RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books The Collector: What the Future Holds-San Diego Comic Con 2003

NOTE: Due to the numerous images and the limits of the server, The Collector's coverage will be divided into bi-weekly posts pertaining to a single assortment of figures.

In weeks prior, I wrote an article concerning a blue and gray Batman figure (referred to as "Classic" Batman) Mattel had planned to release as a shared exclusive for this year's San Diego Comic Con and Wizardworld Chicago, respectively. The figure drew raves (as well as dismay) from those who desired a well-sculpted Batman figure. Pre-order auctions were held on eBay with a starting bid of $159.99 - nearly eight times the suggested retail price of this particular exclusive.

I recalled the ferverent pursuit surrounding "Classic" Batman as I read reports of the action figure displays presented at San Diego Comic Con and wondered how an item which, in comparison to the products of its competition, could elicit such undue exultation.

Though Mattel's Justice League figures will feature additional articulation, their line of Batman figures-meant to be the highlight of their display-was, at best, disheartening. To no one's surprise, Mattel has elected to travel the hackneyed path of Hasbro, producing unnecessary, overaccessorized variants of the Dark Knight, coupled with a light sprinkling of villains and supporting characters.

In contrast, companies such as DC Direct and Toy Biz utilize past successes as templates while progressing in its future endeavors. DC Direct wasted little time in unveiling its upcoming figures as well as its plans for the future.

DC Direct Display:

First Appearances
First Appearances was one line of figures DC Direct unveiled with anticipation. Though the first wave of figures has not progressed past the prototype stages, the company is planning to produce figures of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Flash, Shazam! and Hawkman.

Articulation may differ among the figures, as each one will be able to strike a classic pose from their respective first appearance issues.
Prototypes of the First Appearance Batman and Wonder Woman figures were on display. Batman has neck, ball-jointed biceps swivel, elbow, wrist and knee articulation. His cloth cape will be able to drape over his shoulders. The wire lining of the cape also allows for posability.



Wonder Woman has neck, elbow, and knee articulation and wears a cloth miniskirt.




The first series of First Appearances line, consisting of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Shazam!, is planned for a June 2004 release.

Reign of the Supermen

As the Doomsday and Cyborg Superman of the previous assortment of Superman figures indicated, DC Direct has been planning to produce figures based on the mid-1990s comic book storyline Reign of the Supermen. Those plans will soon become reality, as prototypes of the figures were on display at this year's San Diego Comic Con.

The lineup for Reign of the Supermen was announced as follows:

• The Eradicator
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Ressurrection Suit Superman
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Superboy
• Steel

Though Steel was not on display, DC Direct assured fans and the media alike of the figure's completion. Furthermore, it revealed Tim Bruckner, sculptor of DC Direct's previous Superman offerings, was not responsible for crafting this line. The credit for Reign of the Superman was bestowed upon James Shoop, who managed to emulate Bruckner's style almost flawlessly.

DC Direct plans to release Reign of the Supermen on a presently unscheduled date in 2004.

That first appearance Batman is exactly what I've been waiting for them to do. Pretty cool.

I'm looking forward to that Hawkman one!

IIRC, Green Lantern was also mentioned as a possible "First Appearance" figure.

You're right. Julius Marx confirmed DCD is looking to do a First Appearances Green Lantern. Thanks for the update, A Jar of Cardinals.

Breaking news and new images are being reported from Wizard World Chicago Con 2003:

First Appearances Shazam! and the Flash were on display, as were fully painted prototypes of Batman and Wonder Woman.

As previously promised by DC Direct, a completed Steel figure was also on hand to complete the Reign of the Supermen line.

I like the scultps, but I hope the batman cape look better. I'm looking forward to the GA flash!

I have no doubt the cape's appearance will improve markedly by next November. After all, the majority of DC Direct's figure display (including First Appearances Batman) are still within the prototype stage.

JLA

DC Direct sculptor James Shoop is creating quite a name for himself. The head sculptor of Reign of the Supermen line and craftsman behind First Appearances is set to debut his labors as one of DC Direct's most anticpated action figure commodities: the Justice League of America.



The first assortment of JLA figures will be composed of Superman, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner),Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Aquaman.


Superman bolsters the American flag, symbolizing his tireless crusade for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. His facial expression suggests how fiercely he is willing to defend the civil liberties of his adopted nation.



Once the neophyte of the JLA, Kyle Rayner looks confident in his redesigned costume. Unlike DC Direct's previous Green Lantern figures, Rayner does not seem to include a one size fits all Power Ring accessory.




The upcoming Modern Age Wonder Woman is a vast improvement over DC Direct's previous undertaking. The articulation and attention to detail have been vastly improved. This version is not posed in an awkward, stiff position; rather, this Amazon exudes pride. The attention to seemingly minor details have also been aggrandized. Note the lasso holster and the wrinkles in the boots.



I've been awaiting a comic book styled Modern Age Flash figure for quite some time, and I'm happy to report DC Direct's upcoming Flash nearly exceeds my expectations. The only addition this figure needs is ankle articulation.


The costume ring (shown in the pictures following) accessory is a welcome addition, as it holds nostalgic value for Flash fans such as myself.


Aquaman was displayed mint in package and provided visual representation of a figure in its blister card packaging.







JLA will not be a one wave occurrence for Shoop. According to fellow DC Direct creator Georg Brewer, Shoop will commence work on a second wave of JLA figures to be released within a year of the first assortment. The proposed second wave is comprised of Firestorm, The Atom, Elongated Man, and Adam Strange.



The first wave of JLA figures will be released on October 15; wave two is currently projected for release in the third quarter of 2004.

More news from WizardWorld Chicago:

Hush. It is the word leaving the lips of numerous comic book fans. It has sparked debate after debate on several message boards. Perhaps most significantly of all, it is a word that will be immortalized...in plastic.

Seven months following its conclusion, DC Direct will generate a line of action figures based on Hush, the current Batman storyline helmed by Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb. The figures' concept designs were illustrated by Jim Lee himself, who collaborated with prestigious sculptor Tim Bruckner to create a distinctively tactile represenation of the storyline's cast as fashioned by Lee.

The first wave will incorporate Batman, The Joker, Huntress, Poison Ivy, and the secretive Hush into DC Direct's illustrious line of action figures.



To no one's surprise, the Hush figure was not on hand. However, Huntress was also conspicuously omitted from the display.

Though his on-again, off-again blue cape and cowl remain a bane of Batman fanatics (such as myself), the presence of blue on this rendition of Batman does little to detract from his daunting ambience. In particular, the facial sculpt presents a grim visage with subtle undertones of anguish and determination. It is indeed a figure worthy of the title "Dark Knight."



Batman features articulation in the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist and knee areas.




The Joker presented in this particular line is a contradiction to the Silver Age "Clown Prince of Crime" DC Direct propagated a month ago. By no means is the face of this figure comical. Rather, it is the face of a man who has snapped; a man who gleans humor from his chaotic miasma of life and death.




The Joker figure features articulation in its neck, jaw, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and swivel-cut shoulders and biceps.



As she is by no means a stranger to the manipulation of others to her own ends, the plastic rendition of Poison Ivy will mystify fans as an optical illusion. Though the figure's lower half may appear untouched, there are articulation points hidden in its hips and knees.



Lee has already commenced design work for the confirmed second wave, which will include Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Nightwing, Robin and Superman. While most of the proposed figures within the second wave have been eagerly awaited by action figure collectors and comic book fans for years, many do not see the need for what will be the third Superman DC Direct has produced in two years.



Series one of DC Direct's Batman: Hush assortment is scheduled for release on April 28, 2004; the release date for series two currently remains unannounced.

For those of you who are curious as to how Batman would appear in a darker color scheme, here are some images of what could have been, courtesy of our very own Rob Kamphausen.

Change the chest logo a little bit and it could be Dark Knight Returns Batman.

It's ironic you said that...DC Direct made it clear that The Dark Knight Returns was under strong consideration for a future line.

In another tidbit of cool news, a perpetual line of figures based on Elseworlds stories was also under strong consideration, but it wouldn't happen until 2005 at the earliest.

(Whew!)Now that I've completed the DC Direct segment of this thread, I can move on to what Marvel and Toy Biz's upcoming projects next week.

...Damn, getting confirmation took longer than I thought. Plus, Marvel's situation escalated from uncertain to enigma.

On the subject of the Elseworlds figures, Tim Bruckner has made it clear the proposed line would focus on the major Elseworlds storylines. We'll be getting a sample in the relaunched (due to quality problem correction) Kingdom Come line and possibly a Dark Knight Returns line.

Now to address Marvel's Toy Biz woes...

[url=http://dccomics.com/news/article_display.html?nw_dc_itemCode=artistsign]DC DIRECT GALLERY INTRODUCES ARTIST SIGNATURE SERIES
HIGH-END ACTION FIGURE SET SPOTLIGHTS BATMAN: HUSH BY JIM LEE[/url]

Fans of Batman and Jim Lee will have a chance to go behind-the-scenes and see an action figure's development in August with the ARTIST SIGNATURE SERIES: ACTION FIGURE EXCLUSIVE EDITION BATMAN: HUSH BY JIM LEE!

This high-end series from the DC Direct Gallery debuts with a set that features a dramatic new paint variant of the BATMAN: HUSH ACTION FIGURE designed by Jim Lee and sculpted by Tim Bruckner, plus a resin replica of the original sculpture created from Lee's designs and an unpainted PVC pre-production "test-shot" used to approve production molds. In addition, all three figures will be numbered.

This deluxe signature series set is packaged in a gold foil-stamped gift-display box with a double-panel lid. A signed replica of Jim Lee's original concept art, suitable for framing, is displayed on one of the inside cover panels. The opposite panel features both a 4-color Certificate of Authenticity autographed by DC Direct premier sculptor Tim Bruckner and a mini-booklet that tells the story of how an action figure is made.

"I think it's one of the coolest things we've ever done," says Georg Brewer, DC's VP — Design & Retail Product Development. "For the first time, we're inviting fans to step inside the creative process and see how we work. It represents everyone's creative contributions to the development of an action figure, including Jim Lee, Tim Bruckner, Ed Bolkus and Shawn Knapp, who first came up with the idea."

"We have really high hopes for the Artist Signature Series as it is a truly unique concept," says Syndee Barwick, DC's Director — Product Management, DC Direct. "Naturally, we're hopeful that building this initial set around Jim Lee's Batman work will be so popular that we'll be able to move into production on more sets in the series!"

"It's an honor to be the first in this prestigious new line," says Jim Lee. "Tim did some of the best work of his career on the BATMAN: HUSH ACTION FIGURE and the fans responded. This set is something that hardcore toy collectors would kill to have in their collections — I know I'll be calling DC every day to make sure they send mine to the right address!"

"One of the cool things about this item is that it gives both knowledgeable and novice fans a look at the process, and gives them a sense of why it takes a year from the time someone says 'Let's do this,' to when an action figure arrives in stores," says sculptor Tim Bruckner. "The more a fan knows, the more he or she will appreciate the tremendous amount of time and effort that goes into the DC Direct action figures."

ARTIST SIGNATURE SERIES: ACTION FIGURE EXCLUSIVE EDITION BATMAN: HUSH BY JIM LEE is advance-solicited in the February issue of Previews and is scheduled to arrive in stores on August 18.

Good post, Rob.

A handful of fans met news of the set with praise, citing it would make a fine addition to the collections of sculptors or anyone who appreciated the conceptualization of action figures.

However, several Batman fans who have desired a DC Direct version of the Dark Knight have expressed mixed feelings over the boxed set. The vast majority did not want to pay approximately $250 to own a Batman figure in a black and grey color scheme. Others disliked the figure's stylized design, preferrring a compositely fashioned Batman in a "bland vanilla pose" (as opposed to Hush Batman's left foot positioned at a forty-five degree angle).