Some Random Thoughts

A lot has gone down since I was blogging regularly that I have not been able to post my opinions on at the time they were news worthy. I'm feeling like sharing those thoughts now.

Remember, these are my opinions and mine alone. If you don't agree with my thoughts, be nice about it or don't leave a comment. If you agree, that makes you smart. (I keed, I keed)

1-I'm Not So Sure About The Ant-Man Movie

Now, don't get me wrong. I do think that Ant Man should be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was an original member of the Avengers in the comics. He was a part of the Ultimate Avengers straight to DVD movies and he was a part of the very awesome Avengers Assemble cartoon. Ant Man is an important character and he deserves his time in celluloid.

My issue is I am having a problem deciding if he is worthy of a stand alone film. I mean, unless your a big time comic book fan, chances are you may not even know who the character is. Which may be why his is getting a movie. To introduce the character to the movie going public and possibly set him up to join the Avengers for two part Avengers: The Infinity Gauntlet in 2018 and 2019. If that is the thought process, then it may be a smart move on Marvel's part.

If I was it was up to me, I would have had Hank Pym in the first Avengers movie. Even if he wasn't going to be a part of the alien invasion of New York at the end of the movie, at least have him as a scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D and make some sort of reference to the fact that he becomes Ant Man at some point. Maybe have him d
iscover his power to shrink and grow or even show the suit. Maybe the not so knowledgeable fan wouldn't get the reference, but the seed is planted for later use.

And another problem for me is they aren't even making Henry Pym the main character. Henry Pym is going to be an older character, played by Michael Douglas. Paul Rudd will be playing a totally different character. Why not have it Hank Pym? And will we see the Wasp in this movie? Which character is playing her if we do?

I like Paul Rudd and I've always been a Michael Douglas fan. I really hope this movie does well. After the success of Guardians Of The Galaxy, are you betting against Marvel? I'm not. But by the same token, I also wouldn't be surprised if this is Marvel's first disappointment.

2-What In The Uncle Ben Is Going On With The Spider-Man Franchise?

A lot has happened since the end of the Amazing Spider-Man 2's run in theaters. Rumors have been abound that Sony and Marvel would be meeting in a "Spider-Man Summit" in January 2015. The Sinister Six had been scrapped and it was on again and due to start filming. Andrew Garfield was fired as Peter Parker/Spider-Man for opening his mouth about Sony executives sticking their noses in during the filming of Amazing Spider-Man 2 and then not showing up for a very important Sony dinner, which insulted the executives. There have been so many rumors that I really don't know what to believe anymore.

Here's what I do believe. I do believe that Marvel and Sony were going to discuss a possible Spider-Man appearance in Captain America: Civil War. If you have read the story, you know that Spider-Man was one of the main characters in that story arch. In my opinion, you can't have a Civil War without him. I mean, he revealed his secret identity to the world because he sided with Tony Stark at first before realizing that he's heart was not in on Stark's beliefs and moved over to Captain America's side. Because nothing could be agreed upon, Spider-Man will not be in the picture and his role in the story has been, presumably, given to Black Panther.

I also believe with the departure of Amy Pascal as co-chair person of Sony Entertainment will open up negotiations to allow Marvel to eventually be able to use Spider-Man in future Marvel movies as well as start a franchise for Spidey. Pascal was championing Garfield as Spider-Man and when he was let go it might have been the beginning of the end for her. Do I think we may see a Spider-Man reference at the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron? No, but we may see something at the end of Captain America: Civil War. I had heard he may appear in the upcoming Thor movie, but I really don't think it makes any sense for him to show up in that film.

Either way, would it really shock anyone reading this that an announcement be made during this summer's San Diego Comic Con? Can you imagine Kevin Feige on stage talking. The lights go down and a Spider-Man logo comes on the screen with Marvel's logo as well as a release date for a Spider-Man movie? I think the crowd reaction would be louder than the one that the 1 minute footage of Batman Vs Superman got.

3-So Marvel Is Now Copying DC Comics?

OK, admittedly, I have not read a comic book in a few months time. Not that I have lost interest in reading them. Because I have been out of work for most of 2014, I decided that I would give up buying single issues and just read the trades instead. Would save me money (kind of) to wait until the collected works of a particular story arch come together under one cover. Plus, it saves me storage room. But, I do try to keep up with the happenings in the comic book world.

Which is why when I heard the announcement for Secret Wars and how it would end the Marvel Universe as we know it made me go hmmmmmmm. 

I know most of you already know what's coming up in Secret Wars. But in case some of yo missed the memo on this, don't worry. The Sexy Geek's got you covered.

Basically, what will happen is by the time the first issue of Secret Wars hits the stands in May, every world in the Marvel Multiverse will be destroyed with pieces of each coming together and forming Battleworld, which is where the story will take place. 

After the Secret Wars story arch ends, there will be a whole new world combining elements of not only the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe, but maybe other worlds as well coming together to form the All New Marvel. Essentially, they are taking the best of each world and making one. They may actually bring back old characters in this new world, so if they wanted to bring back Uncle Ben or Gwen Stacey, they can. 

Is this a reboot? Sure as heck seems like it. 

This smells to me like what DC did with Flashpoint a few year back and restarting their universe and forming New 52. A lot of DC fans didn't like it then and some still don't to this day. Once can argue that only a few titles, like Batman, Justice League, Aquaman and Green Lantern are good reads under the New 52 banner. That may not be a fair statement, but I'm just going by what some of the regular comic book readers I know have told me. 

Now, is this what Marvel is going for with their "reboot"? I don't think so. I think that with the success of their movies they have gained a lot more people jumping aboard the Marvel bandwagon, people who may not have read a comic before or kids who seen the movies are are now just starting to read the books themselves. I see this as a way for Marvel to clean up their universes and make it into one tight universe so many readers can follow the stories of their favorite characters. Maybe even make the books in line with he movies, which may or may not be such a hot idea.

I think it could be a good thing as long as the stories are good. I am now more open to change when it comes to comics than I was before. Remember, I was pissing and bitching about how making Doc Ock switch bodies with Peter Parker and killing him off was a bad thing until I read Superior Spider-Man and realized it was a damn good read. I also think I felt better about it knowing with Amazing Spider-Man 2 coming out soon they would have to bring back Peter Parker, so I relaxed and enjoyed the story arch, knowing I'd have my Spider-Man back. What I'm saying is, let's not be so quick to dismiss what Marvel is trying to do. Let's read a few issues of the All New Marvel before we formulate an opinion. If there wasn't a New 52, do we get Court Of Owls, Throne Of Atlantis or Death Of The Family? As long as they don't change too may things, I think this could be a good thing. Now, if Marvel listens to some geniuses and make Milo Morales the only Spider-Man I may not be too pleased with that.

Again, these are just some of my own opinions on what's been going n the past couple of months. I may be wrong in some of what I said. I may be off base on some of my theories or just insane, which wouldn't be the first time I was accused of that. That's why I love talking comics and all things comic book related. There are so many different opinions and thoughts and some awesome conversations are sure to come up within the next few months over these subjects. Let's see what happens and if we, as fans accept what we are given.

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.

Cross Another One Off The Checklist

In terms of acquiring new items for my various collections, 2013 was a solid year for yours truly. I managed to knock off a few items I had on my must have lists, vintage and contemporary. I made a promise to myself that 2014 would be more of the same. I still have my checklists for things I would like to add to my various collections. With all the conventions, flea markets and shows I try to attend, I hope to make a huge dent on those checklists.

Back in July, I posted a blog about the top 5 Batman figures I wanted to pick up for my Batman collection.I was able to cross off the DC Direct Super Friends Batman figure and thanks to a gift card my sister got for me as a Christmas gift, I was able to knock another off that list and it's a figure I have been wanting for a while now.

I finally have the DC Collectibles New 52 Batman figure and It's such a cool looking figure. I have read a few of the New 52 titles. I've read the first arcs of The Justice League, Superman and The Flash, but for my money, the best title in the DC Universe is the Batman book. I enjoyed the Court Of Owls Vol 1 and The Death Of The Family so much. When I saw that Batman would be made into a figure, I knew I had to have him.

When I picked up the figure, the first thing I noticed was the front of the box. I liked that it looked like a comic page being turned to revel the figure behind it. Whoever designed the box should be given points for originality.

On one side of the box shows a picture of the figure that was purchased, which is based on the art of Jim Lee. It also gives props to the designer of the figure, in this case is Jack Matthews.

The other side has a silhouette of the Caped Crusader. Very nice graphic. I like the shadow effect with the eyes and the bat symbol whitened out.

 
The back of the box has some info regarding the comic and shows off the figures coming out in this particular wave,which in this case is Aquaman and Green Lantern. The back also shows the rest of the figures in this Super Friends...er, I mean Justice League line.

Now there is a Batman. Upon first glances at this figure in stores before I finally picked it up, I realized I liked this figure a lot. Now that I have it out of the box I can say I really, really like this figure a lot. The paint on this figure is unreal. The grey is a perfect back drop to the the black that just pops out at you.

Looking closer at this figure, the sculpt on it is just fantastic. I love who this figure captures the lines on the suit just like in the comics. Although you probably can't see thanks to the flash on my camera, I can assure you that the face sculpt is awesome. Jack Matthews did a fantastic job sculpting this figure.

The back of the figure shows of the cape, which is a one piece made of a rubbery plastic material attached to the figures shoulders. Like the figure itself, Matthews did a fantastic job sculpting the cape. I love the folds on it and it even has a couple of folds on either side of the cape. The coolest thing about it is how the back just drapes behind and just lies on the ground.

Now, if our looking for a massively articulated figure, I would advise you to keep on looking. There is a bend at the knees, elbows and there is a biceps swivel and that's it.

The head doesn't turn side to side, there is no movement in the fingers or toe and no hip swivel. To be honest with you, it really doesn't detract form how cool this figure is. Then again, I have never been a huge fan of too much articulation on my figures. I find that it makes them hard to stand. If I was putting them in action poses, then I could see a use for them, but I really don't pose my figures.

Now, if I had to take away marks from this figure, it would be the lack of a base and accessories. This figure is one of the more expensive ones I have picked up. Would it have killed DC to have added a batarang or two? How about a base? I do like my figures in an upright position, but considering the lack of articulation on this bad boy I don't feel that will be an issue.

Despite the lack of articulation, base and accessories, I have to say that this figure might be one of my favorites in my Batman collection. Definitely in my top five favorites. I feel it captures the spirit of the New 52 comics perfectly. Great sculpt, great paint job, great figure, period. One I feel that should be in every Bat collection.  

Amazing Superman Collection Makes Me Want Batman Figures

The other day, I was on YouTube, looking at videos of other collectors and their collections. As of late, I have been in a very "Superman" mood and was watching videos of Superman collections. I stumbled across a collector called stewmurray47. He is a Superman collector from England, I think. This guy has one amazing Superman collection. If you have the time, check out some of his videos. Here is the one that shows off his collection. It's about an hour, but I promise you, it is worth the time to view this fantastic collection.

Seeing that video in it's entirety, made me think about my collection, specifically, my Batman collection and all the stuff I would like to pick up and add to the collection. Statues, batmobiles, playsets are some of the things I have looked into adding, but for this blog, I am going to keep it to just action figures as they are what I have been looking at on eBay the most...and drooling over.

And because I am pretty lazy, I will list the 5 figures I really want to add to my collection in the near future. I will only list figures that have been previously been released and are affordable to my wallet. As much as I would give my soul for a  Hot Toys Michael Keaton Batman figure, I will be quite happy with the NECA figure I have on pre-order.

1-DC Direct New 52 Batman

Of all the New 52 DC Titles, hands down, Batman is the best book to read. Some people may say Green Lantern or Justice League would be, but I just happen to love reading the Batman titles. I was afraid that when DC planned this reboot that I would really dislike the direction they were going. I was wrong.Well, at least when it comes to Batman. Loved The Court Of Owls and Death In The Family stories and I eagerly await to read what happens next in the Batman world.

Some people had a problem with the new costumes, but I really didn't. Batman wearing shorts or not wearing shorts in his new outfit doesn't really matter to me. I really like the sculpt on this figure and  look forward to adding it to my collection at some point soon.

2-DC Direct 13" 1:6 Batman

This is one of the more higher end figures on my list, but it is so cool. I have seen this figure in stores when it was released, but the $79.99 price tag always had me backing away from it slowly. Had I known that Hot Toys would be even more expensive and that the price tag for this figure would grow, I would have gladly grabbed it at $80.00. This is what Famous Covers should have been.

Let me piggyback this figure with the one above since they are both 1:6 Batman figures

I think I want this one a little more because this is my favorite incarnation of The Batman. It's the one I grew up with in the 70's and 80's and the version I favor the most.

3-DC Direct Justice Batman

Alex Ross is one of my favorite artists and when I found out DC Direct was releasing a figure based on the graphic novel "Justice", which Ross illustrated, I knew I had to get it for the collection. A few years later, I still don't have it. In my defense, I can never find it and when I do, the price is pretty high. I will add this figure to my collection at some point soon.

4-DC Direct Super Friends Batman

As a kid, The Super Friends was my favorite cartoon and I never missed an episode when it aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. As an adult, I pick up the DVDs when I find them and enjoy a piece of my childhood. This was another of those "I have to have it" figures when I saw it, yet I still have not picked it up. But, I do have more than one option as this figure came solo, in a 2 pack with Scarecrow and in a four figure Batman box set. I have seen the box set and will fork over the 40.00 when I see it again.

5-DC Direct Batman/Superman Public Enemies Batman

I have always been a fan of Ed McGuinness and I absolutely love this figure based on the graphic novel. The sculpt looks exactly like the way McGuinness drew Batman. I enjoyed the graphic novel, so this figure is also a must for my collection. I should take time this weekend and see if the animated movie is on Netflix this weekend and check it out.

Now that I listed the 5 (o.k., 6) figures I want to add to my Batman collection, it's time to start looking for them before all you guys grab them before I can get my dirty mitts on them. I know I probably won't have a collection as big as the Superman collection stewmurray47 has, but I plan to have fun trying and these 5 figures will be the ones I start with.