Jack Kirby

 Jack Kirby

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I never thought this would happen...A JACK KIRBY ACTION FIGURE!

I promised myself I wouldn't harp on the "legacy" of Stan Lee on this one...but it's beyond time "The King of Comics" got the treatment he deserves.  One action figure is a step in the right direction.  It's not much, but its something.

Shameful that it wasn't Marvel or DC that gave us this shot.  Many thanks to NECA on being completionists with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic line.  And sending that "thanks" back in time to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman for giving props to one of their idols.

The figure is going to look most at home with the Turtles.  All those harsh lines and bright colors and all.  He looks like he jumped straight from the pages of the Donatello one-shot.  If you don't get the homage, a common "man" action figure may not be all that appealing.  He did come with a little Black Horde imp figure to help push the sale to these folks.

For those that do get the homage that is "Kirby", you should be over the moon.  He scales well enough with "other" figure lines.  So if you want to recreate the scene from the books where the Fantastic Four meet "God", all systems go!  

Maybe there's hope a digital Jack Kirby might show up in the new FF movie?  It would be nice, but it not like Disney gives that much credit to Ub Iwerks, so...

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jack-kirbys-son-neal-kirby-responds-to-stan-lee-disney-documentary/

"My father retired from comic books in the early 1980s and of course, passed away in 1994. Lee had over 35 years of uncontested publicity, much naturally, with the backing and blessing of Marvel as he boosted the Marvel brand as a side effect of boosting himself. The decades of Lee's self-promotion culminated with his cameo appearances in over 35 Marvel films starting with "X-Men" in 2000, thus cementing his status as the creator of all things Marvel to an otherwise unknowing movie audience of millions, unfamiliar with the true history of Marvel comics. My father's first screen credit didn't appear until the closing crawl at the end of the film adaptation of Iron Man in 2008, after Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Larry Lieber. The battle for creator's rights has been around since the first inscribed Babylonian tablet. It's way past time to at least get this one chapter of literary/art history right. 'Nuff said."

The Fantastic Four Returns

More Fantastic Four

Marvel Legends - Hasbro

Modern costumes...meh.  However, not as bad as sans-external-undies Superman and Batman, and they come with new headsculpts and accessories!  

Oh, and weird, cleated feet so the villains won't know whether Johnny is going to "flame on" or Pele kick them in the head.  It's great to have a standard Johnny head that ports to the Torch body.  Also great to have a Johnny that can ride in the Fantasticar without burning up the seats.

The bearded look suits Mr. Fantastic.  And I'm sure the creepy, elongated fingers suit Sue...eww.  Kind of an odd choice for powers demonstration, but at least it's new and different.

Speaking of Sue, she's rockin' a new windswept hairstyle.  She also includes an inviso-shield power accessory. 

Thing has the classic brow we all wish had been on the Walgreen's release.  It can be exchanged, but Hasbro decided to paint the oranges different.  Wah-wah!  Guess we'll have to wait for the inevitable third release in the full leotard to be able to mix and match to perfection?  I won't mind if they throw in the scarred look and helmeted head!

The big draw in getting me to rebuy the Fantastic Four was for the baddies and part-time member:  Dr. Doom, Super Skrull, and She-Hulk.

Another one I didn't get to...the Savage Gray Hulk is worth it for that new mug!

She-Hulk is an all-new female sculpt and it is fantastic.  I like that this is a modern take, giving her the best of both worlds in hulking out both green and gray.  The paint is just superb, and that may be some of the best sculpted tattered clothing ever.  We're still waiting for the perfect classic She-Hulk, but this one is a beyond great placeholder.  It is strange, though, that they didn't save this one for a Hulk or Avengers wave and instead put her in the Fantastic Four duds.





























Like the new She-Hulk, this Dr. Doom knocks all previous Marvel Legends figures off the shelf.  He's perfect.  Just check out the sculpted chain mail in the joints!  Plus, you get a classic, Jack Kirby-looking head as a bonus!

The unmasked head from the Walgreen's exclusive Infamous Iron Man fits this new body just right.  I only wish they had included a scarred up head with a removed mask.  Sorry to Hasbro's previous Doom (who was great, save for lack of paint apps)...your head was needed for the cause!  This took some dremeling of course, but nothing a novice customizer couldn't handle.

Never got around to reviewing this one...multiples make excellent Doombots!

While the "Hyperion" body buck is tired, it suits Super Skrull okay.  He's got powered up and regular interchangeable arms and two head options.  You can always use the extra as another Skrull grunt or superhero impostor.  He's much cleaner looking than the Toy Biz version, but nothing to go out of your way for if you already have the predecessor.   And even if you do, can one have too many Skrulls in the army?





























While it may be easy to pass on the modern costumes, the other three are "can't miss."  Buy the full wave to get Super Skrull, and be happy to be getting Fantastic Four at all!  Here's to more waves down the road before the Marvel Cinematic Universe botches the deal...I need a new Annihilus figure!  And where are the classic Doombots?

Previous reviews:
The Fantastic Four, Galactus, and Fantasticar
The Thing and Silver Surfer

Marvel Legends Icons - Hulk and Iron Man

Hulk and Iron Man

Marvel Legends Icons

12-inch figures - Hasbro

I recently picked up a couple of 12-inch scale Marvel Icons on clearance.  Iron Man came from TJ Maxx at $16 and Hulk came from Amazon at $34.  Super deals considering the original prices ($50/$75) and all the detail and extras you get.  Hulk stands in at about 14-15 inches and is quite the lunk of plastic!  I thought I would showcase these figures in an epic battle, instead of yammering on like usual. Enjoy!

 





 


Both heads are nice, but I'm always going to go "classic."



The ripped jeans are separate, pliable pieces as to not hinder joints.  Nice texturing!