Missing in Action (Figures): Black Widow

Check out Luke Brown's fine article over at Comics Alliance on the upcoming Funko assortment of Avengers: Age of Ultron toys. Luke, as befits the Force-sense of his Star Wars namesake, cannily points out the complete absence of a Funko figure portraying Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers founding member Black Widow in the set.


Um, hello, Funko? Who doesn't want a super-deformed big-eyed Scarlett Johansson sitting on their desk? As proof of concept, here's Skottie Young's take on the idea of Mini-Natasha. CUTE!


Variant cover of Black Widow (2014 series) #1 (March 2014), art by Skottie Young
(Fairness in disclosure: Yes, Funko did issue a Natasha figure to coincide with last year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Sundance Kid movie, but that's long since vanished from the shelves. I know the character is going to be in Avengers 2...why omit her this time?)

Anyway, my point...and I do have one: I'm reminded of my recent visit to The Disney Store, which, among the Mickeys and Elsas and Lightning McQueens and Pocahonti, carries a small variety of Marvel superhero clothing and toys, especially those directly connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You know, like the movie that starred these guys?:


That's one of several dozen figurine playsets the Disney Store sells, ranging from their classic movies to modern Pixar films. Please note there are exactly five figures in this set, and one of 'em ain't Black Widow. Really, guys? I know it's "traditionally" boys who buy action figure sets, but A) do you think they're going to avoid a set like this because it has one woman in it, and B) this is the ferschluggin' Disney Store. With all those members of the Princess Pantheon, young girls are your target market. Is it maybe because you can only fit five figures in the case? Hmmmmm?


Nope. Not only does the Incredibles figure set fit its the entire team in the same size box, plus the baby, and Frozone, not to mention the villainous Syndrome. Admittedly, I did not weigh these two sets, and maybe Hulk weighs too much for them to have profitably added a sixth figure to the Avengers set. But seriously, Disney Store? Do you want to make the point that action women aren't collectible or fun to play with? What's next, a Star Wars set minus Princess Leia?

I know, I know, the first rule of business: "never assume ill-intent when profitability is probably the real reason." But like Funko, for Disney to omit featuring a truly kick-ass hero like Black Widow is dangerously setting a trend for toys and collectibles.

I'm reminded of this politically incorrect but still funny cartoon by B. Kliban.


Cartoon from Two Guys Fooling Around With the Moon and Other Drawings (March 1982), by B. Kliban

Transogram: Where the Fun Comes From!

Here's a Henry Boltinoff "Billy" half-page gag strip from DC:


"Billy" strip from Batman #203 (August 1968), script, pencils, inks, and letters by Henry Boltinoff
Say, that's a pretty cool pseudo-Ouija game Billy's got there. Mighty clever for a fictional game created for a comic strip. Or...is it?!?

No, it's not. Ka-Bala is real...


...not only real, but it's the subject of its own comic book ad!


"Ka-Bala" ad from Mighty Samson #13 (Dell, February 1968), scripter and artist unknown
I like to think that Transogram Toys, the company that made Ka-Bala, compensated Henry Boltinoff with large amounts of cash (which he then stored in a safe he made using a tip from one of his "Cap's Hobby Hints." But probably he got paid $10 under work-for-hire. DARN YOU, WORK FOR HIRE!

Ka-Bala was not Transogram's only board game with a connection to comic books. Here's the "Silly Sidney" game:




...based on the Gene Deitch animated cartoons for Terrytoons (this Sidney cartoons was nominated for an Academy Award):


Sidney's Family Tree (Terrytoons, 1958), directed by Art Bartsch, produced by Gene Deitch and Bill Weiss
Sidney also starred in New Terrytoons and Tom Terrific comic books.


Cover of New Terrytoons #2 (January 1963), pencils and inks by Fred Fredericks

Page from Silly Sidney story in New Terrytoons #1 (June-August 1960), scripter and artist unknown
Here's more about Sidney on the always-incredible Don Markstein's Toonopedia. There's another Transogram game I have great fondness for, as I played it when I was just a tiny stuffed bull: Green Ghost!!


Green Ghost was a three-dimensional, glow-in-the-dark boardgame (we'd sit in the closet and play it!) You'd spin the glowing ghost (which would make a terrible and spooky racket as it twirled), then move around the glowing board to collect keys. The keys would unlock the three crypts on the board: reach in and collect a little ghost from among spooky-feeling objects like feathers and rubberbands. Ah-wooooooo! Best game ever! Here's an informative Web 1.0 page on the Green Ghost game, plus a video showing the set-up:


Is that all Transogram put out that was utterly awesome? Guess again, ghastly ghouls! There was the fabulous Swing Wing...


...the melodious manic mayhem of Monkey's Uncle...


Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...not with the Trik-Trak Road-Rally!


Too tedious for you, cool fats? Then let's crank it up a notch with the Dare-Devil Trik-Trak! (Matt Murdock, Blind Driver, not included.)


Still, there's one toy that wasn't from Transogram that I still want, but I'm not allowed to have toy guns. But, a bull can dream, can't he?


So, speaking of toy guns, play us off, honeyhoney, directed by and guest-starring Keifer Sutherland!