DC Universe Classics Archives - Page 21 of 118

Mattel’s New DC Total Heroes and DC Comics Multiverse Lines for Retail are Up for Pre-Order

I foolishly skipped Mattel’s DC panel at SDCC this year. In my defense, in years past, it was usually a rehash of the DC portion of the Mattypalooza panel with some kid-oriented toys on top of that. I had no idea that this year they’d be announcing the demise of the spiritual successors of DC Universe Classics at retail, the Batman Unlimited and DC Unlimited lines, and that they’d be launching two new retail lines in 2014. Now that online retailers have put up their pre-orders for them, I’m getting my first real look at DC Total Heroes and DC Comics Multiverse.

DC Total Heroes is Mattel’s re-envisioning of 6-inch action figures for retail. Each of the four figures (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Sinestro) from the first wave sports their New 52 looks, but veers from the DC Universe Classics aesthetic to a new, somewhat animated look. With a reduction in articulation and paint apps, Mattel was able to reduce the price point, with online retailers charging $12.99 per figure. That seems to be one of the key selling points of the new line.

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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.

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Soapbox Sunday: Could Hasbro Revitalize the G.I. JOE Brand with a 6-Inch Figure Line?

I’m not a good G.I. JOE fan. When I was a kid, I had a lot of the original 3.75-inch Joes from the mid-80s. I watched the cartoon whenever I could, and I’d wage a lot of war against Cobra on the floor of my bedroom. But as an adult collector, I don’t buy a lot of G.I. JOEs anymore. And although the Hasbro brand has seen some resurgence after a lackluster first live action movie outing with a better received sequel in G.I. JOE: Retaliation, that hasn’t exactly translated into better sales in the toy aisles to kids and their moms either. With the brand losing shelf space at retail, it’s looking rather bleak for the toy line for 2014.

A couple years ago, I picked up a bootleg Snake Eyes in the 6-inch scale. I don’t know the origin of the toy, but it holds together like something made in a factory. It’s got the articulation setup of the 25th Anniversary Joes. And it’s got almost everything that I’d want to see in a G.I. JOE toy line for the adult me.

That leads me to my topic today – could Hasbro breathe life into G.I. JOE with a new six-inch action figure line?

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Soapbox Sunday: Sour Grapes – Club Infinite Earths Doomsday was too Big

The Club Infinite Earths subscription was declared officially dead last week. So what? – the club exclusive Doomsday, if he had gotten enough subscribers to get him made, was too damn big anyways.

For this edition of Soapbox Sunday, let’s take a look at how Doomsday was portrayed with Superman in the comics that led to their mutual destruction – spoiler! If you’re not convinced that the Doomsday(s) we were shown at San Diego Comic-Con (and subsequently did not support enough to save Club Infinite Earths and get him made) was way too big to be in scale with DC Universe Classics, then you’re probably one of the weak-willed individuals that signed up for Club Infinite Earths, and will never wield a Green Lantern power ring (just like weak-willed me).

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The Dark Knight Returns: Stone Cold – BillsComics.com

Bill has shared his latest comic, The Dark Knight Returns: Stone Cold. It’s Batman versus Mr. Freeze, set during the Dark Knight Returns era. (I guess “Old Man Bruce” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.) Be sure to check out more of his comics at Bill’s Comics.

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