Posts by yocum:
Adult Swim Sculptures Available Aug 03
July 8th, 2003Hey folks; Comics Infinity is now taking pre-orders for three statues that our “Adult Swim” fans will be sure to like.
All available in Aug 03 are: Space Ghost bust for approximately $90.00, Blue Falcon Statue also about $90.00, and finally a cool Harvey Birdman statue for just under $65.00.
Happy Hunting!
Vote On Current Fuzzball Forum Art Challenge
July 2nd, 2003Hey folks; There is currently a voting thread going on over at the NEVER MIND – THIS LINK IS DEAD –Fuzzball Forum for the entries for this month’s Art Challenge.
This month was a “pencils only” challenge featuring Ragman and Warlord.
Yours truly even has an entry!
So go get out the vote! And don’t forget to give some critiques on the art, we all love the opportunity to improve.
Hulk-Mania
May 22nd, 2003Following the late-Apr, early-May DVD release of “The Incredible Hulk Returns” and “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk;” June 3rd will see two more Hulk offerings on DVD. “The Original Television Premiere” and “The Death of The Incredible Hulk.”
From the Barnes and Noble Marvel Masterworks Edition of Hulk Vol 1, to the Marvel Must-Haves, to the upcoming PSM Magazine Exclusive Hulk Heroclix, and now the expanded DVD releases; it’s clear that the marketing folks at Marvel have a clue how to position themselves to make the most possible money in preparation for the Hulk movie coming to theatres on 20 June.
I wish I could find as much DC merchandise as I could Hulk merchandise (let alone adding in Spidey and X-Men).
As we’ve NEVER MIND – THIS LINK IS DEAD –discussed over on the Fuzzball Forum at length, Time-Warner could be doing a lot more liscensed promotion and film with the DC characters. I guess Warner doesn’t like free money. Discuss over on the Forum.
Happy Hunting.
Matrix: Reloaded Action Figures By McFarlane Toys
May 17th, 2003Hey folks; Action Figure Express now has pre-orders available for Matrix: Reloaded action figures by McFarlane Toys.
The set includes: Neo and Trinity as they appeared in the “lobby shooting spree” scene in the first film; Morpheus as he appeared while fighting atop a semi-truck with sword in Matrix: Reloaded; and the evil, undead, “Albino” twins.
Each figure comes with a display base. Neo and Trinity’s bases snap together as do the bases of Morpheus and the Twins.
From the pictures available, these figures appear to be well-sculpted and suitable for display, but with very few or no playable articulation points. This is about par for the course with the latest offerings from McFarlane Toys.
The very first Spawn figures produced back when they were Todd Toys were both well-sculpted and highly articulated. Now the sculpts are a lot better but the articulation has really been reduced. I guess these are really being marketed as displayable works of “art” for collectors rather than as toys for kids. But at approximately $10.00 each, what the heck!
Available sometime in May.
Happy Hunting!
Spider-Man Live, A Family Spectacular
May 15th, 2003Hey folks;
Marvel’s web-site has a section promoting a live Spider-Man stage show. The site has links to reviews, tour dates, and press release info.
Marvel claims that the stage version of Spidey captures all of his colorful villains with all the swooping, wall-crawling, web-slinging agility that you’ve come to expect from the character. It seems to me that would be some feat to pull off “live.”
This is reminiscient of the talk awhile back on the Fanzing Forum of the live SeaWorld shows featuring everyone’s favorite superteam the JLA.
If anybody gets a chance to see this new Spidey stage show, howsabout you review it for us?
DC Comics.com Gets A Face Lift
May 13th, 2003Hey folks, DC Comics is previewing a reformat of their web-site. They are previewing a different aspect of the site on a rotating basis, so the link is always changing. Yesterday the preview was for the DC Comics main page, today Wildstorm.com is up. To check out the scoop on all the upcoming changes check here, or access it through DC’s main page. The new layout has a greater ease of navigability, and just looks cooler.
The new site also contains a link to the Smallville Ledger. The Smallville Ledger has the visual look of a newspaper and contains some inside stories, photos and sneak-peeks concerning the popular Smallville television series.
Go check it out!
Lewisville Studios Site Update
May 11th, 2003Hey folks, David Black (former Fanzing staff member and contributor) has made an update to the Lewisville Studios web-site.
For those who may not know, Lewisville Studios is a post-Fanzing outlet, whereby former Fanzingers and other new contributors are collaborating in an attempt to “go pro.” Be it in comic writing or art.
The site update is the addition of some “portfolio” material. To view them, follow the nav-menu links for studio members by name. Where a portfolio has already been added, a link will appear at the bottom of the member’s bio.
So if you’re looking for a creative outlet and wanna join up with other folks looking to turn pro; or if you just wanna check out the great projects that are under development, swing on by!
Oh, and please feel free to use the “Contact Us” link to let Lewisville Studios know what you think, and spread the word to your friends!
Heroclix Happenings In June 03
May 6th, 2003Hey folks!
June is going to be a big month for both Marvel and DC Heroclix fans!
For DC, June will see the release of the first DC Heroclix expansion set “Cosmic Justice.” There are pictures on the site of Bizarro, Green Lantern John Stewart, Wonder Woman, the “new” Batgirl, and Penguin. WizKids says this expansion set will contain a lot more Justice League and Titans characters!
Every Wednesday WizKids will be previewing a little sneak peak of another Cosmic Justice character at their site. This week’s preview is “Dark Superman.”
Not to be left out in the cold, the Marvel Heroclix will be offering a Limited Edition Hulk in the June issue of PSM Magazine. This Hulk is an entirely new sculpt and available (at least so far) exclusively through the PSM order form. The June issue will feature a 2-page spread with details on how to get your exclusive Hulk along with a Playstation compatible demo DVD!
Happy Hunting!
X-2: X-Men United Action Figures Wave 1
May 5th, 2003Hiya folks!
411mania.com has pictures and a review of X-2: X-Men United Wave 1 Action Figures.
The set includes a “Super Poseable Wolverine,” “Super Poseable Nightcrawler,” “Optic Blast Cyclops” and “Battle Attack Logan”
All of these have the nearly 30 pts of articulation that the “Super Poseable” Spider-Man Movie Action Figure had, which is great. As for the sculpting, I find the Super Poseable Wolvie and the Optic Blast Cyclops to be a little lacking, while the Super Poseable Nightcrawler is the best rendered of the bunch.
These bad boys will be $7-8 in a department store near you soon!
Happy Hunting!
Meanwhile…Back at the Hall of Justice…
May 5th, 2003Well folks, DC has continued it’s Superfriends Mania! After last year’s Superfriends TPB with the Alex Ross’s cover of the classic Alex Toth Superfriends pose, they began putting out Deluxe DCDirect 2-figure sets of our heroes in their unique Superfriends animated look. Superman/Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman/Cheetah, and Aquaman/Black Manta are already available. Don’t miss the recently added images on DCDirect of the Batman/Scarecrow and Robin/Riddler set due out in November 2003
Just last week a new Superfriends TPB, collecting various issues of the long-running comic series based on the show, was released. It is Superfriends: Truth, Justice, Peace. for $14.95.
Also released was a great DVD! Superfriends: The Challenge of the Superfriends. Here’s a great on-line review at DVDToons.
This DVD collects 4 of the Superfriends episodes wherein they battled the Legion of Doom. Along with intros by original story editor Jeff Scott, a game, and a “Who’s Who” of each of the Legion of Doom members. These were always my favorite of all the Superfriends episodes. Not only do you get the regularly appearing Superfriends of Batman, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Samurai Warrior, Apache Chief, and Black Vulcan; but they also added in Green Lantern, Hawkman, and Flash. In these Legion of Doom episodes they faced the vile Lex Luthor, Riddler, Scarecrow, Toyman, Solomon Grundy, Cheetah, Bizarro, Sinestro, Brainiac, Black Manta, Giganta, Captain Cold and Gorilla Grodd. What more could you possibly ask for in a half-hour cartoon?
Happy Hunting!
Marvel “Must-Haves” A Compendia-esque Strategy?
April 25th, 2003Marvel reports that they are expanding their “Marvel Must-Haves” program.
The Must-Haves collect 3 issues each at a cover price of $3.99, a significant savings over the original separate cover prices of the collected issues.
Marvel instituted the Must-Haves in order to quickly and affordably re-release issues that were quickly sold-out. The first offerings included the Hulk #34-36 and #50-52.
The program has been expanded because Marvel has determined that the demand for Must-Haves will boost sales of associated titles and trade paperbacks; by serving as “jumping-on” points for new readers. Sounds kinda like what CrossGen’s Compedia were all about.
Coming up are:
ULTIMATES #1-3 – by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch.
ULTIMATE X-MEN #1-3 – by Mark Millar & Adam Kubert.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1-3 – by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #30-32 – J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita Jr.’s first 3 issues.
NEW X-MEN #114-116 – Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely’s first 3 issues.
Happy Hunting!
Marvel Masterworks “Barnes and Noble” Softcover Format
April 19th, 2003Marvel’s “archive-style” Marvel Masterworks editions are now being released in a Barnes and Noble Edition Trade Paperback style soft cover (with Barnes and Noble printed on the spines, and “Barnes and Noble Edition” in the fine print on the credits page). They are affordably priced at $12.95!
You can’t even get the equivalent 1980′s Marvel Tales spidey reprints of these early issues for that price. What better way to read these early, groundbreaking Marvel tomes?
The ones I’ve seen thus far in the new format are: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 (reprinting Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man #’s 1-10); The Incredible Hulk Vol 1 (The Incredible Hulk 1-6); and The X-Men Vol 1 (X-Men 1-10). Appearantly Daredevil Vol 1, and Fantastic Four Vol 1 are also available now, and Silver Surfer Vol 1 and Avengers Vol 1 will be available soon. ICV2 reported back in Feb 03 that Marvel said Barnes and Noble would only be producing 5 of these exclusive Masterworks softcovers. I can only hope that the fact that they’ve already done 7 means that Marvel and Barnes and Noble will continue this format with all the rest of the Marvel Masterworks series.
Now if only Barnes and Noble could make an agreement like this concerning the DC Archive Editions. Ahhhhh…
Batman, Superman, JLA, Other Toys Cheap At DCBS!
April 17th, 2003Hey folks, I just wanted to share with you guys some of the new products available on one of my favorite comic-related toy shopping sites.
The site is Discount Comic Book Service, they offer discounts of up to 35% off MSRP on all your favorite DC Direct and Marvel Merchandise (comics and TPBs too!). Standard DC Direct figures are $12.50 each and the Pocket Heroes 2-packs are only $6.47.
Available for pre-order now are a couple of exciting new offerings…
A Mattel/Previews Exclusive 2-pack of Batman and Superman. The sculpts are of the same quality as the DC Direct line. This version shows their “Modern” comic appearance. The Batman looks really, really cool; but for Superman I prefer the DCD sculpt—maybe it’s just the black outline around his ‘S’ insignia that turns me off.
Another exciting new product is a set of Justice League Matchbox cars. Among the vehicles available will be Wonder Woman on a T-top Corvette, Superman’s Viper GTS, Batman sporting a Plymouth Prowler, and the Flash speeding your way with a VWW-12. My youngest LOVES cars and has most of the Marvel diecast vehicles, I have long wanted DC to get in on the action too. Hopefully, this is a good sign that DC will begin taking more advantage of mass market licensed merchandise.
Happy Hunting!
Max Fleisher Superman Cartoons
April 16th, 2003Hey folks, just wanted to alert you all to a really great deal that I just found and snagged up at Wal-Mart (as an Easter gift for my son).
All 17 of the original Max Fleisher Superman Cartoons produced from 1941-1943 are in the “Discount DVD bin” at Wal-Mart. All 17 of the cartoons are on two DVDs shrink-wrapped together in two jewel cases for $5.88!
One is labelled “Superman vs. Monsters and Villains” the other is “Superman vs. Nature and War.”
I’ve never seen all of these episodes, but I couldn’t pass up the entire run for $5.88.
You can view/download/ and read about some of the episodes online at this “Original Superman Cartoons” unofficial site.
Happy Hunting!
Marvel Minimates Series I-III
April 5th, 2003Owing perhaps to the success of DC Direct’s Pocket Heroes line of “miniature” figures; as well as the Kubricks figures on which they are based, Marvel is now offering “Marvel Minimates”. The figures are produced by Art Asylum under license from Diamond Comic Dist.
Like the DCD Pocket Heroes, they come in 2-packs, but with a lower MSRP of $6.99.
Series I is available for pre-order now with a release date sometime in June and includes Daredevil Red/Kingpin, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Daredevil Yellow/Elektra, and a “secret” chase set in each case. Good pictures of the Series I figures can be viewed at Sweatyfrog.com.
Series II and III pictures are available on Diamond’s web-site for pre-order now; near as I can tell the release is in August.
Series II is Spidey/Carnage, Battle-Damaged Spidey/Venom, Half Spidey-Half Peter Parker/Green Goblin. No word on a chase figure for this set.
Series III is Ultimate Wolverine/Sabretooth, Ultimate Logan/Storm, Ultimate Cyclops/Jean Grey. The chase set for this series is allegedly Professor X with wheelchair and Magneto with fabric cape and removable helmet.
Although these figures are “blocky” like the Kubricks, they are well detailed and sport articulation at the elbows and knees that the DCD Pocket Heroes do not have. Plus, they’re cheaper!
Happy hunting!
Free Comic Book Day, May 3rd
March 31st, 2003Diamond Comic Distributor’s 2nd Annual “Free Comic Book Day” is coming May 3rd to a comic store near you.
The Free Comic Book Day website has all the info you need. A running countdown of the number of days you have to wait till you get free goodies, a contest to enter, images of some of the free comics that will be available, and a zip code search feature to find the nearest participating store!
Personally, I loved last year’s Free Comic Book Day, my local store not only gave away the freebie titles printed up by the comics companies; but also put several boxes of quarter bin style comics on the table to get rid of. Plus, their Free Comic Book Day lasted weeks (until all the stuff was gone). My son and I walked out with armloads of free comics everytime we visited for about 3 weeks! I can’t wait for the repeat!
So, take a friend who normally won’t buy comics; take the neighbor’s kids; take my wife, please (ba dum bump). Seriously, if it’s free, it’s for me and most people feel the same way–so this is a good opportunity to introduce new people to the joys of comics!
Thank you and good af—naaaahh!
Christian Comic Companies
March 29th, 2003Those of you looking for wholesome comics for young children without checking them all first for borderline “mature” content… look no further!
My son and I have been reading Power Mark comics put out by the comic company of the same name.
The story is set in a near, but highly technological future where reading is all but forgotten and people get all their news, information and education from personal Virtual Reality devices. A worldwide Christian Coalition has recruited young VR savvy children with great Bible knowledge and Christian values to create VR modules of popular Bible stories to help reintroduce the Gospel to the younger generation. The forces of evil are out to stop them!
The story is fun to read, with an almost “Bruce Timm” animated style art. The futuristic scenes, aircraft and weaponry show real imagination and just plain look cool. The VR scenes are equally well depicted, graphically speaking, and are Biblically accurate. Available at most Christian bookstores.
Check here for a whole list of Christian comic companies on the web, I’m sure you’ll find one to your liking.
Justice League DCDirect and Pocket Heroes
March 29th, 2003Looks like DC is expecting the Justice League “Animated” toy line to be a big success and is already following up with DC Direct resculpts and a DC Pocket Heroes boxed set!
The DC Direct “JLA” line-up is projected to hit stores 15 Oct 03 and will have individually available: A Modern Age Superman with a “meaner” look, a Modern Age Wonder Woman, Kyle Rayner in his new costume, a “Wally West” style resculpt of the Flash (looks like the only change is the lightning bolt around his waist points down toward the crotch), and a new Aquaman.
The Pocket Heroes Justice League Boxed Set will be out on 1 Oct 03 and has what appears to be Modern Age versions of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Kyle Rayner in the new costume, and Silver Age versions of Batman, Atom, and Flash. Batman and Atom are reported to be exclusively available in the boxed set.
I am somewhat dismayed about the mix in Silver and Modern Age costumes in the Pocket Heroes set and, darn it, I gotta buy this whole set just to get Batman!
Marvel Legends Series IV
March 29th, 2003Hey folks;
411mania.com reports rumors of the action figure line up of Marvel Legends Series IV; including pictures posted for presale on Forbidden Planet.
The line up includes Punisher, Elektra, Goliath/Ant-Man/Wasp, Gambit, and the Beast.
Loading ...
Recent Comments