Beetle Bailey (Dark Horse Comics)

Beetle Bailey
Dark Horse Comics
2000

I read Beetle Bailey in the Sunday Funnies when I was a kid and my parents had a subscription to that now very obscure thing known as a newspaper. However, I never really put much stock into the stories or cared beyond my visit to the can with the paper under my arm. To me it was just a way to pass the time while passing a...Well, you know where this is going.

As such, I didn't really pay much attention to Dark Horse's 2000 release of action figures with books packs - A decision I have since come to regret.

I have to admit, there is an essence of fun to this minimal line. The figures look spot on to their funny pages counterparts and admittedly I wouldn't mind tossing these books in the bathroom (if you know what I mean). Not only that, but these figures are a beast to track down these days. They're not expensive by any means, just really difficult to find.

 Beetle Bailey

 Sarge

 Miss Buxley

 General Halftrack

If you simply want the figures and don't care about the packaging, you may have better luck tracking down this seven pack which included all four of the above plus three more.

 Seven Piece PVC Set

with Beetle Bailey*Sarge*Otto*General Halftrack

Miss Buxley*Cookie*Lt. Flap

Beetle Baily, and Sunday Funnies in general are one of those things that as an adult I can say I definitely took for granted in my adolescence. I miss those simpler times of being able to pull the multi-page funnies from my parents paper, sprawl it out across the ground of the living room and just disappear into short, sometimes funny, often times over my head clips of comics. Of course, these days if I did that it would take me about an hour to get back up.

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Usagi Yojimbo (Antarctic Press)

Usagi Yojimbo
Antarctic Press
1998

Many people know Usagi Yojimbo for his numerous appearances in Mirage's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as the 80's TMNT cartoon - Which lead to the highly popular figure back in the day. However, Usagi is far more than just a here and there sidekick / ally to the Turtles. In fact, his real name isn't even Usagi Yojimbo. It's Myamoto Usagi.

Usagi began his comic book history in 1984 when creator Stan Sakai who conceived the character as a supporting role in The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy. However, as Sakai developed the character, he also created a world where he felt readers would be drawn into. Though he appeared in a few books here and there, it wouldn't be until 1987 that Usagi Yojimbo appeared in his own comic book title which is still being published today.

What has helped Usagi to become so popular is his inclusion in multiple crossover titles. This is made possible by Sakai who is the sole rights owner of the character. As such, he can determine when and where his character makes an appearance without having to first wade through the typical legal red tape which would accompany a corporate owned entity.

It's no doubt his appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made Usagi Yojimbo a household name among kids of the 80's, but it's only fair to say this is definitely not a one and done character. As we said above, he's by no means only a sidekick.

By 1998 Antarctic Press were struggling to find a foothold in the action figure market. They had released a few obscure lines since 1996, but had yet to produce that one item which would put them on the map. One of their last attempts was the very small, very short lived Usagi Yojimbo line.

The series is technically a one shot, with only Usagi being produced. However, it does contain some variants / exclusives. The mass market figure was produced on an orange card while the exclusives were produced on blue ones making them easily distinguishable.

If you're looking for a plastic version of Usagi Yojimbo which is spot on to his comic book iteration, then look no further. This figure captures all those details in magnificent detail with just the right amount of articulation. For added fun, the figure even comes packaged with a Tokage - Which for those of you who don't know, this is simply a dinosaur like creature which roams freely around the world of Usagi.

Fun fact: Tokage creatures have even appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Dark Horse Variant (Limited to 500)*Platinum Edition (Limited to 2,000)

Unfortunately for Antarctic Press, 1998 was the last year for them. It seems they were unable to really make make an impact in the world of action figures, and like so many before (and after) them found themselves going out of business.

What makes this all the more unfortunate is the fact that these days the Usagi Yojimbo figure is not only scarce, but also rather expensive on secondary markets. The variants will set you back anywhere from $40.00 to $60.00 a piece. The orange carded figure will set you back anywhere from $20.00 to $40.00. Not a bad profit for a line nobody wanted when it was originally released.

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The Dirty Pair (Dark Horse Comics)

The Dirty Pair
Dark Horse Comics
2002

"The Lovely Angels" - Kei and Yuri are the leading duo in The Dirty Pair. Though the characters were created by Haruka Takachiho, the figures we see today are based on the Dark Horse Comics versions which were adapted from Takachiho's work by Adam Warren when Dark Horse acquired the rights to release comics in the USA based on the characters. Since then, the Pair have been featured in numerous US released mini series, one shots and shorts.

Despite being a limited run of figures, Dark Horse's plastic renditions don't skimp when it comes to the detail, articulation, and in general the great design of everything form the package to the toy. These figures are fairly spot on to their inked versions, and each figure features eleven or more points of articulation.

In addition to the figures, Dark Horse released a few more items based on the characters. One such item was the below ten inch statue. Though we're not big fans of inarticulate "toys", we can definitely see the draw that this particular item would have to fans of the series. It's a pretty cool piece of "art".

10 Inch Statue

As we mentioned, Dark Horse also produced other items based on Kei and Yuri; a pair of shot glasses, and a pair of t-shirts. These items were all advertised on the back of the carded figure packaging - In addition to a handful of graphic novels featuring the two.

Much like a lot of obscure toy lines we've talked about here in the past, The Dirty Pair figures and statue don't sell for too much these days on secondary markets. However, this may be because most sellers are asking far more than people are willing to pay. At $30.00 per figure (mint on card), most buyers with any interest are passing. On occasion a figure will sell for about $20.00, but this is definitely not often. However, the typical price buyers seem willing to pay for these are $8.00 to $10.00.

The statue seems to fair a little better - Though it is definitely rarer than the figures. We've seen sealed ones priced around $80.00 (with no buyers), and opened ones sell for around $20.00.

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Flaming Carrot (Dark Horse Comics)

Flaming Carrot
Dark Horse Comics
1999

Flaming Carrot was a character we personally got introduced to in 1993 when he was featured in a crossover with Mirage Comic's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Though we don't really recall if the story was good or not at this point, we do know that it was enough to intrigue us in the character in general, and seek out more stories.

Bob Burden created Flaming Carrot back in the 1970's and his first appearance in comic form can be traced to Visions number 1 - A magazine published by the Atlanta Fantasy Fair in 1979. Since then, he has been featured in numerous volumes of his own title published by Dark Horse and Image Comics, and is even credited as a founding member for the group Mystery Men. Wouldn't that have been awesome if he was in the movie?

The "hero's" origin story depicts him as your average everyday comic book fan who on a bet read 5,000 comics back to back. Unfortunately this caused him to suffer brain damage, and thereafter he appeared directly as the Flaming Carrot. He has no super power, just a large carrot mask that lights on fire, and has a storage compartment for his nuclear pogo stick - an invention from Dr. Heller of the Mystery Men. Carrot also wears a utility belt akin to that of Batman. However, unlike Batman's belt which contains several useful gadgets, FC's is stuffed with the likes of rubber bands, sneezing powder, silly putty and random playing cards - All of which are deadly weapons in his hands.

When Dark Horse Comics began developing and releasing action figures based on their own brands, one of the choices was Flaming Carrot. Though only one figure was produced, it can be found in two variations - The regular figure which has red pants, and a chase variant with green pants. The figure came packed with a few accessories; a hook launcher, pistol and two grenades. The top of the carrot also featured an LED/battery feature that allowed it to light up showcasing the flaming feature.

Though the front of the card was rather plain, a unique feature on the back of the card was that it contained an origin story under the title of "Man on the Street Wants to Know! What is This Flaming Carrot?" Because the character is so obscure to many people, this was a nice added touch. We especially like the comic book format that was chosen as the layout.

While uncommon, the red pants version can be picked up on secondary markets for $15.00 to $25.00 mint in the package. Unfortunately if you're wanting to track down the variant green pants version you're going to need two things - A lot of patience, and a lot of money. Very rarely do we see them come up for sale, and when they do they average about $120.00 mint on card. If you buy the figure loose, make sure to inquire if the LED feature is in working condition or not. Otherwise you may end up paying a premium for a non working feature.

Join us next time when we take a look at The Beatles!

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Flaming Carrot Comics (Dark Horse Comics)

Flaming Carrot Comics
Dark Horse Comics
1984 - 2002

Flaming Carrot was a character created by Bob Burden which appeared in the 1979 Visions number one from Atlanta Fantasy Fair. Burden soon began publishing the book alongside Cerebus creator  Dave Sim under the company, Aardvark-Vanaheim. The series ran from 1984 to 1985 (issues 1 - 5), then switched publishing companies to Renegade Press (1985 to 1987 - issues 6 - 17) who continued the numbering from where the prior publisher had stopped.

Though the character had an avid group of fans, he really didn't blossom into popularity until the late 1980's when Dark Horse Comics picked up the series, and began publishing it from issue eighteen to thirty-one. This gave the books a lot more commercial exposure among comic readers.

The concept of Flaming Carrot is an interesting one. He's not actually a superhero. Instead, he's just an everyday average guy who on a bet decided to read 5,000 comics back to back. This caused him to suffer brain damage, and from thereafter appear only as the Flaming Carrot.

Though issue 31 was technically the last book in the series, Dark Horse published a one-shot entitled Flamnig Carrot & Reid Flemming, World's Toughest Milkman as issue number 32.

While the Flaming Carrot series was pretty solid when it was "on", a lot of times fans got frustrated with story lines that never got completed, and were abandoned. In addition, Burden promised numerous stories and concepts in various letter pages that never came to fruition - Leaving many fans often times feeling strung along (lied to if you will).

Join us next time when we take a look at Bone!

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Star Wars: Dark Empire (Trilogy) (Dark Horse Comics)

Star Wars: Dark Empire
Star Wars: Dark Empire II
Star Wars: Empire's End
1991 - 1995
Dark Horse Comics

Being that it's May 4th (May the 4th be with you by the way), it seemed appropriate to start our comic book month off with one of the most well received Star Wars titles in comic history - Dark Empire.

Whether you like them or hate them, series in the (somewhat) now defunct expanded universe helped to keep the franchise afloat through the 1990's when little people seemed to care about Star Wars. It introduced more characters, locations and vehicles than we could probably ever mention, and hooked fans as it drew them into a much larger world.

One of the stories that paved the way for this was the Dark Horse Comics title, Dark Empire. When first released the series took off in popularity, making it difficult to track down the first few issues which sold out across the world. The book quickly became an easy cash grab on secondary markets, and was put into a second print run.

The premise of the story surrounded the resurrection of the Emperor in a clone body, which as the series continued to unfold in its subsequent sequels, we found him doing this multiple times. It also took Luke Skywalker down the path of the Dark Side, pitting him against his sister in a final duel. It also featured a subplot which showcased the struggling Rebel Alliance as they fought against the Empire's new machines, World Devestators.

Featuring familiar faces from the Star Wars Trilogy all slightly aged, it was a fan's dream come true, and a fantastic six issue mini series to boot. The series concluded in October of 1992.

Though it could have ended there, Dark Horse Comics revisited Dark Empire in its sequel series, Dark Empire II in 1994. This new story picked up where the last left off as the Rebels now have the Empire in full retreat. Luke Skywalker is focused on rebuilding the Jedi, but still struggles with his grip of the Dark Side.

Despite selling almost as quickly as the prior series, Dark Empire II failed to hook fans such as the original had. What didn't help the story was that yet again it leaned heavily on the return of the Emperor...Again.

By the time Dark Empire II was in production, Dark Horse Comics was pretty much determined to make a Trilogy out of the series. However, unlike the first two installments, the last didn't have the name Dark Empire in the title.

Once again the Empire has their hands on a weapon with enough power to destroy a plant...Unfortunately for Leia Organa Solo, they're pointing it directly at her. Rather than focus his attention on destroying planets, the now rapidly aging/dying Emperor is focused on destroying the future of the Jedi by killing her children. The fate of Leia and her children all depended on Luke Skywalker being able to protect his sister.

The story comes to a head with the ultimate sacrifice of Empatojayos Brand as he binds his soul with Palpatine's in an effort to save young Anakin Solo from the Emperor's attempts to posses him. This sees the final end of Emperor Palpatine...Maybe.

These days the entire story has been collected many times over in graphic novels, so one doesn't need to track down all fourteen of these (somewhat) hard to find issues. Though we know at this point Disney has deemed almost all of the fictional writings based on Star Wars to be non-canonical, this is still a fantastic read.

Join us next time when we take a look at The Infinity Gauntlet!

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Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Comic Book Figures) (Mezco)

Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Comic Book Figures)
Mezco
2005

With the mild success of the 2004 Hellboy (movie) figures, Mezco fired up 2005 with an all new series based on the comic book renditions of the characters. Much like the prior series, this particular line was big on variants that for the most part were subtle differences to Hellboy's face. However, this time there weren't as many.

SERIES 1

Hellboy*Hellboy (Gritted Teeth)*Hellboy (Open Mouth)

SERIES 1

Kriegaffe Number 10*Liz Sherman*Lobster Johnson

SERIES 2

Alien*Hellboy with Rocket Pack

Johann*Roger

One of the more coveted figures from the series is the 2005 San Diego Comic Con exclusive Lobster Johnson. While the overall figure is nothing more than a clear blue plastic, the packaging, which was a really nice two piece box, really helped to sell this thing.

EXCLUSIVE FIGURES

Lobster Johnson (Clear) - 2005 San Diego Comic Con

Exclusive figures were a big part of the series, but were mostly limited to SDCC.

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON EXCLUSIVES

Hellboy with Heads*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat)*Abe Sapien 

FIGURES.COM EXCLUSIVES

Hellboy (Battle Damaged - Open Mouth)*Hellboy (Battle Damaged - Clenched Teeth)

Join us next time when we take a look at The Walking Dead Television Series 3 and 4!

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Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Movie Figures) (Mezco)

Hellboy
Mezco
2004

Hellboy is a highly underrated comic book movie if you ask us. Because the character isn't necessarily mainstream, or at least wasn't prior to the movie, many people passed on it, and those said people missed out. Ron Perlman captures the look of Hellboy perfectly, and as an actor comes through as someone who is actually enjoying playing the part on screen.

The film is based off of the character's first mini series, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction from Mike Mignola and John Byrne, published by Dark Horse Comics. Since its original inception, Hellboy has expanded to numerous other story arcs in comic, television and movie form.

To coincide with the movie's release, Mezco produced a small line of action figures. Variants were the name of the game, most of which contrived of various incarnations of Hellboy with simple changes to his mouth position or various clothing.

SERIES 1

Abe Sapien*Hellboy (with Big Gun)*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat)

SERIES 1

Hellboy (with Trenchcoat) Variant Chase with Teeth Showing*Kroenen

Rasputin with Hellbaby*Sammael

SERIES 1.5

Anung Un Rama*Abe Sapien (Battle Damaged)*Hellboy (with Stockade)

SERIES 1.5

Hellboy (with Trenchcoat - Open Hand)*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat - Closed Hand)

Officer Kroenen*Hellboy (Shirtless with Dumbbell)

In addition to the regular waves of figures, Previews released their own package variations. These were denoted with small stickers which labeled them as being from Previews. The figures were no different from those released in the regular line.

PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE

Abe Sapien (Black Suit)*Hellboy (Battle Damaged)

Hellboy*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat)

PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE

Kroenen*Rasputin (with Hellbaby)*Sammael

The last two pieces produced were San Diego Comic Con exclusives. Much like the other variants in the series, the only difference between the two are the mouth positions.

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON EXCLUSIVES

Hellboy (Open Mouth)*Hellboy (Closed Mouth)

Join us next time when we take a look at yet another Mezco Hellboy series based on the comic book series!

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