As I write this, last week’s post about Neil the Horse has been viewed 432 times. I’ve never had anything I’ve written read by so many people before, and I’m pretty happy about it. You all can definitely expect more stuff about 80s comics in the future. However, this was never intended to be just a blog about comics, so if you found me last week through the Neil the Horse post and stuck around for more of the same, I apologize. As the title blog implies, this is meant to encompass everything that brings me joy. This week, I’m going to talk about what may be the final Funko DC Legion of Collectors box (which actually features a tie to one of my favorite DC comics from the 80s, so there’s that.)
This month’s theme is Green Lantern. You can tell from the attractive silhouette of Green Lantern on the box….
…printed in blue ink. Seriously, Funko, what the heck?
Upon opening the box, we see, once again, that this box doesn’t have the cover flap with a patch or a pin, nor does it have the insert card describing the contents and previewing the next box’s theme. That makes sense, because there isn’t another box scheduled. But I miss the descriptions of the items in the current box.
Speaking of which, the first item we see is the Green Lantern t-shirt. This features the three best-known Green Lanterns of Earth—Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner—surrounded by various other members of the Green Lantern Corps. It’s a nicely-illustrated shirt with a classic heroic image. Personally, I would have preferred a shirt with the Pop! versions of the characters, but I’m okay with this, too.
Lifting the shirt out of the box, we see the other items, including a very exciting—for me—Pop! 3-pack.
I’ll get to why this particular trio excited me in a bit. At the time, I was so excited that I decided to save those for last, so let’s get to the other items first.
Maybe the cutest, most amusing item in the box is the Green Lantern power battery stress toy. Considering that the December Hulk Marvel Collector Corps box included a Hulk stress toy, it kind of seems like Funko had a lot of green sponge material on their hands. Still, it’s cute.
I’ve talked time and again about how much I love the Pint-Size Hero Funko toys, so it was nice to get a pair of exclusive Green Lantern figures.
The set includes classic Green Lantern Hal Jordan…
…as well as his arch-nemesis, Sinestro. Seeing these figures reminded me of the Green Lantern movie of a few years ago, which tried to keep the reveal that Sinestro would ultimately become a bad guy until the post-credits cliffhanger. As if it would come as any sort of surprise that the guy who looks like a classical illustration of the devil and whose name sounds like “sinister” would turn out to be evil.
Regardless, these are both adorable, and I particularly like the contrast in expressions.
Finally, we come to the Pops: Ch’p (a squirrel-like Green Lantern), Guy Gardner (wearing his 80s costume), and Kilowog. This particular trio means a lot to me. In the mid-80s (1985-1988), writer Steve Englehart and artist Joe Staton produced one of my all-time favorite runs of Green Lantern. They introduced Kilowog and developed Ch’p (telling his backstory in an issue that managed to be heartbreaking, even though all the characters looked like squirrels and chipmunks) and Guy Gardner as a major, ongoing characters. They even gave Gardner a badass uniform (the uniform this Pop! version of him is wearing). So this particular set of figures directly represents some of my fondest Green Lantern memories.
As usual, the inside box art features a lot of nice action panels from throughout Green Lantern history. Only still printed in blue. Because whatever.
While I’m sure that collectors are whining about the lack of a patch or pin, I feel that with three Pops, two Pint-Size Heroes, and the stress ball, this box represents good value for money. Honestly, I would have never expected to get a Ch’p or Guy Gardner Pop!, so that would probably have been enough for me. Of course, because I have such a personal connection to these characters, I might be slightly biased. However, if this is the last DC Legion of Collectors box we get (at least until they announce a new version with a retail partner), I feel like they’re going out on a high note.
And that’s it for this week! See you next week!
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