[I expect to be marked down two full grades for tardiness, but here it is. Finally.]

Courier case in hand, Wizard World Philadelphia stepped up to the crosswalk and waited for the light to change. “Bomber,” he greeted custom Da Bomb #31.

“Philly,” Bomber Mate replied, “Working for the man, are you?”

“I had to register,” WW Philly explained, “and when the Overlord assigns you a task, well… ” he shrugged.

“Whatever it takes to save your skin, I suppose,” Bomber Mate commented.

Behind them, a rush of wind and thunder marked the passing of Wonder Woman losing a heated battle. In moments, the melee was upon them as the Overlord’s villainous lackeys screamed through, followed by shocktroopers sweeping up the crowd.

Bomber Mate turned anxiously, not sure which way to run. “Good Lord, Philly, they’re arresting everyone!”

WW Philly flipped his hand dismissively. “Standard clean up operations,” he said. “Don’t worry, it won’t affect us blanks — no one ever notices us.”

The custom blank Bomber watched as the prediction proved out: the shocktroopers brandished their weapons and shoved citizens forward, but they ignored the logo mates in the crowd.

“You see?” WW Philly said. “At best, they see us as walking adverts, commercials to be ignored. At worst, well, they don’t see us at all.”

Behind him, the conflict had moved on, leaving only blank MiniMates scattered on the empty sidewalk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Parker burst into Fake Gold Spidey’s rehab room. “JP, you have a special visitor!” He announced.

JP1000 dropped his tactical simulation unit and squawked, “Doom!”

Peter Parker laughed. “Evil JP hacked their code,” the aspiring geek enthused, “he calls them Victor-bots.”

Fake Gold Spidey stood slowly and joined JP1000 in staring at the humbled Doombot. “And Evil JP sent you with a message? For us?”

“Something like that,” the robot hedged. “Although the constraining code demands that I serve the Overlord, my one true master remains Victor von Doom.”

“I knew it!” JP1000 shouted. “You’re Doom’s tool and you’re here to kill us!”

“Begging your pardon, sir,” the Victor-bot continued, “when the Overlord bade me deliver a message to SMIRK, his directive was loosely phrased. Thus I am following a routine which remains within the Overlord’s command.”

JP1000 nodded. “Following the letter of the orders, but not the spirit. It gives you wiggle room within your programming.” When the Victor-bot agreed, JP1000 asked, “So what’s the message?”

The Victor-bot paused, then said, “Know, gentle JP1000, that within the halls of Castle Doom, the Victor-bots wait to serve and assist you.”

JP1000 took a step back, bumping into Fake Gold Spidey. “Me in Castle Doom? I’m never going back there!”

“As you wish, sir,” the Victor-bot bowed submissively. “My task is now complete and I must return to Latveria.” The robot spun about and marched out the door.

“Was that a threat? Or a promise of help?” JP1000 wondered.

“Doesn’t matter,” Fake Gold Spidey told him, “because we’re staying far away from Castle Doom.”

Lobo and Ambush Bug from DC Wave 7

By Dragon

Ambush Bug

Ambush Bug hails from a pool of characters that act as more of a punchline than a legitimate member of their prospective universes. As such, Ambush Bug sports a much more gleeful expression than the other characters to come before him in the DC Direct Minimate line. The face is a good representation of the source material and is well detailed. It is adorned by the antennae that used to house his teleportation technology before he somehow acquired the power naturally. Why am I focusing so much attention on his face? Because that’s where approximately 95% of the work for this figure went. The rest of the body exists as a green blank with a detail line strewn here and there. Ordinarily, this would be a horrible design, but in this case, it seems to fit the character, since Ambush Bug’s costume is just a green skin-tight suit with the strange mask. However, despite the accuracy of the look, it lacks visual appeal, especially compared to the well detailed Lobo that he accompanies in this set, not to mention the 54 other figures that have graced the line since it began last year. Ambush Bug comes with no accessories, which isn’t too surprising when you consider the character doesn’t really use any. Still, the inclusion of “Cheeks, the Toy Wonder” or Argh!Yle!, the 5″ sock in the metal mask would have been nice and would have helped flesh out this otherwise bland production.
Overall, Ambush Bug is not a bad Minimate. He very closely mirrors his comic book counterpart. The problem is that the only defining characteristics of his comic book counterpart is: 1.)He has antennae, 2.)He is green, and 3.)Did I mention the antennae? The lack of any character driven accessories only helps emphasize just how little there is to the design. He isn’t bad, but he is the low point of the DC line thus far.

Lobo

Lobo’s origins set him up as more of a parody of Marvel anti-heroes, such as Wolverine and the Punisher. However, when he proved to be a popular character, he was fleshed out a bit to become a character all his own. Over the years, he has held a few different looks, with the biker gimmick being by far his most famous. As such, Lobo the Minimate sports the leather jacket, chains, and hair of his source material. The sculpted jacket looks great, and actually differentiates between the torn sleeve and the regular one in the sculpted detail. The studded belt is also well done, with the skull contrasting the black belt perfectly. The boots are unique sculpts, matching the source material faithfully with each boot differing rather than being identical. Finally, the hair is well done, capturing Lobo’s dreads in great sculpted detail. The paint apps are equally impressive, with Lobo’s face being the spitting image of his comic book counterpart. The chest detail is equally nice, showing off his muscled physique and his cross emblem. The “Bite Me Fanboy” logo on the back of his jacket was an awesome touch. For accessories, Lobo sports his hook and chain. While a gun or some frag grenades would have been a nice touch, the hook more than makes up for it.
Overall, Lobo is a great Minimate. He is well executed, with excellent sculpt and paint detail, and manages to capture some of the humor that his source material possesses. He wears the trademark look well and is a welcome addition to the Minimate universe. Another top notch figure from DC Direct.

By Dragon

Last June, Minimate Headquarters’ very own Fujis undertook a heavy burden in organizing an event to raise money for charity. Dubbed Charity-Mates, the project saw prominent and up-and-coming customizers from the Minimate Multiverse create unique figures from the horror realm to be sold on eBay, with a bulk of the profits going to America’s Blood Centers. The project was deemed a huge success, with $437 going to charity.

Well, yesterday, it was announced that the Charity-Mates project would continue for a second go. Though the specifics are still in the early stages, the project seems to be revolving around animal/human hybrids, with proceeds going towards the World Wildlife Fund.

We’ll post more news as it becomes available, but in the mean time, if you’re interested in helping out with the project, or just want to follow along, feel free to check out the topic thread over at Minimate Multiverse. If you’d like to read up on the last Charity-Mates project, you can read all about it here.

By Jatta Pake

This entry covers Poll #6 on Minimate Headquarters. Future articles will continue coverage of poll results.