Want a Very Expensive Max Zorin Action Figure?

©Sucklord

It's art! Bootleg toy artist Sucklord is offering an unofficial Max Zorin action figure for $175. It's part of a line of Christopher Walken character figures. If you buy it, I don't think you're supposed to open it up and play with it.

Mezco Made a Diabolik Action Figure... and You Can Pre-Order it Now!

Toy company Mezco has been displaying a prototype for a Diabolik action figure since at least summer of 2017, and I was beginning to wonder if it would ever actually happen. Then, last week, they did a blog post offering a good precis on the character's history, and also reassurance that Diabolik was still on their mind. And yesterday, the figure became available for pre-order on the Mezco website! (Be warned though... it isn't cheap. You may want to polish off your own suction cup climbers and stake out Mezco's warehouse!)

Shipping in summer 2019, the figure is part of Mezco's high-end One:12 Collective figures. Those figures are known for their realistic clothing and ultra posability. The figure runs about 16cm tall (a little over 6 inches), and features over 30 points of articulation. It comes with two interchangeable heads (one masked, the other not), and eight interchangeable hands to create various poses or grip accessories like throwing knives or loot.

Mezco's Diabolik figure is based on the Italian comic book (fumetti neri) character created by the Giussani sisters, and not specifically on Mario Bava's sublime 1968 film version thereof (one of the all-time classic Eurospy titles), so the maskless likeness sadly doesn't resemble John Phillip Law. But the film costume was so true to the comic (as was its logo) that with the mask on you can easily pretend your figure is Law's Diabolik! And it's a damn cool figure either way. Diabolik may be a master thief and not a spy, but the Jaguar-driving supercriminal embodies so many tropes of the Sixties spy fantasy! (As does the movie.) Let's hope this toy sells well and Mezco follows it up with a matching Eva Kant figure!

Check out the figure in detail and put in a pre-order (requiring a $20 deposit) on Mezco's site.

To get an idea of how the prototype developed over the past fewyears, check out toy news sites like Super Punch or Action Figure Fury, both of whom posted good images from various conventions.

Read my review of Bava's Danger: Diabolik (one of my all-time favorite movies) here.

Cool Spy Toys: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Gets Lego-ized

ComicBook.com reports (via Blastr) that Lego will release a nearly 3,000-piece set to construct the famous S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. This has to be one of the coolest spy toys in a long time! Of course the toy is meant to tie in with Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron movie, not with the classic Sixties Jim Steranko or Jack Kirby Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comics from which it originates, but it's cool either way! Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was Marvel's way of cashing in on the Bond-based Sixties spy boom, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was essentially their version of U.N.C.L.E. But because Marvel was making comic books, not movies or television (and largely because the creative genius Steranko was drawing them), they ventured further into the realm of the fantastic than even Ken Adam could realize on screen. Aston Martins with ejector seats didn't go far enough; Nick Fury drove an invisible Porsche capable of flight. And a building with a secret entrance through a tailor shop would hardly do as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s HQ (although they did have one of those, too); Fury needed a flying aircraft carrier from which to direct his intelligence operations! The helicarrier is perhaps the ultimate symbol of Marvel's unique take on spy-fi, which blended espionage with superheroics and science fiction. And though it's remained a mainstay of the Marvel Universe in comics ever since, it seemed so outlandish that I never dreamed we'd see a big screen version. But Joss Whedon proved me gloriously wrong in Marvel's The Avengers (2012), realizing the improbably airborne spy headquarters with as much realism as possible. So much so that with that set-up, audiences had no problem with a whole fleet of helicarriers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)! And now, at last, we've got ourselves a Lego helicarrier. Oh, how I want one! But the price is likely to be prohibitively steep, and the size would pose a display problem. But take a look at this video to see how detailed and all around awesome it is, and you'll probably want one too! Owing to its enormity, the helicarrier isn't in scale with standard Lego figures, so Lego have created a cast of even smaller figures to assemble on its deck. Among, naturally, are superspies Nick Fury (in his Samuel L. Jackson incarnation) and Black Widow (based on Scarlett Johansson).

Read more about the helicarrier in my S.H.I.E.L.D. primer, here.

New Spy DVDs Out This Week: Cars 2

New Spy DVDs Out This Week: Cars 2

This week sees the release of the latest Michael Caine spy movie on DVD, Blu-ray and an astounding total of five different formats! Following in the long, proud tradition of The Ipcress File, Billion Dollar Brain, The Black Windmill, The Jigsaw Man, The Holcroft Covenant, The Quiet American and countless others comes... Disney/Pixar's Cars 2. I think it was a stroke of genius for Pixar to turn their computer animated sequel to a movie about anthropomorphic cars into a spy movie. Because these movies are aimed squarely at young boys, and what's cooler to young boys than spy cars? It was a certain Aston Martin DB5 and Lotus Esprit that got me hooked on spies for life. Furthermore, since the Cars franchise makes more money off of merchandise than box office, well, what better toy cars are there than toy spy cars? Because it wasn't just those movie cars that got me hooked... it was also their miniature incarnations from Corgi. So I'm solidly sold on the idea of a spy movie about talking cars with one of the greatest spy stars of all time, Sir Michael Caine, playing the lead spy car, Finn McMissile, who seems to be an amalgam of 007's Aston Martin and The Saint's Volvo. But despite my respect for the idea... I have to admit, I still haven't seen the movie. (I do have a toy Finn McMissile, though, displayed right next to my Corgi Bond cars!) I desperately wanted to, but the weekend it came out I was travelling, and then opportunity after opportunity passed me by. It's the biggest movie regret of my summer. But, anyway, now I've got the chance to finally catch up in comfort of my own home! Not only that, but I get to (have to?) choose between those five different configurations. Disney has released Cars 2 on regular DVD, 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo in BD packaging, 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in DVD packaging), 5-Disc DVD/Blu-ray/3D Blu-ray/Digital Copy and the Cars Director's Collection which runs a whopping eleven discs. All the versions come with the theatrical short Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation (which features Timothy Dalton reprising his Toy Story 3 role as Shakespearean hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants as an added spy fan bonus), a director's commentary and an all-new "Cars Toon" short, but if you want more in-depth special features like deleted scenes, making-of documentaries, "Set Explorations from the Different Cities in the Movie," and "Nuts and Bolts: A Sneak Peek of Cars Land World Tour – Interactive Map," then you'll have to buy the 5-disc version with the stupid 3D stuff and digital copy. That runs $49.99 SRP as opposed to $39.99 for the two combo versions and $29.99 for the DVD, but luckily all of them are considerably cheaper than those list prices on Amazon, and there there's only a $2 difference between the 2-disc and the 5-disc configurations. That Director's Collection megaset will set you back $119.00, though Amazon's got it on sale now for $79.99.

The Spy Star of the Summer: Finn McMissile

Michael Caine may have starred in more spy movies than just about anyone over the years. His latest spy role is his biggest in decades—and one with a bit of a twist.  As previously discussed, in Pixar's Cars 2, he plays a spy car.  The conceit of Cars and its sequel is that anthropomorphic cars are the characters. I still haven't seen the original, but I don't believe there are people in this world.  So when thinking of possible new characters for a sequel that might sell lots and lots of toys, the notion of spy cars must have been an obvious one! Caine plays Finn McMissile of British Intelligence. Though the design probably owes as much to Sixties BMWs as the Aston Martin DB5, James Bond's famous car is clearly the inspiration for the character.  As seen in the second trailer, Finn has lots of tricks up his sleeve—everything you'd expect of a good gadget car. (Plus, his Beemer-like grill makes a great mustache!) Obviously, those gadgets feature prominently in the new Cars toy line. Disney has made a mint in merchandising off of the Cars brand, and the cynic in me suspects that the whole reason for a sequel was to sell more toys. But really, what better reason than to sell spy car toys? I would have absolutely loved this movie if it had come out during my childhood—and the toys.

I'm guessing that, like me, just about everyone reading this blog grew up with one version or another of the Corgi James Bond Aston Martin. (My own model from the late 80s or early 90s was probably the most boring; it wasn't gold like the original and it didn't have the tire slashers like the slightly later version or the newest one, and the Bond figure and the guy who got ejected were both just hunks of brown plastic, not painted... but I absolutely loved it nonetheless! Still do, in fact.) Since the current Bond movies aren't really targeted at kids and the Aston Martin in the last one didn't feature any gadgets, it's only right that Disney provide this generation with a cool spy gadget car toy. But they're not offering just one. Instead, there are many, many iterations of mini Finn McMissiles to be had, in different scales and with different functions. The Secret Spy Attack Finn McMissile is a very traditional spy gadget car, sort of like the AC Gilbert Goldfinger Aston, but with a big plus: not only do missile launchers pop out when you push the buttons, but it talks in Michael Caine's voice!



This one is crazy. They call it the Zero Gravity Finn McMissile, and it's a remote control car that drives not only on the floor... but on the walls! That's just what every parent ever has wished for, right? A remote control car that their kids can drive on the walls. And it seems to make a horrible noise, too... even better for aggravating mom! You've gotta check it out:



Then there are some smaller ones, like the "Submariner" version (clearly influenced by another Corgi classic, the Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me) and the "Lights and Sound" version, which is pretty self-explanatory. I just love that spy cars will be the must-have toy again, right up through Christmas! But maybe coolest of all is this life-size remote control version. No, that one's not for sale, unfortunately. But it's doing a promotional tour of the country, so it's possible you might be able to see it in person. (Though you might feel kind of weird about that if you don't have kids.) Check out the pictures on the Disney fansite Stitch Kingdom. Looking at ones like this one, from the rear, you get a much better sense of the design than you do from the trailers. I love how they just added fins to a very recognizable DB5 back end, right down to the Bond-inspired license plate!

There's also a YouTube video here of the life-size touring cars, including Finn.

Sideshow Announces Nick Fury Figure (UPDATED)

Premium toymaker Sideshow Collectibles has released the first image of a new "comiquette" of Marvel superspy Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.  I'm not quite sure what a "comiquette" is, but I'd imagine it's a grandiose way of saying statuette.  (Sideshow makes a lot of replicas of maquettes from movies, but obviously these comic-based ones are original creations.)  I'm not sure what the scale of this thing is, but I'd imagine it's too big for most spy fans to be able to display.  Still, it's awfully cool, so I wish I had room for it!  This awesome likeness of Fury is clearly based on Jim Steranko's iconic cover to Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #4, also seen as the cover to this collection. Sideshow's Nick Fury comiquette will be fully revealed on their production blog (UPDATE: now live!) on Tuesday, May 17, and be available for preorder through their newsletter on May 19. These editions usually sell out, so if you're interested you may want to consider preordering. That same day, a comiquette of one of Nick Fury's deadliest (and sexiest) enemies, Madame Hydra, will also be available—also based on a classic Steranko design. The Madame Hydra figurine (UPDATE: more pictures here) is particularly notable because, to the best of my knowledge, this release marks the first toy of this character in any scale.  Sadly there was never a Madame Hydra Marvel Legends action figure, and I don't think there's yet been one in the Marvel Universe line.  Retail for both figures is a whopping $279.99.

COMIC-CON: More Bond Girl Barbies

Mattel had all of its Bond Girl Barbies on display at last week's Comic-Con International in San Diego, both the previously announced (and currently available) Jinx, Honey Rider and Pussy Galore who comprise Wave 1, and the forthcoming Wave 2.  Wave 2 of Mattel's James Bond series includes Barbie dolls based on Jane Seymour as Solitaire in Live and Let Die (in the high priestess dress, of course) and Maud Adams as the title character in Octopussy, apparently clad only in that white bathrobe.  Wave 2 cases include three dolls–one Solitaire and two Octopussies.  (So grab those Solitaires when you see them!) The dolls in Wave 1 are currently available through multiple outlets (very reasonably priced, too–at least compared to that expensive FAO Schwartz exclusive James Bond Barbie set from 2002–at just $34.95 a pop); Wave 2 is due out in August.  Cases are currently available for pre-order from Entertainment Earth.

Photos of the dolls in Wave 1 can be seen here.

Bond Girl Barbies!

This is pretty cool. The ever-vigilant Bish at Bish's Beat has spotted a new James Bond toy: Bond Girl Barbie dolls. Three Bond Girls are recreated in plastic: Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), Honeychile Rider (Ursula Andress) and Jinx (Halle Berry). The outfits look good and the hair is nice, but I'm not crazy about either of the bikini bodies. The Halle Berry doll looks emaciated! Maybe it's because of the disproportionately huge heads, but the bodies look small. Was there a PC-motivated change to Barbie bodies recently? These dolls don't seem as, ahem, full-figured as the old ones. If so, Halle Berry and Ursula Andress are the wrong figures to change the measurements on! The could probably pull off real-life Barbie proportions.

Honey fares a little bit better than Jinx thanks to her fuller hair, but both Bond Girls look like three-dimensional stick figures, which is too bad. I do get a kick out of Honey's lack of a belly button, however. It reminds me of the DC Showcase Dr. No comic book, which also omitted a belly button from Andress' likeness since belly buttons apparently offended the censors of the time! Pussy Galore actually fares quite well in the conversion to plastic. And not just because she's wearing clothes; her hair is also spot-on. The face doesn't look much like Blackman, but I like the look nonetheless.

All three dolls are certainly superior to the old Exclusive Premiere figures, though Berry's Sideshow likeness was better than this. This Pussy is more glamorous than her slightly masculine looking Sideshow counterpart, but the face on that one looked more like Honor.

These dolls aren't the first Barbie Bond Girls. In 2002, there was a release of Ken and Barbie as James Bond and a generic Bond Girl. The big deal with that set was that Barbie-as-Bond-Girl's dress was an original by EON costume designer Lindy Hemming, and it looked pretty cool. Barbie's garter holster housed a cell phone instead of a gun. At least these new, movie-specific Bond Girl Barbies are allowed to carry actual weapons!

You can order the set of all three new dolls here.

Pay $30 For A "Free" Exclusive Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Action Figure

Have you been searching and searching for a Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. figure from Marvel's blockbuster new 3 3/4 inch "Marvel Universe" action figure line? If so, you're searching in vain. It's not available in stores. Even though the one-eyed comic book superspy is pictured on every single package in the line, the only way to get a (quite cool) Fury figure in that size is as a mail-in premium. In order to get the limited-edition figure (which comes in neat black box with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and an arsenal of accessories), you must subscribe to Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited. Personally, I hate reading comic books on my computer, so that's not very appealing, but if it does appeal to you, then it might be a pretty good deal. I'm not sure how many comics you get access to, but it sounds like it might be a lot. The options are $59.88 for a full year's subscription, or $24.99 for three months' worth. Add to that the $4.99 "shipping and handling" fee that you must include with your mail-in certificate, and you're paying almost thirty bucks for the "free" figure, minimum. (And be careful, because it looks like Marvel will helpfully use your stored credit card information to automatically renew your subscription unless you stop it.) Still, it's a very cool figure (I saw it at Comic-Con, which is where the blurry picture at right comes from), and it's probably worth the money and the effort to Fury fans. Go here for all the details on how to get this latest Nick Fury action figure.

Timothy Dalton Action Figure Announced!

Also a Peter Wyngarde Figure

Toymaker Bif Bang Pow! has announced action figures of spy stars Timothy Dalton and Peter Wyngarde... for their roles in the 1980 sci-fi epic Flash Gordon. Unfortunately for Wyngarde fans, that means that the figure doesn't bare the Jason King actor's likeness. His role of Klytus wears a Dr. Doom-like metal face mask the entire time. Dalton's Prince Barin figure, however, is a fantastic representation of the star at that age. His mustache will make James Bond customization difficult, but then again there are certainly Dalton fans (Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright among them) who would prefer a mustached Dalton figure anyway. (Wright believes strongly in the power of Dalton's 'stache, and insisted he grow one for Fuzz.) I know that I can't wait to have a Timothy Dalton Prince Barin figure on my shelf! You can see more pictures (including comic book artist extraordinaire Alex Ross's designs for the Dalton Figure) on Bif Bang Pow!'s blog. Sideshow previously produced a high-quality 12-inch Dalton doll, but as far as I know this is the first Dalton action figure.

James Bond Action Figures Still Alive?

Remember those James Bond action figures that were announced from Corgi early this year, previewed at several trade shows (with fabulous photos)... and then disappeared without a trace? Action figure collectors are used to lines being delayed, but with two supposed release dates come and gone, things looked dreary for 007. And there was no official word from Corgi, furthering fans' unease. Well, last week, the ever-reliable Action-Figure.com had something to report on the matter. Apparently PopCo, the division of Corgi responsible for the figures (and the masterminds behind the fantastic line of Harry Potter figures and Golden Compass Figures) has gone under. Which is terrible. But all hope is not lost! Here's the relevant bit from Action-Figure.com's story:

Then of course there were the James Bond line Corgi showed off at the UK ToyFair this year (which we understand should still come in 2009 under Master Replicas).

Master Replicas is another company under the Corgi umbrella, so that bodes well. I really, really hope these figures still see the light of day, because they looked fantastic! And because, simply put, the world needs James Bond action figures.

COMIC-CON: S.H.I.E.L.D. Action Figures Galore!

I previously reported that Hasbro had a new Nick Fury figure on the way with alternate heads to turn him into multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but had no information on specifics. Turns out there's a whole slew of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on the way! And they're not just alternate Nick Fury heads. On display at Comic-Con were a fantastic Dum Dum Dugan figure (left), and a great Sharon Carter (aka Agent 13, and recently Captain America's girlfriend). I'll post two pictures of Sharon, because thanks to the glass of the display case and my flash, neither one came out great, but together they give a good idea of how cool she looks.

Then we have the whole assortment of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnell, including a random agent with changeable heads (helmet and goggles, or plain face), Iron Man (current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the comics) in his S.H.I.E.L.D. garb, Fury (in the background), Sharon, some superheroes, and Maria Hill. You can also see the Ultimate Nick Fury figure in the very back. Unfortunately, my picture of him in his packaging didn't come out at all, but we've already seen good pictures of Ultimate Fury.

Lastly, we've got a clearer view of the new Nick Fury sculpt. I still don't like it as much as the old ToyBiz figure, but he does look much better in person. I'm going to be buying a lot of Marvel Legends figures when these all hit shelves this fall, that's for sure!

An Army Of Fury

Looks like there's another Nick Fury action figure coming out in Hasbro's fall line of Marvel Legends two-packs, besides the previously mentioned Ultimate one: a new sculpt of Nick Fury Classic. But that's not all! This new Fury body will be available with various alternate heads to double as random S.H.I.E.L.D. agents! It's a little unclear right now whether the single figure will come with multiple, interchangeable heads, or if each different head will be a whole variant figure, each sold separately. Three different figures with three different heads were displayed at the New York Comic Con, apparently. Sadly the heads themselves don't seem to be based on specific agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we know from the comics, like Dum Dum Dugan or Jimmy Woo; they're just generic S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for collectors who like to assemble armies. Whichever head (or heads) it has, the Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent figure will come packed along with a Hand Ninja figure (also good for army building).

Wizard Universe has a great pic of the new Nick here, and Marvelous News has pictures of the other heads.

As with the Ultimate Nick Fury figure (and based solely on pictures), this new Hasbro sculpt doesn't seem to me to live up to the excellent figure Toy Biz put out a few years ago when they had the Marvel Legends line. Still, it's cool that Nick will be back in stores, in both of his current comic incarnations, this fall. The (Classic) Nick Fury/Hand Ninja two-pack is scheduled for October release.

Ultimate Nick Fury Action Figure On The Way

For those who prefer their Nick Fury looking like Samuel L. Jackson, Hasbro has an action figure of the Ultimate Universe version of the character coming this August as part of a Marvel Legends 2-Pack along with WWII Captain America. Sadly (and completely irregardless of which Fury I prefer), the figure itself looks nowhere near as good as the awesome Classic Nick Fury Marvel Legends figure ToyBiz put out several years ago. I'd chalk that up to the line changing companies; none of the Hasbro figures have been up to the standards set by ToyBiz. The new Hasbro figure doesn't even seem to properly capture the Jackson likeness from the comics--though I suppose that could be due to licensing issues with the actor!

In related Nick Fury news, the latest rumors seem to indicate that Jackson's cameo as the one-eyed superspy has been cut out of the final theatrical print of this summer's Iron Man blockbuster.

James Bond Action Figures!!!

I can't believe it. My dreams have come true. (I have very simple dreams.) The Corgi James Bond action figures I speculated about last year are actually happening! After several waves of stationary figurines (Gilbert called them "action figures" in the Sixties; Corgi made the best to date out of metal in the Nineties) and larger dolls of varying quality (Sideshow generally produced the best in their 12-inch Bond line), we're finally getting real, honest-to-goodness James Bond action figures! (There were some produced briefly by Hasbro in Mexico in the early Eighties, but they were terrible and are impossible to find; and there was, of course, the line of James Bond Jr. figures in the early Nineties, but they hardly count unless your ideal Oddjob wears a purple sweatsuit and lots of bling.)

CommanderBond.Net gave the heads-up yesterday to a story on Action-Figure.com about Corgi's display at the current UK Toyfair trade show. The website even provides lots of tantalizing pictures! And they look great. Really, really great. There will be waves of five-inch figures based on Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, and a range of seven-inch figures based on classic Bond. These ones will be less posable and more statue-like in nature, like McFarlane's 24 figures or the Star Wars Unleashed line. Characters include Moore, Connery, Brosnan and Craig versions of Bond as well as Solitaire, Scaramanga (yay!), Oddjob, Jaws, Pussy Galore, Vesper, Honey Rider and even Baron Samedi! (He actually looks very cool.) Imagine having a seven-inch Honey Rider on your desk! This looks set to be a great line, and will definitely net Corgi a lot of my personal dollars. I hope it does well in general and we end up getting figures from all the movies! (I really want Dalton, Lazenby, Tracy and Xenia... and a Rocket Pack Bond from Thunderball would be welcome, too...) The five-inch line will also include vehicles.

No matter what people say to me for the rest of the week, all I will hear coming out of their mouths will be, "James Bond action figures." (Luckily, people who know me well will accept this. I thank them in advance for their understanding.) I am very excited. Frankly, I think I'm looking forward to these toys even more than to Devil May Care or Quantum of Solace!

Random Intelligence Dispatches For Friday, December 7, 2007

New Young Bond Cover Art

The Young Bond Dossier spotted this excellent new artwork online for the upcoming (and long overdue) American hardcover edition of Charlie Higson's third Young Bond novel, Double Or Die. (Yes, America is just getting around to Number Three even though the fourth, Hurricane Gold, has already been released in the UK.) This cover, by regular Young Bond promotional artist Kev Walker, comes as welcome news after the recent revelation of a fairly lacklustre cover for the upcoming Bond novel Devil May Care.

Nick Fury In The Incredible Hulk?

Aintitcool News runs a rumor that Nick Fury might not only appear in the upcoming Marvel film Iron Man (which itself is still unsubstantiated), but also in The Incredible Hulk! It would be pretty cool to see the one-eyed superspy popping up regularly around the Marvel Film Universe, but I still can't get behind the supposed Sam Jackson casting.

New Nick Fury Figure

Speaking of Fury, there's a great new 4-inch metal figurine of him (classic version, Steranko-style) out now from Corgi! Pictures and further details coming soon...

New Eurospy Double Feature DVD

"Euroguy," a member of the Eurospy Forum, discovered a new legitimate Eurospy DVD in the offing from Wild East Productions (who generally specialize in Spaghetti Westerns). Spy Double Feature: Red Dragon and Five Golden Dragons will be available sometime next year. The latter film co-stars Christopher Lee.

More Chan From Fox

Even though they've now released all the surviving Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland, Fox will continue to release Chan collections with a brand new set of DVDs starring Sidney Toler in the title role. The Charlie Chan Collection: Volume 4 will be out on February 12, 2008 and include the films Charlie Chan In Honolulu, Charlie Chan In Reno, Charlie Chan At Treasure Island and Charlie Chan in the City of Darkness. The latter is a spy movie set in Paris on the eve of WWII. The set includes more of the incredible extras that have made all of Fox's previous releases in the series such a joy, and seems like a good indication that the studio plans to continue these releases until all the surviving Chans are on DVD. Once WWII hits, most of the Toler entries involve espionage elements.

James Bond Action Figures On The Way At Last?

Last month it was announced (and widely reported) that toymaker Corgi had renewed their license to produce toys based on the James Bond films. I paid little attention to these reports, because it was pretty much old news. I mean, Corgi is one of the very oldest Bond licensees out there; the relationship between 007 and the toymaker goes all the way back to Goldfinger! It would be terrible news if the license weren't being renewed, but it was hardly worth mentioning that it was, right? Apparently not.

Luckily, the folks at action-figure.com were reading the press release a lot more carefully than I was, and it contains some potentially exciting information. I'd assumed the agreement simply extended the company's deal to manufacture die-cast cars based on the series, as they've been doing such a good job of that for forty years. But it goes further:

This worldwide agreement will allow Corgi International to release both mass market product ranges as well as core collectibles on innovative product lines that include, Action Figures, Vehicles, Electronic Roleplay, Die Cast, High Specification Remote Control released under the Popco brand and High end Replicas released under the world renowned Master Replicas branding, amongst other items in varying scales and formats.

Action figures, huh? That's very exciting! The editors of action-figure.com points out that it's Corgi who will release the line of Golden Compass action figures this fall, to tie in with that movie, and their Daniel Craig sculpt (pictured) is very impressive! I'll second their thoughts and also hope that this is indicative of a line of 3.75 inch James Bond figures to come. After all, we've (for some unfathomable reason!) never had a line of true Bond action figures. Various companies from Mego to Sideshow have produced dolls in the 12-inch range of varying quality, and there have been lots of molded figurines over the years, from Gilbert in the Sixties (whose toys were actually billed as "action figures") to Little Lead Soldiers in the Eighties to Corgi's own stunning "Icons" line. But none of those were articulated or poseable. I don't care if they just put that Golden Compass figure in a tux (or even a tiny blue bathing suit if that's their prerogative!); it would be great to have an actual James Bond action figure!

Of course, the term in the press release is somewhat unclear. It could refer to another Icons-like line of figurines, or even just to the tiny figurines that come with some of the cars, but here's hoping not!

Comic-Con: James Bond

I've got lots of spy news from this past weekend's huge San Diego Comic-Con, and I'll start with a few James Bond tidbits.

The James Bond Encyclopedia

Publisher DK had the gallies for their upcoming James Bond Encyclopedia on hand at their convention booth. The large format hardcover book is not organized A-Z like most encyclopedias (including Stephen Jay Rubin's The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia), but divided into sections on topics like James Bond (covering Ian Fleming and the various actors to play the part), Bond Girls, villains, gadgets, vehicles, etc. Within each subject, it is A-Z. I only had a chance to flip through it quickly, but it looked like it focused primarily on the characters rather than the actors, and on things and people that appeared on screen rather than behind-the-scenes. It appeared fairly in-depth (as one would expect from Bond experts like John Cork and Collin Stutz), but didn't seem to offer lots of new, previously unseen photos like Cork's last Bond tome, The James Bond Legacy. (Can there possibly be any left?) Co-author Cork gratefully acknowledges Rubin in his introduction, and says it's impossible to attempt such a work without doing so. He points out some of the differences between the two books, the primary one being that Cork's encyclopedia is officially licensed by EON. That means, he confesses up front, no coverage of the '67 Casino Royale or of Never Say Never Again, both of which were given a lot of attention in Rubin's book. Judging from the other, similar encyclopedias DK had on display (like their Spider-man volume), the new James Bond Encyclopedia should be a top-notch production. It's due out in October.

Sideshow Craig On The Way

Representatives at Sideshow Collectibles wouldn't officially confirm it, but they strongly, strongly hinted that a Daniel Craig sculpt was in the offing. "Check the website," they said after pretending not to have heard of Craig. "Craig fans will be happy." So the Sideshow line-up of official Bond actors will soon, once more, be complete! I can't wait to see their Casino Royale figure. (And I do hope they go with the tux.)

Upcoming Femme Fatales Bond Cover

The magazine Femme Fatales has had plenty of Bond Girl cover stories in the past, but the one gracing an upcoming cover is a bit different. Instead of presenting previously published photos of past Bond beauties, a brand new photoshoot will portray contemporary models in a variety of famous Bond Girl poses, costumes and situations. Look for the issue in the months ahead.

Beckinsale Refused Bond

Apparently Underworld actress Kate Beckinsale is immune to 007's charms. At the Whiteout panel, she was asked if she had ever been offered a Bond Girl role. She said yes, but she couldn't remember for which film, and she had turned down the part. She claimed she didn't want to embarrass her daughter (yet she did Van Helsing!) and cited an unwillingness to appear in her underwear, which she seemed to think was required of all Bond Girls. "I'm getting a bit elderly for that sort of thing," the 33 year-old knockout modestly claimed.

I'll have more coverage of spies at Comic-Con soon, including Get Smart, 24, Whiteout, Hot Fuzz, Chuck, new spy comic books and more Bond!

Comic-Con: Another 24 Action Figure

McFarlane Toys revealed their second Jack Bauer action figure at San Diego Comic-Con this week, and Action-Figure.com has a picture. As usual with that company, it's more of a statue than an action figure, since it's frozen in a generally un-useful pose, but it's a cool pose at least!

Random Surveillance/Intelligence For May 5, 2007

(Because these bits are as much observations as news bits...)

James Bond & Indiana Jones Action Figures
I had pre-ordered this book (yes, that's the title) from Amazon last fall, but it was delayed and they weren't able to fill the order and then my Amazon Prime trial membership expired, and I kind of forgot about it. I recently noticed it was now listed as "in stock," and I ordered it mainly out of that weird cumpulsion that drives me to acquire every book ever written on James Bond, and not really expecting much from it. (To be honest, I expected it to be a self-published pamphlet more checklist than book.) Boy was I wrong! This is a really great book. It's handsome and glossy and lavishly illustrated throughout in full color. It provides a complete history of James Bond figures and dolls from the Sixties Gilbert line through the latest releases from Sideshow, including such oddities as Mattel's early '80s Bond toys available only in Mexico and the early nineties phenomenon that was James Bond Jr. Moreover, it uses the Bond and Indy licences to explore the history of action figures themselves over the last several decades, and presents a case for them being an art form. Weirdest of all, the book has been translated from French! I haven't been able to stop flipping through it since I got it. I'll post a full review once I've had time to study it in more detail, but it looks like it makes a great companion piece to Dave Worrall's book on Bond Corgi cars, and is a must-have for 007 memorabilia collectors.

Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich
John Malkovich, last seen spying against Rowan Atkinson in much-maligned Johnny English (a very funny spy spoof from the screenwriters of The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day, and a better movie than either of those ones--not to mention the two last Austin Powers entries) will star in the Coen Brothers' upcoming spy movie Burn After Reading. Already cast are Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt and Coen regular George Clooney, the latter as an assassin.

Dalton In Hot Fuzz
I saw this a few weeks ago and have been remiss in not yet mentioning the excellent comic performance Timothy Dalton turns in. Fans of his should definitely check it out. Critics accused Dalton's Bond of lacking humor, but the rare occasions on which he makes a comedy without the words "Beautician" or "Beast" in the title always prove that he's a very gifted comic actor. And anyone who's seen The Rocketeer knows he also makes a great villain, especially when he has a mustache. He may or may not be a villain in Hot Fuzz, but he certainly enjoys making us suspect him. Dalton recently described the movie as "Bad Boys II meets Agatha Christie," and that's a very apt description. Since the advertising only played up the bits spoofing American action movies, I was surprised at the remarkable restraint director Edgar Wright excercised in holding off on that stuff until the appropriate moment. Until it gets there, it has a lot of fun sending up traditional British small-town whodunits and, oddly, plays as a bit of a giallo. It's as good, and as funny, as Shaun of the Dead, and it's got lots of great cameos.

Contest
The Double O Section contest I mentioned the other day will begin on Monday night. Please check back then to see how to enter.