As I write this particular article there are several toy lines currently at retail that come to mind, just one of which is the Spin Master 3.75-inch retro Superman The Movie figures. These figures are an outstanding example of a line of 3.75-inch Kenner-style figures on Kenner Star Wars-style cardbacks that are exactly what we would have dreamed of seeing in stores when we were kids in the 70s and 80s. I love the figures and the cardart, and would proudly display a full set of these fine figures in my toy room... if I could find them all. There was a time when this was fun for me. I would have a sense something new was out, and I might have to spend a week or two making the rounds to find what I'm looking for, but eventually I knew I would. I'm thinking back to the golden years of Kenner Star Wars figures, Hasbro GI Joes, and Playmates Star Trek figures, where stores like Toys R Us and KB Toys would have piles of figures to look through and the hope would be that the assortment you're looking for would be there somewhere. Or coming soon in decent enough quantities to eventually get what you were looking for. My experience with the new Superman figures, which doesn't seem to be unique, has been showing up at Target and finding one single copy of Superman himself on the peg. Which implies a case was put out and he is the only surviving member of that lot. So I return in short order to see if shelves have been restocked and now there are two lone Superman figures, implying a second case was put out and now the double-packed Superman is again the last survivor. This pattern repeated until the peg eventually had five of Superman himself warming on the peg. Eventually I have been able to visit enough Targets in my area to round up the first four figures that seem to be available (Superman, Zod, white-robed Jor-El, and Lex Luthor) but there has been no sign of Lois Lane or black-robed Jor-El. Stocking one case per store at a time is ludicrous. I have yet to find any Target anywhere that has put out more than one case at a time. Similar distribution issues have persisted for years... not just with Spin Master (in fact they've been one of the better ones historically), but with Hasbro, Mattel, McFarlane (especially Super Powers), Super7, and most of the larger companies. I know toy company leaders have to be careful not to overextend in the current economy, but I for one do experience fatigue with this. Questing for beloved action figures should be fun. It should not be this frustrating and often times fruitless. In many cases, in my area, if I'm not standing in the right spot at the right time on the right day, one case of figures come and go and I'm searching for the best prices on eBay.