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Tim Seeley's Action Figure Collection Volume 1
ALL THE FUN OF A BRAND NEW TOY!
JACK KRAKEN, AGENT of H.I.M! COLT NOBLE! ANIMALIENS! SUPERBEASTS! DEADSTAR DIVAS!
NYT Bestselling author Writer Tim Seeley (Revival, Nightwing, Hack/Slash) unleashes his imagination in a collection of genre-mashing, action-packed stories with art by SOPHIE CAMPBELL (Jem & The Holograms), SEAN DOVE (Brobots) and JIM TERRY (Sundowners), that puts a new twist on post-modern nostalgia.
“ ...a modern sense of humor ...completely unique.” -Ain’t It Cool News.
Collects JACK KRAKEN, COLT NOBLE & THE MEGALORDS and never- before-seen art and comics!
JACK KRAKEN, AGENT of H.I.M! COLT NOBLE! ANIMALIENS! SUPERBEASTS! DEADSTAR DIVAS!
NYT Bestselling author Writer Tim Seeley (Revival, Nightwing, Hack/Slash) unleashes his imagination in a collection of genre-mashing, action-packed stories with art by SOPHIE CAMPBELL (Jem & The Holograms), SEAN DOVE (Brobots) and JIM TERRY (Sundowners), that puts a new twist on post-modern nostalgia.
“ ...a modern sense of humor ...completely unique.” -Ain’t It Cool News.
Collects JACK KRAKEN, COLT NOBLE & THE MEGALORDS and never- before-seen art and comics!
- GenresGraphic NovelsComics
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2017
8 people want to read
About the author
Tim Seeley
1,622 books602 followersTim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 27, 2017
A Kid at Art
At the end of this collection of outrageous stories, creator Tim Seeley gives the reader a chance to look at some of the earliest drawings he ever did as a child. Many of those pictures ended up the inspiration behind the characters collected here. So in a way, Tim Seeley's Action Figure Collection reads as a sketch book as well as a psychological look at the mind of a child artist.
There's 3 main story lines that run through this book:
Colt Noble & The Megalords- A young prince is being trained to become the next warrior leader of his home world of Solus. But his hormones are getting the best of him. When he's not being chased out of Solus's strip clubs, he's trying to score with one of his female trainers. On one fateful day, young Jaysen falls in a chasm and discovers an ancient figure of action. This figurine turns Jaysen into Colt Noble, a super-strong hero with a very long sword.
Jack Kraken- Agent of H.I.M.- The Kraken is a mysterious agent with special abilities and powers that enable him to find Bigfoots, aliens, and even ghosts. But what's even more mysterious about the agent of H.I.M. is that nobody has ever seen his face before. That is, except for two orphans that Jack rescued from paranormal abductors. What is the secret that Jack and the two girls share and what would it mean to the world if that confidence should ever be broken?
Animaliens- A group of anthropomorphic aliens are stranded on a prison planet. Their leader is the young Princess Poodlea who lacks the experience to lead a kingdom of convicts, much less defeat them. Will she have what it takes to restore order to this lawless land?
Introducing the Seeleyverse
There's a number of short stories that tie in to one or more of these three main tales. Further stories include a team of alien sex-kitten dodge-ball players stranded on a hostile planet in parts unknown. Then there's a team of superheroes made up of the Boogeyman, Dracula, and a ghost. Oh, and don't forget the college adventures of a featherless mutant bird and his best friend, a Polish sausage. But Colt Noble, Jack Kraken, and Animaliens are the centerpieces of what should be referred to as the Seeleyverse.
Action Figures has a childlike wonder to it. I can imagine Tim Seeley as a little kid having off-the-wall adventures with his Star Wars, He-Man, and G.I. Joe figures. It's almost as if someone wrote scripts to those play sessions too. Because the dialogue is a little off, more like how a child would explain a story than a grown-up. There's definite elements of those classic 80s toys as Prince Jaysen/Colt Noble is clearly inspired by He-Man/Prince Adam. Add in a few dashes of swears and T&A and this is what Axe Cop would be if wunderkind Malachi Nicolle hit puberty.
The art is from a variety of artists that Seeley meet through DevianArt. Their styles vary from cartoony (Deadstar Divas) to near Jim Lee-level of detail (Jack Kraken.) My favorite artwork was of the Colt Noble adventures by the late Mike Dimayuga. His clever use of throwing Easter eggs such as Leia in Jabba slave gear at the Solus strip club made those adventures all the more enjoyable.
Please Sir, Can We Have Some More?
Tim Seeley's Action Figures says that it's volume 1. So I am hoping that more adventures involving Kraken, Poodlea, and Colt Noble are on the horizon. There's quite a few laughs to be had and quite a bit of adventure as well. If you are looking for something that doesn't quite fit the traditional mold of a superhero comic, then this is the collection you've been requesting ever since you became a kid at heart.
At the end of this collection of outrageous stories, creator Tim Seeley gives the reader a chance to look at some of the earliest drawings he ever did as a child. Many of those pictures ended up the inspiration behind the characters collected here. So in a way, Tim Seeley's Action Figure Collection reads as a sketch book as well as a psychological look at the mind of a child artist.
There's 3 main story lines that run through this book:
Colt Noble & The Megalords- A young prince is being trained to become the next warrior leader of his home world of Solus. But his hormones are getting the best of him. When he's not being chased out of Solus's strip clubs, he's trying to score with one of his female trainers. On one fateful day, young Jaysen falls in a chasm and discovers an ancient figure of action. This figurine turns Jaysen into Colt Noble, a super-strong hero with a very long sword.
Jack Kraken- Agent of H.I.M.- The Kraken is a mysterious agent with special abilities and powers that enable him to find Bigfoots, aliens, and even ghosts. But what's even more mysterious about the agent of H.I.M. is that nobody has ever seen his face before. That is, except for two orphans that Jack rescued from paranormal abductors. What is the secret that Jack and the two girls share and what would it mean to the world if that confidence should ever be broken?
Animaliens- A group of anthropomorphic aliens are stranded on a prison planet. Their leader is the young Princess Poodlea who lacks the experience to lead a kingdom of convicts, much less defeat them. Will she have what it takes to restore order to this lawless land?
Introducing the Seeleyverse
There's a number of short stories that tie in to one or more of these three main tales. Further stories include a team of alien sex-kitten dodge-ball players stranded on a hostile planet in parts unknown. Then there's a team of superheroes made up of the Boogeyman, Dracula, and a ghost. Oh, and don't forget the college adventures of a featherless mutant bird and his best friend, a Polish sausage. But Colt Noble, Jack Kraken, and Animaliens are the centerpieces of what should be referred to as the Seeleyverse.
Action Figures has a childlike wonder to it. I can imagine Tim Seeley as a little kid having off-the-wall adventures with his Star Wars, He-Man, and G.I. Joe figures. It's almost as if someone wrote scripts to those play sessions too. Because the dialogue is a little off, more like how a child would explain a story than a grown-up. There's definite elements of those classic 80s toys as Prince Jaysen/Colt Noble is clearly inspired by He-Man/Prince Adam. Add in a few dashes of swears and T&A and this is what Axe Cop would be if wunderkind Malachi Nicolle hit puberty.
The art is from a variety of artists that Seeley meet through DevianArt. Their styles vary from cartoony (Deadstar Divas) to near Jim Lee-level of detail (Jack Kraken.) My favorite artwork was of the Colt Noble adventures by the late Mike Dimayuga. His clever use of throwing Easter eggs such as Leia in Jabba slave gear at the Solus strip club made those adventures all the more enjoyable.
Please Sir, Can We Have Some More?
Tim Seeley's Action Figures says that it's volume 1. So I am hoping that more adventures involving Kraken, Poodlea, and Colt Noble are on the horizon. There's quite a few laughs to be had and quite a bit of adventure as well. If you are looking for something that doesn't quite fit the traditional mold of a superhero comic, then this is the collection you've been requesting ever since you became a kid at heart.
March 25, 2018
The book starts out on an interesting and promising plot. A horny prince finds a machine that can turn him into an action figure so that he can prove he is tough in battle and a lady's man. I believe that this plot and stories alone make the book fun and unique. However, this book has other stories about action figures and an end story that writer Tim Seeley wrote back in college.
So with all these different stories I again refer to the usual question I purpose when reviewing a graphic novel: Is this book worth reading? The answer is Yes. The book has several jokes poking fun at action figures and comic book stereotypes with just a touch of political comments. Add in some nice cartoony art work and this is a book worth picking up.
So with all these different stories I again refer to the usual question I purpose when reviewing a graphic novel: Is this book worth reading? The answer is Yes. The book has several jokes poking fun at action figures and comic book stereotypes with just a touch of political comments. Add in some nice cartoony art work and this is a book worth picking up.
January 30, 2022
Adolescent hormones are the star of the show here. The custom characters are obviously inspired by He-Man and various other action figures, but the stories, described as 'action figures meet teen sex comedies' lean more toward the humor and bawdy (females are almost entirely objectified throughout, both hero and villain), although the art keeps things at a T rating. There's a variety of artists featured, even among recurring character storylines (Jack Kraken), but all of them are pretty readable.
There's enough action, innovation and humor (the all-female dodgeball team with organic balls is weird but funny) to get through the book, but only if you're able to keep your eyes from rolling out of your head at all the teenage boyhood fantasies.
There's enough action, innovation and humor (the all-female dodgeball team with organic balls is weird but funny) to get through the book, but only if you're able to keep your eyes from rolling out of your head at all the teenage boyhood fantasies.
October 1, 2017
Silly but fun comic collection
This volume is a collection of short stories based on an action figure collection: it is fairly silly, obviously a mickey-take of traditional comics with some wonderful strange characters from Dracula Man to Princess Poodlea of the Animaliens (You get the idea!)
Reasonably amusing, this collection is worth a brief look and makes a nice change to more serious collections.
This volume is a collection of short stories based on an action figure collection: it is fairly silly, obviously a mickey-take of traditional comics with some wonderful strange characters from Dracula Man to Princess Poodlea of the Animaliens (You get the idea!)
Reasonably amusing, this collection is worth a brief look and makes a nice change to more serious collections.
May 17, 2018
Tim Seeley mashes up 1980's inspired action figure selling cartoons with 80's teen raunch films to create a book that I feel 14-year-old me would have enjoyed much more than grown-up me. I absolutely think that these sorts of properties should not take themselves too seriously but the sophomoric immature humour was of a type that just doesn't resonate with me. Some interesting pastiches of spectres of my childhood, and decent enough artwork but not my favourite.
March 9, 2019
3.6 Stars for the volume
Easily, the Jack Kraken stories are the best in this volume: for art, content, pacing, and thrill. It took 3 stories for the "re-imagining of He-Man" tales to grow on me. I just found the content to be childish and un-creative, even though I think I understand what the writer was going for. Its art was nice and crisp and fun. For the rest of the volume, it had enough for me to want to read more stories in the created universe.
Easily, the Jack Kraken stories are the best in this volume: for art, content, pacing, and thrill. It took 3 stories for the "re-imagining of He-Man" tales to grow on me. I just found the content to be childish and un-creative, even though I think I understand what the writer was going for. Its art was nice and crisp and fun. For the rest of the volume, it had enough for me to want to read more stories in the created universe.
January 30, 2021
Rare miss for me on a Seeley book. I get what he was trying to do, and you'd think he'd make it work, but it doesn't have any zing. The jokes land, but with a chuckle, not a snort.
The art is great, of course, featuring Seeley, Sophie Campbell, and more. But that's not enough to recommend it.
The art is great, of course, featuring Seeley, Sophie Campbell, and more. But that's not enough to recommend it.
November 1, 2017
Fun all the way!
April 10, 2019
Decent comics
February 15, 2024
Mostly good! If I spotted a second volume on the shelf, I'd be pretty tempted to buy it.
Ultimately, this is an odd work and leans into some precarious sexual storylines.
Ultimately, this is an odd work and leans into some precarious sexual storylines.
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October 1, 2018Tim Seeley wrote the excellent rural undeath series Revival, and a bunch of other stuff that hasn't quite clicked for me. Sadly, this is another tick in the latter column. It starts out as the spoof the title suggests, mocking Transformers, Thundercats et al...but before long there's a character who feels more like a Nick Fury spoof, a vaguely Steven Universe thing, and a small town supernatural comedy creeping in too. Possibly because he's realised the initial concept was getting rather samey and didn't have enough jokes to go around anyway? Granted, repetition with variation does eventually make Colt Noble and the Megalords moderately amusing, but even then it somehow doesn't manage to be the best He-Man pastiche/sex comedy Image have put out in the past couple of years, and you wouldn't have thought that was a crowded field.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews