Someone, in
the early 1980s, decided that Black Canary’s iconic leather and fishnet
stockings’ look had to go. This being the 1980s, she was given one of those
Flashdance type of costume that all super heroines wore at the time. They
covered her up so much that there was no point calling her the blonde bombshell
anymore. Then, she joined the Justice League International, as the only
founding female member where she was pitted constantly against the prying Guy
Gardner and developed a budding friendship with Blue Beetle. Artist Kevin
Maguire possibly made this iconic 1980s design work best.
I find it
amazing that an action figure of a version of a character’s costume many people
dislike was approved. Here, Tim Bruckner used one of his classic facial sculpt
instead of giving Black Canary a soft round face, like Maguire used to draw
her. It’s not that I don’t like her face. But this is not based on Maguire’s
work. However, the proportions of the costume’s details, like the buccaneer’s
boots and puffy sleeves are right.
Of course,
with high heels, it’s almost impossible to have Black Canary stand on her own
without her action figure stand. Other problems include the weak knee
articulation. I almost broke the joints while trying to bend the knees. That
means that there will be no posing of this action figure. The shoulder joints
are more flexible than the JLI Batman’s. Her wrists also rotate. Of course her
thick rubber hair come in the way of her neck articulation, but at least, being
in rubber, it offers more flexibility than hard plastics.
The paint
job on her face is great. The blush on her cheeks is barely noticeable. One
issue I have is that her collar and sleeves are not graced with the same
metallic blue paint that covers her torso and leggings.
This is not a bad action
figure at all and perhaps more than hardcore Justice League International
collectors may be interested in this. Fans of Black Canary, and they are many
won’t be disappointed to add yet another Black Canary action figure to their
collections. She’s worth it.
Get Your Color Corps Rings
Fans of the Color Corps need to pre-order a selected set of books to ensure they get a full set of these limited edition rings.
G'nort
G'nort is finally rendered as an action figure
JLI Batman
Artist Kevin Maguire help work on the designs of the Batman action figure based on the popular Justice League International
Watchmen's Ozymandias
In the comic books, Ozymandias always appeared a bit more plastic and perfect than other characters
Watchmen's Modern Nite Owl
The modern Nite Owl action figure is based on the movie version of the character appearing in the comic book series The Watchmen
JSA Series 1 – Larger Than Life Action Figures
DC Direct has announced that it will release the first series of a new line of JSA action figures related to the new Justice Society of America based on Alex Ross' work
Hawkgirl’s Wings – Don't Let Me Down
Kendra Saunders, the new Hawkgirl, is a reincarnation of the first Hawkgirl who teamed up with Hawkman and the Justice Society in the Golden Age. However, this Hawkgirl is nothing like her late aunt and nobody's sidekick.
Jonah Hex DC Direct Review
A review of Jonah Hex action figure, DC Comics' Western maverick and time traveller, by DC Direct
Golden Age Hourman
Hourman, the man of the hour, only had to take a Miraclo pill to gain super powers for one hour. But if you're one of the lucky one who owns a copy of his only action figure, you'll have a treasure for eternity!
Bowen Batman On Gargoyle
Before props and action figures of super heroes were popular staples at comic book stores and other novelty retailers, the ancestor of what collectors know as DC Direct released a Batman statue of Batman sitting on top of a gargoyle that was sculpted by Randy Bowen in 1991