When I first started collecting action figures as an adult in the early 2000s, it coincided with me starting to collect comics again after a 5 year hiatus. I was in a new city with several comic shops (all my hometown ones had closed in the 90s), and those new stores were teeming with action figures from DC Direct. DCD had started just a few years earlier so I had never before seen the merging of toys and comics in one store like that. I bought a lot of these toys over the next few years. But these Silver Age Deluxe Box Sets were just too pricey for me at the time. I favored Batman over Superman and I preferred costumed heroes over civilians, so it took me twenty years to finally pick up this Lois set. Which is a shame because because this figure is gorgeous. Despite being a bit pre-posed and having sculpted-in accessories, the Tim Bruckner sculpt perfectly captures that Silver Age aesthetic. I know most people love her modern purple blazer, but these vintage browns will always be my favorite. Let's check out Lois below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Tim Bruckner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Bruckner. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
DC Direct Silver Age - LOIS LANE!
Monday, August 10, 2020
Justice League International - BLACK CANARY!
A few hours ago I heard the news that Warner Bros has fully shut down DC Collectibles/DC Direct after 22 long years. To me, this is truly one of the saddest things to have happened to the toy industry in all my years of collecting. It's sadder than Mattycollector ending, sadder than all the unfinished ThunderCats lines, and sadder than all the various licenses being revoked before my favorite characters could be made. To me, DC Direct has always seemed like the company with the most love for the genre (of both comics and toys) and the company who had the most fun actually making the figures. And, as an artist myself, I will always have respect for the fact that they gave the individual sculptors and designers credit on the packaging. It's amazing how many companies don't/won't do that. Imagine if every novel you read was authorless. Imagine if every comic was penciled anonymously. Imagine if you never knew the names of actors or athletes. Those pasttimes would be a lot less enjoyable.
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Silver Age - WONDER GIRL!
One of the things I miss most about the heyday of DC Direct (circa 2000-2010) is the constant mix of genres and eras in their action figure lines. For any given A-list character, you could see a variety of representations from Golden Age to Modern (and with a healthy dose of Elseworlds re-imaginings thrown in). That kind of attention just wouldn't happen today. Of course less common characters also saw inclusion, and I think those are the real gems of the line. The Silver Age line of 2-Packs from 2001-2004 was a great way to get collectors classic designs of the Teen Titans as secondary pack-in characters. The costumes were not consistent to a specific roster, but the figures are still great in their own right. I especially love the wide-eyed good girl art style in the face sculpts. It's cheesy. But spot-on. This Wonder Girl figure is a favorite of mine. It features her second costume (her original was styled after Wonder Woman) back when she was Diana's younger sister, Donna. Let's check out Wonder Girl below!
Monday, December 2, 2019
Justice League International - FIRE!
My first exposure to Beatriz da Costa was in the pages of Super Friends when she went by the name Green Fury. I was always drawn to monochromatic characters, even at such a young age. But on the flipside, I was also so young that the idea of fire that wasn't red or orange baffled me. That's honestly why I remember her so well.. because her powers confused me. I didn't even realize she was she same character as Green Flame and Fire until very recently. When she was Green Flame in the Global Guardians, she first started being paired with Icemaiden. And when Icemaiden was re-created as Ice in Justice League International, Green Flame followed suit and shortened her name to Fire. I really don't know much about the pair, except that they seem so iconic - like a female Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. There have been a handful of good action figures of this pair, but I personally think these DC Direct Justice League International versions are the best. Let's check out Fire below!
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Justice League International - ICE!
Fire and Ice are two characters I know next to nothing about. I never read any Justice League books when I was young, let alone Justice League International. But when I got into toy collecting in my twenties, the official DC Direct message boards were overflowing with fans begging for action figures of the pair. There was also a fair amount of shipping going on, but as far as I can tell that was all just fanboy fantasy. Once I started reading about the characters, though, I became kind of obsessed. I love the theme of elemental opposites with coinciding temperaments. Ice is Tora Olafsdotter, a naive girl from a magic wielding tribe of Norsemen. There is some confusion with the character Icemaiden who debuted a decade prior. Apparently the JLI writers thought Icemaiden never had a fleshed-out history when they introduced Ice (who they intended to be the same character). But Icemaiden had a very detailed origin previously published which led to Ice being an (unintentionally) original character.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Dark Knight Returns CARRIE KELLEY ROBIN!
I have a love/hate relationship with the Dark Knight Returns. I recognize and appreciate its impact on the evolution of Batman; It added a grim and gritty element where previously things were pretty PG. However, I just never liked the story. I find it boring. The one thing I did love though was the unique and unexpected introduction of Carrie Kelley as a female Robin (despite the weird and disappointing treatment of Catwoman). Still, the first female Robin will always be iconic. This DC Direct figure from 2004 was one of only two pieces of Carrie merchandise (the other being an expensive statue) for many years. However, in the next 9 months she is getting a 6" Multiverse figure, a BTAS-style DCC figure, an Eaglemoss Figurine, and a Funko Pop. This is likely due to the DKR 30th Anniversary this year as well as the animated adaptation. Whatever the reason, I was so excited about the prospect of a small Carrie Kelley collection that I finally hunted down the original. Let's check her out in detail below!
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Avengers: United They Stand - WASP!
Avengers: United They Stand was a very short-lived animated series from 1999. It lasted only 13 episodes, but it the first time that the Avengers were featured in their own series. It was essentially the Avengers version of X-Men the Animated Series. They had made previous appearances in X-Men, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, but for the most part the Avengers were unknown to the general public and the show was not a success. With only 13 episodes, I'm totally going to find it on YouTube and binge it all. It will be interesting to see how the earliest non-comic representation of Marvel's super-team was portrayed. The toys they made from the cartoon are pretty awesome. Hawkeye is a dud, but most are pretty sweet. I've always liked this Wasp figure and definitely thought it was way nicer than the first Marvel Legends Wasp from 2006. There is going to be a film titled Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018 so I'm curious to see how popular the character gets. Let's check out this 1999 figure below!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
DC Direct's PROMETHEA (with SOPHIE)!
Promethea is one of my favorite creations of Alan Moore, the profound writer behind such modern classics as Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, and others. (Plus very notable work with such established characters as Batman, Swamp Thing, and of course Marvelman). Promethea was also my first exposure to the brilliantly experimental comic art of J.H.Williams III who is currently thrilling the readers of Batwoman with his innovative manipulations of sequential art (Just pick up a Batwoman graphic novel and check out what genius things that man can do with a page of comic panels). With both the art and storylines of Promethea being so extremely solid, it was no surprise that these characters were given the action figure treatment relatively early (3 years after their debut). These figures are great. Yes, they are a little pre-posed, but the beautiful Tim Bruckner sculpts and high quality production from DC Direct make them must-haves for any collector of indie characters.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
DC Direct LINDA DANVERS SUPERGIRL!
This figure of Linda Danvers was the first collector's quality action figure of her on the market. There were a few animated-style figures released previously that were aimed at the moms and kids, but this figure was the first to get the fans clamouring. On a higher note, this entire Superman series by DC Direct was a real game changer in the collector's market. The sculpting quality and articulation for all the figures were a vast improvement over the attractive-but-rigid-looking figures from the years before. The Tim Bruckner sculpts also were suddenly much more realistic than his previous DC work. (Supergirl also has James Shoop as an additional sculptor credit.. not sure how the roles were split). This only critical thing I can say about this figure is that the standing pose goes so far to not look like the standard mannequin-styled figures that she ends up looking a little odd. Overall though, this is a stunningly beautiful figure and a gem of my collection. Let's check her out below!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Character Spotlight on SUPERWOMAN (The Evil One)!
I know this character is more of a Wonder Woman homage than a true member of the Superman family, but there's no denying her a spot in this lineup with a name like that. The Crime Syndicate first appeared in a 1964 issue of Justice League of America (#29) and quickly became classic JLA rogues. This super-team is an other-dimensional version of the Justice League where all heroes are bad and the villains are good. Superwoman is the anti-Wonder Woman, complete with a lasso and Amazonian heritage. The backstory and design of the Crime Syndicate has changed a few times over the years, but the essence of the group has remained consistent. Superwoman and her evil teammates have received very little merchandising over the years, which is a little surprising considering how "iconically evil" they look. Any kid or mom would recognize them as evil versions of the the JLA, and I think that's always a recipe for a successful villain (ie. Knight Rider's K.A.R.R. and Garth, Goateed Spock, Bizarro, etc. Plus my favorites: New Mutants vs the Hellions). But I digress. Let's check out these Superwoman figures below!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
DC Direct Silver Age SUPERGIRL!
Welcome to the first of fourteen Superman-related reviews I will be posting in celebration of the June 14th theatrical release of Man of Steel. Supergirl is a character that perfectly fits the kind of hero I obsess over. In a nutshell, I love obvious female versions of established male characters. Why do I focus on these heroines rather than those with more independent origins (like Wonder Woman)? I honestly don't know, but it probably has something to do with the ability to do a direct gender comparison between two characters. Typical differences like superpowers, personal motivations, or high-tech gadgets just don't come into play when these ladies step up to the plate. I love a good change of perspective and these characters can provide that in spades. This version of Supergirl was introduced in 1959 as Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El. There had been a few versions of Supergirl prior to this debut, but this was the version that stuck and is still popular today. The Tim Bruckner sculpt perfectly captures the Silver Age "wholesome" style. I love her. Let's check her out below.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Character Spotlight on HUNTRESS!
Helena Wayne to Helena Bertinelli and back again.
I first discovered Huntress in the backup stories of Wonder Woman when I was a kid in the 80's. I had never heard of her before, but I was instantly sucked in to the mythos of the vigilante daughter of Catwoman and Batman; Helena Wayne aka the Huntress. Unfortunatley, it wasn't long before that character was written out of existence and replaced with Helena Bertinelli, mafia-entrenched vigilante out for justice. While the new version still had a lot of the same elements as the original, I was acutely aware of how much the original Huntress' heroic lineage had contributed to my fascination with her. (That, plus the fact that I really really really disliked the 1989 Huntress series.) I was sad that the original was gone, but better to have a revamped Huntress than none at all. Recently DC Comics has announced a new series, World's Finest, to begin in May, supposedly featuring the return of Helena Wayne. I'm excited but I have no idea what to expect.
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