Sweet Sugar, A-Pumpin’ In My Veins

Celebratory, Celestiatory

I didn’t do anything differently for my birthday last week. I really haven’t been celebrating it with big parties or anything. But I’m glad that I got yummy cake, among other tasty food, when I got home. Watched the 30 Days of Night preview at Gateway with John before that, while enduring a headache brought about by, I assume, lack of sleep. The artist of the source comics, Ben Templesmith, was there; he seemed like a shy guy, judging by his posture prior to introducing the film.

Halloween, Benedict and I met up, went to Fort, and shared candy. Sucked on some lollipops (semi-chewy Boom Boom and generic Halloween ones), ate tiny orange jelly slices, and other candies. It still felt like my birthday, as people were still greeting me that day, which is so cool, by the way. I got a whopping three dozen plus greets from friends, relatives and acquaintances, so thanks again for that, you lovely people.

So, another year. And what a year it’s been, so far. Six months ago, I was drinking beer in the shower and having one of the most memorable summers of my life, after a period of monotony and routine. More recent months are about emotional phases bleeding into each other. I have assessed and re-examined my relationships and my jobs; it’s been a roller coaster ride. Thoughts and feelings I’d forgotten resurface, and I’m encountering new ones too. They’re not all pleasant, but I’m acknowledging and confronting ‘em head on.

I’m older. And maybe, just a little bit wiser. One of these days, though, I’m just gonna party like mad.

Marvel Girl Marvels

I got this as a prize some weeks back (see the Mash Master blog entry). The Marvel Girl figure in the third Hasbro wave is a good-looking, differently articulated female figure. It’s actually one of the prettier ones, and there have been quite a few from the Toy Biz lines.

The time-traveling telepath-telekinetic Marvel Girl, a.k.a. Rachel Summers (or Grey, as she’s honoring her currently deceased mother Jean) is one of the X-characters that started out great, but eventually similar characters from alternate future timelines followed suit, making the X-titles’ storylines hopelessly convoluted. Still, Rachel’s had many personas in the last two decades, and her current one’s immortalized for the first time in plastic.

Rachel has fewer points of articulation (21) than the usual Marvel Legend, but less is more in this case. No unsightly leg and knee joints here. It’s surprising that each knee can bend, and still turn whichever way via some hidden joint articulation. Also, her feet can be positioned through subtle ankle points.

While it’s not the best-looking girl on the block, it can be ranked up there with attractive figures like Kitty Pryde, Black Widow, Psylocke and even the Marvel Select ones, face- and paint-wise. There’s even a repaint of Marvel Girl in the new Hasbro two-pack of Cable (Ray’s brother Nathan) and, well, the original Marvel Girl (Jean in her early days). The body and costume have been repainted, yes, but the head’s a totally different sculpt, as that one’s wearing a mask and has longer hair. Completists, or those keen on forming a Summers-Grey clan might want to get that too.

Accessories: the translucent fiery fist attachables are similar to Iron Fist’s. More interesting is the teeny-weeny, separately crafted X-amulet. It would’ve been great if she had a translucent yellow visor too, but that would’ve covered up the fine paint work on her eyes.

Maybe in the future, there’ll be another Rachel Summers toy (her Hound/Phoenix costume, preferably), but for now, this version stands out from Hasbro’s ML sets. Let’s hope that the upcoming women are done as painstakingly as this particular X-lady.