AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 8/17/10

I should know this by now, but Matty can be very strict when it comes to deadlines, even when those deadlines fall on the Sunday the weekend after Comic-Con when we’re still recovering. In other words, we missed the submission deadline for questions this installment – and judging from what I’m seeing for round-up links, so did a few other folks.

Luckily, we had a round of answers from a previous installment that we missed. Unluckily, this was from the weeks leading up to San Diego Comic-Con, so there’s a bit of a time warp effect…

1) The carded pics of DC Universe Classics Wave 14 are a lot of fun – I love Ultra-Humanite’s head peeking out of Hourman’s package, and the placement of stickers that allows that. Quick question on the names you put on the packages – we know you said that the Obsidian name is held by another company now, but we’re still curious why you went with Green Lantern instead of Alan Scott? John Stewart and Katma Tui had their names on the package.

At the end of the day, DC Comics lets us know what name to use on package. Sometimes, like with Obsidian, a name may not be available for a toy (if another company owns the trademark, for example) and we will work with DC on an alternative name.

2) Chief Carnivus was a fun reveal for Masters of the Universe Classics. What will we see at San Diego Comic-Con – will we find out the remainder of the figures for 2010?

Yes, at SDCC we will reveal the rest of 2010 and some of 2011!

3) Looking forward to the 2011 lineup, can you tell us what we might expect for the number of Masters of the Universe Classics figures that will take their influence from MYP / 200X, Princess of Power, and New Adventures?

We will definitely include some 200X characters in the 2011 line-up, but it is too early to reveal any details in characters or design choices influenced from the 200X line. You’ll just need to wait for SDCC for more!

Post-SDCC update: After the MattyPalooza Panel, Mattel had on display the remainder of Masters of the Universe Classics figures for 2010 and a preview of what’s coming in 2011.

4) Reading about people’s MattyCollector.com experiences over this month and last, it seems like while the increased quantities helped keep items in stock a few minutes longer, the increasing popularity of the collector lines has resulted in longer waits with what people are calling the MattyCollector White Screen of Death (WSOD). Have you exhausted all the options with Digital River, or can we expect some improvement in the buying experience?

We are very committed to continually improving the process and will not rest until we work all the bugs out. Improvements are happening, and we hope to implement even more as time goes by.

According to It’sAllTrue.net list of sell-out times, they have been improving. But as you might expect, sell-out times are still subject to a character’s popularity. Count Marzo lasted 55 minutes, while Whiplash dipped back down to 43. The WSOD still plagues every release day, though.

5) Last year’s San Diego Comic-Con was too far in advance of the WWE line’s launch to have any figures on display – will that line be present at SDCC this year? What can fans expect to see? Any hints?

We will be showing most of the figures for the remainder of 2010 with a sneak peak at 2011. Nothing more that we can reveal now, you’ll just have to head out to the show. And don’t forget our exclusive The Undertaker figure on sale first at SDCC!

Post-SDCC update: Mattel’s WWE panel at SDCC was awesome, as were the figures they put out on display.

Here’s the other Ask Mattel Q&As from around the web (to be updated as they surface):

• ActionFigureInsider.com
• Bzzurkk
• ComicFigs.Net
• Cool Toy Review
• CriticalMess.net
• DC Collector
• DC Hall of Justice
• Experience the Wonder
• Figures.com
• The Fwoosh
• He-Man.org
• Infinite Hollywood
• ItsAllTrue.net
• JoeAcevedo.com
• Kastor’s Korner
• Pendragon’s Post
• Poe Ghostal’s Points of Articulation
• Pop Culture Network
• SuperHeroTimes.com
• Toy News International