From: ddd@harrier.cvs.rochester.edu (Derryl D. DePriest)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics
Subject: MERCHANDISE: Action Figure News
Summary: Get 'em while they're hot!
Date: 6 Apr 92 16:13:01 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester, Rochester NY

I was just at the toy store this weekend and WOW!  The new
Dark Knight firgures from kenner are here in anticipation of Batman Returns
and they are stunning.  At $5 a pop, these suckers are a real bargain.
Out so far, in the first assortment, are the Penguin figure (which reminds
me a lot of the old SuperPowers Penguin, only in black, white, and red),
and six Batman figures, including a yellow scuba Batman with a Bat-shapes
sea sled, a white arctic Batman with a gothic looking arctic helmet
(in my opinion the most stunning of the bunch), a camoflage Batman, and
a laser Batman with padded, armored suit.  This brings the total number
of Batman figures in the Dark Knight line up to about 15, some
of which are deucedly hard to find.  Yet to come, in the second assortment,
are the new Robin figure (and I do mean the *new* Robin, costume, flattop
haircut and all), The Penguins penguins (anyone who has seen the movie
trailer will kno what I'm talking about; they come 2/package), and rumor
has it (thanks to Collectible Toy Values Monthly), a Catwoman figure.
Also some nifty vehicles are planned for this series, like a Coupe
the has a rotating seat that can switch between Batman and Bruce Wayne (a
limited edition figure that comes with the car).

I visited my local Kay-Bee and picked up the three
Deluxe CrimeMaster Dark Knight boxed figures on sale.  These look to be pretty
scarce, as I never saw them in Toys-R-Us or eslewhere.
These include figures with a cobalt fire proof suit (Wall Scaler),
Radiation proof suit (hang glider?), and bullet proof armor.  Look for these
if you are a completist...I guess they were released last year.

Also at Kay-Bee, the Swamp Thing figures are pretty heavily discounted,
and they will dissapear soon since there were no new figures previewed
at the Toy Show in February (which usually means the death of the line).
Some people have declared a dislike for the marketing of Swamp Thing
firgures, but I personally love the BioGlow Swamp Thing and the 
Mutation Chamber.  Hey, it may not be Swamp Thing canon, but it's a
cool line of toys.  Pick up at least the BioGlow figure; trust me, you
won't regret it.

And, as reported in Collectible Toy Values Monthly, Toy Biz is dropping the
pathetically boringly packaged DC Heroes altogether and increasing the number 
of Marvel Heroes, including the Fantastic Four and many many X-men figures.  IMHO
Toy Biz really blew the DC line with packaging that inspired yawns and
too few figures, with far too few villains.  A nifty line of Teen Titans,
JLA/E and Legion figures might have saved the line with packaging ala the
Toy Biz X-Men figures.  Maybe Kenner will pick up the line (I hope I hope
I hope).

Oh, and I found a couple of the "regular" Venom figures in a new shipment, 
they appear to be pretty rare.

d-
 ___       
|\__\___               Derryl Dean DePriest     ddd@cvs.rochester.edu          
||  |\__\___     Neuroscience Graduate Program and Center for Visual Science  
|| D||  |\__\                      University of Rochester                     
\|__|| D||   \   
    \|__|| D |              I ground the warship you walk upon
        \|__/ 
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