C2E2 is Chicago's premiere Comic and Entertainment Expo - and our editor had the opportunity to capture the goings-on, specifically he got a viewing into the upcoming offerings of Diamond Select Toys! Marvel was there, as was Image and Valiant and evidentally a whole lotta people. The event itself was up in numbers with a 12% increase in attendance. We'd like to once again thank DST for being one of the truly cool sponsors of our recent big mystery box contest, and note that we have recently featured them in our recent Monday Mini Madness columns well as a feature this week that will take a birdseye look from our weekly The Marvel Select Minute column (watch for it later today!). This was the expo's fifth year running - and included luminaries from all fields of acting, writing and so much more (folks from: Walking Dead, Arrow and Game of Thrones were there - CM Punk as well as Silent Bob and Jay were there!). Let's have a look at what Dan discovered on his trip to the windy city of Al Capone and deep dish pizza pie!
While I was at C2E2 this past weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with Zach Oat, Marketing Supervisor for Diamond Select Toys, about some of their new and upcoming releases. They have quite a few new lines coming out later this year.
They have a new line of DC Animated Busts that are scheduled to come out in late Summer or early Fall of 2015. In addition they have new products from their vinyl bank line, as well as a femme fatale PVC statue line. Diamond Select Toys hopes to solicit a new product every month from one of those 3 lines.
There is also a line of busts based on the 1966 Batman TV show. From that line there is a Batman Batusi bust which will be solicited soon, and a Catwoman bust which is expected to be released this fall. The Catwoman bust just started being solicited. There is also a Mr. Freeze and a Penguin bust but the timeframe for those is not known as of yet.
Diamond Select also got a license for products from the Gotham TV show, and from that show they have 2 lines: Minimates and PVC figures with bases. The PVC line just started being solicited, and they hope to have it out in time for the Fall premier. The Minimates line has not been solicited yet.
One of my personal favorite movies (Nightmare Before Christmas) is getting some new figures from 3 separate lines. A PVC line which will consist 3 new figures complete with a diorama base, the 3 figures are Oogie Boogie, Jack Skellington and Sally. There is also a Minimates line which consists of 10 figures, and a separate line with 2 large dolls (Jack and Sally). All the lines are expected to be out around Halloween.
What is sure to be one of the biggest (if not the biggest movie of the year) has new Marvel Select figures coming. Yep, Avengers: Age of Ultron is getting new Hulk, Black Widow and Thor figures. The Hulk and Thor should be out In May and the Black Widow is scheduled for June. In addition there are also new Marvel Select figures including Antman (should come out around the movie release date in mid-July). Dr. Strange and a Zombie Sabertooth also have Marvel Select figures coming soon.
On the Minimates side of Marvel figures, there are new lines for Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Antman both of which are coming soon, in addition there are new set of Minimates for both The Brotherhood (from X-Men comic series) and Spider-Man villains line coming soon.
One their new vinyl banks, is a Goblin Pathfinder holding a large 20-sided die. I personally like the look of this one. Ok lets talk more about some of their other Minimates lines, there are new Sin City, Pulp Fiction, Valiant Comics and Kill Bill Minimates coming this Summer, all of which I like and will probably buy. In addition there are new lines based on both the Alien movies and the Predator movies. The Alien line has not been solicited yet, but the plan is for them to be released in December. The Predator line was just solicited and should be out this fall.
For those of you that remember the TV show from the 1960's, Lost in Space, there is a new B9 Robot figure coming soon. But this figure is not one that just sits there and doesn't do anything...no sir! This one actually lights up AND can say over 12 lines from the TV show. There is also a Jupiter 2 (also from the Lost in Space TV show) bottle opener coming soon.
How many of you play (or have played) Plants vs Zombies? Well coming this Summer there is a re-release of some of their figures, but this time they will come with additional accesories. There is also a Yeti figure coming this Fall from their Plants vs Zombies line. On the classic Universal Monsters side, there is a set of 3 black & white figures coming this Halloween. In addition there are also new figures from the Universal Monsters line coming every Halloween and this Halloween the 2 figures scheduled are The Mummy, and The Wolfman. They also created a new character for this line called Lucy. She will come with interchangeable heads, and removable weaponry and is due out this Halloween as well.
From Tarot Comics, Diamond Select is bringing you 3 new PVC statues from their Femme Fatale line. The 3 are Raven Hex, Cassie Hack and Tarot. The Cassie Hack should be released in the Fall as it's already been solicited. The Raven and Tarot ae planned for a Fall release as well, but as of this writing they have not been solicited yet.
Diamond Select also has 3 ships from Star Trek, an Enterprise A-class ship which is out now, a re-release of the NX-01, and a brand new one based on the Romulan Bird-of-Prey. I got to look at all 3 close up, and I have to say they look gorgeous.
Coming this Fall are some new resin banks, a Worf (from Star Trek: The Next Generation), a Predator one as well as ones based on the Godzilla 1974 version, and Rodan. For your kitchen Diamond Select has some new products based on 2 different movie lines. From the Alien movie there is an Alien Queen bottle opener (solicited) and an Alien cookie jar (which has not been solicited yet.) They also have a pizza cutter based on Godzilla that should be out very soon.
Kevin Smith's View Askew Universe has quite a lot of stuff coming soon from Diamond Select. Among them are Clerks figures, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back glass tumblers, a 2-pack of Jay & Silent Bob zombie Minimate set, a Comic Book Men Minimate set and Jay & Silent Bob ceramic mugs. Hitting stores today is this Buddy Christ plush doll (also from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back).
Now on to the line of products from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There is a 4-pack set of Minimates, of everyone's favorite heroes in a half-shell coming this Summer. In addition there are 2 resin banks coming, a Shredder bank which is due out this Summer, and a Footbot bank due out this fall.
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