This week, there are two Marvel mini-busts, one comic, one TV, and a massive Star Wars statue, and all three are unbelievably awesome.
Marvel Comic Green Goblin 1/7 Scale Mini-Bust
A Diamond Select Toys release! He’s one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes, and now he’s one of the greatest mini-busts ever! With a smoking pumpkin bomb in hand and a pumpkin-a-rang in the other, Green Goblin sneers in 1/7 scale in this all-new portrait. This mini-bust measures approximately 6 inches tall atop a Goblin Glider-inspired base. Limited to only 3000 pieces, it comes packaged with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a full-color box. Designed by Nelson X, Asencio, sculpted by Juan Pitluk. SRP: $90.00
Marvel Disney+ Hawkeye 1/6 Scale Mini-Bust
A Gentle Giant LTD release! The Avenging Archer has arrived in the Marvel movie-inspired line of mini-busts! Capturing Clint Barton as he pulls an arrow from his quiver, bow in hand, this 1/6 scale bust of Hawkeye is based on the Hawkeye TV series and stands 6 inches tall atop a pedestal base. Limited to only 3000 pieces, it comes packaged with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a full-color box. Designed by Nelson X, Asencio, sculpted by Juan Ramos. SRP: $130.00
Star Wars The Mandalorian Din Djarin on Speeder Bike Premier Collection 1/7 Scale Statue
A Gentle Giant LTD release! This is the big one! At 9 inches tall and over a foot long, this 1/7 scale statue of Din Djarin astride a speeder bike is the crown jewel in any Mandalorian statue collection. With Grogu hanging out of a pouch on the back of the bike, and one of Din’s feet touching the ground to pivot his attack, this statue is limited to only 1000 pieces and comes packaged with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a full-color box. SRP: $400.00
In my capsule review of Ultimate Spider-Man #1, I described it as the Spider-Man I need at age 30, and it continues to be that in its third installment. Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, and Matthew Wilson continue to craft a Spider-Man comic book that is funny, poignant, action-packed, and has actual relationships between its characters while to continue to dig at (Not quite construct.) some annoying things about past Spidey comics and superhero books in general. The big, initial shocker in this series was that Uncle Ben is very much alive so this issue goes into his and J. Jonah Jameson’s journalism endeavor as they piece together evidence to take down the Kingpin with the kind of, sort of help of Peter Parker. Uncle Ben and Jameson are competent, driven writers, but they’re not business owners and are light years from taking down New York’s crime boss. This, along with Spider-Man continuing to get used to being Spider-Man and figuring out whether to keep his identity secret from certain people, creates a relatable through-line that being an adult is mostly faking it until you make it.
One great thing about Ultimate Spider-Man #3 is its deadpan comic time. Beneath all the charts and elaborate world-building, Jonathan Hickman is just a silly little guy who spends pages roasting different Spider-Man costumes (Via Peter’s daughter May) and showing how boring and ridiculous stake-outs are. Checchetto’s visuals add to the rhythm of the jokes with his spot-on renderings of the costumes and reaction shots from different characters. I died laughing at a silent beat panel of Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson glaring at Peter when he vouched for the coolness of Spider-Man in a conversation about how the Green Goblin was taking down different Kingpin-owned properties. There’s lots of levity and verbal sparring through the book to go with the actual superhero action. It’s a fond reminder of the first volume of Ultimate Spider-Man and Brian Michael Bendis’ snappy patter although Hickman has a much different writing style and doesn’t cover the art with excessive word balloons.
Like the original Ultimate Spider-Man series, Hickman and Marco Checchetto introduce the Green Goblin as a potential threat for Spider-Man and intertwine him with the tragedy that made Peter Parker go from thirty-something family man to superhero. However, they depart from the typical hero/villain dynamic (This is foreshadowed in an earlier conversation between Uncle Ben, J. Jonah Jameson, and Peter.) and have them find common ground in a battle with Bullseye, who works for the Kingpin, but also maybe the Maker. Like the 616 version, this Bullseye is boastful and has wicked aim with a deck of cards in addition to being an unreliable narrator. Instead of the usual fight each other, then team-up, Jonathan Hickman and Checchetto let the battle flow naturally with Bullseye catching Green Goblin pumpkin bombing one of Kingpin’s properties while Spider-Man is on stake-out.
Initially, Spider-Man fights them both, but over the course of the fray, he realizes that he has a common enemy with the Green Goblin, and they make quite a team. Plus Spider-Man’s suit uses some of the same tech as Green Goblin’s cementing their connection. With the reveal of Green Goblin being Harry Osborn, it’s reminiscent of the team-up between New Goblin and Spider-Man in the Spider-Man 3 film, but with less angsty build-up. (There’s lots of Raimi Spider-Man trilogy in Ultimate Spider-Man‘s DNA, and I’m here for it.) Sure, there are bombastic fisticuffs with bright colors from Matthew Wilson and wide screen panels from Marco Checchetto, but the fight scenes also build the relationship between Peter Parker and Harry Osborn while also showing Spider-Man’s improvement as a superhero from the previous issue. (He kicks ass instead of having his ass kicked!) Also, on an emotional level, Peter and Harry are just two young men with extraordinary abilities and deep grief trying to do some good in this world, and it makes sense for them to have a bond instead of just being the arbitrary good guys/bad guys.
With well-timed jokes, flashy art, and fluid visual storytelling, Ultimate Spider-Man #3 continues to show the difficulty of doing good and helping people in a world that is literally undergirded by evil. The scenes with Peter and his family, former boss J. Jonah Jameson, and potential new friend Harry Osborn truly show that it takes a village to save the day and not in the cliched “Avengers assemble” kind of way. Although there’s hints at the Maker and larger Ultimate Universe narrative, Hickman and Checchetto keep the stakes and small and personal in this series, and it’s why this book is easily one of my favorite monthly ongoing superhero comics in recent years.
Story: Jonathan HickmanArt: Marco Checchetto Colors:Matthew Wilson Letters: Cory Petit Story: 8.6 Art: 8.9 Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
The One:12 Collective Green Goblin sports his classic look, wearing a fitted bodysuit, tunic, and cross body satchel bag which can store his assorted bombs. 5 head portraits are included – three Green Goblin portraits with varying facial expressions and two unmasked Norman Osborne portraits. And of course the Goblin Glider is included!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
The Green Goblin (Upgraded Suit) 1/6 Scale Collectible Figure also features an expertly sculpted portrait capturing Willem Dafoe’s maniacal portrayal of Norman Osborn / Green Goblin. The hand-painted headsculpt is equipped with moveable eyeballs to allow collectors to adjust the character’s gaze when posing the figure.
The Green Goblin’s upgraded costume is painted in metallic green with battle-damaged effects, and comes with a weathered fabric poncho. Other accessories include Norman’s goggles, his pumpkin bombs, attachable forearm blades, and more.
This site contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from these sites. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.
I might get hate letters from the over-sixty crowd for saying this, but 50 years after he killed off Gwen Stacy in the legendary Amazing Spider-Man #121, plotter Gerry Conway does an incredible job course correcting it in What If…? Dark: Spider-Gwen #1, which is co-plotted and scripted by Jody Houser with art and colors from Ramon F. Bachs and Dee Cunniffe. Of course, this comic won’t have the historical value of “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”, which made superhero comics grow up for better or worse with the death of a key Amazing Spider-Man supporting character and also set a precedent for the “women in refrigerators” trope. But it’s a heartstrings-tearing look at loss and revenge through the characters of Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn that definitely lives up to that “Dark” subtitle while offering a sliver of hope and heroism in the end. In many ways, it ends up being a classic Spider-Man comic, but with Gwen Stacy instead of Peter Parker picking up the mantle as she takes responsibility for a big mistake she made and defending New York as a masked hero.
A recurring theme throughout What If Dark: Spider-Gwen is the toll that secret identities take on interpersonal relationships beginning with Gwen realizing that she never really knew Peter Parker, and that Harry Osborn never knew him either as well as his father Norman Osborn. Conway, Houser, and Bachs channel pain and loss throughout this one-shot, and most panels of Gwen are her alone channeling her grief over Peter’s loss into revenge. Even though Mary Jane offers her comfort and companionship, Gwen doesn’t bond with her until the very end of the comic after her life has plunged even deeper into darkness. What If Dark: Spider-Gwen is an elegy to the isolated, lonely superhero constrained by turn of the century genre conventions and lacking the vibrant community around contemporary heroes like Miles Morales, Jaime Reyes, Kamala Khan, and even Superman when Brian Michael Bendis wrote him.
While Conway and Houser’s writing adds new psychological depth to the character of Gwen Stacy that wasn’t present in her original stories, Ramon F. Bachs and Cunniffe’s art capture the look and the feel of that transitional period between the Silver Age and Bronze Age of superhero comics. The original Green Goblin suit and the Osborns’ tire tread haircuts are intact, but there are plenty of shadows, dark warehouses, and guns. The heroes might still be wearing primary colors, but Dirty Harry and Death Wish were showing in the cinema so putting on a trench coat and extralegally shooting a criminal wasn’t out of the question although Gwen justifies her pointing her father’s service piece at the Green Goblin to be justice because it belonged to a former police officer. The confrontation between Gwen, Harry, and the Green Goblin has masks and costumes, but lacks the wordiness and pro-wrestling-style fight choreography of the excerpt from Amazing Spider-Man #121 that opens the book.
Bachs’ art does the heavy lifting in the big emotional climax with some gorgeous, nostalgia-tinged work from him and Dee Cunniffe demonstrating how much Gwen loved Peter and also acts as a nice homage to Jeph Loeb and the late Tim Sale’s lovely Spider-Man: Blue comic. It’s a gorgeous page with sparse narration from Houser that is immediately undercut by the barrel gun and a reminder of the Dark in What If? Dark. This page and the whole last act of the comic are a reminder that all wearers of the Spider-Man mantle come from tragedy and an inability to stop bad things from happening like Harry Osborn becoming the “New Goblin”, or the death of their friends, families, and lovers.
Despite the title, What If? Dark Spider-Gwen isn’t a piece of edgelord superheroics. It’s actually a comics legend getting to revisit one of his classic storylines and with the help of co-writer Houser and artists Bachs and Cunniffe, Gerry Conway gets to give Gwen Stacy agency and a robust character arc even if the inciting incident of the story (Spider-Man drowning) is a little flimsy.
Plot: Gerry Conway, Jody Houser Script: Jody Houser Art: Ramon F. Bachs Colors: Dee Cunniffe Letters:Ariana Maher Story: 7.9 Art: 8.3 Overall: 8.1 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel Comicsprovided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
It’s a new year and that means new toys have begun shipping to local comic shops! This week, Diamond Select Toys’ first Gargoyles mini-bust arrives, as well as two new Marvel Gallery Dioramas and the newest assortment of D-Formz!
Gargoyles Goliath 1/7 Scale Resin Mini-Bust
A Diamond Select Toys release! Soaring out of your childhood Saturday mornings, the Gargoyles have landed at Diamond Select Toys, with a new line of 1/7 scale mini-busts! Measuring approximately 7.5 inches tall and 9.75 inches wide, this bust of team leader Goliath is based on his cartoon appearance, and is limited to only 3,000 pieces. It comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Designed by Barry Bradfield, sculpted by Varner Studios! SRP: $120.00
LoTR D-Formz PVC Figures Series 1 Counter Display
A Diamond Select Toys release! Form the Fellowship! The members of the Fellowship of the Ring come together in the first-ever series of Lord of the Rings D-Formz! Packaged in blind boxes, and arranged in a counter display, these 12 figures include two each of Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Frodo, plus one each of Gollum and Smeagol! Each figure stands 2-3 inches tall, and stands on a disc base. Designed by Barry Bradfield, sculpted by Rocco Tartamella! SRP: $8.99/ea.
Marvel Comic Gallery Green Goblin Deluxe PVC Diorama
A Diamond Select Toys release! Release the Goblin! Spider-Man foe the Green Goblin soars out of a cloud of smoke on his Goblin Glider, preparing to hurl a pair of pumpkin bombs at the web-slinger! This all-new Gallery Diorama is made of high-quality PVC, and features detailed sculpting and paint applications. Plus, it features a hole in the back so you can mount it on the wall! The perfect companion to your Pumpkin Bombs Spider-Man diorama! Designed by Caesar, sculpted by Alterton. SRP: $125.00
Marvel TV Gallery Captain Carter PVC Diorama
A Diamond Select Toys release! The Sentinel of Liberty joins the Marvel Gallery line of dioramas! As seen in the very first episode of “Marvel’s What If…?”, Captain Peggy Carter charges into action in this all-new Gallery Diorama. Cast in high-quality PVC, this sculpture stands approximately 10 inches tall and features detailed sculpting and paint applications. It comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed and sculpted by Paul Harding! SRP: $49.99
When Peter Parker’s identity is revealed, he turns to Doctor Strange for a magical solution. But the spell goes horribly awry and attracts the most powerful villains who have fought a Spider-Man in any universe!
Among these villains is the vicious Green Goblin and his seemingly reformed alter ego, Norman Osborn. This cunning and dangerous foe will push Peter Parker to his moral limits.
Inspired by Marvel Studios’ Multiverse-merging film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hot Toys has unveiled an all-new Green Goblin Upgraded Suit 1/6 Scale Figure as well as showcasing the incredible new Norman Osborne portraits for their previously announced 1/6 scale Green Goblin and Green Goblin (Deluxe) figures.
GREEN GOBLIN & GREEN GOBLIN DELUXE
Both the Green Goblin and Green Goblin (Deluxe) were showcased earlier this year — but now fans can get their first up-close look at the new Norman Osborne portraits that will be included with the figures.
Masterfully crafted based on Green Goblin’s appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Green Goblin 1/6 Scale Figure features a new hand-painted headsculpt of renowned actor Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn, as well as an interchangeable Green Goblin helmeted head, movie-accurate armor, his signature pumpkin bombs, and more! The special Deluxe Edition also includes an ultra-detailed 1/6 scale Goblin Glider with LED light-up features and articulated elements.
Both versions are available for pre-order now.
GREEN GOBLIN UPGRADED SUIT
In a surprise reveal, Hot Toys has announced another new Green Goblin figure, featuring his upgraded suit from the movie!
The Green Goblin (Upgraded Suit) 1/6 Scale Collectible Figure also features an expertly sculpted portrait capturing Willem Dafoe’s maniacal portrayal of Norman Osborn / Green Goblin. The hand-painted headsculpt is equipped with moveable eyeballs to allow collectors to adjust the character’s gaze when posing the figure.
The Green Goblin’s upgraded costume is painted in metallic green with battle-damaged effects, and comes with a weathered fabric poncho. Other accessories include Norman’s goggles, his pumpkin bombs, attachable forearm blades, and more.
This site contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from these sites. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.
Look out, Spider-Man – the Green Goblin is taking the spotlight! A recent sale at Hake’s Auctions set a world record for a Mego action figure, with the sale of an AFA-graded Green Goblin on card. Bringing in $76,700, it went for far more than originally estimated, a testament to the enduring popularity of the Mego World’s Greatest Superheroes line.
One of only two Marvel villains released in the Mego line, the Green Goblin debuted in 1975 and was commonly found in a window box. The carded series of figures only included him in the first assortment, making a Green Goblin on card the most difficult to find of all the Marvel characters.
The record-setting figure received an 80+ grade from the Action Figure Authority, even rarer for the almost 50-year-old toy. Add in a recent appearance in the latest Spider-Man film, and it was a recipe for success. While not a record-breaker, a carded Mego figure of lesser Spider-foe the Lizard (graded 75+) went for $7,139 in the same auction.
This week, Diamond Select Toys and Gentle Giant Ltd. have a few new items shipping to stores that are sure to make an impression! Whether it’s a statue of a vigilante, or a half-scale bust of a ninja or a supervillain, you’re sure to be impressed by this week’s offerings!
Crow Movie Premier Collection Eric Draven Resin Statue
A Diamond Select Toys release! Eric Draven returns as an all-new 1/7 scale Premier Collection Statue! Based on the movie The Crow and measuring approximately 11 inches tall, this statue depicts Eric atop a flaming crow-design base, with his guitar slung across his back and the titular crow alighting on one arm. Limited to only 3,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Designed by Caesar, sculpted by Rocco Tartamella! (Item #JUL212507, SRP: $175.00)
A Diamond Select Toys release! Because honor demanded it! It’s the first-ever G.I. Joe Legends in 3D bust, and it’s of Cobra’s resident ninja, Storm Shadow! This half-scale bust captures the sword-wielding villain in his trademark white outfit, complete with swords, arrows, throwing stars and more, and sits atop a sword-hilt pedestal. Limited to only 1,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Salvador Gomes! (Item #JUN212286, SRP: $200.00)
A Diamond Select Toys release! The Green Goblin is now a Legend in 3 Dimensions! The iconic Spider-Man foe gets the ½ Scale bust treatment with this all-new sculpture, capturing the grinning villain atop a smoking pumpkin bomb pedestal. Limited to only 1,000 pieces, it comes packaged with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a full-color box. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Alterton! (Item #AUG212425, SRP: $175.00)
Green Goblin glides into the One:12 Collective! Mezco Toyz recently released a retro/classic Spider-Man and now we have a Green Goblin to go with him!
The One:12 Collective Green Goblin sports his classic look, wearing a fitted bodysuit, tunic, and cross body satchel bag which can store his assorted bombs. 5 head portraits are included – three Green Goblin portraits with varying facial expressions and two unmasked Norman Osborne portraits.
Green Goblin is never seen without his most prized invention, the Goblin Glider which he can securely attach to with the included foot straps. The Glider features hinged wings, two removable hover FX and thruster FX, and attaches to the included posing post.
After being teased for so long the Green Goblin is here and looks like a fantastic addition to collections!
