Monday, July 22, 2013

SDCC

An artist's rendering of MH fanatics clamoring for new doll goodness at SDCC. Also, Catty's box art.

Another year, another San Diego Comic Con frenzy for MH fans. Mattel has made SDCC their primary Con of choice for MH since the line first started in 2010, debuting more and more new lines and characters there every year. It's always a time of excitement and general mayhem for MH fans as we get to see some of the coolest goodies coming our way in the ensuing year. Let's get started!

I'm not going to bury the lead here: although she wasn't the first reveal, Honey Swamp was to me the best. A brand new character doll making her debut in the Spring 2014 Frights! Cameras! Action! line, Honey has a sea foam green skin tone, alligator eyes, and a massive fro of tight springs. Her hair is teal with mint streaks and she wears a pastel, vintage-y button up paired with a pleated, layered skirt featuring a fractured print of tiny monster faces. Contrasting textures will play a big part in the appeal of this skirt, with the top layer consisting of a parched knit while underneath hangs a layer of black "fur". Her pink shoes feature alligator detailing -- ridged skin and lots of sharp teeth. Honey is from New Orleans (in MH-speak: New Goreleans), and seems influenced by exploitation films of the 70's. Her arms and legs have moss molded into them. I'm guessing she will be the daughter of the Swamp Monster. (Has Mattel officially said yet? If so I missed it.) Basically she's "alligator girl" is what it comes down to. Honey is fierce to the extreme, and between her 70's touches and NOLA connection, this girl is appealing to me big time! In fact, to me she's easily the best-designed new character we've gotten since Jina and Skelita. Definitely looking forward to seeing this southern 70's chick on my shelf!




Next we have Clawdia Wolf, big sister to Clawdeen, Howleen, and Clawd. She is also part of the Frights! Cameras! Action! line. Since Clawdia is an "adult" she comes on the taller body (hooray!). She comes with MH's first ever smiling facemold, and wears massive black glasses. She also has day-glo yellow hair (not unlike 13W Lagoona), in a retro weenie roll, and a smart, stylish ensemble. Fitting since she's older than the other MH girls and has presumably moved beyond "hip" clothing fads. Okay, I'm going to try not to get too ranty here, but this doll has received a very mixed response from the fanbase. A lot of people are saying she's too "Barbie-ish" with her big smile and blonde hair. Okay, I do get a vague Barbie vibe from Clawdia, but it's not because of her smile or yellow hair. Her simple but stylish outfit looks very much like something Barbie would've worn in the early 60's (not a bad thing), but her smile is way too excited, nerdy even, to be Barbie. As for the yellow hair? Eh, Barbie generally keeps her blonde in a realistic shade unless it's for, like, Mermaid Fantasia Barbie or something. Clawdia is not Mermaid Fantasia Barbie. (I made Mermaid Fantasia Barbie up, but you get what I'm saying.) I don't know why I'm always surprised when fans have knee jerk negative reactions to anything new the MH designers try. So she's smiling -- big deal! She's the third Wolf sister at this point; a little differentiation via a smiling mold is a welcome change if you ask me. Plus, as I've said a million times, I love when they try new things with MH. It keeps us guessing, and guessing is fun! Who wants to know exactly what you're getting with every doll? Okay, guess I did rant a little there. Anyway, I think Clawdia looks great. Despite being the third Wolf sister in the line they've managed to make her unique. She truly looks like no other MH doll, including her sisters. And she's on the tall body! Definitely looking forward to Clawdia.




The first new character reveal doll we saw was Jane Boolittle. Curiously, she didn't have a tag telling us who she was so there was some confusion there for awhile amongst the fans as to what this doll's deal was. Finally Mattel officially announced her on Facebook. She's the daughter of a Witch Doctor and, while not as exciting or unique as Honey or Clawdia, she definitely has a charm all her own. In fact, the more I look at Jane the more I like her! She's incredibly pretty, with almost snake-like eyes and pouty red lips. Her black and red streaked hair comes in a bouffant leading to large, thick curls. Her witch doctor outfit seems to be a hodgepodge of various pieces, and she carries what looks to be a divining wand. She also has what appears to be a brace on her right leg -- she may be MH's first differently-abled doll. (This also means that divining wand may simply be a walking cane.) We don't know what line Jane is a part of yet but it seems likely she'll be introduced in next year's basics line. I think Jane may just be a sleeper hit among the upcoming new dolls -- she may not be as "cool" as Honey but everything about her definitely works. Like I said, every time I look at her she just gets better and better.






On Sunday we got our last reveal, the first ever doll for Slo Mo. He looks markedly different from his webisode design but he has an appeal that's completely different yet just as strong. Just look at his face -- so much personality! And he's a cutie, too! I feel Mattel is getting better and better with their MH males, and Slo Mo is a perfect example of that. There are some who aren't happy with the disconnect between webisode design and doll design, but for the most part Slo Mo seems to be going over extremely well! Which is all the more impressive considering he comes not in his basic outfit but a very budget-y t-shirt and board shorts. Overall, his doll is just really charming and brimming with life. (No, the irony isn't lost on me.) He'll be part of a Ghoul Spirit set.




On Friday Catty Noir was revealed. Catty was already officially revealed last month in Tokyo so if you're confused by her second debut at SDCC, well, join the club. Catty will be a special Friday the 13th doll, slated for a September release, though people have already been able to get their hands on her. She's an offshoot of the Ghouls Night Out line, the superstitious popstar the ghouls went to see that night in concert. Catty is the fifth werecat we've gotten now, and while this annoys some, I say bring her on! I love all the werecats they've released so far, and Catty is no different. Something about those huge, striking cat eyes they always sport just really works for me. Plus, their tails are really fun to play with. No, I'm not joking -- the werecat tails are always expressive and add to the posing options of the dolls. So even though making Catty Friday's reveal felt a bit like a cheat, I do like the doll quite a bit. I hope they release more werecats, multiple ones, every year! (Suck it, werecat haters.)






Thursday's reveal was Sweet Screams Frankie and Draculaura. This candy themed line is a Target exclusive so it's safe to assume at least one or two more dolls will join the lineup at some point. They're set for a Spring 2014 release. I love these dolls. They have a Japanese couture feel to them, very loud and brash and, well, sweet. They both contrast bright candy colors with black, and dripping, sugary details abound. Draculaura's extra-long pigtails are wrapped in licorice ropes while Frankie, for the first time ever, sports bold red streaks. Frankie's blue and red, diagonally striped lips have been blowing my mind since I first laid eyes on her. And check out Draculaura's eyes -- they're massive! Almost freakishly so! Love it! Also note her forearms and hands -- one side is black, the other pink. And both are wrapped in swirling white icing. They come with candy-face purses and reinvented, sugary versions of their pets. I can't get over how cool these two are; I'm honestly as excited about them as I am the new characters. I mean, look at them! This is how you do a modern fashion doll that has her eyes on both current doll trends and haute couture. They're just perfect! Okay, I'll shut up about them now. (But seriously -- wow.)





During the MH panel on Saturday it was announced that two further new characters -- Elissabat and Viperine Gorgon -- will be revealed at this year's New York Comic Con (in October). We already have a very low quality pic of these two. Elissabat is the little goth chick on the far left. It's hard to say due to the poor quality, but she looks like she may be the most straightforward goth doll MH has released yet. At the very least her skin looks extra-pale and her clothes look dark, dark, dark. Over on the far right we have Viperine. Her color scheme, hairstyle, and outfit all look very Blythe. Indeed, based on this pic she looks like she could pass as the tiny, distant cousin of my beloved Vinter Arden. Can't wait to see these two in high quality this October!




One last thing: according to MHInsider more Webarella dolls may be for sale at NYCC, followed by an online sale for all us plebs. My fingers are crossed because, seriously, I want that doll! Speaking of MHInsider, you can head over there to see even more awesome pics of all the SDCC reveals. Since we don't have official promo shots of these dolls yet I was only able to use the pics Mattel posted to Facebook and Garret to his Tumblr. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think of this year's reveals! Are you as excited for the new dolls as I am? Were you disappointed? Speak your minds, friends!



25 comments:

  1. I want to see Elisabat so badly! It's just cruel to show a single blurry picture of dolls that won't be revealed until October :( On the other hand, I'm glad they won't be in stores soon, it gives me time to gather some money to treat myself next year.
    Concerning Clawdia, I find the most annoying that they overuse the "claw" pun - two times was more than enough! The dolls themselves look original and well-designed. I heard they are introducing 10 new characters in 2014. That means there will be 3 more besides the ones you mentioned. I'm very excited, even though my wallet will not like it. Good luck getting your Weberella! I'd like to see a naked review of all those extra arms :)

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    1. Yeah, Elissabat looks really cool. They've never done a full-on goth doll, but it looks like Elissabat may be just that. Then again the pic really is low quality so it's hard to say. I don't mind the Claw pun in the Wolf names but I can see how some might not like it. I actually kind of wish they had started with the name Clawdia instead of Clawdeen. She looks more like a "Claudia" to me while the new doll seems more like a "Claudine", if that makes sense. 10 new characters -- how to keep up?! Agh!!!

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  2. I already expressed most of my thoughts on Flickr;
    Link
    But I have to say, I was really pleased with this year's reveals!
    Of the 3 new characters, Jane is my favourite (and I'm not just saying that because I share my middle name with her).
    I'm also excited to see Elissabat, but it looks like I'll have to wait until October to see her properly.
    I also got my GNO dolls this morning! Squee! (and MF Venus)

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    1. Congrats on your GNO dolls and Venus! How exciting! Jane seemed a tad ho-hum to me at first but she's really grown on me. Love her eyes and lips! And the witch doctor theme has a lot of potential. I wonder what her personality will be -- a witch doctor can be interpreted many ways.

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    2. Thanks. :)
      They were in pretty good condition, too. The only one who seems to have wonky-eyes is Lagoona, and it's not *too* noticeable on her (I think?).

      I'm wondering what Jane's accent will sound like. Will it be some kind of South American accent? Or South African? IDK.

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    3. Interesting. Lagoona was the only one I noticed a problem with too, but in my case it wwas her hair -- just awful. Like PD Cleo awful :-( Glad you got a good bunch otherwise!

      It's hard to say with Jane. I really don't know much about the history of witch doctor's. I do know they made their way to New Orleans at one point, so for all we know maybe she *is* part of FCA, and is connected to Honey somehow. I doubt it though -- she definitely looks like a new signature character rather than part of a themed line.

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    4. :)

      I'm also glad to see some more chances to get Wydowna. It was a shame that there was the same problem as last year. I hope you manage to get your hands on her!

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    5. You said Viperine Gorgon reminded you of Blythe 'Vinter Arden'.
      I think I can see where you're coming from. She looks like a 'flower child' to me; like how you described Ashlynn Ella.
      I'm just confused as to why she's pink. I've never heard of a pink snake.

      Oh god, that sounds like a euphemism for penis. Hahahahaha XD *blushes*

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    6. I was really glad to hear they'll be selling her at NYCC and online. It does have me wondering just how much of Webarella is left. It surely can't be much. Unless Mattel decided to manufacture more of her specifically for NYCC. That seems unlikely though.

      Really just about everything about Viperine reminds me of Blythe. Her dress looks like a child's version of a peasant dress, very much like what you see on a lot of Blythe dolls. And that look was popular in the 60's and 70's so it has a strong retro feel to it. Her hair is what most reminds me of Vinter Arden. Mostly it's the style, but even the color is similar. VA was a brand new hair color for Blythe, a combo of pink and brown that they imaginatively called pinkbrown lol. Viperine's is more pink than VA's though. Pink is definitely a confusing color for a gorgon girl, but at least they went with a dusty rose shade. I've always liked that color and you don't really see it much (or really ever) in the MH world. Even beyond the color scheme, I'm surprised they went with such a dainty, soft look for Viperine. How odd. Not that I'm complaining -- I'm really looking forward to her, if only because of the Blythe connection and the general WTF-ness of making a snake girl named Viperine a frilly, pink, girly-girl.

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  3. Honey Swaaaaaaamp. Honey Swamp. HONEY. SWAMP.

    I am waiting for this doll already. Is she out yet? How 'bout now? HOW 'BOUT NOW???

    Doll is taking too long to get to me. Might lose mind. Please advise.

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    1. Wait, let me get this straight -- are you saying you like Honey Swamp? ;D
      I wish I had some advice for you but I'm in the same very impatient, very excited, very slow moving boat as you are! Hmm, have you found your Maddie yet? That might help pass the time? And if you haven't, well, just try not to eat your arm off or something in feverish excitement/frustration!

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  4. I really like Honey. Her hair is adorable and she is such a cutie. Jane's sloth pet is toe die for as well! I like how they reinvented Slow Moe, he looks more trendy here.

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    1. Yeah Honey is pretty wicked ain't she! I forgot to mention Jane's pet in the post but he's so cute! Sloths get a bad wrap if you ask me lol. Slo Mo is totally cool in doll form, glad Mattel went with this look for him.

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  5. i dont know for sure but to comment on your conversations here and your descriptions of the Frights Camera Action line i read and heard that it is based on draculauras past so maybe thats why honeys and clawdias outfits are so retro also viperine and elissabat have that 60s 70s feel... i guess the story line is something like (as stated on MH dolls.com) this movie would be focused on Draculara due to a post from a voice actor saying Venus and Draculara would be getting a lot of attention in the new MH movie and I found something that adds to that theory. I discovered that in Draculara's Schools Out diary she talks about the monster heritage paper that she's going to write and the info she's planning to put in there, and at the very end she says, "The rest of the story, like how father took in me and my mother when no one else would and why I'm a vegan vampire I'm going to save for the screenplay which I would like to film in pink and white. How scary cool would that be?" so this is only speculation but it makes a little seance because on the panel pic of honey you can see to the left when you blow up the pic that there is a FCA draculaura and then at the bottom of the panel pic of honey there is a black carpet clawdeen and lagoona also with this line but draculauras says FCA not black carpet... as for the other sdcc releases i love love love sweet screams and i want them now and i also cant wait to get a slo-moe bc my ghoulias have been waiting on their man :) and he is so damn cute i have been waiting a long time for him actually when i think about it i have been waiting like 2 yrs to get a slo-moe !! i also really want a weberella so much so that i am about to pay $150 for her online :( but i think it will be worth i, i would not pay that much for a doll that i could get in stores but since she is a sdcc exclusive i could see reasonably paying that much for her

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    1. Oh cool, that sounds great! I never got SO Ula so i didn't know she said that in her diary. That explains a lot about why the MH crew are even involved with a movie! (I was wondering what the setup for that would be.) As for Sweet Screams -- God they're so amazing!!! Since they're Target exclusive I know we'll be getting 1-2 more dolls besides Frankie and Ula, but I kinda wish the line had like 7 or 8 characters. It's such a great theme, and the designers did an amazing job on the two we've seen, I just bet a full line would be even better. As for Slo Mo, what a cutie! He's the cutest MH male doll they've made yet imo. Hold off on paying that $150 Ricky!!! Webarella is rumored to have an online sale after NYCC in October. I know it's another several months of waiting, but I think it's worth it to have a chance to get the doll at the fair price.

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  6. I went to SDCC and lets just say all my dreams came true! I got the amazing Webarella and got hr signed byGarrett Sanders and the rest of the design team and even Erin Fitzgerald! I got to see all the reveals up close and personal, I asked about Jane Boolittle but they told me it was Boo-Lu Cerone and I was positive that was NOT her! Anyway did you notice that she has white dots lining underneath her eyes? I don't know if you could see it from the picture, but it's really pretty! I kind of wish you had Webarella instead of me, because you could do an amazing review for everyone and I can't! I also went to the Monster High panel to see Honey Swamp's and Clawdia Wolf's reveal...amazing! I never act negatively to any new doll Mattel puts out really, I was super excited we get our first open mouth ghoul and our second ghoul with glasses!!! And the Sweet Screams line is the cutest and coolest thing ever, I can't wait for them! I also bought a Scarily Ever After Draculaura doll and got it signed by her voice actress! I can never find the Scarily Ever After dolls at Traget-only Threaderella! Same with Ghouls Rule, I can only find Frankies in store...

    I'm really behind on getting the new dolls, and it's not like I have much money either...but I DO have all four EAH dolls and they are GORGEOUS! Apple White is my favorite character and my favorite doll!

    You said that MH dolls have taken a dip in quality recently and you may not buy as many, I just wanted to know what you meant by that? D:

    This is probably super long and I hope it goes through!

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    1. That's amazing Helena! I'd love to get to meet the MH team, especially Garrett and Roy Juarez. I'm sure it was a blast and super exciting to get to see the dolls up close. Plus, Webarella! Woo-hoo! I didn't notice that on Jane but I'm gonna go look when I log out.

      Glad to find a fellow Apple fan! A lot of people are warming up to her doll but still don't like the character. I think us Apple fans are the "intellectuals" of EAH fandom -- we don't go for the obvious and embrace the rebels, we put some thought into our opinions! ;)

      I still like the designs on MH dolls, but lately the quality control has been almost deplorable -- oddly shaped eyes, wonky eyes, poorly rooted hair, stuff like that. That's what I mean when i say the dolls seem to have taken a dip in quality.

      No worries on the length, I love hearing from commenters!

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    2. I really hope they get better with their dolls then-because the new ones loo so great!
      Yeah I'm a royal while everyone else is a rebel ;)

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    3. Same here! It's almost more rebellious to prefer the royals since it seems the rebels are the "popular crowd" amongst the fans! lol

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  7. My feelings on the SDCC reveals are somewhat mixed, but I think that's partially due to the fact that I'm still so amped about the new releases that are just coming out right now. The Sweet Screams line is on point (at least for me) – I love the playful / goth / Harajuku style! I appreciate that Mattel tried something new with the open-smile face for Clawdia, but I have a personal distaste for them. (It roots back to Hasbro unnecessarily changing Jem's awesome non-smiling face at parents' rumored dislike of her 'unfriendly' face.) And here I go with comparisons again, but Clawdia reminds me of a Chipette for some reason. I can't quite figure out why. ha ha I do like her solid bright yellow hair and cute glasses though. I'm excited to see Elissa Bat and Viperine in more detail.

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    1. Oh dude, that smiling Jem isn't even "Jem" to me! I *really* dislike the smiling ones -- bland, bland, bland. The Chipette comparison has cracking me up, man. I'm really digging Clawdia but I have to admit I can see the comparison!

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    2. Ha ha Glad I could give you a laugh with another one of my bizarre comparisons. I love the Chipettes, so it certainly wasn't meant as a dig!

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    3. Hmm, you've got me curious now...

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