Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- IDW "Infestation" Retailer Incentive Items

Item Name: "Infestation" Crossover Retailer Incentive Items
Publisher/ Manufacturer: IDW Comics

The Rundown: Sorry for the lack of new posts over the last couple of weeks folks! Work has been killer and I just haven't had much free time for posting. I'm actually doing this post at 5 in the morning (sorry if it's a bit incoherent), but I just had to get this one up right away! I just picked up these super keen retailer incentives for the big IDW crossover event "Infestation", and I really wanted to post this up fast so folks are aware of these.



For those of you haven't been keeping current with the wonderful IDW comics (shame on you), "Infestation" is company wide crossover dealing with one of my all-time favorite group of vile villains: ZOMBIES! The story runs through 4 different properties licensed to IDW- G.I.Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and (most importantly) Star Trek! While none of the properties cross paths with each other (you won't see Kirk riding shotgun in Bumblebee or anything like that), the zombie story runs across each universe and is bookended by 2 "Infestation" specials, the first of which hit comic shops yesterday. Along with the book, retailers who ordered enough copies received special incentives to sell (or give away...). For every 10 copies ordered, stores got 1 copy of the sketchbook pictured above.



The sketchbook features reprints of art done by the various artists featured in the books and covers all four properties involved. There just a few Trek sketches inside, but the ones that are reprinted are really cool- My favorites being the McCoy pictured above...



...and this awesome shot by David Messina of zombie Uhura at her station! Now I know a lot of folks might be saying "zombies and Star Trek? Ummm... no thanks! Keep Trek serious please". But really, what's the fun in that? I mean, Trek crossed over with hippies. so why not zombies? I personally LOVE zombie stories, and I don't see the harm in doing a Trek story with them, especially if it's handled right, which this one looks to be. It's being written by my buddy Scott Tipton (bonus), it's set in the TMP era (double bonus), and it has freaking zombies in it (TRIPLE bonus). What's not to love!?!

Sorry, got on a soapbox there, back to the incentives...



The other incentive item for the book is this nifty patch. For every 5 copies ordered, IDW sent along a pack of 5 Trek "Infestation" patches. Each of the 4 licensed properties involved will have a patch featuring their logo with the zombie hand reaching up to it. Of course we all know that the Trek patch is the most important one, and I'm super stoked to iron this puppy onto my favorite jacket. If my wife lets me. Which she won't.

So there ya go! If you're interested in learning more about the book (which you should), head over to your local comic shop and ask your friendly retailer to point you towards "Infestation" issue 1! While you're at, ask him if he has any of these incentives handy. If he doesn't, and you really want one, well e-mail your name to apieceoftheaction@live.com and there's a chance you might get a set for FREE!

That's right! My local comic shop (Queen City comics in Fairfield, OH) was nice enough to hook me up with an extra patch and sketchbook to give away here at the blog! So shoot an e-mail to apieceoftheaction@live.com with your name and zip code (please put "Infestation" in the subject line too) and get entered to win! I'll pick one name at random in about a week or so! Good luck... and go check out the book!

AA/ DST Spotlight- Vina The Orion Slave Woman

Figure Name: Vina The Orion Slave Woman
Manufacturer: Art Asylum


Vina was released carded as part of Art Asylum's third wave of Classic Star Trek figures.



The Rundown: Though they made very few appearances in TOS, Orion slave women have become synonymous with classic Trek. Sure, they made quite a mark in "Enterprise", but mention them to most folks and you'll usually get an answer like "oh, you mean those green chicks that Kirk used to hook up with?". Funny thing is that the closest Kirk ever got to actually bedding an Orion female in TOS was crazy ol' Marta in "Whom Gods Destroy"- and that was actually all part of a plan by Lord Garth to trick the good captain. Well, I guess there's also Gaila in the 2009 film, but that was an alternate timeline; We don't actually know if Kirk ever even met her in the regular timeline. That leaves us with the most iconic Orion female of them all... and she wasn't even a real Orion. Plus, she didn't even interact with Kirk. Weird, huh? Anyways...



Vina here was released as part of the insanely awesome third wave of Art Asylum's TOS figures. She hung on peg shelves along the likes of the Gorn Captain and Kor the Klingon. That's some pretty stiff competition, but Vina held her own. She featured the same great sculpting and paint work seen on those... plus she was a freaking Orion slave woman.



Though it's tough to tell in pictures due to the solid green coloring, the likeness to actress Susan Oliver is actually pretty strong here. This is one case where a company could have phoned this one in and most folks wouldn't have even cared, but it looks like AA actually strove to make this a true Vina figure, and not just a random Orion female.



Sitting atop that great head sculpt are Vina' beautiful locks. Instead of being molded in the same material as the head, AA used a funky rubbery material. The rubber is a little different than the stuff they used on the crew uniforms. It feels more like the material they used on Kor's shirt than those.



Vina's dress is a separate piece as well, and is made of the same type of material as her hair. I keep going back and forth on whether I like the use of this stuff on this figure. I'm afraid it's going to degrade pretty badly over time, but I do like the fact that Vina's articulation isn't hindered at all. Speaking of her articulation-



Yeah, okay, so I looked up her dress. But it was all for your benefit, so leave me alone. If I hadn't done that, you might not have known that Vina's articulation is a little different than your standard AA figure. While her right hip has the same swivel joint used on most of the line, her left hip actually features a ball joint, allowing her to pull off crazy dance poses like this one:



Pretty nifty, eh? Dancing was an integral portion of Vina's scene as the Orion slave woman, so it's nice to see the AA kept this in mind when designing this figure's articulation. There is one drawback to them going for her "dancing" look though-



Vina's hands are sculpted to capture the look of her "jazz hands" from this scene as well. While that's great if you want to pose her in that way (as most will), it does leave her looking a bit odd of if you want to put her in a neutral pose. This is one release that would have benefited greatly from interchangeable hands in my opinion.



Accessories: Vina didn't really come with anything, except a small figure stand. The stand is made of a clear blue plastic with one peg that plugs into her foot. I actually misplaced mine, so the best I can offer is a pic of the one in the package. I will say this- Vina is constantly taking dives off my shelf, so I'm definitely glad one was included (and I'm kicking myself for losing it).



Vina is a great release overall and is definitely worthy of inclusion in any AA/ DST display (despite her limited onscreen appearance). Her rubbery bits may pose a problem in the years to come, but right now? She's looking pretty sharp. As of this writing, she's never been reissued by DST, and she's long gone from stores which makes snagging one a bit tricky. Your only option for getting her is turning to the secondary market. Her price can range pretty dramatically, going from anywhere between $15 and $40. While I'd be hesitant to drop 40 clams on her, I think she's a steal at anywhere between $15 and $25..... aw, who am I kidding. I know I'd pay $40 for her if I didn't already have her. We only got three figures from "The Cage", so paying a little extra for Vina isn't so bad. And Pike needs his main squeeze, green or not.

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Menagerie Part 2"

Two in one day! Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Menagerie Part 2"....



-James

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Menagerie Part 1"

All the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Menagerie Part 1". Bet ya can't guess which one I upload next... ;)




-James