DC Comics Booster Gold & Blue Beetle Pop! Figures Box Set by Funko

The day The Blot’s been waiting years for is finally here… Funko has teamed up with Previews and Diamond Comics to release a Booster Gold and Blue Beetle Pop! DC Comics Box Set!!! I’ve been dreaming of the day my favorite super hero, Booster Gold, and his best friend would get the Pop! treatment and I’m thrilled to learn they will be Previews exclusives with a separate Metallic Edition (yes, we’re actually getting 2 different Boosters). This means JLI fans will be able to get them at their favorite comic book and specialty stores. My fear would be these would be released as limited edition convention exclusive with a crazy high price on the secondary market.

Each Booster Gold and Blue Beetle Pop! vinyl figure stands 3.75” tall and comes packaged together in a full color window box perfect for display. The DC Universe's most hilarious crime fighting duo aren’t scheduled to hit store shelves until December 2017, but you can pre-order them now at the Entertainment Earth for $22.99 per set here.

Booster Gold & Blue Beetle Custom 3” Dunnys by Nikejerk

While The Blot’s been collecting toys and comics for most of my life, I can honestly say I’ve never been jealous of a fellow fan’s collection…until now! The minute I saw the photo above on Nikejerk’s (aka Jared Cain) flickr page my jaw hit the ground. I don’t know who commissioned the Atlanta artist to create custom 3” Dunnys of Booster Gold, my favorite superhero, and his best friend the Blue Beetle but I am extremely jealous. Really I’m just mad at myself for not commissioning them first! Are these spot on or what? I especially love the way Jared handmade the goggles on both figures. All they really need is a little Skeets accessory flying around.

As Jared explained on his flickr page, this pair of custom 3” Dunnys were commissioned by a private collector. After seeing how well these JLI members turned out, the collector then commissioned Nikejerk to customize 14 more members of the Justice League over the next year or so. I can’t freaking wait to see who the collector requested and what Jared comes up with!  Jared's definitely leading the way when it comes to pop culture inspired custom figures.

DC Comics: A Rebirth Part I

As you have probably heard, a few months ago DC Comics made the decision to cancel all of their books and reboot the entire DC Universe. They did so by releasing 52 #1 issues of their entire line, which included their most popular books, some old favorites and a number of brand new titles. To be completely honest I have had mixed feelings about this decision and my views have changed considerably the past few weeks. But instead of debating the merits of a companywide reboot (why waste our time considering it’s happening whether we like it or not), I decided to embrace the change whole heartedly. Therefore, I made the somewhat ridiculous decision to pre-order all 52 #1 issues of DC's "New 52".

Well, the huge box of comics showed up at my front door step on Wednesday and I am going to attempt to read all 52 comics by Sunday. This way I can decide which books I want to keep reading since a few issue #2s were already released this week. Since so many of you have already read these comics I’ve decided to write up very brief reviews and grade each comic to give you a little insight as to how I chose which books to continue to read. Hope you enjoy!

Justice League #1 – This was by far the biggest disappointment of all the books I’ve read so far. Justice League is supposed to be DC’s flagship book with the company’s marquee creative team but this book was a complete dud! Literally nothing happened and they only introduced 2 characters (3 if you count a pre-Cyborg Vic Stone). This was not the best way to launch a much maligned companywide reboot. While I’d like to keep reading, this book seems to have been made for trade paperbacks. Grade: D-

Justice League International #1 – This was the one book I was looking forward to the most. JLI has always been one of my favorite comics and Booster Gold is my favorite character (although I hate his new costume), so you know I was going to love this book no matter how bad it was. Again, not much happened in this issue, but it did a great job introducing the book’s large cast and explaining the formation of the Justice League International. Will definitely keep reading this book if for no other reason than I’m a fanboy. Grade: B+

Stormwatch #1 – Another book I was really looking forward to. I love that DC has completely integrated the Wildstorm universe and is keeping the Authority pretty much intact as a rebooted Stormwatch, especially since that’s how the was first formed. Throw in another favorite character of mine, the Martian Manhunter, and you’ve got a great read by Paul Cornell that really seems to be going somewhere. It’s just too bad the art sucked! Will definitely keep reading this one. Grade: Story A; Art C-

Action Comics #1 – The Blot had high hopes for this one based on the creative team of Grant Morrison and Rags Morales. I haven’t read a Superman book in years but was intrigued by Morrison’s reboot of such an iconic character with a storied and rich history. So far so good…this story set 5 years in the past was interesting and so is Morrison’s take on Superman. Not sure I’d stick with this book long term, but I will definitely give it a second issue. Grade: A-

Animal Man #1 – Buddy Baker is one of those C-list characters I always love reading. I’ve especially enjoyed his last few years of space adventures with Adam Strange and Starfire stemming from their storyline in 52. It was cool to see Animal Man’s newfound popularity and the push DC Comics has since given this new series. While not a traditional superhero book, this was definitely my favorite of the 10 “New 52” books I’ve ready so far. In my opinion Jeff Lemire is one of DC’s top writers and I am so glad the company finally merged the Vertigo universe with the main DCU. Not only did it bring back some really wonderful characters to the proper DC universe, but it gave some of DC’s top writing talent a bigger stage to shine on. Will definitely continue reading. Grade: A+

Aquaman #1 – My biggest surprise from the “New 52” was how much I enjoyed Aquaman! I typically really enjoy Geoff Johns work and you can see his passion for the character in the story he’s crafted. I know Johns is a polarizing writing (you either love him or hate him), but I’m glad to see Arthur Curry finally get his due after so many horrible relaunches and reboots. Not sure I’ll be reading this long term, but will probably pick up issue #2. Grade: B+

All-Star Western #1 – Western comics are really not my thing, but how can you not love Jonah Hex!?! He really is such a complex character when written correctly and the team of Gray and Palmotti definitely know what they’re doing with this old school bounty hunter. I think this book might even have a shot at a long run with its setting now in Gotham and its many ties to Gotham’s future. While I enjoyed issue #1, I won’t be continuing with the book. If the book continues to receive rave reviews I might pick it up as a trade later on down the road. Grade: B

Blackhawks #1 – While I did not have huge expectations for Blackhawks, I was somewhat disappointed in the story. I’ve fallen in love with Mike Costa’s work on G.I. Joe: Cobra for IDW, and was hoping to really like Blackhawks. I think part of the problem was the fact that these are all new characters and I was hoping this series would tie into Blackhawk history more so than in name only. The cliffhanger also did not leave me wanting to find out what happens next. Will not continue reading. Grade: C

Flash #1 – Flash was one of the first comics I ever started reading consistently and have done so for most of my life (that’s over 20 years if you’re counting). I am a hardcore Wally West fan, and why DC Comics would choose to abandon Wally in favor of Barry Allen escapes me. This is a shortsighted decision made by met out of touch with their fan base. For most comic book readers Wally West is the only Flash they’ve ever known, and for most non-comic book readers who DC Comics is hoping to gain as readers with this reboot Wally West is their Flash (i.e. his inclusion in the Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice cartoons). To me this was a very short sighted decision that did not work prior to the reboot and it’s not going to work now. I hate Barry Allen as the DCU’s primary Flash and I hate the new costume. Will not be reading this book again. Grade: B

Demon Knights #1 – I don’t know why, but I was really looking forward to this comic. I’ve heard so many amazing things about Paul Cornell’s work, and so far I have to say it’s all true. I’m also a sucker for books set in the DC Universe’s past featuring their most famous mystical and immortal characters. It’s literally a who’s who of ancient characters, which I think is neat. Every page is chock full of Easter eggs for long time DC readers. I also have to commend Cornell for his decision to not have The Demon rhyme when he speaks. I am sure it was hard to ignore one of the character’s most iconic characteristics, but I can’t imagine reading this book every month with non¬stop rhymes. Will definitely continue reading this book. Grade: A-

Next up...the Batman books!

The Complete Booster Gold Toy Collection

Click on the photo above for a more detailed look

As The Blot counts down to Booster Gold’s world television debut in this Friday’s episode of Smallville (appropriately entitled “Booster”), I thought I’d share a photo of my Booster Gold toy collection. The Blot’s proud to say I own every Booster Gold figure ever produced, and here they all are in one fabulous group shot.

To be honest, owning every Booster Gold figure is not quite the same accomplishment if say I collected Superman or Batman figures. With the amount of toys made of DC Comics’ A-list characters over the past 80 years, it’d be nearly impossible to have a complete collection. I guess that’s just one of the few perks to having your favorite character be a C-list hero. That and none of these figures are all that rare (except maybe the Walmart Exclusive DCU Infinite Heroes action figure in the middle).

For those interested, here’s a key to the Booster Gold figures you see in the photograph above (from left to right): Lead Figure by Eaglemoss Publications, 52 action figure by DC Direct, Heroclix figure, JLU action figure, DC Universe Classics action figure, DC Universe Infinite Heroes action figure, Minimates action figure, DC Universe Infinite Heroes action figure, JLU action figure, JLI action figure by DC Direct, and two more Heroclix figures.

Justice League International Series 2 Action Figures

Readers of The Blot Says… may remember that the late 80’s/early 90’s run of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire on Justice League International is one of The Blot’s holy grails of comics. I hold it in the same high regard as the 80’s run of Marv Wolfman and George Perez on both The New Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths. And so it made me really happy this week to find out DC Direct was continuing its line of Justice League International action figures based on the artwork of Kevin Maguire.


There was no doubt in my mind that a second wave of figures would be coming because while Series 1 was great, it didn’t include any of the super heroes who really represented what it meant to be a member of the JLI. Yes Batman, Ice and G’Nort were important characters to many key JLI stories, but the humorous legacy of Justice League International was created by its core members: the Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle and Fire.


One of the highlights of the JLI era was Giffen and DeMatteis’ unique and absurd take on the classic JLA super hero J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. His new found obsession with Oreos was hilarious and even though they took his personality in a bizarre direction, there is no doubt in my mind that the Martian Manhunter is and always will be the heart and soul of the Justice League. In my opinion his exclusion from the current Justice League series is a key reason the book has been so disappointing to fans; from the very start of the book’s re-launch, the team has been written without direction and focus. Something J’onn often brought to the Justice League of America.



And while I am a little disappointed DC Direct chose to go with Fire and Ice’s original costumes (from their Ice Maiden and Green Flame Global Guardian days), I am pumped to finally be able to own a Justice League team consisting of Blue & Gold and Fire & Ice. These four characters are some of my favorite heroes of all time and I love that they are finally getting their due respect from the higher ups at DC Comics. Now that Tora (Ice) has been brought back to life, we only need to convince the idiots at DC to bring back poor dead Ted Kord (Blue Beetle).


Each Justice League International Series 2 action figure stands between 6.75”-7” tall, features multiple points of articulation, a base to stand on and comes in a 4 color clamshell blister card packaging. You can expect to see the line of Justice League International Series 2 action figures in stores on August 26, 2009.

Justice League International - Series 1 Action Figures

From the pages of the much-loved 80’s series of hilarious and action-packed stories that re-defined the term “Super-Hero Team” comes DC Direct’s Justice League International action figures! (link)

DC Comics’s Justice League has been around since the 1960’s and gone through many incarnations over the past 50 years. While some of the team’s lineups were more heralded than others, in the eyes of The Blot one team stands above them all…the Justice League International. After the demise of the Detroit based Justice League and spinning out of DC’s Legends mini-series came a new series, lineup and curious direction that no JLA fan could have ever expected.

What ended up coming out of the title’s re-launch ended up becoming one of my top 3 favorite comics as a kid (and probably one of my top 5 comics of all time). Written by Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Kevin Maguire, their run on Justice League International during the late 80’s/early 90’s took a surprising comedic twist that actually worked well for the team’s new lineup of secondary and B-list characters (who am I kidding, most of them were C and D list characters). The lineup changed and expanded over time but came to be known for its focusing on fan favorite secondary characters such as Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Maxwell Lord, Fire and Ice.

Unfortunately, much of the Justice League International’s legacy has been tarnished over the past few years through storylines focusing around DC’s 2005 mini-series Infinite Crisis, which saw the killing off of many former JLI members. This seems to have rallied together fans of the book and introduced new readers to the brilliance of what was Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire’s run on Justice League.

The team’s new found resurgence in popularity has brought about something I never thought I’d see but had always hoped for, a new line of DC Direct action figures based on Kevin Maguire’s artwork on Justice League International. When this news hit the internet on Monday I was shocked. I had heard zero rumors about the line and then one day out of the blue the news hit. I can’t even being to tell you how excited I am for this line, and while they didn’t include the characters I necessarily would have picked (especially considering there is already a DC Direct G’Nort figure and about a billion Batman figures on the market), I am still extremely pleased with the news.

The first wave of the new Justice League International action figures includes Batman, Black Canary in her costume from the late 80’s, Ice (or Ice Maiden) in her original costume, and Green Lantern G’Nort. These are all classic characters from the series and I hope they sell well enough to garner a second wave. I am assuming this is already in the works since this line of figures is being marketed as Series 1.

Expect Series 1 Justice League International figures to hit stores December 10, 2008. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a DC Direct Fire figure in the next series of JLI figures. It would be a shame if she was the only primary JLI member not to be given a DC Direct figure. While the previously released Justice League Unlimited Fire and Ice three pack was a great release, Ms. Beatriz Bonilla de Costa deserves a fully articulated 6” figure.

You can pre-order the entire set of 4 figures here for $59.99.