POP! Television: Wight (Game of Thrones)

Game of Thrones is a bona fide phenomenon these days. I guess it’s the closest thing us millennials will ever get to their own “Who Shot J.R.?”. People are likely to keep the fandom going for years – even decades – after the show and novels eventually wrap up.

But I didn’t really buy this figure because of an interest in the series or the books. I read the first four books around the time the series was debuting; the first three were quite good. And to cut a convoluted story short, I then had a bit of a nervous breakdown and kind subsequently missed the boat on the show…now it just feels like too many episodes to catch up.

So why did I buy it then? Well, you may recall that I bought the Ash Funko POP about a year ago. Funko released a Deadite to go with him, but it was a little underwhelming, considering all the wild designs and characters that are on display in the Evil Dead universe – and still yet to be merchandised. So really, this Wight has been bought as a de facto Deadite, one of the many medieval background players in Army of Darkness.   

It’s a job he does admirably; he’s distinctive enough in his design that he stands out among the POPs, while still not stealing the show, due to his muted colour scheme. The paintwork is surprisingly good, showcasing some impressively subtle touches; though initially appearing to be quite similar, the decomposing skin on the face has a semi-glossy/waxy look, while the exposed skull is matte and speckled to distinguish it as bone. It could be a little neater in spots, but overall it effectively conveys a withered and rotted corpse, brought back to fight for an evil master. As a bonus, he even looks like the poster zombie from Zombie Flesh Eaters, admittedly sans worms. I’m sure the homage isn’t entirely accidental -- and if so, then this is likely as close as we’ll ever get to an official POP from THAT film.

The Wight is still reasonably readily available, and I imagine will grab the attention of fans of the show. He’s not an essential character like Joffrey or anything, but he has some nice touches and serves as a good figure for horror fans too. Unlikely to be my favourite purchase for the year, but my collection is better for having him. 

POP! Television – Eleven Underwater (Stranger Things)

So about a month ago we had Stranger Week here at the LBC – so popular it even ran for eight days instead of the regular seven you’d expect to find in a week.

But there are still more Stranger Things POPs to be covered. Don’t expect to see me do all of them (I’m likely to pass on Dustin wearing a different t-shirt and the Con exclusives) but I do plan to get most of them. And so today we take a look at Eleven Underwater.

A Hot Topic exclusive in the US, in Australia Eleven Underwater is just a regular release. And at the moment she seems to be much more readily available than her regular counterpart, who along with the Demogorgon has been selling out left right and centre.

As the name suggests, this POP depicts Eleven in her diving gear. We see her donning this multiple times throughout the season, usually in flashback form. Initially she uses her psychic potential to act as some kind of (inadvertent) spy, relaying foreign messages to her mysterious masters via the power of remote viewing. But one of these remote reviewing trips seems to be the key that opens the gate to the physical realm of the Upside Down, as we discover in later episodes. 

Believe it or not, both the US and the Soviet governments did experiment heavily with the idea of psychic powers during the Cold War. This isn’t some Alex Jones-style nonsense, either; these days it’s a matter of public record. A more comical version is relayed in the George Clooney movie The Men Who Stare at Goats and the non-fiction book it’s based on, but it was a reality – presumably something the Duffer Brothers are well aware of. In real life things weren’t quite as successful as they were in Stranger Things, mind you.

It seems laughable in the face of today’s post-Berlin Wall world and the widespread scepticism about the supernatural, but it’s perhaps understandable given the times. Any prospective advantage over the enemy needed to seriously investigated, no matter how implausible. It’s easy to crack wise about the baby boomers and how “easy” they had it, but we forget too soon that many of our parents grew up in the very real shadow of nuclear annihilation. In the show’s universe, the kids would have been well aware of it too – everyone seems small in the shadow of a mushroom cloud. 

The POP itself is pretty much what you’d expect; there’s a new body for the “swimsuit” and what looks to be a retooled head from the original, incorporating all webbing and sensors that we see Eleven wear. Paint is fine; nothing to blow you away, but certainly not bad either. I just feel sorry for my American cousins who will likely have to bend over backwards to track this figure down, while we have relatively easy access, thanks to minimal exclusivity deals over here. 

While not as essential as the regular POP, Eleven Underwater is nonetheless a good addition to the Stranger Things shelf. The Upside Down remains a mysterious realm, and will likely have more of itself revealed in Season 2 – personally, I can’t wait.   

POP! Asia – Aswang (Flocked)

POP! Asia figures don’t seem to turn up in Australia very often, so when the opportunity to own this flocked Aswang came up recently, I couldn’t turn it down.

But what, you're probably quite reasonably asking, is an Aswang? It's not a terribly familiar creature to Western audiences. According to the flavour text on the back,“An Aswang is a vampire-like witch ghoul in Filipino Folklore and is the subject of a wide variety of myths and legends. Early Spanish colonists noted that the Aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures in the Philippines.” Strangely, it doesn’t highlight the inherent hilarity of the creature's name.

A scan of the Wikipedia page (arguably NSFW) suggests that this description is a slight oversimplification; but as might be expected, the mythology around the creature has changed over time and across different parts of the Philippines. It happens in Western cultures, too – you only need to look at the history of vampire or werewolf folklore over the years to see how little resemblance the modern incarnation has to some of its historical antecedents. But any questions about accuracy on the box aside, I can see why they were widely feared back in the day. 

This Aswang has a Nosferatu-esque head (though with a huge tongue), bat wings and an oddly ripped torso. A Google image search shows plenty of similar illustrations to this depiction, but a bunch that look quite different too – that’s the great thing about folk tales; they lend themselves to multiple interpretations, to suit different times and places. So think of this as Funko’s take on the creature, rather than a “canonical” one.   

The sculpt is excellent, and the flocking has been well-executed, allowing for some nice little painted details (like the bloodied teeth) to show through – so my only real complaint about the figure is related to his packaging. The Aswang’s flocked nature means that I’ll primarily be keeping him in the box to avoid dust, but there isn’t actually space cut out in the plastic casing to fit his head in there properly. As a result, he kind of just leans forward a little awkwardly. It seems a bit of an oversight on Funko’s part, and I’m not sure that it’s been corrected in future iterations*.

So the final verdict? There are a number of different versions of the Aswang available. It’s a great figure for those interested in cryptids or horror, and most of them are not outrageously expensive on the aftermarket either. This one will be joining my horror shelf, and I’m considering looking at some of the other cryptid-related POPs in POP! Asia line in the future too.  

*The flocked Aswang was apparently exclusive to the Philippines Toy Con in 2015 – but the sticker on mine looks more like one of the generic convention stickers that turn up on seasonal exclusives.

POP! Movies -- Beetlejuice

I’m no big fan of Tim Burton. Or perhaps more accurately, I’m no big fan of the cult that’s been spawned centred around his works. But with that caveat, I do like several of his movies – Beetlejuice perhaps most of all.

I watched plenty of the Beetlejuice animated series as a kid – and of course, recall virtually nothing about it – but I had never actually seen the film until about four years ago. For whatever reason I was up late and it came onto TV as the late night movie, so then was as good a time as any.  

It’s a weird and dark film, though its heavy German Expressionist influences are mostly played for comedy rather than “true” horror. It contains many of the elements that have since become Burton clichés, though they feel remarkably fresh here; crude but effective Claymation-inspired designs, black and white stripes, weird gothy characters and a fascination with the morbid. I can’t imagine Alec Baldwin or Geena Davis starring in anything like it now, though of course for Winona Ryder it would help set the tone for her subsequent career.

Now, for convenience’s sake I’m going to refer to the film as Beetlejuice and the character as “Betelgeuse” – accurate to the movie, but not always how we tend to refer to him in the common parlance.  

Betelgeuse is quite well-sculpted, though I don’t think the expression on the face quite captures the signature smirk he displays through much of the movie. He’s recognisably the character, but definitely has shades of the Joker in the too – which is fitting in its own way, given Tim Burton’s role in launching the Batman film franchise in 1989. Paint is okay by Funko’s standards at the time, but would be better if he was released today. Check the stripes on his suit, the eyes, the teeth and the hairline. Some slop is forgivable around the hairline given that kind of fungus thing he has going on all over his face and suit, but in the other areas it looks much more overt.    

Like Spikewho got reviewed yesterday, there is a Glow Chase version of Betelgeuse. His eyes are also painted with the swirly pattern that appears on the box. It’s a good look, but as with most of his Glow Chase contemporaries, he sells for considerably more than I would care to pay.  

Betelgeuse is a solid if not quite spectacular POP. Sadly, we’ve never received any of the supporting characters from Beetlejuice in POP form*. There was a Hot Topic exclusive of Betelgeuse in a different outfit last year, I can’t imagine that we’re going to see anyone else in a hurry. It’s a shame really, because the whole film is filled with freakish and memorable designs that seem made for POP format – and if nothing else, you would have thought Funko would pump out a Lydia Deetz. I can only assume it has to do with licensing costs; Tim Burton is a huge director these days, but Beetlejuice remains something of a cult film; it’s never generated a fraction of the merchandise that accompanied A Nightmare Before Christmas. The cost-to-profit ratio may simply be too high.      

*Though there have been a few Mystery Minis

POP! Movies – Stripe (Gremlins)

Gremlins, hey? A movie that, along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, helped get the entire American movie ratings system adjusted. Why? Well, the movie’s initial marketing may have *cough* downplayed *cough* those horror elements in favour of the film’s cutesy mascot, Gizmo – a face that launched at least a thousand plush toys.  

If you’ve seen Gremlins yourself, you can probably see where this is going; basically, a lot of parents found themselves with traumatised kids post-viewing, having gone in totally unprepared for the scenes of animal abuse, microwaved Gremlins and murder, among other standard horror tropes. I’m of the opinion that kids can often bounce back from upsetting things relatively easily, but I can definitely see why some of the public were pissed off at the sleight-of-hand. I remember my mother expressing similar sentiments in the 1990s when she took me to Jurassic Park, which had a similar mix of kid-oriented marketing vs borderline horror film content.  

Believe it or not, I didn’t actually see Gremlins myself until just a few weeks ago. I was off work sick and about as high as the international space station on cold & flu meds – so naturally it was time to watch a movie or two. Verdict? It’s pretty rad, and I wish I’d watched it years ago. That skeletal version of Stripe at the end? One of the best jumpscares I’ve seen in quite a while. Now to watch the sequel!  

This being a relatively early entry in the POP! Movies line, you’d be guessing that the paint is on the sloppy side. And you’d be right; the apps are all where they should be, but there’s plenty of flubbed lines or missed spots. It’s by no means their worst work, but they’ve come quite a way in the last 5-6 years. The sculpt is particularly cool; these days I would suspect it would be executed in quite a different fashion, and not necessarily as well. Before around 2013 or 2014, POPs were much more heavily stylised, and I don’t think that was a bad thing; not all of them are winners, but they definitely had their own feel. Though the overall standard of sculpting and paint has improved in the intervening years, the simplicity of the older figures definitely has its charms too.  

As with most of the early horror-related POPs, Stripe has a Glow Chase version – it looks pretty rad, if not much like the character in the film. But if you’re looking to track one down, you may have a tricky time; it seems to go for big bucks these days, and I have no idea whether it’s still in production or not.

Stripe here is a fun investment for Gremlins fans, and it’s a bit of a shame that we never got more characters beyond Mogwai and Stripe* in POP form. The first film alone has so many cool character designs, and I’m sure they could have got some reuse from this sculpt. That said, Gremlins 3 is allegedly in development at the moment, so we may yet see more of them hit the shelves.  

*Though they did make a bunch of them for their ReAction line

POP! Heroes – Catwoman (Legion of Collectors Exclusive)

The world of superhero comics has traditionally been one of black-and-white morality – paragons of virtue contrasting sharply with hand-wringing villains. But their pulp fiction predecessors tended to play it a little more grey; you only need to flick through a handful of Robert E. Howard’s stories to see that. 

But some do harken back to these pulp roots, and few characters exemplify this as well as Catwoman. Once an out-and-out villain, she’s been bordering on hero status for decades now, and even a periodic lover for Batman. She generally acts for the right reasons, even if she’s not always on the right side of the law.  

This costume is her first true Catwoman outfit (though technically the second the character wore), 

harkening all the way back to the 1940s. It’s been revived from time to time, but it’s a stark contrast to her modern catsuit-style outfits. But of all of Catwoman’s costumes, this is actually one of my favourites. though it’s ludicrously impractical for her chosen line of work. The colours are garish and the design would be ludicrously impractical for actual catburgling, but I’ve liked it since I was a kid. We’ll probably get other comic-based Catwoman POPs in the future, but I never would have picked this costume as getting made.    

Paint is adequate, if unspectacular. Obviously you don’t get any choice in picking the one you’d like, but Funko seem to be holding these exclusives to a slightly higher standard than many of their regular releases. The more annoying thing is the glue mark on the back of her head, where the hair has been attached the back of the mask.   

Overall, it’s a solid and distinctive POP. But four boxes into the Legion of Collectors program, and I have to say that I have very mixed feelings about the whole enterprise. The POPs themselves have been quite good, but the supplementary materials have ranged from adequate to garbage, but overall I’ve just found myself with even more unnecessary crap taking up room in my house. So I’ve opted out of the last two (DC Legacy and Superman) …and I’m umming and ahhing about whether I want to opt in for the next one, solely because it’s Wonder Woman and I’m a big fan. This is a great figure for Catwoman fans, but if you decide to track her down then make sure you don’t pay an arm and a leg.

Funko Mystery Minis Horror Classics Series 3: Bruce the Shark (Jaws)

Shockingly, I’ve never seen Jaws, beyond a few snippets. Yeah, I know, I know – I write about horror-related stuff all the time and still haven’t seen one of the big genre pictures. Disgraceful. But fear not, I’ll get to it eventually. 

I read the novel the film is based on, back when I was a kid (probably a little younger than I should have given the novel’s heavy sexual content) and remember being entertained, but not blown away. It reminded me of a proto-Michael Crichton novel; entertaining and heavily plot-driven, but it lacked compelling characters. This is a stark contrast to what I’ve heard and seen of the film, where the characters loom almost as large on the screen as the shark itself.   

One of the many reasons that Jaws has become venerated in the way it is today is because it was one of the very first blockbusters as we understand them today. Sure, there were wildly successful films for decades prior – but believe it or not, there was a time when the idea of a mid-year (Summer for my northern hemisphere cousins) blockbuster was totally foreign. Can you imagine a world like that now? I can’t, myself. Jaws really was quite the groundbreaker.

So to actually move back to the subject of today’s review, this Mystery Mini is a perfectly nice miniature of a shark, if not hugely exciting. The only thing that specifically screams “Jaws” is the gas bottle in its mouth. Put enough of them together and you could make a nice Sharknado too – which won’t be too hard, considering it’s packed at a 1/6 ratio in the case.       

POP! Movies – Billy the Puppet (Saw)

Year: 2014

Company: Funko

Back in 2004, a little film by the name of Saw was released. It wasn’t particularly original – Se7en was thrown about a lot as a comparison – but it helped bring a bit of edge back to a genre that at the time had been largely been defanged by hordes of Scream imitators like I Know What You Did Last Summer and their ilk. Things again went full circle, though; Saw had numerous sequels and also helped spark a bunch of other similarly themed films and wider industry trends. In this case, that was the “torture porn” era of horror, typified by movies like Hostel.

I was never so keen on the progeny that it spawned, but I did quite enjoy the first Saw film. Even the second had its moments, but by the third I’d pretty much checked out. Maybe I’ll go catch up on all of them one day, but for the time being I’m content to just take a look at this Funko POP of Billy the Puppet.    

Billy is one of the best-known elements from the series, serving as something of a mascot. The pig’s head mask that Jigsaw actually wears in the films never really caught on in the same way, and so there’s a buttload more merchandise for Billy than there actually is for Jigsaw himself. I suppose it’s a little like Pinhead’s situation; originally a supporting character in the first Hellraiser, he eventually became indelibly associated with the franchise as a whole.   

Billy’s design is something I have mixed feelings about. unsettling when he appears in the films, for sure; but he’s always looked a little too My Chemical Romance for me to find him frightening as a He’s static object on his own merits. The clowny face, the red swirls and eyes…I get why people find it unsettling, but to me it feels like it’s trying a little too hard to be edgy.  

Nonetheless, Billy the Puppet is the face of one of the most successful horror franchises of recent years. With the Saw series set to return to screens for the first time since 2010 later this year, it will be interesting to see what role Billy plays in future films.   

There’s one other version of Billy available, which was an SDCC exclusive in 2014 – Billy has blood spatter on his face and hands, and his face and hands glow in the dark. Expect to pay an arm and a leg (ha!) for it if you plan to track it down.  

Zombie Flesh Eaters (2015 Green Vinyl)

Zombie Flesh Eaters LP

Label: Death Waltz Recording Co

Year: 2015 (reissue)

Time for one of my rare record reviews!

Heavy metal is my favourite genre of music, but when I’m writing I actually tend to listen to soundtracks or ambient music. Often both, if we’re thinking of Tangerine Dream or Popul Vuh.  

Why? Well, I find them very helpful for setting the tone for whatever it is I’m working on, and if I need to concentrate on particular details, they’re relatively easy to tune out, something that isn’t always possible when listening to 250+ BPM blastbeats.

So today we take a look at one of my favourite horror soundtracks, for one of my favourite horror films – Zombie Flesh Eaters. Direct by Lucio Fulci, Zombie Flesh Eaters was released as a “sequel” to Dawn of the Dead in 1979 under the title of Zombi 2, promptly going on to be hailed as a cult classic and banned in equal measure around the world. I’ve written about Zombie Flesh Eaters much more extensively on other websites (sadly now defunct), and so to cut a long story short, it’s well worth a watch for zombie aficionados. Few films have such bizarre sequences (a zombie and a shark fight) yet still manage to feel oddly grounded. There’s plenty to laugh at if you’re in the mood, but the tone and special effects still manage to disconcert even today – it’s an excellent introduction to the more grindhouse end of horror.  

One of the real standout aspects is the eerie score from Fabio Frizzi – which of course, is why I’m writing this review today. Frizzi is a veteran composer, having worked on soundtracks from the 1970s up until the present, including several films with Lucio Fulci. Here, his work incorporates a stripped-back synth sound, in tandem with voodoo percussion and touches of musique concrète. It makes for quite an eerie and tense effect, with the notable exception being opening track Sequence 1, which is an oddball calypso-style theme, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the score.

But it’s Sequence 6 and Sequence 8 that are the standout tracks. Sequence 6 accompanies the infamous eye-gouging scene, and is apparently based on “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles. But it quickly devolves into nightmarish territory, with weird synth and ear-piercing feedback accompanying the subtly wrong piano riff. The scene itself still makes for unpleasant viewing almost four decades after its release, and I suppose it’s a compliment that it’s almost as unpleasant to listen to on its own, even without the graphic visuals.

Sequence 8 is the movie's title theme. As soon as I first saw the movie – around ten years ago! – and heard those ominous notes I knew that I was in for something special. Recorded in an era before synth became synonymous with sterile, to this day it has the capacity to unsettle me whenever I hear it. Yet it’s an oddly fond sound too, conjuring up memories of past-midnight viewings of cult trash with friends. 

Pls note the background Cheezels

Death Waltz have released this soundtrack several times since 2012, each with slight differences. This is the green vinyl version from 2015, which incorporates a version of the score that was remastered by Frizzi himself in 2014. It includes some liner notes from the cover artist and Frizzi, but it’s not a special edition – though I don’t think Death Waltz issues anything in huge numbers, it was apparently a “regular” edition. The Death Waltz website doesn’t seem to be selling it at the moment, but I don’t think you’ll have huge problems tracking it down from a reseller if you’re keen on scoring yourself a copy. But for completists or those seeking a particular pressing, you can see the full list of releases here.  

This release is not as comprehensive as the 2000 CD from Blackest Heart Media. For that release, tracks were presented in the order they appeared in the movie, along with dialogue snippets, a few remixes and some covers. I guess they were riding that sort of “Tarantino soundtrack” that was quite popular at the time. By comparison, this vinyl version feels a little bare-bones by comparison, but the presentation is definitely of a high standard, and makes for a nice piece on the shelf. I was happy with the price I paid; it’s a relatively obscure film with very little merchandise, so really I’m grateful that it’s available at all!  

Creatureplica Louisiana Rougarou

So way back at the end of 2014, I interviewed legendary action figure sculptor Jean St Jean about his then-upcoming Creatureplica range of action figures. Centred around various cryptids, I knew this would be a must-buy. Flash forward more than 2 years, and my Louisiana Rougarou has finally arrived!

Despite having read books on the “unexplained” fairly extensively over the years, I have to say I’d never heard of the Rougarou specifically. Presumably a corruption of the French word loup-garou, there are all manner of Cajun and Native American folk tales about the beast. Most of them are simple morality stories, as folklore and fairy tales often tend to be, but it’s an interesting and oft-overlooked piece of werewolf mythology in our era, which tends to be dominated by a more Twilight or Underworld-esque view.

And this boy is magnificent. More Dog Soldiers than Wolfman, this is a HUGE figure; not just because of its height, but also in chunkiness. Designed to fit in with a 7” scale, he’d also work with plenty of 6” lines too. The detailed sculpting on the fur is incredible; it’s obvious that this project is a real labour of love for Jean St Jean, and it’s an excellent showcase of the skills he’s picked up during his decades in the industry.  

Jean St Jean has worked for pretty much everyone, but these days he’s probably best known for his work with Diamond Select. Additionally, this series is distributed by Diamond Select over in the US, so it’s not altogether surprising that the figure adopts a very Universal Monsters Select articulation scheme – fortunately of the more modern variety, rather than the old limited articulation. Here’s the breakdown, from head to toe:

*swivel ears

*hinged jaw

*double barbell head/neck, providing a balljoint-like effect

*balljointed shoulders

*swivel biceps

*hinged elbows

*cut forearms

*hinged wrists

*cut abs

*cut waist

*swivel-hinged hips

*cut thighs

*ratcheted knees

*ratcheted calf

*ratcheted rocker ankles

The ratcheted joints are a particularly good inclusion, given that this guy is big, and would probably topple over without them. The sculpted fur restricts movement a little around the shoulders, but not excessively, and the only joint I actually had a problem with was the right wrist which appears to be a little bit stuck. Though there are other articulation schemes on the market which might have blended with the sculpt slightly better, it’s overall a good compromise and of a much higher standard than many mass-produced figures that I have bought.

Similarly, paint is of a very high standard. No doubt customisers can and will do a lot with it, but as a factory-painted figure it looks excellent on the shelf and also blends nicely with similarly sized lines such as the aforementioned Universal Monsters. The green eyes with white highlights/pupils are also an excellent touch.

"Do you even swamp bro?"

Louie here comes with four accessories – three shirt scraps and a display base. I didn’t think much of the shirt scraps on initial purchase; they’re held on by friction and fall off pretty easily, but now that I have it on display I quite like the look of them. They add a nice little bit of detail, and break up the grey-brown colour scheme without distracting the eye too much.

The display base is particularly good, and will definitely remain part of my display. It’s a swampy, bayou-esque mix of plant life and mud, with three foot pegs to support the Rougarou. Topping it off are a skull and ribcage with shredded shirt; these have excellent detailing, but they do seem a little large, even allowing for the 7” scale. Nonetheless, they evoke eerie and sinister voodoo connotations, which seems entirely appropriate for the figure.

Creatureplica’s figures are somewhat more expensive than their more mainstream Diamond Select counterparts, which is understandable given the lower production runs and (generally) greater articulation. I did have a few difficulties tracking one down; while US and Canadian purchases can apparently be made direct from the site, overseas orders need to be placed via email. I won’t go into all the details, but suffice to say that I’d suggest contacting them via their Facebook page instead.

Nonetheless, now that I have it in hand I’m thrilled with the final product. To be quite honest. I've been a little burnt out on action figures of late. I don't buy many these days; I'm trying to be a little more discerning, and with the sheer number of releases coming out across licenses I like it can be a little fatiguing. It's a first-world complaint if ever there was one, don't get me wrong, but this is the first figure in a long time that I've come across which has made me truly excited about the hobby, rather than "merely" pleased. 

The Louisiana Rougarou is an essential purchase for any werewolf or horror fan, and a shining example of how licenses don’t need to drive a high standard of product in the action figure market. Here’s hoping to getting a series 2 in the near future!

POP! Heroes: Wonder Woman (DC Comics Bombshells)

Year: 2017

Company: Funko

To a large degree, superheroes have become stock characters, able to be reinterpreted across a wide variety of different settings and stories. Sure, you have the core DC and Marvel continuities (which themselves tend to undergo some kind of reboot or rebranding every few years), but there’s a myriad of interpretations out there beyond these mainstream interpretations. Marvel probably toyed with this concept most explicitly with their What If…? title, but DC have long dabbled with it too, particularly under the Elseworlds banner. And so we come to DC Bombshells.

Beginning life as a line of collectible statues back in 2013, DC Bombshell’s basic concept is to reinterpret a number of DC’s female characters in a mid-20th century pin-up and/or wartime propaganda poster style. It’s a novel concept, considering how many of DC’s characters were birthed in that era, and it’s been quite successful. It plays both the men and women as a little sexier than the comics necessarily do (Poison Ivy in particular) but still manages to be less overt than plenty of the “regular” comics.

A ton of merchandise has been spawned in its wake, including clothing, posters, comics and now Funko POPs – so today we take a look at Wonder Woman. As might be expected, the adaptation of various characters to this cheesecake art style works better with some than others. Fortunately, Wonder Woman is one of the ones who works very well. She was the first character released in the original statue line, so I assume the pressure was on to get it right.    

Here, Wonder Woman’s outfit resembles a rockabilly take on the comics costume, crossed with Rosie the Riveter – to provide some contrast, here’s how Wonder Woman actually did look when she debuted in the 1940s. Her tiara is replaced with a headscarf, and the haircut is distinctly Bettie Page in style. The bustier is now a collared shirt with capped sleeves, and the trunks have been replaced with high-waisted shorts. However, it’s still very clear that this is Wonder Woman and not some random person at a hot rod show – she keeps her braces, the WW logo is present on the shirt, the eagle has been shifted to her belt and her shorts retain stars. It’s a great reinterpretation of the costume, and it’s been well-translated to POP form here.

That said, paint is okay, but certainly not outstanding; the hairline on mine is a little messy, so check your options in the store if possible. I feel like the colours should maybe be a little bolder, but  I suspect this is partially to do with painting over skin-coloured plastic. There’s also a Chase version, which is the same sculpt but in a sepia paint scheme. It’s a nice period-appropriate concept, but not an essential purchase.

Funko’s initial Bombshell line includes Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Katana and the Joker. All of them look okay, though I don’t plan to invest any further at this stage. Batgirl is my least favourite, as she has a bit of a steampunk vibe, though I assume it’s meant to evoke more of a 1930s aviation look. But Wonder Woman is my favourite superheroine, so although I’m unfamiliar with the wider mythos of this take on the character, I figured that this was a must-buy.  She seems to be the best-selling character in the line so far, so if you’re keen to pick one up I’d recommend you hustle.