McFarlane Sports Picks - Today's Leader in Sports Figures

McFarlane also works with many of the top entertainment properties in the industry and has the official rights to all four major North American sports (hockey, baseball, football and basketball). The company's Sports Picks figures (action figures depicting current and former professional athletes) are the most popular and actively collected sports figures on the market today; the database of Sports Picks on this site includes more than 1,400 different figures.

The hallmark of all McFarlane products, and Sports Picks in particular, is detail. Sports Picks are created with remarkable accuracy, including details like logo patches on the uniforms, specific shoes or gloves, tattoos, artwork on masks, etc. Even when scrutinized for small details such as the width of a stripe on a player's sock, Sports Picks are found to be accurate more than 95% of the time - a remarkable level of performance for 6" tall plastic figures that retail for $10.

Most Sports Picks action figures are six inches tall and released in series. McFarlane typically releases two to three regular series of figures of current players per sport per year. Additionally, McFarlane releases one to two series per year per sport of famous former players (these are called Legends or Cooperstown series). Within each of these series are chase and variant figures as well as the regular figures. (For more information about chase and variant figures, read the article What is the Difference Between a Chase and a Variant Action Figure?)

McFarlane also produces series of 3" figures for each sport and has issued some 12" figures. Outside of the normal retail releases, McFarlane creates exclusive figures that are sold only during events like Super Bowls, Hall of Fame Inductions and the NHL Hockey All-Star Game, or that are sold only through their website or their retail store in Arizona. On occasion, McFarlane has produced figures that were given away as promotional items at specific sporting events.

'Halo' live-action series gets fleshed out at Comic-Con

Make room, Master Chief. Microsoft's Xbox sci-fi saga Halo is getting another leading man.

The upcoming live-action series Halo: Nightfall will chronicle the story of Jameson Locke, an agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence who eventually becomes an armored Spartan like the Master Chief.

At Comic-Con today in San Diego, the creative team behind the series, due later this year, offered the first public discussion of the project. On hand were franchise director Frank O'Connor and executive producer Kiki Wolfkill of 343 Industries, the studio that oversees all things Halo at Microsoft.

They were joined by David Zucker of Scott Free Productions, the Ridley Scott-owned TV and film studio co-producing the series, and actor Mike Colter (The Good Wife), who will play Locke.

"It seemed like a really exciting and palpable partnership to bring the visionary that is Ridley is, in collaboration with a historic franchise like Halo," said Zucker, who is president of Scott Free and has executive produced The Good Wife and Numb3rs. He, Wolfkill and lead writer Paul Scheuring (A Man Apart, Prison Break) talked to USA TODAY before the fan fest.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is $1.6 billion richer

SAN FRANCISCO -- You know what's cool? Being richer than Larry Page.

Facebook's record close on Thursday added $1.6 billion to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's bottom line.

His net worth ballooned to $33.3 billion, leapfrogging Google founders Sergey Brin and Page and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Fueled by mobile advertising sales, Facebook topped analyst estimates for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, sending its shares soaring. Facebook closed up 5% to $74.98 in regular trading on Thursday. The stock has gained 183% in the past 12 months.

Zuckerberg is now ranked No. 16 in the billionaires index while the Google founders are ranked 17th and 18th. Bezos is No. 20. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates remains the world's richest person with an $84.7 billion fortune.

Rocket and Groot Sixth Scale Figure Set by Hot Toys Guardians of the Galaxy - Movie Masterpiece Series

 Product Summary

Marvel studios is expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe and bringing fans to the cosmos in the action packed space adventure - Guardians of the Galaxy. A Group of two thugs, an outlaw, an assassin and a maniac will team up to battle evil and save the galaxy!

Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys are excited to present the special Rocket and Groot Sixth Scale Figure Set which includes the gun-toting raccoon and his personal houseplant/muscle.

The movie-accurate Rocket Collectible Figure is specially crafted based on his unique physique in the film. It features a finely sculpted head and body, specially tailored costume, weapon, and specially designed figure stand.

The movie-accurate Groot Collectible Figure features a highly detailed head and body with amazing paint application to reflect his distinctive appearance, and a specially designed figure stand.

The Rocket and Groot Collectible Set will exclusively include an additional interchangeable angry expression face and a pair of partially clenched angry palms for Groot.

Exclusive: 'Supernatural' big bags for Comic-Con Brian Truitt, USA TODAY 3:55 p.m. EDT July 17, 2014

Stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki star in one of 13 different designs.

The Winchester boys are back at Comic-Con, on a panel as well as really, really large bags.

Warner Bros. TV annually rolls out a slew of big bags that double as backpacks for attendees of the event — storage for all the comic books and other stuff people buy at the San Diego Convention Center July 23-27 — and Supernatural actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki star on one of 13 fan-friendly bag designs. (It is a show about fighting demons, after all, so there's also some salt, fire and other things needed for monster hunting.)

More than 130,000 bags are slated to be handed out featuring art and photos from the TV shows Arrow, Constantine, The Flash, The Following, Gotham, iZOMBIE, The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, Mike Tyson Mysteries and Teen Titans Go! Batman's turning 75 so he gets a pair of designs, one styled after the old 1960s TV series.

Also of note: Yours truly will be moderating the Supernatural Comic-Con panel on July 27, and Jensen and Padalecki will be on hand to talk about the long-running show's 10th season — and upcoming 200th episode — alongside Misha Collins, new series regular Mark Sheppard and executive producer Jeremy Carver. The crowd at the 6,500-seat Hall H room will also get to see series highlights and bonus features from the upcoming Season 9 Blu-ray and DVD (out Sept. 9).

G.I. Zombie' fights for freedom, not brains Brian Truitt, USA TODAY 11:23 a.m. EDT July 21, 2014

A soldier with an unhealthy appetite goes undercover to foil the plans of an anti-government militia.
DC Comics' newest comic book stars the few, the proud and the undead.

Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie revives the long-running military-tinged anthology series with a soldier who's pretty much dead but has been serving the government in secrecy for many years and many American wars.

Batwing writing team Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and artist Scott Hampton pair Jared Kabe with another military type, Carmen King, a woman who's done two tours of duty but is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Her bosses think it'd be good for her to partner with Jared, and they focus their energies on anti-government militias in the USA as well as the beginning stages of a full-fledged zombie apocalypse.

G.I. Zombie is a "very good warrior, he's a pretty decent guy, but he also has an appetite that's not really healthy — and visually disgusting," says Palmiotti, who describes the series as a mash-up of The Walking Dead, old Sgt. Rock comics and HBO's True Detective.

"The surprising thing is you'll get to really like these characters right away, and when the disturbing stuff happens, you might feel like, 'Well, you know, that's what he's gotta do.' And you'll tag along for the ride."

In the first issue (out Wednesday), Jared and Carmen are sent on an undercover mission by their handler/cleanup man Abel Anderson — codename Gravedigger — to infiltrate a militia that has gotten its hands on a chemical weapon called Black Ice, which can destroy towns and cities in a matter of hours.

LEGO rolls out 'Dark Knight' Tumbler for Comic-Con Brian Truitt, USA TODAY 2:57 p.m. EDT July 20, 2014

Christian Bale's Batman is a mini-figure in the Tumbler set, plus the first appearance of Heath Ledger's Joker in LEGO form.(Photo: LEGO)

LEGO rolls out 'Dark Knight' Tumbler for Comic-Con

Batman's most intimidating movie vehicle hits stores in September.

Why so serious? Because Batman's most intimidating Batmobile ever is getting the LEGO treatment.

A LEGO Tumbler, the Caped Crusader's black armored vehicle of choice in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movie trilogy, will be on display at Comic-Con this week beginning Wednesday. Following the pop-culture convention, which runs through July 27, the Tumbler toy (1,869 pieces, $199) goes on sale at LEGO stores and shop.LEGO.com in September.

Measuring 15 inches tall and 9 inches wide, the LEGO Tumbler has an armored exterior, adjustable wings, a detailed interior (with a console screen that reads "INTIMIDATE") and oversized rubber-tread tires. It also comes with a fact sheet about the vehicle from the movies.

If you're into character mini-figures, the stars of the set are a Christian Bale-styled Batman and the Joker, the first time Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight take on the villain has appeared in LEGO form.

Mondo dives into the pop-culture toy business

First wave of collectibles include 'Iron Giant' robot and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It takes something pretty special to make Justin Ishmael buy a toy in a Target these days.

He doesn't often see the quality he wants in his pop-culture goodies at mass-market retailers, which is why the CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse's popular art gallery and online store is spearheading a new foray into action figures, statues and toys for connoisseurs of collectibles.

Mondo's already created a burgeoning business with limited-edition posters and records, but Ishmael also doesn't want to get in a rut.

"I've never ever, ever wanted to be the poster company. I want to be the good stuff company," he says. "We're fans who've made it and are making stuff for fans."

The first wave of toys will be on display this week at Mondo's booth at Comic-Con in San Diego beginning Wednesday, including a 16-inch figure of the central robot from The Iron Giant, a vinyl figure based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman's first drawing of a Ninja Turtle, a "Lil Mikey" vinyl figure based on a Mondo TMNT poster by artist Mike Mitchell, and a sixth-scale action figure of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock.

Ishmael hopes to have preorders for all the toys up on the redesigned Mondo website in August and September, and have them in fans' hands by Christmas.