1. I have a question about GiJoe. I warn you its a little nitpicky. Recently, I have started seeing the "50th" anniversary two packs popping up at Toys R Us. It seems the "50th" anniversary is complete false advertising. I have the pimp daddy Destro from a few years ago and it clearly has a "25th anniversary" graphic on it with the years 1982-2007. Im pretty sure I wasnt frozen in carbonite for 25 years, so trying the see how they justify these new ones being "50 year anniversary" Im assuming its from the beginning of gijoe not just the 3.75 figure line, but if that was so, shouldnt these be the 12" figures?
--Chris

Generation loss isn't just something that happens with the copying of media, it happens in toy collecting.

You say "false advertising," I say "the most sensible, lowest-cost option." Hasbro can call a line whatever it wants - their 30th Anniversary Transformers kicked off a full year early, but nobody's really complaining because it means the line gets a little more love and attention - which is what Joe really needs!

The 12-inch line is indeed 50 years old, and the 25th anniversary line was done specifically to celebrate 25 years of the 3 3/4-inch line. In 1994 we had a "30th Salute" G.I. Joe line-up with mostly 12-inch figures - the apple of the collector eye back then - plus a couple of 3 3/4-inch deluxe boxed items which, I must say, were very nice. Should 3 3/4-inch have been part of Joe's 30th Salute when that scale was only 11 years old? Maybe, maybe no.

In 2014 Hasbro took advantage of a very real anniversary, but they just happened to focus on one area of the line's history. 12-inch figures are pretty out of vogue and the joke-that's-not-quite-a-joke is that the 12-inch Joe collector has left, grown out of collecting, or more depressingly died off. Joe convention attendance isn't known for growing lately, plus Hasbro more or less gave up on those bigger figures. Without new generations of kids, lines die out, and Joe has spectacularly failed to recapture a new generation of young minds. It could be parents, it could be mom's opinions about recent wars, and it could also be Joe's failure to deliver the right spirit of the times as it comes to military, adventure, and what it means to be a hero in this day and age. What matters is this: people didn't care enough to bring 12-inch back again, and Hasbro felt it necessary to bring out something for this milestone.

Things like this are worth noting because it's a specter of a future we may end up experiencing. As we age, will the very word "Wars" turn people off to the point where we see a branding shift? Could Joe's inability to be rebranded as an "Adventure Team" (shades of the 1970s as Vietnam soured people some on realistic combat toys - this was intentional on their part) or other, newer, more modern and less specific outfit be the problem? Super-cheap generic military toys are out there, but celebrating Joe's true roots serve as a reminder of shifting cultural interests, the aging collector population, and a "not a doll, it's an action figure" play pattern that may be beyond its expiration date for any mass market channel.

Of course, I'm no doubt over-thinking this. Hasbro has molds for a 3 3/4-inch line in good, useable shape. There is demand for these molds. All they have to do is make use of the work they have already done, combine it with a media event (the 50th anniversary) and presto - this is how Hasbro opted to celebrate Joe's 50th birthday.

 

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2. Not a Star Wars question but I recently saw the Funko Alien line at Barnes and Noble and decided to pick it up. I'm very glad I did because I think they're great just as your reviews indicated. My question is whether you know if the second wave of figures in this line will also be available in stores or whether they will only be offered online as the first wave initially was? Also, have you heard of any plans for the line to be expanded to include figures or vehicles from Aliens?
--Joel

I believe I remember hearing that the opportunity exists to go beyond the first movie, but there are no release dates or SKUs or rumor lists for Aliens that got out just yet. (Also no Harry Dean Stanton figure, which I require before moving on.) Also, having a license to do something and doing it are very different things - see BanDai's ThunderCats line, Diamond Select Toys' one wave and some promos for Battle Beasts, and Hasbro with Jurassic Park line from roughly 2002 until now being mostly repaints with very few newly sculpted items.

Given the line so far, I would expect vehicles shortly after Hell freezes over. Funko does very few vehicles - a couple of "Wacky Wobblers" and Pop! Vinyl vehicles have been made over the years, but they're far and few between. Other than 1 single playset, ReAction hasn't had much non-figural stuff yet and as much as I'd freak out for a decent APC or Dropship, well, look around the toy aisles - vehicles are not of this era and collectors rarely support more than one, let alone one, good vehicle.

The second wave of figures' availability is tough to discern - the first wave took a while to roll out to Barnes & Noble, and we're seeing an assortment of guys at Targets and Toys R Us. I would suggest ordering online or bugging your favorite local shops that carry any ReAction to order some on your behalf, or just bite the bullet and order online. This line is a new initiative that seems to be doing pretty well so far, but it's going to take a while to see if a style of action figure is a fad or a new trend that lasts a few years. Funko's product roll-outs do not follow a pattern like a Hasbro line, and they don't have the same distribution - plus the variety in their lines are, amazingly, larger than some of Hasbro's now. As such, I'd say the answer is "yes, but it depends on where you shop." I know of a local record store chain that has several of the SDCC ReAction exclusives. (I also know why.) Will you have access to such things in your neighborhood? No idea. But Walmart won't stock them I am now being told Walmart has some, Target could but hasn't put out Alien in my neck of the woods so far, Barnes & Noble should/does, and Toys R Us hasn't had the Alien dudes yet as far as I think I've seen now has some. But your local comic book shop? They should totally order some if you let them know you're interested.

3. What are your feelings concerning toys r us pulling the breaking bad figures off the shelves? I know this has happened a year or so ago with the talking Ted doll that almost always found its way into their plush stuffed animal aisle instead of the adult collector section or the electronics section and parents finding out Ted was bit more of and adult's toy than a kid's. And with next year gearing up to be an amazing year for marvel and star wars, as well as other movies, do you think that there will be more of a push to bring out a plethora of product for all these movies? I realize that the time of midnight openings for a toy line are long since passed, but with Toys"R"Us setting up banners for star wars and marvel and giving star wars both sides of an aisle, should there be excitement for the coming year?
--Delphia

It's an amazing demonstration of the free market, democracy, and - if you ask me - a bit of good ol' fashioned misguided parenting. Most of the time, I think people get it right - but sometimes you protest Married... with Children and just make the show more popular. If you want something to go away, ignore it and encourage others to follow your example. Also, believe it or not, most American adults don't realize that there are products sold in toy stores that look like action figures that children are not intended to purchase. Those new Goonies figures? Not for kids. Magic: The Gathering? Not for children. Anything NECA makes? Not for children - like all video games aren't for children, all records aren't for children, most comic books aren't for children, and movies like Gremlins that may look sort of cute also are not for children.

One of my favorite things about the Internet is how sometimes a protest works out in everybody's favor. I trust you're familiar with the term "The Streisand Effect." Basically, it means that by trying to bury something you end up drawing more attention to it. To that effect I give you Toys 'R' Us Pulls 'Breaking Bad' Toys in Wake of Parent's Petition. I find this hilarious. This scenario played out a few years ago with Dexter and is the only other time I can recall stuff being talked about as inappropriate for Toys R Us, which is funny on so many levels. Sales of these figures went up thanks to the mainstream media shining a light on a toy line which was too small to afford a TV campaign - it's hard to get the word out about toys for collectors. If you're a small to medium toy company, there's a fear that you could be unable to sell your wares - but the American adult toy buying public doesn't like being told what to do. America likes to shop as a form of protest. This sort of thing does a wonderful job of doing the exact opposite of the intent, so now people say "Oh, there are Breaking Bad toys? Where can I get some?" And now Mezco gets to reap the rewards, although it comes at a (relatively small) price to Toys R Us' bottom line in terms of cred and finances TRU has a reputation as being the place that will carry almost any toy made by any company for the US market - seeing them turn things down will undoubtedly drive more people online, to local comic shops, or to alternative venues like Barnes & Noble or Walgreens. What can I do to get moms mad about Venture Bros., Alien, or Walking Dead? I'm betting that would be a net gain for toy sales.

And Ted, the funny thing there is that it wasn't even the good Ted. There's an extra-saucy R-Rated version which was incredibly popular and sold like hotcakes, but was a de facto online (and special specialty) exclusive because big stores were fearful of some variation on what happened with Walter White.

The worst thing you can do to any toy line is to doom it to obscurity. Good, quality action figures go unappreciated because a small boutique line can't get on shelf at a big store and has no marketing budget. Do you like Glyos, OMFG, or whatever it is the Four Horsemen are doing this week? Well, congratulations, because it's you and seven other dudes and for all intents and purposes, you're the marketing department. And by you I mean me. There are no Rebels figures on shelf and from what I can tell collectors are unusually patient - or perhaps they don't care. I'm not sure which.

Children of the 1960s - but more so each subsequent decade - really clung to the idea that they didn't have to grow up and toys/rock & roll/comics/video games are an integral part of this whole hipster nerd thing that us older, more punchable nerds held dear as we grew up in an unsympathetic America. Pop culture and licensed products mature along with the potential customers, although "mature" may not be the best word to use here. While it was unthinkable that an adult in 1980 would likely buy himself or herself a toy from an adult drama, today it's pretty boring normal stuff. Nobody's pitching a fit that there are Game of Thrones exclusive figures at Walgreens, but I'm guessing if you recognize them you're probably a fan or just assume it's more Hobbitses. All that's happening here is the generation of awareness for adult figure collectibles, and frankly, our business needs the love and attention. Speculators aren't as interested in scalping toys, collectors are having babies, or are finding other things to do with their time. I work in the toy business, and if you look at the top best sellers on collectible toy sites' home pages, you'll see a lot of Breaking Bad in the top 10.

As to next year? Tough to say - they're squeezing 3 3/4-inch down a bit for Marvel, and as of my writing this I have literally zero idea what's going on for Star Wars that hasn't been announced yet. I am expecting a weak first half of the year, and my guess is the last few years should serve as a template for the future. In other words, January through August should be pretty heavily Marvel. September through January will likely be Star Wars. If you look at Marvel, Hasbro has abandoned its previous roll-out strategy of a stronger DVD support, although Transformers enjoyed a decent shot-in-the-arm for its DVD release. Cap, Spider-Man, and (so far as I can tell) Guardians will not see such a surge, and the corporate hissy fit between Disney, Sony, and Fox will likely continue to prevent X-Men, Fantastic 4, and related toys.

 

FIN

As we trudge through 2014, we get precious few glimmers of excitement that basically shows our way of things may be coming to an end. iOS downloadable games replaced CD-ROMs and big-budget titles. Action figures are no longer bought by kids, collectors, scalpers, and fans but seem more or less in the hands of fewer kids, some collectors, and part-time fans - those kids and scalpers had a lot of money to waste. Trading cards and comic books are more or less quaint in Star Wars, and the endless flow of newness has funneled down to a new TV show of - and I'm being blunt here - unknowable quality. Things are moving ahead, but to what end?

Despite a TV series and a promise of annual installments of new movies, I think the robust days of old are behind us. Because of the lack of competition in the business, Star Wars will no longer be given special treatment. It is no longer Hasbro's favorite licensed child - it has to share the spotlight with Marvel as well as in-house properties like Transformers and G.I. Joe, all fighting for resources and marketing dollars. And let's not forget Jurassic World next year too. Splitting up the big franchises is good for business - competition is important. While Hasbro has wonderful people, amazing resources, and a top-notch distribution channel, it can't (or won't) turn up all the burners to make sure every line has happy collectors. For a few years after acquiring Marvel from Toy Biz, Marvel Legends was more or less on ice.

If each movie has - for example - two big waves of products, next year we're looking at a pretty full schedule. Hasbro has to promote Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant Man, and Star Wars: Episode VII. Star Wars Rebels and Transformers: Robots in Disguise will need support. The Black Series, non-specific Marvel Legends, Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars, and a kid-friendly Spider-Man line will also undoubtedly continue - and Hasbro isn't going to give everybody Golden Child status. G.I. Joe fans are, sadly, going to be out of luck. Back during the prequels, one or two movies a year got a really giant push. Everything else trudged along modestly, but rarely did we see billions of dollars of box office driving multiple major toy movies in a single year. This is pretty much unprecedented. Even back in the 1980s, Kenner or Hasbro had their own in-house brands and gambled on a couple of major licenses to get them through - few of which did anything too significant. Swamp Thing wasn't exactly a breadwinner for the long term.

So looking ahead to 2015, it's possible that Star Wars Rebels will burn through its opening season before March. I can only assume season 2 will be held for September or October - around the time new movie stuff should be hitting, or at the very least, leaking and stealing the spotlight. Marvel will undoubtedly own much of the year (I do have my doubts about Ant Man hitting on time) and Jurassic World will likely be a success for the younger set. This year's Hasbro Rebels line feels like it's getting the enthusiasm of Swamp Thing of 25 years ago. Once the novelty wears off of its newness, will it have legs?

Unless we see a big paradigm shift, like Star Wars getting two big releases in two very different seasons, I'm anticipating it being relegated to a Christmas toy line for a while as Marvel owns summer. This saddens me, but again we're probably going to see similar compression when or if Marvel gets back Spider-Man and its other lost properties in its film portfolio. That level of diversification, thanks to the hissy fit, means fewer toys - but with so many studios, it means more movies. (I will leave the debate regarding quality to you.) There really is an advantage to big competition, which is something this age of geekery has lost. While everybody dons their fake glasses and "Ich bin ein Nerd" buttons, the goofy stuff we loved to buy and enjoy got even more commercialized, commodified, and it's going to be up to future generations to say if we're all the better for it. It's certainly paying for somebody's yacht and summer homes, I'm sure. My only boat turns into a small toy robot.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

 

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