Once Upon a Geek Green Arrow Feature

Hey guys! My good friend Shag over at Once Upon a Geek has done a post on all his GA action figures! I own a few o these, and plan to do a more in depth review on a couple soon, but his collection is really impressive! Head on over there and check it out!

Update: Shag also did a piece on a pair of boxers with both GA and Firestorm on them! I might just have to find a K-Mart now...

Crisis on Earth Blog Crossover!

Well folks, its that time again! What time you ask? Why time for another Crisis on Earth Blog Crossover, of course!




This time, we're focusing on the 25th Anniversary of the Super Powers line of action figures from Kenner. Green Arrow was featured in the second wave of this series, pictured below:

Unfortunately, I don't own this figure, so I can't review it on the site (I do have a new fig though, look for it soon ((I promise)). I can however, review the mini comic that came with GA and the other figs in the series. In fact, that's the main focus of the current Crisis on Earth Blog Crossover! Green Arrow's comic also features The Flash and Martian Manhunter.

First, we have the cover:
As you can see, everyone's favorite Emerald Archer is battling Kalibak, another character featured in the Super Powers line. We're not really sure who drew or wrote these books, but the cover is certainly well done and very dynamic! Note: the line features a large number of the New Gods of Apokolips as villains. I can only assume this was because of their recent high profile gigs on Super Friends.

On the second page, the story gets started...sort of:

Before we get to the story, we get a mail in card to join the Kenner Super Powers fan club. which apparently got you a bunch of swag and discounts on DC comics for $3.50. Not bad! Anyway, the action starts off in Star City, where the Martian Manhunter is presenting Green Arrow with an award! Apparently, the emerald duo is tired of waiting, since The Flash is late (again), so they proceed with the ceremony:

but wait, The Flash is here after all! He was just outside parking the inevitable vehicle tie in...I mean Delta Probe One. :) We also learn that GA's award is made from a "Martian Power Gem." I have no idea where J'onn's been keeping that thing all these years...but its probably best not to ask! Unfortunately, the gem has drawn some unwanted attention:

Kalibak arrives in his Boulder Bomber (also a vehicle in the Super Powers line) to steal the power gem for himself! Of course, J'onn J'onzz, The Martian Manhunter, is having none of that, and tries to tip Kalibak and his vehicle over! Unfortunately:

Kalibak launches a flaming..arrow...thing at J'onn and due to his race's weakness to fire, he's down for the count! Its here that GA first gets into the fight, trying to use a Fire Extinguisher Arrow to douse the flames and let J'onn recover, but he's foiled by the Boulder Bomber! Next:



The Flash comes in with reinforcements! Its a battle of the product placements, folks! The Delta Probe and Boulder Bomber fight it out with their included accessories, until GA intervenes again!


Unfortunately, another of Kalibak's accessories destroys GA's arrows before he can fire! Fortunately, Ollie is pretty quick on the uptake, and turns the tables on Kalibak:
Apparently one blow to the head by a normal human being can knock Kalbak out cold. Good to know :) Anyway, the boys put Kalibak in another of the Delta Probes product features, and call it a day!

The mini comic was obviously an excuse for more product placement, but it was very well done regardless. It combines some of my favorite characters (GA, MM, and the New Gods) into a fun little package. I only wish I had a copy myself!

As part of the blog crossover, several of my fellow comic bloggers are also going over and reviewing the comics that came with their favorites characters. Please click on the links below and check it out!

• Aquaman Shrine- http://www.aquamanshrine.blogspot.com/
• Bat-Blog- http://www.tomztoyz.blogspot.com/
• Being Carter Hall- http://beingcarterhall.blogspot.com/
• SpeedForce- http://speedforce.org/
• Crimson Lightning- http://thefastestmanalive.blogspot.com/
• Love Dat Joker- http://lovedatjoker.livejournal.com/
• Justice League Detroit- http://justiceleaguedetroit.blogspot.com/
• Idol-Head of Diabolu - http://idol-head.blogspot.com/
• ... nurgh ... -http://nurgh.blogspot.com/
• Doom Patrol blog (Doug) - http://mygreatestadventure80.blogspot.com/
• Fortress of Baileytude- http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/
• Firestorm Fan - http://firestormfan.com/
• Once Upon A Geek http://onceuponageek.com/

Action figure images courtesy of: cooltoyreview.com
Mini-Comic scans courtesy of the Irredeemable Shag

Articulation Arrow: Infinite Heroes Arrow Family Set

Hey folks! This post is a long time coming, but thanks to ARROWHEAD member Russel Burbage, I own the Infinite Heroes Series Green Arrow, Black Canary, Green Lantern 3 pack.

Observe:The Green Arrow fig seems to take its inspiration from the Mike Grell era costume, complete with the hood. He also comes with a bow, the only accessory in the set. Black Canary is decked out in her classic black costume, but lacks fishnets. Hal is, well, Hal, and has a fittingly stern look on his face.

There's not a ton of articulation in these figs, but the paint job is spot on (except the aforementioned lack of fishnets). I really like this set. My only real complaint is that the profile on the back gives Hal a higher intelligence than both Dinah and Ollie. Hal's not exactly an idiot, but... yeah.

There are 3 other sets in the series, 1 of which actually makes sense. There's a Hawkman+ 2 Thanagarian soldiers set, which is awesome, but also a Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl. Huh? Two members of the Super family, and one member of the Wonder family???

The last one makes even less sense: Raven, Starfire, and CAPTAIN BOOMERANG. Two Teen Titans and a Flash Villain? Wha??

Anyway, thanks Russel!

Articulation Arrow: JLU Arrowcycle

Man, this thing was really hard to find! After learning of its existance through a post on the JLU Club, I looked at every store I could think of, plus ebay and some other online retailers...nothing.

Then, someone (they were posting anonymously) pointed out that one was up for auction on Ebay. Well, I bid, and won!

Check it out:
The toy features a bent-knee version of the JLU Green Arrow figure, pus his cycle, which has a neat pull strip that makes the cycle zoom across the room! I thought the Aquasub was cool, but this thing seriously takes the cake. Now, if I could just get a bigger version of the Arrowplane and Arrowcar...

Articulation Arrow: DC Direct Green Arrow and Speedy (cont.)

Articulation Arrow: DC Direct Green Arrow and Speedy


Well, it took me longer than I'd anticipated, but I finally got a chance to open the DC Direct Green Arrow set. As you can see, this is quite a spread we have laid out before us.

Accessories: A bow each for Ollie and Roy, hand grenade arrow, boxing glove arrow, handcuff arrow, boomerang arrow, Arrowplane model, Arrowcar model

Pros: Incredible array of accressories, including trick arrows and plane and car models. Good articulation

Cons: Paint application could be better, more trick arrows!

Thoughts: Now I finally have a boxing glove arrow to call my very own. Sure, it won;t be taking down any criminals, but its mine! Plus, I have super cool models for the Arrowcar and Arrowplane. Who knew anyone at DC even remembered those things existed? The figures themselves are pretty cool, but nothing spectacular. The real meat of this set is the accessories.

Articulation Arrow: DC Direct Green Arrow and Speedy

Articulation Arrow: DC Direct Green Arrow and Speedy

I found this gem on Ebay a couple weeks ago. I never new this set even existed, and of course I had to pick it up as soon as I saw it. Not only does this set contain both Green Arrow AND Speedy but also both the Arrowplane and the Arrowcar. Its like GA fan heaven!

Now, I haven't actually opened the box yet, because I'm afraid the cats will run off with the Arrowplane and I'll never find it again, but I'll be cracking this sucker open later this week. I'll get you a full report then.

Articulation Arrow: Action Figures from FCBD

Well folks, Free Comic Book Day has come and gone, and I know comic geeks everywhere are already ready for next year. I know I am! Of course, it wasn't just the free books that drew me out on that beautiful spring day in South Carolina, it was also the allure of hitting up new stores for action figures!

First, I finally got the figures Luke had picked up for me over the past few months.

Here we have Red Tornado from the new DC Universe classics line. Reddy here will make a fine addition to my collection, I just wish I could find Aquaman, Black Manta, and Firestorm to keep him company!

Luke also grabbed this wonderful Doctor Strange from the chibi style Super-Hero Squad line!












I also bought the DC: New Frontier version of Martian Manhunter at Richard's...just to keep Green Arrow company, of course!
















A trip to Toys-R-Us netted me this three pack of Justice League Unlimited New Gods! I already own the Orion, but Mr. Miracle and Darkseid are new additions!

Articulation Arrow: DC New Frontier Green Arrow

Articulation Arrow Feature- DC: New Frontier Green Arrow

I picked this little guy up a couple years ago, a few months after DC: New Frontier came out. I read the books the line was based on in the student bookstore at Clemson. A professor had actually used them as assigned reading in his class.

Since I was a big Green Arrow fan, I appreciated how Ollie got some screen time amidst all the other heroes being featured. When I found out there was an action figure line, and that Green Arrow was one of them, I had to pick it up.

So, on to the review:

Accessories: Bow, arrow (stolen by cats), stand


Pros: Clean, simple, iconic look. Accessories that actually fit into the figures hands. Neato 50's style stand base. Excellent paint applications

Cons: Limited articulation points, fletching end of arrows sticking out of quiver VERY easy to break (you'll notice that all of mine are gone)

Thoughts: Man, I am crazy about this figure. It neatly captures the style and feel of the book it was based off of, especially with that neat kidney shaped stand. I was kind of disappointed that the arrows in his quiver kept breaking off, but the rest of him has been remarkable durable.

I mentioned the lack of articulation points as a con, and in a way it is. He really doesn't have much posability, but this was never really intended as a play figure. He's there to assume one position and look pretty. Part of the problem I had with the older Marvel Legends line is that they went with so many articulation points that it disrupted the look of the model and made it hard to get them to stand. Since most people will be putting figures like that on display rather than playing with them, I felt that was a mistake. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying tons of them either...

Overall, awesome fig!

Score: 4.5 out of 5 Boxing Glove Arrows

Action Figure Collection: Out of Storage!

Hey guys! I just pulled my action figure collection out of storage, so I figured I would post the pictures before the cats knock them all down!

To the left, you can see my small collection of Green Arrow figures. The one in the center is from the Identity Crisis line, while the one on the right is from the DC: New Frontier set. The large one in the back and the smaller one on the left are two versions of the same Justice League Unlimited line. You can also see the prone form of the invisible Martian Manhunter in the background, although I can't remember which line he's from.

Over to the left, you can see my full collection of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited figures. Unforunately, that line is notorious for having trouble standing up, as you can see. Sinestro managed to topple over in the time it took me to stand back and take to picture! Also, just to the left of Shining Knight, you can see The Shade's Nightstick. I didn't notice that he'd fallen off the shelf until I'd taken the picture. I just got the hard-to-find Blue Devil, Vigilante, and The Shade earlier today!

This pic shows off my Marvel Legends series collection. This line is also tough the stand up, mostly because the shear number of articulation points means that they tend to splay all over the place! I don't have as many of these as I like, mostly because I got started on them late and I don't like the new manufacturer that's done the last few waves.






Here are more Marvel Legends, including the Legendary Riders wave and some stranglers that wouldn't fit on the shelf above.











Here we have my collection of the 10" figures from the JLU line (minus the Green Arrow, above) You can also see my little mini-battle between Aquaman and Black Manta from the Justice line. I also picked up Parasite and Solomon Grundy at the same sale and from the same line. One thing I noticed about the larger JLU figs is that the capes on Superman, Batman, and Martian Manhunter are molded plastic, but Aquaman's cape is cloth. Go figure!

The bottom shelf, which you can see the top of here, showcases the Build-a-Figures from the various lines of Marvel Legends I've collected.



Well, that's just me bring the proud action fig daddy. I'll go into more detail on the Green Arrow figs (since he is the actual subject of this blog) sometime later this week.