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!

Suicide Squad HARLEY QUINN Dorbz!

Suicide Squad Dorbz Vinyl Collectibles #163 - Harley Quinn - Funko 2016

Dorbz are one of my favorite new collectibles of the past couple years. The size, character selection and price point are perfect. Plus they scratch a nostalgic itch because of their resemblance to the 1980's Little People. I think the only thing that is going to turn me off will be my inability to keep up with a complete bat-lady collection because of the SDCC exclusive Batman Returns Catwoman Dorbz this year. Nothing makes me give up on a line faster than having impossible-to-obtain "must-haves." I still have dozens of awesome female G.I.Joes, but they've been in storage for years since Hasbro started making the newer figures so impossible to obtain. I really hope Dorbz don't go the same route because they've barely started. This Suicide Squad Harley Dorbz also marks the first time I've been disappointed with the execution of one of these figures. I feel like the eyes and mouth are printed about 1/4" too high on the face. It changes the whole demeanor of the figure in my opinion. Let's check her out below!

Transformers Battle Packs - STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Strongarm & Mini-Con Sawtooth - Hasbro 2016

Strongarm is one of the few fembots that I know nothing about. I'm usually intrigued enough about new female Transformers that I read up on their history and check out their key episodes or comic issues, but I just kind of blindly accept Strongarm as a cool character. I've never watched a single episode of Robots in Disguise, but I eagerly hunt down all her action figures. And this new one is definitely no exception. This is the first Transformer I've owned in this mid-sized scale (it's somewhere in between Deluxe and Legion Class scales). I really love having multiple scales of the same character so this figure has been high on my priority list for several months. I thought I would never find her in the wild until I stumbled across her in K-Mart (of all places) last week. She's a fun figure and great addition to my collection. I'm hoping we might see a Windblade in this scale in the future. Or maybe the new Rescue Bots Quickshadow character. Fingers crossed for SDCC reveals! Let's check out Strongarm below!

Funko POP Marvel - SHE-HULK!

Marvel POP! #147 - She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) - Funko 2016

In the late 1970s Marvel was running scared about outside creative groups infringing on their property likenesses. In 1978 Filmation created a cartoon called Web-Woman featuring a purple-clad space adventurer with vague spider-like powers. This was nothing like Spider-Man at all, but it scared Marvel into thinking "Oh crap! We better create a female Spider-Man before anyone else does!" And within a few months we had Spider-Woman. The same premise was behind She-Hulk.  At the time, the Bill Bixby Hulk Television show was pretty popular, and The Six Million Dollar Man just hit paydirt with the Bionic Woman spinoff, so Marvel was certain that the Hulk show producers would mimic this and create a lady Hulk that Marvel wouldn't have any rights to. So Stan Lee whipped up the Savage She-Hulk and we've been graced with her amazing green presence ever since. She's arguably the most successful of Marvel's gender-swapped heroes. She's had numerous solo titles and a slew of impressive team affiliations under her belt. But honestly her true measure of greatness is her inclusion into the world of Funko Pop!

3.75" Marvel Legends - CAPTAIN MARVEL (Helmeted)!

Marvel Legends 3.75" Series - Cosmic Marvels Comic 2-Pack - Hasbro 2016

I just learned some interesting things about the existence of Captain Marvel in the Marvel Universe. Back in the 1960s, DC Comics was suing Fawcett Comics over the fact that their character, Captain Marvel (aka Shazam), was too similar to Superman. As a result, Fawcett had to cease their publication of the character. With nothing being produced under the name "Captain Marvel" for a few years, Marvel Comics was able to sweep in and finally trademark the name for themselves. Eventually DC gained control of the Fawcett characters, but by that time, Marvel had its own Captain Marvel, who was trademarked and not going anywhere, so DC began officially referring to their character as "Shazam." In order to keep control of the trademark, Marvel had to publish some issues featuring this character every few years, regardless of market demand or continuity. That is why since the late sixties we've seen so many variations on the character Captain Marvel. Luckily that all led to here though!

Funko POP Marvel - CAPTAIN MARVEL!

Marvel POP! #148 - Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) - Funko 2016

Carol Danvers is right up there with Jean Grey and Hank Pym as one of those Marvel characters who seems to have an identity crisis every few years and get a revamped name and costume. She started out in the comics as a non-powered Air Force Officer for nine years before gaining powers and becoming Ms. Marvel. The Ms. Marvel comic series from 1977 was the first title to usher in a new era for female superheroes. Before this, the only significant female-led title was Wonder Woman and a short-lived Supergirl series. But after 1977, we suddenly saw solo titles for Spider-Woman, Dazzler, She-Hulk, and Supergirl among others. After the series ended, she gained cosmic powers and became Binary (in the early 1980s). Then her powers reverted and she became Warbird, only to eventually adopt the Ms. Marvel name once again. But most recently she took on the mantle of her predecessor, Captain Marvel and she's been kicking butt ever since. Her movie is going to rock! It's about time she got a Pop!

DC SuperHero Girls - Playset Exclusive BATGIRL!

DC Super Hero Girls - Super Hero High School Playset Batgirl - Mattel 2016

One of the things I'm most looking forward to at SDCC is news about future action figures in the DC Super Hero Girls line. Hopefully Mattel includes them in their display. There was so much hype over the unveiling of these toys, that after the first week on the shelves I was in a slump and eagerly wanting more. There are lots of additional characters and variants that are just dying for inclusion. This variant of Batgirl (that is exclusive to the Super Hero High School playset) was shown at Toy Fair, but the photos from the showroom floor didn't show much detail. I was expecting a repaint with a different hairpiece and a helmet accessory, but in reality she is a complete retooling of the original figure. The only parts used from the original figure seem to be the belt/pelvis piece, her face, and her hands. Hopefully this bodes well for future figures. The Bat-specific details sculpted into her knees and boots probably means we'll get at least another Batgirl release. Let's check out this exclusive figure below!

Funko POP Marvel Heroes SPIDER-GWEN(S)!

Marvel POP! - Spider-Gwen (and Two Variants) - Funko 2016

Funko is just killing it lately. In the past month the presence of Funko products in my personal collection has practically doubled. Not only have they been producing all my favorite characters in rapid succession, but they've been surprising us with last-minute exclusives. Just when I thought I was done hunting down all the Suicide Squad Harleys, I was on the prowl for all the Spider-Gwens. Luckily it didn't take me long at all. I need to save some energy to hunt down the Golden Girls, Dark Crystal and Labyrinth POPs in the next few months. Not to mention all the SDCC exclusives that I have no clue how I will get (if anyone is going to SDCC and planning on standing in line for exclusives - and would love to do me a favor - please drop me a line ;)). Spider-Gwen has only been around for two short years but has already had a decent amount of merchandise. And in the next year we're getting a ton more from Monogram, Kotobukiya, etc. It's going to be an exciting year. Let's check out the three newest Gwens below!

The Tick - CAPTAIN LIBERTY!

The Tick (Live Action Series) Action Figures - Captain Liberty - N2 Toys 2001

Happy Independence Day! I always try to find a patriotic figure to review on this day and this Captain Liberty is one I've been dying to get to for years. I never watched the live-action Tick television series (nor the animated one), but I've always thought this figure was gorgeous. I know fans of the show weren't too pleased with the actor likenesses in this series, but since I don't have any personal fanboy criteria to demand, I can honestly say that this sculpt is wonderful in its own right. I agree it looks nothing like actress Liz Vassey, but the statuesque patriotic figure looks great anyway (in my humble opinion). I like this sculpt so much that I've been googling for days trying to figure out who the artist was behind it. No luck on that front though. N2Toys is best known for their Matrix and Babylon5 action figures, but they had several other interesting product lines for the brief years they were in existence (1999-2001?) before reforming into Mirage Toys (Alias and South Park). Let's check out Captain Liberty out below!