Hellboy Blood and Iron figure review

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but it's impossible to get anything good out of my shitty camera. See Poe Ghostal's review for a few shots.

When Hellboy: Sword of Storms first aired on Cartoon Network it was met with mixed reactions. Some fans thought that, with its overly-caricatured style, and corny dialogue, it was the greatest abomination to the Hellboy universe since Hellboy Junior. Some people, however, enjoyed its quirky animation style, and dumbed-down storyline. I'll admit that I was with the former, although I actually saw it when the DVD came out. The whole appeal of the Hellboy comics for me (aside from the story) was that Noir art style that really gave it the feel of a pulp Lovecraft detective story straight out of the 1940's. The cartoon basically threw all of that out the window in lieu of a generic, modern, cookie-cutter caricature style that made the cartoon just the same as all the other crap cartoons out there. So, when Blood and Iron came out, I wasn't expecting much. Hell, I wasn't even going to bother watching it until I saw Poe Ghostal's review. After he gave the figure such a good review I thought I'd check it out.

Packaging-*1/2
It's a bubble and a DVD shrink-wrapped together with a little cardboard insert that says it's a limited edition. It protects the figure well enough, and MOCers will find it easy enough to store. The problem is, it's just so damn bland. If it were a clamshell I'd go a little easier on it, but as it stands this bland piece of shit isn't getting any slack from me.

Sculpting-****
I hate to say it, but this sculpt is on par with Mezco. It's a perfect 3D representation of the cartoon, from his undefined chest muscles to his short, skinny legs, this guy could have walked right off the screen. I especially like the cigar, since one of the very few things that sets the Hellboy animated movies from other modern cartoons is the fact that he smokes. The only problem I have is that he's just too damn short. He's just barely tall enough to fit in with the Marvel Legends line, and that's if you ignore the fact that he's supposed to be a head taller than an average human. That's really nit-picking, though, and other than that he's gold.

Paint-***3/4
Again, the paint here is excellent. There isn't too much here, but there is more than you'd expect, and all that's there is great. I'll start from the head and go down. The eyes have a sort of gloss that really makes them stand out as organic. Other than that the head really isn't exceptional. The body is where it really shines, and the genius of it is that you really can't tell unless you look closely. There's a very, very light wash that really makes the details stand out. Although there aren't really any minor details. it's a nice touch.

Articulation-***1/2
The articulation here is actually pretty standard these days. You've got:
Ball jointed head(X1)
pseudo-Ball Jointed Shoulders(X2)
pseudo-cut biceps (X2)
Pin Elbow (X2)
Pin Wrists (x2)
hinged hands (X2)
Cut Chest (X1)
Pseudo Ball Jointed shins(X2)
pin knees (X2)
cut lower leg (X2)
pin ankles(X2)
pin toes (X2)
That adds up to 22 points of articulation. Not bad, but not as good as Marvel Legends.

Accessories-***1/4
I'm going to be nice and count the DVD as an accessory. In that case there are five in all. Two alternate hands (loose fist right hand of doom and tight fist regular left hand. The hands that he comes displayed with are an open right hand of doom and a left hand designed to hold the gun), The Samaritan (HB's gun), a stand, and the DVD. The hands pop on and off fine, but they really should have designed the pegs on the left hands differently. They have a little piece between the hand and part that goes into the wrist that makes it look like he has a really skinny wrist. Some people won't mind, but for me it's extremely noticeable. The gun is OK, the barrel is huge, but I suppose it's that way in the cartoon as well. The stand is fairly bland, and doesn't work too well. There is a plastic rod that goes right between his ass and his you-know-what that's supposed to hold him up. This works well in theory, but the peg is too tall, and it's impossible to get him to stand up well in any natural pose.
The DVD is good. The movie is pretty decent, better than the first, anyway, and has a few interesting bonus features.

Fun Factor-***
I assume any kid that likes the cartoon will enjoy this guy. They might get frustrated by the tiny legs, but for an older kid this should be alright. However, the Mezco figures work fine as toys, so if you know a kid that prefers the comics or live-action movie, then you may be better off going with one of their respective versions.

value-****
I think I paid just over $19.00 for this set. Taking into consideration that I paid $25.00 for Batman Begins on DVD, which included no bonus features, I'd say that this is a pretty fucking good value.

Things to watch out for
You may just want to prop HB up with his tail, rather than using the stand. If you position it just right, then you can get a pretty sturdy pose out of him. It also doesn't restrict the excessive leg articulation as much as the stand does, which is always good.

Overall-***1/4
You'd think it would be higher than that, what with the excellent paint, sculpt, and articulation scores, wouldn't you? But no, while this is a great figure at a great price, it doesn't make up for two things: height and weird looking wrist pegs on the left hands. It may not be an issue for some people, but the fact that this guy doesn't look good with the Mezco figures is really disappointing for me. And those wrists really bother me. Like, to the point where I was considering bumping him down to three stars. If those two things don't bother you, then go ahead consider this a four star figure.

where to buy
This is a Best Buy exclusive. I actually found this guy a few weeks ago, so he may be sold out at the Best Buy nearest you. If he is, don't worry. Ebay has got you covered.

Related Links
There's Poe Ghostal's review, that I mentioned earlier.

Michael Crawford has reviewed Battle Damaged Hellboy, 18" comic Hellboy, SDCC "Extreme" Hellboy, SideShow Abe, SideShow Hellboy,SideShow Kroenen, Hellboy Mez-Itz, Mezco Hellboy series one, and Graphitti Designs Hellboy, and has Nazi Kroenen, the DVD Hellboy bust, and 18" movie Hellboy over at the Poop Shoot.

BigGuido has Kreigaffe, and Lobster Johnson at Michael's site, plus a few others over at Action-Figure.com (just go to features, then to reviews, and look for Hellboy)