Legendary Comic Book Heroes Body Bags and Conan 2 packs review

What's better than a figure from one of your favorite comic books? Two figures of course! Or at least that is the idea behind Marvel Toys Legendary Comic Book Heroes two packs. The first series of two packs includes Conan the Barbarian with Wrarrl and Clownface and Panda from Body Bags. I don't know how legendary these heroes can be since Conan is the only one I've ever heard of, but if the figures are as good as the first series of figures was, they'll have my interest.

Packaging - 6/10

The packaging design for the two packs isn't much different from the individual carded figures. The figures are displayed in the middle of a large bubble that tapers off on the sides. An insert on the bottom identifies the figures and the comic on which they are based. They use cover art to decorate the sides. The logo for the line is plastered on a smaller bubble along the top. The back of the cards give some background on the characters as well as showing the cover art again. All of the other Legendary Comic Book Heroes figures available are also pictured including both the Pitt and Monkey Man series. The packaging is attractive enough while still remaining somewhat generic so that it can be used with a variety of different comic licenses. But it does seem prone to damage. For their size, the cards are made of fairly thin stock as is the plastic for the bubbles. If the sets are actually hung on a peg, there is little chance that the J hook at the top of the card will hold the weight for long. Finding and keeping a set mint on a mint card won't be easy.

Sculpting - Wrarrl 8/10, others 7/10

I'm no expert on what these characters are suppose to look like beyond comparing them to the images on the packaging. Over all they appear to be pretty impressive though. All four are completely new sculpts. Both Conan and Wrarrl have an impressive amount of detail both for the bodies and their clothing. The only drawback I can see on Wrarrl is that the straps for his satchel and scabbard are rather plain looking. They lack any detail and aren't designed to drape across the figure in a realistic manner. Conan isn't lacking for detail anywhere including the straps for his cape and scabbard. But just like with Wrarrl, they stick out in an unnatural way. While Conan is bulkier than your average LCBH or Marvel Legends figure, he isn't really bigger. That probably won't be a problem amongst a collection of figures, but in the company of both Wrarrl and Clownface he appears a bit small. Finally the sculpting for his hair restricts movement enough that the only way for the figure to look straight ahead is to arch his back as far back as possible. I don't tend to think of barbarians as having that great of posture. Clownface is an impressive mix of both simplicity and detail. In a lot of ways it works well. Having the chest and sleeves completely smooth actually make them stand out. Their attempt to create the look of slacks didn't turn out as well. The creases which are prominent on the thigh section matches up to the lower legs when properly aligned, but very strange with even a slight misalignment the thigh section quickly looks out of place. Panda turned out surprisingly well considering they had to start from scratch. It seems to be a good likeness of the character from what I can tell based on just a handful of cover images. Small things like the shoulder pads show that they paid attention to the details. I think they may have been a little too generous with her chest even if it is a defining trait for her. Her grin also crosses the line from excessively happy into Joker level psychotic.

Paint - Panda 9/10, Conan & Wrarrl 8/10, Clownface 5/10

The paint work on three of the four figures is outstanding. Perhaps I was just fortunate, especially given that I bought these sight unseen and Marvel Toys/Toy Biz has been known to be hit or miss with their quality control at times. This wasn't one of those times. Panda borders on flawless. The highlights for her hair are very impressive. I do wish that they had painted the edge of the smilely face button in her hair since it now looks like a lump in her hair. And while they did give the shoulder areas on her shirt a different finish, it still blends too well with the rest of the shirt. A slight brown tint could have made them stand out. Both Conan and Wrarrl show an impressive amount of detail to the paint work on them. The detail work on Conan is perhaps a bit more impressive since it actually follows the sculpted details. On Wrarrl, it tends to be more random marks. The end result is still terrific though. Clownface is the only figure of the four with real problems. Though they aren't terribly serious. Most notable are a couple of spots on his chest where the paint has rubbed off or other paint has rubbed onto the figure. On most figures it would be less important, but on such a simply painted figure, they really stand out. I have also heard of at least one other person with the same issue. So it may pay to check this figure before you buy it. Two other minor quibbles that I have with the figure are that they painted the front but not the sides of his iron cross necklace and the face that is painted onto his mask seems to be too big. The necklace is minor. But from the images I've seen, his smilely face should fit completely or almost completely on the front of his mask. But on the figure it covers the entire front of the mask and wraps around to the sides. It is a minor issue, but it changes the overall appearance quite a bit.

Articulation - Clownface 5/10, others 8/10

Conan is listed on the packaging as having thirty one points of articulation:

rotating and hinged neck
rotating and hinged shoulders
rotating biceps
double hinged elbows
rotating wrists/forearms
hinged wrists
hinged torso
rotating waist
hinged and rotating hips
rotating thighs
double hinged knees
rotating shins
hinged and swiveling ankles
hinged toes

Since I count the rotating and hinged joints used in the neck, shoulders and hips as two points of articulation each, that would actually be thirty six POA. The figure does have two limiting factors, the limited range of motion for the neck that I mentioned earlier and some limitation to the movement of the hips due to the loin cloth hitting on the legs. Wrarrl seems to match him joint for joint. The only difference is that the rotating forearm joints are moved down and combined with the hinged wrists. The range of motion isn't as great for his wrists, but still good. Of course combining the joints means that the figure is listed as having twenty nine points of articulation on the package instead. Both Panda and Clownface modify the standard pattern for articulation established by the Marvel Legends line to fit the unusual bodies of these figures. Clownface reduces the ankles and neck to simple ball joints. The knees and elbows are still double jointed but they are a hinge and a rotating joint instead of two hinge joints. The rotating shins are gone as are the biceps joints. But he does have individually hinged fingers. Panda has nineteen points of articulation which includes hinged toes and knees, ball jointed ankles, hips, shoulders and neck, and rotating joints at the thighs, waist, mid-torso, wrists and shoulders. The articulation doesn't provide the full range of motion that the usual joints would have, but it is pretty close.

Accessories - Body Bags 6/10, Conan set 8/10

The Body Bags set includes just two accessories, Clownface's knives. They're big, impressive and can be stored in the sheaths on his belt. (You could look at Clownface's metal chain as an accessory, but it isn't removable.) I don't know that the characters really need anything else. But I would have liked it if Panda's gun was removable or if they had included an extra set of hands with two pistols instead. The Conan set includes a sword for each figure, a large battle axe and Wrarrl's helmet. The weapons look nice and the inclusion of a metal chain on the axe was nice. But the plastic on all three is a bit soft which doesn't allow them to have a very fine edge. I was also disappointed to find that the knife on Conan's leg was not removable. But Wrarrl's helmet really sold the set to me. Until I opened the packaging, I couldn't even tell it was removable. For once a removable helmet looks good and didn't require the figure to have a pin head underneath.

Value - Conan/Wrarrl 8/10, Body Bags 7/10

The Legendary Comic Book Heroes two packs sell for $19 and up. If you can pick them up at one of the major toy retailers, they should be under $20. That puts them on par with the single pack figures. But you don't get the added benefit of a build a figure with these sets. While there probably aren't too many people who have been anxiously awaiting a Wrarrl figure, I know quite a few have been hoping for some Conan figures in general. As for the Body Bags set, they are nice figures. And since there seems to be fewer than a dozen total issues of the Body Bags comic including reprints, we are not likely to ever see any other figures of the characters much less better figures.

Happy Hunting:

Finding the Legendary Comic Book Heroes line in stores can be difficult. And finding the two packs is even tougher. They started showing up at Meijer stores a while ago. They are also beginning to show up at Walmart stores now. Toys R Us is picking up the line so they may show up there eventually as well. If you aren't in an area with Meijer stores and your Walmart doesn't carry these, you can find them online. Big Bad Toy Store has them both listed for a good price and their service can't be beat. You Buy Now also has both sets listed, though I haven't ordered from them before.

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Body Bags MOC

card back

Clownface

Panda

Conan

Wrarrl

Clownface's knives