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Solomon Grundy
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DC Direct's latest release is another in
the Justice Society of America series, but a villain this time - Solomon
Grundy.
Okay, so he's also been portrayed as
misunderstood, but he always is on the wrong side of the JSA. This
figure is proving to be extremely popular, but that is likely to be due
to the Pocket Heroes Wonder Woman that's packed with him. She's
called a 'free sample', but at $25, you have to figure she's part of the
cost of Grundy.
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Packaging - ***
The graphics and style of the box are good, and it's nice, collector
friendly packaging. There's a few too many twisty ties, but I can
overlook that. The big problem is that the box is very thin and
cheap, and of the five I saw at my comic shop, not a single one was still
in decent shape. Sculpting -
****
DC Direct tends to be inconsistent with their sculpting. One figure
is great, the next so-so. Fortunately, this one is the former. The
sculpt is extremely detailed, and looks terrific. While the sculpt
on the body and hands is nice, it's the face sculpt that really stands
out. If only DC Direct could do this good of job every time! Paint -
***1/2
Paint ops were very good as well, and help make an excellent sculpt even
better. There's not a lot of detail in the ops, but the eyes and
teeth are good, and the black is consistent and clean. Articulation
- ***
Articulation is another inconsistency for DC Direct, and this figure falls
in the middle. He has neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. He
may also have waist - it moved slightly for me, but I didn't want to break
it. The only problem with the articulation here is the design of the
sculpt. Because of the sculpt, there isn't much range of motion for
the joints. Accessories -
***1/2
I'm counting two items here, the club and Wonder Woman. I know she's
a 'free sample', but she still comes with Grundy. The
club/torch is nice, with a good sculpt. It fits perfectly in his
hand, and is right in scale. Of course, Wonder Woman kicks
butt. For more details on her, check my previous review.
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Value
- **1/2
This is a category where DC Direct is always hurt. $25 for this
figure is way too much, considering the quality and style we see in
other figures in the $10-$15 range. Yep, he's big, but so are many
McFarlane toys. And yes, I know that the more limited distribution
causes prices to be higher, but not this high. Normally, I'd tell
you to shop around for a low price, but because of the Wonder Woman pack
in, you might want to grab the first one you see. Overall -
***1/2
This is one of my favorite DC Direct figures. I'm not sure why -
I'm not a big Grundy fan or anything - but he was a nice surprise.
Perhaps it's because he's a nice example of articulation and sculpting,
or perhaps it's just because we don't get enough cool villains in the DC
Direct line. Or maybe the fascination with the Pocket Heroes
Wonder Woman effected my judgement. But he's on a shelf in my toy
room right now, and he looks terrific!
Where
to buy -
If you haven't picked one up yet, you might be out of luck, at least at
suggested retail. Because of the Wonder Woman, these sold out
fast. Check with your local comic shop first. On-line:
- Convergence
Comics has them listed for $20, but like most retailers don't have
any in right now. They say they may get a few more in though... Another
possibility with this figure is to hit the message boards at the various
sites. See my Frosty awards last
week for some possibilities. You may find someone that bought the
Grundy only for the Wonder Woman, and would be happy to sell you the
Grundy separately. |
Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford
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