We're in a collector news sweet spot at the moment -- companies like NECA and Mattel continue to reveal exclusives they're selling at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, plus it's the "Previews" time of month when companies show off what's going to be on sale in a few months from now. Things only get crazier as the summer wears on, considering companies have been known to hold off their big post-Toy Fair reveals until CCI, so expect all kinds of news hitting during the convention, held from July 18-21. Until then, check out these creative exclusives as well as new offerings from Diamond Select Toys, DC Collectibles, ThreeA Toys, Gentle Giant, Sideshow and more!
FRIDAY THE 13th | Back in the 80s dozens and dozens of morally questionable teens found their demise at the hands, pitch forks and machetes of Jason Voorhees. The "Friday the 13th" slasher was so popular it got an original Nintendo video game in 1989, putting the player in control of a camper trying to outrun beasts and then not get murdered by Jason (and usually failing, game was hard!). NECA announced through Figures.com one of their CCI exclusive figures is a neon purple and blue colored version of the character based on his appearance in the game! The 7-inch figure glows in the dark and comes with both a machete and an axe.
INFINITE CRISIS | The latest batch of DC Collectibles solicits showed off a few familiar pieces, but also a bunch of new ones like these two statues based on the upcoming "Infinite Crisis" video game, a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena style experience. Players control one of 12 alternate-universe DC characters like Nightmare Batman and Atomic Wonder Woman seen here in statue form. They stand 10.25 and 11.25 inches tall respectively and are out in September and November.
BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS | Meanwhile, another in-the-works DC game is getting a different kind of collectible. DC Collectibles offers 6.75 inch action figures based on "Batman: Arkham Origins" just as they did for "Arkham Asylum" and "Arkham City." Batman and Black Mask were the first figures shown for the October-shipping toys.
NEW 52 | DC Collectibles continues offering various figures based on DC Entertainment's ongoing New 52 Universe, with upcoming figures including Pandora who comes with her Skull Box as well as Black Adam. Meanwhile, if you haven't been keeping up with the figures as they're released you can get the Super Heroes Vs. Super-Villains 7-Pack including Aquaman with a new head and scepter, Flash and Batman with metallic redecos, a brand new Catwoman, as well as redecoed Captain Cold and Joker figures. All of these offerings are available in November.
BATMAN STATUES | Considering he's one of the most widely known characters in the world, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that all of the newly revealed DC Collectibles statues feature Batman characters. This November sees the release of a mini, faux patina version of the Joker statue based on Brian Bolland's art, a Steam Punk Ame-Comi Batgirl, DC Comics Cover Girls Batwoman, a "Batman: Akrham City" Riddler and Harley Quinn's entry in the pin-up inspired Bombshells line.
THE WALKING DEAD | Spoiler Alert! One of the most intense parts of "The Walking Dead" Season Two was seeing that one plaid-loving zombie stalking poor little Sophia and eventually succeeding in making a meal of her. Gentle Giant has a 1/6 scale statue of the villainous monster in the works for the end of this year. The Sophia Stalker Walker Zombie Mini Bust is up for pre-order now.
DOCTOR WHO | The Doctor Who Merchandise Site showed off a new wave of 3.75-inch action figures based on the seventh series of Doctor Who that's currently airing. The latest batch of figures includes the Doctor, his companion Clara, an Ice Warrior, a Dalek, a Cyberman and a Weeping Angel. Each figure comes with a TARDIS-esque DW stand for display purposes.
PORTAL 2 | Artist and comic creator Ashley Wood's ThreeA Toys just announced another interesting property they're working on: Valve's "Portal 2" video game. Know for producing highly detailed robotic figures, 3A's versions of Atlas and P-body look like someone hooked a 3D printer up to the game to make exact replicas that fit in with the real world.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION | Back at Toy Fair, Diamond Select Toys showed off artwork of what the next addition to their line of Star Trek figures would be: Captain Jean-Luc Piccard standing triumphantly atop a defeated Borg. Now you can check out the actual 7-inch tall, semi-articulated figure in the plastic-y flesh!
THE HULK | Way back at the 2012 Toy Fair, Diamond Select Toys unveiled artwork for an in-production four pack about the Jade Giant called The Incredible Hulk Through The Ages. Now you can buy Joe Fixit, Maestro, Barbarian and Composite Hulk because they're available in stores!
BATMAN | What's creepier than the Joker? The Joker dressed as a mime, of course! Tim Burton was kind enough to put that image in our minds with his 1989 film "Batman" and it's been living there ever since. Like some kind of nightmare wizards, Hot Toys plucked the image from the film and created a 1/6th scale action figure. Thanks?
HARLEY QUINN | Just last week Sideshow Collectibles posted a preview video of their upcoming Harley Quinn Premium Format Figure and now they're showing off the real thing! The statue is decked out in a cloth costume and comes with the trademark giant mallet. If you grab the Sideshow Exclusive version you'll also get a maskless swap-out head for additional display.
MATTEL CCI EXCLUSIVES | This might not be your thing, but we wanted to keep our CCI exclusive coverage complete, so here's the last Mattel figure you'll only be able to pick up this summer in San Diego. The previously mysterious Monster High offering is Wydowna Spider dressed up as Webarella. We're not really sure what that means, but your tween might.
MEGA MAN X | Offered without comment or context on the Bluefin Tamashii Nations Facebook page is a fantastic looking D-Arts Mega Man X Ultimate Armor action figure. A major difference between the X series and its predecessor -- plain ol' Mega Man -- was that Mega scored add-ons to his armor. In later games you could actually obtain a secret Ultimate Armor that offered all the best upgrades so you could dish some serious damage. This figure represents the pinnacle of all things X.
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY | It should come as no surprise that upcoming Disney/Pixar production "Monsters University" will have a large number of licensed products. Funko's getting in on the action with several different kinds of products; you can get your paws on Wackly Wobbler and Pop Vinyl versions of Mike, Sulley and Randall Boggs as well as Pop Plushies of Mike and Sulley. "Monsters University" opens on June 21.
THE BIG BANG THEORY | Funko also announced it's broadening its line of bobbleheads based on the hit sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." They've done the standard Wacky Wobblers, but now they have an all new version of Sheldon that talks! The Wobbler sports a Superman T-shirt as well as sayings like, "Bazinga," "You're in my spot" and the "Penny" door-knocking triptych.
STAR WARS JUMBO | One of the coolest and most underutilized aspects of the original Star Wars trilogy was giving us a glimpse of really cool looking characters who would never show up again. The Bounty Hunters in "The Empire Strikes Back" exemplify this idea, briefly sharing screen time with Vader but capturing the imaginations of many, earning everything from expanded universe stories to action figures. Zuckuss is the latest Bounty Hunter from the crew to make it to the Jumbo line at Gentle Giant. This line of figures takes the original 70s Kenner toys and upgrades them to create 12-inch figures that are exact replicas, only larger.
DC UGLYDOLL | Uglydolls sent out a press release recently announcing an interesting new collaboration between the plush monster makers and DC Entertainment. Basically, the new line of plushies feature Uglydoll characters dressed up like the world famous heroes. The first group includes Ice-Bat as Batman and Babo as Superman. They also announced Funko will make vinyl figures based off these amalgamations.