Action Figure Review: Aquaman from DC Primal Age by Funko

    This isn't my first review from Funko's DC Primal Age line but it is the first 2019 figure from the line that I've reviewed.  The 2018 versions of these figures were released through Amazon and suffered from some really serious breakage problems. For the 2019 releases through Target, Funko improved the quality and these figures feel solid and sturdy. First up is Aquaman who just looks awesome. While these are definitely styled after 1980s barbarian fantasy lines, Aquaman's design takes a lot of cues from his 90s era look, particularly the long blonde hair and the hook hand. Let's check out this fearsome warrior from the deep after the break!

Action Figure Review: Mega Man from Mega Man by Funko

  Since I reviewed Dr. Wily earlier this week it's about time that I review the Blue Bomber himself, Mega Man! The star of Funko's new Mega Man series of action figures, this figure has a few different repaints in the line. Of course, I imagine the most desirable for nearly anyone is going to be the classic blue version of Mega Man. Whether you're a fan of the traditional side scrollers, Mega Man Legends (like me!), or you just dig the fact that this guy is part of the Super Smash Bros. roster, Mega Man is a pretty nifty figure. I actually picked him up to merge him with my World of Nintendo collection. Funko's figures go great alongside the World of Nintendo line, allowing you to had a couple more characters to the roster. ready to check out Mega Man? Then come join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Ultimate Michael Myers from Halloween by NECA

  2018 was a great year for the Halloween franchise as we got the release of Mezco's excellent One:12 Collective Michael Myers based on the original film and the one of the best sequels in the Halloween franchise with David Gordon Green's Halloween. NECA has now delivered up their new Ultimate Michael Myers, based on the 2018 film, which is their first Michael Myers figure in at least a decade. NECA has made some huge advances since they last released a Michael Myers figure and we now have a Michael Myers that is on par with NECA's other Ultimate releases like Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface. While NECA has plans for a Laurie Strode figure from the 2018 film and one of their 8-inch Mego styled figures, we haven't heard about Ultimate styled releases from any of the older films. Let's see how NECA handled the newest version of the Shape after the break...

Action Figure Review: Dr. Wily from Mega Man by Funko

    Guess what? This is my first actual review of an item from 2019! Shortly after the beginning of the New Year I was walking around a GameStop on my lunch break when I saw the complete series of Funko's new Mega Man action figure line. Since these are about the perfect size to mesh with Jakks' World of Nintendo line I had to at least pick up Mega Man himself and his nemesis, Dr. Wily. First appearing in 1987's Mega Man on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Dr. Wily has long been obsessed with turning Dr. Light's robots in terrifying instruments of chaos. He has a great classic cartoon mad scientist vibe to him, easily looking like a character from an early 90s cartoon. He was tough to pass up, you know? There are only five figures in the first series of Mega Man figures and four of them are Mega Man variants, so this guy stands out because he's a completely unique sculpt. Let's check him out after the break...

Missing in Action: Toylines That Didn't Make the Cut in 2018

   Since 2015 I've supplemented my 10 Favorite Toylines and 10 Favorite Individual Toys with a list called Missing in Action. The general premise of this list is to look at my list of last year's Top 10 Toylines and determine why the lines present then failed to return on the current year's list.  2018's top 10 list had five toylines returning from the 2017 list, which is a pretty average retention rate for toylines on my lists due. When looking at the lines that failed to show up again there are typically three reasons why a line makes this list:

Missing in Action: This is a toyline that gets cancelled, ends, or just doesn't have any releases during the year.

Demoted: Sometimes a toyline just gets outdone by others. This is less reflective of the quality of the demoted line and more reflective of the quality of the lines that supplanted it. 

Drop in Quality: This is when a toyline has a severe drop in quality that causes it to fall from grace. While most toylines get better as they go, some do indeed get worse and worse due to cost cutting, mismanagement, and quality control issues. 

 

Let's jump in and check these out after the break...  

The Best of the Rest: My 10 Favorite Individual Toys of 2018

 For a few years I always selected my 10 favorite toylines from the past year but a few years ago I realized something: Not every great toy is part of a larger toyline or a toyline that I fully collected. It seemed kind of unfair to never acknowledge figures from smaller or one off lines. Heck, sometimes I purchased a spectacular action figure from a line while I had no intention of buying anything else. What to do? I finally decided to do a list of my Top 10 Favorite Individual Toys for the year. Who is eligible? Any toy released in 2018. Who isn't eligible? Any toy from a line I picked in my 10 Favorite Toylines list. This year this list contains some of my absolute favorite stuff, including what is probably my favorite 2018 release of them all!  Simple right? Let's check these out alphabetically, after the break...

My Top 10 Toylines of 2018

   Well...this is it! Today I'm going to start my best of 2018 awards and I'll be starting with my primary category, My Top 10 Toylines of 2018. Creating my own "Top 10" lists is one of my favorite things to do every year on Acton Figure Barbecue and I spend a lot of time preparing my list. This is the seventh year I've created a list (the earlier ones were originally at The Epic Review) and it's interesting too see how the list changes year by year. While this year has a few entries from larger lines, there are definitely some unusual choices on here. While there were a few lines I was incredibly devoted to this year, I picked up random stuff here and there far more often, including a few choices on this list that are going to surprise you. As I always say, a key word for this list is "Favorite." I will readily admit that my list is not a best of list but a list of my favorites. One of my favorite end of the year awards events has been Michael Crawford's Poppies over at MWCToys.com as it's more of an Academy Award styled event with multiple judges from different areas voting on the best. Over here, though, well these are my picks and they're based on criteria that I alone set. Let's get this show rolling after the break....