Zach's Figure Reviews: Brandy Carter

Brandy Carter is one of the main characters in my favorite (now defunct) comic strip: Liberty Meadows. Written and drawn by Frank Cho, Liberty Meadows is funny and sweet, and Cho's art is beyond excellent. The man's seen a glut of Marvel work recently, but I hope he gets back to Brandy & Co. soon, as I miss them terribly. I've been in love with Brandy since the day I laid eyes on her back in college. I was a convert to Cho's website, which was at that time a message board, and I remember being excited about the announcement that a statue of Brandy was being sculpted by...Clayburn Moore, I want to say. Every once and awhile, he would post WIP pictures, and they were amazing. When the product finally launched, it was way too expensive for my puny wallet (like $250).


So imagine my surprise when, several years later in downtown Seattle, I discovered Brandy in a comic shop called Zanadu, sitting on a high shelf, for $180 bucks. I asked the shopkeep to take 'er down and open 'er up so I could see what I was getting myself into. Brandy was, as always, gorgeous. I probably should've thought about it (we weren't exactly rich back then), but I didn't, and I was rung up right there. The fella didn't even charge me sales tax 'cause I'm from Anchorage, where they don't have sale's tax. The rest of the day was spent lugging my luggage and Brandy through downtown Seattle, and even back to PAX Prime (the first and last time I went) because check-out time at my hotel was 11 a.m. and my bus to the airport didn't leave until, like, 3 p.m. So that wasn't terribly fun.


So I eventually got to the airport with my luggage, coat, and Brandy in tow. I told the woman at the gate that I can't check her because she's fragile, and she didn't have a problem with it (phew). I had a whole row to myself on the flight back (remember those days?) and I put Brandy on the seat next to me. Eventually I was told she had to go up in the overhead bin, but I was happy to see that she was snuggly secure between two other bags. I got her home and was almost immediately assaulted by my wife, who wanted to know what the hell I bought with the credit card in some store called Zanadu for $180. I proudly showed her Brandy and she immediately understood, though was still not super-happy with the price tag.


I took Brandy out of the box and was sad to see two flaws pop out: the butterfly on Brandy's middle finger had broken off, and Oscar's tail was cracked and bent. Luckily, some super glue fixed the butterfly and I just bent Oscar's tail back to where it was supposed to be. Brandy is just incredible--definately my favorite figure, although the term "statue" is better here, since she appears to be resin. The detailing on the base is particularly impressive. With its colors and woodland features, it lends a certain atmosphere to the scene, which I love.


Oscar and Truman are running along in front of Brandy. I really like the detailing on the fallen log, which has fungi growing on it. The mushrooms are a nice touch, too. I actually don't love Truman's sculpt, because you can see the seams along his shoulders. Brandy is also walking wholly on her tip-toes--on both feet--which looks uncomfortable. It's a little too exaggerated, almost as if she's wearing invisible high-heels.


The butterfly is nice touch, and surprisingly detailed. I like to think I flawlessly reattached it to her finger. Brandy's fingers are nicely sculpted, too, and include nicely-painted nails. What is clear upon close inspection is that Brandy appears to have been painted by hand. Wherever colors starkly change, for example the line separating her hair from her forehead, there is some color blur or overlap. You don't see this with my other figures. While many might view that as an irritation, I get a "home-grown" feeling from it. Somebody really put a lot of work into this girl, and it shows--flaws and all.


One of the really interesting things about Brandy that I don't see on my other figures is the paint scheme. Especially on her dress, there are often two or three tones of a given color, which I assume adds to the...shading effects? It's not really clear, but it's shockingly well done and consistent throughout. Similarly, her skin tones differ in different areas. Brandy's black hair is about 70% black and 30% dark blue--black-haired characters in comics often have blue highlights in their hair so that it's not just a flat color. It looks a little strange in 3D, but hey.


Aside from the Marvel Girls, Brandy here is the only figure (statue) that my wife approves of, because she's "the most realistic." I concur for the most part, although her torso is shockingly short and nobody with breasts that big wanders around on their tip-toes without a bra. Brandy's rack is pretty central to the entire piece, actually: her top is flying open, her nipples are apparent, and her unrestrained breasts are assuming their natural, sidewinder positions. This is just fine for me, but it's something The Missus would usually object to. I should just be thankful she doesn't!


Aside from Truman's arm seam, the only thing that kind of bothers me about Brandy is her face, which is totally unemotive. She doesn't look particularly happy, sad, excited, or bored. She HAS a face, and it's a beautiful face with a great pain job on her lips and eyes, but...what's going through Ms. Carter's head? She seems to be primarily concerned with not tripping over anything while on her tip-toes and simultaneous remaining still enough so that the butterfly doesn't flutter away. It's funny because the smallest alteration--maybe a smile on one side of her lips--could totally change the mood of the piece. From this angle, you can see not just the nice detail of her buttons and creases on the dress, but also the button slits on the other side of the dress. As I've said in reviews past, I really treasure little details like that.


At a tad over 12" high, Brandy is my largest figure by a good margin. She occupies a central position among my girls for that reason. Here she is standing next to Odin Sphere's Velvet for an idea of her size. Brandy received a limited release...I want to say only 1500 figures were produced, a figure verified by this eBay post. Our girl retails for about the same price I bought her for, minus shipping, which is surprising given her rarity. Brandy is a gorgeous, wonderfully-sculpted figure who I absolutely adore. I highly recommend her if you manage to stumble across her somewhere. If nothing else, go buy some back issues of Liberty Meadows, which is a real hoot.

Next on the docket: Velvet!

Postscripto: We got a new camera. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot and I like it a lot, but it needs a screen protector for the massive viewing viewing window the back. The thing boasts 14.1 megapixels, which is a significant leap forward from the old camera's 4.0 megapixels. I am still experimenting with where, exactly, to take pictures of my figures. Lighting is the main concern. I'll work it out.

Zach's Figure Reviews: Kokoro (Venus on the Beach)

I've finally gotten around to snapping a bunch of pictures of Kokoro, who is one of my favorite figures. I bought Kokoro on my birthday in 2009 (I think) from Amazon. She was on sale at the time for what I considered a reasonable $70. As it turns out, a quick Amazon search today shows a price of $180, so I'm happy I got her when I did. Kokoro was also my first cast-off figure and I learned some good lessons thanks to her. Like Kasumi, Kokoro is from the "Venus on the Beach" line from Kotobukiya. I assume both her swimsuits are taken from Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, but since I haven't played it, I wouldn't know. For reasons we'll get into in a minute, I keep Kokoro's alternate, cast-off outfit off.


Definately one of my sexier figures, Kokoro has a sinuous, curvy body from virtually every angle. She looks like she's at a photo shoot (which is appropriate here). The umbrella you see is fully-functional and slides out of her hand. Unlike Kasumi, who shows detachment lines at almost every joint, Kokoro's entire sculpt is smooth and free of jarring breakage points. I like her base, too.


The sandy texture is especially nice, and the floatsom thrown in add some detail. I wish the water was a little higher on the base, though, and she had more interaction with it. One of the things I absolutely adore about this sculpture is the level of detail in the feet and hands. You can make out individual muscle groups in her palm, and creases in the finger joints. The bottoms of her feet have clearly-defined arches, and Kokoro has pominant ankle bones. It's just lovely.


You can really see the underside of the unbrella here, as well as the one cast-off seam on Kokoro's body: her head. We'll get to that soon. That umbrella is pretty cool--see the little wire pin? You can press down on that to make the umbrella collapse.


The detailing on her bikini is pretty amazing, too. Not only is the color scheme nice, but you can see little creases at the center of each side where the loop runs through the fabric. Wonderful detail! The little beads that join the necktie are appreciated, too. And look at all that skeletal and muscular definition! Shoulders, clavicles, stomach and neck, all lovingly sculpted with actual human musculoskeletal anatomy in mind. You rarely see this in a pin-up sculpture. It's also worth mentioning that the bikini is tightly taught against Kokoro's breasts, creating a deformation along the sides (this is especially apparant on her left breast, above).


I maintain that Kokoro does not have an oversized chest. Well, okay, compared to her in-game character model, she does. However, for this figure? Proportionately, I'm okay with it. Remember that they're being pulled up and together by her bikini. I think her face is wonderful here. She's not looking at you--she's got a far-off look in her eyes, which are wonderfully painted. Apart from Velvet (who we'll get to), Kokoro probably has the best eyes of any of my girls. I like her lipstick and size of her nose--both much better than Kasumi. You can also see one of this figure's only flaws from this picture: her hairtie has some smudged paint, and that's not from the cast-off process. Also, real quick, look at this girl's hands.


Alright, let's get down to the cast-off story. Like I said before, Kokoro was my first cast-off figure. Thank Cthulhu she was so basic. You literally just pop her head off (as shown above), pop the necktie off, uncork the ties on her bikini bottom, and snap or wrap the pieces seen below onto her person. Then you put her head back on, put the ties back in, and voila--she's a new girl.


Unfortunately, this costume is dull. It doesn't look like something you'd ever wear to the beach--it looks like one of Lara Croft's alternate costumes from some long-lost Tomb Raider game. The unsightly seems in the costume, on both the top and bottom, subtract from its appeal, too. But what's the worst thing about this cast-off costume? I'll tell you in the next paragraph.


It scratches paint. See that wedge in the middle of the bottom's back half? You have to somehow cram that between poor Kokoro's legs before the two halves can slot together. It's a problem because it's not flexible, so the hard edges of that wedge run against Kokoro's thighs and, unfortunately, scratch up her skin. That's not a problem on her top, but her top does have it's own set of problems. Kokoro is made of pretty soft material, and every time (every time) I uncork her head, then put it back on, the process becomes a little easier. There's a little less resistance every time I do it. This makes me extremely worried, so I don't do it anymore. Remember how I said that I just keep Kasumi in the one bikini and never switch to the other one? This is why. I learned important lessons about cast-off figures from Kokoro. Now she almost never gets her alternate costume on.


Since they're from the same line, I display Kokoro and Kasumi pretty close together. I kind of wish that all the Venus figures were sculpted to fit in a similar environment so that, at the end of the day, you could put them all in some kind of hazy diorama. But I doubt there's a pool five feet from the ocean, so it doesn't really work here. Also, gawd, look at that breakage point on Kasumi's thigh. It's just unsightly, and another reason I kind of disuade myself from buying cast-off figures. I do like that both girls are to the same scale (as they should be) and both have pretty awesome accessories/bases. A lot of loving attention went into both sculpts--something that I, as the buyer, really effing appreciate.


Like I said at the top of the post, Kokoro is absolutely one of my favorite figures. I was able to get her for a great price, the detailing is mind-blowing, her expression is priceless, and it's just a high-quality sculpture all around. She's probably "out of print" at this point, but if you can find her, maybe online or in a comic shop for under $100, I highly recommend picking her up. Just be sure to decide which costume you like, then commit to it. She's about 7" tall, excluding the umbrella-ella-ella and came in a box so nice that I was reluctant to get rid of it.

I should mention here that Kokoro was purchased largely thanks to the excellent photo essay/review of Tier over at Tentacle Armada. I'm a huge fan of his site and his photography (it's about a million goddamn times better than mine) and his reviews give me enormous insights into whether I'll want to buy a figure or not. So a big shout-out to Tier!

Let's hear votes for the next review: Velvet from Odin Sphere or Tamaki Kousaka from 2Heart?

New Wonder Woman

The Ame-Comi line has been pretty dead to me since the original Wonder Woman sculpt launched (which I bought). The rest of them have been too severely anime-inspired or just look stupid. Also, I thought the series had gone dark since Kotobukiya announced they'd started doing DC sculpts for their Boushijo line (which I fucking adore). Well, turns out Ame-Comi ain't quite done yet. They just announced two new figures--Wonder Woman (from the future or something) and Big Barda. I'm not crazy about the Big Barda sculpt, specifically her head, but Wonder Woman looks like of awesome. I've said this before, but I love it when artists mess with her traditional uniform. This is certainly different, but it's cool and futuristic and armor-clad. I like it.


Unfortunately, these things don't launch until August, so the company has plenty of time to cock up the final design before then.

Zach's Figure Reviews: Marvel Girls

Like I've said before, Kotobukiya produces my favorite figures, including my most recent acquisition (Tamaki Kousaka) who will be reviewed later. I was going to review all three of these girls separately, but then I realized that they're all by the same sculptor, they're all about the same size, and they're all Marvel girls. From left to right, we have Rogue, Black Widow, and Phoenix. All three have at least two varients--Phoenix has three. I love 'em all. They go wonderfully together. The figure line is Marvel Bishoujo ("pretty girl") and while three other figures have been released under this line (Scarlett Witch, Psylocke, and Emma Frost), I don't really like their sculpts. Kotobukiya recently got the DC license, and are soon releasing two DC characters, Catwoman and Wonder Woman, which I'll have to get. Anyway, let's get down to bizz-nezz.


First we have Black Widow, an assassin for S.H.I.E.L.D. and recently portrayed by a disappointing deflated Scarlett Johanssen in the otherwise excellent Iron Man 2. I love the angles of this figure. Her head is turned toward her bent, crossed arm, her back is arched, and her legs are at strange angles. There's a lot going on here. She has an oversized belt that is not held down--it acts more like a hula-hoop that you can position any which way on her waist. Our girl is wearing her usual black bodysuit which, itself, has some interesting geometric designs wrapping around it.


You can really see all the strange angles from this side. Also, yes, the boobs. We'll get to those in a minute. One of the only downsides of this figure is that her hair appears to constructed from three separate pieces that form two seams. The designers could have tried to hide one seam as a part to her hair, but as it stands it doesn't look great. I really like her wristbands, which appear to be made of .50 calibur bullets and her surprisingly detailed gun (couldn't get a picture of the gun with any sort of clear focus). Her high heels also don't appear to be stealthy or comfortable, but that's a common feature to these three.


Oh yeah, the yellow. About half the pictures I took of these girls came out yellow-tinted. I have no idea why. Anyway, here's a good look at Black Widow's face and you can see how "shiny" her catsuit is. I like her expression--cool, confident, with a hint of suspicion, as if she just heard a branch snap or a pin drop. The flow of her hair suggests a quick body motion, and it's still trying to catch up. I love it--the pose is dynamic, a second caught in time.


This is the picture that would make my friend Erik say, "Dat aaaass." Indeed, Black Widow has an impressively rounded posterior. Note also her slim waist--another thing I like about pin-up (or cheesecake) figures is an exaggerated waist-to-hip ratio, and Black Widow certainly has that. You can also see the other side of her sidearm here, and a look at the back of her hair.


Now then, the bewbies. Something about them looks wrong. They're too round, or maybe not scrunched together enough given the width of her zipper. The "Y" shape at the top is too hard, too indented, if that makes any sense. Her breasts look like boulders, not...you know...bags of sand (quick--guess the movie reference!). I've seen better-looking racks on other Kotobukiya figures, let's just put it that way. You can see from this angle how the belt sits right on the hips. I'm not sure what that symbol is on her belt--it looks like an hourglass. Now, I do like the fact that her catsuit has an upturned collar. Something about that is cool. If only she could zip it up all the way. Of course, Catwoman (coming out in...April?) has the exact same problem.


And all this time you thought I was going to open with Rogue. Well, here she is. She's by far the best of these three girls, although Phoenix has very impressive hair. Rogue is by far the most voluptuous of the three, not just because of her pose, but also because her body isn't angular (like Black Widow) but very rounded. The pronounced outer curve of her hip almost defines the figure in frontal view. The striking paint scheme helps promote Rogue's curvaceous midsection.


Rogue isn't quite as gifted in the backside department as Black Widow, but she's no slouch, either. My favorite parts of this figure are actually her boots, belt, and 90's midriff jacket. The sculptor got all the creases right, all the motion captured. I especially love how the boots are kept on with (I assume) elastic straps, and the boot material bunches up between and above them. Great little touches here. Her double-belt is pretty awesome too, with little metal-looking accessories dotting its length. Even Rogue's rolled-up gloves are creased and bunched-up.


From the other side, Rogue looks a bit more angular. Like Black Widow, she's reaching back with her right arm. Note the ruffles in her jacket here. Rogue's hair isn't as dynamic as Black Widow or Phoenix, but it's pretty all the same and clearly part of her pose. She really does have quite a long torso. I don't know what your feelings on 90's midriff jackets are, but I've always liked them. People whined when DC gave their new Wonder Woman a 90's jacket, but I think it's fine. It's not like you always have to wear the thing.


I'm not sure why I took a picture from this angle. It was yesterday, and I'm having a hard time remembering what "Big Bang Theory" was about tonight. Oh, I remember: her collar. The jacket has a striped inner lining which is nice touch. You can also see the "X" stamped on her breast. Hey, that reminds me! Not all of my cheesecake figures are topheavy. Rogue here has a modest bra size compared to, say, Venus on the Beach Kasumi or, must I even remind you, Power Girl.


She's expressive in a modeling-for-the-camera kind of way. Great paint detail on her lips and eyes. I like how her hair overlaps her ears. Rogue's bodysuit ends in a distinct collar. Hey, here's a question for you: how do superheroes and superheroines get in and out of their suits? Superman, for instance. There are no zippers. Why would he wear pants, then underpants over his pants, and a shirt? The neckhole isn't big enough for his head! This is something that's always bothered me about superheroes with painted-on catsuits. I propose that they are drawn this way because the artists don't want to fiddle with the creases and bunches that make up actual clothing. Anyway. Let's get on with the show. Our final figure in the lineup? Phoenix!


There are three things that really stand out about Jean Grey: her wild hair, her awesome base, and her incredibly large, sidewinding breasts. Her belt (is that a belt?) is nice, too, and her arms are in dynamic poses. But who's paying attention to that? Her rack is too big. I'm saying--I'm saying--that her rack is too big. Or at the very least, it doesn't conform to the normal laws of physics. If I had to accuse any of my girls of having fake boobs, it would be Phoenix.


Tearing our eyes away from her lethal breasts, we see Phoenix's wonderful hair, which twirls and extends in all directions in some sort of pantomime of fire or electricity. Her outfit is suspiciously similar to Rogue's in both color scheme and overall composition. The catsuit, the boots, the gloves--all basically the same. There's a red variant of Rogue, but it looked a little too dark. Thinking back, maybe I should've gotten that one. Seeing Rogue and Phoenix right next to each other really underlines their similarities. Anyway, things to notice here: the emblem on her chest--clearly a rising phoenix--is something I really like. It has a medieval feeling to it.


Here's Phoenix's awesome base. It's on fire, baby! The only problem is that it's not as wide as the simple white bases of Rogue and Black Widow, and the bottom isn't perfectly flat. I mean, it stands just fine, but when I walk by, out of all my girls, Phoenix is the only one who shudders. The other problem is that the base isn't particularly heavy, so it lacks grounding. I do really like the sculpting of the fire, though, and how it appears to be swirling around her foot.


Here's Phoenix in, uh, posterior view. I suspect she has some junk in that trunk, but said trunk is largely covered by her scarf-belt (scelt?). Notice the creases in the scelt, which I like to see. Her hair is impressive even from the other side--here especially it looks like a smoldering fireball. All she needs is a transluscent orange orb to put in her outstretched hand for the full effect. Phoenix is arguably more slender than Rogue and maybe even Black Widow, although this could be an optical illusion caused by the sheer breadth of her chest.


See? Even I think it's a little ridiculous. And when I think it's ridiculous, it not only is, it means I'm making some modicum of progress. Note here the kicked-up leg. I especially like how both her scelt and the fire on her base are both flowing in the same direction, giving the subtle indication of wind. Phoenix actually provides a great drawing reference from this angle because you can see the inward curve of the side up to the bottom of the ribcage thanks to her arched back. I don't have a lot of figures that preserve that angle, and it's surprisingly tough to intuit.


So there they are. If I had to put them in order of like most to like least, I'd go Rogue, Black Widow, and Phoenix. They're all fantastic figures in their own right, though, and I'm glad I have them all. Rogue and Black Widow stand about 7.5" high while Phoenix adds another full inch thanks to her skywardly-directed arm. The part you may find hard to swallow is that, despite their small statures, each of these ladies cost $60 (actually, Phoenix was $65--but I got her with store credit). I'm fairly certain they all have limited "print runs," because I haven't seen Rogue or Phoenix since their initial releases. Phoenix is still relatively new. I'd check Amazon or eBay if you have to have 'em. I certainly like them, though.

I have GOT to get a better camera and area to take pictures in.

Damn You, Kotobukiya!

It would appear this company has exclusive rights to my wallet in 2011. First Catwoman, then Ms. Marvel, and now a beautiful Wonder Woman figure? My gosh. Go look at more pictures at (as usual) Tomopop.

Gonna Need This, Too

Look, I'm not even that familiar with Ms. Marvel as a character, but this sculpt is too gorgeous and dynamic to ignore. Kotobukiya is really going above and beyond with this "pretty girl" line. I've already committed to buying Phoenix later this year (or maybe she'll be a birthday present) and Catwoman in March, but now I'll have to save more pennies for Mr. Marvel, here. No idea what her release schedule is, which is probably a good thing.

You can see more pictures over at Tomopop.

Insta-Buy

I'm writing this on the calendar. Remember the Kotobukiya concept art for Catwoman that I posted about a few months ago? Well, they've got the actual figure built now, and she's due out March 2011. That's gonna be $60 well spent. You can ogle more angles over at Tomopop.

Awesome New Bishoujo Figures

I've got a figure review coming up. Several, actually. But I just saw on Tomopop that Kotobukiya is coming out with a bunch more Bishoujo girls, this time from DC. You can check them all out HERE. Notice that the only new ones they have on-hand are Emma Frost (kinda cool), all their different versions of Phoenix (awesome) and Supergirl (eh). I'm most excited about Catwoman and Black Cat, but it looks like the former, at least, isn't coming out until 2011. I guess that'll give me some time to save my pennies, anyway.

Velvet from Odin Sphere

Yup, gonna need this one, too. Odin Sphere is one of my favorite PS2 games, but the earlier Gwendolyn figure was too expensive for my tastes. Velvet is a bit cheaper, I think, and the sculpt is better.

I really need to get back to this game...

Postscripto: WOW, release dates are all over the map for this figure. January 2010, March 30, 2010, "early April" 2010, and even June 2010. Can a brother get a solid figure, here?

Postscripto2: WOW, prices are all over the map for this figure. The cheap end is around $80, the high end is $130. My bet is somewhere in between. I have ordered her from Bosco's, though, because they are "pretty sure" they're getting her anyway. Now, to sell a kidney...

Postscripto3: Okay, deep breath. I'm going to pre-order her from Bosco's. I will be required to put a down payment down (of 20%) because they won't be able to sell her to anyone else. Her total cost is...$130. Damn. However, sadly, this is my cheapest option. Every internet store has cramp-inducing shipping fees, even eBay. And this really is a beautiful figure. I will be reminding Bosco's that Yamato has a US distribution center, so hopefully they can get her a little cheaper that way than overseas.

Upcoming Purchases

Not sure if you're all aware that I "collect" comic and gaming superheroine figures. Most recently, I found a deal on a wonderful statue of DoAX2's Kokoro on Amazon. Of course, the thing was over a year old by then, but still, $60 instead of $90 is pretty nice. Here's a picture of my figure shelf...


"Collect" is in quotes because...my gosh...these things are expensive. I buy maybe one a year, or if it's a good year, one every six months. Seriously, they're ridiculous. See Brandy down there, in yellow? She's from my favorite comic, Liberty Meadows, and she cost me $180. I got a talking-to from the wife because of that. I was in Seattle at the time. She was not fun to drag back home on a plane, either. Totally worth it! Otherwise, from left to right, top to bottom, we have the top shelf: Black Widow (Marvel), Tifa Lockheart (FFVII), Jessica (DQ8), Kasumi (DoA2), and Rogue (Marvel); middle shelf: Batgirl, Power Girl, and Wonder Woman (all DC); bottom shelf: Kokoro (DoAX2), and Brandy Carter (Liberty Meadows).

Anyway, only two figures (that I'm aware of) have caught my eye in the upcoming year. The first to release, supposedly this month is Kasumi from DoAX2, from the same company that did Kokoro:


I don't know if I'm totally sold on her. The face just seems off to me, like her features are too small. I'm gonna have to see the figure in person before I make a decision. Also, and this is important, she's reportedly $100, which is a tough pill to swallow, so I'll probably end up waiting until the price drops on Amazon like I did with Kokoro. The second figure is a bit more reasonable, though: $50 for Psylocke, from the same people who brought me Rogue and Black Widow:


I don't think she releases until June. For both figures, I'd probably have to special-order through one of the local comic shops. I've consistently had better luck getting the figures sooner from A-1 Comics & Collectibles than Bosco's, which is disappointing, because A-1 is like a half hour away, whereas Bosco's is ten minutes away. The Marvel girls people are also coming out with a version of Phoenix that I like a lot except for the crazy hair. This is another figure I'll have to see before I buy...if somebody in town accidentally orders it and I stumble into the store at the right time. That's not gonna happen, so I'll probably rely primarily on figure reviews on blogs when she comes out.

Now, onto my figure wishlist*: Jill Valentine, Mai Shiranui, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Big Sister (Bioshock), and Samus Aran...in her Zero Suit, not her Varia Suit. One of these things is not like the other...one of these things just doesn't belong...

*In many cases, there are already figures of some of these characters. Mai Shiranui, for example, has countless figures. However, exactly NONE of them appeal to me. Ame-Comi just released a version of Poison Ivy, but she looks like a friggin' wood nymph.