{"id":22612,"date":"2016-07-16T00:00:43","date_gmt":"2016-07-16T04:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=22612"},"modified":"2022-10-08T15:40:57","modified_gmt":"2022-10-08T19:40:57","slug":"minimate-mini-review-300-comicbook-heroes-minimates-series-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2016\/07\/minimate-mini-review-300-comicbook-heroes-minimates-series-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Minimate Mini-Review #300 - Comicbook Heroes Minimates Series 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

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#300 - Ninjak\/Shadowman<\/h3>\n

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It's been a while since we've done one of these multi-page Minimate reviews, but in honor of this being #300, and the fact that I am legitimately so excited about this series, it seemed like a good time to go nuts.<\/p>\n

A product of MI-6's ninja program, Colin King went into the family business and became a freelance spy, with advanced combat skills and even more advanced weaponry.<\/i><\/p>\n

Let that sink in a moment: MI-6's ninja program. The British government has a ninja program. I guess it was the only way for them to counter the CIA's samurai initiative. The original Ninjak was created in 1993 by writer Mark Moretti and a little-known artist named Joe Quesada. This is the 2012 version, though. His costume is purple, black and gray, which comes straight from the old design, and he gets a fancy new chest cap to represent his vest and loincloth. He's armed with two swords, and the scabbards can plug into his back (they're meant to be crossed, per the art, but the Minimate can't manage that).<\/p>\n

Ninjak's mask leaves his eyes and his hair exposed, but covers his mouth - kind of hard for an artist to portray emotion that way. It's a removable piece, and the set includes an extra piece of hair to replace it. He's got a smirk on his civilian face, and there's a fully detailed chest underneath his vest, should you choose to remove that as well.<\/p>\n

Jack Boniface is the newest host of the Loa, a shadow spirit that bonds to a human. Together, they are the Shadowman, and they defend this plane against supernatural attack.<\/i><\/p>\n

The original Shadowman had \"the door to his soul\" opened, which gave him superhuman abilities when the sun was down. The new version is part of a familial legacy. That's the big difference between them. The modern costume is black with grey boots, belt, and gloves, and the white Shadowman symbol (representing a dark figure walking through a lighted door) is off-center on his chest. He comes with two accessories, though one is just the fully extended version of the other: it's the Sengese blade, based on the weapons used in dances and rituals in West Africa.<\/p>\n

'90s Shadowman wore a blue Mardi Gras mask he found in the gutter. Modern Shadowman has a mask that appears to be about as thick as a coat of facepaint. There's a stylish white skull pattern, and his hair sticks out the top of the mask. If you prefer a more human look, the set includes a second head and hair, though his skin seems more grey than brown. And his hair gets much<\/b> bigger!<\/div>\n
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#301 - Agent Tony Chu\/Agent John Colby<\/h3>\n

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Tony Chu is a cibopath who can get psychic impressions from anything (or anyone) he eats. This served him well as a police detective, and he was later recruited by the FDA.<\/p>\n

Chew<\/i> is set in a world where all poultry meat is outlawed because of a catastrophic bird flu outbreak, which is why the FDA is now the most powerful government agency. Tony looks like a perfectly generic government agent: black pants, blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black neck tie, and his badge on a chain around his neck. He has a tan shoulder holster<\/a>, and a silver pistol. The design of the face looks just like Rob Guillory's art. It's just a shame he couldn't come with a fork or something similar.<\/p>\n

Chu's partner John Colby was badly injured and given cybernetic implants. Now able to talk to machines, he was partnered with the ferocious fighting rooster Poyo at the USDA.<\/i><\/p>\n

He was, and yet he too is wearing an FDA badge. On the fun side, that means Tony and John might hang out with other federal<\/a> agents<\/a> you might know. He wears a fur-trimmed jacket<\/a> over jeans and a V-neck, and like his partner, has a silver pistol. His shaggy blonde hair spills over his half-cyborg face, making him quite the non-traditional government agent indeed! Also, notice that, like most characters in Chew<\/i>, his name is a food joke<\/a>. A pretty cheesy one.<\/p>\n

The set also includes the USDA's doomsday weapon, Secret Agent Poyo. Originally just a champion cockfighter, Poyo was shot by a terrorist leader, and got cybernetic upgrades similar to Colby's. He wears a lucha mask that looks a lot like Bane's, and has a robotic left eye, wing and leg. He's a solid, unarticulated piece, but has a nicely detailed sculpt. He does seem to be missing some paint apps, though: the black on the mask should go all the way around his head, and his robotic eye should be red. This little rooster needs a touch-up.<\/div>\n
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#302 - Cassie Hack\/Em Cypress<\/h3>\n

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The daughter of the slasher known as \"The Lunch Lady,\" Cassie Hack has dedicated her life to finding and stopping slashers and other serial killers.<\/i><\/p>\n

Isn't that an awesome premise for a comic? Hack\/Slash<\/i> started as a series of one-shots before becoming an ongoing, and Cassie was its star. She dresses like she was specifically created to give Suicide Girls something to cosplay, with stripey fingerless opera gloves, a mesh bodysuit over a black bikini top, a super short skirt with a studded belt and a large \"FaQ\" buckle, white knee socks and black boots. Her hair is a new piece, tucked behind one ear, and she's got an \"I'm not taking any of your crap\" look on her face. She's armed with her unique baseball bat: it has nails driven through the barrel, and has \"KISS IT<\/a>\" carved on the side. Points for not reusing an existing mold!<\/p>\n

You might expect Cassie to come with her big monster-slaying sidekick, Vlad, but nope: instead, she's paired up with a character from Revival<\/i>, another comic from the same author.<\/p>\n

The dead in a small town have come back to life. Em Cypress is one of the Revivers, and has two mysteries to solve: how she died, and why she came back.<\/i><\/p>\n

Not a lot of comics set in Wausau, Wisconsin, are there? Described as \"farm noir,\" Revival<\/i> is like a Coen brothers horror movie. Em (Martha to her parents) is wearing her grey hoodie with black bones on the arms and hood, a black halo on the crown of the hood, and black wings on the back<\/a>. It's also painted with the li'l red stitches she uses to mend her sweatshirt when it gets torn up. The hood is a new mold, with the skull and halo patterns sculpted in. She looks almost as angry as Cassie, but there is one little feature missing: since the only initial evidence she was dead was a small scar on her forehead, it would have been nice if they'd included that in her face tampo.<\/p>\n

Again, it's weird that Em comes with Cassie. This could easily have been a straight Revival<\/i> two-pack, including her sister Dana or one of the \"Creeps\" that are a major part of the story. But maybe writer Tim Seely wasn't sure there'd ever be a Series 2, and so wanted to get as many of his creations representation as possible. Hopefully there is<\/b> a Series 2, and it'll have a weird Vlad\/Dana two-pack to go along with this one.<\/div>\n
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#303 - Ruminant\/Spyrnus<\/h3>\n

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Battle Beasts! When the second series was cancelled<\/a>, I thought that was the end of it. Let's hear it for this mix-and-match line rescuing at least two of them!<\/p>\n

On his grassy planet, Ruminant enjoyed a peaceful life until it was torn apart by warring factions of Beasts. He has come to Earth in response to the Dread Summoning.<\/i><\/p>\n

As far as I can tell, Ruminant (originally just called \"Shaka Giraffe,\" because until they have names, the characters are just identified by their species and the culture that inspired their look) didn't appear in the comic. In addition to the standard Minimate parts, he gets a new head and lower legs. His shoulder armor comes from Boom-Boom<\/a>, while his gloves and loincloth originally belonged to Nukpana<\/a>. There was a giraffe in the vintage line<\/a>, but this one doesn't seem to take any cues in either weaponry or colors. His grey armor contrasts with his yellow and orange skin. He's armed with a simple spear, and a large trans green shield that he can either hold in his hand or store in the clip on the back of his neck.<\/p>\n

The leader of a roaming crew of mercenaries, Spyrnus does jobs for the highest paying warlord, but he has dreams of claiming the Dread<\/a> Weapons<\/a> and becoming one himself.<\/i><\/p>\n

Spyrnus (née<\/i> \"Maori Hammerhead\") definitely appeared in the comic - he's right there in the first issue! There was a vintage shark, but he was just a plain kind<\/a>, not a hammerhead, and was also bright blue. His jagged hands are reused<\/a>, but the rest of his armor is new. He has no neck joint, due to the way his head emerges from his torso, but the fin and tail are a separate piece glued into his back. The original design<\/a> included facial tattoos, but those didn't make it to production. He's armed with a trident that can plug into either of the holes behind his shoulders.<\/p>\n

The back of the packaging for this line is marked CBHTRU1, suggesting they're available at Toys Я Us - but I've certainly never seen them there. I've been hyped for this line since it was announced<\/a>, and I've been trying to find a comicshop that had it since it shipped<\/a>. Eventually I had to resort to buying it online. (For what it's worth, it's hard to beat Luke's Toy Store<\/a> when it comes to cost and reliability.) But I'm glad I got them, because these four pairs are all a lot of fun, and I really hope we get to see the line continue.<\/div>\n
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