Toy OTD: DC Direct Kingdom Come Figure Series 2: Shazam (2004)

I remember Mark Waid's Kingdom Come being DC's answer to Marvels, ushering in an era of highly-polished 'event comics': sort of the comic-book equivalent of a summer 'tentpole' film. Since comic book characters have always been heavily merchandised, it wasn't much of a stretch to anticipate Kingdom Come action figures. DC Direct took on the challenge of making small versions of illustrator Alex Ross' re-imagined superheroes.

It's no small feat - Ross' style is quite detailed and realistic looking. While both this line and its companion series (the Justice action figures) produce mixed results, it's very impressive that any of these toys hit their target. This is a property that could only be done with the manufacturing technology and resources available today.

It may not be one of the best KC toys, but Shazam (aka Captain Marvel) is a nice one. As you probably already know, I'm primarily a purist - but I really like Waid/Ross' take on the character. A bit emotionally arrested, and there's an eerie djinn vibe about him now. He really is a being rooted in magic: he feels a lot less comforting, more unpredictable.

The sculpt is quite good - lots of subtle detail, but not too much. It evokes Ross' style nicely, right down to matching a pose from one of his paintings. The button-corner for the tunic may be a bit much, though, and the sculpt of the cape seems rather small and crumpled.

The paint work is pretty simple, as most of the figure is cast in the costume color. The overall effect is fine, but the facial detail struggles to support the sculpt and winds up looking a little like makeup. It might be as good as it can be, considering the sculpt and the scale. The only other problem is that the boots aren't painted (or cast) to match the metallic accents as they should.

The articulation is fairly basic - joints at the neck, lower biceps, wrists, hips and mid-calves. This preserves the look of the sculpt effectively, and isn't awkward to pose. The lack of knee and ankle joints aid balance and stability, but limit play value. I'm fine with this since I feel it's more of a display piece.

Balance is a mixed bag. The figure does come with an elegant display base, but it's huge. In fact, it seems far too big for any of the KC toys, and also suffers from the typical DC Direct display base problem. A few holes cast into the base can be used to hold a tiny peg. The peg fits into a hole on one of the figure's feet - the other foot doesn't have one. This usually results in the peg getting stuck in the foot, and/or the toy falling over. This base-mounting design has rarely worked for me, and unfortunately almost all of the DCD figures use it.

The packaging is well thought out and attractive. Simple black boxes with the graphic novel's logo on them - the additional text uses a similar font to maintain the look. Quite clean on the front, with great Alex Ross box lining art to create a crowd effect. The hang tag on the back allows the toys to be displayed on retail shelves, or hung on pegs.

You can still buy this figure for a decent price, but you'll have to shop carefully. eCrater has one for sale for $18.99 + shipping, but they can go as high as $89.95 + shipping at toyglobe.com. Be patient and have fun!