We’re almost done with the nigh-insurmountable mountain of Toy Fair 2008 coverage (here, here, here and here), but no action figure, TV or movie geek could be satiated without a detailed mention of everything that happened over at the Mezco and NECA booths during The Fair.

[Click here for the full Mezco gallery at our Community!]

Now, I’ve been a dedicated Mezco fan since I first saw their Hellboy movie figures back in 2004. The movie hadn’t yet come out, and comic-based movies (and figures based on comic movies) have had a history of, well, sucking - but the Hellboy figures were outstanding items, and the movie turned out to be one of my favorite films. This year, for the first time in 4 years, Mezco’s booth had new Hellboy movie stuff for me to ogle.

Two waves of 6” figures are planned for Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army, due in theaters on July 11th. Like the figures from the first movie, they’ll be fully articulated and sculpted impeccably. Included in the first wave will be Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and finally, Liz Sherman, who was tragically absent from earlier figures. I have a thing for Selma Blair, and that thing is MY LOVE. Also in this first wave will be Johann Krauss, and bad guys Wink & Prince Nuada. The second wave (which was forbidden from photography, but looked stunning) will include a wounded Hellboy & a t-shirt Hellboy, as well as the beautiful Princess Nuada, the horrific Goblin (who is attached to a rickety wooden cart of some kind), and the huge, ominous Angel of Death. It’s a truly amazing collection of figures that completely blew me away. Even as stand-alone monsters, they’re really, really great.

Mezco is adding onto their usual offerings with small busts of Hellboy and the Right Hand of Doom, 18” figures of Hellboy and Abe, and at least eight 3.75” figures. These tiny, Star Wars-sized figures will have all of the articulation and sculpts of the larger figures, so nothing is lost in translation - an amazing feat that other companies would do well to learn from. Mezco revealed to us that while the tiny figures were cheaper in materials cost, the cost for the molds to cast the small figures was actually greater than the cost for the larger figure molds, due to the intricate details. There’s a certain production number somewhere in the middle where the cost justifies the product, and with all of these companies making 3.75” figures this year, I’m curious exactly how it balances.

Of course, Hellboy wasn’t the only license of note, as Mezco also has the Heroes TV show license. None of these figures have been released yet, but Mezco is already three waves deep into the sculpting, and the likenesses are really staggering. I’ve commented here before on the strange, imperfect likenesses that Mezco released as their PR photos, walking a weird line between photorealism and comic-styled artwork. As it turns out, you just need to see them in person. They’ve applied every ounce of accuracy and skill that made me love the Hellboy figures to these Heroes figures. Forget everything you’ve heard about the figures not being perfect likenesses - they ARE perfect - and the character selection couldn’t be better.

The first set of 5 includes Hiro Nakamura, Claire Bennet, Sylar, Peter Petrelli and Mohinder Suresh. Hopefully, the varied images in our gallery here will clarify some of the misperceptions about the figures that I, too, was guilty of. Keep on clicking around though, as ten never-before-seen figures were also revealed! Included in Wave Two are (and I’ll try to say this with as few spoilers as possible), Horn-Rimmed Glasses guy, Niki & Jessica Sanders (with alternate heads), Matt Parkman & Molly Walker, Mr. Linderman, and Future Peter. Wave Three will include Nathan Petrelli, The Haitian, another version of Hiro from season 2, Elle Bishop, and another character from season 2 that’ll pretty much blow your mind if you haven’t been watching loyally as I have.

Mezco rounds out this license with 9” figures of Sylar, Niki / Jessica, Peter and Claire. Also, like every other company’s been doing with toys this year, wait for a 3.75” line. Sylar vs. Darth Vader vs. Serpentor vs. Doctor Doom isn’t very far off now!

It’s also worth mentioning that Mezco is on their 15th series of Living Dead Dolls - the cute-grotesque series of dolls that pays homage to some of history’s most infamous killers and movie murderers. I suppose they’re all either zombies or about to kill someone, but they’re a very popular collection of higher-end dolls that tend to be collected by cute goth girls - so I can’t argue. The less said about ‘Gangsta Babies’, the better. Seriously - I don’t want to get drive-by’d from a stroller.

NECA also had a presence at Toy Fair. This company seems to pick up an odd assortment of movie-related licenses of all genres, but with a focus on fantasy and horror above all else. In the past, they’ve made action figures for Nightmare Before Christmas (a line that just ended, sadly), Planet Terror, 300, Reservoir Dogs and A Christmas Story. Despite the Christmas Story figure line being ostensibly dead for quite a few years now, NECA has just revealed an additional figure for the line in the form of bully Scut Farkus, sculpted in a perfect, creepy sneer.

[See the full NECA Gallery at our Community by clicking here!]

NECA’s Harry Potter line continues, and likely will continue throughout the release of every foreseeable movie, with figures that include all of the wizard kids, Voldemort, Snape, Dumbledore, the Malfoys, Bellatrix, Mad-Eye Moody and even a handful of the fantasy creatures. I’m no Harry Potter fan, nor have I personally seen the movies, but the figures are another example of the great likenesses that NECA captures for cult-favorite characters. There’s only so much I can personally geek-out over. I need to set limits so that I can be a functional adult - it’s nothing personal against Harry Potter.

Speaking of cult-favorite, my personal highlight at the NECA booth was the figure of Beetlejuice, perfectly rendered with a chubby Michael Keaton face and stained, striped suit. It’s the first time we’ve ever had a Beetlejuice figure that wasn’t from a bizarrely tangential animated show. He’s a great movie ‘monster’ as it stands, and I’d love to see figures of Lydia and the families with a build-a-sandworm - though a few less-than-great figures of the ghost family were released some years back. Let’s just start over. And next time you guys make Ghostbusters figures, make some of the Ghostbusters, okay?

Also an unusual license for NECA, but a great one, is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This isn’t the movie license, or even the cartoon license - this is the license to make figures from the original comic books by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Believe it or not, these original comics were a fairly complex drama, and drawn in a very different style than what ended up being animated in the 90s. These comic-accurate figures will all come with red masks and different weapons, and be sculpted to look ‘drawn’, with all of the original ink lines intact. April O’Neil will also join the line (but was forbidden from photography), and a series of black & white turtles (colored like the original comics) will also be released. They will all come with interlocking bases to form a scene together.

In terms of even more entertainment properties, Amok Time is a newcomer company with some interesting licenses. Not only are they making 12” figures from the original Lost in Space, but they’re doing the same for the original Battlestar Galactica, and Gort and Klaatu from ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’. Any of these will stand proudly right next to your high-end Sideshow Collectibles monsters, with a few additional B-movie monsters round out the collection, from movies I’ve never heard of, but look visually entertaining.

[Click here for a gallery of toys from Amok Time in our Community!]

The highlight at Amok Time’s booth was the 12” Elvira figure, which sported another perfect likeness, and would absolutely go well in any ironic monster display. I’ve been told that the figure will be solicited in late 2008, so there’s going to be a wait to even order it. On the bawdy end of things, Amok Time is producing bookends in the likeness of adult film star Seka, as well as a 12” figure of the same. True to form, all of these things, even the bookends, will have removable clothing. Two Bettie Page figures are also being produced, to the delight of pin-up fans everywhere.

Stay tuned for one more post about Toy Fair 2008, in which I summarily round up the rest of the awesomeness and finally put these life-consuming toys behind me until next year.

Hopefully, you’ve been reading along as I’ve detailed what we saw during Toy Fair in the Javits Center, and the earlier presentation by Hasbro. Allow this segment of this series of Toy Fair entries to detail some of the lovely companies that produce ‘high end’ collectibles - those things that are designed for a more mature audience that understands the delicacy of certain objects. Those adults whose love of collectibles and pop culture are quietly addressed, without any hint of incredulity, and with an actual modicum of respect. These items, which all appeared at Toy Fair this year, are made with this adult collector in mind - even if some of them are wearing tight spandex or have flashing lights and sounds.

First on this list is Tonner Dolls, a company that only came into my sphere of awareness when they started making collectible DC Comics superhero and superheroine dolls. Their doll products are roughly 18 inches tall, so they defy any commonly used miniaturization scale, and are designed for display over play. While these are articulated dolls, and usually run around $150 each, the focus of these is on fashion and carefully constructed clothing - one thing that bridges the awkward and often-misspoken gap between ‘dolls’ and ‘action figures’. It’s a very difficult line to explain.

Among their DC Comics offerings are dolls of Batman, Batgirl, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Aquaman, Poison Ivy, Supergirl, and a few different versions of Wonder Woman. Aquaman’s looking especially doll-like, with his graceful swoosh of handsome, rooted hair and a mesh shirt that covers a second shirt which reflects the whole spectrum. Us figure collectors don’t usually get any rainbow-hued heroes in our collections. Also notable is The Joker, whose scary, inhuman appearance is a very strong nod to the original appearance of The Joker within Batman issue #1 - something that I couldn’t really identify until seeing it in person. Other pop properties that Tonner has made (or is making) dolls for are Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Spider-Man 2, and Dick Tracy. Hints were given (and please note that this is my own interpretation of things said) that Tonner might soon start announcing more Marvel Comics characters, and a second visit to the Batman doll as a summer convention exclusive, this time with handy Bat-accesories.

The Tonner homebase in Kingston, NY, coincidentally, is pretty nearby to my hometown.

Corgi and Master Replicas are also two related companies that have a strong focus on the adult, disposable-incomed collector. In the past, they’ve shown up on my nerd-radar by making die cast Marvel superheroes statues, as well as a great series of 1/24 scaled Batmobiles (and a few villain vehicles) that drew directly from every era of Batman comics. They’re also responsible for small and large Star Trek starships from every incarnation of the series, but this upcoming year promises to be a very exciting one.

With the highly-desired 007 license, they promise to make three series of 7” action figures from the property, including a line of different Bonds, different Bond girls, and of course, the awesome bad guys. The enthusiasm expressed by the gents at the display was infectious, and while there were no Bond toys on display, it’s a perfect opportunity to get figures of different Bond characters, especially since Sideshow Collectibles’ 12” offerings dried up long ago. In terms of other Bond items, the 1:1 scale replica Golden Gun stole my heart - not only because it’s radiant and unseemly, but because I have fond memories of playing Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 for hours in my college dorms. The Golden Gun was the single item that could invariably smoke your opponent in a single, quiet shot - and while my opponents favored grenades and proximity mines, I preferred the stealth of the Golden Gun. To own a realistic one is the definition of sexy.

The companies have also ventured into the smaller-scale action figure realm by creating 3.75” scale action figures for both The Golden Compass and Harry Potter movies, including playsets and vehicles for both. They’ll be making figures from an upcoming animated film called ‘Igor’, but I’m most excited about seeing the Super Mario Brothers figures that they’re importing from Japan. As a gashapon series that’s been going on for many years within Japan, hundreds upon hundreds of Nintendo characters have already been made in this solid-plastic 2” size, addressing all manner of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Podobos, Bob-ombs, Birdos, Princesses and Bullet Bills. What remains unaddressed, however, is my sad ability to name just about every one of these from my twisted, useless memory. Larger, articulated figures of Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and more are also on the way and should be arriving any day now at specialty retailers and game stores. There’s nothing better to decorate a classic gaming entertainment center with.

I’ll wrap this up with Kaiyodo’s Revoltech, a Japanese company which produces action figures of above-average quality and, as a result, slightly-above-average but-still-reasonable prices. Your typical American action figure in a 6” - 7” scale might cost around $10 to $15 dollars, but Revoltech’s quality demands a price of roughly $20 to $25 per figure, packaged beautifully in window boxes, painted flawlessly, and with a ridiculous amount of articulation. These things can bend every which way, like nothing you’ve ever seen (unless you’ve really plumbed the depths of the internet, you sickos), and the combination of this ability with great sculpting is the holy grail of the action figure collector. Hell, I bought a handful of these recently without even knowing who the characters were - just because they’re that beautiful.

Since Japan toy culture is partially focused on customization and creating new things out of existing things, a fine art with entire magazines dedicated to it, Kaiyodo’s Revoltech figure joints can easily pop in and out of their sockets, all while being held firmly when need to be. These joints can also, apparently, be purchased separately. The name ‘Revoltech’ seems to be a reference to these unique joints, and the idea of figural parts being completely capable of ‘revolving’, or moving. Almost all of the booth’s catalogues and explanations were written in Japanese, so my information is limited - besides the fact that there are truly awesome.

What all of this spells out is that as a collector, my resistance to the products of this upcoming year is being seriously tested like never before. It’s one thing to sit at home and view product shots of these beautiful things, but it’s another thing entirely to walk around them and see them in person - an activity that’s always dangerously alluring. Unfortunately, Sideshow Collectibles, my favorite producers of things that I can’t afford but buy anyway, opted out of Toy Fair this year and relegated their ‘presence’ to a few new items on their website.

Next time, we’ll take a look at some more DC Comics items made by DC Direct and Mattel - things that truly short out my nerdometer.

New York Comic Con has begun today, but before any of that can be processed and photoshopped, organized, recovered from and foot-blisters gently soothed, there’s still a good handful of Toy Fair to get through, so expect NYCC coverage this Wednesday. If we manage to get in the doors, and if we aren’t ushered out by fire marshals, and if Peter David doesn’t start eating people at his booth. Which really isn’t that much hyperbole.

Mezco Toys has stood out in my mind for the past several years due to their completely flawless handling of the Hellboy figure lines, from movie figures and into the Mike Mignola designed comic book figures. Somehow, Mezco Toys (one of the smaller action figure companies) had managed to merge form and articulation in a perfect mix beyond what and major company was doing, and still went severely underappreciated. They are a collector company, staffed by incredibly talented fans and toy enthusiasts.

Check out the full Mezco gallery here.

Unfortunately, there are no future Hellboy products planned at this time except for the comic line’s Abe Sapien, which is a beautiful thing. Alas, it will be a San Diego Comic Con exclusive item, because (and say it with me), “Dammit, SDCC gets all the cool stuff!” We were told that it would likely also be available through Club Mez, Mezco’s online collectors club, which I’m still trying to justify shelling out 40 dollars for. Action figures for the next Hellboy movie have not been determined yet, and figures based on the animated movies are not being handled by Mezco. Though they should be. I’d trust them with pretty much anything.

They will continue with their popular South Park and Family Guy figure lines, which have thrived for a few years now. Bringing cartoon characters into three dimensions has always been a challenge for toy companies, and both the successes and failures could be seen throughout Playmates’ hold on the exhaustive Simpsons license a few years back. Mezco’s holding strong with unmistakable renditions of both core and auxiliary characters from both shows, with an Eric Cartman variation planned for every South Park wave. Admittedly, it’s a visually unappealing show that revels in its 2-D-ness, but the figures remain popular. Some excellent fan-favorite cameos of Family Guy’s Peter Griffin as Bionic Peter, Lando Griffin and Astronaut Peter are also planned, most of which appeared onscreen for about ten seconds total. Also included will be the creepy Performance Artist, Chris on a treadmill, Quagmire in a robe, the Black Knight, Bonnie Swanson and Diane Simmons. Creepy old man Herbert was released as a Club Mez exclusive this past year, to much acclaim (and griping that he wasn’t released to the general public). Mezco is also planning a box set of miniature figures in a Drunken Clam pub playset environment. They continue to bring animated characters to life with their upcoming Underdog line of figures, which has nothing at all to do with the regrettable live-action movie of the same name. Pure classic animation here, which will hopefully sell better than the failed Pink Panther line made by Palisades Toys before they folded.

What we also saw, but could not photograph, was a line of Goonies action figures, done up in realistic style, and featuring an enormous Sloth, and amazing renditions of Mikey, Mouth, Chunk and Data. Needless to say, we were giddy. More news and images will surely be forthcoming.

Mezco also dips liberally into the ‘horror’ end of things, being responsible for the popular Living Dead Dolls, the next series of which will feature the theme of ‘bad luck’. Collect all five and you’ll be able to assemble a creepy little charm! Also, that Texas Chainsaw Massacre babydoll thing is probably the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe not so much the idea that a small child could obtain a My Size working chainsaw and go on a killing spree, but that they’d have the concentration to be able to sew a mask out of their victims’ skin. In addition to that horrible fare, Mezco presented the usual array of 7” action figures of horror classics, including a tuxed-up Freddy Kreuger and various Texas Chainsaw Massacre figures. Add to that an array of mini-dioramas of horror movie scenes, horror character dolls, more 7” zombies (including a bowling woman and a guy who looks like a preacher, both covered in blood and brains), and you have Mezco.

NECA carries things in a very similar vein and quality, also addressing cult properties in both horror and fun varieties. The first thing that caught my eye was the display of Nightmare Before Christmas figures, which will be entering their 6th and 7th waves of four figures each. At this point in the evolution of the line, they’ll be revisiting Oogie Boogie (previously only available in a box set), Jack Skellington (this time, with his desk), and a third Sally (with cauldron), with the addition of a 2-pack exclusive Sally in Santa suit. Fans of the line will also note the Creature from Under the Stairs (which had three seconds on screen, literally), the Melting Man, and the Corpse Boy & his mother. As usual, these figures will be packed with great accessories. It won’t be too long before we see every single character brought to figural form. Can we see a deluxe Hanging Tree, guys?

The rest of the NECA gallery is here.

NECA has also just released the first four figures from the movie 300, again with the same tremendous attention to detail that they’ve shown the Pirates of the Caribbean line. While no future 300 figures were shown (and the possibilities for figures seem large, especially with army building characters), a few Pirates prototypes were shown, including a 2-up of Slo Feng from the upcoming third movie. Continuing with their movie properties, they’ll also be producing figures from the upcoming ‘Grindhouse’ films, which got the following reaction from me :

“Holy crap, does that chick and a … gun…. for a … leg?”

Yes, she does. And as far as the action figure goes, you can switch it out with her actual leg, which also comes with the figure. Which is a fairly powerful testament as to why I love action figures. As if I needed more convincing, there’s a Quentin Tarantino figure with an alternate head, featuring a gouged-out eyeball. Which I’ve wanted to do to him at least twice in my life, but now I don’t have to, because the action figure sates my bloodlust. This alone is enough to pique my interest in the clearly gory, pseudo-explotation film that this promises to be. And because it’s a natural progression, they’ll also be doing Harry Potter figures. None of them, unfortunately, will have their limbs replaced with deadly weapons, but at least the prototypes looked pretty scary accurate.

Finally, NECA continues to explore ‘classic’ items, such as David Bowie’s Goblin King character from Labyrinth, which is sure to be a ridiculous hit with the ladies, and should be followed up by a handful of Brian Froud-inspired goblins. The Player Select line will also continue to explore popular video game characters, such as God of War’s Kratos, and the ever-popular Lara Croft, all in the popular 7” scale. And all, of course, absolutely beautiful.

These are two companies who have taken figural quality to new levels and kept it there, creating interesting, accurate toys that appeal to collectors of both toys and movie memorabilia, spanning genres and audiences alike. So watch out for ‘em.