Tag: Club Infinite Earths

DC Universe Classics Mirror Master Headlines Matty Sales Day on 8/15 and Young Justice 2-Pack Gets a Reprieve

It’s sales day on MattyCollector.com – something I often and gladly forget because I’m subbed up like a toy gangsta – and DC Universe Classics Mirror Master from Club Infinite Earths is the headliner. Here’s the link to the handy August 15 bundle page. Due to our arch-enemy, Logistics, there’s no figure from the Club Eternia subscription, but if you still need a Masters of the Universe Classics fix, you can pick up this month’s figure from the 30th Anniversary sub, Sir Laser-Lot.

I’m not a big fan of the design Geoff Johns came up with when he was 8 years old. To some of you I know that means I’m a cranky old guy who doesn’t doesn’t know how to have fun with toys (yes, I also was underwhelmed by Vykron). But to each his own – if you’re a Laser-Lot fan, I’m glad Mattel made him for you.

Also, with Young Justice subscriptions at the halfway point to hit the minimums for the green light, Mattel extended the sub order window by 2 weeks – and delayed the ship date (only if YJ fans buy enough, we keep getting reminded) by three months. I’ll keep hoping that Mattel eventually gets to the point where they’ll do a true pre-order – that means no thermometer – because it will mean they’ve made a good enough product that they trust we’ll buy in mass quantities.

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Five Takeaways from the Batman and DC Unlimited Reveals

A couple of days back, BigBadToyStore listed the second waves of Batman Unlimited and DC Unlimited, with estimated arrival in the 1st quarter of 2013. For Batman Unlimited, we’re getting the garishly colored Planet X Batman (I guess “Zur-En-Arrh” isn’t packaging friendly) and the Dark Knight Returns Batman. And in DC Unlimited, we’re getting Batman from Injustice: Gods Among Us and Wonder Woman in her New 52 costume.

There’s been a lot of flux in Mattel’s DC collector-oriented retail offerings – here are the five key takeaways from these reveals:

1) Thank Grodd that the DC Universe Club Infinite Earths subscription went through, because Mattel’s DC collector-oriented offerings at retail haven’t been this limited since before Classics launched five years ago.

It wasn’t that long ago that we were seeing waves of seven figures, with retailer exclusive waves and two packs – so we’ll be suffering withdrawal going down to waves of four figures. The first waves of Batman and DC Unlimited had 3 figures each, but if retail has pushed that down to 2, Mattel DC is at the stage in the retail channel that Hasbro was at a few years back with their 2-pack offerings. It took a couple of lean years before Hasbro came back with a reinvigorated Legends re-launch, and we’re probably just at the start with DC.

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It’s Official – Masters of the Universe Classics Club Eternia and DC Universe Classics Club Infinite Earths are a Go

Toy Guru delivered the news via YouTube – both the MOTUC Club Eternia and DCUC Club Infinite Earths are moving forward. Given the doom and gloom from the past few weeks, I was surprised that both got enough subs to get the green light. And while DC squeaked by, Masters got a last minute push so strong that the sub hit 135% of its target – Toy Guru promises that at this level there’s even more goodness in store for MOTUC in 2013.

He also announced Geldor as the winner of the fan vote. Apparently, the Franz-Josef and mohawk combo was just enough to get him past Illumina, by a scant 27 votes.

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DC Universe Classics Club Infinite Earths Hits the Subscription Threshold

Congratulations to collectors who have been hoping that the DC Universe Classics Club Infinite Earths will go through for 2013. Glancing at the MattyCollector order page for Club Infinite Earths, which now shows as sold out, you’ll see that the thermometer has passed the first target. Sure, folks are still on pins and needles waiting for official word, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we are waiting on a grandiose announcement of victory from Mattel via email instead of a simple post on the Matty forums that All Will Be Well. (I expect that to extend to Masters of the Universe Classics Club Eternia, but that sub was bogged down by an invisible thermometer that we didn’t even know existed until a short while ago.)

So, a little blue and a lot of green (you can read that as willpower or money) got us over the line at what seemed like the last possible moment – certainly a comic book finish. But while this means we’ll be getting Saint Walker this year, you can forget about Brother Warth or any other fully-tooled figures (Doomsday anyone?) for 2014, since there was just wasn’t enough appetite to get to that second threshold on the thermometer.

Am I glad the sub went through? Absolutely. At the same time, I cringe at the thought that Mattel’s all-or-nothing tactics have worked, because I think that ultimately leads to complacency and inferior products. I hope that Toy Guru and company keep in mind how close it actually was this year, and work to improve character selection and provide options for folks who can’t go all-in. And for the subscription drive next year – can we dump the tired thermometer? Why not fill up a power battery? Really – that should have been an obvious choice for the team filled with Green Lantern fans. 🙂

Last Chance to Sign Up for the MattyCollector 2013 Subscriptions

There’s just a few hours left to sign up for the 2013 MattyCollector.com subscriptions, so it’s time to nut up or shut up – just put your order in at the MattyCollector subscriptions bundle page.

I get it – there’s lots of reasons why you might be thinking about quitting the subs this year – like how Mattel has delivered the news that even the Masters of the Universe Classics Club Eternia subscription is at risk, or the price increases, or some of the character choices, or the uncertainty about who else is in the line-ups. Ultimately, you’ve got to have faith in the creative teams at Mattel and the Four Horsemen to keep on delivering the action figures that we love from these lines.

Last I heard, Club Eternia is close to the finish line – your sub could get us over it. And Club Infinite Earths has made some significant progress – it’s at least 3/4 of the way there. I haven’t heard anything about the Watchmen Club Black Freighter sub, so I’m hoping that one is done (one and done, I always say… I said that once) – and with 6 known figures, if you’re a Watchmen fan, this should be a slam dunk! Don’t delay – club subscriptions close at 11:59PM Pacific tonight.

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