Leading off the new arrivals is the Bishoujo Mystique statue, and a pair of repainted Ami-Comis statutes: White Canary and Star Sapphire Wonder Woman. The Ami-Comis are kind of whack, basically just being repainted versions of the previously released White Canary & Star Sapphire, but hey, they may be someone else’s thing. Mystique, on the other hand, is a damn find low end statue, and the painting and sculpt is very well done, especially when it comes down to the skulls on her belt. In addition to Mystique, we also have the black costume variant Batgirl Bishoujo statue in stock, which  looks a ton better than the original release thanks to the new paint scheme/job.  I would easily recommend the 2 Bishoujo statues over the Amie Comis if you interested in picking any of them up.

After what seemed like forever, Square Enix finally released the first set of the Super Street Fighter IV Play Art Kai figures.  And it’s worth the wait, because these figures are MASSIVE! Chun Li and Ryu make up the first wave, and each of them come with a variant head, another set of hands, a  trademark fireball, and a stand for said fireballs. Again, I think it’s bull that Squenix doesn’t package figures for their figures anymore, but they’re fairly sturdy figures as is. Much more so than the previous Final Fantasy releases, as their exaggerated designs lend itself to this look well. They go for about $55 each, which is the average Play Art Kai price these days. If you’re looking for some colorful additions to your collection, and really dig Street Fighter, these figures are meant for you.

The biggest arrivals of last week have to be in the insane amount of new Bandai arts figure. We finally got in some new releases, and man, it’s nice to have something that’s not Shonen Jump related to talk about. The first new D-Arts is from the cult PS2 classic/new hit anime Persona 4, and is the main protagonist’s Izanagi.  The first D-Arts based on Persona 4 (there’s at least 2 more on they way), Izanagi comes with a stand (obviously), a plethora of variant parts and effects, and a massive bladed weapon. The other new Figuarts of note in is Rock Bison of Tiger and Bunny fame! He’s a massive figure, easily overshadowing Tiger and Bunny in terms of scale. What’s a little beat about the figure is the fact that he really doesn’t come with much outside of some variant hands. Still it’s well sculpted and has a ton of articulation. So it’s not like it’s a bad figure. We also got a few older mecha-releases in stock, specifically Gundam F-91, and Eva Units 0-1, and the Berserker Unit 0-2. And a ton of Kamen Rider figures. Possibly a literal ton. A lot regardless. Prices for the figures start at $45 and go up from there. With the rate most of these have been selling out, I advise you come by ASAP if you want em.

The Spartan Gungnir Custom is that such figure. While some of the armor sets have come with parts to make a Gungnir, this is the only one so far available in the single pack. It seems like McFarlane REALLY wanted to get creative with this one. Not only does he have the robot arm and extra ammunition, but he also uses the larger male body to give him more character. It’s this kind of ingenuity that seems to be lacking on some of the figures in this line, though it seems like they’re slowly starting to add them in.

Instead of the standard Gungnir helmet, McFarlane opted to use one of the enhanced versions. This is a pretty cool choice since most helmets in the toyline are just the standard version. Too bad they did it to one that you need a really high rank and lots of credits to get.

The inclusion of the robot arm is one of my favorite additions to this figure. It’s the same one Kat uses, and it surprisingly still looks good, if a bit thin. It adds a lot of character to the design, too. How’d he lose the arm? Did it get chopped off in a swordfight with an Elite? Did he lose it in a reactor explosion? That’s for you to decide.

Even the Sapper chest adds a lot of character to him. But as cool as it is, I don’t think it’s enough! I gave mine one of the extra ammo belts from the armor pack I reviewed a few weeks ago—makes him look truly overkill.

But if a robot arm and tons of ammunition wasn’t enough, they decided to give him Jorge’s body, making him the only other “big guy” in the line! He even got a medical pouch on his left thigh and extra shell casings on his left arm.

However, being the “big guy” has its drawbacks, as he can’t equip the jetpack like the regular male and female bodies. It’s unfortunate, but it wouldn’t be a McFarlane toy if he was perfect, now would he?

The Gungnir comes equipped with the same grenade that every other Spartan has, and the rocket launcher, a first for the Reach toyline. It’s a bit difficult to get into his hand at first, but not near-future like some of the Covenant weapons. The sight of the rocket launcher in the robot arm is just awesome. It’s difficult to get him to hold it in both hands, but it can be done.

If there’s one Halo Reach figure I’d recommend to anybody, it’s this one. He’s just so cool. He has his shortcomings like all others, but none of them outweigh the awesomeness of the rest of his design. If you want one for yourself, come into FPNYC for yours.

Remember, for the evening’s festivities:

• 21 and over only
• Limited seating
• Limited capacity
• 1st 100 people will receive an autographed item from Robert Kirkman
• 1st 50 will receive a free gift bag from Forbidden Planet
• Doors open at 6PM
• 6:30 Panel starts
• 7:30 Meet and Greet (if you want to bring something to be autographed this is possible- just note there will be no autograph line and no guarantees you’ll get one)
• Food and drinks provided

You MUST RSVP to attend.  To do so send an email to events@futureus.com with the event name in the subject and “FP” in the body.  Include your name and contact info.  We expect to fill our guest list quickly, so hop to it.

See ya Friday night!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gak is the one responsible (and getting the bejeesus beat out of him) for this video. I highly suggest checking out his other videos for some more of his great editing and his willingness to figure out new SFX to keep us entertained. One of which is a Death Eater vs an Auror in case any of you need something to get you even more excited for the last Harry Potter movie.

That is until I got wind of this in the paper last week. And now I am sharing. It’s what I was taught in kindergarten and it’s taken me until now to be alright with it.

Yes. This is a screen shot of the Great Gatsby video game, more specifically the title screen. I highly suggest going and spending a few minutes playing this. Notes from the about page of the site that hosts it says the original was found at a yard sale. Oh– do I love yard sales for this very reason.

Now- it’s been a while but I’m pretty sure they force you to read The Great Gatsby in school still… this should definitely be added to the curriculum too!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now tell me that Watson thing isn’t creepy as hell, creepier than Ken Jennings and Alex Trebek combined even.

In related news, a new version of Monopoly was revealed at the New York Toy Fair this past week.  It looks like the computers have taken over our boardgames too.  I haven’t been able to keep up with video game technology since the Super Nintendo system was new, now I have to relearn Monopoly?  Why make this too complicated for me too?

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s elementary, my dear Watson.

I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

• Coming soon: Battlestar Galactica MMO.  Slated to be a browser-based space strategy game, offered exclusively on syfy.com for its first 30 days, this is being developed by obscure (and relatively unproven) Norwegian developer Artplant- which leads one to assume their app (or bid) wowed the Bigs behind such a high-profile and expensive license.

• Comic Book Resources has an exclusive preview of next week’s big release, Siege #3.

• Tor Books is offering 200 free copies of Cory Doctorow’s next YA novel For the Win to video gamers under 19 years old to review.  Says Cory:

If you’re under 19 and want a free early look at the book for review on your blog/paper/whatever, send a note with your address to torpublicity@tor.com with “FTW” for the subject-line.  Also include the name of your blog or school paper.  For fun, also share a game you enjoyed recently and why.

We did this with Little Brother a couple years back, on the grounds that books for young people should be available for young reviewers to write about, rather than just adult reviewers who try to figure out whether young people will enjoy them.  It was a real success and I’m happy to be repeating it.

• And because I think it’s effin’ funny that I could probably start my own Tron blog at this point (“Daily Recognizer” anyone?  Or how about “Bits?”), Disney is renting a Hollywood billboard (Santa Monica and Westwood) through December 2010 and posting new teaser images from Legacy every six weeks.  Here’s yesterday’s, the third poster (click to enlarge and bask in its total radness):

CIVIL WAR? Nothing. KICK-ASS? A warmup. What if the smartest, toughest costumed bad ass in the world was totally evil? Meet Nemesis. He’s systematically been destroying the lives of every police chief in Asia, and he’s now set his sights on Washington, DC. Between you and me, the police don’t have a chance. Do not miss the book that EVERYONE will be talking about by the creative team that made CIVIL WAR the biggest book of the decade.

• Heidi MacDonald’s superlative comics culture blog The Beat has moved!!! And what a snazzy logo:

THE BEAT, now in its sixth year, is dedicated to providing the timeliest and most pertinent news and information about comics, the people who make them, the readers who love them and the world that shapes them.

HEIDI MacDONALD is an award-winning writer and editor and a veteran entertainment industry journalist. As an editor she has worked for Disney, Warner Bros., and Fox, among many others.

• “I hope I look like God.” -Anthony Hopkins on playing Odin in the now-in-production Thor film directed by Kenneth Branagh.  More at Sci-Fi Wire.

• VGrevolution reviews Star Trek Online…

• …and MTV Splash Page’s Rick Marshall reviews the new Planet Hulk DVD favorably.

And to finish off your meal you can wash it down with this from Warren Ellis regarding Iran’s launch into orbit of an experimental capsule containing live animals:

Ahmadinejad may be an evil prick, but his black, kinky sense of humour is undeniable. Obama just cut the nuts off NASA, and Iran (it claims) puts a capsule in orbit.

CIVIL WAR? Nothing. KICK-ASS? A warmup. What if the smartest, toughest costumed bad ass in the world was totally evil? Meet Nemesis. He’s systematically been destroying the lives of every police chief in Asia, and he’s now set his sights on Washington, DC. Between you and me, the police don’t have a chance. Do not miss the book that EVERYONE will be talking about by the creative team that made CIVIL WAR the biggest book of the decade.

I know! What a cop out! Designers have released codes to unlock costumes like the Batman RIP costume, The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, the Batman Beyond costume, even the movie versions of the costume.

Unfortunately, players who have the game on XBOX, PS3 and the like will probably have to wait until the game is updated. I’ll wait patiently.

So, far the game is flying off the shelves, and is being hailed left and right as “the best superhero game ever.” Speaking of, I gotta get my buddy over here to loan me the game, so, I can post a review.