Raving Toy Maniac

A NEW ERA OF HALO® COMICS BEGINS AT DARK HORSE!

One of the most iconic video game franchises in history comes to the number-one publisher of licensed comics!

CHICAGO, IL, APRIL 26 – Dark Horse continues in the tradition of bringing only the biggest and best characters and story lines to comics with the announcement of the Halo: Initiation miniseries, launching in August! This exciting new miniseries will be written by Halo 4 writer and comics veteran Brian Reed, with art by Marco Castiello (Secret Invasion: Front Line, Star Wars: Purge)!

Before she was a supersoldier defending humanity as part of the Spartan-IV program, Sarah Palmer was an ODST - Orbital Drop Shock Trooper - carrying out the most dangerous missions behind enemy lines! See how she became the first Spartan-IV commander in this must-read series for fans of Halo 4 and the Halo franchise!

Utinni! Exclusive Star Wars Jawa Bank Offered at C2E2 This Weekend!

April 2013 - Think you've gotten all of the surprising Star Wars news you can handle this year? Well brace yourself for more! Diamond Select Toys will offer an exclusive variant of their vinyl Jawa bank at C2E2, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, this weekend! That's right, only 250 have been made, and they're all in Chicago right now!

The variants which costs $22, depicts the 1/4 scale Jawa holding an ion blaster, instead of the regular edition's restraining bolt caller. As used by the Jawas in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the ionization blaster fires a bolt that disrupted electrical systems, temporarily shutting down droids which they would then claim under Tatooine salvage laws.

Only 250 of this vinyl bank were made, so get to C2E2 ASAP, or find someone who's already there to pick one up for you!

April 26, 2013 - Listed below are the toy (and child-related) recalls from this week; these links go to the official announcements on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.

- 3T Design Recalls Cervélo Bicycles with Aura Pro Handlebars Due to Risk of Injury

- The Land of Nod Recalls Plush Dollies Due to Choking Hazard

- Children's Apparel Network Recalls Girl's Clothing Sets; Waist Belt Poses Risk of Entrapment

- Reed and Barton Recalls Gingham Bunny Forks and Spoons for Babies Due to Choking and Ingestion Hazards

April 26, 2013 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Encore: #23 Fortress Maximus - In Stock Now - $329.99
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11575&mode=re...

Figuarts Zero - Sigma Action Figure (Tamashii Web Exclusive)
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BAN15080&mode=re...

New Japanese Exclusives - Bandai & More
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/list.aspx?list=12627

Sideshow Darth Malgus 12" Figure
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SSC11202&mode=re...

Real Masterpiece 1/6 Michael Jordan - Series 01 - #23 Road Edition - Red Jersey - UPDATED IMAGES
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=ENB10065&mode=re...

Mass Effect 3 Geth Pulse Rifle Full Scale Replica (LE 500)
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TRF10013&mode=re...

Resident Evil 6: Chris Redfield Figure - Capcom

April 2013 - Funko has announced four 7-inch plushies based on The Walking Dead.

Expect to see these cuddly versions of Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes, Bicycle Girl, and Well Zombie in stores around July 1st.

New ThunderCats Get New Minimates in the Thundercats Ho! Box Set!

April 2013 - Fan reaction to Icon Heroes' line of Classic ThunderCats Minimates has been phenomenal, and Art Asylum has been putting everything they have into their designs for the two-inch mini-figure line. Now, they've put together a brand-new box set based on the TV-movie ThunderCats Ho!, and Icon Heroes is making this set more widely available than ever!

Featuring "new" ThunderCats Bengali, Lynx-O, Pumyra and Ratar-O, as well as a non-poseable minifigure of the Berbil named Ro-Bear Bert, this box set is available to all comic shops and specialty store retailers through Diamond Comic Distributors' Previews catalog. Now available for pre-order, the set will ship in the fall.

DARK HORSE DIGITAL HITS TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

To celebrate, Dark Horse proudly welcomes Dynamite Entertainment comics to its digital store!

APRIL 24, 2013, MILWAUKIE, OR - Dark Horse Digital reaches a new landmark, turning two years old this coming weekend. To thank its loyal fans, Dark Horse announces two special anniversary promotions, as well as huge news that will change the digital-comics publishing landscape forever.

Dynamite Entertainment has inked a deal to include its comics digitally through the Dark Horse Digital store and apps. Thirty single issues and more than twenty collections are available for purchase today! New titles will be added weekly, with all upcoming Dynamite releases available digitally the same day as print.

"We've been looking for ways to expand our digital presence, and this is our first step to building an even more robust library of digital comics," said Dark Horse President Mike Richardson.

April 24, 2013 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

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NEW PRE-ORDERS
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REAL MASTERPIECE 1/6 SCALE MICHAEL JORDAN #23 ROAD EDITION - RED JERSEY
Enterbay has announced a second version of their Michael Jordan Real Masterpiece figure. This one wears #23 and is dressed in his red Road uniform. It comes with multiple hands, multiple pairs of Air Jordan shoes, a basketball and more. It is listed at $259.99.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=ENB10065&mode=re...

MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75" 2013 SERIES 01 - CASE, SET

April 22, 2013 - The second day of CustomCon 34 is now online!

The Day Two galleries include:

• Doctor Who Minimates
• HBO Series "Game of Thrones" – Group 3
• Marvel Legends 2-packs
• Marvel Legends Crime
• Marvel Legends Weapon Pack
• Return of the New Gods

Marvel, Domo, and Expendables Bottle Openers Coming this Summer from DST

April 2013 - This summer, chances are you may find yourself with a bottle that needs opening. So why not do it in style? Diamond Select Toys has four new solid metal bottle openers coming out this summer -- Galactus, Domo, the Punisher Logo and the Expendables Logo -- and each has the potential to make you the coolest person on the beach. Check out the new packaging shots of all four, and pre-order at your local comic shop, or your favorite online retailer!