Funko POP Constantine DC Super Heroes 255 (Free Comic Book Day Edition)

If you've read my posts for a while, you'll know that I'm an avid collector of all things Hellblazer.  So when Hellblazer main character John Constantine started showing up in both the TV series Legends of Tomorrow and in the DC Animated Universe, I naturally readied myself for a stream of new merchandise.  And while there's certainly been some (as my archives can attest), there hadn't been a Funko figure until just a couple of months ago.

It was much to my irritation that the figure ended up being released as a limited run edition of 20,000 (sold in comic shops on Free Comic Book Day, 4 May, 2019), because while I'm happy with my one Pop of Constantine, with a minor paint job, the design would also be perfect as Pete Wisdom (a Marvel Comics character with a similar style but with black hair and coat).  And while I'd be happy to customize a regular release, the idea of paying extra for a limited run figure just to turn it into something else just isn't something I'm comfortable doing.

But either way, let's take a look at this one!

Out of the box: Funko's X-Men Mystery Mini Professor X

Back in April I picked up one of the little Funko mystery boxes from their X-men line. I photographed the unboxing and promptly forgot about both the figure and the photos. But now that they've turned up, how about a quick photo post (a final photo set from my old back garden too)?

Unlike some of the other franchise mystery minis that Funko has produced, the X-Men figures are extremely simple. Since I'd picked up one of the much more detailed Fallout figures immediately prior to this one I was disappointed with it, but for anyone who appreciates a more stylized figure this might well be a winner.

As is standard for Funko's Marvel-license products, this figure is a bobble head. And as with most of these style of figures, that wobbling head is the only point of articulation.

It's May the Fourth...

So it's time for a day of Star Wars puns! Whether they make you smile or make you roll your eyes, I hope you have a good one!

Funko Friday: Rogue One's Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus

Every time I say I'm not going to pick up any more Funko figures I end up eating my words! This time it was the nostalgic Star Wars joy that I got from watching Rogue One that led to my bringing home this pair.

Since these figures are fairly standard POPs I won't be doing a full review, but I did want to share some photos.

Funko Friday: Pops in the garden

After a week of playline doll reviews, I thought it was time to change things up a bit, so I took my four human-style Funko POP figures outside for some end-of-the-week photos.

L-R: Hiccup, Jamie, Hook & Bucky.

Funko Friday: Jaime Lannister (Game of Thrones)

In the box.

Another week is coming to a close, so let's open up another Funko POP! In honour of the new season of Game of Thrones starting up last week, let's open a figure from that line, shall we?

Today's figure is the second release of Jaime Lannister - there was an earlier release that was meant to look like the character as he was earlier in the show - that one had golden armour, longer hair and two hands, while this one has a simpler outfit and the golden hand (making this the third week in a row that I'm opening a one-handed character figure - that wasn't intentional, but it's funny how that happened!).  

Unfortunately the simpler outfit means this figure has less detail to talk about, but he still manages to look like the character which is good enough for me.

Now let's open the box!

Funko Friday: Captain Hook (Once Upon a Time)

In the box.

It's Friday, so it's time to unbox another Funko POP!

Up this time around is Captain Hook from the Once Upon a Time line. I confess, I'm not a huge fan of the show, but there's something about the intentionally cheesiness of it that means that I've watched about a third of each season (full seasons are a little too much cheese for me).  It might seem odd to pick up a figure from a franchise I'm not a huge fan of, but I just really love Hook's coat - I just love a nice flowing trench coat/ greatcoat (if someone ever got the license for figures of the characters from Black Sails, I would pick those up in a second - that show has some great coats!).

The figure is a fairly standard POP figure, although by having one arm raised, that at least gives he a slightly more dynamic pose than a lot of them do. The paint is decent, although there are a few chips on the head.  And most importantly for me (since it's the whole reason I picked this up), the coat has some great detailing.

On with the photos!

Funko Friday: Winter Solider (Captain America: Civil War edition)

Thanks to a recent sale I've picked up a number of new Funko Pop figures. In the interests of not boring non-Funko fans, instead of spending a couple of weeks posting nothing but them, I'm going to save them for Fridays only. Since these figures are fairly standard, barring something unusually unique I won't be doing a full review for each one, which means that after these posts will all be primarily photo posts.

First up in this series is Winter Soldier from the upcoming movie Captain America: Civil War.  Let's open up the box and see what he's like!

In the box

.

Passing through: Fallout 3's The Lone Wanderer (male) by Funko Pop!

The Lone Wanderer

Folks who know me from a variety of doll forums may recall that during the 18 months I lived in the DC area, I usually had my location listed as "The Capitol Wasteland", a reference to the video game Fallout 3, where your character ("The Lone Wanderer") wanders the post-nuclear wasteland of an alternate-1950s DC. Having played the game several years before moving there (and since most of the game's locations were based on actual geography), I secretly always expected to run into ghouls in the metro.  And sometimes called my dog "Dogmeat" when we were going for walks.

So seeing a series of Funko Pop's released, I of course picked one up.  Unfortunately the one I ordered turned out to be damaged, so I ended up sending him back. To be honest I was relieved to have the excuse - the figure is fairly plain, and since the player character is customizable in-game, I didn't feel particularly drawn to him in the end. Still, I did take some photos, so let's take a look.

Out of the Box: The X-Files Alien (Funko Pop)

One of these days I'll be getting back to articulated figures and dolls, but before I do, I have yet another Funko figure to talk about.  This time it's the X-files alien.

I've mentioned a few times that I'm a huge X-files fan, and with the new miniseries and season 11 of the comics in the pipeline, it just seemed like the perfect time to pick up a new collectible.  Unfortunately more the main characters in the franchise just aren't physically unique enough to make for interesting Pop! figures, so this is the only one I'll be picking up, but it's still a cool addition to my X-files shelf.

The Pop! figures are all quite similar, so this one isn't distinct enough for a full review, so it's all photos from here:

Out of the Box: Funko's Avengers Age of Ultron Mystery Minis

The Iron Man/Hulkbuster mystery mini

Once again, just days after swearing off mini figures, I'm back with another pair of them.  Up this time are two figures from Funko's Avengers: Age of Ultron tie-in mystery minis.  As with all of Funko's Marvel figures, these minis are bobbleheads rather than the static figures that most of their other lines are (licencing complexities, is apparently the reason for that).

Unlike some of these Mystery Mini lines, there are no chase figures in this release: all of the figures appear in at a 1/12 frequency.  With odds like that, I thought it would be interesting to see who I'd get - unfortunately the two I picked weren't any of my favourites, but hey - that happens with blind boxes.  And the two figures I have are nicely detailed, so at least they're interesting to look at.

Random Toy of the Day: Funko's Game of Thrones Mystery Minis (Series 1)

Apologies for yesterday's double-post: I was editing tags and accidentally re-published the Forge post.

After posting my "ultimate in lazy packing" photo the other day, I realized that I hadn't shared those Funko Game of Thrones mini figures yet, even though I had taken photos of the lot of them.  There isn't much to say about them: they're standard non-articulated mini-figures, in that stylized Funko-POP style, but they're fun little figures, so I thought I'd share them anyway.

The group shot.

Out of the Box: Hiccup (Funko Pop How To Train Your Dragon 2)

Funko Pop's Hiccup

I'm still not sure if I think that the big-headed Funko Pop figurines are brilliant or pointless, but it seems I've just picked up my first one, Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon 2.

The part of me that thinks they're brilliant appreciates the way they make clearly recognizable versions of characters in such a simple form - if you wanted to do some geek decorating, they're certainly more affordable than more detailed figures, and the simple and uniform look means that they can work with a wider variety of styles.  I was visiting a friend a couple of weeks ago whose husband has built a basement toy room, and the Funko Pop case has the cleanest lines and the least cluttered look to it (I wish I'd been able to take some photos!).

On the flip side though I'm conflicted about even calling this a line of action figures since they're not articulated and marketed for display rather than play.  And then there's the blank-eyes, is that cute or creepy?  I'm never quite sure...

In any case, as I mentioned when I looked at the Spinworks Defenders of Berk figures, I'm a fan of the franchise (and a collector of figures with prostheses), so it was probably inevitable that I'd bring this figure home regardless of my thoughts on the line as a whole.

In the box.

The box itself is, as is standard for the line, a white box with colourful cartoonish detailing and a corner window that shows of the figure itself.  Inside, the figurine is cradled in a plastic shell case which means it's simple to open - and to return to the original state, which is great for people who like to alternate between keeping the toy in-box and out-of-box (that would be people who aren't me though: the box went into the recycling bin after I took these photos).

The back of the figure.

 The detailing on the figure actually surprised me - for all that the face is two circles and a nose, the body is actually quite nicely detailed.  The armour, boot, prosthesis and sword all have  a solid level of sculpted detail and a well-selected colour scheme.

From the front.

I have to say, for all time I spent debating whether or not to pick this figure up, he's really grown on me; I think I may find myself adding another from the line to keep him company soon.  Possibly more than one - I've been thinking about giving the Lootcrate subscription box service a try, and they seem to include Funko figures fairly regularly (if you're a subscriber, how are you feeling about it?).  We shall see!