Five Stars for the All Stars

Well, I'm not really giving them five stars, but it sounded good, so I ran with it.

Being a big fan of the Morrison / Quietly All Star Superman, I've been looking forward to one half of All Star Series One. Originally we were to have an all AS Batman & Robin wave, which would have been easy to pass on since I look on that series like I look on all train wrecks. Then a mixed series was solicited with Superman, Super Lois, Batman and Wonder Woman, who was eventually replaced with Batgirl, since WW's AS comic still hasn't hit the stands.

The packaging of this series resembles that of the Showcase Presents figures - plastic box style which is quite good looking but may be on the big side for those who like to store MIB. The artwork is nicely done, and like the Showcase figures, the insert opens out to promote upcoming DCD waves - attractively done and a nice touch.

These figures are a mixed bag. Superman is the pick of the wave. The headsculpt is brilliantly done, capturing the Quietly art perfectly. I have heard complaints that the figure is too barrel-chested, and can only think that these people have never read the comic, since he's a perfect capture of Quietly's art on the series. While the barrel-chest is comic accurate, it does make him a bit of challenge to pose, as there's really only one angle that allows him to stand on his own. Ankle articulation, not included, would have helped greatly with this.

I'm normally not into figures based on one-off characters, but for Super Lois I'll make an exception. This is a fun figure, but unfortunately the facial features aren't captured nearly as well with this figure, which may be the sculpting or may be the paint apps, which seem slightly off just on her face. The rest of the figure is well sculpted, although her left leg is a little bit bowed in a manner reminiscent of many of the JLU figures, She stands easily on her own.

For those that would like DCD to push past its normal BVP stylings, the All Star Batman may fit the bill. This figure is sculpted in a hunched over, ready for battle or perhaps about to take off running pose, and does this in a much more successful manner than the INFINITE CRISIS Batman. His cape is furled out and the effect is actually very visually pleasing, which is good since this pose is the only option - there's no waist articulation to go for anything more upright. Paint apps are very solid on this figure. It's a shame the comic never came up to this quality.

Batgirl is an interesting figure is for no other reason that it is a really different body type that might make customisers happy in doing younger female characters. The splayed cape and flowing hair actually work for this figure, making it a bit more substantial, as she is quite tiny. This is in scale however and scale is in fact quite good across the line. Paint apps are again solid here, and fans of the character should be well pleased with this effort.

Oddly enough, one of my favourite things about this was is the stands, which are good-looking, small circles. I'm normally a nazi for figures standing on their own, the reason being that I like to pose my figures in groups without metres between them due to the usual ginormous DCD bases. These bases are more substantial than the tiny Kingdom Come ovals, but still don't take up much more than the circumference of the figure, allowing them to still be posed close together. I like.

Thanks for reading and looking. While you're here, two quick pointers - firstly, the AFB Cafe Press store is now open - see previous post for details, and if you look over to the right there is a DCUC poll up - please vote!

Until next time....