Welcome to Figures & Speech, Nerdist’s regular column by, for, and about grown-ups who still play with their toys but might want to know more before they buy. From product reviews to informed editorials, these are most definitely the articles that’ll make you want to strike a pose. Click on all images to enlarge for detail.

Sexiness in comics is a tough thing to pull off, in large part because at times it seems like the people in charge don’t actually know any human females. From the way DC‘s New 52 upped the horniness factor in many lead characters, to Marvel‘s hiring of erotica artist Milo Manara to draw Spider-Woman with her butt in the air, mainstream comics have tended to pander more to the Beavis and Butt-Head demographic than fans craving realistic depictions of characters who desire and are desirable in a recognizable way.

So it’s something of a miracle that Ant Lucia’s DC Bombshells seem to have hit the sweet spot so well. Originally just a line of statues that reinterpreted female DC characters in an art style that evoked classic pin-up, modern psychobilly/tattoo convention, and World War II nose-cone art, the Bombshells have since had their likenesses plastered on every single type of merchandise DC Collectibles could conceive of, and even spawned their own comic. While scantily clad and definitely sexy, they wear outfits that are actually functional, and convey both strength and more realistic physiques, which may be why women like to be them, and lovers of women want to see them. You’re virtually guaranteed to see multiple Bombshells at any comic-related convention.

It’s not really a surprise that it took this long to get these action figures: If fans can buy a $24 figure, who’s going to want a $125 statue? The trick is to wait till the statues sell out first, then put out the figures to get (a) figure collectors like me who would never have bought the statues, and (b) Bombshells fans in general who missed the boat on the statues. They’ve been wrapped into the banner of DC Collectibles’ “Artists Series,” in the traditional DC Collectibles 7-inch scale rather than the smaller “Icons” 6-inchers.

DC Collectibles packaging is fairly standard these days: a window box minimal design elements to distract from the figure itself. Each Bombshell has a different color “name stripe,” but that’s about it. The package can be opened unharmed if you diligently peel off every bit of tape and are extremely careful after that; I tried, but sometimes DC just has their packages open in weird ways, and, well…rip!

See the instruction sheet? It’s to inform you they have interchangeable hands, in case the multiple sets of hands on display confused you into thinking they were the extended family of The Addams Family‘s Thing.

Each figure comes with two extra pairs of hands and two accessories. In Harley Quinn‘s case, she can do a right-handed peace sign (or UK punk’s “eff off” gesture), and, like the rest, also features weapon holding hands and fists.

A pet peeve of mine is goggles as part of the head sculpt. I admit there’s probably no easy workaround, unless her head could pop off for removable eyewear, and an alternate head would be a whole lot of extra tooling and paint work (McFarlane Toys’ Tetsuo figure from Akira nailed removable goggles at this scale like none before or since). Still, it is her Harlequin mask as such, and it’s a shame not to be able to duplicate this appearance too:

Ah well, maybe a variant later. It’s hard to complain about this figure when you see all the other details.

DC Collectibles is probably the best toy company out there when it comes to paint details. Take a close look at the Joker card in her stocking…and the tiny Batman figure on the handle of her gun (an anachronism, yes, but I’m okay with that).

Each figure has the same articulation, and it’s a lot: hinge-and-cut ankles. Double-jointed knees and elbows. Cut upper thighs. Ball hips. Ab crunch. Restricted ball mid-torso. Ball shoulders. Cut upper bicep, hinge and rotate wrists, and—of course—a ball neck. Unlike “sexy” ’90s figures, they’re not stuck in any pose. Then again, they do need to send a message that these are not the statues.

The package inserts, which are all the same save the color, are reusable as diorama displays.

Poison Ivy‘s hip joints look a little odd in a neutral pose, since unlike the others she doesn’t have shorts or a skirt, but lingerie. (Since she is a seductress, it still counts as a functional costume.) The trade-off is that her leg joints have a much greater range of motion.

Stockings and lacy underwear are very tricky to do on smaller action figures, but the detail here is minute and awesome.

Ivy’s accessories are a wrap-around carnivorous plant vine and a rose:

All the better to ensnare her beloved Harley!

When Wonder Woman was initially shown in prototype form at Comic-Con, many fans complained her face looked too maniacal. That’s been fixed—now she looks like a woman with strong primary colors in her makeup, laughing heartily.

In keeping with her Rosie the Riveter theme, she comes with a big monkeywrench.

And to prove her super-strength, she also has a chain she can snap in half, with a weight on one end and a cinderblock on the other.

Her lasso is not removable, alas-o.

Batwoman‘s very name is a pun. Yes, she has the bat ears and symbol, but she’s also handy with a baseball bat.

Though she’s not opposed to pitching…

…or catching. One of her extra hands is a baseball glove that holds the included ball snugly. DC trivia fans will note the significance of her jersey number.

The bat has her name printed on it, and undoubtedly has a few other uses as well…

But beware of blowback…

The Bombshells should be available at your local comic shop and favorite online outlets now.

Series 2, featuring Katana, Batgirl, Hawkgirl, and Mera are due in October. I will be getting them.

Any questions? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @LYTrules and we “shell” drop some conversational bombs.

Images: Luke Thompson for Nerdist, DC Comics