While at Toy Fair, I had the opportunity to have a private sit down with Funko head hancho Brian Mariotti. During our conversation, we spent some time talking about the newest part of Funko, Vinyl Sugar. Things were clarified, questions answered, and surprises… surprised? Anyways, on to the information.
Vinyl Sugar IS Funko.
One of the biggest mysteries both Matt and I had this weekend as I entered the Toy Fair floor was “What exactly IS Vinyl Sugar?” Is it part of Funko? Is is a different company working with Funko? Brian cleared things up: Vinyl Sugar is part of Funko… an off shoot brand of Funko.
The Origin of Vinyl Sugar
The creation of Vinyl Sugar came about from a failed attempt by Funko to purchase Kidrobot, a vinyl company that eventually became part of NECA. Brian had plans to release the Vinyl Sugar lines under the Kidrobot brand. Instead, the Vinyl Sugar brand was created.
What will be released under Vinyl Sugar?
Vinyl Sugar will work with artists to bring their ideas and creations to life in vinyl form. Ideas could come from a variety of places and artists, that’s the greatest part of this brand. It’ll be a tool to promote the awesome work of talented artists.
Where will Vinyl Sugar be sold?
Vinyl Sugar will remain a “boutique” brand for at least the first couple of years. That means that it will not be in larger “big box” stores. Brian mentioned that Hot Topic stores will be about as big as he is planning to roll Vinyl Sugar out in.
Now a little bit about some of the upcoming Vinyl Sugar lines:
Vinyl Vixens
Harley Quinn is already showing up on Hot Topic shelves as part of a Pre-Release program. Catwoman and Poison Ivy will be following shortly.
More Vixens are coming. Brian specifically mentioned Batgirl and Wonder Woman from DC, a line from Marvel (Ben Butcher chimed in and announced that Storm from X-Men is being worked on), and a line from The Walking Dead.
Dorbz
Originally planned on being blind boxed, the Dorbz looked so beautifully designed that the team decided to create a double-window display box instead.
Unlike a similar style vinyl like Vinylmation, each Dorbz is individually sculpted, not just different artwork on the same mold….. oh, and they are cheaper also! Less than $10 per figure.
There will be four sets of 12 small Dorbz released in the next few months: Marvel, Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Disney. The Disney Dorbz were pulled from being ready for the Toy Fair floor to make sure the other three made the deadline.
In the future, we will be seeing more sets, some 2pk and 3pk combos, and special editions. There will also be more of the XL Dorbz being made down the road.
Vinyl Idolz
Vinyl Idolz is the “illegitimate love child” between Funko and the UK based advertisement company A Large Evil Corporation. They were the first line to be officially announced under the Vinyl Sugar line.
The average height of each Vinyl Idolz is 8″.
Brian said that one of the harder ones to design was Lloyd Dobler, John Cusack’s character in Say Anything. Why? Cusack is a plainer looking actor, so it was harder to get his likeness down properly… especially compared to the look of Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown character from Back to the Future.
People are probably wondering where there is no Jerry, Elaine, or George in the Seinfeld set. Brain informed me that the hold up is Mr. Seinfeld himself. He has yet to sign off on his likeness being used in this cartoon format. The team felt that releasing three of the four main stars without the really main one… you know, the one that the show was named after… wouldn’t look right. Brian hopes that after Jerry sees the first release in the set (Kramer, Soup Nazi, Frank Constanza, Puddy, Mr. Peterman and Newman), that he will sign off on his likeness being used. If not, Elaine and George will still more than likely be made and released.
Another concern is if Winston will join the rest of the Ghostbusters crew. Brian is pretty sure he will make an appearance one day.
Brian did confirm a line of Vinyl Idolz being made that some of you will love to hear…. the Classic Batman (Batman ’66) series.
Super Deluxe
I really don’t have any news about the Super Deluxe line, aside from that they look awesome and should retail around the $80 mark, according to Funko. Enjoy these pics of the first three releases in the series: Rocket Raccoon w/ Dancing Groot, Groot, and Deadpool.
Well, that’s all of the news I have from my interview with Brian regarding Vinyl Sugar. There are still some fun news coming for the rest of Funko from Brian. Stay tuned this weekend for my next installment. Excelsior.
Matt Norris