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It’s often been said that half of the thrill of collecting is the thrill of the hunt. As far as toy collecting goes, that thrill is usually well-tempered by the archnemesis in the greasy hat, unshowered and pawing through the latest shipment of Justice League Unlimited figures, hoping to turn a profit on eBay. At this point in the rollercoaster of the economy, I can hardly blame him. I can still kinda blame him for not showering, though. Cartoonishly visible stink-lines are not dignified, greasy hat guy.

So, I don’t hunt as much anymore, as much as I click on screens and wait a little while for my prey to arrive on my doorstep. I might have to pay shipping, but I retain something far more important : my faith in humanity. That’s gotta be worth at least ten bucks a week.

That being said, my toy desires are as real as the next collector’s, and there are a few collections that I’d really like to complete in 2009.

First off is Sideshow Toys‘ 1/6th scale Lord of the Rings Fellowship collection. Over the past few years, they’ve made some of the best LotR collectibles possible, including most of the main cast of characters – Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Sam, Boromir, and Gandalf. We’re still missing Merry, Pippin and Gimli, however. How in the world am I supposed to venture to Mordor missing three of the most interesting characters in the movie? We already have the Hobbit-scaled bodies from the previous two Hobbits, and I know there wouldn’t be much occasion to re-use a Dwarf body, but it’s Gimli! These are things that we need announced by year’s end, or I’ll be forced to sell my incomplete fellowship. I can’t be the only one.

While we’re on the subject of 1/6th scaled figures, where’s Wonder Woman, DC Direct? After Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Batgirl, Black Canary and Power Girl, you’ve definitely mastered the female form in this scale. ‘We don’t know what to do with her hair’ is no longer a valid answer, since Black Canary has flowing locks, and you did them up awesomely. Wonder Woman in 2009, guys! I need to complete my trinity. While you’re at it, I wouldn’t mind an Atom, a Zatanna, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Darkseid, and maybe even a Dr. Fate. If you DO make Wonder Woman, make her look like Lucy Lawless.

Toynami’s Futurama line has been described as ‘glacially slow’, with about 6 figures a year, each containing a piece of a 6-piece build-a-figure. After a dozen figures, we’re still missing Professor Farnsworth. Sure, we get at least two versions of Bender, Leela, Zoidberg and Fry – but none of the head of Planet Express! The Futurama cast of characters is so immense that Toynami could be making 6 figures every month and still not run out of interesting figures for a few years. The robots alone could fill a year – Preacherbot, Hedonismbot, Malfunctioning Eddy, Roberto, TInny Tim, the whole Robot Mafia, just to name a few. Can we PLEASE get a Professor this year? And maybe a Mom?

While they haven’t been announced yet, I’m pretty sure that Character Options’ Doctor Who line will eventually encompass all of the early Doctors – William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee (Doctors one through three, respectively), as well as Doctors seven and eight – Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann. Hell, throw the Rowan Atkinson spoof-Doctor in there, too. A full complement of Doctors is needed.

Also, Amok Time’s 1/6th scale Elvira figure seems to have vanished from the known universe, and I really wanted her to pull all of my Sideshow monsters together.

As far as lines that don’t yet exist go, it’s high time that a Venture Bros. line was made. It’s another series that has a ridiculous number of well-designed, unique characters (many with costume variants), and a ton of army builders. In a perfect world, the 7” line would go to Mezco, who are awesome with accuracy and articulation. Their Hellboy movie and comic lines are perfect examples of these high production values and great turnaround times. I don’t think there’s a single character I’d pass up. Brock in tuxedo, as a Murderfly, in Rocky Horror, wearing a sleeveless shirt, or blood-stained – yes, all of them, please. Half-finished Led Zeppelin tattoo included.

Also? Thundercats, already? It’s my understanding that Fox currently owns the rights, and with the way they’re beating up people to retain licenses for things (and the potential release of the 1960s Batman TV show on DVD), anything is possible.

Mattel’s DC Universe Classics, Justice League Unlimited and DC Direct in general – you’re doing fine. Despite numerous complaints that your quality control is poor, I’ve bought every figure and only had almost no problems. I’m always surprised at the variety of characters, so keep on going. You’ve totally taken the place of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, which have completely self-destructed since the move from ToyBiz.

Diamond Select, just finish up the Deep Space Nine crew, already. We need a Quark like nobody’s business. 12-month delays between figures aren’t cool. Make Quark come with a small section of his bar. Make EVERY figure come with a small section of his bar. And a dabo table.

Above all else : KEEP ON GOING! Nothing is more disappointing than an unfinished toy line. Palisades’ [adult swim] and Ren and Stimpy lines are the sad orphans of my collection, and will never find completion. What’s the Aqua Teen Hunger Force with just Master Shake? Stupid is what.

Toy demigods, if you make these things, it’s my promise that I will collect them.

I was poking around the basement the other day, just refreshing my memory about some of the treasures ‘hidden’ there. I came across a box full of old bottles. Well, at least in my mind they were oldies. This is an area I have never had much experience with but would gladly welcome being educated.

As luck would have it, in the ‘library section’ of the basement I came across a book called Collecting Bottles for Fun and Profit, by William Ketchem Jr. It’s from 1985, but since the subject items are mostly ‘antique’ and the pricing information found inside the book is limited, it does not matter that it is out of date. It starts out with an explanation as to the popularity of bottle collecting. They are valued in part because they tell us about our past, they’re attractive because they’re in a lot of shapes and sizes and coloring, and they are generally inexpensive. Years ago it was popular to dig at dumps, but that is no longer possible. But you can still find them at flea markets, yard sales or sometimes in your own back yard.

The book is quite helpful due to a nicely detailed glossary of terms, as well as descriptions and pictures, also ways to date the bottles. It shows how glass is made and ‘innovations in bottle making.’

I was pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of categories. Boy, I had never heard of a pineapple shaped bottle such as those from W& Co. New York. They once held either bitters or whiskey.

The book offered a lot of examples of patent medicine bottles in various shapes and with names of the product or manufacturer’s or chemist’s name. Understandably, it advises to watch for bottles in more unusual colors such as blue, green, red or yellow – they are worth a lot more. One of my favorites is the bottle from Sazerac Aromatic Bitters, made of white milk glass and with a lot of curve to it. It has earned the name “lady’s leg.”

It was surprising to see a milk bottle in green! This one is from the Altacrest Farms, from the early 20^th century. I recall having the dark brown ones. Our milk man, Doc, would leave them on our doorstep and they held a heavy-cream milk. We did not worry about cholesterol or fat back them, just get those kids a lot of calcium!

I absolutely loved this large Planters Peanut jar. These would be found in a grocery, or ‘general’ store, right on the counter.

In addition to bottles that held milk, medicines or food, you’ll find an incredible amount of flasks for holding whiskey. The book informed me that very few figural flasks are ever found in dumps, because they were rarely discarded. Instead, they’d be refilled or displayed. It was common to see historical flasks, and it states that over 60 flasks bear the bust of George Washington. Others would be in the likeness of other past presidents such as John quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, William McKinley, and others. Many treasured examples would be embossed with sporting scenes such as hunters or fishermen. You’d also find animals, dogs, deer and ducks, and especially popular were the bottles embossed with racehorses.

I found an example of several 19^th century whiskey bottles “that were shaped like cannons, perhaps a reminder of their powerful contents. “ The book explained that statement – it was due to the custom of worker’s often carrying small flasks filled with hard liquor and drinking it on the job. There were several prohibition movements throughout the 19^th century because of this practice. It was learned that the drinking worker was not always the most efficient. (Well, duh!) Men fell off buildings that they were roofing or were struck by trees they were felling. This drinking on the job ethic is not something we’d tolerate today.

I absolutely loved the figural whiskey bottles such as this grouping of pigs.

And what about these milk glass bottles, a sitting bear that once held Kummel, a strong European liquor, and another featuring the “Atterbury Duck.”

I see so many Coke or soda bottles, beer bottles and being from the Dairy State, numerous milk bottles, but I’ve never seen any like this. From now on, I’ll be on the look-out for more unique examples!

I’ve mentioned before that I fell in love with & began collecting Marilyn Monroe during my early teen years. Back then, besides books, the only things I could really get my hands on were 8 x 10 glossies. (Remember, I’m old and video wasn’t even an idea then.) There were several stores at the mall which sold copies of classic film star photographs and they were pretty darn cheap, so I stocked up on 8 x10 photos Marilyn.

Marilyn Monroe With Stuffed Tiger Photo

From there it wasn’t a big jump to photos and postcards of other vintage glamour girls, pinups, starlets and Hollywood legends.

Colorized Vintage Lana Turner Photo

I used to frame them, but as I’ve now collected so many, I’ve put them in protective sleeves and store them in binders I can page through whenever the mood strikes me — like when you come over to visit.

Some of the photos and postcards are signed — but most of them are either of the stamped signature or autographs printed onto the photo varieties. Many of my postcards have been mailed. They not only have the postmark & canceled stamps on the photo images, ‘personal messages’ from the star (or most likely, her press agent or secretary), but also have printed information including star’s name &/or information on the studio, including how to order additional autographed photos. Some might complain that all this detracts from the images — hwever, I’m mostly thrilled because this information is often the only way I can identify the once hugely popular actress. For example, who readily recognizes the starlet version of Shirley Temple?

Vintage Shirley Temple Pinup Postcard

I’ve since graduated to purchasing the occasional honest-to-goodness autographed photos. I’ve managed to get a number of them personally when interviewing celebrities, like this personalized signed photo of the super fun, super babe, Julie Strain.

Signed Julie Strain Photograph

Naturally, the vintage Hollywood icon photos with signatures can get rather pricey (as can the stamped or printed versions, simply due to rarity), but I’m also a bit leery of buying photos signed by unscrupulous sellers with Sharpie pens while they eat off TV trays and watch reality television shows.

While most everyone offers a certificate of authenticity these bits of (however nicely) printed paper are rather meaningless. There’s no standard certification process — nor any certification police. And while a seller may promise on that-there certificate to refund your purchase price, it’s up to you to pay for an appraisal &/or autograph authentication to prove your dispute/disprove the seller’s claim. That may cost you more than the item itself — plus the egg on your face. (And, of course, getting the refund is entirely another matter.)

In general, I only trust those sellers/dealers that I know or that have excellent reputations, like I did with this signed photo of Sophia Loren in spectacular lingerie.

Signed Sophia Loren Photo

Some collectors only want “real” signatures on authentic vintage photographs (not modern prints or copies), claiming that these are the only collectible photos of any value. But me, I just ask myself, “How much do I love looking at thee?” If the price matches my love, then I pay for it and enjoy it.

After all, as Marilyn said, “Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for kiss, and fifty cents for your soul.” No price was put on the photos; that’s up to me, my wallet, and my adoration.

I feel like it’s my personal, solemn duty to preach and re-preach the merits of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band game series to those folks who haven’t yet felt their warm glow and gazed into their delicious rainbow of cascading notes. Here’s the final word : Rock Band 2 is everything that you could ever want in a music-based game, and the absolute pinnacle of the series. The fun of hanging out in a room with a handful of people playing plastic instruments and belting out 80s hits into a microphone cannot be overestimated. It simply cannot.

We ran out and bought the last remaining copy of Rock Band 2 for the Wii on Christmas Eve, hoping that it would provide some kind of respite while the family did their annual migration into our house and took over our kitchen and bathrooms and air. It was a perfect game for stress relief.

I assume that everyone knows by now that Rock Band is a game in which you hit drums, click on guitar keys, and sing into a microphone in rhythm and tone with whatever rock or alternative or rap song is playing on the screen. For Wii owners, the experience has been limited by playing only the songs that are found on the game disc, or the subsequent $30 track packs, which contained a random assortment of about 20 songs each. Some of these songs were great, others weren’t (depending on your musical proclivities), but more often than not, you’d be paying $30 for one or two songs that you REALLY liked. Finally, with Rock Band 2, Wii has established an internet connectivity for the game, which means that players download over 500 individual tracks from every appropriate era of music, as well as see their name on an international leaderboard based on their performance.

I’d like to note that at the time of this writing, I’m currently #13 in the world as far as solo vocals on Jethro Tull’s Aqualung, and #7 for DEVO’s Uncontrollable Urge. I’m somewhere around #33 in the world for The Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer, but I’m working on that one. So, yes – I really got into the game. Cranking out my best, warbling Mark Mothersbaugh impression takes a lot out of me, but 15 years of listening to ‘Q : Are We Not Men?‘ kinda makes it a perfectly natural fit, and explains a lot about why I turned out the way I am. I’ll also note that I’m notoriously shy about singing in front of people, and only two things have ever wrenched it out of me : true love and Rock Band. Honestly, it’s the first time that a video game has made me feel good.

I wasn’t even aware of my scores, or trying to accomplish anything great, but it seems that the Wii will wirelessly, secretly beam all of your scores to the Rock Band leaderboard (if you have wireless internet in the house), which is accessible via the website and via your console. It wasn’t until I was poking around to see other peoples’ scores that I was completely surprised by my Aqualung skillz.

This downloadable content presents a whole new frontier in Rock Band game collecting, giving players an infinitely expandable game, and a constant hope that their favorite song will someday pop up in the downloads, adding a whole new dimension to play. It’s an awesome thing. Unfortunately, the makers of Rock Band 2 decided to ship out the game before they’d constructed their online shop properly, and as a result, the promised 20 free songs, and the expansive shop, are not available yet. Unless the game’s makers plan on adding some intensely awesome new functionality, I can’t imagine a need for a sequel with the existence of this store. Everything that you download can be stored on a cheap, removable SD card, also.

Fortunately, the current lack of the promised store is hardly noticeable with the 100 in-game songs and many, many methods of play, from challenges to tours to battles, as well as an in-game shop in which there are hundreds of different options to customize almost every aspect of your character, from hair to shoes. I made enough bucks playing gigs to create a character that looks eerily like me – enough so that it’s a little sad to look at.

The amount of content that’s squeezed onto this game makes all previous Guitar Hero and Rock Band games look meager by comparison, and the collection of songs included seems to be a lot more balanced and interesting than previous releases, with equal time being given to the 1960s as the 2000s, allowing for an experience that can be enjoyed by everyone. I feel like the earlier games leaned a lot more towards very current, popular songs as opposed to classic, good songs, and Rock Band 2 cures that.

My 8 year old niece, visiting for the holidays, picked up on ‘easy’ level vocals (which pretty much only tracks if you’re making noise in a relatively correct pitch), while my sister learned the drums and I strummed away on more difficult levels of the guitar function, so every instrument can be tailored to the skill of every player, which is something that earlier games also lacked in some modes.

The game can be purchased as a whole set with instruments (including a real USB microphone, one guitar, and a drum kit), or as a standalone game for about $50, if you have the instruments already. Note that some Guitar Hero instruments are NOT compatible, due to licensing issues, so you might need to repurchase anything you intend to play. It’s dicey and complicated, so look it up before you make any investments. I can unequivocally say that it’s the best video game investment I’ve ever made for sheer fun. For a society that occasionally gets upset about how video games disconnect people from each other, here’s a game that uses music to genuinely unify the people in a room. I’m no sociologist, but there’s a whole hell of a lot to be said for anything that gets people singing and dancing around a room.

It’s a strange coincidence that a B-list DC superheroine would suddenly have three high end action figures hit all at once, but Black Canary has taken over the month of December with a three-pronged assault.

Barbie collectors recently got a high-end Black Canary figure for about $40, but the figure caused something of an uproar because of Canary’s black-leather-and-fishnets attire. While the comic costume is meant to evoke something of a burlesque crimefighting kind of thing, overzealous parents decried Black Canary Barbie as a prostitute, or a participant in that most unholy of all personal practices, bondage. Never mind that most people should be aware by now that many Barbies are intended for adult collectors and are sold as such – someone just needed an excuse to be outraged.

DC Direct also released their 1/6th scale Black Canary, complete with alternate ’screaming’ head (since that’s her secret weapon), masks, and various accessories. DCD’s Canary retails for about $90, and is definitely action figure oriented.

Tonner’s new Black Canary fashion doll walks the line between the two, at roughly 16” tall, with rooted hair, completely removable costume elements, and retailing for around $150. As with the recently profiled DC Stars Batman, she’s definitely the highest of high-end superhero doll and figure collecting – and because of her place in the DC universe, as well as my love of creative iterations of characters, she’s found her way into my collection. What does it say about me that I’m more interested in her for her marriage to Green Arrow than her long, exposed legs and blonde hair?

Have a glance at the Batman review to familiarize yourself with the idea behind Tonner, and come back.

Tonner’s female figures are absolutely the company’s strength but my love of females definitely provides a bias. Man, do I love females. While I loved Tonner’s Batman, he’s a very pretty man. The delicate, angelic doll look that Tonner employs fits so much easier with the female figures, which are radiant and idealized – very true to the idea behind much comic art. Apparently, superpowers make you really, really hot – unless you’re being written by Grant Morrison. That guy’s messed up.

As with all Tonner dolls, Black Canary came in a very collector-friendly box, tied in gently with white ribbons, and easily removable and replaceable from her plain, black box. Her choker, boots, and gloves are packaged separately, and her wavy, blonde hair is protected inside of a plastic bag and a hair net. Unlike Batman’s requisite parts, nothing is made of the durable (but frightening in that whole ‘oh man, I’m totally gonna mess this up forever’ way) rubber – instead opting for all fabric parts, which comes as a relief. While they might not be as exactly form-fitting, they’re a whole lot easier to dress her up in and remove. The basic costume on her midsection is especially well-made, with corset-like boning running the length of the outfit – and I swear that I only know about corset boning from an adventurous ex-girlfriend. Snaps are hidden along the back, so even this piece is removable. The most bosomy part of the costume is held in place by very thin, clear rubber shoulder straps that disappear under the jacket.

The leathery jacket that comprises the outer layer of her costume is easily removed, and flexes beautifully with the articulation of the figure – which is located at the shoulders, elbow, hips, knees, hands and neck. While these don’t offer a full ball joint’s worth of rotation (to keep the clothes from bearing too much strain, presumably), there’s more than enough motion to keep the figure interesting. Replacing the jacket is another task, and my main concern was threading Canary’s hands back through the sleeves without tearing the lining of the jacket, since it’s a separate layer. With some gentle, slow jiggling, it’s not much of a problem at all.

Correct me if I’m wrong, ladies, but there must be something pretty awesome about modern fishnet technology, because I’m seeing it used everywhere, and more effectively than ever. Even DC Direct’s 6” Black Canary action figure had these great fabric fishnets fixed around her legs – which is always so much more aesthetic than sculpted-on fishnets, which often end up looking like scarring from some kind of horrible waffle iron accident instead of high fashion. Canary has great fishnet stockings, and under them is a thin layer of flesh-colored fabric that covers the leg as a second stocking, and completely hides the knee joins, creating a seamless leg very effectively. And the perfect little boots? They zipper down the back. I almost wish I had some kind of weird shoe fetish, because the engineering of these is really impressive.

Anyone who’s had a doll with rooted hair knows that after about a day of regular use, the mass of hair will become a matted, scraggly mess – so I’m always hesitant to display anything with rooted hair, instead of sculpted hair. Tonner’s dolls’ hair seems to be lightly waxed into shape, so that keeps everything pretty much in order. This might be a regular practice in the doll-world – I haven’t spent much time here. I tried, but the babies with biological functions scared me away. Either way, it’s a good idea.

Tonner’s newest DC Stars figure is an excellent addition to their growing heroine & villain collection, which already includes Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. I can’t wait to see who’s coming next. Retro Catwoman in purple? Zatanna with a sexy tophat? Power Girl? Starfire with ridiculously long hair? A perfectly cheesecake Mary Marvel? Will they fulfill my strangest fantasy and create an Elasti-Girl from the Arthur Drake era Doom Patrol? Maybe it says a lot that I’m hoping that they make such a huge variety. I’m not even a doll person, but as I said in the Batman review, I really appreciate the respect and dignity that Tonner is affording these oft looked-down-upon comic characters, and the genres they’re boldly crossing.

Black Canary can be purchased from Tonner directly, and you can also pick up the other DC Stars figures for a huge discount, for a limited time. Check out this full gallery of Black Canary right here on Collectors’ Quest!