You can get involved by giving your feedback to Toy Biz about their popular 8-inch line, Famous Covers. Simply follow the link below to take part in our latest survey. If you'd like to see this line continue for a long time, then be sure your voice is heard.

After this survey has ended, we'll be debuting another survey for Toy Biz: The 1998 Marvel's Most Wanted Survey! You won't want to miss your chance to help decide what kinds of things should and shouldn't get made. It's sure to be interesting!

So tell all your friends to take part in this survey and be on the lookout for our future survey. The more people that respond, the more strongly Toy Biz will know that they have a devoted fan following that really cares about what they do. So don't delay. Take part today!

Check the links below for brand new catalog photos of the latest Star Wars action figures and Epic Force assortments. Included are the Toys R Us excluisve Endor Luke (April) and Endor Leia (May) both with minted coins, Droopy McCool & Barquin D'An at selected Wal-Marts (May), and Chewbacca with Bounty Chain (June).

In the Epic Force line, look for Hoth Leia and a Stormtrooper in July and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Chewbacca in August.

Visit the Hasbro/Kenner web site for all the latest happenings in the world of Star Wars.

You've probably read about the planned boxed set of The Avengers. You might have even read a possible line-up or two. Before you get too excited, remember that this special boxed set isn't due out until sometime in 1999. So, with that in mind, here are all the juicy details.

The set will be centered around the classic Jack Kirby/Stan Lee Avengers. The figures are being designed to try to capture the Kirby style. And while the package art should feature the now infamous Avengers #1 comic cover (shown left), there is a little added bonus for Avengers fans.

The line up includes a Kirby-esque Hulk, Thor, Iron Man in original armor, Ant Man, Wasp and Giant Man. Yes, technically, Ant Man and Giant Man are both Henry Pym. And yes, it's true that Giant Man wasn't technically a part of the Avengers #1. But who could turn down an extra figure? Especially when he's slated to be bigger than all the rest at between 7-8 inches tall! Bonus!

The Iron Man features the original armor and the helmet will be removable to reveal Tony Stark. There is also the possibility that the armor will be vac-metallized. Ant Man and the Wasp will be approximately 2-2 1/2 inches tall and they will have an ant accessory for them to ride on.

If this set is a hit, could we expect to see another boxed set with other favorite Avengers such as Hawkeye, the Vision, or Captain America? You never know. Keep the faith true believers!

Check out all the offerings in store from San Antonio-based Antarctic Press. One of the leaders in the comic and specialty shop action figure genre, Antarctic shows why 1998 just might be their year. With a diversified group of offerings and different styles of action figures, you may see a lot more from this company than just Nuns with attitudes.

Toy Biz has announced that two assortments shown at Toy Fair 98 have been removed from this year's schedule. The X-Men Flying Fighters (which included Cyclops, Maggott, Age of Apocalypse Mr. Sinister, and either a Jean Grey or Wolverine) and Spider-Man Street Warriors (which included two Spider-Man variants, Vermin and Scarecrow) will not be released as planned this year. But take heart Toy Biz fans! This news does not mean that these figures will never be seen again. In fact, there is a good chance we could see these figures in 1999, but perhaps not grouped as they are now.

In addition, Toy Biz will be conducting two separate surveys with us right here on RTM. They are very interested in whether you, the collector fans, might be interested in an assortment like the Flying Fighters as a collector's assortment. So don't count these figures out just yet. You might recall that Jean Grey was initially pulled from the Flying Fighters in favor of a Wolverine variant. Well, the second of these upcoming surveys will give you a chance to voice your opinion about the original line-up and perhaps actually reinstate the Jean Grey figure.

Remember the situation with the old Vulture figure. Many of these figures may indeed find their way into your hands at some point in the future. It is believed that this move will help to create a stronger Toy Biz for the future and that is good for all of us Marvel/Toy Biz fans. Look for the first Toy Biz/RTM survey will focus on the 8-inch figures and the second survey will be the 1998 version of the Marvel's Most Wanted Survey. Look for these both very soon. Let your voice be heard!

Spider-Man Street Warriors

Brought back from the dead ashes of the Mego company, the Micronauts will once again be a toy property, and this time also an animated series. Abrams-Gentile Entertainment is developing both the series and a new Marvel comic, although they may not be completely tied into each other. Unlike the last toy line, the new Micronauts will be patterned on updated designs based on the 80s Marvel comic. These figures should come later this year or early next year from Toymax (the company that makes the popular game Laser Challenge). That means this time around fans will finally get their Bug and Marionette figures. For the full scoop, check out the Comic Book Continuum

I want to take a second to express my personal opinion here. First, my biases: go figure! magazine has been a supportive influence for RTM since last year's Comic-Con in San Diego. They are also a paying advertiser for the RTM site. That being said, I really feel the need to be supportive of projects in this industry that show the promise that go figure! magazine does. With so much backstabbing and pettiness, there is still a collector spirit represented in the print media. go figure! certainly represents that ideal.

If you are only interested in pics of the newest, hottest action figures, then the magazine will surely disappoint you. It has an element of that, to be sure. But that aspect of the magazine is only a fraction of the whole. The magazine has more outright "content" than any other toy-related publication. Some of it is straight journalism, some of it is editorial, and some of it is humor. I spent more time with the latest issue of go figure! in my hands than any other magazine in recent memory. I'm an unabashed fan-boy for the publication.

Sure, there are some things you might want to see done differently with the mag. But I have seen continual improvement with each issue. The current issue contains some great stuff. There is a Puppetmaster feature that has a distinctly video-game-esque quality as you dig through snippets and clues to gather a storyline. The tabloid parody is just drop-dead funny. Not potty-humor, but cross-genre satire.

And the articles are pretty damn good too. The KISS War Machine (which I usually don't even read) is an interesting little exercise in history and never saying never. There is also the addition of Adam Pawlus, Internet Wunderkind, who joined last issue and produces an extremely solid article written in his readily identifiable style.

I'll pop off the editorial soapbox for now. Some of you may feel that this is an unnecessary use of "news" space, but if even just one person gets as much out of this publication as I have, it will be worth the few angry e-mails I'll get. I'm totally biased. I admit it. I can find something to like about nearly every toy mag. But go figure! is something completely different.

Go buy it at your favorite bookstore or ask your comic retailer to order it. You can even find it in some convenience stores, Tower Records and Blockbuster stores. Give it a try.

Torch, one of the most requested figures from fans, stands 7" tall, and comes with a real fabric overcoat and real leather belt. This hot release also comes with a button on the back that activates the bright red light up eyes, and torch arm. A "flame" accessory that attaches to the torch arm also lights up!

Jester, the maniacal master of mayhem, stands 8" tall and comes with a highly detailed cloth outfit, complete with gold trim. Jester's head spins in three different sections to make a completely different face, all of which is accomplished with a wheel mechanism on his back. Jester also comes with a wicked blade scepter to help carry out his deadly deeds.

Full Moon Toys will continue the highly popular "gold" chase figure theme in this release, as in all previous releases. "The gold chase figures have been extremely popular with consumers and dealers alike" commented Rick Phares, Executive Vice President of Full Moon Toys. "I'm really excited about the gold chase versions on this particular release."

The gold version of Torch will include a gold chromed head and helmet, and gold chromed torch arm. Jester will have a gold costume and cap. "Both of these figures really worked into the "gold" theme perfectly. I think everyone will be quite surprised when they see these versions", Phares said.

There will be one gold Torch and one gold Jester in each case of product. Figures are packed ten figures per case (four regular Torch, four regular Jester, one gold Torch, and one gold Jester).

The suggested retail price for each figure is $13.95, and should be available in early July. Figures will be packaged in unique blister cards featuring exclusive, painted artwork, unique to each character. The special edition "gold" chase figures will come with a gold label for easier consumer and dealer identification.

As with all previous Full Moon Toys releases, the figures will not be available in mass merchandisers. Consumers can find the figures at their local comic book and specialty shops.

Target will be receiving a special Spider-Man/Electro twin-pack. The Spidey is said to be the Blue and Red classic version and Electro is also planned to be a classic incarnation. These two twin offerings aren't due until late Summer, early Fall.

And following that, another two-pack will be offered: Mr. Fantastic/Invisible Woman. The specific retailer has yet to be nailed down. This was one of the most popular selections on last year's "Marvel's Most Wanted" survey conducted right here. And speaking of surveys, the next Toy Biz survey to be conducted here will be on the 8" figures. Look for it soon.

White's #41 is a very thick issue this month (or so it seemed to us) and is filled with tons of Beanie Baby, Barbie, and assorted action figure and figurine articles. The action figure cover features Babylon 5 and they give a cursory look at Toy Fair 1998. White's isn't known for its up to date news coverage, but for depth and breadth of articles on a wide variety of collecting subjects, it has no peer. We especially liked the Barbies of the World and SLU Convention Preview articles.

Lee's AFN&TR #66 continues their Toy Fair coverage. Beginning with a nice general summation of what Toy Fair is all about, the magazine covers Toy Fair offerings from Bandai, Kenner, Toy Biz and more with a mix of catalog and showroom photos. The real stand-out feature of this issue is a piece called Poor Jim's Toy Almanac that attempts to give approximate release dates for most major toy releases this year. This feature makes the magazine worth buying all by itself. Of course, many of the dates are bound to change over the course of the year, but at least it puts you in the right ball park.

Rounding out this week's mags is issue #10 of ToyFare. The cover features Resident Evil (as well as the free mini-poster) and the exclusive figure is Lieutentant JG Picard from Tapestry. Look for more Toy Fair coverage along with some sneak peaks at things such as Jay and Silent Bob figures from Graphitti Designs, Kaboom from Awesome, and Star Gods Ra from Antarctic.

RTM plays a couple of roles in this month's ToyFare, although you'd have to be pretty slick to see the connections. In the blurb about the new Alpha Flight line, they mention a survey on the Internet (without mentioning our name) to determine the line-up. Regular readers will know that the survey took place right here. And in a brief retrospective of the Super Powers line, writer Dallas Middaugh contacted us several months ago to ask if he could use our Super Powers Archive as a source for his upcoming article. Anyway, just for clarity, Captain Ray was not part of the Pacipa Super Amigos line. He was part of the Colombian Super Powers line produced by Gulliver Juguetes. We have the whole line and El Capitan Rayo is just plain funky.

Check out your local comic book store or magazine stand for all these fine publications.

In recent months, TRU has seen its market share eroded by large discount retailers such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart who can operate on a lower margin, thus using discounted toys as a loss leader of sorts. The rationale is that consumers may come for the discounted toys and also purchase other items while in the store. Recently, Wal-Mart has boasted a 15.2% market share of the retail toy market. This is uncomfortably close to TRU's 19.1% market share.

Newly appointed TRU CEO Robert Nakasone has mapped out a strategy for the company to regain some of the ground it may have lost. The company plans to eliminate $250 million in inventory this year alone. In addition, they plan to complete a $1 billion stock repurchase program (a process that involves nearly 5% of the outstanding shares of stock). Finally, TRU has revised its plans for new store openings for the year. Currently, there will be 5 new openings instead of the 10-15 previously announced.

What does this mean for the industry and collectors? Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot.

A TRU store manager (who asked not to be identified) said that these changes would affect stores at an individual level over time. He also stated that the impact will be spread across departments so that things like the popular action figure categories might be spared some of the impact of the inventory reduction.

"It's kind of a trickle down system for us. Inventory goes to a central site and is distributed regionally to individual stores. If there is less product in the pipeline, there will ultimately be less product for us to replenish the shelves with."

When asked if we would see bare shelves in the action figure aisle, this manager laughed and replied "Definitely not. It isn't a change of dramatic proportions. What may be affected is if there is a shortpack figure in a particular case. We may not be able to keep the reorders up to a level to meet immediate demand. This happens every time there is a new Star Wars assortment released. If one or two figures are lesser packed or the case is a mix of old and new figures, the new or shortpack figures sell immediately and the rest sell more slowly."

With less inventory, there will ultimately be fewer shortpack figures available at any one given time. However, total orders may eventually even this out if a particular line or assortment sells through particularly well.

"The overall level or number of figures we order might not change at all. It's not like we're going to refuse to carry popular items simply because we have arbitrary inventory limits. It just means we will have to change the way we order and keep stock on hand."

The new inventory policies may also impact manufacturers, some of whom have issued statements regarding the issue to allay the fears of investors.

Ken Price, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Toymax International, stated, "We are aware of the inventory changes implemented by Toys "R" Us and believe they will have no effect on us due to the nature of our products. In fact, we believe that our new and existing product lines are positioned to meet our plan."

Toymax produces the popular Laser Challenge and is reported to have acquired the license to produce Micronauts toys based on the new animated series and comic.

Alan Hassenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro has made more conservative statements regarding the imapct of the new TRU inventory flow policies on his company.

"We have consistently stated that we expect difficult comparisons in the first half of 1998, which is proving to be the case and has been compounded by the actions of Toys R Us," stated Hassenfeld

Hasbro has stated that its first quarter results will fall short of previous expectations. They primarily attribute this result to the changes in the TRU inventory flow procedures and seasonal ordering patterns.

"We believe this retail inventory reduction trend will continue into the second quarter, making the second half of the year, which is already so important, even more significant. However, in the long run, we believe a stronger Toys R Us will be good for our business" said Hassenfeld.

Mattel has also been affected by the changes in TRU policy although how this will specifically impact their year is not yet known. What is known is that there will be an even greater reliance on the already important fourth quarter sales. The fourth quarter is of course when the Christmas holiday purchases are clustered. Both retailers and manufacturers are poised to make this period even more critical with this change in procedures.

Whatever the outcome, these changes will continue to ripple throughout the industry over the coming year. Exactly how this will affect the collector community is unknown. But we will keep you abreast of any further developments.

Solid columns from Fumihiko Akiyama and Brian Doyle help to diversify this issue. Next month promises a return of the "Greatest Figures Never Made" as Tomart's digs up past Toy Fair footage to find those rare gems that never made it to the retail shelves.

Check with your local comic retailer for this latest issue.

"We were unsuccessful in building circulation and advertising to the point where we would have a financially viable publication. Our biggest challenge was trying to unify an audience with diverse interests under the Collecting Toys umbrella. " said publisher Russ Larson.

Larsen is also quoted as saying that the editorial staff of Collecting Toys has been reassigned to other duties within Kalmbach Publishing. He notes that subscribers with outstanding issues due to them should have received a letter already regarding fulfillment of their remaining issues. If you have not received such a letter, you should contact Kalmbach directly.

The end of collecting toys may be indicative of a change in the magazine market. Smaller publications may be forced out as their market shares erode with the proliferation of new magazines. With Beckett's Hot Toys poised to compete with White's for the eclectic collector segment, the magazine market is getting crowded. Only time will tell if the market can support so many diverse magazines.

We want to thank Scott Beatty for clarifying this information and we'd like to apologize for any confusion that our initial, incomplete report may have caused.

Two popular Batman Animated figures are currently out of the case rotations for their respecitve assortments. Harley Quinn, first released nearly a year ago has "finished shipping" according to official Kenner sources. Retailers may have leftover stock that is still en route to store shelves, but for the foreseeable future, this figure is done.

Similarly, Wind Blitz Batgirl has been removed from the DUO Force case in which she originally shipped. No reason was given for the removal of the figure and official Kenner sources indicate that both Batgirl and Harley Quinn have the potential to return at a future time (remember what happened with Bane and Ras Al Ghul before you start hoarding these figures).

In a related report, though unconfirmed by official sources, the Bruce Timm Artwork Archive has reported that the new Crime Fighter Robin from the latest 5" animated line was also pulled from the case assortment. A lack of popularity was cited as the reason for the move. However, our local experience is that Robin is one of the first figures to disappear from store shelves. Again, if this is true, there is always the possibility that the figure will return in later case mixes or future case assortments. Additionally, since this assortment is still relatively new, many retailers may still have stock which contains the Boy Wonder.

And just to nix a persistent rumor that has been filling our e-mail boxes of late, there is no Brown Belt Detective Batman out there. This comes straight from the Batman team at Kenner. A brown belt was discussed at various points in the process but was never put into production. If you find one of these at a show or elsewhere, check carefully for signs of a resealed bubble. It would be an exceedingly easy custom job to simply repaint the belt.

You'll be seeing this line-up reported in a magazine or two pretty soon, so we were given clearance to spill the beans on the upcoming Toy Biz line for Alpha Flight. What you probably won't read about in those print mags is that you, the readers of RTM, picked the line-up. That's right. The winners of the recent Alpha Flight survey are the ones that will be included in the upcoming line for 1999. It was your input that decided the line-up!

And you'll be getting more than just three figures....but only three packages. How can that be you say? Simple. First there is the overall winner, Sasquatch. The big furball squashed his competition to be the most requested character of all the choices. Next came Snowbird who will come (tentatively) with a Puck sidekick. The last pack will contain both Aurora and Northstar as a two-pack for the price of one. These won't be redecos. These are all new sculpts.

So you'll actually get 5 Alpha Flight characters for the price of only three. Not bad if you ask us. Look for these to be available in 1999.

And as a footnote to the Alpha Flight story, we've gotten one reliable report that at least some of the ToyFare exclusive Guardian figures are painted the opposite of what they should be (i.e., the red parts are white and the white parts are red). There is a possibility that all of the figures are painted this way (which would be a shame) but we'll have to wait until more of these show up. if this is true, we're sure it is just a mistake and not some grand plan to exasperate loyal Alpha Flight fans.

The second offering from Playing Mantis is the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. The company intends to try to make this new version very true to the original which included a bendy figure, a motorcycle and a launcher that allowed you to rev up the bike and send it flying. No word on whether there will be a revamped Evel Knievel bendy or whether they will update the figure with a more traditional articulated figure. In any case, fans of the man who tried to jump Snake River Canyon should be pleased with this new development.

And rounding out this blast from the past is the announcement that the Kaleidoscope Entertainment Group is developing a 2-hour animated movie and on-going series based on the Micronauts comic series from Marvel Comics. The project is being produced by Abrams/Gentile Entertainment. Currently, 22 half hour episodes are planned along with the movie all of which will chronicle the Micronauts' adventures in inner space. If the name "Abrams" rings a bell, it's no coincidence. The Abrams in this instance is Marty Abrams, former head of Mego, the company that originally made Micronauts famous in the 70's and early 80's (after importing the brand from the popular Microman series in Asia). Also in development from Abrams/Gentile is a live action series called "Paparazzi Samurai" about a group of celebrity photographers who snap photos of the rich and famous by day and are a crime-fighting team by night.

Could Micronauts action figures be far behind an animated series? There have been rumors that the license for the Micronauts toys has been picked up by such companies as Toy Biz (with the Marvel connection), Kenner, and even the aforementioned Playing Mantis. However, at this point, no company has been formally announced as the license holder for the Micronauts. This doesn't mean there won't be toys. In fact, it's very likely that there will be some offering. However, it is probably not something we would see until well into 1999. We will keep you updated with any further details as we get them.

In any case, it looks like we will be enjoying lots of blasts from the past over the next year or so.