[Update]The Gathering is Here! Support the Gathering!

Posted on February 25, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough


If there is one thing I wanted to do when I started this blog it’s try to focus a bit on the indy side of things. With that in mind I give you the second issue of The Gathering from GrayHaven Comics, An Anthology project put together by members of the Bendis Boards including Cassandra James, Gail Simone, our own Pat Loika, and many many more. The book consists of a series of 2 page stories which fit together with each issues theme fantastically wellI have a soft spot for projects like this and I can’t wait to get it in my hands. So go out, hit up the GrayHaven website and order a copy of the book today.

[Update] We’ve added some samples to the gallery below. Check out a page from the bookending sequence from Jeffrey Burandt and Ziggy Blumenthal, a page from Gail Simone and Cassandra James, and a page from Joe Kalicki and Arcadio Bolanos. Expect a full review of the first 2 issues to go up over the weekend.

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[Update]Lea Hernandez Brings out the Bunnies!

Posted on February 25, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

You know what? I have to be honest, I love adorable things. I also love fantastically priced prints of adorable things. So when Lea Hernandez is selling 5×8 prints of adorable bunnies for a reasonable price so that she may pay rent. How could I not let everyone know. It’s pretty much the epitome of a win win scenario. You get amazingly adorable paintings for your wall, and you help out an amazing person in doing so. You know you want to. I mean just look at that header are you not smiling? So do yourself a favor and head on over to her livejournal and order some adorable prints now while you can.

[Update] Lea has almost reached her goal of selling 20 sets of the bunny prints. Help her reach that goal and pick yourself up a set. It will make you feel good, not just because you helped a really awesome person, but because you will have adorable bunnies for your wall.

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Toy Fair 2010: DC Direct’s DC Universe Online Statues

Posted on February 24, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

I think we’ve already established from the last few galleries that I’m a huge fan of statues and the more static figures. I’ve always preferred them for display over action figures. I still like action figures, but statues will always be my bread and butter. So when I first saw that DC Direct was going to be doing a line of smaller scaled figures based on Jim Lee’s character designs from DC Universe Online, I immediately became pretty excited. You see, I’m one of those guys that’s a little bit anal about how he displays his figures and my DC Shelf has the Covergirls in behind the busts which leaves this gap of space that needs to be filled. Luckily enough, these are the perfect size to fill the gap between the 2 areas and they look quite nice all displayed across their shelf properly.

The only new ones they had on display at the show were Harley and Joker which are both quite nice sculpts that left me happy with the decision I made to order them. it’s also nice to get a good glimpse at the rest of the line with my favorites easily being Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Grundy. Which of these do you like? Let us know in the comments below the gallery.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.


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Toy Fair 2011: DC Direct’s Ame-Comi Line

Posted on February 24, 2011
by Jasmine Hall

At Toy Fair 2011, we were able to get up close and personal with the new glam girls to hit the DC Direct Ame-Comi Line. These PVC statues have always been up for debate on their questionable redesigns and quality. I wrote about the line as a whole recently in a previous post, but we have some new models and new repaints were shown over the course of the week. Here at Nerdstock, we are here to give any potential collectors and current collectors our opinions on the line.

To begin with, we’ve seen an array of new characters. The newest additions have a decent balance of big name girls and lesser known gems. Among the new statues are Raven, Mera, Big Barda, Wonder Woman, and Jesse Quick. These are very hit or miss for me. My personal favorites are Mera, Duela Dent and Raven, while the remaining three leave much to be desired. Mera is the overall favorite for me. I love the posing, coloring, detailing and care that went into our favorite Atlantean queen. Jesse Quick on the other hand, has been a bad redesign overall. Jesse is one of my favorite characters and to see her costume revamped in such a tacky manner and the posing less than flattering has been aggravating. However, it saved me money on buying her.

As I spoke about the Mini Comi line in the past, my opinion of them has not changed. The overall designs have been pretty tacky and horrendous. Only Hawkgirl looks a bit better in our photo gallery thanks to new angles. This is a line I will definitely put a big fat PASS on.

Finally, as what seemed like no surprise, DC will be doing some repaints of their previously released statues. We’ve seen Supergirl, Catwoman, Batgirl and Donna Troy get the recolored treatment. Now, Zatanna and Cheetah will be joining them! Slated to be released later this year around Halloween, the two previously mentioned ladies will be decked out in orange and black. Many people can relax as Zatanna will finally be featured with black hair!

Overall, the collection has always been very rocky. There are gems and there are total lumps of coal.  Either way, we have a gallery below where you can view some of the items coming up from the line. Take a look and let us know what you think.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Toy Fair 2011: Expanded Gallery: Kotobukiya’s Marvel Bishoujo

Posted on February 24, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

We just finished showing you an expanded Gallery of the DC Bishoujo figures coming out so I figure it’s best if we give you a better look at what’s coming on the Marvel side of things. All I can say after taking a look at these is that I’m extremely excited for what’s coming. I’ve already got my hands on the amazing Black Cat (The best of the line thus far) and I was really excited to get a real good look at the Ms. Marvel statue that was coming. Needless to say I’m really happy with what I’m seeing from the line. So hit up the gallery and take a look at Ms. Marvel, Black Cat, Jean Grey, and Sue Storm then let us know what you’re looking forward to.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Toy Fair 2011: Expanded Gallery: Kotobukiya’s DC Bishoujo

Posted on February 23, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

Earlier in the week we gave you a small gallery of photos of the upcoming Bishoujo statues. In that same post we promised a far more expansive gallery of the figures as we would have full access to be able to get the best shots possible to bring to our readers. With that in mind I present an expansive gallery of shots of the upcoming DC Bishoujo Supergirl and Wonder Woman figures. Take a look and let us know what you think now that you have the ability to see them from a myriad of angles.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Did DC Just Take a Hatchet to the First Wave?

Posted on February 23, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

Well this is somewhat disappointing news. It’s being reported by Bleeding Cool that DC has outright cancelled the First Wave line of books that included such titles as The Spirit, Doc Savage, and the main limited series exploring the world. I’m always sad to lose a potentially great thing and I can’t help but feel that towards the loss of this line. Especially since it seems to just be dead with no chance to finish up the storylines that were taking place. I am continually disappointed in just how little critical acclaim means in todays market. The easiest way to fail with a mainstream title seems to be by telling unique and interesting stories.

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Toy Fair 2011: Emce Toys Video Booth Tour

Posted on February 23, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

Do you enjoy zombies? Then join Matthew as he speaks to Joe Sena from Emce Toys about the zombie apocalypse they are ready to unleash.

Thanks to Matthew Kaplowitz, The Fight Nerd for the video coverage

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Toy Fair 2011: Bif Bang Pow! Video Booth Tour

Posted on February 23, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

Join Matthew as he speaks to Jenna from Big Bang Pow! about all the new lines they have coming out. From the Venture Brothers to Doctor Who they have some pretty cool stuff on the way.

Thanks to Matthew Kaplowitz, The Fight Nerd for the video coverage

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Toy Fair 2011: DC Direct’s Non Comic Merchandise

Posted on February 23, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

DC Direct doesn’t just do comics when it comes to action figures and collectibles. No, they also have been branching out into the video game market and more with figures from games like World of Warcraft, Mass Effect 2, God of War, Killzone, and Ratchet and Clank. Some pretty cool figures to be sure and it’s nice to see them really trying to branch out and expand the DC Direct brand beyond just comics. Hit up all the images in the gallery to take a look at the stuff they had on display.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Toy Fair 2011: DC Direct’s High End Collectibles

Posted on February 23, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

DC Direct is a company that offers a ton of different options. From action figures and busts to mid and mini scale statues, they have a wide range of options to choose from for a DC fan. One of my favorites has always been their higher scale collectibles which usually combine high quality sculpts with some pretty good quality control in comparison to the rest of the stuff they put out. My personal favorite thing they put out is their 1/4 scale Museum Quality line as the Wonder Woman was the first big statue I had ever bought. Giant and epic with real cloth elements and great sculpts you can bet that I’m eagerly awaiting both the Harley Quinn and the Joker statues that are coming up.

What about you guys? Does anything in here interest you guys? or am I the only one that gets a little bit giddy about the giant statues? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Toy Fair 2011: DC Direct Teases Batman: Arkham City Action Figures

Posted on February 22, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

One of the interesting things I noticed in the Action Figure section of the DC Direct photos was this little gem right here. We’ve known for a while that Arkham Asylum was getting figure lines but I didn’t know about the Arkham City lines that would be coming. I mean yes, it’s kind of predictable that a DC video game would be getting figures but it’s nice to see it as a reality. We can already see the new Harley Quinn design in the photos but it looks like they are teasing 3 more. I’m thinking those 3 will be Batman, Catwoman, and the Joker, what do you think the 3 will be? Let us know in the comments below the gallery.

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Toy Fair 2011: DC Direct’s Action Figure Lines

Posted on February 22, 2011
by Katie Dreyer

Inside of Toy Fair, we glimpsed some of the upcoming action figure lines for 2011. Included are the continuing Brightest Day line, and new sets for Batman Inc, and Flashpoint.

Brightest Day will include Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hakwgirl, Mera, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Deadman, Hawk, Dove, Jade, and Aqualad. It’s interesting that the entire Aqua family is getting figures, beyond just Arthur Curry himself. I’m also excited about Hawk and Dove, along with Deadman.

Batman Inc has just gotten rolling in the comics and upcoming figures include Batman (Bruce Wayne), Robin (Damian Wayne), Knight, and Man of Bats. I’m very excited for the Damian Wayne as Robin and the Knight figure. Batman’s costume is the up to date version with the signature piping.

It’s interesting that Flashpoint’s figures have come out almost before the series itself got started. Maybe DC was trying to stir up some interest in the plot without revealing too many details. Flash, the center of it all, is the same in his signature suit. But Wonder Woman, Batman, and Cyborg all have variations on their traditional wear. Batman looks a little more angular and sinister, while Diana looks more warrior-like. Honestly, I wish the Cyborg armor would stick around, because it’s a really nice look.

It’s an exciting year for DC Direct Action figures. We’ll see some old favorites get released, along with some brand new ones. And as always, I’ll be counting down the days until I can get my hands on them.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Toy Fair 2011: DC Direct’s Animated Maquettes, Covergirls, and Black & White Statue Lines

Posted on February 22, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

DC Direct had a pretty good showing when it came to the statues. We’ve already shown you the Ultimate Showdown line and the Women of the DC Universe busts, but when I have to pick a favorite line of figures they put out I usually end up jumping to these ones. The Covergirls line outside of one exception is a fantastic line of figures. Every single one of them, except Batgirl, has a combination of strength and confidence that makes me happy to have them as part of my collection. I’ve been eagerly awaiting getting a full look at the Hawkgirl statue and to give the new Wonder Woman a chance in full statue mode. What do I see? Well I’m definitely really happy with the look of Hawkgirl but the Wonder Woman leaves something to be desired. I don’t know why. I just don’t feel … Thunderstruck! regardless as much as it annoys me that she looks like she’s rolling her eyes up as far as she possibly can, (She probably is reacting to the half jacket) it’s still better than the Batgirl which feels completely antithetical to the line.

The batman Black & White line continues to be stellar and I am absolutely loveing everything I’m seeing from it, especially that Bermejo Joker.  The same could be said about all of the animated movie maquettes. Check out all the stuff they had to offer from these lines in the gallery. I’ll be back here giggling at the solicit for the Wonder Woman #600 statue.

Paradise lost …

Concrete jungle found.

The gods of Olympus abandoned the Amazons, leaving Paradise Island to its destruction.  As Amazons were slaughtered, Queen Hippolyta ordered her daughter smuggled away, as retreating warriors were scattered to the four corners of the Earth.

And now …

In a bolt of lightning and a rumble of thunder, Wonder Woman is back in black … and red, and blue.  Diana rules over the rock ‘n’ rubble, ready to roll and take on those who still seek to destroy the refugee Amazons.In biker boots and bracelets, the Amazon Princess screams dark and dangerous. Sleek and streamlined, Diana’s new costume oozes badittude and ready-for-fighting functionality. Inner-city smart and street-fighter savvy, this urban Amazon is heavy on metal and tough in leather.

Thanks to our resident toy photographer and reviews editor Stephen Donaldson for the fantastic photography from the show floor.

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Breaking: Dwayne Mcduffie has Died.

Posted on February 22, 2011
by Chris Hansbrough

I really have no words right now. Sitting on my computer seeing that suddenly show up on my twitter feed and I’m still reeling a little bit. Someone I respected and admired is dead and it’s a tragic loss for the comic book industry. Whether it was creating the Milestone line or his amazing work on the animated side of the DC Universe he has never produced anything that I didn’t find enjoyable and enlightening and I can say with full honesty that a lot of it led to the man I am today. Our hearts go out to his family and friends as they mourn this tragic loss.

We’ll update with details as they become available but I would recommend keeping an eye on CBR where the story originally broke.

[Update: Emerald City Comic-Con will be holding a memorial panel on Saturday, March 5th at 7PM in room 4C1-2]

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