Mattel’s San Diego Comic-Con Booth – Construction Pics

Are you psyched for San Diego Comic-Con?  The show may be starting tomorrow, but for our favorite toy companies, the start of this week was really the culmination of months of planning.

Mattel whets our appetites with a peek into the final stages of preparation for Comic-Con with some pictures of the construction of their booth on the San Diego Convention Center floor.  Here’s a couple of pics from their album.  Look, Castle Grayskull!  And what’s the LucasFilm tie-in?

via “SDCC 2009 – Day Zero” by Mattycollector.com

First Looks – DC Universe Classics Gleek and MOTU Classics Tri-Klops – TheFwoosh.com

VeeBee at TheFwoosh.com has put up early looks at the DC Universe Classics Gleek (and the Wonder Twins) and the Masters of the Universe Tri-Klops.

I can hear the collective groans of collectors worldwide on this.  Unless you can swing a trip to San Diego, have friends that are going, or are willing to pay out a load of cash in the aftermarket, you won’t be getting Gleek, an exclusive gift to purchasers of the Wonder Twins at San Diego Comic-Con.    But that shouldn’t matter to so many of you, since true comic fans hate the Wonder Twins!  Right?  Right?!?! 😉

Gleek in his polybag
Gleek in his polybag

Gleek himself is all new and has a great sculpt, especially his little oven mitt-esque booties.

via First Look – GLEEK… and the Wonder Twins! | thefwoosh.com.

I was very impressed with Tri-Klops at NYCC.  However, side by side with the vintage and 200X figures, I wonder if there’s an opportunity to incorporate some of the 200X design elements in future Classics.  Like with Tri-Klops’s earlier companions, he’s a very literal translation of the original toy and artwork.  I really do wonder why there’s the fuss over keeping these guys so true to the vintage source material.

Tri-Klops goes on sale on August 17th.

Tri-Klops - vintage, Classics, and 200X
Tri-Klops - vintage, Classics, and 200X

I have to admit, in the ranks of guys like Mer-Man, Webstor, Trap-Jaw, Whiplash and Spikor, Tri-Klops was never one of my favorite baddies in the MOTU lore as I was growing up. He had three giant eyes, yes, but he never got quite as much play as the others, even though I recognized him as one of old Bonehead’s top brass. So, when I first saw this figure in person at New York Comic Con, I liked him, and I was impressed with the detail, but as time went on he still seemed like the guy between Duncan and Webstor. Well, much like Zodac, Trydor here is a very impressive figure once you have him in hand.

via First Look – Masters of the Universe Classics Tri-Klops | thefwoosh.com.

Toyfare Running Second DC Universe Classics Fan Poll

Catching up on some back news, now that I’ve got regular net access back again.  Toyfare is running a second fan poll for DC Universe Classics, featuring Captain Marvel Jr. (how would they name him on the package – “Shazam Junior”?), Geo-Force, Libra, Raven, Toy Man, and Uncle Sam.  The big hitters for me are Raven of Teen Titans and Toyman from the Legion of Doom.

I’m going to have to think pretty hard about this, because I don’t think we’ve had any word on of the other members of the first fan poll, which ran last year at this time and yielded The Question as the winner, due in DC Universe Classics wave 11.  I think that poll had a bit of a stronger list of characters, at least based on what I read in DC, so I was hoping that we’d get more of them.  Huntress and Catman are two biggies for me.

DCU FAN POLL: ROUND TWO

Mattel’s taking it to the fans once again with another fan choice poll, allowing you to choose the next DC Universe Classics figure

Get ready for yet another election. Don’t worry, this one won’t involve smear campaigns, newspaper articles or those annoying commercials. This time you’re voting for something really important, an action figure sculpted by the Four Horsemen.

The masterminds behind the red-hot DC Universe Classics action figures want your opinion on who should join a line that already includes an eclectic mix of DC heroes and villains from Batman and Robin to Atom Smasher and The Question the winner of the last fan choice poll from ToyFare #133. The figure will pop up in plastic in the Fall of 2010 for the series’ 15th wave. So, check out the following six nominees, then make your voice heard

DCU FAN POLL: ROUND TWO

wizarduniverse_2062_663727062wizarduniverse_2062_664137891wizarduniverse_2062_664477377

CAPTAIN MARVEL JR.

You’ve already got your Captain Marvel and your Black Adam, so why not round out the male side of the Marvel Family ignoring Osiris and the Wizard of course with Freddie Freeman here, the young crippled lad who could speak Captain Marvel’s name and ride the magic lightning. Freddie’s gone through some changes since first donning the blue duds, including a brief period of calling himself CM3 cause if he said his own name, he’d turn off his powers, duh and, more significantly, becoming the new Captain Marvel in the pages of Judd Winick’s The Trials of Shazam.

GEO-FORCE

Created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo, Prince Brion Markov here has been a member of the Justice League of America, but is probably more known for being a member of many incarnations of the Outsiders, starting with the original team from Batman and the Outsiders. Since his creation in 1983 this brother of Teen Titan betrayer Terra shares similar abilities as his earth-moving sister at least now he does, has gone through quite a few changes, most obviously from his original green and yellow costume to his current brown and orange version. Currently starring in The Outsiders, Geo-Force has gone through a resurgence in popularity of the past few years and was completely awesome kicking Deathstroke’s ass in DC Universe Last Will and Testament.

LIBRA

Obscure until last year, Libra played a pretty big role in Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis miniseries along with all the tie-ins that went along with it. We’re still trying to fit all the pieces of Final Crisis together in our heads, but Libra cut a pretty intimidating swath through the villain community. Not only did Libra have Lex Luthor working for him, but he also iced the Martian Manhunter with fire, of course. We don’t want to spoil anything but, we cheered when Lexy shot Libra and explained he was actually the Anti-Life Equation. Oops, spoiler He’s also not Barry Allen like we all thought

wizarduniverse_2062_664737477wizarduniverse_2062_665064840dcuc-uncle-sam

RAVEN

A figure of Raven would get us one step closer to having a full team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s New Teen Titans. We’ve already got Kid Flash, Cyborg, Starfire and Robin well, there’s a Tim Drake Robin and a Dick Grayson Nightwing. Aside from everyone’s favorite brooding hooded mystic, you’d only need Wonder Girl Donna Troy and Beast Boy to round things out. Not too shabby. Plus, just imagine how much fun the Horsemen would have with that hood and cape Won’t someone please think of the Horsemen

TOYMAN

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the DCUC team really likes “Super Friends,” so it’s no surprise they went with this cartoon-inspired jester-like incarnation of the Superman villain for your voting pleasure. This Toyman would also continue the trend of including “Challenge of the Super Friends” Legion of Doom members in the line. Solomon Grundy, Sinestro, Black Manta, Giganta, Riddler, Captain Cold and Gorilla Grodd have already made the cut, so that just leaves Toyman, Cheeta, Scarecrow and Bizarro. Do your part and bring these long-lost fiends together again

UNCLE SAM

Aside from being the living embodiment of the raddest country on Earth that’d be us, the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths version of Uncle Sam lived on a world called Earth-X populated by the acquired-by-DC Quality Comics characters. What made this world different? The Nazis won WWII Since continuity’s been rewritten a time or ten since then, Sam has a simpler origin now and leads the Freedom Fighters: A group made up of most

via DCU FAN POLL: ROUND TWO : TOYS.

Masters of the Universe Classics Man-at-Arms On Sale July 15

Just wanted to post a quick reminder that our favorite mustachioed Eternian is going on sale tomorrow, July 15, at 9AM PT.  Since Man-at-Arms comes with an alternate head, the potential for army-building an Eternian Palace Guard will help this sell out quickly.  Don’t be late!

Man-at-Arms® Action Figure
Coming July 15, 2009

Masters of the Universe® Classics
Heroic Master of Weapons™
$20.00

The Heroic Master of Weapons™ and ally of He-Man® is back as a highly detailed, fully articulated action figure in the new Masters of the Universe® Classics series. Man-at-Arms® comes complete with blaster, dagger, mace, and a secret accessory! A must have for any Masters of the Universe® fan!

Man-At-Arms® Bio

Real Name: Duncan™

For two centuries, the Eternian weapons master and combat instructor to the royal family has been called the “Man-At-Arms®.” Trained by the renowned tactician Dekker™ and a veteran of the Great Unrest, Duncan™ was asked by King Randor™ to step into this position and fortify his guard with an elite strike force, which he named The Masters of the Universe®. In addition to his skills in combat, Duncan™ is also a great inventor and helped construct an electronic version of the Power Sword® for Adam to use until he could unite both halves of the sword of King Grayskull™. Man-At-Arms® and his adopted daughter Teela® often scout the borders of Eternia® for signs of lurking evil.

Coming July 15, 2009 only on MattyCollector.com.

You must be 18 or older to purchase this product.

via MattyCollector.com Online Store – Man-at-Arms® Action Figure
Coming July 15, 2009
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Mattel to Sell Limited Edition Masters of the Universe Art Book at San Diego Comic-Con – Updated

Mattel has provided an update on the MOTU art book.

We know a lot of fans are very excited about the Designed @ Mattel Vol. 1 book on MOTU being offered at SDCC. A few more details: The book will be softcover, 53 pages, with a numbered foil stamped ribbon across the cover. It will be $50.00 and limited to 2 per guest per line wait. It will have sections on all the major MOTU lines and a look at the future of the brand.

Now we know a lot of fans are asking why only 1,000 copies and will we ever reprint? The answer (at least for now) is that this was actually a number required. For a variety of legal reasons we were restricted to only create this book if we kept it as a limited edition. That was part of the bargain for getting to do the book itself. It was 1,000 editions or nothing He-Fans.

A big thank you to Toy Guru for pulling together a lot of the research and material as well as all the Mattel artists over the years for so generously giving of their imaginations to create lasting characters in the world of MOTU!

Long time fans and new comers alike will be sure to enjoy all of the surprises in store at SDCC!

See you in two weeks!

Matty

In recent Ask Matty Q&A sessions, Mattel has talked about finding Masters of the Universe collateral ranging back to before the original toy line came out in the 80’s.  They also talked about a special MOTU item for Comic-Con.  Put together, you have the extremely limited edition MOTU art book that they’ve just announced.  At just one thousand copies, this will be pretty tough to get.

Hey MOTU Fans!

Oh man, this is BIG… the design team at Mattel just announced the first book in their “Designed @ Mattel” series and it’s a MOTU art book!

motucover_crop

The book shows off the fantastic art of the MOTU brand from 1981 through current day. It’s packed with never-before-seen Mattel concept art, behind-the-scenes notes, posters, oil paintings, and a whole lot more from across the brand. All that MOTU art from over the years is mighty sweet, but the book also premiers concept art from new projects, like a proposed live action film!

It’s a soft-cover edition, limited to only 1,000 numbered copies. Each one comes with a numbered cover ribbon and an embossed seal. The first place they’ll be available is San Diego Comic-Con. Purchases will be limited to two per guest, per wait in line. And get this… you can even have your copy signed by the Mattel artists at the show!

If any units remain after the show they may be sold on Mattycollector.com, but honestly, we expect to sell out at SDCC. Be sure to come by the MattyCollector.com booth early for your chance to own a piece of MOTU history!

—Matty

via MattyCollector.com Online Store.

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