Like a lot of geeks, nerds and fanboys (fangirls too, you gals spend some serious coin on collectables), I love action figures. If I had to choose between collecting comics and toys, it would be a hard decision, but I’m pretty sure toys would win out in the end.
My home office is beginning to look more like the action figure aisle at Target or Toys R Us, than an office. I have figures, accessories and vehicles from Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics and even Battlestar Galactica, but the figures (collectables, dolls or whatever you want to call them) are collected in my office because when it boils down to it I’m a kid a heart.
The picture of Batman to your left, is one of the newest figures released by DC Direct; the Flashpoint Batman. What makes this figure so special, it’s not Bruce Wayne under the Cape and Cowl. It is a Batman figure featuring Bruce’s father Thomas Wayne for the first time ever. When this figure came out my comic book store had 4 of them… I almost bought all 4 just to sit outside and offer to sell the other three for a marked up price, almost.
Now, just because you buy a figure and keep it sealed, don’t expect to see a big pay off right away. If you are collecting to make money, then you have to do one of two things, buy in bulk or buy rare limited edition figures or vehicles. I know most of the guys and gals of my generation wish they could have held on to some of their original Star Wars toys still in the packages for a payday now (FYI… I still have my original 1977 sheets and pillowcase, but they are in no shape to sell and I hold onto them for sentimental purposes more than anything).
I think everyone collecting figures out there have the ones they like best or look for the most, for me it is the Bat-family, Green Lantern Corps and Green Arrow. Every now and then a new figure or collectable comes out and it just has to be mine. At Comic Con 2010 they had a Starro the Conqueror set that mimicked the Brave & the Bold #26 cover, featuring Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, the Flash and Green Lantern. If that wasn’t enough, it also featured a voice over track by Kevin Conroy (the one true Batman). Needless to say, it was a must have.
Comic Con 2011 featured a Voltron figure (with blazing sword) and voice over of the opening credits and a Young Justice Superboy Clone Chamber (with little g-nomes and blue LED lights). I’m guessing you can see a pattern here. While these figures are nice, the real treasures are the Con exclusives, like the Reverse Flash figure this year (only 4000 of them).
So if you are into toys, thinking about getting into toys or just a kid at heart; don’t go into it expecting to pay for your kid’s college or retire early. The gems of the toy worlds aren’t always going to come for Target or Toys R Us, you may be better off finding the rare Con exclusives or limited edition runs of different figures, vehicles and collectables.
For your viewing pleasure, here is a small sample of some of the figures in my collection:
