On Saturday, October 8th, I am going to be attending New York Comic Con for the first time. Ever since I became a fan of comic books, I’ve always wanted to attend this event, and get to meet all my favorite comic creators and superhero actors. When I later began collecting Pops, Dorbz and other collectibles, NYCC presented yet another tantalizng feature: the Funko booth and other carriers of awesome merchandise. Over the past week I have been paying close attention to Funko’s 2016 exclusives, and decided to share a few thoughts on some of the items.
The Joker (Batman: The Killing Joke) Pop
Ask any comic book fan, myself included, what their favorite Batman stories are, and The Killing Joke will likely be among their top three. Ever since I read Alan Moore’s seminal one-shot a few years ago, I have been waiting for the Joker’s iconic “vacation costume” to be immortalized in Pop form. While this graphic novel can be controversial, all comic readers still respect its outstanding portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, and the figure definitely lives up to the almost 30-year-old legacy. It’s been heavily rumored that this exclusive will be shared with GameStop. I don’t believe this has been confirmed, but I can hope!
White Lantern Batman Pop
When this item was first announced, many people thought it was a dumb idea since a White Lantern Batman Pop already exists (a Fugitive Toys exclusive). I, however, was thrilled to see this because I think it’s a big improvement on the existing version. The old WL Batman Pop had a very stocky and inanimate stance, while the pose of the new one captures the billowing of Batman’s cape as he surveys Gotham. Brightest Day, the comic book basis of this figure, was a really exciting story and definitely had some great costume designs, so I am really hoping to see this as a shared exclusive.
Kitty Pryde Pop
Marvel’s Merry Mutants, or as they are more commonly called, the X-Men, were the characters that first got me into comics. Two of my favorite comic stories are the Dark Phoenix Saga and Astonishing X-Men, and taking a major role in both of these is Kitty Pryde. Said by Marvel itself to be the greatest X-Man ever, I was relly happy to see Kitty finally joining the Marvel Pop series. The figure seems to use a more modern design of her costume, resembling the version from Astonishing X-Men and capturing the X-Men’s classic color scheme perfectly. One complaint I sometimes have about Pops of female characters is that the hair-piece can look ridiculously huge *coughMargaeryTyrellcough* but this figure definitely doesn’t have that problem. Kitty’s dragon companion Lockheed is included and perfectly designed as well. I’m more excited about this item than any other, and I would order it online even if the price were a little above reasonable.
Harley Quinn with Mallet Dorbz
What can I say? There’s no such thing as too much Harley!
Now that you know what I think of these items, feel free to share your opinions of the NYCC exclusive in the comments. What are you hoping to see as a shared exclusive?
Matt Norris