Nerd Alert! Han Solo action figure revealed; iconic female warriors get a makeover

Welcome to Nerd Alert!, your weekly round-up of news from the world of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, animation, and all things nerdy.

REMEMBER FORCE FRIDAY? That was the day when toy collectors bought up all the stock of the brand-new Force Awakens toys so that ordinary (and sane) Star Wars fans wouldn't be able to. I'm kidding (sort of), but one thing that was notable in that first wave of merchandise was that it was lacking action figures of the returning SW saga characters. As cool as it was to see the Rey, Finn, Captain Phasma, and Kylo Ren action figures, where were Han, Luke, and Leia?

At this week's New York Comic Con, Hasbro finally revealed the new Han Solo, in his six-inch "Black Series" form, and it's a pretty damn good likeness of actor Harrison Ford. Well... okay. Watch the second teaser trailer for The Force Awakens and you'll notice that the grey-haired Han looks a bit older than his sandy-haired action-figure incarnation. Still, it looks pretty good, right down to that scar on his chin. I guess the leg cast isn't shown in the promo images. (See the full figure below.)

Other new figures in Black Series include Domnhall Gleeson’s General Hux, a First Order TIE Pilot and Snowtrooper, a generic “Resistance Trooper”, and X-Wing pilot Ello Asty. Break out your credit cards!

THREE CLASSIC HEROINES are about to get a thorough makeover courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment. The publisher previously teamed Red Sonja, Vampirella, and Dejah Thoris (the warrior princess from Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels) in a crossover event titled Swords of Sorrow this past spring, but now each character will get her own title in what writer Gail Simone is calling a "monster makeover". Simone and artist Nicola Scott gave each of the characters a new mission statement and a new look before handing the reins over to other creatives. 

Red Sonja #1, by Marguerite Bennett (Bombshells, A-Force, Angela) and Aneke (Legenderry: Red Sonja, Damsels) is scheduled for release on January 13, 2016. The Robert E. Howard–inspired heroine returns to her homeland of Hyrkania, only to find that her native people have been conscripted into the service of a Nazi-like regime.

Dejah Thoris #1, by writer issue Frank J. Barbiere (Avengers World, Solar: Man of the Atom) and an as-yet-unnamed artist, is due out in February. The series will follow the princess on a self-imposed exile; she assumes a new identity as a rookie soldier on the borders of her Barsoomian civilization. 

Vampirella #1, debuting in March 2016, will feature writing by Kate Leth (Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors). In Hollywood, the daughter of Drakulon probes the links between silver-screen killers and a real-life conspiracy of monsters.

"You don't need to know their history," Simone said of the rebooted characters. "You just need to like awesome damn women doing awesome damn stuff." And who doesn't like that?

DYNAMITE IS ALSO one of the publishers whose titles users of Comic Blitz will be able to access. And what, you may well ask, is Comic Blitz? Well, according to advance buzz, the newly launched service is sort of like the Netflix of comic books. For US$9.99 a month, users will be able to read thousands of comics and graphic novels from an ever-expanding library, including titles from Action Lab, Alterna, Big Dog Ink, Graphic Universe, and Valiant. The app is currently available only for the iPad, but Comic Blitz has plans to expand to other platforms.

TRAILER PARK: Check out the new trailer for Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. The film is due out next month, which, following Inside Out back in June, will mark the first time Pixar has released two features in one calendar year. 

CASTING NEWS AND RUMOURS

• Naomi Scott (The Martian) will play the Pink Ranger in the upcoming Power Rangers movie.
• Canadian Tricia Helfer, former star of the Vancouver-shot Battlestar Galactica, will play FBI Special Agent Lange in the second season of Sony's superhero drama Powers.
• British actor and relative newcomer Melanie Liburd will play a Red Priestess in Season 6 of Game of Thrones.