Sideshow:
-Uncharted Nathan Drake Premium Format (EX. if I can get one)
Hot Toys:
-Batman:Arkham City
-The Lone Ranger
-The Dark Knight
-The Dark Knight Rises (select offerings)
-The Man of Steel
Custom:
-IMINIME/Trevor Grove 'The Cowboy' (DX if I can get one)
Picking & choosing between the following:
Hot Toys:
-Batman Returns
-The Dark Knight Rises
-Batman(1966)
Sideshow:
-DC Universe 1/6th scale figures
Looking at this kind of puts things in perspective for me, and I can honestly say that there are probably only a few things that I'm going to pick up. The rest will be admired from afar. When I first got into this hobby, my goal was always to have a smaller, focused collection that symbolized my interests, but when you see all of the cool **** that's coming out, it's easy to get sidetracked, and, judging by the list, easy to go overboard. I love Batman, but I've got way too much of it on my list. Personally, I don't think I'm getting anything from The Dark Knight Rises line-up. I didn't find Bane or Batman to meet the standards that I wanted them to, and without them, I really don't want a stand-alone Catwoman in my collection. To be honest, this has even put me on the fence about the DX 2.0 at times, in that I'm not sure I'd want a Joker without a Batman.
I really would like to complete my 89 line-up with the Batmobile, but I'm not sure about Returns, either. Batman, The Joker, and the Batmobile are one thing, but another Batman, The Penguin (a character whose interpretation I'm not particularly fond of, but I find would visually pop), and Catwoman, again, seem like they might add some clutter, which brings me to the Sideshow DC stuff. I think it looks ****ing phenomenal, I really do, and I see how much potential that line has; that potential scares me. They have access to an unlimited catalogue of DC's characters, and that, in and of itself, is the antithesis of a small focused collection. If rather not get any than get some and have trouble keeping my impulse buying in check.
1966 Batman, though, that is a hard one. I'm a 90's kid, but that was my childhood. It'd be The Animated Series reruns in the morning before school, and Batman on TV Land at night. It's such a cool license, though, that I think I'd actually prefer having those to, say, Returns, or, dare I say, The Dark Knight Rises(which has figures that have yet to impress sans lots of modding and work). It's such a quirky and surreal license to get, though. Never in a million years would I have expected it to get Hot Toys, and the fact that it is an older license makes me think that they would handle it with care, and I think it would add some class to the collection. As much as I like newer licenses, when I see pictures of The Avengers, or even of the Dark Knight Rises line, it feels like there's an emptiness to them; like they lack the heart of stuff like 89 Batman or Reeve Superman. They seem
generic in comparison.
Back to the 66 stuff, though, the Batmobile looks fantastic (even the teaser has more "soul" than their blockbusters), and, if they do the figures right, I think the line could really add a unique "pop" to a collection. In part because it really is a part of history. The hard part, again, though, being controlling the urge to "BUY! BUY! BUY!" with every new addition I see. Going back a bit to that part about the "heart," that actually makes me feel like I should be a bit more diligent when it comes to the other new licenses like Man of Steel and The Lone Ranger, as they could wind up going either way, though I hope that they don't wind up like the TDKR line-up.
Arkham City is one of those interpretations that I really love, too, and I feel like, judging by their history with the video game masterpiece series, it won't get too out of hand. I've always preferred quality to quantity, and I feel that this line could actually benefit from a lack of attention. For me, my dream would be to have three figures from this series in my collection: Batman, The Joker, and Mr.Freeze. While I love all of the interpretations, I think of collecting as a symbolic sort of thing, as we obviously won't be meticulously recreating the worlds of our favorite entertainment in our homes. On that note, I feel that our favorite things can be best symbolized by the most iconic (visually and characteristically) characters. In some ways, I feel that the clutter of an entire array of characters could actually undermine the importance of a license by overshadowing it with the sheer scale of the line, particularly with figures this size.
The Uncharted PF and the Blondie figure, however, aren't going anywhere. They're iconic characters, and I feel that the fact that they're most likely one-off pieces means that there aren't any worries, and that they'll be the representations that I want them to be, without worrying about overdoing it. Speaking of iconic stuff, though, I kind of can't believe that I left Back to the Future off of my list. It's another of those quirky, "dream come true" kind of licenses that I think would really pop with the cultural nature of it. It also seems like something that, again, would have more care and attentiveness put into it than the Blockbuster cash-ins.
Overall, though, I think it'll be a good year for collecting. A lot of people will get their grails, and I think everything will work out. I'm sorry for the over extended nature of the post, though, and I understand if you don't want to read it.
