Difficult Simple

Once upon a time I had a lot of discretionary income. Since I am mindful of my rights and duties as an American, I didn’t save that money, but spent it all on crap. Years later I’m still digging out from underneath that mountain of useless junk, though the debt has at least been retired.

Sometimes it’s easy to ditch the stuff we find hidden in closets or in anonymous boxes tucked away here and there. Other times I know there’s no point in hanging on, but I find myself reluctant to say, “Okay, drop it in the donation bin.”

I like McFarlane Toys, even though their lineup has gotten a little stale — Osiris Spawn? Really? — I still enjoy seeing most of what they put out. In my time I’ve purchased a lot of McFarlane’s stuff, and a couple of these figures (mint in the box!) turned up recently.

One is Wings of Redemption Spawn, which is probably in the top five best figures ever manufactured by McFarlane Toys. Even without having read the comic from which it comes (I didn’t), the sculpted image is striking. It doesn’t have the fanboy aura around it and is just well done.

The same can’t really be said of Warrior Lilith. She’s pretty much of the cheesecake mold that turns most women and girls away from contemporary comics, though to be fair most guys don’t even bother with Spawn these days. While the hotness factor is a part of the figure’s appeal, both now and then, I like how Lilith looks toned and tough even in her skimpy outfit. She could be spilling out all over the place and endowed such that he back always aches, but instead she seems like she could be kick someone’s ass. She is an angel, after all.

Like I said, I have no use for these things. Taking them out of the box is a waste of time because I won’t play with them — it’d be different if Nemo were interested in pretend play, and we’d get some use out of our plastic cowboys and Indians, too — and keeping them is just an invitation for more accumulated dust. Even so, I look at them and think, Damn, what a shame to give them away.