It’s that time of year! Have you finished your holiday shopping? If you’ve been procrastinating, fear not: Comics Beat has the 2025 Toy Enthusiast Gift Guide! What are you most excited about giving (or receiving) this holiday season?
ARPAD OKAY: MoldMoldMold by Nick Borelli, published by Peow2. It’s a unique book in many ways. MMM is an artists’ monograph- for someone who “versions” miniatures. So it treats kit bashing like a fine art, though it feels more like a cool RPG sourcebook than a gallery catalog. Bizarre, macabre and whimsical. Niche bookstores might have this, and the publisher does mail-order.
EVELYNN (E.B.) HUTCHINS: Hornet figure from FanGamer.
ARPAD OKAY: TMNT GURU Figure by CHOGRIN and Kid Robot. This is very much in that KAWS pocket exploring pop culture icons’ relationship with graffiti culture. All four turtles coming together is the best play on the GURU series yet. And the little details! There are glow-in-the-dark “ooze” variants and black and metallic gold variants for the heads. Kid Robot can be found in many comic book and toy shops- though you’ll have to go to their website for the con-exclusive colorway.
TIM ROONEY: Jada Toy’s Mega Man line has been out for a few years now and while the release schedule has been slow, they’ve been well worth the wait and, crucially, Jada seems dedicated to a steady release schedule that hits the highlights. These are great little figures and an affordable $19.99 MSRP (though you are likely to be able to find them discounted). The molds capture the stubbier proportions of the classic games rather than the more dramatic and lankier anime look of the Marvel vs. Capcom era (though there are options if you want a Mega Man in that style!). Paint apps are bright and metallic, and the articulation is crisp. Each figure is packed with accessories including effect parts making the photo and play options plentiful.
For the price point, it’s hard to beat the value you get here in the box. The first wave of Mega Man, Ice Man, and Fire Man was rereleased this year alongside Wave 2 featuring Elec Man, Cut Man, and “Hyper Bomb” Mega Man. Wave three preorders are also up now and slated for early 2026, featuring a “Deluxe” Mega Man, and the first two villains from Mega Man 2: Bubble Man and Wood Man. Recent San Diego Comic Con announcement showed off other fan favorites to expect in 2026, including Proto Man and faithful robot dog Rush.
ARPAD OKAY: VAG 10th Anniversary Series from Medicom. Vinyl Artist Gacha is thee artist-forward mystery box maker, and yes that is a thing. An ever-rotating cast of soft vinyl toy designers in a half-dozen colorways. 0313 and Hakuro are two of my favorites, and an early Hakuro design has been recolored for the anniversary set. You can get these at your cooler regional toy shop, or order them online from a spot that does mail-order, like Chicago’s Rotofugi or Myplasticheart in NYC.
TAIMUR DAR: Mattel HUNTR/X dolls 3-pack preorder. To say that K-Pop Demon Hunters caught everyone off guard is an understatement. To whit, just like the original Star Wars back in 1977, there’s an unfortunate dearth of merchandise during this holiday season. So it isn’t surprising that Mattel is taking a page from Kenner’s playbook with the infamous Early Bird Certificate Package that was basically an empty box. Almost as soon as it launched, Mattel’s presale three-pack of HUNTR/X dolls are apparently already sold out. With any luck, more will be available so keep your eyes peeled!
ARPAD OKAY: YURU-CHARA: The History of Japanese Mascots by Matthew Roman, Ayumi Kyoyama, and Now Home. A new printing for 2025 of the art document-slash-exploration of the intersection of a half dozen classic Japanese proto-mascot characters, the tradition and folklore that inspired them, and (of course) the little vinyl toys they’d become. Part collection catalog, part pocket history, two hundred pages of musing and close-up photography of tiny ephemeral objects. Connecting the different worlds toy culture draws from, exists within, and helps create.
TIM ROONEY: Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line has been around for a long time now, and you’d think by now they’d be content to push out the same molds with minor tweaks and repaints. But the latest slate of releases, particularly it’s MCU figures have been stunners. None more so than the new Daredevil: Born Again figure. New articulation that blends into the screen accurate sculpt, improved facial printing and scanning technology makes this Daredevil toy perhaps the single best Marvel figure Hasbro has ever produced. It’s a perfect balance of life-like and poseable, which makes for a dynamite shelf piece!
ARPAD OKAY: Sleepy Godzilla Plush from Surreal Entertainment. I know that Godzilla asleep doesn’t make for a very interesting movie, but my goodness is it cute as a stuffed animal. Tiny, soft, and sacked out, this Official Merchandise has a flat stomach and flopped out limbs, great for looking ridiculous on a flat surface or even cuter draped on something and dangling. This was originally a PREVIEWS Exclusive, so you might be able to find it at your local comic shop as well as in cooler toy stores. There’s a blepping Sleepy Ghidorah, too.
TIM ROONEY: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 Movie) – 7” Scale Action Figure – Ultimate line. If you missed out on the original NECA figures immortalizing the 1990s movie version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 7 inches of plastic, have no fear, NECA recently rolled out a new “Ultimate” batch of the figures, featuring new head sculpts and character specific accessories from memorable moments from that film. Each individual turtle captures the likeness of those Henson Production costumes in loving detail.
The characters all come with their individual weapons, of course, but the fun is in the additional diorama friendly items, like a cardboard pizza delivery box, pork rinds, and campfire gear to recreate the dramatic Master Splinter seance scene. NECA’s been pumping out the movie turtle line for a few years now, but the original TMNT themselves have been out of circulation for a while with inflated prices on the secondary market. Even if you have each of our half-shelled heroes from the original release, NECA’s improved quality control, as well as the new accessories and alternate heads might make a double-dip worthwhile. The only catch is that these are exclusive to Walmart so you’ll have to stake out their online listings or try to catch them on shelves.
Have you checked out the other entries in the Comics Beat’s 2025 Gift Guide? Stay tuned for more gifting suggestions from The Beat.
