I know this may sound like blasphemy to some of you, but BLADE 2 is actually my favorite Guillermo Del Toro film. It’s easily one of the coolest comic book films ever made and has the benefit of Del Toro’s creative vision guiding the action, particularly when it comes to the evolved Reaper vampires. With a mouth that is like part Predator, part Alien facehugger, it was one of the most innovative and clever designs for a Vampire and made for a remarkable twist to the tired genre.
This maquette concept from ECC Elite is every bit as cool as the onscreen version and would be both an amazing and terrifying addition to any fan’s collection. Every aspect of the maquette is intricately detailed, right down to the jewelry and the overall stance and posture is effective as hell.
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Sideshow Toys had an epic, beautiful display of pop culture awesomeness on the convention floor this year and it’s a real challenge to narrow down to any one figure. Ultimately, it comes down to preference, as all of their products are truly top of the line, but one of the standouts for me was their Premium format figure of The Punisher in his classic black and white uniform. The premium format line is much like a statue, but has real clothing and accessories that enhance the awesome greatly.
For The Punisher, the detail in the chest straps, boots, buckles, and appearance are staggering, recalling the old-school days of the character through the ’70’s, ’80’s, and ’90’s when he wore the defining white boots and gloves, but with a contemporary feel. The face details are reminiscent of artist Tim Bradstreet’s renderings of the character and the figure as a whole comes off as very cinematic. To see this figure come to life on the big screen just as he is would be a Punisher dream come true.
The folks at Square Enix had a hell of a display at Comic Con with a number of their licensed characters on display, but the most exciting were certainly the DC character variations. They had plenty of twists on Batman and various incarnations of other DC favorites, but the most surprising and cool one was The Flash concept figure. Bulked up in armor, yet still looking as sleek as a race car, The Flash is decked out in a shiny, vibrant, and dynamic outfit that has style written all over it. I had my sights set on purchasing this from the get go, but unfortunately it’s still in concept stage with an eye towards release in the fall. Until then, you’ll just have to marvel at the image.
The Flash can’t get here fast enough (I couldn’t resist).
Gentle Giant had a tremendously awesome set-up at Con this year, but the most impressive for me was the Honey-Trap series, which collects a variety of “Suckerpunch” like bad ass chicks and presents them each with their own individual twist. This one in particular is the Comic Con variant of Whisper, decked out in a red swimsuit and looking every bit awesome and hot all at once. The entire line on display was great, but it’s always cool to see what the exclusives are and this one is the best of the litter. This is what collecting is all about and Whisper would be a welcome (and hard to find) addition to anyone’s set up.
NECA had a great line up of figures this year, from KICK-ASS 2 to PACIFIC RIM to FRIDAY THE 13th and beyond. However, their line-up of PREDATOR figures that are set to debut this fall are really sweet, especially for those of us who grew up dreaming of figures like this after seeing the original movie in theaters back in ’87. The TRU exclusive Battle Damage Dutch vs. Jungle Predator is an intricate and bad ass set-up that recreates the final battle between ol’ Arnie and the PREDATOR from the first film. The detail is great, right down to the way the blood pools down Dutch’s chest, not to mention the green-glowing blood on the Jungle Predator.
If it bleeds, we can kill it!
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Everyone’s favorite clawed mutant, Wolverine, was given the Comic Con Exclusive treatment with this action figure from the famous run by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. The figure is from Hasbro’s 3.75″ line and features the gray-haired mutant in all his post-apocalyptic glory, complete with bloody “green” claws (from his final encounter with the Hulk) and his new “cub,” which is a baby Hulk. It’s a cool choice to go with for an exclusive and the best selection out of Marvel’s line up of exclusives as a whole at Con this year.
Those familiar with the classic graphic novel “The Killing Joke” by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland will no doubt be familiar with this pose from the Clown Prince of Crime. Kotobukiya had this outstanding figure shaped out of Bolland’s iconic image, only with more detail than the original design, adding in the cherub-like demonic minion and crate to complete the full-bodied version. It’s one of the better recreations of original art I’ve seen and begs to live on your shelf, especially for those who regard the work in the high esteem it deserves. A wonderful tribute to the source material.
Iron Man has gone through quite a few suits of armor in four films and had quite the surplus until the closing of IRON MAN 3. However, Hot Toys has created an epic set of all the main suits from the collected films all recreated from the latest big-screen jaunt. The full display has connecting light-up showcase boxes, a main stand, tech table, and Stark’s favorite mechanized robot helper. It’s a sweet display and one that would look beautiful in anyone’s collection. Provided you have the space, of course.
Yep, Sideshow has another one on the list. In fact, I could probably do a list just on their goods, but what caught me most about Catwoman was the level of detail and, of course, the hotness. Yeah, I get it, it’s a toy, but this is one hell of a sexy statue. The suit, which is actual leather-like shiny material really helps sell the whole thing and the accessories, like the goggles, whip, and boots are all made of varying materials that make it feel like parts of a whole, rather than just a big block of plastic. Amazingly detailed, sexy as hell, and a striking pose, this is a gem that the feline burglar would love to steal.
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Yep, we’ve got another Iron Man suit on this list. Although it wasn’t featured as much as I would’ve liked in IRON MAN 3, this statue for the MARK 38 armor is just gorgeous. The lights add a whole other dimension to this statue that simply looks awesome. The armor itself looks as if it just leaped off the screen and the level of detail is amazing. This is one of those statues that looks great from every vantage point and would probably be the main attraction to just about any collection, especially with those lights.