Well as we wrap up the year 2009, lets take
one last look back, this time at the grand daddy of our collector
lines, DC Universe!
 In what has been our sophomore year since
acquiring the master license to the DC Universe proper we’ve done our
best to make huge strides in character selection, scale and variety on
shelf and on MattyCollector.com.
 
In the 6-inch "Classics" line we made it to market with 5 complete waves
of 7 figures each. And what truly magnificent figures made it into the
line up this year! We got the Doom Patrol and Metal Men started, had
some amazing Collect and Connect feats such as Chemo and the the huge
10 inch Giganta as well as some great missing A-list characters like
Green Arrow and the Joker.
 Speaking of both of these figures, wasn’t
Arrow just amazing? With ball jointed wrists and multiple arrow
accessories he was clearly a favorite of the whole year in the 6-inch
scale. (and to answer a question that comes up A LOT, the arrow that is
attached in the bow is not a design choice; it is a safety requirement
for toys by law!). And the Horsemen really captured the Clown Prince of
Crime. Look for him back on shelf as an All Star in 2010.
 We also managed to get to a re-release of
Man-Bat in brown, put out Blue and Gold (in both modern and vintage
looks), tapped into the JSA archive and kept our villain field filled
with some of the most vile characters in all of DC.
 The All Stars included in each wave were also
a great way to keep those in-demand characters like Superman and Batman
on shelf without sacrificing a slot in new waves for new characters.
 Finally, one of our biggest issues for the
6-inch was distribution. Ideally that should now be a thing of the
past. All DCUC figures are available in both retail case packs AND as
"open stock"; meaning your favorite online stores can order any
individual figure in any quantity they want.
 All open stock figures are built "to order"
so any online retailer taking advantage of this ordering program will
not be shorted any allotment. (many online retailers chose not to take
advantage of this ordering option for wave 9 which is why this wave was
a bit hard to find outside of mass retail) Also, starting with Wave 11,
DCUC are now available on MattyCollector.com as a full wave set for the
suggested retail price of $14.99 per figure. We hope all of these
efforts will improve distribution a ton. Everything else is in the
hands of retailers who base orders on the demands of their customers!
 Infinite Heroes also had a great year with
not only a ton of new figures, but every figure released and going
forward will have greatly improved articulation, accessories and paint
ops. And when taking a look at the Infinite Heroes line in 2009, don’t
forget our incredible SDCC 30" Anti Monitor raffle! Eight lucky fans
walked away with a hand made masterpiece to complete their collection
while others who brought in 50 points were able to get a free 3 3/4"
scale Anti Monitor to keystone the "Crisis Series" for 2009.
 
And speaking of which, as the Crisis Series ends, 2010 will see the DC 75th
series begin for both Classics and Infinite Heroes. You’ll see a DC
75th collector button included with every single and 3 pack of Infinite
Heroes and every single Classics figure all year long. In addition
check out the new packaging that will feature a rotating look at many
characters from the DC Universe (some of which will even make it out as
figures throughout the year!).
 Looking ahead, 2010 has some really great
surprises in store. Classics and Infinite Heroes will continue strong
as we make sure to innovate constantly, adding new features, parts,
materials and other ways to really bring your collection to life. We’ll
also be launching our brand new vintage cloth segment "Retro Action".
The preview figure Green Arrow is available now only on
MattyCollector.com. Three waves of four figures each will be available
starting this spring at Toys R US and other online retailers.
 And speaking of MattyCollector.com, while we
won’t be continuing the DCUC 2 packs in 2010, we do have some great
surprises in store. Our November black Friday sale really cleared out a
lot of inventory, so if you are still looking for any of the DCU
product from 2009, hurry over while it lasts. We may have a few case
packs to bring to SDCC (from any unused customer service allocation)
but this is never a guarantee. So hurry, this stuff won’t last much
longer!
 Lots more is coming down the pipe. We’ll have
Wave 14 to reveal at NYTF at our collector night on Feb 14th. More
multipacks, exclusive items for major retailers and a few other
surprises are in store. There are some more A list characters we still
need to get to as well as a few teams that need to be fleshed out a bit
more. And boy, we just can’t wait to get to everyone’s favorite super
heroes of the 31st century…
 Finally, a bit of a personnel changeover to
let everyone know about. Spectacular Scott Neitlich (better known as
"Toy Guru" on the message boards) who has been handling the marketing
reigns for the last two years will be heading over to work on the new
live action Green Lantern film for 2011 (we work ahead at Mattel…)
while Maniac Mike Wilde (fresh off his stint on the awesome Avatar
line) will be heading in to take over the DC Universe for 2010. Mike is
also a huge DC fan and knows his stuff well, so your favorite
characters are in very good hands. Best buds Scott and Mike will also
be tag teaming a lot of the MattyCollector product lines such as
Ghostbusters and MOTUC so both will be on hand to answer your questions
and pop in on message boards from time to time. But of course,
Bombastic Bill Benecke will continue as our lead designer. This is a
guy who has a GL ring for his wedding band, so we know we’ve got the
right guy in place! (and don’t forget the Fabulous Four Horsemen who
will continue sculpting all of our 6 inch figures!)
 It has been a great 2009 and the future looks
brighter. Keep those comments and suggestions coming since we could not
make all of our collector lines as cool as they are without all of the
fan’s help and ideas. This really is a partnership and we look to the
fans for a lot of guidance to make sure we deliver what you want!
 See you all in 2010!
 Matty