Mattel DC Figures

AceofKnaves said:
I don’t think anyone is arguing they will *only* do classic/iconic “until the end of time”. Hyperbole is generally unhlepful.

That said: I think any reasonable assessment must be that Mattel is going to be looking for *mass* appeal, and at this point current comic-book readers are a niche. That doesn’t mean the won’t do current-comics appealing items, but they certainly won’t be looking at current comic readers as *the* demographic to pump above all others. Joe Average and especially parents will be considered way more heavily than readers of what may turn out to be flash-in-the-pan titles that are selling well *for comics*.
Click to expand...
Remember New 52 and how much nobody fucking cared about action figures?

I don't think it's unreasonable for any toy company making comic figures to be a little gun-shy on trying to be as current as possible.
 
Although New 52 was pretty maligned from the start and Absolute has significant goodwill from fans; given the niche readership of comics that may or may not make a difference to Mattel, but I think there's at least some collector interest in Absolute designs that just wasn't there to the same extent for New 52. But ultimately the bigger consideration is probably: is it a Batman people don't have yet, and is it a Batman people might want? The answer is yes to both, so I don't think it's crazy to take a chance on at least that.
 
secondwhiteline said:
Although New 52 was pretty maligned from the start and Absolute has significant goodwill from fans; given the niche readership of comics that may or may not make a difference to Mattel, but I think there's at least some collector interest in Absolute designs that just wasn't there to the same extent for New 52. But ultimately the bigger consideration is probably: is it a Batman people don't have yet, and is it a Batman people might want? The answer is yes to both, so I don't think it's crazy to take a chance on at least that.
Click to expand...

I think, much as some people hate to hear it, there's a reason every company goes back to the same well with certain characters. The new thing MIGHT sell. The thing that sells every time someone makes it WILL sell. For risk-averse modern corporations, that's as important a distinction as you can possibly make.

I don't think they won't do the 'might' stuff. I'm saying they're absolutely going to do the 'will' stuff. And the latter is probably going to come first and far more frequently.
 
Maybe I'm a terrible DC collector, but I'm just hoping for a decent lineup, with male and female characters, with a pretty good hero to villain mix, that maybe looks cool alongside other lines I collect so it's fun to display or photograph them together. I'm not really stressed about character selection yet. I mean once the line is live I will IMMEDIATELY start yammering for Ollie and DInah but I'm not there yet.

It's been so long since DC's had a consistent, cohesive action figure line, that's all I'm really hoping for. (Sure Todd had some good stuff but it never felt cohesive the way, well, darn near every other line I collect does.)

I do think they'll probably release some very risk averse figures first (Like they did with the non-collector figures they reveal). "Be bold and powerful forces will come to your aid" is great advice for life but not usually the first choice for established corporations.
 
While I would welcome some Absolute figures, I think I’m more focused on the Next Level side of this. It’s mainline continuity without any major redesigns thus far. Lobo, Batwoman, and Deathstroke all look like themselves. Firestorm, Zatanna, and Deadman are up next and the only one that looks a bit different is Deadman. Still recognizable though. This is a writer driven initiative emphasizing story and letting the creators build up something new for characters we’ve not seen in a while. There seems to be a lot of confidence and good will going into this.

As a DC fan for 2/3 of my life, I’m a bit tired of them always being on the back foot. Now the comics are selling. The media tie ins have the entertainment industry abuzz. Part of the reason (or so we’ve been told) that Mattel went back for the license is the plans Gunn and Safran have for the DCU. It’s an exciting time for us as DC fans. And as important as media tie ins merchandise is, we all know as collectors, especially those of us who still go “hunting”, comic figures seem to sell better. And faster.

All I want is something that skews away from Batman and the Justice League. Just a little piece of the pie. Not asking for Kamandi or Warlord. I could live with Firestorm and Etrigan. Next Level could be the entry point.
 
I just need this line to last long enough that they get to characters I care about. Also, some texture on the figures would be nice. Judging by the core line, that seems possible here?
 
Atomic Knight said:
As a DC fan for 2/3 of my life, I’m a bit tired of them always being on the back foot. Now the comics are selling. The media tie ins have the entertainment industry abuzz. Part of the reason (or so we’ve been told) that Mattel went back for the license is the plans Gunn and Safran have for the DCU. It’s an exciting time for us as DC fans. And as important as media tie ins merchandise is, we all know as collectors, especially those of us who still go “hunting”, comic figures seem to sell better. And faster.
Click to expand...

I mean, I can tell you WANT comic figures to sell better and faster. I have no idea if sales figures bear that out, I don't have that data. (I don't even know if they're helpful to compare, because media tie-in toys have a shorter window and possibly higher production runs?) And I don't think anecdotal evidence from the handful of stores any individual person goes to means anything at all.
 
I won't re-litigate why Todd's figures are incredibly unappealing to me individually and as a group; but yeah; I want a cool, cohesive line of my personal favorite characters. That's it. But I recognize that's very unlikely given who most of my favorites are.
 
Damien said:
I won't re-litigate why Todd's figures are incredibly unappealing to me individually and as a group; but yeah; I want a cool, cohesive line of my personal favorite characters. That's it. But I recognize that's very unlikely given who most of my favorites are.
Click to expand...

Todd making a Nightmaster but not, like, sculpting armor when Todd loves sculpted armor figures is so OOC I can only take it as a personal attack on you.

And I need this line to last like 7-10 years so I can start getting my Count Vertigos and Lady Shivas.
 
secondwhiteline said:
Todd making a Nightmaster but not, like, sculpting armor when Todd loves sculpted armor figures is so OOC I can only take it as a personal attack on you.
Click to expand...

My god, dude. Everything about that figure sucked. The sword was hideous, the body was lazy, and he only had a LEFT gripping hand. I really don't even know what the fuck ANYONE involved with that figure was doing besides actively trying to get me to commit a felony.
 
secondwhiteline said:
I mean, I can tell you WANT comic figures to sell better and faster. I have no idea if sales figures bear that out, I don't have that data. (I don't even know if they're helpful to compare, because media tie-in toys have a shorter window and possibly higher production runs?) And I don't think anecdotal evidence from the handful of stores any individual person goes to means anything at all.
Click to expand...
I obviously don’t have any sales data either. But anecdotally, media figures peg warm longer than the comic figures. And for whatever reason, order numbers never get adjusted at big box retailers. Comic figures show up last, disappear first, and get reordered slower. At least around here. Comic figures have and tend to hold higher prices on the secondary market as well. I know this as I’m currently trying to put together a small, heavily curated lineup of Marvel Legends. Some of the prices, even loose, are shocking. At least 60% of Todd’s six year tenure on DCM is comic style figures. If comic figures didn’t sell, I would expect a lot more media figures.

Mattel is clearly going to lean into whatever Gunn/Safran are doing. But the red meat of this lineup, like DCUC before it, is gonna be comics.
 
Atomic Knight said:
I obviously don’t have any sales data either. But anecdotally, media figures peg warm longer than the comic figures. And for whatever reason, order numbers never get adjusted at big box retailers. Comic figures show up last, disappear first, and get reordered slower. At least around here. Comic figures have and tend to hold higher prices on the secondary market as well. I know this as I’m currently trying to put together a small, heavily curated lineup of Marvel Legends. Some of the prices, even loose, are shocking. At least 60% of Todd’s six year tenure on DCM is comic style figures. If comic figures didn’t sell, I would expect a lot more media figures.

Mattel is clearly going to lean into whatever Gunn/Safran are doing. But the red meat of this lineup, like DCUC before it, is gonna be comics.
Click to expand...
"I obviously don't have any sales data either, but here's some conclusions I've drawn from statistically meaningless anecdotal evidence and my own personal tastes." I prefer comic stuff too, but the leaps here are crazy. Like, the core of this is probably going to be comic stuff, not necessarily because it's the most popular but because the release schedule for the movies is so gradual at this point. If they end up on a peak MCU schedule? I could see those proportions changing. But I don't know if this is something that's even going to be a Comic Line vs. an Evergreen Line, you know? Batman as people think Batman looks as opposed to Batman as he looked in a specific story. They'll have the latter too, but DCUC to me was less a comic line than a style guide one.
 
Last edited:
Someone just needs to go back in time when Mattel first started and acquire the rights to DC or National Periodical Publications and never let it go. They start making Justice Society figures and grow from there with War and Western figures until Barry Allen is created and then back to making Super Hero action figures.
 
secondwhiteline said:
"I obviously don't have any sales data either, but here's some conclusions I've drawn from statistically meaningless anecdotal evidence and my own personal tastes." I prefer comic stuff too, but the leaps here are crazy.
Click to expand...
I don’t think I’m leaping. I’ve observed this stuff since 2007 and it doesn’t deviate much.
 
Atomic Knight said:
I don’t think I’m leaping. I’ve observed this stuff since 2007 and it doesn’t deviate much.
Click to expand...
You are leaping.

For instance, I can tell you for a -fact- (believe me or not, as per my usual caveat) that the MCU figures are produced in greater volume than any of the comic figures in ML, and only undersell when a movie does poorly, like Eternals.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top