After many years of neglect, and maybe even a lack of concern, DC Comics seems to have finally managed to create a line of figures that can get them in the same ball park as the Marvel Lines from Toy Biz. While there have been a few DC toy lines to come out since Super Powers, they were either related to the Batman movies, television series, or just didn't last long in the stores. The last of these was the Total Justice line, which was less about action figuresa and more about action poses.

But, apparently, DC finally seemed to learn a lesson. Instead of letting Hasbro or Toy Biz ruin their good name, DC took toy making into their own hands. Starting out with a test series of MAD Magazine characters (Alfred E. Neuman, Spy vs. Spy), the DC Direct line grew small wave by small wave, focusing on older Golden and Silven-Age characters and less likely choices (Artemis, Ares, Cassidy).

While the DC Direct line is not overly detailed, the nice thing about these figures is that they represent the characters well and are very sturdy. This may be one of the few toy lines for comics where multiple versions of the same characters aren't churned out. No Battle-Armor Wonder Woman or Wilderness Green Arrow in sight. Comic book fans who just want a normal figure of their favorite heroes will be over-joyed with this line. Also, fans of the lesser-known characters have just as good of a chance of seeing the characters they want as the moree popular names.

One of the nicest things about the DC Direct line is that they've been released in small three and four chracter waves, possibly to minimize any losses if a wave doesn't sell well. Still, DC can keep this line going for a while, and to be honest, I kinda hope they do. Here are most of the current releases:

Wave 1 - Alred E. Neuman, Black Spy, White Spy
Wave 2 - Golden Age Sandman, Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing
Wave 3 - Death, Jesse Custer, Plastic Man
Wave 4 - Morpheus, Starman, Spider Jerusalem
Wave 5 - Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary
Wave 6 - Cassidy, Tulip, Saint of Killers, Hawkman, Hawkgirl
Wave 7 - Dr. Fate, Spectre, Zatanna, John Constatine, Starfire
Wave 8 - Tom Strong, Amazo, Hourman III, Tomorrow Woman, Shazam (2-pack)

Also available or coming soon - Mr. Miracle, Impulse, Kid Flash, Artemis, Ares, Cheetah, Sandman, Deadman, Darkseid, Sinestro, Gorilla Grodd, Delirium, Solomun Grundy...

- - Vane