SCULPT: At risk of sounding hyperbolic, the best word for the sculpt of this figure is “flawless.” Not only does it look exactly like the Abe of the cartoon, in every sharp angle and sweeping curve, but it even manages a remarkable degree of fine detail. The fingers of his gun-holding hand are all posed slightly differently, and naturalistically; the pouches on his belt withstand the closest of scrutiny; even the stripe-like marks on his skin have their own sculpting. The various subtle lines of the head are particularly impressive. The main problem with the sculpt is that your other action figures will be eaten alive with jealousy, and petty revenge on your Abe could ensue.

Actually, there is one other problem, or pseudo-problem anyway. It is this: Abe’s lower legs are very, very thin, which is good, in its way; it’s cartoon-accurate. It makes the figure top-heavy, though, and not much for standing up on its own. Luckily, the figure does come with a handsome figure stand, which attaches to Abe, er, well... it attaches where the sun simply does not shine, we’ll put it that way. Unluckily, the stand is too high – Abe floats off the ground a bit when attached to it – and your humble reviewer’s attempts to cram the fishman down, so his feet would be on the ground, resulted in the tip of the stand getting broken off in Abe’s posterior. An unfortunate failing in an otherwise fabulous piece.

PAINT: The paint matches the sculpt, which is to say, it’s extraordinary. The detailing is superb, and there’s not the tiniest hint of bleed. There’s even lots of beautiful, subtle shading to the light-green skin – more, possibly, than there was in the cartoon, and yet it works here perfectly. Just above and beyond the call of duty.

ARTICULATION: Animated Abe has 32 points of articulation. And that’s a heapin’ helpin’ of joints. A Marvel Legends level of articulation. Many living humans go weeks without achieving the range of motion available to this figure. And so, once again, two thumbs up.

Some of you out there may be growing tired of the relentlessly positive nature of this review, however. So here are some flaws in the articulation, just for you guys: There are no mid-hand joints. And the figure is not flexible enough to do the splits very well! Horrors! Horrors and consternation!

ACCESSORIES: Okay, now it’s back to the celebration. As if the stellar marks for the above categories weren’t enough, this figure comes with a whole bucketful of excellent accessories. The stand was mentioned above; Abe also has a pistol, which is a very well-made, good-looking piece, and what appears to be the severed head of a Mayan warrior. An undead Mayan warrior, more properly. What exactly Abe is supposed to do with this is not entirely clear, but it is every bit as well-sculpted, well-painted, and generally attractive as the Abe figure, and its inclusion is welcome.

Furthermore, Abe Sapien comes with an alternate head, and a pair of alternate hands. The alternate head has an expression of tooth-gritting anger, as opposed to the more neutral expression of the head that comes attached to the body. It’s a nice alternate head; Abe is usually pretty mellow, but then we all have bad days. When you take the figure out of the package, the right hand is shaped to hold the pistol, and the left is balled in a fist; the alternate hands are open, instead. Again, excellent.

COST & OVERALL IMPRESSION: The Hellboy Animated Abe Sapien retails for 15 or 16 dollars, which is a fair chunk of change. But then, quality costs money. It seems fairly easy to find at this point, having only just been released.

The astute and attentive reader will have noticed by now that your humble reviewer rather likes this figure. It’s true. Really, this is a piece that succeeds on every level. It is recommended not only to fans of Hellboy Animated, but to fans of quality action figures in general. Go buy one. If enough people do, maybe Gentle Giant’s line will not suffer the fate of Mezco’s comic line, or the movies this figure is based upon. Maybe we’ll get more! It seems unlikely, to be honest, given the history of the franchise. But with a figure this good, it’s hard to not hope for more.

Follow the link below for more photos of Abe Sapien!