What a year it’s been! Wow 2014 has come and gone and with it a TON of new Pops. 2015 is just a few days away and with all the announcements of what to expect in terms of the Pop! line in 2015 I can’t be the only one excited about the future for Funko! I decided to showcase the top 10 Pops (in my opinion of course) of 2014 over on my Instagram account (ESBJO_FIGS), but you already knew that. An honorable mention goes to the WWE Pop line. It seemed like it took forever for series one to finally hit the shelves at the beginning of the year, but now we’re at series 2 and we have store exclusives, wwe shop and event exclusives, and plenty of others! Dolph got the axe in favor of Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hogan got the green light to be the exclusive to the WWE2k15 Hulkamania edition, but yet none of them managed to crack my top 10. I’ve also switched up the style of my photos for the new year. Like it? Prefer the old one with the logo? Let me know! So here it is. Esbjo_Figs top 10 Pops (#10 – #6) of 2014!
Here at #10 kicking off my list is Queen Elsa’s ice defender Marshmallow! The detail is awesome and he’s 6 inches so he towers over the other Pops in the series as he should. You can find him currently in a three pack with Elsa and Olaf at any Walmart. If you can’t find him yet don’t be discouraged as I’m sure sooner rather than later you’ll see a ton of them warming the shelves just like Black and White Daryl. If your Walmart doesn’t carry Funko products then check us out over on the Funko Trading Facebook Group. There’s always someone willing to lend a helping hand and that’s how I ended up with one of my own! Something tells me that he’ll be released on his own though in due time, and that we’ll get one of him in his non-confrontational smooth state, and even one wearing a crown. One of those will definitely be a Hot Topic exclusive.
#9 on my top 10 Pops of 2014 is the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series! I loved this show when it was on the air, followed it to its move to the UPN, shed tears when Buffy sacrificed herself for Dawn (spoiler alert….), and the hardest part of this world is to live in it. I was so happy when Funko announced this line. It’s one of those things that as I started getting into collecting I would sit around and think about all the cool things I wish were Pops and Buffy… as well as Frozen were high up on that list. Now here we are and both lines have been produced and released. We have more Frozen Pops coming next year. It’s wishful thinking, but I’m hoping at some point we get more BTVS Pops too. Faith, Xander, Giles, Angelus, Darla, Dru, The Master, The Mayor, maybe even a Spike from his 80s days.
#8 on my top 10 Pops of 2014 goes to Rob Gronkowski and the new NFL line! Yo soy fiesta! I couldnt have been more excited when this line was announced (there’s a repeating trend here). I also went to the game this past Sunday so it’s a double win for me. Yes Tom Brady isn’t pictured here with Gronk, and if you’ve been following me these past few months you’ll know Tom Brady is heavily favored in my photos. So he is up there on the list, but will he nab the #1 spot?
#7 on my top 10 Pops of 2014 goes to the SDCC exclusive Headless Hershel! Do you remember the hype for this piece? It had people in an uproar over securing one for a decent price. Everyone thought it’d go the way of Headless Ned Stark and shoot up to the hundreds, and maybe on day 1 of comic con it did, but soon he could be found online and in Hot Topics across the country. Hershel takes the number 7 spot on my list because he’s an awesome piece of any collection and for any fan of the Walking Dead. A true ray of light in an otherwise dark world. I’d say gone too soon except in the Walking Dead universe if you’re on for 2 or more seasons you’ve hit the lottery. Rest in pieces Hershel Greene!
#6 on my top Pops of 2014 goes to the one the only Hot Topic Guy! He made a huge splash when a shot of him inside his box appeared online a few months ago. Funactics wondered how could they get their hands on one and up until it was revealed it’d be through a giveaway many thought it would be based off of how high your HT1 points were. Hot Topic also gave this little guy away to its non-seasonal staff members and that’s how I ended up with mine and that’s why he nabs spot 6 on my top 10. An employee named James at my local HT hooked me up with his and I’m very thankful for the opportunity to add HT Guy to my collection!
So there you have it the first half of my top ten pops of 2014. Any surprises? Again this is all through my own opinions as I’m sure there are hundreds of other Pops that were released over the last 365 days that could have easily taken any one of these spots. What are your top 10? Don’t be afraid to sound off in the comments below. The rest of my list is currently in progress over on Instagram. I just announced #5 this more and if you’re a fan of Team Freewill then you’ll be a fan of the angelic Pop at #5. The rest of the list will be posted here for all you loyal popvinyls.com fans as soon as it’s completed! Thank you so much for reading the column and allowing me a platform to show case my work. 2015 is on the horizon! New Years Resolution? Spend less money on Pops. Just kidding. It’s really to stop lying to myself and saying “this is the last one” every time I pick one up. Have a good night, be kind to one another, and free the Pops!
Matt Norris