Hey Speed Readers,
I know I jumped the gun a little bit on my countdown till the arrival of Mattel’s Signature Collection Jay Garrick but I couldn’t wait to tear that package open and get some pics online. You can look for more comparison pics with DC Signature Collection Jay Garrick in the next couple of days but for now I return to our program already in progress.
We are back with DC Direct First Appearance Series 1 Golden Age Flash released back in 2004. I wasn’t too thrilled with this figure when I first picked him up but I’ve grown to love him over the years, especially after receiving The Golden Age Flash Archives Volume 1 for a birthday a few years back.
Jay really became my favorite Flash around the time I started reading about him in Mark Waid’s Flash comics and then later in JSA. As a result of that I prefer the Modern Age kind of old look but not super old look that he sported back then. Then I finally got the chance to read the Golden Age Flash stories and that is when my appreciation for younger Jay grew. I still prefer the repaint of this figure but we will get to that in a bit.
The figure itself stands at 6 and a 1/2 inches tall, features 10 points of articulation and features a removable helmet that actually manages to stay on even with a slight push. I think it may have something to do with the plastic the helmet is made off or maybe just a slightly different shape. The repaint of the figure released a few years later has a problem with the helmet staying on securely and that figure’s helmet feels slightly different.
This is one of the few Jay figures to feature a lightning bolt on the sides of his pants from his first few appearances. It also adds the mercury wings to the sides of the boots, a detail that Jay began to omit later on in his career. As a result most of Jay’s Modern Age figures lack the mercury wings as well.
We’ve got a few more figures in the pipeline so keep your eyes on FastestFanAlive for more great collectible/comic goodness.
Thanks for reading,
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
Just Arrived! Mattel’s DC Signature Collection Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick!
I know I still have two Jay action figures to highlight but this guy arrived a bit earlier than I expected given the logistics issues Mattel mentioned, and the fact that I did not order a subscription. I did however order in the first hour after the figure went on sale (gotta love smart phones) so maybe that had something to do with it?
In any case I had to rip this open and get some loose pics on here!
I really, really, really like this figure. The paint is perfect, the head sculpt is spot on, the hat is classy and even cocked to the side slightly on his head. The details on the belt buckle are often neglected on other figures or just sculpted as a generic belt. While this one doesn’t quite have the sculpted look it still has the lightning bolt painted on a silver buckle.
Jay doesn’t come with any real accessories and the hat, unlike many other releases of Jay by DC Direct, is not removable. I don’t really see this as a disadvantage when compared to the others because I don’t think that having a removable hat was done right in most of the other cases. The very first Jay Garrick action figure release featured a removable helmet, but also included a peg in the helmet that fit into a hole in the aforementioned figure’s head. This meant that you would have no problem getting the hat to stay on while on display.
The figure as you can see for the most part fits in pretty nicely with the rest of the Mattel Flash family. Unfortunately as noticed by fans in the first wave of previews of the figure, Jay is a little bit out of scale. In the picture above he looks to be a bit taller than Barry, even though he and Barry both share the same height in the comics (or at least they did, who knows now)of 5’11”. I personally don’t care. The figure looks great and honestly with years of dealing with DC Direct I’m used to wildly varying scales when it comes to my collectibles.
Now we just need Wally West as The Flash! Come on Mattel I know you have it in you! Come on DC let them honor the memory of Wally with one last great piece of awesomeness. Please use the Greg LaRocque design if you will.
Thanks for reading,
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
Just Arrived! Mattel’s DC Signature Collection Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick!
I still have two more Jay Garrick action figures to cover but this guy arrived in the mail earlier than expected. I had to cop some pics of it on card before I ripped it open.
For those that hadn’t heard or missed it DC Signature Collection Jay Garrick went on sale May 15, 2012 via Mattycollector.com and sold out fairly quickly. The figure was the first release in the long awaited Club Infinite Earths Subscription plan and only a few figures were reserved for fans that did not purchase the subscription. There of course is a chance that Matty could restock but in any case I’m happy I scooped mine up in the first hour or so of it being out. Gotta love smart phones!
As for the product itself I’m really digging the packaging. It is a heck of a lot smaller in person than the vids and pictures I’d seen suggested. In person the packaging has a sleek yet classy look to it; simple but elegant. I’m especially digging the choice of colors and the great painting of Jay on the side and back of the package in the same vein of an Alex Ross painting. I wish they would have included the lightning bolt accents on the boots as they appear in the art but oh well.
The window on the front extends around the right of the box partially giving you the chance to display a bit of the figure if you plan on bookending it that way. There is also an overhead display window so you can check out the vac-sealed chrome hat.
Loose pics soon to come.
Thanks for reading,
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
Hey Speed Readers,
We are back with Justice Society of America Series 1 Golden Age Flash; third in a series of showcases leading up to the arrival of Mattel’s Signature Collection, Jay Garrick!
This Jay is from the Alex Ross-inspired set of super-realistic action figures based on a series of painted covers he did for the last volume of Justice Society of America. The figure is in scale with all previous Alex Ross-inspired releases including Alex Ross Justice League Series 1 Flash (Barry Allen), and Alex Ross Justice League Series 8 Captain Cold.
The figure features 13 points of articulation and a removable helmet that has sculpted details in it that allow the hat to gently sit on his head. I can’t lie though, I wish they would have included a peg because the helmet falls off a lot. He was obviously meant more for display than play.
The figure lacks the winged boots of the other Golden Age Flash releases but the details otherwise are pretty fantastic. I’m not a huge fan of the “old as dirt” look for Jay but I can’t argue with the realism of the head sculpt. You can see every wrinkle and even the graying temples have a great deal of detail in the paint. The Flash symbol on his t-shirt has a metallic gold paint job that fits in well with the silver and gold of the helmet and the silver on the belt buckle. I’ve always been more of a fan of gold instead of yellow when it comes to the Flash costumes and I think this figure is a great example of what I like about it.
Keep an eye on FastestFanAlive for more Golden Age Flash action figure goodness all leading up to the arrival of DC Signature Collection, Jay Garrick.
Thanks for reading,
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
The A-Maze-ing Race from DC Superfriends #27 July 2010.
Which Flash is the fastest?
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
Hey Speed Readers,
Back with another Golden Age Flash action figure showcase, all leading up to the arrival of Mattel’s DC Signature Collection Golden Age Flash.
This figure was the very first Jay Garrick collectible that I picked up and if I’m not mistaken I believe it was the first ever Jay Garrick action figure ever produced. The figure was released to the direct comic book market by DC Direct in 2000, about a year or so after the arrival of the Justice Society series revival written by James Robinson and David S. Goyer. I actually didn’t pick up the figure until about four years after the release when I began collecting Flash action figures in earnest again. Still one of my favorites. I think the head sculpt is absolutely perfect, it represents a Jay somewhere in between First Appearance Jay Garrick and Old as dirt looking Jay from Alex Ross’ JSA Series.
The figure itself features 11 points of articulation and a removable helmet that fits on his head via a peg in the helmet that plugs into his head. This is one of the few DC Direct Jay Garrick releases that presents no problems when keeping the helmet on his head. I can’t fathom why they didn’t go this route with their subsequent releases, because as I mentioned it is annoying to have to deal with the helmet falling off while having them on display and having to risk destroying the whole thing just to fix one part.
I absolutely love the details though, especially on the boot and helmet wings. The base is a classy silver and gold color scheme that is oddly rounded, making it a little difficult to pose the figure in a straight up position. The colors of the base match Jay’s helmet perfectly.
Check back over the next few days for more Golden Age Flash goodness all leading up to the arrival of my DC Signature Collection Jay Garrick.
Thanks for reading,
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
Super Friends Costume Corner featuring The Flash courtesy of DC Superfriends #11 March 2009.
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
So, I just received confirmation that my DC Universe Signature Collection Jay Garrick just shipped from Mattycollector.com! So until the figure arrives in the mail I’m going to be highlighting a couple or so different Flash figures every day.
First up one of my favorites, DC Direct’s Elseworlds Series 4: JSA Liberty Files Flash!
Actually in story Jay Garrick uses the codename, ‘Mercury’ and is a United States government operative working undercover in Russia when he is called in by ‘The Bat’ to stop a Superman gone rogue! Liberty Files was initially a two-part story released originally back in 2000 and written by Dan Jolley and Tony Harris with Harris also pencilling the interiors. Jay appeared in the second part titled, The Unholy Three.
I think this suit is almost perfect with the only thing I would add being a pair of aviator goggles; the uniform just screams for them. Despite that the simple two color scheme comes across well. In story the utility belt included a two way radio and the pouches were filled with things like ball bearings, which in the hands of a speedster are especially lethal. I like the additional detail of adding the chin strap despite the fact that he is not using it for some reason. In any case I think the suit design is a winner; hats off to writer/penciller, Tony Harris who I’m assuming is at least partially responsible.
Now, as far as the figure itself, DC Direct is known for it’s limited articulation and statue-like action figures and this one is no exception. It features what would appear to be 10 points of articulation but their range of motion is so limited that they might as well not even exist. The paint however is pretty top-notch and while it isn’t super-detailed, it gets the job done. The best work is seen in the face sculpt and paint job; they do an especially good job here. The helmet is not removable.
Thanks for reading, check back for more Jay Garrick action figure pics over the next couple of days.
Thanks for reading,
-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson
