CONSTABLE RICK GRIMES & DOUGLAS MONROE
WALKING DEAD MINIMATES
Minimates are sort of like potato chips: you can’t have just one. I mean, for one thing, they don’t tend to be sold in single packs (though it does happen), which definitely limits the possibilities of getting just one. But also, they’re just so darn addicting, that buying one set will often lead to the purchase of at least a few more. Or a few hundred more in my case. Such is the case with the most recent series of The Walking Dead Minimates. I couldn’t just get poor Carl by himself. And who would make a better companion for Carl than his father, Rick? Plus, there’s a random old guy thrown in just cuz!
THE FIGURES THEMSELVES
Rick and Douglas were released as a two-pack in the 6th series of The Walking Dead Minimates. This series is loosely based around the “Alexandria” arc from around issue 75.
CONSTABLE RICK GRIMES
“Arriving with his fellow survivors at the walled compound known as The Community, Rick was offered the role of constable, due to his police experience.” Rick has had his fair share of looks over the courses of the series. Generally, he got more and more haggard as the series progressed. The “Alexandria” arc functioned as a bit of a factory reset for Rick, bringing him (mostly) back to where he’d been at the start of the series. It’s a nice change of pace, but, to no one’s surprise, it doesn’t last long. Still, it’s an important look for a number of reasons, and it makes for a Rick that stands out from the pack. Rick is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation. Spoilers if you haven’t made it past the first 20 or so issues of a series that’s well past 100: Rick loses a hand, hence the one missing point of articulation. Rick makes use of the standard body, with a bandaged stump in place of the right hand, as well as sculpted add-ons for the hair, coat, tie, and boot holster. The holster is a new piece, and it works pretty well, though it does lead to an uneven stance. The rest of the pieces a re-used. The coat and hair are from the Series 1 Rick, the bandage is from the TRU exclusive Survivor Rick, and the tie first saw use on the boxed set based on the movie version of The Spirit. Don’t hold its origins against it! All of these are well sculpted pieces that work very nicely for the desired look. Technically, the bandage shouldn’t be over the coat sleeve, but it’s a nice enough piece that I don’t mind. Rick’s paint is pretty good. Everything is nice and cleanly applied for the most part. There’s a little bit of slop at the top of the tie, and around the coat collar, but other than that it looks really nice. The detail lines are all nice and sharp. I really like that Rick’s face is just a happier, slightly older, clean-shaven version of the Series 1 Rick. Rick includes a small revolver that fits in his ankle holster, and a clear display stand.
DOUGLAS MONROE
“Douglas, a former congressman, was acting leader of The Community when Rick and his fellow survivors arrived, and he welcomed their help.” Douglas was a fairly minor character in the context of the series as a whole, but he was important to the “Alexandria” arc, so it’s nice that they included him. Douglas is a little under 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. The figure uses the basic Minimate body, with an additional piece for his jacket. The jacket piece is a re-use from the Back to the Future “Enchantment Under the Sea” Marty, which has since been re-used on countless other figures. It’s a good basic suit jacket, so it works well. Everything else on Douglas is done with paint, and it’s done superbly. The basic colors are all nice and clean, and the detail lines are nothing short of amazing. He has pinstripes on his shirt which continue all around the torso, and the shirt and pants have a surprising amount of folds and creases depicted. He also got a belt that goes all the way around, and his face is the spitting image of his comic appearance. Douglas includes a spare set of arms done up to match his torso, with pinstripes and everything, as well as a handgun and a clear display stand.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
I got Rick and Douglas from Cosmic Comix, my local comicbook store. Initially, I had only planned to pick up Carl to go with the small selection of characters I had from the first two series, but for whatever reason, this Rick figure appealed to me. Actually having the figures and playing around with them, Rick may very well be my favorite version of the character so far, but the biggest surprise for me is how much I like Douglas. He’s not the most exciting character, and the figure had the potential to be rather boring, but Diamond really brought their A game to this figure, resulting in a top quality figure. While I can’t say these have necessarily pulled me back in the line (the next series is supposed to be based on the storyline that got me to stop reading), I will say I’ll probably pick up the occasional set from here out, and I might even go back and get some of the sets I missed.
The Figure In Question 