New York's American International Toy Fair February 18, 2011
I won't lie to you. I like Funko a lot. I work with the company at my day job and they really pick up some amazing stuff. I've had the fortune to talk to their president on multiple occasions, and the guy is, without question, a fan/collector. He's a great collector of old Hanna-Barberra stuff, and he even wrote a book on it-- that's why Funko made a bunch of really awesome obscure characters. He wanted them, and now we have them. I admire these kinds of people in the industry.
I've never been a big fan of the whole "vinyl" thing but if you read my other columns, you probably have seen that I'm gonzo for their Pop! Vinyl series. Last year it kicked off with DC Comics characters, and for various reasons the roughly 4-inch figures will have either articulated heads, or in some cases (read: Marvel and Star Wars) the heads will bobble. Thor movie vinyl figures were on display, as was Beetlejuice, Gremlins, Run DMC, Ozzy Osbourne, and most exciting of all, two members of The Ramones. I'm sure that Chuck D and Flava Flav will also be hot stuff-- they're pretty awesome-- now that Funko also snagged Public Enemy, boyyyyy. (They know what time it is.)
Their electronics line is going to continue, or at least keep shipping, with their signature clock/radio/iPod dock/lamp in Star Wars and Marvel varieties, plus various headphones will also continue to be sold.
Fans of Star Wars Monster Mash-Ups will no doubt be disappointed by the confirmation that series 2 won't happen (the catalog showed a devlish Darth Maul and a Mummy Tusken Raider, for example) but I overheard some other awesome thing is coming for fans of the Jedi and the Sith... but what? Not sure. Other new licenses in their portfolio include Mortal Kombat, Dumb & Dumber, but most of all, I was excited to see Gizmo of Gremlins confirmed to be coming in the POP! Vinyl line. Speaking of POP! Vinyl, you really ought to buy them as gifts, because if they do well there are some licenses that I personally need them to make so I can own them. (But for various reasons, I can't discuss them here.)
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