With Toy Guru out of the Mattycollector marketing team line-up, Mattel may need to look at hiring someone to manage their social media a bit more actively. Sure, there were Facebook and Twitter postings about their flash sales, but nothing detailing what figures were actually added to the Mattycollector Cyber Monday sale at 9AM PST – even on the Mattycollector site itself. And I’ll admit I’m a little salty over it.
If the flash sale items appear at the top of the list, then it’s Sky High with the Jet Sled, Castaspella, and Jitsu from Masters of the Universe Classics who showed up. I almost certainly would have bought another Jitsu, but he and Sky High sold out quickly. And as of last viewing, He-Man and Panthor from MOTUC, and the “bound” Doomsday, Larfleeze, Red Hood, Freddy Freeman (Capt. Marvel Jr.), Huntress, Lead, Saint Walker, Wally West Flash, and John Constantine from DC Universe Classics have sold out thus far.
With DC Universe Classics dead and Masters of the Universe Classics winding down, it’s tough for me to get excited about Mattycollector’s monthly sales, but this month is a little different. See, the quarterly figure for Club Eternia is Arrow, Bow’s trusty steed. And that means you and I will finally be able to complete that epic scene from He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword.
Mattel may not be making its previously scheduled stop at New York Comic Con this year, but to make up for it, Toy Guru posted a rather substantial video update for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Clocking in at nearly 12 minutes, it’s as much content as you’d likely have gotten if you were sitting in the Mattypalooza panel just for the MOTUC portion. And then there’s the added bonus of Toy Guru actually demonstrating each figure’s articulation and accessories, complete with the occasional figure knockdowns.
One thing you will miss without an actual panel this time around is the Q&A portion – for example, what finally caused the policy change that allowed not only 200X heads but a complete 200X two-pack into the line? By the power of Grayskull!
On the eve of New York Comic Con, I’m doing a bit of catch-up on a piece that our good friend Jedd sent in several weeks back, during the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention. It’s a great interview with designer toy icon Frank Kozik. Be sure to check out Jedd’s own site, The Movie and Me, for his full coverage of STGCC and much more.
Frank Kozik with Marvel Labbit Rocket Raccoon – Image Credit: Vinyl Pulse
Artist and designer Frank Kozik is known in collectible art circles as the creator of the Labbit, but it also famous as a poster designer who created artwork for bands such as The White Stripes, Pearl Jam, The Beastie Boys and Nirvana. The commercial artwork he has done includes work for Nike, Swatch and MTV. Kozik was in Singapore as a guest of the Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention (STGCC) and I got to sit down with him to discuss his work. He was somewhat intimidating and frank and off-the-cuff, giving a detailed description of how Labbit came to be (it involves booty calls) and offering a surprising, piece of advice to aspiring artists.
Jedd Jong: What was the genesis of Labbit; how did you conceptualise that?
Frank Kozik: That’s an interesting story. In the mid-90s, I was going to Japan quite a bit, I was working with the people there. When I went over there for the first time, I was really in Sanrio products, was really into like Hello Kitty and Keroppi and stuff, I thought it was very interesting, the stuff they were doing. I liked how they did the characters, it was like super-perfect. What’s interesting is in Japan then, it was just something for low-class people. These were are sort of like snotty Shinjuku fashion dudes, right? And they’re like “what do you want to do, do you want to do cocaine on top of a mountain?” and I’m like “no, I want to go to Kitty Land!” And they all just thought I was crazy, they were like “what?!” They couldn’t understand, it was such a low thing for them. And I tried to explain it, I said “look, there’s something really interesting here. It’s like super-perfect way to develop a character,” like you got to get beyond who buys it. In the US, it became a really big cult thing.
After a tense weekend, Club Eternia hit its subscription target for 2015. Anyone at all surprised? 😀
Congratulations to Mattel, the Four Horsemen, and the rest of the crew behind the scenes!
MOTUC 2015 Club Eternia®: You Did It!
Yes, you do have the power! The fans have spoken, and it’s official… we’ve reached our subscription goal for the final Club Eternia®! That means we’ll be seeing Lizard Man, Ninja Warrior, Huntara™, club-exclusive Oo-Larr®, and the rest of the lineup for 2015.
It’s been an amazing journey for the Masters of the Universe® Classics line, starting in 2008 with King Grayskull™ at San Diego Comic-Con, followed by He-Man®, Beast Man®, Skeletor®, and all the others leading up to this final year. We can’t wait to get started on 2015, when we’ll wrap up the vintage and A-list characters and the “Fall of Eternia” mini comic storyline. We thank each and every one of you who subscribed and made it possible. We’ll have more news about the rest of the lineup in the months ahead, so make sure you sign up to get email updates!
