bishoujo

For not having had a whole lot of collectibles over the past few years, it certainly shaping up to be a good 2017 for Kamala Khan. The most current Ms. Marvel has been a fan-favorite since her debut, but only now are companies beginning to capitalize on a fanbase eager for ways to show their affections towards the teen hero. Kotobukiya's upcoming Bishoujo Ms. Marvel sets the bar fairly high for the rest of the competition, capturing Kamala's attitude and style without compromising her character.

As she's grown in popularity, we've seen Squirrel Girl crop up in a number of comics outside of her own series. We still haven't gotten very many collectibles based on Marvel's most unbeatable hero, but that trend is starting to catch up to the printed page. She's already gotten a Funko figure, but next year she'll also get a more premium statue from Kotobukiya.

Though New York Comic Con isn't typically a show where Kotobukiya reveals many new items, you can always count on the company to tease a handful of never-before-seen pieces. This year, the pickings weren't robust, but they will make fans of Koto's Bishoujo series for statues happy. While there were some nice Star Wars figurines at the booth as well, the primary source of new statues came from the "beautiful girl" series. Both the Harley Quinn and Spider-Gwen teased with silhouette's back at SDCC were given the concept art treatment at NYCC. Harley will be represented by her New 52 Suicide Squad look, which we knew was coming, but is still slightly disappointing. The second version created by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti is much more interesting, and doesn't make you want to cringe just by glancing at it. Shunya Yamashita's design does the best it can with what he's got to work with, but this piece is already shaping up to pale in comparison to the classic Harley Quinn.

The ladies of Marvel have never been more kawaii than the Kotobukiya imported Marvel Bishoujo statues! Except maybe for "X-Men: The Manga." And "X-Men: Misfits." And OK, a bunch of times, shut up. But it's the first time I've seen this kind of manga aesthetic Marvel sculptures, and I love it...