Daria & Jane (Squads (Mondo)) Review

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Daria & Jane (Squads (Mondo)) Review

Daria & Jane
Squads (Mondo) (Mondo)Unlike the dumpster fire it is now, MTV was the home to plenty of music videos and iconic series. Beavis and Butt-Head is one everybody remembers, but it also managed to spawn a spin-off in Daria, revolving around one of the few sane people in Highland moving out and experiencing the usual struggles of adolescence. While different in tone from its successor, it's relatable topics and well-written stories made it just as popular, but it hasn't gotten much in the way of merchandise. Last year, Mondo sought to change that with a two-pack of figures, as part of their new "Squads" line.

Mondo figures tend to have attractive box art, and Daria is no exception. Done by Pam Wishbow, the front flap has a very pop art-esque illustration of Daria and Jane, surrounded by all sorts of junk. The style and colors are great, and it won't take up as much space on the shelf as Mondo's usual 1/6 fare. There's no tape to worry about here, as everything can be easily removed from the trays, and the plastic wrap around them keeps the contents safe during shipping.

Daria Morgendorffer makes up one half of the set, and this is the first proper figure of her (until now, all we had were Pops). She's a fairly simple design portrait-wise, and all the sculpt work here was done by Vivian Coscia. If you haven't heard of her, she does a lot of cartoon character sculptures, and Mondo knows to go to the experts when doing animated properties. Daria looks spot-on to the show, with a solid head with asymmetric hair. I feel the lips are a little bit too close to the nose, but it may just be me. Unlike in the show, the bangs don't overlap the glasses, as they're a separate piece. They can be removed to reveal her eyes underneath, but you'll want to be careful when inserting and removing them, as the handles are thin and can break if you aren't careful. She has two head options, her normal uninterested look, and a seldom-seen happy expression. You'll have to share the one pair of glasses between both heads, and some heat could help make it easier.

Daria comes in clothes that a teenager in the 90s would most likely wear, with a halfway-zipped jacket, skirt, and boots. Stiff pose aside, the body looks great, with sculpted-on ridges for the skirt, and the paint is very bold. There's a few painted outlines, such as the lips and jacket, but it's minimal, and the finish is consistent and clean. There seems to be some chipping on one edge of the jacket, but she looks flawless otherwise. Daria stands just below 8" tall, making her a bit out of scale with Mondo's sixth-scale figures, but they seem to be doing these Squads in their own scale rather than making them fit with their usual fare.

The other half of the set, unsurprisingly, is Jane Lane. She's a little more goth in appearance than Daria, with the half-circle-shaped hair. Part of the side of her face is covered by her bangs, with the visible ear on the other side having some piercings. The piercings could've been done better, both sculpt and paint-wise, but at least the face is clean, including her blue eyes that make her stand out from some of the other characters. As with Daria, she comes with both uninterested and happy head options, and they both swap with ease.

Standing around the same height as her friend, Jane wears a nearly similar, but completely different, outfit. She wears a red vest over a V-neck tee, shorts over black leggings, and boots a little higher than Daria's. Much like her, she has a very clean paint job, including good line work around the collar and sleeves. While both figures can stand just fine on their own thanks to the static pose, clear display bases are included for both, and helps make them less likely to wobble and topple over.

If you're expecting articulation similar to Mondo's other figures, you'll be disappointed. Daria and Jane only have five points of movement each: ball-jointed heads, swivel shoulders, and swivel thighs. They aren't action heroes like Batman or the X-Men, so the minimal articulation works fine, and the extra parts swap easily. While extra points at the sleeves for the arms would've been good, they at least come with extra arms. Daria has a pair of crossed arms, Jane has a pair of holding arms, and there's an interlocked arms piece for both. Other accessories include a camera, a stereo, a stacked pair of Mystic Spiral CDs, and a pair of flame-tinted glasses for Daria. The last piece is a reference to "The Teachings of Don Jake," one of the funniest episodes.

That's all for the standard version, but being a Mondo product, they put out a direct-only limited edition with more extras. This release gives Daria an extra head resembling her original Beavis and Butt-Head design, and it's quite different. The bangs are less puffy and more pointed, the hair is more beige than brown, and the glasses have white lenses. It's a unique extra, but I don't think I'll be using it often. Jane gets a more show-specific extra head, based of "Dye! Dye! My Darling." Her hair has orange splotches of dye all over and a more frazzled appearance, and she's clearly not happy about it. There's also a towel that drapes over the shoulders to complete the look, and the additional pair of arms makes for expressive poses. Speaking of which, she's given a flipping-off left arm, and Daria gets a pair of arms designed for holding a book. The book in question is "The Tell-Tale Heart," and there's tabs on the sides to fit it into her hands. The last exclusive extra is a cow skull, coming from "The Old and the Beautiful," another episode-specific extra.

While these two aren't so much action figures as they are customizable and semi-articulated statues (think early NECA and McFarlane), they're still a release that will satisfy any fan of the show. The sculpt and paint work is excellent, and the various interchangeable parts and other extras will let you change up their look often. The limited edition was definitely the way to go for this set, as it gives you plenty more, including extra heads and arms, for just an extra $10. Hopefully they do some more characters in this format, and I'd love a Beavis and Butt-Head set as well.

- 1/5/25