5 Reasons to be Excited for Mondo's TMNT

In case my post last week didn't make it obvious - I'm ridiculously excited for Mondo's upcoming 1/6 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line!  I've never bought anything from Mondo before but I've been a Turtles fan nearly as long as I can remember.  I was TMNT crazy as a kid but it was discovering the original Eastman and Laird comics in my teens that hooked me for life and I'm so glad it's that version of the Turtles that's serving as the primary inspiration for Mondo's line.  I literally can't stop thinking about these awesome figures and the massive potential this line has!

If you're a TMNT fan like me there's so many reasons to be excited for this line;

1) They look like they stepped right off the comic book page. Seriously they look absolutely perfect.  And as an added bonus they're based on Eastman and Laird's later work together.  NECA's brilliant but short lived 6" line was based on their first appearance but it was around issue 4 before they really refined the look of the characters, so even if you have the NECA figures there'll be more than just a scale difference as both looks are unique.

2) The selection of accessories is fantastic.  Whilst most companies would likely have been content to give the Turtles their signature weapons and call it a day but Mondo went back to the source material and added plenty of extras from Triceraton blasters to Mikey's Orphan Alien.  And like Turtles themselves the extras look like they just stepped right from the comics.  Just check out the pre-mutated Splinter that comes with Leo - posed perfectly like his comic book counterpart!

3) Mondo's planning for success.  TMNT fans are used to their collector's lines not taking off.  Both NECA's comic based line and Playmates' own Classics line never made it past the Turtles and 2 other characters.  Neither of them even released Shredder despite plans for him to be in both lines before they were cancelled.  At SDCC Mondo revealed they hope to include Shredder, a Foot Soldier and fan favourite Casey Jones in the second wave if the first wave sold well.  Judging by how things went last week I'd say we've a good chance of Mondo going ahead with their plans!  But before that though, Mondo will be releasing a 2-Pack of Mousers sometime after Raphael (maybe as a wave 1.5 to tide us over between the main waves?)

4) They're drawing influence from all sources.  Whilst the main influence for the Turtles is the comics Mondo are also taking inspiration from the cartoons (the alternate heads with the colour masks) and Playmates original toylike (the varied skin tones) to create the ultimate versions of these characters.  Which is good, at these prices you don't want a lot of variants!

5) The sky's the limit.  Whilst the first figures are comic influence Mondo aren't limited to just Mirage comic characters and they're confirmed that characters like Bebop and Rocksteady are available to them even if they aren't planned at the moment, so this really could be the ultimate Ninja Turtles line!

Mondo's TMNT On Sale Today!

Well that title is actually a little misleading as, whilst the regular edition is still on sale, the exclusive edition and the exclusive subscription are already sold out!  In fact the subscription sold out in less than five minutes!

I've been looking forward to these since they were revealed at this year's SDCC so I literally spent an hour when I got in from work today hitting refresh on Mondo's site until they went on sale (and that's on top of the phone battery I completely drained checking throughout the day).  I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky 200 to snag the exclusive subscription so I don't have to work about the random sale times for Don, Mikey and Raph over the next 3 months.

This is my first purchase from Mondo and I couldn't be happier with the way they look.  The sculpts look like they literally walked off the pages of the original Eastman and Laird comics.  Ok, Raph could be a little less bright, but I get that they were going for the Playmates colour scheme from the original toys and that's kinda cool.  The attention to detail on these looks amazing with accessories, like the pre-mutated Splinter and the exclusive Shredder's gauntlet, taken right out of those early comics.

I'll be honest, given the current state of 1/6 scale pricing, and Mondo's pricing of their limited edition posters/screen prints, I was worried I'd be priced out of this line but happily these came in at a relatively reasonable (for 1/6 scale) $149.99.  The exclusive edition runs $10 more but one of the perks of the subscription is $10 off per figure making the exclusive the same price as the standard edition.  The biggest shocker for me was the price of international postage - $63.60 to the UK.  Given my recent Sideshow orders have all been around the $40 mark this seems a bit high.  I'll definitely be interested to see what Sideshow sells the regular editions of these figures for in the future as cheaper postage and their Flexpay option (instead of Mondo's pay in full at time of order) may tempt me to go with Sideshow if the line continues past the four Turtles.  That said, the $40 saving on the exclusive editions offsets half of the extra postage cost and the additional bonus of an exclusive Mondo print is likely worth well more than the other half and that's before any potential mark up Sideshow may add to the figure so it's not really as bad as it first appears.  I just need to take it a figure at a time and try not to think about the total :o)

I really hope this line does continue past the four Turtles.  I have never gone "all in" on a 1/6 scale line due to cost and space but if the final figures look as good as the images released so far and Mondo can keep up this level of quality and detail going forward then I may just be tempted to do it for this line.  I'd love to see them tackle Shredder, Splinter, April and Casey next, maybe even a Triceraton!  I'd even be up for Mondo's take on non-comic characters further down the line (Bebop and Rocksteady spring to mind but there's plenty more).

Right now I just happy that I was lucky enough to snag one of the subscriptions!  Leo's scheduled to ship Q2 next year and I'm looking forward to it already!!

Friday Highlights at SDCC

There weren't many panels that caught my eye on yesterday's schedule but today is a totally different story!  There's about 20 panels I can't wait to hear all about later today ranging from comics to TV to film.  Here's my top 5;

Rey, Finn and BB-8 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Lucasfilm

There's no doubt this is number 1!  Even if there isn't a trailer there's still plenty they could reveal at this panel.  Personally I'm praying for a first look at Luke and Leia in The Force Awakens!  Plus you just know there's going to be some teases about the upcoming Anthology films Rogue One and Han Solo.  Whatever they do show is going to have to be big to beat the Han Solo announcement they made on Wednesday so I'm confident Lucasfilm must have something pretty special up their sleeve for this one!

Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I love this show!  This panel should give a look at what's coming up in the rest of season 3 and some teases at what to expect in season 4.  With the Kraang already defeated and talk of Shredder maybe being defeated this season as well, I intrigued as to where they plan to take the show next season so this panel is definitely one to look forward to!

Superman by John Romita Jr.

DC Comics Superman Panel
The Superman comics are probably the best they've been since the New 52 re-launch right now.  We know from the solicitations that the current Truth arc ends in September so I'm looking forward to hearing what's coming next direct from the creative teams.  I'm actually hoping that the secret stays revealed, at least for a while, as it offers so much story potential.  Yang's first issue had a strong Daily Planet focus so I'm hoping that will continue when (if) the status quo is restored and I'd love Pak to really explore Kentville and the Superman living openly amongst the people.

Disney Animators
Something a bit different for SDCC.  I'm a huge Disney fan so I'm really hoping I can find some reports from this panel online.  Their current 3D films look great but I still feel there's just something magical about some of their classic 2D movies and this is a chance to hear from the people behind the magic.

DC Entertainment from Page to Screen
With Arkham Knight less than a month currently keeping gamers glued to their screens around the world, new seasons and new series coming to TV later this year and the DC Extended Universe set to take over cinemas next year there will definitely be plenty to talk about at this panel!  I'm not expecting to hear much about the movies (that'll come tomorrow) but there's plenty of TV shows to talk about and maybe I'm really hoping for a Superman/Justice League video game announcement after those screen shots appeared online recently!

Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Daredevil

Honourable Mentions - Marvel TV Presents
From the description this sounds like it will be focused on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter.  I enjoyed both but I'm really hoping for some Netflix news.  Daredevil was a breath of fresh air earlier this year, taking the MCU to a much darker place with a rich and powerful narrative.  I'm more of a DC comic reader so I don't know much about the other Defenders but I'm eager to find out based on the excellence of Daredevil.  With Elektra and Punisher both cast and filming underway I'm hoping for more news on Daredevil season 2 as well!

Preview Night Goodness!

With most panels not starting until tomorrow Preview Night is about two things - the show floor and the product reveals.  From what I've seen so far the show floor looks as incredible as always.  This year's highlight (at least so far) has to be the WB costume displays for Batman v Superman and their Arrow and Flash TV series.  I mean just look at these incredible costumes;

Photo by DC Comics

Photo by DC Comics

I can only imagine how awesome it must be to be on the show floor and see these up close and in person.  Just wow!!

I'm hoping to see plenty more show floor goodness over the next few days but for those not there (like me!) it was the reveals that were the main excitement last night.  I said that SDCC always hurts my wallet even though I never go (link).  This is why!
The film may not be out until next March but Batman v Superman had a ton of products revealed on the show floor last night.  DC Collectibles showed off three statues featuring Superman and Batman in both his standard suit and his armoured look and although she wasn't shown I have to assume that Wonder Woman will be coming as well.

Play Arts Kai also showed off prototypes for their upcoming Superman and Batman figures which you can see over at Toy Ark.  Like with DC, Wonder Woman wasn't shown but I'm certain she'll be coming as well along with Batman's armoured look.  I tend to find the PAK figures a little over priced (I'd rather put the money towards the expected Hot Toys versions) but they certainly have nice sculpts.

Not to be outdone Mattel debuted both their standard and collector lines for the film as well.  I wasn't too impressed with the Man of Steel Movie Masters but these do look better so I'm hoping that the final figures turn out just as good.  According to 13th Dimension's review of the SDCC exclusive 2-Pack there will be 8 figures in the collectors line and they will all come with a piece of a larger collect and connect figure.  Four of the eight were on display, the trinity plus a 2nd Batman in armour, and it's probably reasonable to assume Lex and Aquaman are 2 of the remaining 4.  Not sure who will round out the set but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Lois (we got Alfred for The Dark Knight Rises so it's not out of the question).  The large collect and connect figure is probably obvious to anyone who's read any of the rumours/spoilers surrounding the film.

The collectors figures I expected, especially after Mattel revealed their SDCC exclusive 2-Pack, but I didn't expect them to be part of a new 6" DC Multiverse line!  Whilst Batman v Superman gets a wave to itself there will be another wave featuring characters from both comics and TV!  On display were The Flash's Flash and Reverse Flash along with Joker and Batman's robot suit from the recent Endgame comic arc.  According to The Fwoosh Mattel's representative said this would be a six figure wave that also included  Arrow's Arrow and a "black" Superman (I'm guess this will be Earth-2's Val-Zod).  However, I'd guess that Batman's robot suit is the collect and connect figure so there's still one more figure to be revealed.

I'm actually really excited for these.  I've wanted DC Collectibles to do movie figures in scale with their TV offerings for ages but I'd pretty much given up on that dream.  Whilst Mattel may not go as deep as DC (I don't see them offering Felicity or Diggle any time some) this line will finally allow me to get DC movie and TV figures in the same scale so I'm really looking forward to these hitting the shelves at the start of next year.  You can see plenty of pictures over at The Fwoosh.

I have to admit Mattel really impressed me last night.  On top of their DC announcements they revealed the remainder of their 2015 Masters of the Universe Classics line up as well.  They normally hold the reveals back until their panel on Friday but with a big re-branding coming up for the line in 2016 (which will debut at the panel) they obviously decided to hit the ground running this year and show more than usual!  You can see plenty of pictures from the reveal at The Fwoosh link above and also over at PixelDan's Instagram (I'm really looking forward to his booth walkthrough after the panel!)  I know it's a controversial opinion amongst MOTU fans but personally I'm loving Dare/He-Ro II!  If those ThunderCats rumours turn out to be true then this will have been an amazing Comic Con for Mattel!

Masters of the Universe Classics - Dare, Photo by The Fwoosh

Moving on to 1/6 scale (oh how my bank balance wishes I'd never discovered these!) Hot Toys continues it's all out assault on collector's wallets by showing off plenty of new pieces including Princess Leia, Boba Fett, Stormtrooper Disguise Luke Skywalker and two incredible pieces you'll need a second mortgage for - the Millennium Falcon cock pit and an actual 1/6 scale TIE Fighter!!  You can see all the pics over at Rebelscum.  I'm kinda glad I'm not jumping on the Hot Toys Star Wars line until The Force Awakens (you can bet I'll be getting at least Luke, Han and Leia) as my wallet definitely couldn't handle this!

But one 1/6 scale release I'm not going to miss is Mondo's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line!

Mondo's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Photo by ComingSoon.net

If I could afford it I would totally be all in with this line.  I'm just praying for a sub $150 price point so I can at least afford the 4 Turtles and then go from there depending on who comes next ($100 or less would be amazing but unrealistic given the current trend of 1/6 prices).  The detail on the figures, the comic inspired look and accessories, the alternate heads with the coloured mask, I just love almost everything about them.  The only thing I'd change would be the make Raphael a little darker.  I like that Mondo are paying tribute to the original Playmates line with the different coloured Turtles but Raph just stands out a little too much against his brothers for my personal tastes.  You can see more incredible pictures over at Ninja Pizza's Facebook page.  The price on these is still TBD but Leo will be going up for pre-order later this month (followed by Don in August, Mikey and a Mouser 2-Pack in September and Raph in October) with the figures due to ship late Q1/early Q2 2016.  Definitely my favourite Comic Con reveal so far!!

It Begins!!

 

I'd barely clicked post on my hopes for SDCC last night when 2 of them happened before the conventions even started!

 

Harrison Ford as Han Solo with Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 Last night StarWars.com officially announced that Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie) will direct the second Star Wars Anthology movie - Han Solo!  Lawrence Kasdan (co-writer The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens) and Jon Kasdan are writing the script which will focus on how the young Han Solo "became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley".
As Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy rightly observes "It's not just any filmmaker who can tell the story of such a beloved icon like Han Solo".  The creative team is extremely strong and I'm sure they will do Han's story justice.  Ultimately though, this film will rest on the shoulders of whoever is brave enough to step into Harrison Ford's shoes and take on such an iconic role.  I wish whoever that ends up being the best of luck!  Personally I'm hoping this film is set at least a decade before A New Hope to make the re-casting a little easier for fans and creative alike.

I have to say I didn't see this announcement coming.  With the reports that there won't be a new trailer for The Force Awakens at SDCC, the announcement of the second Anthology seemed like one of the big things they could do at the panel.  To announce it now really makes me excited to think about what Lucasfilm must have up their sleeve for Friday's panel!!

Elodie Yung, photo by Getty Images

Marvel also started their pre-con announcements last night, confirming that Elodie Yung is joining the second season of Marvel and Netflix's Daredevil as Elektra!!  I loved the first series and was hoping to see Elektra in season 2 so I'm loving this announcement!  I've not seen Elodie Yung in anything but she certainly looks the part!

1/6 Scale Kevin Eastman TMNT by ThreeZero

And TMNT co-creator took to Facebook to share some images of his designs for ThreeZero's upcoming 1/6 scale Ninja Turtles figures.  ThreeZero did excellent work on the movie figures even though I wasn't a big fan of the designs so I'm excited to see how these look when they come out.  I still prefer the classic look Mondo is doing but if the price is right then these will definitely be tempting!



Kevin Eastman's Leonardo

Kevin Eastman's Raphael

Kevin Eastman's Michelangelo

Kevin Eastman's Donatello


And it's still six hours until the doors open for Preview Night!  This is going to be one awesome Comic Con!

 

'Twas the Night before Comic Con

San Diego Comic Con.  SDCC.  This is it, the biggest event of the geek calendar starts tomorrow night!

If there's one comic convention I want to attend before I die, this is the one.  I swear one day I'll be there!  This year though I'll be doing what I normally do, staying up late and getting up early to check all the latest online.

Here's just a few of the things I'm hoping for/looking forward to this year;

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Revealing the Legacy Characters
Diminished slightly by the reports that there will be no new trailer at the panel, my enthusiasm for this panel is still sky high!  After all, with so little revealed so far (even after 2 teaser trailers) and a product launch now less than 2 months away they have to show something!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this panel will finally give us our first look at  Luke, Leia and C-3PO.  If it did just that I'm be more than satisfied.  Of course they could also show Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke and Lupita Nyong'o's Maz Kanata in their finished CG forms and maybe we'll finally learn who Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow are actually playing!

Of course The Force Awakens isn't the only thing Lucasfilm could show.  Whilst the deal with Paramount means it won't be shown online yet, they could screen definitely the Rogue One trailer in Hall H and talk more about that film.  And maybe, just maybe, they could start to pull back the curtain a little bit on the second Anthology film as well.

WB Bringing the Justice League
We know WB are bringing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad to their main panel on Saturday and to be honest that's more than enough to get me excited but there's been talk online that they might use their panel to bring the Justice League together for the first time!  That would make my DC dreams come true!  Whatever happens, WB's panel this year is going to be huge!  I don't care what time Sunday morning this will be for me in the UK, I'm totally staying up for this!

DC TV
DC has a long history of great TV series and last year really kicked things into high gear.  Can't wait to see what's coming next for Arrow, The Flash and Gotham and to see some teases at what's to come in Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.

Once Upon a Time Panel
Being a huge Disney geek I just love this show and I'm so happy Netflix UK is now airing the new episodes only a few days behind the US.  Really looking forward to hearing all the season 5 teases in Saturday (and I'm still wishing for them to get Aladdin on this show!)

Marvel TV
Whilst I've tended to enjoy DC's TV offerings more I'm still interested to see where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter are going next season.  But if there's one series that stood out above all the rest last season it was Marvel/Netflix's Daredevil.  I'm really hoping we learn more about the other Netflix series at SDCC and hopefully some new info on Daredevil season 2 as well!

The Comic Panels
I'm loving the DC You re-launch and DC have hinted at big things to come in October so I'm hoping we get some hints at what's to come over the course of SDCC.  Plus I'm hoping to jump into the Marvel Universe with some trades following their latest All-New All-Different post-Secret Wars re-launch so I'll be following their panels with great interest to see what catches my eye.  On top of the "Big 2" I'm also looking forward to IDW's panel for all the latest on their fantastic TMNT title.  Which leads me nicely to;

Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Ok, the movie may not have been all I wanted it to be (ok, it sucked!) but the Nick series is still a lot of fun!  Hoping there's more good stuff to come from their panel on Friday.

Fox's Panel
I'm not expecting it to compare with WB's offering but after Days of Future Past I'm really looking forward to the X-Men: Age of Apocalypse.  With the addition of Fantastic Four and Deadpool as well it should be a good panel.

The Toys!!
I've never been and my wallet still cringes at the thought of SDCC.  Not because of the exclusives but because of what gets revealed.  We already know Hasbro will be revealing their first The Force Awakens offerings this year and I'm hoping for some surprises from Hot Toys and Sideshow as well (and not just from TFA, a 1/6 scale Padme or Dooku would be a really treat to see).  Being an 80s kid Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics nearly always has a few things to tempt me and I can't wait to see Mondo's display of their upcoming 1/6 comic TMNT.  Then there's DC Collectable too.  I'm trying desperately not to get sucked into their animated Batman line but it's proving very hard to resist!

And that's just off the top of my head! As always SDCC promises to be an amazing (and crazy) few days!

Mondo Reveal 1/6 Scale Leonardo!!

Ok, being a TMNT fan and a 1/6 scale collector this is just awesome news for me (if a little scary for my wallet) as Mondo have today revealed their 1/6 scale Leonardo based on the original Eastman and Laird comics!!

According to Mondo's website the figure will be approximately 11" tale and feature 25 points of articulation along with multiple accessories, interchangeable hands and the choice to display him with either his classic red bandana from the comics of the blue bandana made famous in the class cartoon series.

Price is still TBD and pre-orders will be opened up at a later date but all four Turtles will be on display at Mondo's booth at SDCC next week (can't believe it's Comic Con time already!)

I'm really glad I held off buying the ThreeZero movie versions now as this is definitely a must buy for me!  Can't wait to see the full team when the Comic Con pictures come out next week!!

Meet Casey Jones

Producer Michael Bay today gave us our first official look at Arrow's Stephen Amell as Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 when he posted the above picture on Twitter.

Honestly, I'm a little torn.  I love Amell in Arrow and I know he's gonna be a kick ass Casey Jones but I just can't help but feel something's missing.  Call me a traditionalist but I think Casey needs his long hair.  It offsets the size of the mask a bit and it just looks cool.  But I guess I've got time to get used to the new look and I'd much rather have an actor I like in the role than the hair so I can definitely live with it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 opens 3rd June 2016 and I'm hoping for a big improvement on last year's reboot.  Amell's casting was a big step in the right direction so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this.

A New Shredder for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2

Variety reported the other day that Brian Tee has joined the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2as the Shredder, replacing Tohoru Masamune who played the role in the 2014 reboot.

As a huge Ninja Turtles fan I have to say that personally, the actor playing Shredder wasn't one of the many problems I had with the first movie.  I thought Tohoru Masamune did a great job with what little he was given (which wasn't much since Shredder was originally planned to be William Fichtner's Eric Sacks until the fan backlash caused Paramount/Platinum Dunes to make the change).  Hopefully the casting of Brian Tee means that Shredder will play a larger role in the upcoming sequel.  At least this time it won't be one role split between two characters.

As much as the first film left a bad taste in my mouth I still have some hopes for the sequel.  The fact that Paramount did any course correction during the making of the last film shows at least some level of willingness to respond to fans criticisms.  Hopefully they've taken on board a lot of the feedback from the last film and made some improvements.  And if not, there's still Stephem Amell's Casey Jones to look forward to!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 began filming this week and is due for release 3rd June 2016.