Pick of
the Week — JLA/Avengers # 4
That’s right. You can stop calling. You can stop asking. You
can stop trying to name all the characters on the cover to issue # 3 to pass the
time. Why? Because JLA/Avengers # 4 is finally here.
After recovering from a hand injury sustained while drawing that absolutely
mind-blowing cover to JLA/Avengers # 3, George Pérez is back in the
saddle and dedicated to drawing every single character connected to the JLA and
Avengers that you could possibly ever think of — and then some. The wait was
certainly worth it, people. When you see every single panel filled to the brim
with different heroes than the last, you’ll know what I mean.
This series has been a heck of a lot of fun, and the last issue is no
exception. Kurt Busiek has provided a script that adds reason to the vast
madness of a crossover as colossal as this. The story so far has been like
reading the comics of my youth. Big, colorful super-heroes hop between dimensions
in search of items of power and, of course, in typical super-hero fashion, beat
the heck out of each other at the drop of a hat.
In this final issue, the heroes have put aside their differences to
fight off the end of both of their universes. And standing in their way is
virtually every villain either team has ever faced before. I kid you not.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this series is how Busiek points out
the differences between the heroes of the DC and Marvel universes. The JLA seem
to Captain America to be fascist dictators who force people to worship them —
and to Superman, the turmoil throughout the Marvel universe shows that the
Avengers aren’t doing enough. It’s a really nice contrast between the two
companies and their heroes.
If you’ve made it this far and haven’t rushed down to Heroes
and Dragons to pick it up, I
don’t know what else I can say to make you do so. Well, there is one thing:
Batman vs. Batroc the Leaper!
Hey, where’d everyone go?
For more of Tug's
recommendations,
click
here.
Toys of the Week — Marvel Legends Series 5
 
Welcome back once again, toy fiends.
This week’s review covers Marvel Legends Series 5. This
continuation of the popular Marvel Legends line includes Blade;
Sabretooth; Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Mr. Fantastic;
Silver Surfer (with Howard the Duck); Colossus; and a chase figure
of the Red Skull.
Again ToyBiz presents us with super-articulated, well-executed
figures of everyone’s favorite Marvel characters. Sure, ToyBiz has made
some odd choices, but that is nothing new and nothing that is going to change
anytime soon. ToyBiz has a successful line and they show no sign of
letting up.
Admittedly, I put off buying this series. Why? I’m
not completely sure. I hate chase figures. (I understand why ToyBiz
continues to produce them, but I don’t like them.) When the series first
appeared, Blade was absent, and that annoyed me. And since I’d mostly
picked at the previous assortments, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get completely
involved. I’m glad I did! I found Red Skull and later Blade, and
once I started I couldn’t stop. These things are addictive.
If only ToyBiz wouldn’t reuse body parts from one figure to
the next. But after years of seeing poor product cranked out by ToyBiz,
I’m just happy they’ve started producing toys that actually try to compete with
the rest of the market.
But I can’t be too hard on these. ToyBiz has come a long
way over the past few years, and if a little bit of the sculpt is sacrificed to
enhance the articulation and the fun factor, then that’s all right.
Every figure in Marvel Legends Series 5 has at
least one accessory, its base.
Sabretooth comes with another chunck of a
destroyed Sentinel, this time a foot. He looks great displayed on it, and
it’s great to have another chunk of Sentinel.
Mr. Fantastic comes with part of the Fantasticar, which is well-detailed, has a folding seat,
and looks just as it should — like a flying bathtub.
Colossus has the chest piece of a Sentinel, but
it looks too small compared to all the other Sentinel pieces. If you were
hoping to piece together a complete Sentinel, you had better start looking
elsewhere.
Nick Fury
comes with his jetpack and a trail of smoke that suspends him in mid-flight.
He looks much better that way.
Silver Surfer comes with his cosmic surfboard and
attaches to it via magnets in his feet. This means that, just like last
year’s magnetic Spiderman, Surfer can hang out on your fridge! And as a
special bonus, Surfer comes with a figure of Howard the Duck. What
more do you want? He’s a well-sculpted and painted representation of
everybody’s favorite wise-cracking duck.
Blade
has the most accessories. His base is his motorcycle. While not as
impressive as Ghost Rider’s bike, it still serves its purpose. Blade also
has a faux leather coat, sword, gun, sunglasses, and a throwing weapon.
The Red Skull has a repainted base from the
Series 1 Captain America but also comes with hand gun and his hat.
With a suggested retail price between $8 and $10,
Marvel Legends are a great buy. You get a lot for your money, and compared
to some other super-hero toys. they seem like a steal.
This
is a line of super-hero toys you can actually play with. They can pass any
Articulation test you toss at them: They can sit in chairs, lay on
operating tables, do a split, and look great mid-stride. If there was ever
a line that took playing with your toys to a new level, it would be Marvel
Legends. The whole line deserves a high score, but due to a few
inconsistencies here and there, they get a respectable 4½ stars as a whole.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to break up a
fight between Silver Surfer and Silent Bob!
For the Toyman's complete review,
click here.
Coming
Events
Lord
of the Rings CCG League meets this Tuesday, March 30 at 4:00pm.
Hellboy
opens in theaters this Friday, April 2.
Comic Club plans to organize a Columbia, SC viewing of
Hellboy at Dutch Square AMC Theaters.
Contact Chad if you're interested. The tentative plan is
for Saturday afternoon, April 3.
Comic Club meets to discuss Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
and Hellboy: The Corpse on Thursday, April 8 at 7:30pm.
Site to
See
The future is here!
Researchers at the University of California's Mechanical
Engineering Department are making shocking strides in human
strength augmentation through the use of mechanical
exoskeltons. With Dr. Octopus making his film debut in
May, now seems the perfect time to direct you to UC
Berkeley's
Bleex Project:
|
