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By: Nicholas Eskey Welcome back to another exciting episode of “The Beat’s Weekly Toy Review & Preview! We have a humdinger of an episode today kids, as a lot of collectible figures have been announced recently. Since I couldn’t narrow my favorites down to a short list, be prepared for a longer than usual post. […]

DC Collectables Icons Line

by Harper W. Harris

One of the first panels of SDCC 2015 could have been for just hardcore collectors, but instead it was jam-packed with info on figures, comic series, and commercials along with loads of incredible giveaways.

Among the exclusive announcements was the inevitable confirmation that the Greg Capullo line of figures will be continuing, with the next wave including the Batman artist’s take on Wonder Woman and the Joker.

Kevin Kiniry (VP of DCE Creative Services) and Jim Fletcher (Creative Director of DCE Creative Services) showed off the first four series of the brand new Icon action figure line, which are also a new scale and include in most cases some really unique accessories. The first four waves include:

Series 1: Green Arrow, Deadman, Batman, and Mr. Miracle
Series 2: Flash, Lex Luthor, Black Adam, Hal Jordan (Deluxe)
Series 3: Aquaman, Harley Quinn, Superman, Atomica
Series 4: Firestorm, Joker, John Stewart Green Lantern

Particularly fun looking are the Deadman that includes a translucent hood to place over other figures for him to “control” them; Green Lantern with a full body sized armor projection accessory; and Atomica, which comes with miniature versions of Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi.

There were two new Bombshell statues show, a Killer Frost and a very classy looking safari adventurer version of Cheetah, and along with another Bombshell variant cover month coming in August, Marguerite Bennett was on the panel to talk about the upcoming Bombshells digital first comic series that she is writing. It will take place during an “alternate history World War II,” and will be drawn by the very talented Marguerite Sauvage. Bennett said she had fun basing the stories and characters around different stylistic ideas: for example, Supergirl will read like a propaganda film, while Zatanna is more like a Hammer Horror movie.

DC Designer Series Line: Darwyn Cooke

Along with the gorgeous Darwyn Cooke figures that are on display at the DCE booth, we were treated to a view of the Lee Bermejo figures from the same Designer Series line. Bermejo introduced his Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, Superman, and Batman figures, and noted that while working on the designs, Jim Lee told him that “none of our characters iron their clothes.” Bermejo was asked if DC Collectables might put out a Joker figure based on his OGN–there are no plans yet, but strong hints were given that it might show up in the Batman Black and White line very soon.

There was a lot of talk about the wonderful new series of Batman: The Animated Series figures, sculpted by Irene Matar who was in attendance. On top of showing off the newest additions to the line in Etrigan, Klarion, Gordan, Zatanna, and Ra’s Al Ghul, they showed a really fun commercial for the line that had to revive a level of nostalgia for anyone over 20 in the room. The ad featured the figures being played with by visible hands with a dramatic narrator full of puns in classic 90’s fashion, with Batman repeatedly crashing through brick walls and proclaiming, “It’s Batman!” In the end, it’s revealed that it is Paul Dini and Kevin Smith playing with the toys, and they insist on making the Batman and Catwoman figures kiss.

In addition to giving away boatloads of figures and statues during game show style games, DC also showed off Arkham Knight figures (Man-Bat, Azrael, Professor Pyg), Arrow and Flash figures (Arrow season 3, Black Canary, Malcolm Merlyn, Reverse-Flash, Heat Wave), and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice statues (Superman, Batman, Armored Batman, with hints of a coming Wonder Woman).

Those at SDCC this year can pick up some convention exclusives in a cute Krypto the Superdog plush and a Jim Lee sketch version of a Batman figure. Some crowd questions elicited other light announcements, including some upcoming Central City police badges and more wooden figures.

For DC collectors new and old alike, there are lots of things to look forward to!

We'll have captions in a bit but here's a look at the Hasbro showroom some new stuff and classics and the biggest Transformer ever!

So, I'm going to try and make this not so long and convoluted. I think if I keep up the pace I'm at I'm gonna run out of nerdery to document.

I thought I'd take you in for a closer look at the shelf on my desk and all the nerdiness piled up there. Tomorrow we're going to look at 'Fridge Corner' and I have no idea what the plan is for the rest of the week.

We'll wing it, yo.
Okay, starting from the left hand side and working out way to the right...

1. Children's Writer's & Illustrated Market for 2007 book. I decided about 30 minutes after buying it that it will be my last. Seriously. It's such a waste of money and it's basically outdated the moment you pull it out of the Border's bag. I have some rejection letters and a book of stamps stuck in there for good measure.

2. The 3 A.M. Epiphany it's a book by Brian Kiteley that's designed to give you a 'nudge' in terms of writing. I thought it was a cool-looking book and liked some of the exercises in there. Since I haven't needed a nudge in a long time, I haven't done a single exercise. Still, it's good to know it's there...just in case.

3. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. Gee...big surprise that I've got this sitting in my nerdery. It's everything you need to know in preparation for the zombie apocalypse. I read his other zombie book World War Z. Um...yeah. You notice THAT book isn't present here.

4. Parents Wanted by George Harrar. A critique partner and friend let me read this book a while back and I REALLY need to get it back to her. I finished it and thought it was good, but didn't really feel much for the main character. Well written, though.

5. American History X DVD. This is from a friend at work. We talked about scenes in movies where people had the opportunity to 'taste the curb' (don't ask) and he brought this for me to watch. Haven't watched it yet, but I plan on it. Soon. Really.

6. Journals that I haven't really written much in. You'd think a writer-nerd like myself would have LOADS of journals just filled with ideas. Uh...nope, not really. I mean, I've scratched out some stuff on some pages, but most of my ideas stay in my head, leaving little room for much else. Just ask my wife.

7. Sony PSP & Ratchet & Clank Size Matters Game Did I ever mention what a short attention span I have? It's sinister. To that end, I hardly go anywhere without some sort of portable entertainment. Truly. If we're sitting somewhere for too long and I'm not actively DOING SOMETHING I start to go crazy. In these times of trouble, I break out the PSP. Yes, I'm 12.

8. Big Ol' Pile of Writing Stuff For all those folks that think my nerdery is too neat, I tend to agree. This is the pile where I put works in progress, critiques from my industrious critique partners and any other thing that I'm going to get to later. If I had my way, I'd have it all spread out everywhere. Actually, that's not true. I need some order. Sue me.

9. DVD Camcorder Battery I'm not sure how this got there. I've been meaning to charge it since, like, forever, but I keep forgetting. Sorry.


10. Cobra Commander Not nearly as cool as the original CC, but I saw this reissue in the store and had to have him. I sort of like him better than the hooded one anyway. Also, I love that you can still have him carry his pistol on his back.

11. Electric Chair Marv Probably one of my most favorite nerdy action figures of all time. It's Marv from the comic book Sin City. There's a switch you can push down on to give him the 'juice' and he says: Is that the best you can do? Pansies... Also, his eyes light up and the whole thing shakes like he's being electricuted. Triple awesome with a side of wicked.

12. Zartan My all time favorite GI Joe action figure from years past is/was Zartan. This is another reissue but I couldn't resist. He comes with a backpack that's got a mask on so he can be in disguise. The funny thing? His outfit totally screams ZARTAN! A goofy mask isn't going to disguise him all that well.

13. Sigma 6 Snake Eyes In a move that I still don't understand, they release some GI Joes with sort of an anime bent to them. One of the figures was this guy. He's got a checklist of cool (nerdiness) built in: Uzi (check), sword (check), dogtags (check), quiet yet deadly disposition (check and checkmate)

14. New Goblin Easily one of the worst (along with Lucy from Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) action figures I own is this guy. While I loved the character from Spiderman 3, I was disappointed with how lame the figure was. Despite it all, he still gets to air-board his way onto my desk...and into our hearts.

15. The Tatooine Gang Now don't get me wrong, I still have all the old 1970's Star Wars guys, but they're all locked up in a cryogenic chamber beneath our house. In the meantime, I have to settle for the newer guys I picked up. I don't know what it is, but I love me some sand-dwelling Star Wars guys, especially the Tusken Raider. Anyway, there's a Jawa in there, that weird Dome Droid and the R2 unit without the bad motivator.

16. Fat Bastard The best part about this guy? He came in a box that said 'Fat Man.' I guess the stores didn't want to carry a figure with the word 'bastard' on it. He's got a pull string and says: Frisky are we? I'm dead sexy, look at my sexy body! Oh I got your mojo now, Sonny Jim! He weighs like 15 pounds and is always watching me while I type. Even now...

17. Abbey Chase I've got a thing for 'chicks with guns' so this was an easy sell. This is Abbey Chase from the short run comic series Danger Girl. Not sure what else to say other than I love that she's standing in front of some ancient ruins and is ready to pop caps on any suckas who front.

18. Snake Eyes When one Snake Eyes isn't enough, a second one can't hurt. Another reissue from the GI Joe 25th Anniversay series. He was too cool to pass up.

19. Boba Fett vs Sarlaac I'm pretty sure I'm the only Star Wars nerd who likes Boba Fett (insert sarcastic tone) so this called to me from the Target clearance shelf. He was actually my first 'official' addition to the desk shelf. I love the idea that this cool character had a fighting chance against the Sarlaac pit. As Caryle mentioned in a comment a few days ago, he's probably still being digested by that thing. Sigh.

20. Cop Car Decepitcon from Transformers Here's where I pull the lame card. I don't remember this guy's name from the movie, but I like the cop car anyway. The real reason? Instead of saying 'To Serve & Protect' along the side, it says 'To Punish & Enslave.' Full disclosure: I thought the Transformers movie was lame. I actually fell asleep during the 'exciting' conclusion. At one point Shia LaBouf was holding some dumb glowing orb and the next minute they were tossing Megatron into the drink. Zzzzz...

Anyway, that'll wrap up Day 3 for me. I'm pleased to announce some new Nerderies have joined the fray! Visit 'em and show 'em your love!

Susan Sandmore
Catherine J. Gardner/Phoenix Rendell

Along with our founding fathers/mothers:

Dan - This Man's World
Matt - Blue Birdland
Caryle - Caryle's Corner
Jeff - May the Force Be With Y'all

Nerdery Week continues...TOMORROW!

Man...I'm taking a beating already! More than a few people (ahem!) said my desk was too neat n' tidy and therefore they didn't feel up to posting their nerderies for the world to see.

I cry FOUL!

Here's the thing...I sort of have to have some order to my chaos otherwise I can't get a lick of work done. On top of that, my lovely wife is not a fan of clutter and mess. This room, er...my nerdery is easily the messiest room in the house. I could open the closets and show you the absolute horror that resides in there, but hey...we got all week.

So for today, I'm going to display some of the items o' interest on the wall behind where I sit. Sound good? Good...


Here's shot from the doorway to my basement 'nerdery.' This is the back wall that has a built in shelf/ledge/whatever there. You see where the four posters are to the right? Eventually, there's going to be floor to ceiling bookshelves there. Basically the posters are a place-holder until I can get my dad over to help me with the project. You don't even want to see the sick stack of books I've got.

And now, for some close-ups:

I don't think I need to tell anyone how cool the movie Blood Simple is, but in case I need to: It's great. It's the first major film by Minnesota director/producer team Joel & Ethan Coen. I totally love this poster for a number of reasons.

1. It's black n' red (my favorite colors)
2. It's got M. Emmett Walsh on it
3. The dude's loading a small pistol.

Below that, we have a couple of puppets. One is Jesus (which my brother bought me for Xmas one year...don't ask) and the other is a firefighter that my mom bought me last year. It's fun to put on a show between Beardy (what my son calls Jesus) and Smokey (the firefighter).

Next to that and very small are Master Chief and Arbiter figurines. I got 'em free with my copy of Halo 3 for Xbox 360.

Since I'm also a filmmaker, I've got a clapboard and while it doesn't work like a real one, it's nerdy enough to warrant a space on the shelf.

In the frame? Why that's a bloated picture of me with my wife during our honeymoon in Maui. There's a movie ticket stub for Man on Fire in there. We saw it whilst on vacation.

Okay, so I've got a weakness for Angelina Jolie and I'm also a tried and true nerd when it comes to the Tomb Raider video games. Sue me. Can I add to the nerdiness? I bought two replica pistols from the movie and they shoot little plastic pellets. Maybe someday when we do Garage Week! I'll display them here on Tappity Tapppity.

Below the movie poster you'll find a couple Lord of the Rings action figures. There's Sam and Frodo on their crappy little canoe. Sauron is hangin' out ready to talk smack and...hey, who the hell is that? Is that Lucy from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe? It is. Probably one of the worst action figures ever made, I got her for a mere .79 in Madison. Never mind her. Treebeard rocks and so does Gollum/Smeagol. Yesssss....preciousssss...

Okay...why is there a poster for the movie Beautiful Girls here among all the nerdy stuff? Why would ANYONE have a poster with Rosie O'Donnell on it hanging in their office of cool nerdiness? Well, it's like this:

I'm in the movie for like 2.5 seconds. If you own it or rent is (and it's actually a good movie!) right around the 1:02:27 mark, you'll see yours truly standing there, watching the band Afghan Whigs. Here's a screen capture.

There I am next to that poorly Photoshopped arrow. If you blink, you'll miss me. But seriously, the rest of the movie is decent if not downright hilarious. Some of it was shot in Minneapolis and directed by the late Ted Demme. Hooo...I've got stories. As an extra, I saw and experienced quite a bit. Also, Uma Thurman touched my shoulder like 4 times.

Not that I counted.

Below my BG poster is my previously mentioned glow-in-the-dark zombies that Triple S found for me. Next to the wacky undead? Why, that's a Nazgul doll standing sentinel next to his undead bretheren.

While I'm not a HUGE foreign movie fan, Run Lola Run is probably one of my favorite movies of all time, besides the fact the dialogue is all German. Just a cool, wicked, adrenalin-pumpin' movie. If you ever need a soundtrack to work out to and you have the means, I highly recommend picking it up. It is so choice.

Below that is a skull snow globe...errr...actually it has little bats instead of snow. Next to that is a black earth paper weight. I got it because it reminded me of Public Enemy's 3rd album Fear of a Black Planet. Next to that is a photo of my estranged cat, Kato. Check out how killer this picture is:

He's sitting in an antique box that says KINGSLEY on it. My middle name is KINGSLEY! It's like the whole world split in half and awesome oozed from the gaping wound!

Ahem.

Next to that is a little brown guy called a Japanese Domo. You may have seen him in a certain e-mail attachment that warns you about doing something that might make God do something awful to kittens. If you don't know what I'm talking about...uh, let's move on.

Probably the pride of my movie poster collection is Rushmore. Has there ever been a better movie? Well, maybe. But I still contend that it's Wes Anderson's best. Sorry, W. You peaked with this one, yo. Below that is a Ku Tiki or God of Strength. We got him in Hawaii. I think the Brady Bunch left it behind when they were there last. Next to all the crazy phenomena are ol' Agents Scully and Mulder. They both look like they have no idea how they got here.

What's that in the corner? Well, that, my friends is a leather coffin backpack I won from Heather Brewer, author of Eight Grade Bites (and the forthcoming sequels). Inside was all kinds of cool vampire stuff, including a signed ARC of EGB. I've never worn the backpack, but dang if it doesn't look wicked in the corner all mysterious-like. On top of the coffin is a toy that Travis keeps breaking, so it's up there until he can control himself.

Oh, and yes...Jedi Master Yoda is coolin' out next to the coffin. He talks, teaches you about the force and if he ever kicks the bucket, I'll probably bury him in the backpack. It's about the right size.

Okay. I guess this went on a bit longer than expected. I promise to reign it in a bit for the next five days. Until then, check out these Nerdery updates!

http://dancsblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/nerdery-week-desktop.html
Matt @ Blue Birdland - Nerdy Media
http://carylerg.livejournal.com/

I've heard we'll have some new nerderies joining the fray tomorrow. Stay tuned!!!

Passions I definitely know next to nothing about:

• Professional competitive kite-flying
• Collecting the hair of famous dead people
• Eating rare animals for fun and profit
  
• Action figures

One of the questions Jeff had for us was to find out the scale. So whilst we were drooling over Harry Potter, we asked them if the Golden Compass figures would be the same 3.75" scale. The folks at Cards Inc looked hurt, as if we'd offended them

"Of course they are," they said!