Add Another To My Must Have List

Just when I thought I had made my Batman pick up list for the year, I get thrown a curve.

As we know, this year we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our favorite Caped Crusader, The Batman. So far, we got a great issue of Detective Comics #27 earlier this year to commemorate the event and we got the 1968 Filmation Batman on DVD. Later this year, we will be getting some nice Batman goodies like the 1966 Batman TV Series on Blu Ray and DVD in November, Herocross is releasing an awesome Hybrid Metal Figuration of the 1966 Batman in October, which you can see down below:

You can preorder this from Big Bad Toy Store for $89.99. But earlier this week, I got my first look at the newest Kotobukyia Art-FX statue and it's a must have for me and for probably every Batman fan out there.

We are getting a First Appearance Batman by Bob Kane Limited Edition Statue and I think this looks sick.

I think this is a San Diego Comic Con Exclusive, but kotous.com has a pre-sale going on for this for a cool $39.99. They wouldn't be shipped out until a week or two after SDCC, but that's a small price to pay to get something this cool. Seriously, when I first saw these images I thought this would be a $75-100.00 statue. At $39.99, I will be jumping on this.

And to this all I wanted from SDCC initially was the Spider-Man/Iron Man NECA Scalers dual pack.

When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best...

I love my girlfriend. She knows me pretty well. My likes, my dislikes. My hobbies and everything else in between. Ever since we have been together, she has fed my Batman obsession and has fed it well. Thanks to her, I was able to add a few things to my Batman collection like t-shirts, watches, POP vinyls, Blu-Rays among other things.

This year, for Valentine's Day, she topped them all.

Seriously, how awesome is this? She gave me a Batman heart with some Bat-gummies in them. I am seriously tempted to tear open that sucker and inhale the contents inside, but I am restraining myself. I want to put it up on my shelf along with all my other Batman items. I will admit, I can hear Carly Simon's "Temptation" whenever I see that heart.

As you can see, she also bought me the Kotobukiya ArtFX DC New 52 Batman statue. I was floored when she got this for me. She knew that I wanted this for a very long time and now it's all mine. I have fogged up too many a display case looking at this and now that I have it, it's even more fantastic than I imagined. I have gushed over this piece long enough. On to the review.

The statue comes in a clear plastic package. You can see the statue inside the package as clear as day. The Batman logo is on the top left hand side and the DC Comics logo is on the top right. The lower middle lets you know which statue your buying (if you couldn't tell just by looking through the plastic) as well as the Kotobukiya name and various warnings under that.

On one side of the box, you get a picture of the Dark Knight.

On the other side you get the bat logo.

That back has the New 52 Justice League logo. The upper right corner also has the Artfx logo.

Out of the box, I am gushing again. The detail on this statue is terrific. The bat logo is featured prominently on his chest, the sculptor, Goutaro Takeuchi,  sculpted the chain mail in the Bat Suit's armor as well as all the details on the costume. I love the metallic finish on this costume.

They also did a great job on Batman's cowl. The paint job is great. They painted the cowls eyes without any spillage of white anywhere on the cowl. The sculpting of the cowl was done just as good as the outfit. The ears are not bent inward or outward. The cowl has folds in the neck and where the eyebrows would be and has the lines that would make up the cowl.

When holding the statue, I was a bit surprised at how much it felt like I was holding an action figure. It seems that the statue is made of  a hard plastic or PVC, not plaster or resin like other statues. There is no articulation in this statue. Just the Batman and the base which he stands on.

The base is a black plastic base that has Justice League imprinted into it.

Here's a better shot of the base.

Check out the back of the statue. Look at the detailing on the cape and the back of the cowl. Fantastic. The cape is made from a black plastic, but it detracts nothing from how awesome this looks.

Now, if you didn't know and was asking how the statue stood up, you can now tell from the picture. Most statues has pegs in the bottom of their feet and the peg would go into a hole on the base. Not this statue. It has magnets on the bottom of Batman's boots. That leads me to believe that there is a piece of metal inside the base for the magnets to attract itself to. I think it's pretty cool. It's different, I will give you that. I do think a peg would be better.

Overall, I think my girlfriend knocked it out of the park with this awesome Valentine's Day gift. Plus, it is my very first Batman statue and I cannot thank her enough for it. But, to be honest, my very favorite gift was not the Batman statue. It was Gina coming all the way from the warmth of the California sunshine to the cold and snowy temperatures of New York City. Now, if that isn't love then I don't know what is.

Happy Valentine's Day. Thank you for spending it with me.

My Geeky Christmas Wish List

It looks like Batman didn't get what he wanted this year. Or maybe getting caught in one of The Joker's traps has something to do with the humbug up his butt. Either way, I'm sure this look is not the one he thought he would have by the Christmas tree.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. It's the one day of the year when I feel that we can have peace and harmony.... and presents. Maybe it's the greedy miser in me, but I love seeing wrapped presents under the tree with my name on it. As a kid, I remember getting such cool gifts as Mego Batman, Spider-Man and Superman figures, Mego Batman Command Center, Star Wars figures, Remco Batman CSF Copter and the Coleco Pac Man Mini Arcade are some of my favorite presents I recieved as a kid. I cherish my memories of opening those gifts and playing with them to death. Or in the case of my mom, headaches because I would play my Pac Man game early in the morning when everyone was sleeping. I was such a stinker.

Now that I am an adult, not much has changed. I still want to open gifts and enjoy the heck out of them. I may not play with my toys anymore, but it doesn't mean I don't love what I own and would be thrilled if I was able to open my presents and find the following under my Christmas tree.

NECA Batman

I had both of these figures pre ordered with Big Bad Toy Store, but because they kept getting delayed and in one of my biggest blunders, I cancelled the order. Now that they are out and I have seen both at various comic book stores, I want them, I want them, I want them! As much as I am a '66 Batman fanatic, I happen to think the '89 Batman is a nicer figure because it doesn't have that ugly ab joint that the '66 Batman has. Still, I want them both.

Kotobukiya Art FX New 52 Batman Statue

I have been wanting this ever since I first saw the picture of it. After seeing it in person, I wanted it even more. I love the metallic finish to the suit and the fact that it's magnets that keep it on it's base. Some people complain about the suits the new 52 DC characters have, but I don't mind them. Through the ears since his introduction back in Detective Comics #27, The Batman's outfit has gone through several changes. I actually like this outfit and I love how Kotobukiya made this statue.

DC Direct Silver Age Batman And Robin Statue

I am a sucker for anything classic Batman. I have seen this statue before and have drooled over it each and every time. This statue recreates the classic Carmine Infantino 1964 redesigned Batman. Infantino's Batman is one of my top 5 favorites and if I coul ever locate this statue for a decent price, I will add this to my Batman collection.

Kotobukiya Luke Skywalker Statue

I almost picked this up on several different occasions. I have added some great pieces to my Luke Skywalker collection over the course of the year and would have loved to have been able to pull the trigger each time I came close to. Even though the facial sculpt isn't all that close to Mark Hamill's, I do like this statue a lot. Love that Luke is decked out in the Bespin fatigues. This looks like the scene in Empire Strikes Back when he is looking to save Han, Leia and Chewbacca from the Empire in Cloud City. Take my money, please.

Walmart Exclusive Amazing Spider-Man Figure

It's times like this I wish I had a Walmart close by. Because there isn't one in NYC, I missed out on this figure but I would love to find it. I was wondering why an Andrew Garfield figure wasn't done, but then I saw this figure and have been trying to score one ever since. This figure has alluded my grubby hands,  but I will have it one day.

Hamilton Beatles Figures

I have been wanting these since the 90's. I actually had the John Lennon figure that my mom bought me, but was lost in one of my many moves. Not only do I want it back in my Beatles collection, but I want Paul, George and Ringo too. I don't feel that any Beatles collection is complete without these figures. There is barely any articulation in these figures, but who cares? It's the Beatles and I must have them.

Of course, there is a lot more goodies that I'd love to find under my Christmas tree this season, these were the ones I thought of right away. But, to be honest with you guys, I do love what ever my family and friends get me because they are some of the most thoughtful people around. Besides, the holiday season isn't about gifts. It's about spreading joy and love across the globe and if you ask me, the world could use a lot of love these days. Enough hate and crime and war. I think a great man once sang Give Peace A Chance. It's high time we try what Mr. Lennon sang.