Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Soda Vinyl Figures by Funko x Marvel Studios

Funko has announced an entire line of Guardians of the Galaxy Soda vinyl figures based on the upcoming Marvel Studios live action film! The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Soda Vinyl Figure Series will include Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Nebula, a Target exclusive Mantis, an Amazon exclusive Cosmo, and a Walmart exclusive Adam Warlock.

Each Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Soda Vinyl Figure by Funko stands 4.25” tall and comes packaged inside of a collectible soda can.  Every figure also has a rare chase variant that will be randomly inserted in the blind box style soda can.  Collectors can pre-order these new Marvel Studios figures now at Entertainment Earth for $14.99 each here.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Pop! Marvel Series 1 Vinyl Figures by Funko

The Blot cannot wait for Marvel Studios’ next live action film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3! To celebrate the film’s impending arrival, Funko has released a killer new line of collectible vinyl figures based on this iconic team of lovable losers. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Pop! Marvel Series 1 includes Star-Lord, Drax, Nebula, Mantis, Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo, Baby Rocket, and Adam Warlock. There will also be some fantastic retailer exclusives of Groot, Rocket, and the whole GotG team!

Each Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Pop! Marvel vinyl figure stands 3.75” tall, features one point of articulation and comes packaged in a full color displayable window box. Collectors can pre-order these figures now at Entertainment Earth for $11.99 each here.

Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Minimates Series by Diamond Select Toys

Diamond Select Toys has unveiled Marvel Minimates Series 79, and it’s based on the modern incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy! Series 79 includes Starlord with Adam Warlock, Gamora with Darkhawk, and Cosmic Ghost Rider with Angela. Plus, if you buy all three 2-packs, you get the parts to build Moondragon!

Each Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Minimates Set includes two 2” mini figures featuring 14 points of articulation and a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. Collectors can pre-order the entire series now at Entertainment Earth for $29.99 here.

Walgreens Exclusive Marvel Animated Universe Minimates Series 10 by Diamond Select Toys

Diamond Select Toys’ fantastic Walgreens Exclusive Marvel Animated Universe Minimates toy line continues with a new series of figures based on Marvel’s popular animated television shows. Marvel Animated Universe Minimates Series 10 – based on Avengers: Secret Wars, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy animated series – includes Crimson Widow with Dracula, Dr. Strange with Ghost Rider, Rocket Raccoon with Adam Warlock, and Venom with Hammerhead. The really cool part about this series is that this is the first ever Hammerhead Minimate figure released by DST!

Each Marvel Animated Universe Minimates Series 10 Set includes two 2” mini figures featuring 14 points of articulation and a variety of interchangeable character specific parts and accessories. This new series should be hitting Walgreens stores everywhere soon and retail for between $10-15 per set.

SDCC 2018 Exclusive Infinity Gauntlet and Marvel Mutants Pin Mate Box Sets by Entertainment Earth

Entertainment Earth has begun to announce their exclusives for San Diego Comic-Con 2018, which includes two fantastic new Marvel Comics Pin Mate Wooden Figure Box Sets! First up is this epic Infinity Gauntlet Pin Mate Set, which is based on the iconic 1991 Marvel Comics mini-series of the same name by Jim Starlin, George Pérez and Ron Lim. This is also the comic book series which Avengers: Infinity War is based on.

The San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Exclusive Infinity Gauntlet Pin Mate Wooden Figure Collectibles Set features a whopping 16 different characters based on their appearance in the comic book mini series. This limited edition set includes heroes Adam Warlock, Pip the Troll, Drax, Quasar, Nova, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, She-Hulk, Doctor Strange, Vision, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Cloak, and the evil Thanos.

The packaging for this SDCC exclusive is also really cool as well! The box’s front, with its large illustration of the Infinity Gauntlet, evokes artwork gracing several of the storyline’s collected editions, while Thanos is packaged on the reverse of the deluxe, fully illustrated window box in his memorable and mocking “Come and get me!” pose from the cover of The Infinity Gauntlet #4. For their part, The Avengers and the other heroes of the Marvel Universe are packed in a recreation of issue #3’s instantly iconic “Call to Arms” cover. This huge box set is limited to 1,500 sets and retails for $109.99. Collectors can pre-ordered it now at Entertainment Earth for delivery after Comic-Con here.

What’s really interesting about the Infinity War Pin Mates Box Set is that there are three empty blister spots, which can be filled with the San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Exclusive Gold Series Marvel’s Mutants Pin Mates Wooden Collectibles 3 Pack! This X-Men Pin Mates Wood Figure Box Set includes Wolverine and Cyclops with Avengers member, Scarlet Witch, who are all ready to battle with Thanos. All three of these mutant heroes, who fight for a world that fears them, come wearing their distinctive 1990s costumes. This Marvel Mutant 3 Pack is limited to 1,500 sets and retails for $19.99. Collectors can pre-ordered it now at Entertainment Earth for delivery after Comic-Con here.

If you are attending San Diego Comic-Con 2018 next month, you can visit the Entertainment Earth SDCC booth #2343 to purchase both limited edition collectible sets!

The Rebirth of the Guardians of the Galaxy

This week saw the first issue of Marvel Comics’ new ongoing series Guardians of the Galaxy, written by the team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and drawn by Paul Pelletier. Coming out of Marvel Comics’ two surprise hit intergalactic space crossovers (2006’s Annihilation and 2007’s Annihilation: Conquest) comes the official re-launch of the company’s preeminent sci-fi team.

The new book is described in a way that only Marvel could write: (link)

Marvel’s sci-fi heroes unite to protect the cosmos! Back-to-back Annihilation wars have weakened the boundaries of our universe. Dark gods and monsters are seeping through the cracks, reigning horror upon those still reeling from the recent calamities. In the face of terror, who stands to defend a desperate universe? Star-Lord and his squad of butt-kickers - the modern day Guardians of the Galaxy!

The original Guardians of the Galaxy debuted in 1969 and showed up from time to time guest-staring in other titles until finally given their own comic book in 1990 which ran until 1995. In its early years, Guardians of the Galaxy was a tremendously popular book and one I really enjoyed. The story actually takes place “in the 31st century in an alternate time-line of the Marvel Universe.” (link) This hasn’t kept the books characters from interacting with the current Marvel Universe, which they have done many times since their debut. The Guardians of the Galaxy were a rag tag group of rebels, each the last of their race, who “unite as a team against the actions of the Badoon, an alien race which attempts to conquer Earth’s solar system.” (link) The book definitely had a “us vs. the world” feel to it and I think fans of the current sci-fi hit, Battlestar Galactica, would have really enjoyed this super hero twist to a familiar story.

While the premise this time around is completely different, I was pretty excited to hear Guardians of the Galaxy were returning. Over the past 5 years or so I’ve really phased out my reading of Marvel Comics, but after hearing really great things about the company’s use of their under-used and random space-related characters such as Nova, Quasar, Annihilus, Ronan, Super Skrull, Captain Universe and Deathcry in Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest my interests were piqued. Since the two crossovers were made up of multiple mini-series and tons of issues I ended up not picking it up, instead just reading reviews. But when the dust settled and Guardians of the Galaxy was announced as a spin-off, I finally gave in and purchased the first issue.

The new team is based in current continuity and features a new rag tag group of some of Marvel’s most famous space heroes and its most random 70’s sci-fi creations. The team consists of Star-Lord (Peter Quill), Adam Warlock, the new Quasar (Phyla-Vell), Rocket Racoon, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora and the tree-like monster Groot. Their support team consists of former Avenger Mantis and Cosmo, a dog who has gained both telepathic and telekinetic abilities since being lost in space by the soviet space program. The strangest part of this new series is the team’s headquarters. The Guardians of the Galaxy's base of operations is Knowhere, an inter-dimensional crossroads housed in the severed head of a Celestial being. Now if that doesn’t get you interested in this new team, I don’t know what will!

The book hit comic book stores this week and was really good, even for someone like me who did not follow any of the previous Annihilation stories. So if you’re in the market to get back into comic books and want to try out a super hero team book that reads like a science-fiction space opera then pick up Guardians of the Galaxy #1 from Marvel Comics this weekend.