Last year, there was a lot of conversation in the plastic statue community about resealable packaging for action figures. Many collectors these days want something that can be reused when an action figure has served its primary purpose (as decoration) and inevitably gets relegated to an eBay auction. DC Direct made an attempt at satisfying this need for customers by introducing plastic cases for individual figures that opened up easy, without any damage, and could be used for repackaging later on down the road. A great idea, to be sure, but perhaps not designed that well the first time around. DC Direct has since returned to more traditional action figure packaging, but I don't think one of their latest releases got enough good marks for being downright attractive AND practical. This summer, DC Direct released their first four figures based on the hit DC Comics series Kingdom Come, by Alex Ross and Mark Waid. I have not bought any of the figures - Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and Green Lantern - but what I felt was really sharp packaging got completely ignored due to the controversy that ran rampant after the in-store release of these figures. For the first time in DC Direct's four-year history, quality control fell by the boards when these figures were manufactured, and many fans were extremely upset with shoddy craftsmanship. I even had a chance to speak with the head of DC Direct, Georg Brewer, in August, at Wizard World Chicago, and he said that these problems were an aberration and that there was going to be more on-hand quality control for the next four Kingdom Come figures coming in October. So we'll then see if the next round - Red Robin, Shazam!, Kid Flash, and Batman - will pass the muster. But going back to the packaging, from what I've seen, it's a traditional mix of a cardboard box with a clear plastic window that would display well in or out of the box. The box itself is sleek and compact, and it doesn't have to be torn apart to get to the figure. Personally, I'd be jacked to the max if DC Direct utilized this design for more of their figures, not just the Kingdom Come line.

In the latest chapter of J. Lo's attempt to surpass Elizabeth Taylor for the oft-married title, Bennifer was spotted shopping together in Atlanta over the weekend. It turns out Affleck was shopping for nothing more than a gun. Lovely. I feel ya, Ben. My biggest irritation over this non-story is the way the press makes every little step of their "love ordeal" an actual news story in the same broadcasts that detail pressing matters like Bush's war on terror (>giggle<), the California recall (>sigh<), and Hurricane Isabel (Damn). IT'S NOT NEWS, PEOPLE!!!

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BATMAN #619!!! You have been warned, as I am going to give away the big secret of the year-long Batman epic by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee & Co. For the first time in years, maybe ever, I bought twelve issues in a row of Batman. I'll be the first one to admit that maybe Jim Lee Lee's art isn't for everyone, or that some have gotten wise to the writing style of Jeph Loeb. Different strokes for different folks, but the last year's tale, "Hush" was an absolute blast for me. It was crammed with heroes, jammed with villains, and Lee happens to be one of those talents who really shines when he tackles an A-list character like the Dark Knight. "Hush" has also been a year-long mystery with a mystery man pulling strings in Batman's personal and professional life in an attempt to break him. This story saw Batman almost breaking his own moral code and murdering the Joker in a rash act of retribution, the possible return of Jason Todd (who "lives" in infamy as the Robin who died in a call-in voting event), and romance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle's alter ego, Catwoman. I loved this story, and that's evidenced in the fact that I went back to each chapter over and over again this last year. NOW HERE'S THE BIG SPOILER! In Batman #619, we finally find out that the man pulling the strings was in fact Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, Dr. Thomas Elliot. Almost from Day One, most readers believed that Tommy played a major role, even though his apparent murder occurred halfway through the story. Conventional wisdom dictated that the real surprise had to come from the idea that he had help, and we do in fact find that out in the final chapter that came out September 24th. It turns out that Dr. Thomas Elliot was aided in his attempts to torment Batman by none other than Edward Nygma, the Riddler. I won't even try to get into all the circumstances that prompted the villain, one who Batman himself regarded as a second-string criminal, into putting together this Machiavellian game that had most fans stumped from the start. What I did last night, though, had me kicking myself. I went back to issue #615, the issue that focused most heavily on the Riddler. On page 8, the third panel in, Batman is in the Batcave giving a recap of events to his former partner, Nightwing. Using his computer, Batman provides a graphic of every major player involved in the story to date: Superman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Killer Croc. Among this ring of characters is an implied mystery character -- the antagonist, if you will - and this figure is highlighted by a big, fat question mark. Looking back, it's hysterical how this was presented, and I have to believe that it was very intentional on the part of Loeb and Lee. Well played, and thank you for a rockin' story.