Posted by John Ary on April 16, 2012 under Ghostbusters, Mattel | 
After mining just about every possible character they could from the Ghostbusters movies, Mattel has now turned to the Ghostbusters videogame for its next action figure. The 6-inch Rookie comes ready to battle phantoms with ecto goggles, a belt with stationary trap, and PKE meter. He’s available now over at MattyCollector.com for $22 plus shipping (while supplies last of course).
Posted by John Ary on April 11, 2012 under DC Universe, Mattel |
It sounds like Mattel is having a tough time with its DC action figure license. It has officially announced the cancellation of the Young Justice 4-inch and 6-inch line. That doesn’t bother me too much. I have never really liked the smaller Young Justice figures. The DC Universe Classics line on the other hand was great. Unfortunately its second coming in the form of the troubled DC Universe All-Star line will die as well. Confirmation of its demise is supported by this reply posted by Matty in its forums:
“DC Universe is going away after 2012 and there’ll be one more wave of 4. In 2013, we’ll be relaunching our 6″ with complimentary offerings on Matty and at Mass. You guys will be able to complete your collection and I hope you’ll like what we are doing. We’ve taken lessons from DC Universe and Legacy. Overall, we need to adjust to retailers, consumers and what’s selling in volumes that can be supported.
As far as the character that we showed but haven’t released, most of them have been tooled so we’ll be looking for a way to release them in one form or another. However, I can’t 100% guarantee that.”
Poe Ghostal, a toy blogger who has written about toys for IGN.com and ToyFare magazine gives an excellent analysis of why Mattel has had trouble with the DC license recently. He quotes NoisyDvl5 of ItsAllTrue as saying the following:
“I am frustrated with Mattel, but I’m really frustrated with DC Comics. DC’s inability to market itself is what has brought about the Relaunch in the comics. DC’s inability to market itself is why Mattel has been reduced to selling figures online, directly to consumers while Hasbro is pumping out two scales of comic-based merchandise for Marvel.”
You can read the rest of his article here. I guess we’ll have to wait until 2013 to see a decently priced 6-inch DC action figure from Mattel sitting on the pegs of our local retail outlets.
Posted by John Ary on under Barbie, Mattel |
Is anyone surprised by this? The Hunger Games Katniss doll wears a hooded jacket, top, and military-style pants inspired by the film. She also comes with her trusty bow, arrows, quiver and her mockingjay pin. She will run you around $30 when she arrives in the fall. She’s also up for pre-order here.
Posted by John Ary on April 10, 2012 under Masters of the Universe, Mattel |
DC Comics will release a new mini-series based The Masters of the Universe. It sounds like it will begin in July and run six issues. Here’s a snippet from the press release MattyCollector.com posted on their website:
He-Man fans rejoice! An all-new comic book series chronicling HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE will be released starting in July, and offer an entirely new take on the storied warrior who celebrates his 30th anniversary this year. The six issue, limited series is written by James Robinson, with pencils by Phillip Tan and inks from Ruy Jose.
In the new series, Robinson reintroduces the Masters of the Universe® to comic readers with Skeletor having won a major victory and rewriting the world of Eternia where he now rules from Castle Grayskull and the Masters have no memory of their former glory. Adam is a simple woodsman haunted by dreams of a heroic warrior, wielding a powerful sword in battle. He is found by a mysterious sorceress who tells him his dreams are of the way the world should be, that he is Eternia’s champion He-Man. Adam sets off on a quest to regain his power and reawaken the Masters of the Universe.
Does it bother you that DC will have “a new take” on the MOTU story or does it need refreshed for 2012 audiences?
