Arcade Sushi editor-in-chief Luke Brown is an experienced video game journalist who has contributed to Official Xbox Magazine and Games Radar. As ComicsAlliance's senior editor, he spends most of his time dishing on the latest action figures, collectibles, and gaming trends.
Luke Brown
Where’s Jyn? This Fall, She’ll Be in the Star Wars Black Series
It didn't take long today during the Star Wars Celebration Europe Rogue One panel for Felicity Jones to get a chance to see her very first action figure. While many of us in the collecting world had assumed the protagonist of this winter's first Star Wars film to take place away from the Skywalkers, Hasbro had never confirmed it for certain. It is official now however, and Jyn Erso will join the ranks of the Star Wars Black series when the next wave launches this fall.
There's no exact release date for the upcoming wave, which also includes Leia Organa (A New Hope), Sabine Wren and unmasked Kylo Ren (and more), but if last year's Force Friday event in September is any kind of indicator, better mark you calendars for that first Friday now. What's more, Jyn joining this wave makes it the most female-centric Black Series wave since the line launched. There has never been a wave with three female figures in it before, let alone two, so this fall is going to be home to all kinds of firsts.
Collect Your Favorite Decomposing Corpses with Topps’ New Walking Dead Cards
People love The Walking Dead. Despite some rage-inducing story decisions made at the end of this last season (and numerous times throughout the show's run depending on who you're asking), the show is still one of the biggest hits not on premium cable. It's so successful it even necessitated the creation of a spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead, which showcases the zombie apocalypse from an all-new perspective of characters not seen in the comic series before. And there's the post-show talk show too, but the merits of its existence is a whole different discussion nobody wants to have.
While there has certainly been no shortage of merchandise for the television show, including trading cards, Topps has seen fit to add the popular series to its stable of licensed products. Things kicked off today with the launch of a new, free digital card app, The Walking Dead Card Trader, with physical cards planned to follow later in 2016. What kind of cards are we talking about here? Walkers. Lots and lots of walkers.
Vader Lives, He Dies, He Lives Again With This New McQuarrie-Inspired Statue
For all the heavy lifting he did designing much of the look and feel of the Star Wars universe, there really isn't a whole lot of Ralph McQuarrie-inspired merchandise out there. Yes, obviously there were plenty of other massively, massively talented artists working on what would become The Trilogy, but McQuarrie's conceptualization of this galaxy far, far away established not just the tone of this world, but inspired more than a proportionate share of imitators. Still, beyond prints and art books, McQuarrie's original work is fairly non-existent. Which is surprising given that Star Wars merchandise is the reason for all merchandise, and it's been around since 1977.
Thankfully, Sideshow's recently picked up the gauntlet of bringing the artist's work to the physical realm with a series of statues. Already the line features that iconic soldier, the Stortrooper, and the human hype machine, Boba Fett, who I guess is technically a bounty hunter that just sucks at getting bounties. Now the most fearsome of the Empire's agents gets the royal treatment, as McQuarrie's Darth Vader lives once more.
New Star Wars Game Coming From Titanfall, God of War Creative Teams
The marketing blitz of Star Wars Day did not disappoint this May the Fourth, with a number of announcements for new toys, statutes, clothing, books and more hitting the web. While most of the reveals were expected, and welcome, EA dropped arguably the biggest surprise of the day. In addition to continued support by DICE from Star Wars Battlefront, the various mobile teams working on portable Star Wars experiences, and Viscerals upcoming secret Star Wars adventure, now Respawn Entertainment would be joining the mix. That's right, the developers who helped craft the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare that went on to form an all-new studio and launch the Titanfall series will dive head first into the galactic waters of Star Wars video games.
Hot Toys’ Princess Leia is a Jedi Knight in White Satin [Review]
Alright, you got me. Technically Leia Organa isn't a Jedi Knight. Maybe at one time that was her destiny, but that might be something I made up in the '90s. As we all know today, Leia Organa may have been incredibly Force-sensitive like her brother Luke Skywalker, but she never took to the Jedi training like he did. Leia stuck with the Rebellion for decades, maintaining her role as a leader in the galaxy's Resistance against the remaining Empire forces. Her path to becoming a general however started way back in the original Star Wars, where Leia used her diplomatic privileges to help the fledgling Rebel Alliance.
Since debuting in Star Wars in 1977, Leia Organa has become an icon that transcended the genre. While it took a few figures to get here, Hot Toys has finally seen fit to honor one of cinema's greatest heroes with a figure worthy of her status. The Star Wars: A New Hope Princess Leia may not be the hardened general we know her as today, but Hot Toys' latest figure manages to bring her to life in figure form so well, you can see the beginnings of the galaxy's greatest leader in every detail.
This Deal Gets Better All the Time: Lando Calrissian Comes to Star Wars Battlefront
Stop the presses. The greatest news to ever news has just been newsed. Lando Calrissian is coming to Star Wars Battlefront.
Also Dengar.
But more importantly, Lando "King of the Capes" Calrissian is going to be a playable character in Battlefront. Generations of players have been waiting for this moment since they were born, and now we are on the precipice of a new dawn in third-person Star Wars action. A dawn so handsome, so charismatic and so silky smooth, it's amazing that one single video game can handle bringing the Cloud City Charmer to life.
Figuarts Age of Ultron Black Widow Arrives Just in Time for the Next Movie
After 65 movies, Black Widow is finally getting her own SH Figuarts figure. Tamashii Nations has been teasing the addition of the SHIELD super-spy for some time now, but with the coming and going of Avengers: Age of Ultron in theaters and home video, it seemed like the best shot she had was with the upcoming Captain America: Civil War line. Fear not though, as the version from last year's big Marvel mash-up will get her due overseas this summer. That should put her on pace to arrive in the states just in time for the Blu-ray release of Civil War. Progress.
To be honest, this figure actually looks like the wait may have been worth it. It's highly articulated, and actually looks something like Scarlett Johansson. That's more than we can say for the "Chris Evans" Captain America SH Figuarts has on deck for this year. There's a lot of great detail in the costuming, too, which is to be expected from Tamashii's offerings. Nothing against Hasbro's budget-friendly and hard-to-find Marvel Legends AOU Black Widow, but this figure might be the definitive 6" version of Natasha Romanova.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Gameplay Trailer is Filled With Star Wars, New Mechanics
If you were concerned another Lego game coming so soon on the heels of Lego Dimensions, Lego Marvel's Avengers and Lego Jurassic World might mean Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens would stick too close to the familiar formula, this new gameplay trailer offers a bit of hope. Since the first entry arrived more than a decade ago, the Lego series hasn't changed all that much. The core foundation has been in dire need of a shake-up, and that's particularly true in a time when four Lego games will have shipped in a calendar year. Though there have been small adjustments and additions made over the course of the last 10 years, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens appears to be making some significant improvements to the tried and true formula.
The Bad Guys Come Out to Play in New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan Trailer
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are finally getting the 3D action game they deserve, and they couldn't have asked for better company. Platinum Games has a strong catalog of excellent action games, with a few not-so-great ones sprinkled in, to be fair. Still, even in those that don't quite qualify as memorable for the right reasons, the actual action was almost always still remarkable. After the success of Transformers Devastation, Platinum again turned its eye to another '80s cartoon, albeit this time with a benefit of a modern comic backing it all up.
Based in the IDW universe of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Platinum's game will let players take on the roles of all four Turtles in co-op brawler that looks to add another notch in the developer's "Good" column. Where the first trailer was a bit of a broad overview of what to expect from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, this latest video (exclusively revealed on IGN) gives us a better look at the bosses from the Foot Clan and Dimension X that will put our heroes to the test.
Mantic Games Brings All Out War to Table Tops With New Walking Dead Game [Exclusive]
There have been a number of board games based on The Walking Dead released since the television show rocketed the comic into the pop culture stratosphere. From Risk and Monopoly variants to wholly original games with deep rulesets, there's no shortage of ways to enjoy The Walking Dead in a tabletop setting. Mantic Games is hoping to stand out from that crowding marketplace with its latest Kickstarter for The Walking Dead: All Out War.
As the Kickstarter enters its final weekend, we spoke with Mantic's Chris Palmer to get a better idea of what to expect from The Walking Dead: All Out War, how Mantic hopes to stand out in a crowded field, and even have an exclusive first look at the miniatures for Michonne and her walkers.