Issue Number 2 of the new monthly Toy Fare magazine has hit stores. It might be a little late in some shops due to the UPS strike, but it's well worth your trouble to track down a copy. Chock full of fun toy stuff, highlights in this issue include an interview with Mego collector and author John Bonavita, a look at unproduced Toy Biz figures, and a step-by-step look at the making of the 12" Star Wars Collector's Series figures.

And as usual, there is an abundance of humor and pictures of toys. The exclusive figure offered in this issue is Firestar (a swanky Medusa redeco). Now we can all recreate scenes from the Spiderman and His Amazing Friends cartoon!

You get a free Onslaught poster and there is even a contest that pretty reminiscent of our own monthly Figtoon contest (did you check out the new Figtoon ? It's a hoot. Don't cry when you see who we dismembered!). Hey, who could blame them? They know a good idea when they see one.

Recently, many rumors have been swirling around the toy community on the internet, and many of you have e-mailed us wanting answers. Well, here they are: the recent rumors regarding either an animated series or toy line based on "Adventures in the DC Universe" are not true. Kenner has no immediate plans for a general DC line; the upcoming Batman line will most likely just be the Gotham Knights BTAS extension. And for the time being, the only way DC heroes might have figures will be as guest stars in either this line or STAS. Don't look for many, though. Warner Bros. also has no plans at this time for a new animated series, although the idea has been floated by them.

Another bit of false info is that Toy Biz will make a line based on the Marvel Super Heroes game. The rumors regarding upcoming Toy Fare exclusives such as Man-Thing and Citizen V are also wishful thinking. In addition, the rumored Wildstorm crossover line isn't in production. There are some really creative rumors out there. Unfortunately, there isn't much merit to them at this point. We hope that those talented writers are filling out the Official Marvel Toy Biz Survey so that these great ideas can be heard by people who might actually be able to do something about it.

Remember, when reading rumors on pages such as Action Figure Times, that they are sent in by readers (most often without corroboration from official sources). We think they are fun to read, but don't get your hopes up based on rumors like that. You'll frequently be disappointed.

Some of these things may make it into production at a later date, but for now there are no definite plans for any of them.

Here is the the latest offering in Toy Biz's Marvel's Gold Series: Marvel Girl! This 5" figure will feature a cloth skirt with belt and will be strictly limited to 10,000 pieces. The new Marvel Girl prototype shown here is a Space Ninja Deathbird body with a Xena II head (plus a couple of little add ons of course, like the mask and skirt). The final production piece may vary. All in all, we think it's a pretty nifty use of existing parts to make a totally new character!

As with the previous Iron Fist figure, the price will be $10 + $5 shipping & handling. It will be offered in next month's issues of Tomart's AFD and Lee's AFN&TR through a new mailorder company named "NeoGenesis Collectible Creations." Photocopies of the coupon WILL BE accepted, so you won't have to cut up your magazine.

Wal-mart has joined the ranks of stores that have native Toy Biz recycled lines. Following Kay-Bee and their Marvel Universe line, and TRU and Marvel Superheroes, Wal-Mart is stocking Amazing Heroes, a line of reissues that so far consists of a few hard to get figures that haven't been seen for the past few years.

The line-up is: Hydro Armor Iron Man, Bishop, Sabretooth II, FF Human Torch, Apocalypse II, and AOA Weapon X. With the exception of the obligatory useless Wolverine, all of the figures have been absent from shelves for awhile. They appear to come with all of their original paint jobs and accessories, and at $2.50, this line is the cheapest around. This assortment has apparently been concurrently released to Kay-Bee on Marvel Universe cards, also. A second Amazing Heroes assortment has been spotted consisting of Cyclops 2, Thing 2(in Trenchcoat), Mandarin, Ghost Rider, and Iron Man - Stealth Armor.

Paul Dini, producer and writer for the Batman and Superman animated series on the WB network, is in the process of writing a book about the art of BTAS.

It will cover both Fox and WB incarnations and also detail the history of both shows and all the episodes. Of main interest to toy collectors will be the reproductions of all the character model sheets, that can be used to compare Kenner's faithfulness to the concepts in translating them to figures. Knowing Dini's previous exceptional work on the DC shows, this should be a great item for any collection. Look for it in 1998.

With the continuation of the Marvel Universe anthology line, Toy Biz continues to produce some pretty interesting new 10" figures. The next assortment will feature two straight repaints in Space Wolverine in a silver repaint (a la the FAO Dark Phoenix 4- pack) and Bishop in grey outfit (a la the Flashback Bishop). Also included are a 10" version of the Captain Universe Spider-Man, similar to the FAO exclusive 5" version. However, the 10" version will feature the multi-jointed, superposeable body! And to round out the assortment, a totally new character for Toy Biz: A Classic Captain Marvel! Using the Johnny Storm body and an Archangel II head, we get a pretty nifty redeco. Look for this assortment to begin shipping in August. And in further 10" news, you may have already seen the first three 10" two-packs at TRU. Well, be on the lookout for a few more. Next up are Black Costume Spidey vs. Hobgoblin, Unmasked (Peter Parker Head) Spidey vs. Lizard, and Wolverine vs. Sabretooth. These should be shipping now!

But it is indeed true! Here's a peek at a pretty rare variant on the McFarlane Toys Monster Series Hunchback figure. The head on the right saw only a very limited production run. Some reports have the number at 1000 figures issued with this intriguing variant. Apparently, this variant was discussed internally at McFarlane Toys with the intent of making it a chase figure. However, the idea was voted down overall. Unfortunately, word didn't reach the manufacturing plant in Asia before a number of these variant figures made it into Monster Series cases. It's an interesting variant to say the least. The variant head looks more like Guido the Killer Pimp than Quasimodo. Either way, we think it's a pretty scary figure.

In actuality, it is the likeness of McFarlane Model Maker Jim Preziosi. Jim makes the castings for the two-up prototypes. He was also the model for the repaint head inside "No-Body" from Series 7.

Tomart's Action Figure Digest #43 is on the shelves. The upcoming Borg Queen is featured on the cover (and there's more Star Trek inside). Contents include pics of some of the upcoming offerings from Exclusive Toy Products (Gilligan's Island figures without Ginger and Maryann? Have these guys been on a desert island themselves?). Also look for news blurbs from a variety of conventions including G.I. Joe, TransCon (with guest star Marty Abrams of Mego fame), Chicago Comicon and the San Diego ComicCon International. Of course there is also a smattering of new items featured, including the requisite Star Wars section. Lastly, the back cover features the order form for the NeoGenesis Iron Fist figure reported on here several weeks ago. Don't worry, photocopies of the form are acceptable so you won't have to cut up your AFD !

Toy Fare continues to roll out the exclusive Toy Biz figures. This one, Madrox the Multiple Man, will be featured in issue four of the newly launched monthly mag. We like the idea of exclusive figures going with a toy magazine as much as the next guy, but we sure hope this one turns out better than the promo photos. As far as we can tell, Multiple Man is made from a Spiderman body and a Silver Surfer head. An interesting choice to say the least. Of course, we're still partial to our own version of Multiple Man. And maybe if you add the Marvel Super Heroes Punisher's trenchcoat to this figure, it won't be so bad afterall. No word yet as to whether Toy Fare will continue to feature Toy Biz figures exclusively. Many collectors seem to be holding their breath for a Kenner exclusive either from the DC license or the ever-popular Star Wars. Only time will tell if there will be some diversity in these exclusive offerings.

It Ain't No Arkham

As we previously reported, the Previews Exclusive AB&R Rogues Gallery is set to come in some unique packaging. The current issue of Previews brings us views of the packaging as well as some close-ups of the repainted figures. Designed to look like the Gotham City Jail, this fold out box will be home to eight of Batman's greatest, albeit repainted, villains. As we have reported previously, several of the figures are repainted to look more like the animated series redesigns by Bruce Timm. Catwoman is now very sleek in her nearly all black ensemble. Poison Ivy doesn't appear to be much different at all. Perhaps they fixed the tanned skin of the original to something a little more appealing. While this isn't really a playset, surely there are a ton of people out ther just dying to see a really cool Arkham Asylum playset to go with their Bat-Villains, right? Nevertheless, these look like an intriguing set, box and all!

Kenner Recycles More Toys!

If you've been bummed about the demise of GI Joe Extreme or Superman: Man of Steel, then this news might cheer you up slightly.

As seen on the right, the Batman and Robin film playsets were recycled from these two defunct lines. The Ice Fortress of Mr. Freeze was actually GI Joe Extreme's Ice Station Zero, and Mr. Freeze's Cryo-Freeze Chamber was formerly S:MOS Cloning Lab Playset. GI Joe also had a proposed Counter Attack Tech Base (not shown) that might show up in a future line, as might the unproduced S:MOS Metropolis Bank Playset (not shown).

And speaking of Kenner changes, the Jurassic Park figures Roland Tembo and Nick Van Owen are now shipping with new heads that more resemble the actors Pete Postlethwaite and Vince Vaughn, respectively. It is not know if any other JP figures will get the head swap treatment, but we are still awaiting the arrival of the announced Sarah Harding and Malcolm's Daughter figures.

And finally, you can see packaged examples of Total Justice wave 3 and BTAS Duo-Force, including Batgirl, at Joe Leung's Page.

The second wave of figures is being solicited in the August issue of Previews. The three figures in this wave will be Lennier, Marcus Cole, and Vir. These will retail for $27.95 through Previews and should be available in December. While the deal with Toys "R" Us to carry this wave has not been finalized, they should be carrying these figures sometime in 1998, at the regular price of $19.99.

Exclusive Premiere will have a web page up for these figures in October at www.exclusivepremiere.com (and an FAQ on this subject within the next week or so).

BTAS 8-Pack Finally Solicited!

Previews has finally solicited the long awaited 8-pack of BTAS repaints. Most of the color schemes aren't too far off from the originals, and it's a nice way to get some of these hard to find figures at a reasonably cheap price ($60).

If all you are needing is one or two of them, however, it would probably be cheaper to hunt them down at Flea markets, Conventions, or the Internet.

Replicas of classic Beatles toys have been announced by Previews. The classic Corgi Yellow Submarine, plus two new diecast vehicles, the Beatles AEC Roadmaster Bus, and a "Newspaper Taxi" that comes with Lovely Rita, Meter Maid, are now being solicited by Previews for sale in comic shops.

The price being named on these is pretty hefty for a diecast toy ($35 - $65), so you might want to wait until these hits toy stores to pick them up.

go figure! magazine premiered at the San Diego Comic Con. Created and edited by Ryan Brookhart, this mag has some big names helping it get started.

We think that these guys have their hearts in the right place when it comes to toy collecting, and even if you think their first issue may be a little rough you should give them a chance, if for no other reason than to balance out the value oriented mags like Lee's AFNTR.

Contrary to reports published elsewhere, the new Classic X-Men Boxed Set is slated to retail for nearly $50. Previous quotes had priced the set in the $25-$35 range. That estimate is the proposed retailer cost according to Toy Biz sources. Some larger discount chains may be able to bring the set in a bit cheaper with large volume. Still not all that bad for a nicely packaged window-box set of five figures.

And as a pleasant surprise, plans are in the works for another boxed set in this same vein. Sources inside Toy Biz state that plans are already underway to develop a boxed set of X-Men figures based on the team circa Giant Size X-Men #1 and Uncanny X-Men #94. Banshee, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Thunderbird, and Sunfire in their original costumes are all strong possibilities. What? No Wolverine you say? That's right! Everyone's favorite Cannuck may sit this set out to allow one of the other characters to have a shot at figural fame. Only time will tell if this decision holds. We hope to have more news by Toy Fair 1998.

You can make Hercules part of your well-balanced breakfast. Cap'n Crunch is offering a trio of figures from Disney's Hercules. These include a full size Hercules figure (with rock throwing action) along with PVC size figures of Pain and Panic.

Getting these figures ain't cheap. You'll have to plow through two boxes of Cap'n Crunch (we recommend the Crunchberry) to obtain two proofs of purchase. You'll also have to shell out $4.99 (the box states that it's a $9.99 value). The offer is good through May of 1998. If you need more info, grab a specially marked box or you can call the Quaker Promotional Products Line at 1-800-371-2755.

The latest issue of White's Guide to Collecting Figures contains a cryptic and somewhat perplexing proposal. The promotion revolves around a fictional planet called White's World. As part of the launch of this promotion, readers are encouraged to participate in a survey of the 100 most popular personalities (real and fictional) on Earth. Voting on the 300+ nominations will cost you 79 cents per minute.

You're probably asking yourself, "What's the pay off?" Well, publisher Ernie White suggests that the winners of the poll will be made into one enormous set of action figure collectibles. It is also suggested that future surveys will be completed to gauge collector interest in various products. If there is enough interest, White states that the collectible will most likely be made. No word on how much interest would be enough to push a product into production. We'll be watching for developments on this strange promotion. White's Guide #32 is on the shelves now.

A few new Star Wars figures were unveiled at the SDCC. The mysterious B-Omarr Monk was one of many Star Wars toys shown at the con.

Toy Biz leaps into the movie tie-in market with these amazingly nice figures for Wesley Snipes' upcoming Blade, The Vampire Hunter film.

The first assortment will have Two Blade figures, Deacon Frost (played by Stephen Dorff in the film), and Whisper (played by Kris Kristofferson). The likenesses and sculpting are so good, it makes you wonder what Toy Biz would have done with properties like Congo and Waterworld.

Does this look like Wesley Snipes, or what?

Shown at the Toy Biz booth were figures scheduled for fall release, including Spider Force and Web Wars, Onslaught assortment, Avengers, and the Hulk Outcasts and Transformations assortments.

Interestingly, Toy Biz considers the two Hulk assortment s to be completely separate lines, much like BTAS and LODK at Kenner. Maestro's shield is heavily cracked, by the way, so hopes of using it for Captain America are just as shattered.

End of the Legendary Journey

Batman fans should be happy this Autumn. Legends of Batman will add four new villains, including an awesome Man-Bat, an amazingly detailed Penguin, Catwoman with armor, and Joker with a fake outer body.
Two assortments will be released: #1 will have a Batman, a Robin, Joker, and Catwoman. #2 will have two Batmen, Man-Bat, and Penguin.

Tie-in figures for the new Alien film will hit shelves this Fall from Kenner.

Mike Allred's Madman is the latest independent figure to be put into production

Made by Graphitti Designs, this highly detailed figure is roughly 6", and based on the Randy Bowen cold cast statue. He will come with a removable head w/goggles and helmet, gun and holster, and other neat-o accessories.
Other Graphitti figures announced include Matt Wagner's Grendel and Mage characters.

The Fire/Ice two-packs should already be hitting Toys R Us shelves. The Human Torch is a repainted FF series 4 figure, with a transluccent lower half. The Iceman is the AOA version.

On the right is a sample Jean Grey showing the new Onslaught packaging.