If you're like me, you've been practically doing cartwheels over the upcoming release of G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Not only am I little-girl-with-a-pony excited about the release of the movie, but what I'm really drooling over is the release of the action figures! I've been waiting for a live-action G.I. Joe movie since I was 10 and the new action figures are just another way to celebrate my childhood hopes being brought to life.

This past week, official G.I. Joe movie figures have started hitting the internet toy-sellers, giving many of us our first looks at some of the new figures, vehicles and playsets. Considering the bulk of the collection, it looks like Hasbro is not pulling any punches and giving the fans what they crave.

Reports are starting to spread among the action figure blogs about people finally beginning to see some of the new figures in retail stores as well, although I predict that the wave of toys will hit full force in about a week or so. If you find yourself swinging by Target for some laundry detergent and cat food, you may just want to take a peek at the action figure aisle and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Entertainment Earth is already offering such G.I. Joe movie goodies as the G.I. Joe Movie Action Figures Collection 1 Wave 1, G.I. Joe Movie Action Figures Collection 2 Wave 1, Night Raven Vehicle with Air-Viper Figure, Rise of Cobra MARS Troopers Action Figure Set, and the Pit Mobile Headquarters Playset.

Some of the above mentioned toys are only available for pre-order, but are listed with a release date of July, 2009. Well, that's right now! And now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Mezco Toyz takes yet another swing at everybody's favorite teenager-killing boiler-room worker with their new stylized version of A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger. As if the razor-fingered burn victim wasn't creepy enough, Mezco took it several steps further by introducing a new, and truly inspired, stylized sculpt to the figure, making it look like they took Wes Craven's most frightening horror movie franchise and ran it through a distorted Alice in Wonderland filter. And I mean that in a good way.

Here's the brief description given by Mezco:

"Mezco gives Freddy the stylized treatment and creates and instant classic. Standing 9 inches tall he features 8 points of articulation. Freddy comes complete with a scale Elm Street sign, a removable cloth sweater and hat, and the infamous tongue phone."

First of all, I find myself wondering why on this good, green Earth would anyone want to take his shirt off. And secondly, if you're on the fence as to whether or not you want to add this figure to your collection, I ask you; How many of your other action figures come with a tongue phone? Yeah, that's what I thought.

The Stylized Freddy Krueger action figure is available for pre-order at www.mezcotoyz.com.

So far, it seems I have my work cut out for me as we have two serious action figure fanatics that really know their stuff! Last week's mystery action figure was correctly guess by Bubbashelby (who wasn't exactly sure, but narrowed it down) and then confirmed by Charles as the Cyberwoman action figure from Torchwood. Congratulations again to you both!

But don't let their towering knowledge of action figures scare the rest of you away. All you have to do is check in every Friday to take a stab at being the first to guess at that week's mystery figure. Who will be the one to knock Bubbashelby and Charles off their thrones? It could be you! You hear that fellas? I'm calling out for a challenge, so prepare yourselves.

The Cyberwoman action figure was released in the first wave of Torchwood figures based on the hit British TV series of the same name. She stands at 5" tall and was joined by the releases of Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and the Weevil. The popularity of the show seems to have leaked over into the action figures as the Cyberwoman figure is sold out at most online stores. Of course, I'm sure it helps that traditionally, women partially covered in what amounts to a chrome swimsuit are officially considered in the sci-fi fan circles as "hot."

Now on to this week's mystery figure! Think you know who it is? Then get those fingers typing and take a swing at the latest installment of Name That Action Figure!

You know you're a full-blown action figure geek when you get all excited about brilliant action figure packaging. MAtty Collector has released a video on YouTube showcasing their stunningly genius package design for the forthcoming San Diego Comic Con exclusive Wonder Twin 2-pack, complete with flashing lights and voices of the characters.

The box comes in two parts, hinged together that allows collectors to fold the two sections together, making Zan and Jayna bring their clenched fists together in their classic power igniting pose, thus triggering the lights and making the sound chips start projecting their voices to bellow things like, "Form of water!' and, "Form of an eagle!"

Most SDCC action figure exclusives (and there seems to be a ton of them this year) are already destined to be hot commodities, but add to this an astounding package design like this and collectors are going to be clawing over each other to get their mitts on one.

In the world of collecting action figures, it's easy to get caught up in the whole these-are-precious-collectibles attitude, thus finding yourself handling every figure, still sealed within their pristine packaging, like a curator of the Smithsonian handles an ancient priceless artifact. While this may be the impressive habit of many collectors, it's still wonderful to see someone having fun with their action figures and no one drives that message home better than Canadian collector, Chris McVeigh.

Chris, a professional illustrator, took a whimsical view in a recent personal project where he posed various Star Wars action figures in a park and patiently waited until real live chipmunks approached the display and then, like a hunter sighting his prey, he snaps a hilarious picture and solidifies his place as an internet sensation and one of the greatest fun-loving action figure collectors in the world.

Courtesy of the Telegraph.co.uk website and Barcroft Media, these pictures baffle the mind with the absurd, yet immensely enjoyable, juxtaposition of pop culture pieces of plastic and adorable woodland creatures. This is one of those moments where I find myself asking, "Now, why didn't I think of that?!" I honestly spent a good 15 minutes looking over each picture and laughing like a fool, while trying to discern if these photos were actually Photoshopped collages. I've come to the conclusion, with the help of some online buzz, that these are the real deal. Still, I'm amazed at how McVeigh managed to get a Biker Scout on the back of a wild chipmunk!

To see the whole seires, visit the Telegraph.co.uk website and prepare to be mystified.

Congratulations to Charles for not only being the first to take a guess and then guess correctly, but hitting the nail on the head by naming the correct edition of last week's mystery figure! This is an example of some serious action figure devotion, my friends. I bow down to Charles' deep well of toy knowledge.

Last week's figure was indeed the G.I. Joe 5 Pack Flint. I honestly thought I would have stumped you all with that one, but once again, I have been thwarted. Flint was the Joe's shotgun-carrying Warrant Officer. According to Wikipedia, Flint has had no less than 15 different 3 3/4" figures made of him and 2 12" dolls. He was first released in 1985 with the Series 4 line of G.I. Joe figures from Hasbro. He was never my personal favorite, but I blame that on my innate aversion to berets.

Now on to this week's mystery figure. I hate to say it, but I think I've got you guys this time! You better know your figures well if you're going to take a a stab at this week's installment of Name That Action Figure!

In honor of the passing of the King of Pop, the one and only Micheal Jackson, I thought it would be nice to point our dear readers toward two upcoming releases from toy-makers Yamato USA showcasing Jacko as seen in both his Bad and Thriller videos.

Now, technically, these aren't action figures, as they possess no articulation whatsoever, making them actually "figurines," but for this one time I'll make an exception now that he's doing doing the moonwalk in the sky. It would be hard to find any American who grew up in the '70s and '80s who didn't tap their foot to the numerous Michael Jackson hits, so for those of a collectible bent, they may find these figures just the thing to honor the man with one glittering glove.

Yamato originally released a Micheal Jackson Thriller Zombie figure which fans will remember from the groundbreaking dance scene from the music video. That figure is now one of the hardest collectibles to find and is cold sold out at most retailers. So don't miss the boat on the next two!

For more information on either the Bad or the Thriller figure, visit EntertainmentEarth.com. Now we just have to pray for a figure of Jacko as the Scarecrow from The Wiz!

Word is spreading like wildfire around the various action figure blogs and forums about Hot Toys' announcement of their upcoming release of a beautifully detailed 1/6 scale Logan figure as depicted in the motion picture blockbuster, X-men Origins: Wolverine.

Like most of Hot Toys' figures, this one looks to be astonishingly detailed and movie-accurate, from the stitched, faux leather jacket complete with zippers all the way down to the four-day stubble on Hugh Jackman's chin!

Here's what Hot Toys had to say in their official announcement:

Watch out! He's jumping out from the big screen! The stocky and muscular man with shape claws, he is the X-men – Wolverine. Sculpted by Kojun and painted by JC Hong, Hot Toy proudly presents the most mouth-watering figure from the latest X-men movie franchise – "X-men Origins: Wolverine", starred Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, this character is the most anticipated figure you have been waiting for! Let's take a little glimpse on this remarkable figure today! More pictures coming very soon...

For more information on this sure-to-sell-out figure, check back at the official Hot Toys website.

Congratulations to faithful reader and fellow action figure maniac (not to mention the #9 blogger in our Top 10 Action Figure Blogs), the one and only "Bubbashelby" for guessing correctly on last week's mystery figure. That figure was indeed Toy Biz's Xena action figure from the Hercules: Legendary Journeys line.

Xena, played by the butt-kicking Lucy Lawless, started out as a supporting character on the original Hercules television show, and became so popular in her own right, that she landed her very own show from 1995 - 2001.

We only got one guess last week, fortunately it was the right one, which makes me think that a.) last week's mystery figure was to hard, b.) you're all on Twitter or Facebook, or c.) all of you knew it was Xena and got so inspired that you ran out and bought every episode on DVD and haven't left your couches since. I'm going with the latter, as I like to think of myself as inspiring.

Now it's time for this week's mystery figure! I warn you, this one is going to be tough, and may require a little research. But I'm confident one of you action figure geniuses will get it. So take a look at the pic in the top right corner and get ready to Name That Action Figure!

A major part of action figure collecting is the victory of finding an ultra-rare figure. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's like the action figure gods have split open the heavens and rained down upon you the radiant light of collecting glory. Maybe I'm being over dramatic. Then again, maybe I'm not. Because it certainly felt like that when I spotted an original 1978 Blue Snaggletooth at a local comic book store.

As many of you may have read in a previous article I wrote on the Top 5 Most Valuable Star Wars Action Figures, the elusive Blue Snaggletooth is known to be one of the hardest figures to find and can command high prices, averaging a collectible market value upwards of $400. that seems like a lot of cabbage for a 3 3/4" tall piece of plastic, but in this case, it all boils down to rarity.

This particular figure looked to be in excellent shape, if not actually mint condition. There were a few scuffs, a little bit of paint loss, but overall a beautiful figure that has held up well in over the last 31 years. This is a prime example of how important it can be to do the proper research in order to spot a hot figure when you stumble on to it. I have had moments in the past when I passed up a rare figure, not knowing its true value, only to learn later that I was mere inches away from a great investment.

Sadly, I didn't quite have the $295 required to buy the figure right then and there, having to be satisfied with drooling all over the glass case in which the figure was safely locked. However, you can be sure that I'll keep my eye on it and as soon as I find myself with some spare cash, it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine!