My Doom Patrol! Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, Beast Boy/Changeling, The Chief and my own addition, Deadman!

The latest team I’ve added to my collection is the Doom Patrol! The Doom Patrol are more often than not compared to the X-Men, as they were created literally months apart and both featured a team of social outcasts led by a mobility impaired guy. The similarities don’t stop there as they both even faced off against “Brotherhoods”; The Doom Patrol with the Brotherhood of Evil and The X-Men with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Obviously the X-Men went on to become a whole different animal and is now one of the more popular comic book teams in the world. The Doom Patrol however has kind of played the role of outcast to a tee. From their status and (lack of) prominence in the (old) DCU proper to well every series of theirs after the first stint in My Greatest Adventure (later retitled The Doom Patrol) the Doom Patrol has consistently struggled with success and being third stringers.

Personally I think this is part of the charm of the Doom Patrol. I also think they have more in common with the Fantastic Four (with a twisted bent of course) than the X-Men when you get down to the nitty gritty of it. In any case I first came across the Doom Patrol back in New Teen Titans v2 #13. My younger brother collected both Teen Titans and The Outsiders (as well as a plethora of other DC Comics) while I was into just about anything that looked interesting. We used to go to this used bookstore called, McKay’s, back in the mid-90s and that is where the bulk of our collections came from. Obviously we would trade comics back and forth and read the other’s all the time and that is when I ran into the aforementioned New Teen Titans #13 which had one of the creepier covers I had come across at the time. There is way too much backstory to go into the whole thing but long story short after Beast Boy/Changeling is injured fighting Deathstroke, Raven, Starfire, and Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) take him to Paradise Island for treatment while Kid Flash (Wally West), Robin (Dick Grayson), and Cyborg go searching for Robotman (who was searching for the killers of the Doom Patrol). The cover featured Robotman wrecked and hanging outside Madame Rouge and General Zahl’s (the killers of the Doom Patrol) headquarters with Robin, Kid Flash, and Cyborg looking on horrified. The cover seriously freaked me out and left so much of a lasting impression that I even remembered the issue number off of the top of my head. Man was The New Teen Titans good back then. 

Of course I say “My” Doom Patrol because this is my iteration of the team. As any Doom Patrol fan knows the original team was the first team to be killed off in the final issue of a comic book ever. Since then there has been oh I dunno about 7 or 8 different versions of the team with only one constant, Cliff Steele, Robot Man. 

My Doom Patrol features the classic members of the team, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, from Mattel’s DC Universe Classics/DC Signature Collection and The Chief which was made with a Marvel Legend’s Professor Xavier with Starman’s alternate head). Later member, Beast Boy/Changeling and my own addition to the team,  Deadman are both from DC Direct. Ok, I admit I honestly think Deadman just fits in perfectly with his coloring and the big “D” on his chest but at the same time I think he is just the right kind of misfit that would join up with the DP. Of course this is going to take a few tweaks to his origin to make him fit (and no I haven’t decided on them yet) but overall he is more of a part-time member, coming and going as he pleases and helping on special missions. I’m not sure how I’m going to explain how he communicates with the team but I promise explanations will be forthcoming with my latest project (which is still in the very early planning stages). 

-Flash Johnson

Any Doom Patrol fans in the house? What is your favorite iteration?

DC Collectibles Green Lantern, Simon Baz Action Figure Pics!

So the latest Green Lantern, Simon Baz arrived at my doorstep a couple of days ago and overall I’m fairly pleased. Only real gripes I have are a lack of a Lantern (but at least he came with his gun) and the fairly sloppy paint apps on the mask. It isn’t as bad as some that I’ve seen but still not great for a figure that retails for $24.99. I know I sound like a broken record at this point but at that price point quality control needs to be tight! Stuff like this could easily push away prospective buyers. Get it together DC Collectibles! 

Now as far as the character, most of what I know about Simon Baz is from the Green Lantern #0 issue. I do know that I love the design and like the shift from the norm when it comes to Lantern costumes. I’ve always wanted to try short sleeves on one of my Flash uniforms (mainly because of how horribly hot it gets in those things sometimes) and I think my next suit might just have them. My only gripe is that he obviously wore a mask because he was a wanted man at the time of his indoctrination into the Corps but why did he opt to go with fingerless gloves? For characters with secret identities it never made sense to me that they wouldn’t wear gloves to keep their fingerprints from being identified. 

I’ve posed him with the members of the Corps that I’ve collected so far, facing down Sinestro, teaming with Hal, Being questioned by the Justice League and with the Justice League of America (Mostly placeholders until the DC proper team is built although I might be adding Katana to my Batwoman and the Outsiders team instead and leaving Black Canary on the JLofA.)

The sculpt is downright excellent as per usual when it comes to DC Collectibles. The details in the suit give it an “Ultimate-style” armor look and they even included details like tread on his boots.His Green Lantern symbol is actually sculpted into the figure and the ring has a bit more detail that we saw on Hal Jordan’s figure. 

If you have the opportunity to compare paint apps then make sure you take the time to do so. Especially when it comes to the paint on his mask. The rest of the figure is super clean including his green tattoo on his right arm (which translates to courage in Arabic).

As always he could use a bit more articulation (especially when it comes to the wrists). However since he is a GL and most of his poses consist of flying and pointing at things with his ring we don’t need anything too crazy I guess.

As I mentioned he comes with a gun that is painted grey and black. It fits snugly in his left hand and DC Collectibles also sculpted a holster for it when it isn’t in use. I’ve heard lots of griping and complaining about the gun but I have to say it makes total sense to me. Especially if I were just handed a weapon that I have no idea how to control and didn’t come with an instruction manual. I’m going to fall back on what I’m familiar with and what I have known to work in the past. Better than nothing at all.  Especially when trapped on a random alien world and your ring only has enough power for basic life support functions; That means no constructs and no personal force field. I would be glad that I had my gun. If only to possibly scare off any hostiles just by the sound. I like the little touch that DC Collectibles added with the extra clips on the back of his belt. Always carry extra ammo.  

Thanks for reading, 

-Flash Johnson

differenzeartistiche:

Jesse Quick from Marvel’s Ms Marvel

with hubby Rick Tyler (an original Eaglemoss figurine)

The Metal Men with Doctor Will Magnus Action Figures

From Left to Right: Mercury, Tin, Gold, Lead, Doctor Will Magnus, Platinum, and Iron. 

You’ll have to pardon the hastily put together Will Magnus. I just saw the Boston Brand head from my Deadman figure and thought…he looks vaguely like Will Magnus. Unfortunately the boil and pop didn’t go exactly as planned and the figure ended up looking like he has no neck. If this weren’t completely temporary I would have tried harder to make it seem less like this but meh. The body is reserved for something else anyway. 

Sorry about the lack of Flashy stuff lately, I’ve just been busy filling in my DC Universe and haven’t really been feeling the Flash stuff lately. Hang tight though I haven’t given up on old Red yet.

-Flash Johnson 

speedforceorg:

Hey Speed Readers,

Now we can finally do this:

Just a friendly reminder that the long-awaited, heavily requested DC Signature Classics Wally West action figure will be available for sale on Mattycollector.com tommorow at 9 a.m. PT/Noon ET.

A figure that has been requested since the…

The Latest Additions to my DC Universe:

From left to right: Adam Strange, Red Tornado, Jade, Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Elongated Man, Captain Atom, Kilowog, Skeets, Booster Gold, Ice, Fire, Sandman (Desmond Powell), Steel (Natasha Irons), Animal Man, Deadman,  Zatanna and Doctor Fate!

16 down (17 if you count Skeets) and a bunch to go still. 

-Flash Johnson

The Flash #10 July 2009 with Variant by D. Johnson

I’m back with even more of my random covers from a few years back. These were done in honor of the Fourth of July/Independence Day hence the star-spangled background.

The first is my homage to John Byrne’s Special Collector’s Edition of Man of Steel #1 from 1986!

The second was my take on those Obama “Hope” posters that were so dang popular around 2008-09. I couldn’t really decide which one I wanted to go with so I went with both. Hence the variant.

-Flash Johnson

New 52 Earth 2 Flash Custom Action Figure by Draubner

Hey all,

Came across this guy on eBay a few days ago and man am I impressed. I contacted the seller and customizer, Draubner and asked him a few questions about himself and the figure. 

Draubner is based out of the Philippines and has been working on custom action figures for about 3 years now. However he isn’t a huge comic book fan; he just likes working with visually interesting characters and bringing them to life. When he comes across something he likes he researches the character back and forth and uses this knowledge to really bring out the personality and details.

I have to say that he did a damn good job using that knowledge in this case. Figure was obviously made from Mattel’s DC Universe Classics base with some Flashy additions from the Flash figure but a lot of new sculpting such as the gauntlets, boots, zippers, and helmet! The paint job is also super clean and the colors chosen pop like no other. 

The figure is currently at $260 on eBay with about 10 hours to go. Way too rich for my blood but if I had the money I would drop it in a heartbeat. Excellent custom. You can see and bid on the custom, HERE.

Thanks for reading,

-Flash Johnson

thelegoman:

Barry Allen AKA (The Flash)

Worlds Fastest Man - LEGO

The Fastest Fan Alive’s 500th Post featuring more Heroes and Villains than you can shake a stick at!

So long story short after the DC Universe started collapsing in on itself with the New 52 I was pretty indifferent towards DC Collectibles until they announced the “We Can Be Heroes” 7 pack box set. Featuring the New 52’s Big Seven (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Cyborg) in one fell swoop was a great move as once I had them up on my shelves I couldn’t stop. Next came Darkseid and a couple of Parademons and then I just had to dig my old Teen Titans figures out of storage and then came all of the rest. Fed up with DC’s New 52 for the most part I took what I’ve liked here and there and built my own iconic version of what the DC Universe should be for the most part. I have a bunch of stories swirling about in the back of my head and I will definitely get around to filling these in as I go. I still have quite a few heroes left to acquire for my own personal universe but as you can see I have the basic framework set up as far as teams and alliances go. Some are just placeholders until other figures arrive or are released and others are pretty much final. For example I’m pretty anxious to add Black Manta and Black Adam to my Injustice Gang but they have new figures coming up before the end of the year. No point in going out and buying older versions if newer ones are right around the corner (that is unless I prefer the older versions). 

I actually have not decided on whether Wally West will find his way into my universe yet. The more I think about it the less speedsters I want in my universe. It is a world-breaking power and the less people with access to the enigmatic speed force the better. Not only that but it just sounds better when there are only one Flash and one Kid Flash running around. I thought about possibly giving Wally a different identity altogether but for now he is just not going to be represented. On that same note I still wanted to show you all a glimpse of the classic New Titans together, Miss that team.

I ran into a similar problem when it came to the Justice Society of America, Hawkwoman, and the New Gods. I’m not sure if I’m going to go the Earth 1/Earth 2 route ala current DC or leave the Justice Society firmly in the past as a stepping stone. I’m pretty sure if they release Earth 2 figures I’m going to be getting them so perhaps I will just leave this bit of history hazy for now. Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl however (especially after rewatching Justice League and Justice League Unlimited on Netflix) had to be on one of my League’s. I especially wanted to continue the alien origins she has from the series into my own universe as it gave her awesome depth. I haven’t even begun to think about the New Gods yet except that I need to get some version of them. Thankfully the ones in the comics look to be quite similar to Kirby’s original designs. 

As far as The Teen Titans/Titans go I decided to go a somewhat different route with the Titans. Essentially the only iteration of the Teen Titans in this universe was never really officially called that. Back when each of them was a teen sidekick they would unofficially team up from time to time. Roy Harper was the oldest of the team (and is only a few years younger than Oliver Queen in my universe) and when he left Green Arrow he convinced the rest of the sidekicks/partners to do the same. The history is pretty murky for now but they would eventually officially become known as The Titans.

The Teen Titans are now known as Justice League Academy. The best and brightest of the young superhero community working and learning together. I, like many of you, loved Young Justice and I also liked the idea of a junior Justice League team. I personally think that Teen Titans has too much history behind it and that Young Justice just doesn’t sound as official as what Justice League Academy is going to be. Tim Drake has moved on and semi-graduated to the next step as a senior member of the JLAcademy. Supergirl in this reality is a more mature superhero who has been around as long as Clark and has a similar fanbase and presence. After Clark discovers her “brother”, Kon-El, she is tasked with the role of helping him develop his burgeoning Kryptonian powers. Tim and Supergirl are the more experienced vets keeping the rest of the team in line. 

Batwoman and the Outsiders is my homage to Batman and the Outsiders from my childhood. I recently acquired both Metamorpho and Batwoman and I saw it instantly. Especially since I don’t really see a role for Batwoman anywhere else in my universe. In any case The Outsiders, like they have often been portrayed in the DCU proper, are the more proactive heroes. Seek and destroy pretty much. They go after villains who are actively wanted and bring them to justice as opposed to waiting for some stuff to go down. I kind of dug the partnership of Black Lightning and Blue Devil from DCU Presents so I decided they were going to be teaming together in this covert ops team with Blue Devil providing a lot of the technological skill and know how. This is prior to him becoming an actual demon (a development I’m not sure I’m going to follow). Owen Mercer in this reality isn’t literally Digger Harkness’ son. Digger dated Owen’s mother on and off for years and Owen came to see him as a kind of father figure. Of course Digger showed him quite a few things with a boomerang (usually when Digger was wasted) and when Owen turned 18 (a year or so after Digger walked away for good), Owen decided to try his hand at being a Rogue. After a few weeks of him pulling jobs similar to Digger’s (and driving both The Flash and Digger crazy), Digger finally tracks Owen down and nearly beats the kid to death for impersonating him before realizing who it is. Digger still angry breaks the kid’s throwing arm and sends the kid home to his mother on a train (you didn’t think Digger would spring for a plane ticket would you?). Owen of course swears revenge and ends up joining up with Batwoman and the Outsiders.

I’ve always liked the idea of multiple League teams and with the announcement of Justice League of America I decided to create my own version to tide me over until they release more of the official members (Vibe, Catwoman, Simon Baz). Green Arrow is approached by Waller as the leader and face of the team while Martian Manhunter is one of the heavy hitters and provides intel. Black Canary was placed on the team by the government, Hawkman basically has the JLU background right now of being a former Archaeology professor driven mad by Thanagarian discoveries (resident loose cannon), Dr. Light II (physicist), and Green Lantern John Stewart (Will be explained why Earth has so many eventually).

Now on to the bad guys. While I’ve gotten a lot more than I even thought I would I’m still missing quite a few big bads like Lex Luthor and the Joker. But here are what I have so far: Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, The Shade, Dr. Light, Amazo, Despero, Psycho Pirate, The Black Hand, Anti-Monitor and Superboy Prime, Ocean Master, Sinestro, Deathstroke, Mongul, Darkseid w/ Parademons, Vandal Savage, Circe, Professor Zoom,  Lord Kobra, Deadshot, Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold, and Solomon Grundy.

My apologies for the lack of updates lately. You can now see what I’ve been working on and why I’ve been staggering my posts so much. :) I do want to give a special “Thank You” to all 261 of my followers who check in no matter what. 

-Flash Johnson