X-Men: Days of Future Past Minimates Box Set

Diamond Select Toys has released new photos of the Marvel Minimates "Days of Future Past" box set, and let me tell you, they look goooood. If you're a fan of minimates or DoFP, you're going to want these. 

Press Release:

"At this week's Comic Con International in San Diego, Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum will release their Marvel Minimates box set based on the classic X-Men comic storyline, "Days of Future Past." Published in Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142, the story showed a grim future where mutants were second-class citizens that had been largely exterminated by giant Sentinels, and it became one of the touchstones of the X-Men mythos.

The 4-pack of Minimates captures some of the storyline's most important characters – Future Wolverine, Future Kitty Pryde, Mystique and a Future Sentinel. Each stands approximately 2 inches tall with a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories, and we've taken some photos to show off all those parts! Check out the photos in the gallery, then come to booth 2607 on the show floor to pick up a set for $20, or check with your local retailer to see if they can order it in for you!"


More photos after the break

Wolverine Gets the Anime Treatment

Marvel Anime - Publicity Still

I just found out Marvel Anime premiered a few weeks ago. I guess I’m a little late to the party. Oops.

Billed as a way for Marvel to "push the boundaries with the Marvel Universe and seek new mediums for [their] characters," Marvel has teamed up with Madhouse, one of the top Japanese animation studios in the world, to help "expand the Marvel brand with a truly global vision tailored to themes and artistic styles popular in Japan, creating a uniquely localized and cross-cultural adaptation of the Marvel Universe." (Marvel Official Press Release)


I decided to check out Wolverine and for the most part, I like it. I watched the Omega Red episode. I have no idea what else is going on other than Wolverine’s in Japan, he kicked Omega Red’s butt, and people are trying to kill him. Basically your average day for Wolverine. Oh, and Mariko is around. (Die-hard Wolverine fans know why that's a fun fact.)

While I enjoyed it, I was left a little confused. Maybe it’s because I am jumping in in the middle, but I don’t know how old Logan is supposed to be. That might seem odd, we all know he’s over a hundred, but the animation makes him appear much younger than most portrayals, and Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes and Gilmore Girls fame sounds extremely young.  I know it has been said that the backstories were going to be played around with but unless they completely reworked his history, something does not add up. 


He is established as an X-Man and he has the adamantium but he does not sound like a man who has been through more than a lifetime's worth of crazy or had his mind mucked up.  I don't know if that was a conscious choice of the creative team or if it is just because Ventimiglia is a young man who has not abused his voice enough to sound rough and gritty.


Overall, I really like the animation. The backdrops are gorgeous and Omega Red looked badass. It’s Wolverine who kinda ruins it for me. He’s tall with a mullet and really oddly placed sideburns. I feel like they were trying to make him an anime Hugh Jackman and not the short, scrappy, hairy Wolverine we all know and love. 

My only other mild complaint is he was working with a female, who I believe to be Yukio, but her name is never mentioned in this episode. Come on! The episode had several different characters and other than the law enforcement agents who are after him, everyone else was named. Why would it have been so difficult to just call her by name just once? I don’t get it.

That said, I am definitely going to give the show another shot. The story, pace, and action were good and I really enjoyed watching it. I am also going to give Iron Man a go. You should too.

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Review: Daken #9.1

The next Point One in the bunch is Daken: Dark Wolverine #9.1. I have to admit, this is one I was very unsure of because I have never been a fan of this character.

This post is SPOILER-FILLED so if you are allergic to spoilers,

go read another tasty article on [insertgeekhere].

Daken is a character with some serious daddy issues. As the story begins, we watch as Daken takes down a crime boss in Madripoor. The boss, right before he dies, points out that Daken is following in his father's footsteps. This seems to haunt Daken tremendously, so the story moves to the Avengers Tower and some father/son bonding.  As the battle commences, we find out that Daken just wanted to tell his father that he is going to walk his own path now and goodbye.   Next stop for conquer: LA!  (I wonder if he is going to run into Moon Knight?)

I was surprised that I enjoyed this Point One. To be honest, this character just doesn't appeal to me. However, this issue serves as a great reboot for Daken's direction, even though he is still a criminal. As the series shifts directions and locations, it will be a brand new start for Daken and fans.

This was also a good issue for a look at the Avengers, even better than their Point One issue. I liked the bit of interaction between Daken and Wolverine. They have a difficult relationship, but you can see that they both care about each other.

This issue was a great one for jumping into this series. With Daken deciding to put his past behind him and take on his own challenges, this will be a great time to start reading.

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9.1

Written by Rob Williams
Art by Ron Garney

My Point One Journey so far: 
* Review: Alpha Flight
* Point One Update
* Review: Secret Avengers
* Review: The Avengers

* Review: Uncanny X-Men

* Review: Thor
* Review: Captain America
* Review: Uncanny X-Force

* Review: Hulk

* Review: Deadpool

* Review: The Amazing Spider-Man
* Review: Wolverine

* Review: The Invincible Iron Man

* My Point One Plan

* The info about the Point One Initiative

 

 Like what you just read? Let us know in the comments below and keep up to date by following us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr!

 

Sunday Links

Wow, has everyone recovered from this past week? As the world changes and history is written right before our eyes, we still had a crazy geek news week to cover.


Big Comic news of the week, Diamond and iVerse are teaming up to sell digital comics in retail, brick-and-mortar comic stores. This sounds like a great and/or horrible idea. The Beat got an exclusive with Diamond's head of digital distribution about how this will work, but iFanboy's Jason Wood still isn't convinced. He raises some great points and I hope Diamond has an ace up their sleeve.

I am sad to report that Activision announced the end of Guitar Hero. *tears This great unit of games just hasn't been pulling in the moolah as of late, and the licensing fees are just crazy. I love Geekologie's coverage of this, and yes, pushing colored buttons does make me feel like a bad ass.

Marvel was all over the press this week. The biggest movie news of the week is the release of 3 Marvel trailers including the Thor, Captain America and X-MEN: First Class trailers. In case you missed it, you should watch them right now. And since this week was crazy Marvel week, they also announced a press conference for Feb. 15 about Moon Knight, their next big thing after their release of the big thing, Fear Itself. I am digging this teaser art for Moon Knight, but can we get through one big event at a time guys? It's hard to keep up with all of this!




There are also plenty of people taking issue with Marvel this week. Ryan at The Weekly Crisis has some good points against Marvel's new plan of killing a major character every quarter to boost sales. Our own WyseFyre also has a bone to pick with Marvel about their PSA comic about suicide.

We put out a call to our geek family this week for supporting The Nerdy Bird's fundraising efforts for the MDA Muscle walk. Go support this great cause right now!

There has been a lot of comic con ticket craziness in the past week, that I am excited to get past. Best con news of the past week? This touching article about TempleCon by Total Fan Girl.

Finally to end our week, a fun mystery from Nerd Approved. Do you see Wolverine or Two Batmans?





If anything comes out that you would like to see highlighted in Sunday Links, email me at insertgeekhere@gmail.com.



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Review: Wolverine #5.1

WARNING:

This post contains face-melting spoilers.

Read at your face’s risk.

If symptoms continue for more than 4 hours, contact [insertgeekhere].

I'm continuing my Marvel Point One journey this week with Wolverine. Yes, I know that Wolverine wasn't on my original plan, but after last week's disappointing Iron Man, I decided to expand my search. I plan on reading all of the Point One issues and then making a judgment call.


Wolverine #5.1, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Jefte Palo, jumps off a lot differently than Iron Man did. We get to see Wolverine heading to someone's house, with flowers, when he sees an abandoned truck. He jumps into action, ready to save the innocent. Then we see his girlfriend, Melita, hosting a birthday party in his honor with all of the superhero elite and Deadpool. He crashed....with cheese dip. We also see that Spider-man was left behind at the Avengers mansion. Meanwhile, Wolverine gets caught by some cannibals, brothers called Buford and Boyd, and while they try to decide how to cook him (anyone else flash back to the Hobbit here?), he cuts off one of their hands. Despite his desire to kill them, Logan just rescues the trucker, drops the cannibals off at the police station and gets to Melita just in time to miss his party. We do find out that Logan has been celebrating the wrong birthday all this time. Meanwhile, our cannibals get rescued by a interesting group called The Hand. A fun cliffhanger for the baddies, and Wolverine gets some at the end.


I loved this issue. It gave hints at Wolverine's background but not a crazy amount of detail. It also didn't feel like it was someone writing out a background and forming a story around it. This is a story that new and old readers could enjoy. This truly felt like a jumping on point, which was missing from Iron Man. I started at the beginning of the new story, with some background to catch me up. Now, I want to know who/what The Hand is, and if Logan tangles with them sooner rather than later. Will the cannibals return for vengeance? I want to know about his relationship with Melita. They seem to have a good thing going, which means trouble for them. This story drew me in to this world and connected me with the characters.


Based on Marvel's Point One initiative, I call this a win. I would definitely buy this book again.


My Point One Journey so far:

* Review: The Invincible Iron Man
* My Point One Plan
* The info about the Point One Initiative


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Musical Friday - Make Mine Marvel

If you haven't heard, there have been some exciting developments at Marvel this week - Tom Brevoort was promoted to Senior Vice President of Publishing and Axel Alonso was named Editor-in-Chief. With Joe Quesada moving up to Chief Creative Officer, this is going to bring forth a new age of Marvel (cue dramatic music). Completing the trifecta of Marvel family news, Stan "The Man" Lee received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To celebrate, we're dedicating this week to all things Marvel.


For Major Brevoort -





What I like about this video is that it manages to capture the intensity and scope of the story in just a few minutes while leaving you wanting more.


For Colonel Alonso -





 Who would have thought Wolverine's Theme to be so mellow and Jewel-like?


And for Generalissimo Lee - 





I think Spider-Man's animated evolution coupled with The Ramones is a wonderful way to illustrate the long journey Monsieur Lee has been on. He keeps getting bigger and better and rocks hard!


Congratulations everyone! You deserve it and we can't wait to see what you do next.