Near the end of DC Collectibles in 2020, there were a lot of Redecos and simple retools of previously released figures. The DC Essentials line was being re-released with zombie tooling and the original Batman the Animated Series figures from six years prior were being issues with slight paint upgrades. I ignored most of these toys and turned my attention instead to the new DC Multiverse line from McFarlane. A year later. McFarlane Toys surprised us by continuing these redecos under the resurrected DC Direct banner. I also ignored these. But eventually I picked up this Catwoman Version 2 on clearance. I hadn't noticed the significant improvement in her facepaint. And the previous ugly exposed pins on her hips were now gone. She is a beautiful figure. But I still didn't remember to open her until my recent Batgirl post (which was coincidentally the first cel-shaded figure I photographed). It took me a minute to find her buried in a closet, but here she finally is in all her glory. Let's check out Catwoman below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Irene Matar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irene Matar. Show all posts
Thursday, January 2, 2025
Batman: The Animated Series CATWOMAN!
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Justice League Animated WONDER WOMAN!
Bruce Timm's Wonder Woman design from the DC Animated Universe has become one of her most iconic looks. When the first episode of Justice League premiered in 2001, she hadn't made an appearance in television or film in over 15 years (except for a guest appearance in a single episode of the animated Superman series from 1988). Apparently her rights had been tied up in multiple (unproduced) development projects for all those years. But ever since her re-introduction in the Justice League cartoon, she has been a constant presence in television and film with no gaps lasting longer than 24 months. And a lot of those animated representations seem heavily (if not directly) inspired by this Bruce Timm design. It truly is classic and iconic. So getting a highly-articulated action figure of her as one of the final releases of DC Collectibles is really a great way to go out with a bang. She is practically perfect. And I only say "practically" because she inexplicably has no lasso. Let's check out Wonder Woman below!
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Justice League Animated HAWKGIRL!
I was a huge fan of Batman comics in elementary and middle school, and I must admit I was a bit possessive and snobby about these characters. Okay, a lot snobby. Even the Tim Burton films got high scrutiny from little source-material-purist know-it-all me (despite loving them now). So when Batman the Animated Series premiered a few years later I was not having any of it. I thought it was mocking my favorite anti-hero. I honestly didn't revisit the properties and begin to appreciate them until the early 2000s (basically when Harley became mainstream and I was diving deep). I suddenly saw what everyone else did all along. When the DC Collectibles Timm-verse line began I immediately got on board, and they remain one of my favorite collections. I'm much less familiar with the Justice League cartoon, but I always appreciated Hawkgirl's prominence and strikingly simple design. When I saw this figure in my comic shop last month I knew I had to have her. Let's check out Hawkgirl below!
Monday, December 30, 2019
Batman the Animated Series - POISON IVY!
One of the biggest disappointments in my adult collecting life would have to be the release of the 2017 Batman the Animated Series GCPD Rogues Gallery 5-Pack. This deluxe set retailed for a prohibitive $175.00 and featured the final figure I needed for my personal favorites collection: BTAS Poison Ivy (and as an added insult: $175 ÷ 5 = $35, which was noticeably more than the single release figures at the time). I almost caved a dozen times over the years and bought the whole set. And on eBay the single figures were almost always over 80 bucks. But I had faith that DC Collectibles would eventually re-release her in a single, or at the very least a Gotham Girls set. It took a little over two years, but I finally have her in my greedy little hands. And while this particular animated likeness isn't the strongest in the line (the face and hair from most angles seems a little off), it's still very good and I'm ecstatic to finally have her in my collection. Now I'm wishing for a Huntress in the JLA line! Let's check out Poison Ivy below!
Friday, August 11, 2017
Batman the Animated Series - BATGIRL!
Batman the Animated Series is loved for many reasons. It kept Batman on the forefront of non-print media (between films) in the 1990s, it developed many under-used characters like Mister Freeze, Ventriloquist, and Poison Ivy, and it introduced the powerhouse character Harley Quinn. But one of the things I was most appreciative of was the re-introduction of Batgirl to the Batman universe. Several years earlier she had been shot and crippled by the Joker in the comics and I was young enough to think the character was just gone forever. So when she started appearing in BTAS I was very very happy. Despite never really watching the show in it's first run, I was just ecstatic that she was out there somewhere. When the DC Animated Universe figures started coming out three years ago, this figure was one of my most wanted. I thought it would be difficult to get a good likeness because her (face) design seemed slightly different every time she appeared. But overall I'm very happy with the final result. Let's check her out below!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
The New Batman Adventures - CATWOMAN!
The redesign of Catwoman between Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and The New Batman Adventures in 1997 was the most drastic physical change of all the bat-ladies. The slinky black outfit and creepy blue-hued skin was a far cry from the original gray catsuit. I really appreciate both designs, but I must concede that this look is cooler and more catlike. I have always said that Catwoman has had an unprecedented array of costumes over her 77 year comic history. Her career in animation started in 1968 and has been been equally diverse (with several unique designs that have never appeared in the comics). I obsessively made a timeline graphic of her animated evolution later in this review. Of all her varied costumes though, this New Batman Adventures look is one of my overall favorites. I've been waiting for this action figure since this line was first announced, and she does not disappoint. Irene Matar has once again perfectly translated a 2-D style into 3-D. Let's check out Catwoman below!
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Superman: The Animated Series - LIVEWIRE!
I've really been paying attention to the rise of Livewire over the years. Similar to Harley Quinn, Livewire was introduced in a 1997 episode of Superman: The Animated Series. Within a year she was guest starring in the comics associated with the show, and about eight years later she finally crossed over to mainstream comics in Action Comics #835. She's appeared in several animated series (The New Batman Adventures, JLU, and JLU: Unlimited), one movie (Justice League: Gods and Monsters), and two live-action shows (Smallville and Supergirl). So her popularity is consistent, yet somehow understated. She's also appeared in four video games, so she's literally hit every facet of superhero media. I'm glad in a way that she hasn't had the same crazy popularity as Harley Quinn, because her character has stayed pretty true to form over the years, which is pretty rare these days. Although I must say I would love a good solo mini-series or special eventually. Let's check out Livewire below!
Saturday, March 18, 2017
The New Batman Adventures - HARLEY QUINN!
When I first started buying the DC Collectibles Animated Universe action figures I was immediately excited about the prospect of getting two versions of all of my favorite Bat characters. But then I started wondering how they would differentiate between the Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures. Catwoman, Batgirl, and Poison Ivy all have very distinctive looks between the two series. But Harley's differences were extremely subtle and I didn't know if the changes would warrant the purchase of a second figure. But then this Girls' Night Out set was announced with two exclusive figures (Supergirl and Livewire) so I knew I'd be adding a TNBA Harley to my collection no matter what. I'm glad I did too because this Harley is surprisingly different from the BTAS Harley in both scale and sculpt. This now reinvigorates my excitement about completing my collection. We should have Ivy and Batgirl by the end of August! Let's check out The New Batman Adventures Harley below!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Superman: The Animated Series - SUPERGIRL!
I was never much a fan of all the Timm-verse shows when they first aired. I was going through a weird too-cool-for-school phase where I would only read manga and watch vintage cartoons. It wasn't until I was much older that I really appreciated the cultural impact and Timm's unique character design. It also doesn't hurt that my better half happens to be a big childhood fan of BTAS & TNBA so the shows became a natural connection to all my adult hobbies. It's hard to be with someone who is totally detached from your obsessions, so I eagerly dove into all these cartoons as a saving grace. Of all the shows, I'm least familiar with Superman: The Animated Series, but I love how it recharged interest in Supergirl and Lois Lane (and not to mention introducing Livewire). It's nice how they are committing to the Superman Universe now. We already know that Superman and Lois Lane are coming this Summer, so this set adds an additional two characters to the lineup. Let's check out Supergirl below!
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Batman: The Animated Series - HARLEY QUINN!
This Batman Animated Universe line is like crack. The character selection has been amazing and the production quality, for the most part, has been spectacular. I can't wait to get my main four characters: Batgirl, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy in both BTAS and TNBA form. I never expected to see this old style, regardless of how classic it's become, make a resurgence in the high-end collectible market. I thought we would be relegated to the old 5-POA Kenner and Mattel mass market figures from the 90s. Don't get me wrong, those are classically awesome figures, but these new ones just blow them so far out of the water they aren't even in the same league. This Harley figure is the first in the line I've ever had QC problems with; The paint masking around her white neckpiece was sloppy on every figure I saw, and so was the linework around her mask. Then her ankles are also misshapen from the plastic ties. It's unfortunate, but not a deal-breaker. Let's check out Harley below!
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
The New Batman Adventures - BATGIRL!
This Batman Animated line is rocking my world. Although I never got into any of the shows when they were first aired, I have since grown to really appreciate them (as well as the character designs). It's a very difficult feat to collect all the animated Batgirl figures. Trust me, I've tried. So many years ago I gave up and set out to find the single best one. Needless to say this new figure knocks all my previous purchases out of the water. It's actually hard to review these figures because I don't have anything critical to say about them at all. Something I really love about this series is that they are alternating the styles of Batman:The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures. Eventually I'm sure we'll have one of each style for all the characters. Batman and Robin each have two different figures in the line, and apparently a TNBA Harley was secretly shown at SDCC (to compliment the BTAS version Harley due later this year). I'm very excited for this line. Let's check out Batgirl in detail below!
Saturday, October 3, 2015
The New Batman Adventures - POISON IVY!
This Timm-verse Animated series from DC Collectibles is as near to perfection as any toy line I can think of in recent memory. The sculpts (by Irene Matar) are spot-on, the articulation is incorporated expertly into the design, and the quality of the plastics used is very thought-out and intentional. I believe this Poison Ivy figure was originally slated to come out this past Spring, but there were production delays due to the QC concerns with the first few figures released this time last year. My Catwoman was fine, but I appreciate the efforts toward perfection. I'm hoping we'll get all animated versions of these character eventually. At least a BTAS one to compliment Catwoman (and likewise, a TNBA Catwoman to go with this Ivy). This line has almost unlimited potential in my opinion, but I'm still glad we're getting some of the second-tier characters first. Poison Ivy only appear four times in TNBA, but her bond with Harley Quinn has skyrocketed her popularity. Let's check out Poison Ivy in detail below!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Batman: The Animated Series CATWOMAN!
Batman: The Animated Series was one of those cartoons that revolutionized superhero culture in the mainstream media. It combined Tim Burton's gritty Gotham with the film noir style of the classic Superman cartoons from Fleischer to create a fresh new Bat-Universe. Sure Batman and Batman Returns were huge hits, but this cartoon series provided an everyday all-ages exposure for years. Most mildly-nerdy adults I meet nowadays had their perceptions of Batman formed from this very series. To be perfectly honest, I was never a huge fan of the series. Although I was young, I already had a definitive Batman in my head and this Timm-verse Batman was not it. It grew on me over the years of course. And one of the highlights of the series was the deeper development of great female characters like Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. This BTAS action figure series from DCC is one of the most unexpected yet amazing toy lines I can think of. This Catwoman is perfect. Let's check her out below!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Super Best Friends Forever POISON IVY!
Lauren Faust is the animator behind the huge cartoon hits Powerpuff Girls and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. In 2012, Lauren put her talents toward a series of animated shorts for the Cartoon Network's DC Nation show. Super Best Friends Forever featured the mini-adventures of Batgirl, Supergirl and Wonder Girl. Although there were only five shorts ever produced, they made quite an impact and the three main heroines were immortalized in an SDCC '13 Exclusive Box Set of PVC Figures (essentially plastic statues). I was on the fence about these figures and still haven't purchased them (NOTE: They're being released individually with alternate heads in December). But then they announced Poison Ivy as the NYCC '13 Exclusive (to which I was already going), and I knew they got me. Poison Ivy only appeared for about two seconds in the second episode of SBFF. Literally the entire short was about the girls racing to get to Ivy, then there's a couple closing shots of her just standing there. So, needless to say, this figure came as a bit of a shock. Let's check out Poison Ivy below!
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