Realm of the Underworld: Prince Algor

Some things just go great together. From chocolate and peanut butter, to baseball and summer time, to the workplace and wine (okay, maybe not that one), sometimes things are just meant to be. So when the Zoloworld line “Realm of the Underworld” was revealed that it would center around “slimed drones” of many of the established characters, bringing in the Exciting World of Jalldoon just seemed like a natural progression. Dr. Rampageo has been producing his trademark Slimes pieces for a while now, and seeing the main character, Prince Algor, become a part of Realm of the Underworld is so much fun. Slimed Drones, you say? Bow before your Prince.

If you are familiar with the Realm of the Underworld line, you know that it hits all of the right nostalgia and imagination notes. Based on a system of shared and interchangeable parts, the line brings that vintage build and feel right back to you “just like you remember.” The line has already built a strong mythology off of heroes and monsters, and adding in a slime factor is the perfect move for the property as it continues to pay homage to its vintage influences. This afforded the opportunity to team up with Prince Algor, and, really, it is mutually beneficial: the Realm of the Underworld mythos gets deeper with the addition of this character, and Prince Algor is taking the logical next step of becoming a full-blown production action figure.

Built on the standard Zoloworld body, Prince Algor is cast in a translucent purple plastic to stay aligned with the Slimed Drones theme. The clear plastic looks great and the purple is bright without any clouding. The yellow and black of the outfit complements the base color well, and the three hues combine for a very regal scheme, which is perfect for the Prince. All of the joints are tight and the figure is easy to pose, but the head, arms, and legs are all removable in standard Zoloworld fashion, so you can add this figure to your cache of figures to combine and create.

The head sculpt, done by Dr. Rampageo himself, carries over from an individual piece to being the head of an action figure quite well. The slime creature that has now taken on more human proportions, and the previous entity is now the nerve center for its new and impressive form. While the character design of Prince Algor is more abstract than most of the other characters in the Realm of the Underworld line, there is a lot of character in the sculpt, and if you are looking for it, the Prince’s “face” starts to become apparent. The head is cast in a translucent and soft plastic that makes it great for changeability’s sake. As if you did not need more reason for that within the standard confines of the Realm of the Underworld line on its own, the Exciting World of Jalldoon variations make the possibilities even greater.

Prince Algor comes with sword that has been cast in clear yellow plastic with some cool glitter effects mixed in. Again, this fits great with the theme and it poses well in both the up-attack grip and holding the blade to the ground. Also included is a Prince Algor button that you can pin to your favorite jacket or backpack to fully rep Jalldoon wherever you go.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not talk about the packaging in this series because it is absolutely spectacular. Created by artist Chris Faccone (of Barbarian Brothers and Western Grim fame), the window box has more personality and color to it than any action figure packaging I have seen in a very long time. Done in his distinctive style, there is so much going on here, and the art moves well by essentially telling the story of the Slimed Drones around the panels – even the inner flaps have art included.

Most of the characters are included, and it is awesome to see them together in a different style from the figures themselves. I really love how dynamic it is, and the colors are spectacular; I am usually not one to care one way or another for toy packaging, but this is truly a work of art and the love that Faccone put into this is apparent from the get-go. My only wish was that these were available more widely in the big box stores because kids would snap them up in a second due to the packaging alone. Kudos to Chris and whole team for this. Everything is stunning and I am keeping the box! Seriously, though, I want Chris Faccone to draw all the things for me.

I really love independent toy companies, and I love a collaboration between talented artists even more, so this release is really win/win. The introduction of Prince Algor into the Realm of the Underworld is seamless, and the Slimed Drones release was the perfect entry point for him. Congrats to Zoloworld for another successful release, and kudos to Dr. Rampageo and everyone at Doomkick for achieving action figure immortality with Prince Algor!