WALKING DEAD

I don’t consider myself a zombie fan and yet I enjoy my fair share of zombie related things. Walking Dead is one of them. I got into the comic book series about 2 years into the run. I was skeptical of it when it first came out because it was black and white, it was published by Image which I found to be hit or miss with their new series’ and it was written by a relatively unknown writer named Robert Kirkman.

At some point a friend of mine recommended I read the Image series Invincible which is also written by Kirkman. I was reluctant about that one as well because it looked fairly generic and unoriginal but I gave it a try. At least it was about a super hero which was more in my wheelhouse than a zombie book. To my surprise I really liked Invincible. It looked like a generic super hero book because it embraced all the comic book clichés but then it flipped them into something new and fresh. Based on the strength of Invincible I decided to give Walking Dead a try. I bought the first graphic novel, got hooked, and quickly got caught up on the series. Both Walking Dead and Invincible have now crossed the 100 issue threshold (not many books do) and they’re still going strong. I recommend you check them both out.

When the Walking Dead TV series was announced I thought it had the potential to be pretty cool but I was skeptical. I watched the first episode and thought it was okay but I missed the second or third one and I just lost interest. I came back for season 2 though and found myself hooked again. Netflix got me up to speed on everything I missed and I’ve been tuning in for new episodes every applicable Sunday since.

Around the same time that the show came out McFarlane Toys began releasing Walking Dead action figures. I was skeptical yet again. As big a fan I am of the comic and the show I didn’t feel that I needed action figures of these characters. I had pretty much given up on collecting McFarlane toys anyway. I used to really appreciate their attention to detail and realism but after a while I grew tired of their stiff and gory figures. They hardly had any articulation so they were essentially statues and they lacked the fun factor of G.I. Joe and Transformers. Nearly all of my McFarlane stuff went into storage.

When the Walking Dead figures actually came out I was impressed by them. They were smaller than the company’s usual products (thus easier to display and more affordable to collect), featured loads of articulation and, as expected, featured stellar likenesses. Coolest of all was that McFarlane simultaneously released two series’ of figures, one based on the show and one based on the comic. Additionally, some of the figures were available in color or variant black and white editions. I had no desire to start collecting them but I bought the black and white Rick based on the show and the full color Michonne from the comic. I thought that was enough to scratch my Walking Dead action figure itch. And it was…for a while.

Online the other day I came across a black and white 2-pack of Rick and Andrea from the comic. They looked really cool and I thought it would be neat to have black and white versions of both TV and comic book Rick. Once that thought entered my head I then thought it might be a good idea to see what other characters were now available since I hadn’t been paying much attention to the toyline for the past year or two.

On my weekly Wednesday visit to Strange Adventures today I flipped through their pegs of Walking Dead toys. I was very impressed by the likenesses on the most recent wave of figures. Tyrese and Glenn especially looked like they just leaped off of the TV screen. It was payday, my comic book haul was light, and it was a few days before my birthday. All seemed like good reasons to treat myself to an action figure. I went with Glenn.

Glenn is a character I liked in the comics but whom I liked a whole lot more after Steven Yeun was cast in the role. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Yeun in anything else before but he’s extremely likable as Glenn. How could anyone not like Glenn? He’s the nicest, most heroic and selfless character on the show and his on-screen girlfriend is smoking hot to boot.

This figure bears an uncanny resemblance to the actor. The sculpting is top notch throughout this figure but the face is the most impressive part. I’m not sure if it was laser scanned or sculpted from scratch but it’s a phenomenal job either way. Everything from the wrinkles in his shirt to the hem on his jeans to the treads of his boots is impressive. The paint job only enhances the great sculpt with its realism. There’s a subtle paint wash over all the clothes so you can tell he’s been through some grimy situations.

For accessories he has a machine gun, a bloody metal pole, a swat vest, and a knife and pistol which can be sheathed and holstered on his belt. He also has an alternate head that’s all beat up. They could have just bruised up the face they already had but this is a brand new sculpted head with battle damage and scuffed up hair.

Articulation is lacking at the hips (there won’t be any splits or front kicks from Glenn) but it’s pretty good everywhere else including his wrists and ankles. I really dig this figure and after examining it closely for this review I know it won’t be long before I grab a few more. I only wish it was a bit smaller so it was to scale with other 3 3/4″ figures. As is, Walking Dead figures are basically in a scale all their own. 9 out of 10.