A New Batgirl Review: Barbara Gordon (Surf's Up Joker variant) from Batman: Classic TV Series by Figures Toy Co.

 Before every early 90's sitcom did a "beach vacation" or Hawaii themed episode and before Fonzie jumped the shark on Happy Days, Batman had to best the Joker in a surfing competition. As crazy as it sounds, "Surf's Up! Joker's Down" has become one of the most well loved episodes of the classic 1966 Batman TV series and ever since the licensing rights became available for the series various companies have been eager to release product based on it. Figures Toy Company has based an entire series of four figures on the episode and today I'm looking at the one I picked up: Barbara Gordon! Yup, this is essentially just Yvonne Craig in the black swimsuit she wore in the episode, but that's a pretty random variant I don't think anyone ever expected to see, eh? Let's take a closer look after the break...

A New Batgirl Review: Barbara Gordon from Batman: Classic TV Series by Figures Toy Co.

  If you've spent any time reading my reviews, you've probably caught on to the fact that I'm a huge Batgirl fan. I guess you should more accurately say, though, that I'm a huge Barbara Gordon fan. I like Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain but I don't collect stuff featuring them unless they're figures I'd pick up as part of my regular DC Universe/ Batman collecting. If it's Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, or Oracle, or just as herself, I'm absolutely going to pick it up, though, which is why I'm beginning a series of reviews based on some Mego style Barbara Gordon/ Batgirl figures from Figures Toy Co. Figures Toy Co. is without a doubt the most prolific company working in this style and scale and their Batman 1966/ Classic TV Series line is really extensive and their fifth series of figures has just introduced Barbara Gordon into the mix. Today I'm looking at the standard Barbara Gordon figure from the line, which is pretty exciting as I really can't recall any other action figure line releasing just a Barbara Gordon figure. The closest would be the DC Secret Files Unmasked Batgirl/ Barbara Gordon from DC Direct that was released a few years back, but it only captured Babs without her cowl, not in her civilian attire. Ready for a closer look at Barbara Gordon? Then join me after the break...

A New Batgirl Review: Batgirl (Stewart & Tarr) from DC Comics Designer Series by DC Collectibles

   If there's a character who can claim to be the "winner" of the New 52 era, it might just be Barbara Gordon. Over the past five years in the comics Babs has regained her ability to walk, headlined an excellent book that received it's own successful soft reboot, had at least two well received costume changes, and is now entering the Rebirth era with two titles to her credit (Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque's Batgirl and Julie Benson and Shawna Benson's Batgirl and the Birds of Prey). Also consider her inclusions in Arkham Knight and DC Super Hero Girls and the flood of 1966 Batgirl merchandise and you have a character who has truly experienced a renaissance. One of the most interesting points of this era was the redesign and soft reboot for Batgirl that has been dubbed Batgirl of Burnside. Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr did something unique with the character during their limited time with the book and it seems that elements of that will follow Barbara into the rebirth era. In the meantime, though, DC Collectibles has released another statue of this particular look under their DC Comics Designer Series banner. Ready for a closer look at this 1/6th scale colorful Batgirl of Burnside? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Red Snaggletooth #70 from POP! Star Wars by Funko

 * Today I'm looking at the second exclusive POP! figure from the March 2015 Cantina themed Smuggler's Bounty mystery box: Red Snaggletooth. Well, I guess you could debate whether this is the second or the third exclusive as each crate includes either this figure or the rarer variant Blue Snaggletooth. Based on the character released in the vintage Kenner line in 1979 that had two very distinctive variants (short red Snaggletooth and tall blue Snaggletooth) Funko decided to pack these with a ratio of 1 blue Snaggletooth to every 5 cases, making this red version much more common. Ready for a closer look at this Snivvian patron of Chalmun's Cantina? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Rorschach from Watchmen by Mattel

 I don't know about you, but this is the guy I've really been waiting to review. Rorschach might be an uncompromising, violent, right wing, unpersonable, mentally ill vigilante, but darn if this guy just isn't one of the most interesting characters in comics ever. Seriously, if you've never read Watchmen you really just need if for no other reason than to read Rorschach's inner-monologue. He's a truly amazing character and the clear favorite of most Watchmen fans. Rorschach was the first figure released in Mattel's Watchmen line back in early 2013 and was kind of used as a litmus test for how well the line might do. Sadly to say, Mattel reported that when Rorschach didn't sell as well as they had hoped the future of the line expanding beyond the basic cast pretty much just fell away. That's sad because I love Watchmen but even with a figure like Rorschach, you can see some of the weaknesses in the line. Let's take a closer look at this guy, shall we? Join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Red Hood from DC Universe Signature Collection by Mattel

 I'm just going to throw this out here: Out of all of the folks who have held the title of Robin, Jason Todd is my favorite character. He's without a doubt the most flawed but he's also had the most interesting character arc. It's crazy to think that up until just a few years ago if you wanted an action figure of Jason Todd, your only real choice was to pick up the Batman Returns Marlon Wayans painted white version of Robin that was based on early production work (the background sounded more like Jason Todd's than Dick Graysons') or pick up the Toy Fare exclusive Dick Grayson as Hush figure (who was actually Clayface in disguise). While I can't think of any 6-7 inch Jason Todd as Robin figure, there have been a few figures over the past couple of years from Red Hood and the Outlaws and Arkham Knight. Still, those had not yet been released when announced a Red Hood figure appearing in the second year of the DC Universe Signature Collection Club Infinite Earths, so it's pretty natural to imagine we'd get either Jason Todd in his most recognizable Red Hood garb: Brown leather jacket, body armor, and a form fitting red mask. Well, we got this costume instead. Now that I have a couple of decent Red Hoods on my shelf, I think I can appreciate this more than collectors who purchased this back when it was first released. This outfit appeared for a very brief period of time and was Jason's way of trying to create his own superhero brand to get under Bruce's skin. Ready for a closer look  at another Gotham vigilante? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Ben Kenobi #99 from POP! Star Wars by Funko

 Today I'm looking at the first of two figures from the most recent Star Wars: Smuggler's Bounty box which featured the theme "The Cantina." I'm not a diehard POP! collector by any means but I do enjoy picking them up every now and then and I absolutely love the mystery box concept. Of course, considering that it's all Star Wars stuff inside I know that either myself, my wife, or my little one will typically have a use for every item. The first of two POP! figures in this month's set is Ben Kenobi #99. Wielding his lightsaber, this POP! represents the Jedi Master during his conflict in Chalmun's Cantina with Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan. I know there has at least been one other ANH Obi-Wan Kenobi POP! released which featured him with his hood up. This guy is exclusive to the Smuggler's Bounty box, though, so he's going to be a bit rarer. Ready for a look at Master Kenobi? Then join me after the break...