DC Collectibles: Artist Alley And The Figures DC Won’t Give Me Pictures Of

You’ll have to bear with your old friend Will Romine.  You see, I’m dealing with a bit of heartbreak.  Today, I saw some super cool things at the DC Collectibles panel here at San Diego Comic Con.  They were so cool, that I wanted to share them with all of my friends in BleedingCool land.  When I approached the DC media representative to get some high-res images, she told me that “DC doesn’t work with BleedingCool.”

So pals, take a look at the pictures I took.  They’re not the best, but I tried my hardest.

DC Collectibles is entering into the collectible vinyl figure marked with their “Artist Alley” series.  While this is an oversaturated market, with every Funko, The Loyal Subjects, and Mez-Itz jockeying for a slice of that  DC brings a unique take to their vinyl.  The figures are all modeled on the work of artists who are admired by the figure sculptors, but work in a style that doesn’t quite fit into any existing product line.  These products recreate the experience of walking down artist’s alley, exposing collectors to indy interpretations of their favorite characters.  These figures are weird, memorable, and eye catching.  The first three artists featured in this series of highly detailed collectibles include Chris Uminga, Hainan “Nooligan” Saulique, and Sho Murase.  Again, I apologize for the photos.

First up is Chris Uminga’s contribution to the line.  Uminga’s signature pupill-less style style brings a creepy innocence to these iconic characters.  Kind of like a Precious Moments doll with attitude.  I don’t know whether to hug them or lock them in a windowless room.

Second, we have Sho Murase’s beautiful black and red renderings.  Employing a minimalist style, Murase’s work captures just enough of the essential lines of a character to trigger recognition, without venturing into obscurity.  Of the three artists, her works were the hardest to adapt to 3d.

Finally, we have Hainan “Nooligan” Saulique’s work.  Nooligan’s work is whimsical and honors the source material free from pretense.  His signature stule involves putting Converse sneakers on the characters. Furthermore, this is the first Batman figure with tubevsocks- certainly a unique take on perhaps the most action-figured character in history.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  I probably could have gotten a few more out of high-res image, but them’s the breaks!

DC Collectibles: Artist Alley And The Figures DC Won’t Give Me Pictures Of

via https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/07/21/dc-collectibles-artist-alley-figures-dc-wont-give-pictures/
Will Romine

Look What Came in The Mail: Joker’s Wild!

By Will Romine, Age 32

I get a lot of things in the mail.  As a professional geek, it comes with the territory.  When I get something that really charges me up, I write about it.

Today, was a fun trip to the mail box.  I had a package waiting for me from my good friends at Entertainment Earth.  I want you to let that concept sink in.  Entertainment.  Earth.  This company has given themselves a pretty hefty mandate.  They’re not just entertaining me, they’re not just entertaining you, they’ve tasked themselves with entertaining the WHOLE EARTH!  Chew on that for a bit.

I wager that what I pulled from that box would indeed entertain the world.  Inside was a Batman figure.  But wait, it wasn’t just any Batman figure, it was a 19 inch Batman figure.  Still not excited?  It was the Batman v. Superman Jokers Wild 2016 SDCC Exclusive!  Brought to us by Entertainment Earth and Jakks Pacific.

I love variant action figures, the more non-canonical, the better.  I consider them the “Elseworlds” of the plastic/vinyl world.  Entertainment Earth and Jakks Pacific give us a fun backstory for the “Joker’s Wild” figure.  On the way from the factory, the Joker “defaced” a shipment of standard Batman figures.  I guess the Joker that lurks around toy factories is less Greg Capullo and more Dick Sprang.   The result, dare I say, is a fun improvement on the original!  Overall, this piece is a fun addition to any collection.  It’s a wonderful companion piece to a Funko Pop! that came in my Loot Crate a year back.  If more Jokerized Batman figures are produced, then that makes it a genre!

 

However, if you’re going to shell out for this piece, you should know what you’re getting into.  This is really more of a display figure, and you want to avoid dynamic poses.  This piece topples over when the arms face forward and isn’t ideal for action shots. However, with a piece as big as this, balance issues are to be expected. My biggest issue though, isn’t with the figure itself, but with its inclusion into a larger line.  Ostensibly, Entertainment Earth and Jakks Pacific released this figure as part of the Batman v. Superman line of Big Figs, but I see broader frontiers.

Take the unpainted Batman base that was used for this figure, give it to a wide spectrum of artists, and let them pour their creativity onto this Bat-Canvas.  It’s a formula that’s worked well with KidRobot’s Dunny blind box line, and could be expanded to large scale figures.  Could you imagine, a line of 19inch blind boxes?  Are you interested in my disposable income Entertainment Earth?  If so, you know what you have to do.

Do you want one?  Well, you can’t have mine.  But, there are some still available on the Entertainment Earth website.  Don’t dally!

Look What Came in The Mail: Joker’s Wild!

via http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/08/27/look-came-mail-jokers-wild/
Will Romine

CW/BUZZFEED SRSLY Superpower Hour- A Party So Awesome It Needed No Vowels

Hello Friends,

After a long day of walking the Con floor, my back aching from hauling exclsives from one booth to another, there’s nothing more that I like to do at the end of the day than to go back to my hotel, take off my shoes, jump in the shower, and then get ready for that night’s party.

The after hours scene at SDCC is every bit as exciting as the daytime programming.  Last night, I went to a party that was so awesome, so epic, so mindblowing that mere words aren’t enough to describe it.  Luckily my wife was along for the ride to take pictures.  Thanks honey!

When I first arrived to the CW/Buzzfeed SRSLY Superpower Hour, I could already see that the building blocks of a good party were in place.  Good music? Check!  Open Bar?  Double Check!  Good Food? Checks for both quality and quantity.  Seriously, those mini shrimp salads were awesome.

This party really went above and beyond with their Plinko game.  I won two Funko Pops!  I love Pops and I love them more when I don’t have to pay for them.  As soon as I get home, my Pop collection will be a Flash and Green Arrow richer.

There were also some decent cosplayers.  I saw a pretty good Flash, and a passable Superman/Atom.

The event organizer asked me why this party wasn’t included on BleedingCool’s SDCC 2016 party list. After a night of partying with the stars of Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and other CW shows, I don’t think she ever has to worry about that again.  See more pics from the night below.

CW/BUZZFEED SRSLY Superpower Hour- A Party So Awesome It Needed No Vowels

via http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/07/23/cw-buzzfeed-srsly-superpower-hour-a-party-so-awesome-it-doesnt-need-vowels/
Will Romine

Surrrounding Your Wife With Snakes At San Diego Comic-Con Preview Night

Hello Bleeding Cool,  It’s your old pal Will Romine here to tell you about my Preview Night.

For those of you who have never been to San Diego Comic Con, Preview Night is a magical time when the showroom floor opens up for the select few (thousand) to peruse the show floor offerings, pick up an exclusive or two, and generally take the show at a more relaxed pace before the lure of panels pulls them away from walking the floor.

Now friends, this is my seventh SDCC and the first bringing my wife along.  Each year I start the show thinking that I’ve seen it all, and each Preview Night I’m proven wrong.  Yesterday was no different.   As with every Preview Night, my first stop is the DC booth.  They usually have something interesting to see, but they always have the softest carpet of any booth.  So luxurious.

My next stop was the Entertainment Earth booth.  Entertainment Earth purvey some of the most interesting, most eclectic exclusives.  They have a knack for turning the simplest, most time honored playthings into creative, high end, and sometimes irreverent into high end collectables.  The hit for me this year were the Pinmates.  Everybody remembers playing with these things.  They’re the only toys which simplify the human form even more than Legos.

Aren’t they adorable?  Zero points of articulation, and that’s a good thing!

Next, we headed over to the Conan O’Brien booth.   Conan went all out this year.  In addition to the four shows filming from SDCC, he has a whole booth where participants can enjoy a VR experience as they peruse Conan’s office vis-a-vis a giant Funko Pop head.

Now Gang, I mentioned that I brought my wife along.  We have a healthy happy marriage, but marriage, like the safety restraints on a roller coaster, needs to be pushed, jiggled, and tested to ensure its strength.  My wife is deathly afraid of snakes, which made the next booth a perfect way to test the strength of our marriage.  We ambled on over to the History Channel’s Vikings booth to experience the Viper’s Den, where participants are surrounded by over 40 live snakes an area the size of a large port-a-john. See our video here.  Our marriage survived!

We ended the night at the Game of Thrones Hall of Faces offsite.  On our way, we ran into our fellow Bleeders Hilton Collins, Frazer Brown, Erik Amaya, and Jeremy Konrad.  In addition to sitting on the Iron Throne and having our mugs included in the Hall of Faces, we got SO MUCH COOL SH-T.  They had an unguarded pile of free GOT Funko Pops, one per person.  I took like six.

All in all, a great Preview Night!  Follow my exploits @notacomplainer.

 

Surrrounding Your Wife With Snakes At San Diego Comic-Con Preview Night

via http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/07/21/surrrounding-your-wife-with-snakes-at-san-diego-comic-con-preview-night/
Will Romine