Always been a fan of Ashley's work long before this was rumoured to be happening...so its great news to hear its finally been cleared!
To the doomlords talking about it only lasting a few figures ( already! jeesh, fatalists or what), Ashley has a large fan base as an artist as well, so people buy his products as collectors of his work, not just because its WWR, Popbot, or 2000AD- so I cant see these being stuck on shelves in shops gathering dust..
If you have been a fan you will also know that Ashleys work is top notch- his figures are famous for having the most amazing paint jobs and being fully articulated- on his robots, even each finger's digits are fully movable, for instance.
The only thing I will say is that from his previous retail methods- they will probably be produced in smallish runs, hence the reason the Bambaland shop is always empty ;-).