A Halloween Tale From The haunted Toy Box
Mrs. K looked at me with the bemused patience of someone watching a wayward child. 'What are you doing photographing a naked doll?'.
''She's not a doll... she's an action figure!', I replied somewhat defensively. 'And she's not naked!', I muttered under my breath.
I was actually photographing Vampirella; a 1/6 scale collaboration between action figure maestros Phicen Ltd/TB League, and Dynamite Entertainment, who own the Vampirella rights.
If you don't venture out at the witching hour, Vampirella is a curvy comic book supernatural superheroine... a confusingly 'good' vampire created by Forrest J Ackerman and Trina Robbins.
Vampirella, issue 1, flew onto the magazine shelves in September 1969. She was the sister publication to Warren's popular Creepy and Eerie magazines. An evocative front cover by Frank Frazetta set the standard and secured Vampirella's future as a seductive enchantress and fave femme fatale amongst comic book fans.
Vampirella has been drawn by numerous artists over the decades. Each one bringing an individual look to the character. As such, a metamorphosis takes place, giving her a shapeshifting quality.
Arguably, the real continuity to the character's appearance is conveyed through her uncompromising costume; originally designed by comic book artist Trina Robbins.
It's fiery red retro-cut is instantly recognisable and reminiscent of a sixties go-go dancer - stylised, sexualised, dangerously revealing... it's not for the faint-hearted or politically correct!
Had she been published in the mid-fifties during the dark days of witch hunts and public comic book burnings, Vampirella would've been moral crusading author Fredric Wertham's arch-nemesis.
Thankfully Vampirella went to print in more enlightened times, when the innocent were free to chose their own comic book seduction and corruption.
TB League is the first company to produce a licensed 1/6 collectors action figure of Vampirella. Oddly for a successful comic book character, Vampirella has been under merchandised.
Comics and statues aside, an eBay search reveals a handful of Clayburn Moore sculpted figures and some modern model kits. Perhaps the most unforgettable piece of Vampirella memorabilia is the classic 1971 model kit by Aurora.
A highly controversial full page comic book advert saw Vampirella miscast as an evil villainess in Dr. Deadly's Monster Scenes ensemble.
Vampirella's product box states she is the 'Asian Edition', which may suggest that other cultural versions will follow?
The aloof beauty of the face sculpt may reinforce the comic book origin and sense of subtle otherness that Vampirella is from another world.
Head sculpts are subjective! Maybe the Caroline Munro sculpt featured on the retired Phicen figure 'Stella Star', would have given Vampirella the ideal look?
This stunning seventies scream queen was initially chosen for the role of Vampirella, in a Hammer motion picture which in keeping with vampire mythos, never saw the light of day.
The Phicen/TBLeague action figure body design is a radically new concept. A figure is produced by moulding a seamless silicone skin over a stainless steel articulated armature for a lifelike look.
Thoughts of the futuristic T-X 'Terminatrix' spring to mind with its metal skeleton concealed beneath synthetic skin. Perhaps this revolutionary design process is the next evolutionary step in 1/6 scale action figure production?
But could we be forgiven for wondering if Mattel's Matt Mason was the action figure who pioneered hidden-armature design?
TB League have included a beautifully macabre display stand for their beautifully macabre vampiress.
Made from polystone, the mound of grinning skulls and the toppled headstone reflect the comic cover world of Vampirella.
The set also includes a red cloak and a vampire bat which slips onto one of her interchangeable hands, to recreate the iconic Jose Gonzalez door poster pose.
Vampirella was born to an era when Dennis Wheatley novels and Pan Horror books were best sellers... and good old fashioned 'X' rated Hammer horror films were must-see cinema sell-outs.
It was a time when the occult and its sexploitation sidekick were in vogue. Even today, the bewitching Vampirella bites into the our obsession for the irresistible fictional Vampire... she feeds upon our guilty fascination with sex and death.
She is the forbidden pop culture pin-up girl who torments our collective psyche and continues to haunt our troubled dreams.
Happy Halloween Monster Fans.
Tony K
