Mondo

This December, Mondo plans on going out in style... Marvel House Style that is. On Dec. 11, the Mondo Gallery in Austin, TX will kick of a nine-day exhibit focused exclusively on Marvel called “Snikt. Bamf. Thwip: A Celebration of Marvel Comics.” It's the final gallery show of the 2015 calendar year for Mondo, and it will feature more than a dozen different artists from the Mondo family contributing works celebrating more than 75 years of Marvel's comic and cinematic history. We've got the details on which artists will be presenting original works, when you'll be able to see them, and we've got an exclusive first look at Matt Taylor's Thor and Loki pieces making their debut at the show next month.

Over the past few weeks, Mondo seems like it's been on a dedicated and very effective mission to separate me from as much of my money as it can, but finally, it's taken a break from the high-end Batman: The Animated Series posters that it's been putting up for sale at random times on Twitter. Now Mondo's just doing a super-amazing poster of Judge Death instead and... c'mon, Mondo. I only have so much to give. If you're not familiar with Judge Death - one of the best-designed villains in the history of comic books - he was created by John Wagner and Brian Bolland in 1980 as an interdimensional counterpart to Judge Dredd. While Dredd has a pretty hard-line stance on crime, Judge Death comes from a world where it was determined that since all crime was committed by the living, life itself must be a crime, leading him to kill off billions of people in various dimensions' Mega Cities One over the next 35 years.

It was only last week that I was getting downright covetous of Mondo's new line of limited Phantom City Collective prints inspired by Batman: The Animated Series. They're fantastic, with moody and iconic images that live up to the groundbreaking art style of the show, and if we're being honest with each other, I want enough of them to cover every flat surface in my home and possibly the insides of my eyelids. But as is usually the case with these things, that last set went pretty fast, and once again, I missed my chance. Now, however, we're getting another chance. Tomorrow, Nov. 12, they're going to be putting up two more Phantom City Collective art prints based on two more classic BTAS episodes: "Nothing To Fear" and "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"

Looks like Mondo was saving the best two turtles for last when it came to its new sixth-scale figure line. We'd already seen Leonardo and Donatello, so it was just a matter of time until Michelangelo and Raphael joined up. Of course, leaving Raph for last just proves how awesome he is because you don't close out the show if you're not a true headliner. That said, being runner-up to the main man isn't so bad, Mikey. It's not like his feeling will be hurt. He is a fictional character. And just a toy. So, you know, he doesn't have feelings. Anyway, Mondo's Mirage-inspired Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle line has been impressive thus far, mixing some nice-looking sculpts with a bunch of interesting accessories. Michelangelo will continue that trend quite nicely, as he'll not only come with the same grip hands, climbing claw hands and shurikens as the others, but also his signature nunchaku. Of course, it's all about that additional "Splayed Fingers of Positive Vibes" hand Mondo's including. It's also got us hoping Raph comes with a "Upright Finger of Righteous Indignation."

I don't really have the words for how much I want Mondo's Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack albums. I mean, the music is great, but the thing that really makes me the most covetous human being alive is the artwork that goes along with them, the beautiful, downright iconic representations of some of the best episodes of the series. I want to hang that stuff on every available surface and just bask in its warmth. And if you're like me, well, here's the good news: Tomorrow, Mondo is releasing two new prints by Phantom City Creative, based on 'Vendetta' and the all-time classic 'Almost Got 'Im', both of which, surprisingly enough, feature Killer Croc. And here's the bad news: They're going on sale at a random time, and they're limited to 250 copies each. But you can still check 'em out below!

This past weekend, you may have been lucky enough to find yourself in Austin, TX to attend the second annual MondoCon. If you weren't (like me), you apparently missed out on a whole mess of cool announcements (like me). In addition to the requisite vinyl and print teases for upcoming releases, Mondo also hinted at the future of its collectibles line. We already knew licenses like He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Madballs would be on hand, but Mondo's creative director of toys and collectibles Brett Otterbacher had a few surprises for those in attendance, too. According to a recap in the Austin Chronicle, Mondo will be crafting statues based on two different DC Comics prints that have already been released. First, a cast version of Francesco Francavilla's "Red Rain" print will be coming soon. Like the Godzilla statue based on the work of Phantom City Creative, the Batman-as-Dracula piece will be stylized as a 3D recreation of Francavilla's scrawny, bony, fang-bearing art. There will also be a Harley Quinn statue based on the 2014 SDCC-exclusive print from Matt Taylor (above). How this Harley will be translated to a statue remains to be seen, as this piece is just as much about her room as it is her. It will be interesting to see which elements make the leap to physical form when the statue begins development.

This weekend will see the second annual MondoCon take place in Austin, TX, and with that comes the debut of amazing exclusive vinyl soundtracks, prints, screenings, posters and teases from Mondo about its plans for the coming year and beyond. While there will be a heavy leaning towards film at MondoCon, there will be a smattering of comic and cartoon-related goodness on display, too. Jock will have his own panel, the 1989 Batman will get a special showing, and for the first time, Mondo's upcoming 1/6 scale He-Man figures will be on full display. The He-Man figure announcement came at San Diego Comic-Con, but the showing of any assets was very hush-hush, meaning this weekend's event will be the first time the general public will have a chance to peek at the prototypes for He-Man and Skeletor in their new forms. In advance of their debut, Mondo teased the a bit of the preliminary design sketches to give fans an idea of what to expect from their particular take on the '80s cartoon characters.

When it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it seems almost everyone is either on team Raphael or team Michelangelo. Leonardo gets a little bit of love, but almost no one will admit to being a fan of Donatello. Perhaps it falls back to the playground, where we'd all pretend to be the Turtles, and the last guy you wanted to be was the smartest guy in the room. Now as an adult, I can see the err of my ways. I mean, I'm still totally on team Raphael, but I ​get ​Donatello now. Last month, Mondo kicked off its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sixth-scale figure line with the leader of the pack, Leonardo. Though there have been a lot of TMNT figures and vinyls making waves over the past few months, Mondo's presents the first time this iteration of the characters will be available at this scale and with this many accessories. Tomorrow, Donatello finally get his chance to shine, and he's bringing a bunch of cool stuff with him.

Frequent thorn in my wallet's side, Mondo, which also happens to make some outstanding posters, limited run vinyls and toys, has just put the final nail in my bank account's coffin. To celebrate Batman Day, Mondo has announced (via IGN) an eight-record box set featuring the soundtrack to Batman: The Animated Series. Unlike Mondo's previously released Batman: TAS vinyls, these aren't going to be just the opening and ending themes on a cleverly-cut record. This box set will include the full scores to 16 different episodes, hand-picked by Mondo as favorites. What's more, each vinyl will have a unique sleeve with art from Phantom City Creative spotlighting the episodes featured on each side. There will also be six different 4x6 handbills for each of the villains from the fan-favorite episode, "Almost Got 'Im." The whole shebang comes in a black and yellow slipcase featuring the Gotham City skyline in the shape of the bat-symbol. It's probably the most beautiful collection Mondo's crafted to date, which means it's going to be one of the most sought after items of the holiday season.

If you've been eagerly awaiting the day when Mondo's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sixth-scale figures would go on sale, the stars have almost aligned. Revealed in full for the first time at San Diego Comic-Con this past July, Mondo's TMNT figures were the talk of the convention, and rightfully so. Though we've seen numerous incarnations of the fab four over the years, even in their retro comic book form, Mondo's versions presented the classic three-fingered ninjas in a size we hadn't seen before. Coupled with the incredible accessories that hit all the right nostalgia notes, Mondo's first real foray into this format had fans hyped and crowded around their display all four days of the show. The line will officially kick off this week with Leonardo, the selfless leader of the pack. Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael will follow, with each coming about a month after the previous release. Leo will come with his signature dual katanas, as well as scabbards for both on his back. Mondo's including heads with red bandannas for all the Turtles to emulate the appearances of the Turtles way back when during the Mirage days, but will also include heads with more familiar colored bandannas, too. And the Turtles wouldn't be who they are without first having been babies, so Leo will come with a little non-mutated turtle version of himself.