One of the best comedy magazines I grew up with is Mad magazine. Every issue is worth the bucks because from the cover page only, you will never miss a laugh with their official fictional model Alfred E. Neuman.
Alfred E. Neuman first appeared from a postcard that is pinned in the bulletin board of Ballantine Books which later caught the attention of Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman. "It was a face that didn't have a care in the world, except mischief," recalled Kurtzman. From then on, Alfred became a sensation!
Presenting Superman of Just Us League of Stupid Heroes-starring Alfred E. Neuman. Released by DC Direct on April, 2012 that coincided with Mad's historic 60th anniversary. The first version was released somewhere in 1998. One of the main differences between the two is that they added more vibrant colors to the new figure.
Appearance:
Mad Superman is 6" tall. If you line him up with other 6-7" action figures, he may not blend in because of his large head. I think DC Direct should have at least scale him a little bit to 4-5 inches (including the head) to look like a young, silly sidekick of Superman.
The paint job is great. The costume color matches well with the other Superman figures but of course, his' looks like a kid in costume. He wears a blue fit whole-body sweater, red undies, red cape cloth, and a pair of red sneakers. The cape is just simple, quite thin and hangs down all the time. It could be better if they used a thicker cloth to imitate a towel or something.
I'm also looking for more details in the shoes. Wish they have made the laces white as well as the shoe rubber soles.
Now comes the best part, the face! Even in close up, you will believe it is really Alfred E. Neuman. He has a tousled black hair, blue eyes, some missing tooth, skin freckles, large ears, and a "no-worry" facial expression.
Even in side view angle of the face, the resemblance is still considerable. He has a better skin tone than the 1998 version which is kinda' pale in my opinion.
Notice the fine Superman logo on his chest, awesome!
Alfred Neuman Superman has an average articulation and that is common to the DC Direct Justice League New 52 series.
He has a swivel head which turns in an offset direction. Neutral head angle is fine but turning sideways makes him look slightly upward.
He also has a swivel hinged shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrist, hinged legs and hinged knees.
My figure's left knee is a little bit loose and shorter than the right leg so you need to slightly bend the left knee to stand well. I'm don't know if others are having this issue.
I think the joints can easily get loose after trying to get some cool poses.
Final Verdict:
Appearance: 9/10
Articulation: 7/10
Value for Money: 9/10
Recommend: Yes
There are few action figures of Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman and having one is special. I've been looking for silly action figures until DC Direct came up with the idea of Just Us League of Stupid Heroes. Having one can add some humor and fun in toy collecting.
The other Just Us League heroes include Batman and Robin, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and the Joker. All sold separately. I hope someday they'll think about having Shazam and Hawkman.
Haha! I never had been a die-hard fan of superheroes ( Althougth I like watching these movies about Superman etc). I find it amusing to see an action figure like Mr. Bean haha :)
ReplyDeleteI wish to have a Mr. Bean action figure someday. For sure you won't stop laughing playing with him.
DeleteAwesome and well made! Me? Worry?
ReplyDeletethis is so cool! and yes, the logo is perfectly done! :)
ReplyDelete