Why DC Needs Ben Caldwell's Manga Wonder Woman

For me Wonder Woman's finest hour came when George Perez was writing her stories. Perez's books were captivating and he had a way of making Wonder Woman seem fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, after Perez left the book, DC seemed to regulate the Amazon Princess to a second tier character. In my mind, she was only a relevant and/or exciting character when she was involved with the Trinity (Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman). Her stand alone books seemed boring, meaningless and without relevancy to anything of substance going on in the DCU.

Then came Bruce Timm and the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoon series. Timm's stories made Wonder Woman once again a fantastic character full of heroics and humanism. He walked the line very well with Diane making her one of my favorite characters on the show. She wasn't just relevant within the Trinity, she was relevant in her own right.  Diane was powerful, smart, compassionate, beautiful, humorous, intimidating and kind.

Recently, cartoonist Ben Caldwell's fresh, new take on Wonder Woman has circulated in and around the Internet.  Caldwell bring us a young and hip and continuity free, Wonder Woman packaged in a digest size format. His Wonder Woman is very cartoony (think Skottie Young) with a skew toward the generally female friendly Manga style.

DC needs to take a good hard look (or another good hard look) at Caldwell's take on the Amazon Princess.  In my opinion, this new look and story(s) will bring in new young readers and bring back those of us that have always enjoyed Wonder Woman but have lost faith in her stories over the years.

 I have posted some of Caldwell's Wonder Woman art that has been floating around the Internet for your enjoyment.  Please take a look and let me know if you agree with me that his take could re-energize this once fantastic character.

NEW Justice League Unlimited Action Figures - Batman Beyond, Starro, Barry Allen...

Gfest loves action figures and is an avid collector of the Justice League Unlimited (JLU) action figures. Gfest was as excited as Vivid Entertainment finding the Kendra Wilkinson sex tape when we learned that Batman Beyond, Mister Terrific and Starro Superman were joining the lineup later this year.

• Future JLU Superman with Starro Spore — In a double dose of firsts, this release will mark the initial availability of an all-new figure, plus it includes fan-favorite Starro Spore as a never-before-offered accessory!
• Barry Allan as The Flash with Lightning Bolt — It’s the first time this figure is offered.
• Power Ring — Evil twins everywhere will rejoice when Power Ring joins their ranks for the first time as an action figure. Features a giant green hand construct.
• Batman Beyond with Batarang — Available for the first time as a single, Batman is ready to battle the bad guys when stocked with this staple from his arsenal.
• Mr. Terrific — Also making his big debut as a single, the ever-present T-spheres have been completely redesigned.

No word on release date just yet, but you can visit mattycollector for more information.

Lobo the "Main Man" Action Figure

We here at Gfest love Lobo.  How could you not?  He's the Main Man for crying out loud.  He's a bounty hunter that will take up any contract if the money's right. Whether it be his fourth grade teacher, Santa Claus, or God himself, Lobo will get the job done. He has been barred from Heaven and Hell, effectively making him immortal by default. 

Your friends at Gfest saw some pictures of the Justice League Unlimited Lobo and his package from Mattel’s C2E2 earlier this month, but here we have the official Mattel press pictures of Lobo and his packaging courtesy of Action Figure Insider.  Now you can read all of the text in his bio and get a better look at the Main Man busting through the other chumps in the line up!  More pictures after the jump.