Raving Toy Maniac

March 2012 - You saw a sneak peek of them at last month's New York Toy Fair, but now the barn doors have been opened wide! Diamond Comics Distributors has opened up pre-orders for Diamond Select Toys' first wave of Minimates based on the comic book The Walking Dead. Standing 2 inches tall, each 2-inch mini-figure sports 14 points of articulation and comes with interchangeable parts and accessories, including weapons for the human characters and body parts for the zombies. The first assortment of two-packs, due at comic shops and specialty stores in September, includes:

- Rick with Roamer Zombie
- Herd Zombie Two-Pack
- Dale with Roamer Zombie
- Winter Coat Dale with Roamer Zombie (Rare variant)

Pre-order the specialty wave at your local comic shop, specialty store or your favorite online retailer. And keep a sharp lookout for pictures of the Toys "R" Us-exclusive assortment, which should hit stores around the same time!

March 2012 - You saw them at NY Toy Fair, but here are brand-new photos of the Hulk and Hawkeye from Diamond Select Toys' Marvel Select action figure line! Based on Marvel's Avengers movie, the figures were designed by Gentle Giant Studios from the likenesses of Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo as they appear in the film. Both are in Marvel Select's standard 7-inch scale, which places Hawkeye around 7 inches tall and Hulk around 9 inches tall. Each figure has 16 points of articulation for a full range of movement, and Hawkeye comes with a New York City battlefield display base, which connects with the base of the Avengers' mystery foe to form a diorama. Hulk and Hawkeye (and the mystery foe) should reach comic shops and specialty stores in May, just after the movie hits U.S. theaters.

DST Announces Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Photo Contest! Minimates... Fight!

March 2012 - The second wave of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates minifigures is in stores now, and they're spoiling for a fight! Spider-Man, Chris Redfield, Wolverine, Viewtiful Joe, Crimson Viper, Super Skrull, Jill Valentine and Storm have joined Series 1 on the pegs, which means there are now 24 Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates in all! Even though they're only 2 inches tall, Minimates pack enough articulation, accessories and interchangeable parts to create some crazy fight scenes, so Diamond Select Toys is issuing a challenge -- stage a fight scene between two or more Marvel vs. Capcom Minimates and send us a picture of it! The winner will get a set of Minimates from every Minimates line we make, plus some rare MvC3 prizes!

Rules:

Universal Monsters Minimates Series 3 Scares Up Some New Monsters!

March 2012 - As Diamond Select enters its third year of making officially licensed Universal Monsters toys, they're expanding their Minimates mini-figure line to include a new monster, as well as resurrecting a monster from the vault!

The first specialty-exclusive 4-pack due out this fall is based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Universal's first film adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, released in 1925. It starred Lon Chaney as the abused bellringer Quasimodo, a mute, half-deaf hunchback who lives in the famed Paris cathedral. In the film, Quasimodo is coerced into kidnapping the beggar Esmeralda, which runs him afoul of the smitten Captain Phoebus. That set's characters include Quasimodo, Phoebus and the set-exclusive Esmeralda and "King of Fools" Quasimodo.

March 2012 - The new wave of Minimates mini-figures based on the hit video game Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is in stores now, and they look amazing! Diamond Select Toys wanted to take their product for a test-run, so they threw the entire specialty wave's line-up into the ring one two-pack at a time and took pictures of the fighters facing off. (They even threw in a couple from Wave 1 for good measure.) Each 2-inch mini-figure comes with a display base, and most come with a bunch of additional accessories, so check out the gallery here!

http://www.artasylum.com/gallery/marvel-vs-capcom-series-2/

MvC3 Minimates Series 2 is available in comic shops and specialty stores now -- to find your nearest comic shop, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com! And be on the lookout for more exclusive MvC3 figures coming soon to Toys "R" Us!

Presenting the Winners in DST's Marvel Select Colossus Photo Contest!

March 2012 - Congratulations to everyone who entered Diamond Select Toys' Colossal Marvel Select Photo Contest! While only four winners were chosen, DST received almost 30 photos of the Marvel Select Colossus figure, each one better than the last! You'd think that so many pictures of the same steel mutant would get repetitive after awhile, but the sheer variety of backgrounds and displays and lighting choices made each new entry a wonder to behold. Here are the winners!

The first runner-up was Alexander Villamor Diaz, who shot Colossus sizing up Juggernaut for a game of one-on-one. Colossus has even taken his shirt off for it! Juggernaut was a frequent player in these photos, but DST loved the angle and the drama created by the piece... plus the fact that the rubble surrounding Colossus all came from other Marvel Select display bases!

Avengers Villain Ultron Coming to DST's Marvel Select Line

March 2012 - It's a fact that Diamond Select's good friends over at Gentle Giant have been dying to design an Ultron action figure for them for close to two years now. Since the character has always been an awesome-looking villain, DST has been willing to add it to the line, but they could never find the right place for it in their schedule. Well, with everyone talking about the Avengers' big movie, DST is giving Gentle Giant the opportunity to bring the Avengers' big bad to life this August. With Jason Wires behind the paintbrush, they're sure you'll be pleased with the outcome… although Ant-Man and the Wasp clearly aren't, judging by the 7-inch Ultron's detailed display base.

Pre-order Ultron today at your local comic shop or your favorite online retailer; to find your nearest comic shop, visit comicshoplocator.com!

Colossus Photo Contest Prizes Revealed!

March 2012 - The full prize packages have been revealed for the Colossus Photo Contest happening on Diamond Select Toys' Facebook page! Only a few days remain to take your picture of the new Marvel Select Colossus figure and maybe win a slew of Marvel Select X-Men figures!

Grand prize:
- Jean Grey and Rachel Summers Marvel Girl test shots with gates
- Cyclops (X-Factor variant)
- Magneto (unmasked variant)
- Deadpool (unmasked variant)
- Sabretooth (standard version)
- Gambit (long-haired variant)
- Juggernaut (unmasked variant)

Two runners-up will also be chosen to receive individual Marvel Select X-Men figures:
- Magneto (standard version)
- Gambit (standard version)

The Rules:

March 2012 - The year 2012 may be humanity's last, so why not stop by your local comic shop and pick up your own harbinger of doom? The light-up Ghostbusters Terror Dog Statue hits comic shops today, along with Marvel Minimates Wave 43, focusing on the landmark Spider-Man storyline "The Death of Jean DeWolff," and the Marvel Select Punisher figure! They're only available in comic shops and specialty stores, so read more below, then find your nearest comic shop at comicshoplocator.com!

Ghostbusters: Terror Dog Light-Up Mini-Statue

Amazing Spider-Man Minimates Swing Into Action this Summer!

March 2012 - While one high-profile superhero movie is hogging all the attention right now, another one is waiting in the wings, ready to swoop into the spotlight once it has the summer all to itself. That movie is The Amazing Spider-Man, and it looks like it's going to take the Spider-Man film franchise to a whole new level of action and excitement! Plus, the movie is going to be getting some of Diamond Select's best Minimates mini-figures yet!

Currently celebrating their 10th anniversary, Minimates are 2-inch mini-figures that feature 14 points of articulation as well as a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. Hitting in June, the Amazing Spider-Man assortment will be shared between Toys "R" Us and specialty stores (the 46th Marvel wave to be sold at specialty!), with each outlet getting its own exclusive Minimates!

Toys "R" Us will get: