Tag Archives: Mike Mignola

#3367: Abe Sapien

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ABE SAPIEN

HELLBOY (1000TOYS)

Comic book companies sure do like their fish men, don’t they? After Hellboy did a few brief appearances in other books, and moved to headlining his own series, he brought with him his own host of supporting players. Debuting in the first issue of “Seed of Destruction” was the franchise’s own resident fish man, Abraham Sapien. Abe became a popular character in his own right, eventually taking a leading role in his own self-titled series, as well as the BPRD spinoff series. As the franchise’s secondary lead, he’s a good go-to for merchandising, making him a pretty natural choice for the second offering in 1000toys’ Hellboy line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Abe Sapien is, as noted above, the second character added to the 1000toys Hellboy toyline. Not quite the second figure, counting the various versions of Red, but the second, and thus far final, unique character. There were two versions of this figure released: a standard version and a Dark Horse-exclusive version with a non-articulated Rasputin figure. This one is the standard. He stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  Abe’s articulation scheme has a lot in common with Hellboy’s; obviously, his right arm doesn’t get the extra movement with the individually jointed fingers, instead mirroring the way the movement on the left works.  Like Hellboy, his torso is a softer material, to allow for more posability.  Abe winds up with some segmenting at the middle, which allows for even a bit more range than Hellboy was able to get.  In general, Abe’s movement is up to the impressive standards that everything else from 1000toys has set.  Abe’s sculpt is all-new.  He’s again got a heavily Mignola-inspired design, albeit just a touch more polished.  Abe is, of course, less rough and scarred than Hellboy, but he still gets a lot of smaller details, capturing his slightly more amphibian skin.  I also appreciate the difference of texturing between the skin and his shorts.  The only thing I’m not super crazy about is how his gills attach to the neck; it’s a whole slip-over piece at the top of the torso, which results in a separation between the two parts, which looks a tiny bit like his throat’s been slit.  Thankfully, it’s usually covered by the chin, so it’s not a *huge* issue.  In place of the cloth greatcoat sported by Hellboy, Abe gets a rubber BPRD vest piece, which fits pretty snuggly over the figure’s torso.  It stays on securely; securely enough that I didn’t actually realize it was meant to be removable at first.  Abe’s color work is strongly rendered, with plenty of accenting, especially on the exposed skin.  It really emphasizes the strengths of the sculpt, and matches up nicely with his incarnation from the comics.  Abe is more impressively accessorized than Hellboy, with six different pairs of hands (in fists, tight grip, loose grip, trigger finger, relaxed, and open gesture), a dive watch, knife, sheath for the knife, handgun, holster for the handgun, and a spear.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Abe’s my favorite part of the Hellboy mythos, and I’m always down for a good figure of him.  Back when Mezco did their comics-based line, I really wanted an Abe, but they made him a convention exclusive, and it honestly kinda killed me on the whole line.  I’ve been waiting for another chance since then, and it was actually this guy’s announcement that really sold me on this line as a whole.  Thankfully, when the Hellboy that I snagged got traded into All Time, this guy was alongside him.  The partners remained partners!  Abe’s a fantastic figure, just like HB.  Now I don’t even mind that I never got the Mezco.  And, if this is all we get from 1000toys, I’ll be content.  But, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a few others.  Like a Liz.  Or a Lobster Johnson.  Or a Johan.  Or a Roger.  Or just a whole entire line of really amazing figures based on all the characters.  And maybe some movie ones, too.  Right?  Right.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3362: Hellboy

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HELLBOY

HELLBOY (1000TOYS)

I don’t get to talk about Hellboy nearly enough on this site.  The last time I talked about anything Hellboy-related here on the site was all the way back in 2018, which honestly seems absurd to me.  But, there it is, I guess.  Well, I’m gonna try to make it better!  While the majority of Hellboy product has been courtesy of Mezco, there have been a few other manufacturers to take up the reigns since Mezco last left things off.  There have been a small selection of figures on the higher end side of things, including a couple of offerings from 1000toys, a company that always does its best to impress with me.  Today, I’m taking a look at their take on the titular character.  Is he sufficiently awesome?  I mean, more than likely.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hellboy is the debut figure in 1000toys’ Hellboy line and was released in 2019.  There are a few different versions of him, but the one seen here is the most standard of the releases, which was the very first of them to hit.  This one covers all of your basic Hellboy needs, without delving into the more involved stuff.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 45 points of articulation. Hellboy figures have a tendency to be a little more restricted on the articulation front, especially when it comes to the Right Hand of Doom, but that’s not the case with this guy. 1000toys has put their usual care into giving this guy a quite impressive range of motion, which even includes the Right Hand of Doom getting fully articulated fingers. Oh boy, are those a lot of fun. The shoulders took a little bit of getting used to for posing, and the right elbow can look a little odd depending on the pose, but its otherwise quite nicely implemented. Hellboy’s sculpt was all-new, though at this point it’s obviously been shared with his variants. It’s clearly Mignola inspired in its design, though it’s a slightly more cleaned up Mignola look, which lends itself just a little bit better to an articulated figure. He’s got a bit of a mixed media thing going on; the torso is a softer plastic, to allow for a little more movement, while preserving the cleanness of the design. It’s a little spongey when posing, and I always worry a bit with durability on such things, but it seems to work alright.  It also maintains a nice level of detailing, including his more rock-like features, as well as the various scars littered throughout his body.  Furthering the mixed-media set-up, he’s got his rosary, which hangs from his belt on an actual chain.  Likewise mixed-media is his coat, which is cloth goods here.  It’s bulky, as it should be, and has a wire running through the bottom, to allow for some minor posing.  The coat can be removed, though it will require popping off the right hand, which is a little tricky the first time around.  The color work on this guy is pretty solid stuff; the main red is bright and eye catching, which I really dig.  That’s largely molded plastic, of course, though I do have to give them kudos for being able to get the shades to all match up very closely; that’s especially difficult with reds.  The skin tones get a decent amount of accenting, which adds a little bit of shading, and also brings out the sculpt’s smaller details.  He’s also go those very bright yellow eyes, which make for quite an impressive pop of color.  This version of Hellboy is the most stripped down version in terms of extras, but he still gets an extra head, four hands, the Samaritan, and a holster.  The extra head gets an angrier expression, which is very in character.  Interestingly, the horns aren’t part of this sculpt, instead being shared between the two heads.  This was pre-planning for the release that also included his full horns, meaning this guy will still be compatible with those extra pieces, should you get them.  The hands are all lefts, since the right is fully posable; he’s got fist, gripping, relaxed, and open gesture.  The Samaritan is appropriately oversized, and fits well in the gripping hand.  The holster’s a touch tricky to use, but it works well enough and holds the gun securely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been hoping to pick this guy up since he was first released back in 2019, but, for a number of reasons, he just kept getting pushed off, until several different releases of him had all sold through, and I assumed I wouldn’t be finding one.  I assumed incorrectly.  I just needed to be patient was all.  This guy got traded in, opened but unused, at All Time, which gave me to perfect opportunity to get myself one for a not terrible deal.  1000toys has not disappointed me in the past, and they’ve still not disappointed me.  This guy’s easily the best Hellboy figure I’ve ever handled, and just a great toy in general.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2602: Batman – Gotham By Gaslight

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BATMAN — GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT

ELSEWORLDS (DC DIRECT)

“As a young Bruce Wayne takes up the mantle of the Bat, a series of slayings mirroring the work of Jack the Ripper begins.”

DC’s Elseworlds line allowed them to tell stories that fell outside of the confines of a normal universe story, which opened the playing field to all sorts of crazy concepts.  It also lent itself pretty well to lots of “let’s mash up this DC thing with another established thing” scenarios.  This actually goes back to the very first Elseworlds tale, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, which is “what if Batman was Victorian era and fought Jack the Ripper?”  It’s not high concept, but it’s certainly fun.  It’s also some of Mike Mignola’s earlier work, and has some pretty impressive design work.  The story’s Victorian Batman design is quite distinctive, which makes it ripe for making action figures, as DC Direct did in 2007.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gotham By Gaslight Batman was released in the second series of DC Direct’s Elseworlds line.  He was one of two Batmen included, the other being the Red Son version of the character, which is another quite distinctive, if perhaps slightly thematically similar version of the Batman design.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  The articulation’s not a lot, but it was about what you’d expect from DCD at the time.  It’s good for some slight tweaks to his posture, but that’s really it.  It’s certainly better than nothing.  The sculpt was an all-new piece, and it was definitely DCD at their best.  They really had a lot of fun with the artist-specific work in this line, and in the case of this Batman, they’ve done a pretty spot on job of capturing that early Mignola art style.  He doesn’t quite have the extreme hallmarks of later Mignola stuff, but there’s still enough to make it recognizable.  I really like how they’ve translated the texturing of Mignola’s work into something three dimensional, and I also quite enjoy how they’ve managed to keep him rather dynamic while also keeping a fairly neutral pose.  The flow of that cape is just beautiful.  The only thing I’m not too keen on are the ears, which always point a bit inward on mine.  It’s an unfortunate side effect of how small they have to be and how they were packaged in the box, I suppose.  The paint work does a nice job of replicating the way Mignola’s work is illustrated in the book, with a subdued palette and a decent job of outlining the features on the face.  There’s also some great accenting on the belt, as well as some impressive work on the mud stains on his boots and cape.  All in all, a very well rendered paint scheme.  The only slight let down to this guy are the accessories.  All he gets is a stand.  Its not much to go on, and felt quite light given the price these things were going for relative to everything else at the time.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up this guy back when he was brand new, courtesy of my usual comics haunt, Cosmic Comix.  He was the first of the Elseworlds line I grabbed, mostly because I wanted a Mignola Batman figure, and I wasn’t picky about which particular design it was.  I hadn’t even read the comic at the time (I have since).  He’s certainly a nice looking figure, even if he’s maybe not so exciting to actually play with.

#0898: Roger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ROGER

HELLBOY (MEZCO)

Roger1

The artificial man is a recurring story element in lots of different popular culture. Typically, it’s the likes of Frankenstein’s monster, or even characters like Ash and Bishop from the Alien franchise, or perhaps just a more generic robot. They’re created through scientific means. However, there are a few examples, such as the Golem or the Homunculi, which are created through supernatural means. Today’s focus, Roger, is officially the latter, but functionally works as the former. Just go with it. Without further ado, here’s Roger!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Roger was released in Series 2 of Mezco’s comic-based Hellboy line. The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall (Roger’s a big guy) and he has 23 points of articulation. Roger has a sculpt courtesy of Inu Art, and he’s based on Mike Mignola’s artwork from the main series. A lot of Roger’s appearances were actually in BPRD, which was drawn by Guy Davis, not Mignola. However, it makes sense to have all of the figures in this set be in the same basic style (plus Davis’ style isn’t too far removed from Mignola’s to begin with). Roger’s sculpt is totally unique to him. His proportions are a pretty spot-on rendering of what’s seen on the page, and the resemblance to Roger is definitely there.  Roger’s far less clothed than the other two figures I’ve looked at from this line, but that doesn’t mean he lacks Roger2the attention to detail. Like Lobster Johnson, he has that chiseled look, with a ton of cool texturing, which really makes this figure stand out from others. The hatch at the center of his torso is actually articulated to allow it to open (though the interior of his torso is merely simulated, not actually shown). The loop on Roger’s… modesty… plank (?) is a separate, metal piece, which is a nice touch. Roger’s paint consists almost entirely of variations of browns, but there’s enough there to keep him from being too boring. The paint is all nice and clean, and there’s some pretty cool shading throughout the figure. Roger includes a BPRD flak jacket, if you prefer him a bit more clothed, as well as a book with a skull on the front of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At the time of this figure’s release, my only real exposure to the franchise was the first movie and a handful of comics I’d picked up, none of which featured Roger. Not knowing the character, I didn’t pick him up. Then I actually read a number of his appearances, and quite enjoyed the character, but finding the figure at that point was…less than practical. At this year’s MAGFest, one of the vendors had a Lobster Johnson figure, which I very happily snapped up. The next day, they had added Roger to the table, and I happily snapped him up too. I don’t find him to be quite as fun a figure as Lobster J, but he’s still pretty solid, and I’m happy I got him.

#0880: Lobster Johnson

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

LOBSTER JOHNSON

HELLBOY (MEZCO)

LobsterJ1

After being introduced to the Hellboy franchise by the 2004 movie, I was very invested in finding out just what this series had to offer. I was thrilled to find that there was a ton of stuff in the comics that the movies didn’t even begin to touch on. One of my favorite non-movie characters (and apparently one of Mike Mignola’s favorite creations) was pseudo pulp hero Lobster Johnson. After the modest success of their first movie-based line of figures, toymakers Mezco put together a tragically short-lived line of comic based figures, granting good ol’ claw-hand a shot at a figure, which I’ll be reviewing today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LobsterJ2Lobster Johnson was released in the first series of comic-based Hellboy figures. It’s actually a little surprising that Johnson got a spot so early in the line, but he was the one figure in the line-up specifically requested by Mignola (the same thing happened with the small selection of Heroclix the series got). Johnson was released in two different variations: a regular one, and a translucent blue “Ghost of Lobster Johnson” one. The Ghost version was a summer convention exclusive, with the normal colored version being the regular, mass market release. Mine’s the regular one. The figure is 7 ¾ inches tall and has 20 points of articulation. He has a sculpt by INU Studios, based right on Mignola’s art from the series. This sculpt is an incredibly masterful translation of Mignola’s style into three dimensions; it gets the proportions down great (though, boy does this guy have some skinny wrists), and just overall does a really nice job of capturing Lobster’s look. Also, unlike a lot of comic-based figures, Lobster doesn’t skimp on the texturing; he almost look likes he’s been chiseled out of stone, which is definitely befitting of a Mignola design. The paintwork does a nice job of accenting the sculpt; the uniform gets a nice assortment of dry-brushed details and the like, to make it look good and worn-in. It would have been nice if the claw logo on his torso were a bit brighter, just to stand out a bit more, but it’s not bad. The face is really impressive, making use of several different flesh tones to give him a distinct, almost picturesque quality. Lobster is packed with a pistol (which can be held, or stowed in his holster) and the evil brain from Lobster’s debut story, “Killer in My Skull.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite loving the movie and having a few of Mezco’s figures from that line, I never got any of the Series 1 comic figures (and only a single Series 2 figures). It was a choice I came to regret much later, after the prices had all sky-rocketed. At this year’s MAGFest, I saw this guy on a vendor’s table, and was very happy to find out the guy was asking well below the figure’s going rate. I’m really happy that I got Lobster; of all the comic figures I missed out on, he was probably the one I most wanted. He’s an incredible figure, and it’s a shame Mezco didn’t get to do way more of these guys.

#0232: Johann Kraus

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

JOHANN KRAUS

HELLBOY

I came in somewhat late to the Hellboy scene. My first interaction with the characters and story was the release of the first Hellboy movie in 2004. I saw the movie with a group of friends and had no expectations at all. I actually thought that Abe Sapien was supposed to be the villain! Anyway, the movie was really good, and I was hooked on all things Hellboy. Mezco Toys had the license for the movie, and I picked up a few figures from that line, and then Mezco decided to move onto a line of figures based on the comicbooks. Today, I’ll be looking at that line’s version of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense’s resident expert on ectoplasmic stuff, Johann Kraus.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Johann was released as part of the second series of comicbook-inspired Hellboy line from Mezco Toys. He stands a little over 7 inches tall and features 15 points of articulation. He’s based on Johann as Mike Mignola drew him. Seeing as Mignola originated the design, that’s a good call. The sculpt does a pretty good job of translating Mignola’s 2D drawings to 3D, which was no easy feat, I’m sure. They’ve incorporated some great texture work all around, which captures the gritty look of the series very nicely. The paint is serviceable, with some pretty decent dry brushing all around. They’ve used a semi-translucent paint on his head, which works nicely to capture his ectoplasmic look. Sadly, my figure has a scratch on his face, which brings the work down a bit, but I’d be exceptionally happy were that not the case. Johann included a spare set of hands to simulate his ectoplasmic powers at work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Johann from my local comic store (Cosmic Comix) when series two was first released. Shortly after the release of the first Hellboy movie, I picked up an issue of Hellboy Weird Tales, which among other things, contained a story that focused on Johann. It was my first interaction with the character, and I enjoyed him immensely. So, when the figure came out I knew I definitely wanted one. I never got any of the other comicbook Hellboy figures, but Johann is still very entertaining, and a great representation of the character.