Another year’s San Diego Comic Con has come and gone, and with it another wave of summer convention exclusives. Funko gave us some great surprises this year with their lineup of vinyl figures, including fan-favorite characters like Olenna Tyrell and larger setpieces like Nux’s car from Fury Road. I was able to get my hands on some, and here are my thoughts.
Snowball Dance Dustin Pop! Vinyl
Stranger Things has quickly become one of my favorite new shows of the past few years, and Funko is continuously releasing new products based on it. I had always planned on picking up a figure of Dustin, one of my favorite characters, but none of the ones that I found really screamed out to me to buy them – until this one. Taken from the hilarious and emotional final scene of season 2, this figure has an incredible sculpt and captures the likeness of the character really well while remaining very simple. It really highlights Funko’s strong ability to make not just generic figures of popular characters, but to genuinely understand the moments fans find most memorable and turn them into highly collectible fun. You can get this Pop on eBay for approximately $25.
Steve w/ Bandana Dorbz
While Steve Harrington gave a bad first impression in season 1, his hairstyling tips and devotion to Mike and friends definitely redeemed him in season 2. When Hot Topic released an exclusive Pop featuring Steve’s appearance from the group’s foray into the Upside Down, I almost purchased it, but decided at the last minute that the muted and slightly blurred colors weren’t really for me. This Dorbz version is a much better version of the costume, with brighter, cleaner-cut colors and a lot of detail for a Dorbz, including the baseball bat and a great sculpt for the hair. It’s available on eBay for around $15.
Red Hood Pop! Vinyl
Finally, my favorite item from this year’s convention: Jason Todd, aka Red Hood. This has been one of the most-requested DC characters for a long time, and Funko definitely delivered. The design is perfectly faithful to the comic books, and the paint on the mask is really vibrant and striking (think closer to the Spider-Man: Homecoming figure than the Daredevil season 2 one, if that’s a remotely helpful reference point). The dual pistols complete the feel of the figure very well. You can find it on eBay for about $30 dollars.
Overall, this has been another successful summer for Funko, especially with all the great reveals from Fundays. Keep your eyes peeled for NYCC reveals in a few months.
Travis Denman