I was traveling yesterday so wasn’t able to get these posted right away. Here are the latest questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
DC Comics
1. You’ve been saying for a while that the fate of the JLU line is in collectors’ hands. At the time of this writing, all three 4-packs and the San Diego Comic-Con Green Lantern Origins 3-pack are still available on Mattycollector.com. How are the fans doing with respect to keeping the line alive? How are the new products doing at Target?
JLU Gotham City Criminals Figure 4-Pack
JLU “Shazam!” Family 4-Pack
JLU Legion of Super Heroes Action Figure 4-Pack
Justice League Unlimited Green Lantern Origins 3-Pack
New JLU packs are currently available at Target and Mattycollector.com. We are reviewing whether the Mattycollector.com packs, with fan demand playing an important role.
You’ve been waiting for it, and VeeBee (it’s not my fault!) has kept you in suspense. Here’s the final installment of our San Diego Comic-Con chat with Mattel Associate Brand Manager, Scott Neitlich. He’s the man that brings us our DC, Masters of the Universe and Ghost Busters figures! Contained within is an all out shootout of questions and answers from all of the lines that Scott oversees. And yeah, he drops some gems!
Fwoosh: Since it looks like we still have a few minutes, let’s circle back real quick and discuss rights as they pertain to DCUC. A lot of fans are saying that DC Classics is the second coming of the Super Powers line and many fans of the original line are wondering if you have the rights to the characters that were created purely for that line.
Scott Neitlich: Oh, you mean like Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh?
F: Yes.
SN: Oh, wait until 2010! We have some great stuff coming down for fans of Super Powers next year. It’s no secret that we are big fans of Super Powers with the variants of Steppenwolf and the Parademon, so hopefully people are picking up on some of the hints that are being made for 2010- just want and see what we have in store. Same with some of the characters that we are doing in JLU with Samurai.
DC Infinite Heroes Hal Jordan First Flight Promo
F: Infinite Heroes – it looks like you guys are making a major push to up the articulation on these guys with the Public Enemies assortment. Is that where the whole line is going?
SN: Yeah, you will see new stuff getting integrated all the time. In fact, we just sculpted up a new villain figure that is just unbelievable, it is probably one of the best 3 3/4 figures I have ever seen.
One of the first things that Bill and I did when we came on with it was go back to the drawing board and revamp it with a lot of things that we as toy fans would like to see in it. So, we are getting all new bucks and starting a bit from scratch and infusing some new blood into it to make it stronger than it has ever been.
This Labor Day, we’ve got the second part of the interview with Mattel Associate Brand Manager Scott Neitlich that I got to sit in on with the Fwoosh’s VeeBee. So, whether you are enjoying the extra day off of work or are chained to your desk because your boss is a jerk, read on to get the scoop on what Mattel is working hard on for their collector lines, including Masters of the Universe Classics, DC brands and Ghostbusters!
As San Diego Comic-Con was winding down, I got the chance to accompany the Fwoosh’s VeeBee to a chat with Mattel’s Associate Brand Manager Scott Neitlich, a.k.a. Toy Guru, in themeeting room built atop of Mattycollector’s store at the show.We had the chance to consider and talk about all of the lines he oversees, from DC Universe Classics to Masters of the Universe to Ghost Busters. Being the nice guy that he his, Scott let us pick his brain for quite awhile so we have a good-sized interview to share with you. Read on for Part 1 of conversation where you will get a glimpse at some of the day to day of his job, the challenges of bringing first-rate action figures to market, and maybe even a juicy tidbit or two!
Fwoosh: Scott, thanks so much for sitting down with us again today – it has become an annual event! Just to start off, how has the show been for you this year?
Scott Neitlich: The show has been absolutely phenomenal. We had some of the best exclusives that we have ever done. We had a great response to our improved buying process. Each year gets better and we are dedicated to additional improvements next year to make sure as many fans can purchase product as possible.
F: Were you surprised at the pace that things have been selling out at the show – I think the Wonder Twins sold out on Saturday.
SN: Yeah! For a $40.00 toy, that sold out very quickly. It is quite a Collectible!
San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive DC Universe Classics Wonder Twins Two-Pack
Here is the latest set of questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
DC Universe Classics
1. Now that you have a paint mask set up for the Romat Ru, what are the chances for a larger Sinestro? Any chance that Sinestro could be redone using the slim buck you created for Deadman?
We are looking at ways of re-doing Sinestro in the future.
2. You’ve described in the past how the team makes character pics for DC Universe Classics waves. How is the process different for retailer exclusive waves? How are the buyers from the retailers involved for those?
The process is the same for all waves: we discuss all waves or box sets with our retail partners, and we work with Mattel design and marketing, as well as our license partners, to choose the figures.
