Not that I really needed an excuse to hang out at the Toy Fair yesterday afternoon, you understand, but since licensed products like action figures and statuettes are an increasingly important part of the comic book economy, it’s worth taking a look at what’s going on. One of the first things I noticed was a set of Superman figures (above) from the comics co-written by film director Richard Donner, which are just now appearing in shops. I commented to DC Direct VP Georg Brewer about the quick turnaround (although these figures won’t actually go on sale until November), and he elaborated on how “we’re working hand-in-hand with the editorial teams and the artists” to identify potential subjects. So I asked him informally if we could expect figures based on the “All-Star” line, and he acknowledged that those would be very cool if they were ever greenlighted, and then I asked him about the most obscure character the (very vocal) fan community wanted to see commemorated in plastic, given that a forthcoming batch of figures tied to DC’s 52 series included Booster Gold and Animal Man, two heroes with decidedly cult followings. “Probably Red Tornado/Ma Hunkel,” he said, citing a superhero parody from the 1940s, although we then spent a couple minutes picking out even more characters we’d like to see.
There was one batch of statues in the DC display booth that has already begun to draw controversy online: the “Ame-Comi Super Heroines” (above), female DC characters like Supergirl and Batwoman sculpted in the style of Japanese anime girls or, as one commenter described them, “table dancers dressed in costumes.” Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading sums up the feminist comics fan’s reaction: “[DC Direct] no longer care[s] about the complaints of many of their female readers, because this line sums up most of the problems with their characters, presenting them in an overly sexualized fashion aimed at male fans.”
But let’s turn our attention to some of the cooler toys on display from some of the other vendors, like the Mouse Guard action figure set, or the Marvel Zombies versions of Captain America and Spider-Man, or the cast of the comic strips Mutts, or the first of several jumbo-sized pieces from DC’s new “Unlimited” line licensed from the World of Warcraft people. Me, I totally want those Mouse Guard figures. I’ve seen them up close, and I can assure you, they’re pretty damn awesome.
