Todd McFarlane has long expressed a desire that every toy license held by other companies could include a loophole that says he gets to make one figure.
He seems to have found it — and gotten slightly more than one. As announced in a business deal last year, McFarlane Toys will partner with Hasbro licenses for their 3-inch Page Punchers line of figures packed with comics. The concept is to make a comic and a small toy that kids can afford; now that it’s going cross-license (others include DC, Spawn, and Pacific Rim) it means a whole array of similarly sized figures compatible with one another.
You Read, You Play
As of today, G.I. Joe and Transformers Page Punchers are up for preorder at most toy collector-focused sites. $16.99 (or thereabouts) gets you a pack with two comics, two figures, and a display stand to hold up the comic like it’s a backdrop. The G.I. Joe sets are divided into hero and villain packs: Duke and Snake Eyes come together, and Cobra Commander includes a Crimson Guard. Transformers offers one Autobot pack — Bumblebee and Wheeljack — as well as a leader vs. leader set of Optimus Prime and Megatron.
Each figure sports six points of articulation: shoulders, hips, waist, and neck. And these are just the start: the initial deal also promised Power Rangers and Dungeons & Dragons Page Punchers. Page Punchers also go to 7-inch scale for the DC license, but pre-existing 7-inch deals with Super7 may preclude those from happening with Hasbro characters.
Still, as a concept it shows no signs of slowing. Perhaps the toy-comic concept will encourage a few more kids to read, even. Older collectors still get their larger, more detailed stuff — consider these potentially the gateway.
Get a gander at some official images down below:
