What a Thursday to be writing a Figure Friday on! Summer has allegedly arrived despite the fact that there was frost on the roof of my garage this morning. The evening news tonight was pretty funny too.
On to the action figures and whatnot.
Vincent Price Ultimate Action Figure by NECA
Even though he died fairly early on in my life, Vincent Price’s cultural impact was positively seismic for me. I’m old enough to remember the premier of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video on MTV since my babysitter didn’t have cable at home so we got to watch A LOT of it when my folks were out on the town. Price’s narration increased the overall freakiness of the video exponentially and I had a hard time going to bed that night.
In addition to that I recall his appearances on The Muppet Show and in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands and with those two additional datapoints I knew this this guy was awesome.
Those are all well and good but only real ones will remember this:
Absolute art.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you consider yourself a Price fan you simply must check out his old radio show The Price of Fear.
As usual, I’ve taken the long way round to illustrate why the subject of this column is worthy of being immortalized in plastic, but clearly NECA has once again knocked it out of the park with their Vincent Price Ultimate Action Figure.
Here’s the blurb:
Darkness falls across the land… The “Merchant of Menace” is finally joining NECA’s Ultimates line!
A horror and camp icon with an unmistakable voice, the incomparable Vincent Price appeared in more than 100 films during his lifetime. However, this Master of Horror wasn’t just an actor of stage, radio, and screen; he was also an art historian and gourmet cook! Celebrate his unique legacy with this 7-inch scale Ultimate Vincent Price action figure. It comes complete with three interchangeable heads and neckties to mix and match his iconic looks throughout the years. (It’s like three figures in one!) Other spooky accessories include interchangeable hands, raven with alternate “perch” forearm, skull, black cat, candlestick, teacup and saucer, cigarettes, cookbook, and a stack of records.
Comes in collector-friendly, Ultimate five-panel window box packaging.
Coming in at a positively reasonable $37.99, NECA has totally nailed Price’s various likenesses. If I’m being honest the fact the he comes with an interchangeable cravat is something I’d pay double for on its own.
Fittingly, you can preorder Mr. Price’s figure now and it’ll arrive right on time for Halloween.
Hellboy Hand of Glory Candle by Dark Horse
While I was prepping this column I stumbled across this fantastically creepy addition.
“It’s called a ‘Hand of Glory.’ It’s the hand of a hanged man, dried, dipped in wax, made into a candle. If it’s used right, it can unlock doors and immobilize everyone in a house.” – Hellboy, Hellboy: Box Full of Evil Issue #1
Inspired by the Hand of Glory candle which first appeared in Hellboy: Box Full of Evil, this handmade Hand of Glory Candle was created in partnership with 54Celsius and has been expertly molded based on the art of Mike Mignola. Made from 100% natural paraffin wax in the true-to-comics blue/gray color and includes five separate wicks, this candle will bring light and magic to any setting for approximately 6 hours of burn time (hanged-man ingredients not included).
Although this candle won’t immobilize anyone through black magic, it may make guests stop in their tracks to appreciate the unique presence it brings to your home, office, or mausoleum.
Add a little mystery to your home’s decor with a recreation of the Hand of Glory Candle from Mike Mignola’s Hellboy today!
While some of you may balk at the $59.99 price tag, I say to you…have you been into a Yankee Candle store lately? Or perhaps perused the hand-poured artisanal candles at the local DIY fair? Sixty bucks doesn’t seem so bad now, does it? (Also, Dark Horse please send me one, thanks!)
