It's time once again to thumb through the toy section of this month's Previews, and see what goodies we can uncover. Scheduled to start shipping in November.
As is the case so often, we're into the DC Direct section before we see any toys. The fun starts on page 129 with the 13" Green Arrow figure. The articulation on this is even less impressive than on the regular toys, so forget about any good archery poses from him.
Matt Wagner's Trinity story is brought to life on page 132 - Superman isn't much to look at, but Batman and Wonder Woman are nice, and we're finally getting our first shirted Ra's Al Ghul. Nice!
On page 133, you can see Jack Kirby's New Gods figures: Mister Miracle, Lightray, Orion and Darkseid.
McFarlane Toys once again proves its ability to strike while the iron is no longer hot by offering a Simpsons Movie set on page 163. Here's a hint, guys: if the only movement in your figure is motorized, you're not making action figures, you're making snowglobes, no matter how much sound they have.
NFL Series 16 is on page 164, and here's the pertinent info: Ravens, Broncos, Browns, 49ers, Cowboys, Chargers. Bask in the glory of an action figure sitting on the bench. Yay.
The 49ers 3-pack on page 165 features Jerry Rice and Joe Montana, which is a no-brainer, but also Ronnie Lott. Because, what, two-packs aren't cost-effective?
On page 166-7, McToys does for Christmas what it did for Oz: Monsters Series 5: Twisted X-Mas. The early winner is Jack Frost, followed by Rudolph, the Snowman, Stripper Pole Mrs. Claus, Santa himself and finally the elves, bringing up the rear.
The next two pages debut the laughable Beowulf figures. Since ToyBiz pretty much showed the entire industry how to do a movie license right when they had the Lord of the Rings line, you might think Todd's movie toys would be something other than glorified PVCs. You'd be wrong.
Page 170: Hockey. Nobody cares.
Page 171: 3" Hockey. Still nobody cares.
Page 173: Elvis box set. Get the Bubba Ho-Tep figure instead.
Another Jack Bauer figure is kicking down the door on page 174. Hopefully this one didn't have to be sculpted twice, like the last one.
Wow, Series 19 and 20 of the Marvel Minimates are listed on page 195. 19 features Spidey/Mysterio, Ms Marvel/Ultron and Archangel/Apocalypse. 20 features Smart Hulk/Abomination, Havok/Polaris, and Hawkeye/Vision. Aren't they about five series lat with Minimates, now? Maybe they should catch up before soliciting more?
Page 435 lists a lot of Transformers movie merchandise that's already hit stores, but if you've given up on Wal*Mart and Target, this may be your answer.
You a big fan of 5" Fantastic Four figures? Of course you're not. But they're on page 436, along with the Marvel Legends Icons versions of Nightcrawler, Daredevil, Colossus and Phoenix. Plus, the Marvel Legends Fantastic Four assortment. Yay! Take THAT, crappy movie toys!
Star Wars fans will like the Star Wars Expanded Universe sets on page 438: Anakin Skywalker/Assassin Droid, Baron Fell/Derek Klivin, and Lieutenants Jundlands and Shan. Star Wars fans will also know who any of those people are.
On page 439, SOTA's Street Fighter Revolutions Series 1 are finally shown. Since this may be the only assortment they successfully get out the door, it has R. Mika (meh) and fan-favorites Dhalsim, E. Honda and Zangief.
There are two sets of Back To The Future Minimates on page 440, including a box set and a two-pack.
If you haven't been able to find the Shaun of the Dead Winchester 2-pack anywhere (and really, who has?), you can order it for $27.99. Might be worth it.
Page 444 lists four new Star Trek: The Next Generation figures: Nemesis Crusher, Nurse Ogawa, and Miles O'Brien, plus the exclusive Ensign Ro.
There's some vague listing for a new series of Star Wars figures on page 446, but it's almost impossible to tell what's actually supposed to be in it.
The goodness continues on 448 with new Star Wars Transformers - Luke/Snowspeeder, AT-AT Driver/AT-AT, and Commander Cody/Clon Tank. And immediately below that are 2" Unleashed Battle Packs.
The expensive Designer section begins on page 469. Anything worthwhile this time? (flip flip flip) No.
If you dug Final Fantasy XII, then check out the Cloud, Tifa and Aerith figures on page 482/3. Realistic sculpts and tons of articulation (rather than solid lumps of cartoony figures, like we've seen before).
Page 486 is the landing spot for two Doctor Who sets, based on "Daleks in Manhattan" and "The Satan Pit".
NECA has two products weirdly hidden in the back: Assassin's Creed: Altair and God of War: "Ares Armor" Kratos are hiding on page 515, so don't overlook them.