The Fugitive Party at NYCC – an inside look at one of Funko’s most exclusive party.

SDCC has another Funko tradition, other than the exclusive Pops and the Conan O’Brien giveaways. It’s called Funko Fundays and it’s a tradition that went nationwide this year with the online release of the infamous Box O Fun.

However, less well-known to even regular Funko fans, are smaller parties held at other major conventions. These parties are much more exclusive, but not any less fun. One of those parties is the Fugitive Party, named so because it’s held by Fugitive Toys, held annually during New York Comic Con.

The tickets for the Fugitive Party are as rare as they come; most tickets are offered to those that are good customers of Fugitive Toys (hence the name) or those that are active on the Funatics forum. Once those are gone Fugitive offers a FEW tickets to the public. While those tickets sold out faster than a Toy Tokyo Convention Bundle, we were able to be online at the right moment to buy a ticket to get the inside scoop.

The party started out with a little bit of Manhattan Mania. When arriving in the uber, our reporter learned that the hotel listed on the ticket was NOT the correct location. While many were enjoying the craziness of New York Comic Con an email had gone out with an address correction; the location was blocks away, but it started in ten minutes. So our reporter made his way through the foot traffic, weaving in and out of cars, through alleys and around throngs of theatergoers as they entered various Broadway shows. Finally, (6 blocks, 2 escalators and 1 elevator later), he found his way to the line. Guests had to have a ticket and ID’s were checked before everyone was wristbanded. The wrist bands were even checked later in the evening; there was no sneaking into to this event.

Once inside the employees at Fugitive handed everyone 3 tickets. One was for a Plinko-style game immediately to the right, where everyone was a winner of at least a Mysteri Mini, Keychain or Pop, and another was for a beanbag throw that was much harder. Still, it felt great to be handed a gift and walk into the main room already a “winner”. Next was a silent auction, a tradition at the Fugitive Party that goes to benefit teachers, in a range from a few hundred dollars (a Care Bear Pop Proto) to over 1200 for a mystery bag – which we later learned had a pretty nice Pop Ride Proto inside.

Once inside another table of Pop Protos lined a table, a promise of some of the prizes to come, and Funko fans loitered at each of the 12 tables. Inside it was quick to see that many people had their own groups, there weren’t many people that attended this party solo, and while our reporter thought he had found a seat at a table, he was quickly told that it was taken and he had to keep looking for one that wasn’t already being held by a group of friends. It wasn’t hard to find the few half-tables, where groups of 2-5 people had sat, and was able to sit with a great group right away.

As soon as he did though, there was already a small inkling of how crazy this night was going to be.

“At last year’s event, one of the games was memorizing everyone at the table.” Someone said, and it set the entire table into meet and greet mode; shaking hands and repeating the names over and over to memorize the tablemates. Some people took notes, and other repeated names over and over as they attempted to put it to memory; “mikeryanjohnryanlukejoechuckadamcarly”. From the beginning our reporter learned that the participants took things seriously, and the night was so much more fun because of it.

The game, they soon learned, was to memorize your neighboring table, which began one of the several games that would be played that night. All tables were up, shaking hands and memorizing names.

Host of this, and all the other games, was Nelson Ng, CEO and owner of Fugitive Toys. He was genuinely excited for the evening, and had as much fun (more?) than the fans that were partying. He was a fair and gracious host, and even though he clearly had met several of the guests before, did his best to incorporate all people, and encouraging everyone to be involved. His motto for the evening was the more you participate the more fun you’ll have, and boy was that true.

During the night people won amazing prizes. Some were for contests, such as eating donuts, building the tallest structure from uncooked spaghetti with marshmallows, and some were just random pulls of the third ticket. Two highlight games of the night were the White Elephant and the Lip Sync party.

The White Elephant worked the way you’d see in office parties around the world. The first person opened a bag and received a prize; none of them were common pops, and some were Protos or rare pops from the convention. The next person could either steal a prize already opened or open a new bag. While only 12 out of the 120 guests participated in this event, EVERYONE in the room had a blast. The gameshow atmosphere of yelling at the players to pick a bag or steal a gift was not just fun, it was downright addicting. (Listen up FUNKO – you’ve got a possible gameshow on your hands!)

The Lip Sync contest however was the star of the show. Our reporter, having never been to any of these parties previously, was sure of what the contest would be; guests would take time dancing or humiliating themselves to win prizes.

The judges for the contest were a few of the ten recognizable Funko employees that were invited to the party. They received a standing ovation when they walked in, and Nelson made sure to point out that they supplied many of the prizes for the night.

The first singer set the bar at an incredible height and things just took off from there. This is the one part of the evening our reporter doesn’t want to discuss in length, not because it was embarrassing or horrible, but to preserve the exclusivity of the night. To give a taste though there was dancing, “making it rain”, a dancing nun, and much, much more. It was jaw dropping to say the least. The pictures do not do it justice.

Between the games and the lip sync contest food was served, and a bar in the corner kept everyone happy. Every now and then a bag would be delivered at the table filled with Dorbz or Pops to share with the tablemates. Soon though, as the lip sync contest was the climax of the night, the final gift bags were announced. The tables lined up and as the wristbands were cut off, every guest was handed a goodie bag. Inside was a variety of Pops, toys and other items, and a black mystery bag with a Proto inside.

While it was late, and the party was technically over, the protos arrival set off what’s best about this group of collectors; a sense of community. Everyone sat around and traded with each other to try and make sure everyone left with something they wanted. People walked around with their Protos in their hand, curious to see what everyone else got. For some people this was a chance to bust out other Protos they had brought to attempt to trade, but for others (like our reporter) it was their first Proto and they were happy to have one.

Nelson stayed late and made sure everyone was happy. His care for the guests was genuine and lasting. He was busy cleaning and helping but as our reporter left he was sure that Nelson would love the sight of the guests leaving the hotel, with each person leaving scattering in their own direction, red goodie bags in hands and big smiles on their faces.

Thank you Fugitive Party.