Q and A Archives - Page 4 of 26 - ActionFigurePics.com

Soapbox Sunday: Mattel SDCC Exclusive DC Universe Classics Doomsday Bound to be a Disappointment

Shortly after Club Infinite Earth failed to meet the minimums to make another year of DC Universe Classics figures on Mattycollector, we Asked Matty if the Doomsday Unleashed figure could be considered as a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive for 2014. Basically, Mattel said no. But after New York Comic Con, we’ve got another angle – they won’t make the “unleashed” version, but they’re “far enough along” with the “bound” or jail-suit version to offer him up for SDCC next July.

During the NYCC Mattypalooza panel, when Toy Guru announced the plans for the jail-suit version of Doomsday, he noted that this particular version of Doomsday has never been made into a figure before. Maybe Mattel should have considered the reasons why. I’m betting that the vast majority of collectors would prefer the unleashed version, and that if Mattel proceeds with their current plan for the jail-suit version, it’s bound to be a disappointment for fans, and for their SDCC sales.

Continue reading “Soapbox Sunday: Mattel SDCC Exclusive DC Universe Classics Doomsday Bound to be a Disappointment”

Sunday Soapbox: Help Me! – I’m Thinking About Second-Chance Subbing to Club Eternia

By the time August 19th had rolled around, I had already decided. No Club Eternia and no Club Ecto-1 – it was just the DC Club Infinite Earths for me. Now it’s a month later, the DC subscription is dead, and I am seriously mulling over taking the second chance to subscribe to Club Eternia, since Mattel has re-opened the Club Eternia sub through September 24.

So what’s changed?

Continue reading “Sunday Soapbox: Help Me! – I’m Thinking About Second-Chance Subbing to Club Eternia”

Soapbox Sunday: What’s Wrong with Mattel’s New DC Retail Lines?

A couple of weeks ago, I posed the question if Hasbro could revitalize the G.I. JOE brand by launching a new 6-inch action figure line. I reasoned that if the Star Wars team could make it work with the Black Series and the Marvel team could go the other way (from 6-inch to 4-inch) with Marvel Universe, then it could work for Joes too.

DC Total Heroes Superman (6-inch scale) and DC Comics Multiverse Deadshot (3.75-inch scale)

This past week I got my first look at Mattel’s attempt to breathe new life into their DC Comics license at retail with the DC Total Heroes and DC Comics Multiverse lines as pre-orders went live online. And good Grodd – I dislike them so much I want them to fail. Now I’m left wondering – are my feelings unfounded, making me a hypocrite? Why should I want to see this happen for G.I. JOE when I can’t stand Mattel’s attempt to do the same?

Continue reading “Soapbox Sunday: What’s Wrong with Mattel’s New DC Retail Lines?”

Ask Matty Q&A for 9/15 (a Couple Days Early!)

Once again, Toy Guru and team are a few days early with their responses for the latest Ask Matty Q&A. Thanks!

1. A lot of collectors still want to get the unleashed version of Doomsday. Is it possible to offer him individually on Mattycollector, or even as the SDCC exclusive in 2014?

No. Doomsday was only possible when banked along with 12 partial tool’d figures at tier 2 production quotas. It is not possible to just do Doomsday by himself. His production was tied directly to producing a full year of partially tool’d basic figures at the higher tier 2 quota. After not even hitting tier 1, it becomes that much more difficult to get to this “bigger” more tooling intensive version of Doomsday. We hope this was made clear during the sub-in period.

Continue reading “Ask Matty Q&A for 9/15 (a Couple Days Early!)”

Soapbox Sunday: DC’s Deserving – a Guest Post by Cliff Francis

It’s been some time since we’ve heard from Cliff Francis, Publisher Emeritus of Costume Contumely. It took the cancellation of Mattel’s Club Infinite Earths DC subscription to bring him back for this special guest edition of Soapbox Sunday. Read on, as Cliff employs the latest in computer technology to reveal how Mattel could have saved Club Infinite Earths. You can read more from Cliff at Costume Contumely as well as a couple of pieces Cliff has contributed here at AFP. Excelsior!

MattyCollector’s Club Infinite Earths subscription has died, and with it, the entire existence of 6″ DC Universe Classics action figures has been wiped out as if swept away by a crackling, white Crisis wall.

I confess that I feel tremendous schadenfreude over this. Mattel ran this property into the ground from the very beginning and only managed to produce a measly 200-something figures over the span of six years. I have a personal theory that Mattel wanted this line to fail from the start, and was willing to lose money along the way in order to save money in the end by having the line die. But that’s not what this article is about.

This article is about the central problem with Mattel’s 6″ DC line. The fault that engineered the line’s downfall. The “reason for the treason,” if you will. So what is it?

Character selection. Pure and simple.

Continue reading “Soapbox Sunday: DC’s Deserving – a Guest Post by Cliff Francis”