I have been a big fan of Mezco from back when they were making Hellboy action figures from the movies and comics. But that time was a very different environment for toy manufacturers – today, it’s much harder for a smaller company to navigate through the tougher economic conditions and the shift to bigger licensing deals. Sure, Mezco has the Living Dead Dolls to keep them going, but I was really psyched when they were able to carve out a niche in the DC license to make Mez-Itz.
But even with Mez-Itz, I think Mezco found themselves subject to the changing whims of retail. While Hasbro opened the door for urban vinyl figures in the mainstream, retail cooled down on them after a couple of years, and Mighty Muggs were retired. And that’s left DC Mez-Itz in a tough spot. The 6-inch DC Mez-Itz that were a highlight of San Diego Comic-Con last year didn’t make it to shelves as planned.
One answer: 2-inch Mez-Itz. In the smaller form factor, these will fit in the niche that Minimates has carved out – lower price point, more frequent releases, and wide breadth of characters (with very minimal new tooling). And like Minimates, Mezco can work in vehicles, like the Batmobile planned for summer.
6-inch Mez-Itz are still planned, and it’s the Green Lantern movie that gives it the needed push. Movie Hal and Sinestro are first, in May with the movie. Then it’ll be two more every quarter, with Superman and Darkseid next in August, and Batman and Joker in November. I am really hoping that these find a market so that we see some more – I mean, that Wonder Woman is just so awesome.
Mezco also found a way to carve out small part of the Thundercats license, like Icon Heroes did with 6-inch mini-statues. Here, Mezco has supersized figures. Lion-O is 20-inches from foot to tip of sword, and he’s got 7 points of articulation. As you’d imagine, this will probably only be available through specialty retailers, and they’re gauging interest to see if there’s any more to make after Lion-O.
It was a pretty busy day today, so I never got a chance to get back to the Mezco booth to ask about their plans for San Diego Comic-Con. They’ve always got some pretty cool items available, so I’ll need to reach out to the good folks there to see what’ll be coming our way.