What do you get when you combine the inmates of the Art Asylum with the lords of comic mayhem at Chaos! Comics, throw in a dash of Eternal Toys and a pinch of Diamond Select Toys? You get the Dark Alliance action figures, and the second series of these figures is set to hit a comics shop near you in mid-December. The RTM Spotlight is shining on this set of four figures to give you a taste a few weeks before they hit your local stores so you can reserve a set if they tickle your taste buds!

The first set of figures included Lucifer, Purgatori, Chastity and Jade. The follow-up has a similar composition - three females and one large male figure: for series two there is Lady Death, Vandala, Oblivia and Cremator. All of these figures are priced around $13-15 each and should be available at your local comics retailer. (Unpainted versions will be in stores in January 2002.)

The figures are based on a 7" scale with the shortest (Oblivia) being 6" tall and the tallest (Cremator) at close to 8". Lady Death and Vandala are 7-1/2" and 7" repectively. They all come blister carded with large bubbles that really show off the figures and their accessories.

Along with the four figures examined here, there is a chase figure of Lady Death packed in the cases. The chase figure is Lady Death Alive, and she is distributed randomly in one out of every three sets. Cases containing 1 Lady Death Alive, 2 regular Lady Death, 3 Cremator, 3 Oblivia, and 3 Vandala figures are available from the Chaos! Comics web store. They also have some pictures up of Lady Death Alive: she has blonde rooted hair (as opposed to white) and she has a flesh tone rather than the pale white of the regular Lady Death.

Click on a picture to see more pictures of that action figure.

Oblivia is a latina vampire gang member who lists tattoos and shooting as some her favorite hobbies. She is the shortest and least articulated of the set, being just 6" tall. She has an articulated neck, wrists, elbows, thighs and shoulders. She's the only figure in this set that lacks ball-jointed shoulders and her hair limits the movement of the neck twist. She comes with two pistols, which fit very well into her hands. She also has three tattoos - a star around her navel, a teardrop under the left eye and 'LA RAZA' on her back. She also has a chin stud and wears suspenders (since her pants are a little too big). There is a lot of detail work built into the deco of this figure, and as you can see in the pictures on the page linked to this they were executed well. The earlier prototype for this figure had a solid colored shirt, but stripes have been added to this version.

Vandala is the last living Valkyrie who likes to fight evil as she racks up frequent flyer miles. This figure is around 7" tall and she has ball-jointed shoulders and articulated elbows, wrists, knees, thighs and neck. She also has a pair of poseable wings which are bendable and can be posed on several positions, though she can't stand very well in some of these due to the weight of the wings and her stance. The smaller wings on her helmet are made of a softer plastic material, as is the braid of blonde hair down her back. She comes with a sword, scabbard and an axe. The right hand is closed (i.e. the thumb and index finger are joined) so the sword can only be held in the left hand, while the axe may be held in either hand. The sword fits well into the scabbard, but the scabbard doesn't attach to the figure anywhere. Vandala's stance and wings make it difficult for her to stand up - a display stand would have been a good addition to this figure.

Lady Death is your basic ravishing goddess who happens to be dead, though death could have chosen a lot worse recruiters! She's been a staple of the legion of anatomically improbable women in the comics and has also been cast in plastic several times (the Moore Action Collectibles figure comes to mind). She is 7-1/2" tall (not counting the headdress which makes her an even 8") and has ball-jointed shoulders and an articulated neck, elbows, wrists, knees and thighs. She also has rooted white hair and a large cape made of softer plastic (but it isn't removable). She comes with a sword and a large scythe. She has sculpted earrings with small skulls and her sword has a very ornate handle as well as a serrated blade. She can hold either weapon in either hand and she seems to be pretty stable standing up despite her high heels.

Cremator is hell's guardian, though rumor has it he might be interested in airport security now that they are Federal jobs. While you may want to update your resume in case he does switch jobs, he's certainly well equipped to handle his job. At 8" tall (and about as wide) he's far and away the biggest of this set, and the most articulated. He has ball-jointed shoulders and thighs, articulated elbows, wrists, waist, knees and ankles. The elbow and knee has spiked plates over then that hide the articulation a little. His neck doesn't seem to twist, though it may have to do with that lock hanging around it, though they neglected to include a key. However, that key is about all he doesn't come with, and the collection of weapons here would make a nice series from the Franklin Mint. He comes with a shield that has a strap that can be used to attach it to either arm, a large spear (about 10" in length), a flail with a spiked skull on it and a real metal chain, and a large axe. He can hold each of these accessories, but since both hands are 'closed' it may take some work to get them into his hands (as the fit is very tight). He also comes with a bunch of arrows in various sizes and bends that fit into holes in his back, just to show you what a bad day he's had. He has arrow holes in his back, his legs are cut up and he is in desperate need of some tooth whitening - I guess he doesn't have a good dental plan.