Zog

As much as I loved the Archie TMNT comics, I only tried one story arc of the Mirage book, and couldn't really get into it. But present me with a big dinosaur monster, and I'm sold! It's terror in the sewers for anyone unlucky enough to come across Zog, a Triceraton soldier who fled to the tunnels after escaping the TCRI research building. Huh, that's a much different story than NECA's website told! The connection between Mirage Studios and triceratopseses goes back even further than the connection between Mirage and turtles, so it's no surprise the Triceratons would show up so quickly in both the comicbook and in this line. Zog was one of three Triceratons who were accidentally teleported to Earth: he ended up living in the sewers, the second was captured by DARPA, and the third... was never mentioned again? Considering that when we met him, Zog's brain was decaying from exposure to Earth's atmosphere, that third one's probably dead by now. This is a member of an alien empire, so it makes sense that he's wearing the remnants of a spacesuit or uniform of some sort. It's purple, and at one point seemingly covered his entire body, though by now there are rips in the knees, he's lost whatever boots or gloves he may have once had, and has ripped off the majority of his sleeves, leaving just a bit of material hanging around his wrists. His skin has a rough texture, all crackled and pebbly, while his suit is comparatively smooth - it's got lots of wrinkles, but is still obviously distinct from the organic parts. Good work, Gurjeet Singh! This is the first time we've heard Gurjeet's name, but it's not the first time we've seen his work. Zog is a massive chunk of plastic, with a trunk broader than a Marvel Legends Hulk, and stumpy limbs that are bigger around than some toys' chests. His broad, flat feet will help support all that bulk when you've got him on display. A big chunky toy deserves big chunky joints, and this one moves at the ankles, knees, hips, thighs, waist, wrists, elbows, biceps, shoulders, and head. Now, obviously we're not getting double-hinges anywhere, but that's still just as much movement as a regular-sized character would get. Plus, he's got a swivel/hinge where you plug in his bendy tail, and not only does his mouth open, his tongue is separately balljointed, as well! How many action figures can you think of with an articulated tongue! Though his skin is orange, it's a dark, muddy shade with lots of shadows to keep him from looking cartoonish. Plus, just like we've come to expect from the comic Turtles line over the years, all those thin black lines designed to look like crosshatching. What look like a few errant drops of paint on his back actually turn out to be holes in his suit, given orange paint apps on purpose. The Triceraton symbol is, appropriately enough, a triangle, and Zog has three on him: one on the side of his chest, one on the left wrist of the suit, and one marked on the skin of his right shoulder, all done in red with a black outline. Zog includes alternate hands: open ones right out of the tray, fists, and two sets for holding different-sized weapons. Weapons like the three grenades you can hang from his chest, the big knife with a spiked knuckle guard, or a blaster pistol with a small strap hanging from it. That's less than we've seen from other releases, but this is already an oversized box and it's packed tight with dinosaur body, so we're not going to complain. Much. You don't need to be familiar with the character Zog to enjoy this toy. You don't even have to care about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! He's a spaceman triceratops, which is just a cool concept on its own, and the toy's fun to play with. Let that be enough to draw your attention. -- 01/27/23

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