her short auburn hair just made her look like a variation of the Scarlett toy. Considering she would have been the only blonde main character as well made this a very confusing decision. But it seems like this "M.A.S.S. Device" design is finally getting some attention with three figures in a few short years. I bought this Reaction+ O-Ring figure just shy of a year ago. I bought so many versions of her because her eyes were always off-center, and by the time I secured a good one, the "newness" excitement was gone and I never opened her until this week. The new Pythona figure lit a fire under me and made me finally free these ladies from their packaging. They're pretty great. Let's check out Cover Girl below!

Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - JINX!

G.I.Joe: The Movie - ReAction+ O-Ring Action Figures - Jinx - Super7 2025

G.I.Joe was the first action figure line that captured my attention as a youth.. mostly because it included a decent amount of the female characters from the cartoon. Then when I was in my twenties and made a conscious decision to start collecting action figures, my first goal was to assemble all the female G.I.Joes. It wasn't terribly hard to get them all back then, but I quickly realized many of the characters didn't really resemble their animated counterparts. A major one for this was Jinx. She has several very iconic scenes in G.I.Joe the Movie, but her toy just looked different. Mainly, she never wore the generic ninja mask that her toy sported. She was either completely unmasked or blindfolded (this figure really should have come with a blindfold). So seeing this figure so early in the Reaction+ O-Ring line really brought me joy. It's not quite as exciting as a never-before-seen vintage figure (like the just-released Pythona), but she is still super cool to have. Let's check out Jinx below!

Toy Biz - FERAL!

Marvel Comics -  White's Guide Exclusive - X-Force's Feral - Toy Biz 1998

There's an interesting trope when it comes to superhero team building in bronze and modern age comics. You typically see a big looming muscle guy in the background, a token female, some sort of "alpha male" leader,  and there is almost always an animalistic growling character squatting on the side. I loved the rare occasions when the wild character was female. To me, the most famous example of this is Feral, the runaway Morlock who joined up with Cable and the remains of the New Mutants just as X-Force was forming. I always found her very appealing, even if she could be chalked up to a simple Wolfsbane stand-in. Her backstory is very gritty in a typical 90's style with abuse, death, and drug addiction taking center stage. But I mostly found her design and aggression fascinating. Also, her antagonistic-but-protective relationship with her visually-similar mutant sister, Thornn, was amazing. This Toybiz exclusive figure is an awkward mash-up of the Deathbird head paired with the Tigra body.

Epic Hero Series - INVISIBLE WOMAN!

Marvel Epic Hero Series - Fantastic 4 First Steps - First Family - Hasbro 2025

I'm not surprised that Fantastic Four: First Steps was such a hit. From the very first teasers and trailers I knew they finally got Marvel's First Family right. The retro vibe, the shiny space age aesthetic, and the strong family dynamic in the forefront was the perfect recipe. What was surprising was how off-the-mark the previous three movies were. I saw each of them once and just felt they were each lacking the heart that makes this team so great. It's a little odd that there is a belated rush of merchandising months after the movie left theatres, but suddenly we have Titan Hero Series and Epic Hero Series. I quite enjoy these 1:18 scale Epic Hero Series figures (now called Epic World of Action). Their production planning is pretty bizarre with only a few select movies and properties getting figures. But I'm glad First Steps made the cut. Now of course I would love a few more figures, namely a powered-down Sue and a Silver Surfer (but my hopes aren't very high). Let's check out Sue Storm and the First Family Collection below!

Princess of Power - DESPARA!

Mattel Creations Club Grayskull - MOTU Origins - Despara - Mattel 2025

One of my favorite things to arise from the modern Masters of the Universe stories was the introduction of Despara. While not a wholly new concept, the name and costume of this character are a welcome reimaging to one of the glaring issues (in my humble opinion) with the original She-Ra, The Princess of Power cartoon. We all know that an infant Adora was kidnapped by Hordak from Eternia and raised in Etheria to become a powerful Captain in the Evil Horde. But when we met Adora in this role, despite having the cool title of "Force Captain Adora", she looked and acted identical to the pleasant and pretty member of the Great Rebellion we followed for the rest of the series. I always thought this was a missed opportunity to give She-Ra a wicked side. Well, more than 20 years later, DC published a digital MOTU comic that reimagined Adora as the evil Despara, complete with a mask resembling her abductor "father" Hordak. This was actually a more extreme redesign than I imagined, but I really like it.