Barbecue17's Top Ten Toylines of 2014

 As has become a yearly tradition, it's time for me to share my top 10 favorite action figure lines of the past year. My 2012 and 2013 selections are here at ThEpic Review while my 2014 selections are over at my new blog, Action Figure Barbecue! 2014 was an odd year for action figures as distribution problems or a lack of releases hurt many lines that I've collected in the past. Still, there were some great toys to be had and I'm taking a closer look at them. Keep in mind a few things: First, these are my favorite lines. If I were doing a "best of 2014" I'd definitely be looking at the merits of lines that I don't even collect. Second, I do a separate top ten for individual figures from lines that I didn't mention here. Sometimes a single action figure release or a standout figure from a line I'm not overwhelmed by captures my attention: That's where my top 10 figures list comes in. Third, I list these alphabetically, not by merit. Ready to get started for my top 10 favorite lines of 2014? Then visit Action Figure Barbecue and let me know what you think!

Check it out: Sansa Stark is the new Jean Grey

     In some geek casting news Sophie Turner aka Sansa Stark from HBO's Game of Thrones has been cast as the new younger version of Jean Grey that will appear in Bryan Singer's X-men Apocalypse out Memorial Day weekend 2016.  Sophie looks like Jean Grey, but whether or not she can actually pull off being the most powerful mutant in existence may be a more epic challenge.  Sophie is often criticized for being the dullest performer of all the Stark children on Game of Thrones and she will have big shoes to fill, as Famke Jansen made a pretty convincing Jean Grey over the past decade and a half.

What do you think as Sophie Turner as Jean Grey? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks to Bryan Singer for the scoop!

Check it out: Batman to Appear in the Suicide Squad movie

  Looks like Batman fans will get plenty of Batfleck for the rest of the decade, now not only is the Bat Bostonian scheduled to be in two Batman Vs Superman films, two Justice League films, and his own stand alone film in 2019 but now the Caped Crusader may be in WB's Suicide Squad film as well making it six film appearance with the span of 4 years .  What better way to burst the Superhero bubble than supersaturation of the World's most popular Superhero.  At this point when Suicide Squad releases on August 5th 2016 we may be head for suicide for the Superhero genre!

Is six Batman film appearances from 2016 through 2019 too much?

 Let us know in the comments!

Thanks to Forbes for the RUMOR!

Check it out: New Batman Adventures Scarecrow Revealed

As much flack as DC Collectible has taken over it's BATS Line, you cannot deny how beautiful the  line has been as demonstrated by the line's latest Scarecrow figure.  I always loved this look for Scarecrow from the New Adventures.  Expect to see move this guys at Toyfair 2015 and for it to be released sometime in the second half of 2015!

Thanks to Toy News I for the scoop!

Will any of you be picking this figure up? Or has quality control forced you to completely give up on this line? Let us know in the comments!

Check it out: Marvel Lando Calrissian comic on the way?

    Their is an Epic Rumor that the next Star Wars comic Marvel might be doing after: Star Wars, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Kannan the last Padawan may be a Lando Calrissian comic written by famous Marvel scribe Johnathan Hickman.  While I love Lando a plan for a comic like this begins to go against the tightness of the line Marvel recently promised, and Hickman just doesn't seem like the best choice to write Lando if they go this route.  Hickman is known for big overarching brainy stories, and a comic featuring the likeness of the one and only Billy Dee would be better suited for a more adventurous and fun writer like Mark Millar per say?

Thanks to Bleeding Cool for the Rumor!

What do you guys think of a potential Lando Comic? How many new Star Wars comics are too much? Let us know in the comments!

Check it out: Just how did Howard the Duck get Collected?

   Ever wonder how Howard the Duck ended up collected at the end of a certain Marvel Studios film last Summer.  Well this April in Chip Zdarsky's and Joe Quinone's Howard the Duck #2 you can find out.  While I love the idea of the Guardian's making Howard the Duck relevant, I am a person who likes his comics separate from his films.  Hopefully this will be revealed in an extra, and not the focus of the entire issue.  Because if we are beginning to dabble in an era where Marvel Comics becomes intertwined with main stream Marvel 616 comics, look out! Can you imagine how convoluted that could be? Let the comics breathe Marvel and be the intimate portrait of these characters they were before the Superhero bubble, and what they hopefully will be when that bubble bursts, they do not need to be symbiotic.  

Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter for the scoop!

How do you guys feel about comics crossing over with films? Is this a good move? Let us know in the comments?

Confirmed Epic Podcast Episode 35: Marvel Star War's #1

  In the 2015 debut episode of The Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell, Jerry “Barbecue 17” Reed of the newly formed Actionfigurebarbecue.blogspot.com, and Andrew Stokes all return to review Marvel Comics best-selling Star Wars #1 by Jason Aaron.  In Epic News we discuss the departure of Tom Hardy from the Suicide Squad film and our thoughts on Jake Gyllenhaal as a potential replacement and what All-star casting means for DC films moving forward.  As always we talk about what we have been checking out: The Babadook, the new NETFLIX original series Marco Polo, and the phenomenon that is loot crate.    

(Remember to email any questions or comments about the podcast to thepicreview@gmail.com and we will read your questions or comments on the next episode, also feel free to leave a comment about this episode below!) 

(You can also find the Confirmed Epic Podcast on iTunes, just search for "thepicreview", and if you have time we would appreciate it if you could leave us a review on i Tunes!)

(Editors Note: If you have any problems with the link either install adobe flash player or if you are listening from a phone simply follow the direct link to our audio here: http://thepicreview.podbean.com/ Thank You!) 

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