This week's column covers the 18" version of Hellboy, done by Mezco. Rather than redo what I've already done, I'll cheat and use the same intro paragraphs that I used last week. If you read the other column, I'd suggest skipping the next 4 paragraphs. I know I would...

It's the most anticipated comic book film of 2004. Okay, maybe not. Maybe SPIDER-MAN 2 is the *most* anticipated. But for fans of Mike Mignola's comic HELLBOY, the new film is just what they've been waiting for. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, best known to comic fans for his work directing BLADE II, the film brings the character of Hellboy to movie audiences.

For those not familiar with the popular comic book, it all started with those wacky Nazis mucking around with the paranormal again. They manage to open up a door to Hell, and snag themselves a baby demon - Hellboy. But before they can turn him to their nefarious plans, he's 'rescued' by the Allies, and brought up on the side of good. Now he fights alongside several other paranormal heroes to keep the world safe.

The real surprise here isn't that Hellboy made it to celluloid. Any fan of the comic will tell you it's a great opportunity. No, the big surprise is the actor playing Hellboy isn't The Rock, or Vin Diesel - it's Ron Perlman. Mr. Perlman is probably best known for his work on the old television show, Beauty and the Beast, as the beast, of course.

But that's not quite fair, as he's been in over 80 films and television shows. He worked with del Toro in Blade II, and is a great character actor. But for them to go with someone in the lead who wasn't the "hot this minute" action star is quite refreshing.

The toy license has been split up between companies based on scale and style. Sideshow will be doing a line of 12" clothed figures, and one of the large 18" "mixed media" style high end figures. Mezco has the license to produce a line of 8" figures, and their own 18" figures done roto-cast style. The 18" version retails for around $45, depending on the retail.

I'd like to thank Killer Toys for sending this big boy along. You can also pick up the full set of six there for about $65, or the individual figures for about $12 each. They also have the 18" version for $45.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"18" Hellboy"

There are several versions of the 18" figure, including both an open mouth and closed mouth, and a full horns (Tower Records exclusive) and regular cut-off horns. My review covers the open mouth, regular horns, but it basically applies to all versions. The use of roto-casting is becoming more and more popular, and I've talked about it in several other reviews, including Nightcrawler. Using a roto-cast process means that a large figure such as this is far more lightweight and economical to produce.

Packaging - ***
Most recent roto-cast figures come in the cheapest possible packaging known to man. Not so here - this is a full size window box, with eye catching graphics, and lots of protection for the figure. This will inevitably bump the cost for a figure like this, particularly one that's so large, but considering all the hard work that's gone into the sculpt and paint, you want to be sure that the figures make it to the shelves as purty as possible.

Sculpting - ****
Where to begin. Perhaps with my initial reaction - *chirp* *chirp* *chirp*. That would be stunned silence. I really didn't appreciate how well done this figure was til he was out of the box and in my hands. How well he photographs is a testament to his quality. Sometimes, people can make the worst figures look great with cute camera tricks and artsy layouts. Bad photographers can also make great-looking figures look like something on the bottom of your shoe. But even bad photographers are going to be hard pressed to take an unflattering photo of this guy - he's just too perfect from every angle.

Let's start at the top - the head sculpt. Roto-cast heads are hollow, and in days of old were usually much softer in appearance than injection molded heads. That's been overcome in recent years, but I've never seen a roto-cast head with this level of detail and quality. There's subtle texturing, very small wrinkles and one of the most realistic expressions you could possible ask for. The texturing of the skin is part of what makes this effect so impressive, but the facial proportions are perfect as well. There's nothing cartoony or unrealistic about his appearance. This isn't a toy, it's art, and you won't find a polystone bust or statue with a better head sculpt.

Then there's the body. The torso under the shirt is rippled, pock-marked and scarred. Although there's both a chest joint and a waist joint, neither interferes with the appearance of the torso. The arms have veins, and the concrete right hand looks like solid rock.

The majority of the articulation is from the waist up, so the sculpted pose of the legs becomes even more crucial to the overall appearance. When I first saw photos of the figure, the crouched pose didn't do much for me. But now that I have him out and on my desk, I have to admit that it was the right way to go, and that it worked great. There's a ton of "packs" sculpted around his belt (none open), and they all look just like real leather even though they are solid plastic. Also on the belt is his rosary, and what I assume is some sort of lucky horseshoe - I don't recall him having something like that in the comic. There's also his soft pleather holster with tie around his upper thigh, and there's a velcro closure for the flap (unlike the 8" versions).

The legs are sculpted in a slightly bent pose, and the same level of detail and accuracy has gone into the texture and look of the pants and boots. The final piece of the puzzle is his tail, and this was the one spot that I liked better on the smaller versions than on the 18" version. The tail is made of a soft rubber, with a wire inside to make it bendy. The rubber is just plain weird feeling, and has an oddly disturbing look. Don't get me wrong - it's not terrible, but and some may find that it looks more realistic to them than the solid, jointed plastic tails on the smaller Hellboys.

Paint - ****
No matter how great the sculpt is, if the paint application is poor, it will ruin it. They had a couple things in their favor here - first, the scale makes it even easier to keep lines clean, and second, there's not a lot of variety from the basic red and black. Still, with realism being the key, the paint ops weren't going to be simple.

The work is stellar all the way around, with clean definition between colors, no bleed, absolutely no slop, and a nice consistency, especially with the difficult red. There is a bit of difference between the shade of red used on the head, and that on the arms and torso though. Even someone as color blind as me can tell the head is darker and more of a burgundy, while the body, arms and tail are a brighter red. Of course, this might be on purpose, since he has that pissed off look going for him, and he might be 'flushed'. But it's still certainly worth noting.

Although the paint ops look great overall, there's a couple spots worth calling out on their own for their sheer perfection. The version I'm reviewing here has the clenched teeth (rather than the closed mouth) and those teeth are a thing of beauty. Sure, he should stop by and pick up a couple packs of Crest White Strips, but that goes to show just how realistic and accurate the paint work is. You can even see just the slightest hint of his gums, and this (along with the teeth) is painted with a gloss coat to give them impression of moisture.

The other perfect work is around the eyes. Again, the realism is simply amazing. You'd swear this guy is looking right through you.

Articulation - ***1/2
The smaller figures have plenty of articulation, but one of the drawbacks to the lighter weight roto-cast style of manufacture is fewer joints. Even that has improved in recent years though, and this figure has more than his fair share. He has a ball jointed neck - which is tremendously useful - ball jointed shoulders, chest, waist, cut left wrist, ball jointed right wrist, cut joint at the top of the concrete arm, and cut joints just above the knees. The tail is bendy as well, giving you quite a wide range of posing possibilities.

If there's one joint I would have added, it would have been a cut joint around the elbow of the left arm. That would have given him much more movement across his chest, but it's not a huge problem. Once I had this guy out and played around with it for awhile, I was even more impressed with just how much you could do with the articulation that's there.

Accessories - ***1/2
There's really one main accessory - his gun - but you could count both the horseshoe and the rosary if you really felt the need. Both can be removed from the belt quite easily, although it might take a little work putting the rosary back. I believe I already mentioned how cool both of these items are, although I don't recall a horseshoe in the books. The horseshoe also seems a tad out of scale - maybe it's a pony shoe.

The gun is truly impressive though. The sculpt looks fantastic, with excellent detailing on the wood grips, and sharp lines to the gun itself. Those sharp, even cuts are important in the gun sculpt to give the impression of real metal, and it works perfectly. Of course the paint ops help here as well, with a worn looking bluing on the barrel, cylinder and other faux metal areas. But the sculpt and paint ops aren't the end of this guns coolness - like the smaller versions, the gun breaks open at the back of the cylinder. The cylinder also spins freely, and the rounds in the cylinder are removable! That's right, the brass colored cartridges come out as a complete set, sort of like a speed loader. Combine all this with perfect scale, a and nice snug fit in his hand, and you get a most impressive weapon!

Outfit - ****
I added a separate category for what I consider his 'outfit'. Since his shirt and jacket are both material, they need to be discussed separately from all that plastic stuff. The shirt is made of a lycra type material, and fits him very snugly. It has a zippered front, and unlike smaller scale figures, they had no trouble finding a zipper that looked appropriate. The shirt can probably come off, but I wouldn't recommend it, as it might be tough to get it all back on with as nice a fit.

And then there's his long, pleather jacket. Wow! This is one of the very nicest jackets I've ever seen in any scale. Again, the larger scale helps, because in smaller scales it's very, very tough to find material thin enough to look perfect. But here they went with a very thin pleather, and it's a perfect fit to this scale. The buckles are the right arm are one of my favorite aspects, and they are actually working buckles (as is the one on his collar). Do you know how older leather is a mix of lighter and darker areas, due to wear? That's what the pleather material they used looks like. Even the stitching used for the hems and back looks just like you'd expect on a real coat. Topping it off, the tailoring is great, with a perfect fit. I don't own a single coat that fits me this good.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Perhaps the comic (and the movie) are a little much for your average six year old, but older kids who are still into comic based action figures could have a ton of fun with this guy. It's all that articulation in combination with the great outfit and accessories. Roto-cast figures are also well known for being sturdy, even though they are hollow, and the only spot that might be a risk is the tie-down for his holster. It's a fairly thin piece of pleather, and could get broken fairly easily.

Value - **1/2
$45 - ouch. Remember when I told you prices were going up? Here they come. Most folks are used to a roto-cast figure, 10-12" tall, costing around ten bucks. That's without any accessories, and in cheeseball packaging, but that's what they're accustomed to. The $45 price tag on this guy might seem too steep to them, at least at first glance. But while I wouldn't never try to claim that the big fella is a bargain, I also think he's not too far out of range. Not only does he have several accessories, he has the cloth aspects of his outfit, greater articulation than usual, AND some of the best sculpting you'll see in any scale. On top of all that, he's 6" taller than the usual roto-cast figure. Putting it all together, I think $30 - $35 would have been a perfect price point, but with these figures only selling through the specialty retailers, you know you'd never see that kind of price point.

Overall - ***1/2
These figures have done something that almost never happens - they've gotten me geeked about the film. Before I picked these up, I was pretty meh about the Hellboy film, but now I can't wait to check it out. Hopefully, the fans of the comic won't be disappointed with the big screen version, and they certainly should be happy with the entire line of figures from Mezco. If you've picked up other "monster" figures in this scale, like Pinhead, Jason, Ash, etc., then this guy will go perfectly with them on your shelf.

Where to Buy -
Killer Toys has him for $45, and they have the rest of the smaller figures either available individually for $12 each, or in a variety of bundles.