We got an update from Toy Guru that next week’s Q&A would be the last before August, so our strategy to save up all the hard-hitting questions until the July 15 Q&A was tragically flawed. On the plus side, a lot of our questions were going to be about what lines would they have on hand at the show, when their panels were going to be, and what exclusives were they selling – and Mattel just posted all of that info on Mattycollector.com.
One license that I was expecting but is not in the announcement is WWE – they’ve told us in the past that with the license due to kick off in 2010, they wouldn’t be sharing any information until San Diego at the earliest. We’ll try to find out whether they’ll be talking about WWE at San Diego.
San Diego Comic-Con 2009—New Toys & More
By Matty
Comic-Con is coming!
For us toy collectors, the granddaddy of events has to be San Diego Comic-Con. The 2009 show starts July 23rd (preview night July 22nd) and runs through July 26th, and this year I’m bringing more cool stuff than ever before!
FAN PANELS
First off, we’ll have not one, but TWO fan panels at the show:
Mattel & DC Comics, a Powerful Partnership
Friday, JULY 24
11:00 AM – 12:00 NOON
ROOM 2
MattyPalooza
Friday, JULY 24
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
ROOM 2
NEW PRODUCTS
Then, visit me at Booth #2845, and you’ll find tons of new toys either just coming on the market or soon to come. We’ll have Ghostbusters™, DC Universe, DC Universe Classics, Infinite Heroes, Justice League Unlimited, Masters of the Universe Classics, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Disney/Pixar CARS, Toy Story, Hot Wheels, Scene It? The DVD Game, and the insane new Mindflex game — plus a few surprises!
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT COMIC-CON
Products will be sold starting preview night. Customer service and safety is our number one priority, so we’ll have a separate booth run by our Toy Club to handle sales. Lines will only be allowed to get as long as the designated roped-off area, but “fast-pass” tickets will be handed out to reserve your spot later that day. Limits on all exclusives will be six per person, per visit to the Mattel booth.
If you choose to wait in line a second time, you’ll be eligible to buy another 6 figures (there will also be a limit of six figures for online purchases after the show). It should all go very smoothly for the best buying experience yet!
We’re going to have plenty of gotta-get products available for sale, including (click each for all the scoop):
Disney/Pixar CARS Toon Rescue Squad Mater
3-3/4″ scale Buzz Lightyear figure
DC Universe Infinite Heroes Anti-Monitor figure
Justice League Unlimited Green Lantern Origins 3-pack
DC Universe Classics Wonder Twins 2 pack
Masters of the Universe Classics He-Ro figure
Ghostbusters™ Classics Dr. Egon Spengler™ with Slimer
Can’t make it to Comic-Con? Fear not, fair comic fan! You’ll be able to get everything listed above on MattyCollector.com starting at 12:00 Noon on Monday, August 3rd, except these items:
SDCC variant He-Ro
SDCC variant Buzz Lightyear (with “Andy” on his foot)
SDCC Gleek (but the onder Twins without Gleek will be available)
Whew! That’s it for now, but stay tuned to MattyCollector.com, because I’ll have more news as Comic-Con gets closer.
UPDATE: Before we get to the Q&A, Toy Guru just posted a Facebook update on MOTU Classics Hordak and DCUC Luthor and Ultraman – both products sold out within two hours this morning. DC fans – more of that two-pack is on the way, but Hordak fans will need to wait for a reissue. Here’s the full text:
Update on Hordak and Alex Luthor/Ultraman sale
Today at 4:43pm
Hey toy fans,
Just to give everyone the latest info from today’s sale of MOTUC Hordak and DCUC Alex Luthor and Ultraman two pack!
1: Ultraman and Luthor (much like Mer-Man) came over on two different shipments. We sold through our first shipment pretty quick, but never fear DC fans, more are on the way – most lilkely by the end of next week. We’ll keep you updated as we confirm an on sale date for this second batch.
2: As for Hordak, well he has been our most successful figure yet. We produced as many Hordak’s as we did Zodac and Mer-Man, but he also sold out faster than any other figure! Just goes to show the power of the Horde lives!
We will continue to increase numbers and adjust as needed on a figure by figure basis. We are well aware of which figure are more popular (i.e. Zodac vs. Hordak) and will continue to do our best to adjust production without the dreaded line-killing over-production option. And yes, in time Hordak will be back for a second run much like we are doing with He-Man and Skeletor in the fall.
And keep in mind that the full 12 figure MOTUC subscription for 2010 will be available in July starting at SDCC (you can even sign up right in our booth if you are at the show!). This is the best method to guarantee you get every figure. And as a bonus, the 2010 subscription will include extra items only available to subscribers (and there will be a nominal fee to cover this). more details will be revealed in San Diego.
Next up is Man-At-Arms on July 15. After that, see you in San Diego!
Now, here’s the latest round of Q&A with Mattel. Thanks again to Toy Guru!
We know SDCC is almost upon us and you’ll be saving up reveals for the show, so we’ll keep our questions light for this session. We’ll start with a couple of questions about the DC properties.
1. Of the figures that have made it or will make it to the shelves, which ones are your favorites and why? (If your favorite is in production but hasn’t been announced yet, feel free to give us a hint.)
DCUC Green Arrow
DCIH Anti-Monitor with giant SDCC Anti-Monitor Giveaway
JLU Blackhawk (credit: ActionFigureInsider.com)
JLU Amanda Waller
DCUC: Green Arrow tends to be a favorite around here. The new hand articulation really works for Ollie!
DCIH: The SDCC 3 ¾” Anti Monitor is way cool. And you can get one free with 50 AntiMonitor points at the show.
JLU: Blackhawk and Amanda Waller are both personal favorites. To get them both in JLU style is just a thrill.
Here’s the latest round of Q&A with Mattel. Thanks again to Toy Guru!
1. With the upcoming DC Universe Classics 2-pack of Alexander Luthor and Ultraman, Mattel is showing that they can go pretty deep in terms of character selection. What are some of the DC team’s favorite characters that you think may never be able to make it into the line for whatever reason? Hopefully Jonah Hex isn’t on that list!
We are hoping to get to both obscure and A-list characters in time. If there is fan demand, the sky’s the limit.
Here’s the latest round of Q&A with Mattel. Thanks again to Toy Guru!
1. San Diego Comic Con is coming up soon. Have you figured out how many of the 30-inch Anti Monitors you’ll have available for the raffle? You’ve mentioned that these are being hand-made. I’m sure folks would love if you’d describe the process (what are the steps, who’s involved, etc.) – if you could include some pictures of the work in process, that’d be great!
Right now the plan is to have at least one of these figures per day to raffle at SDCC with Anti-Monitor points (available on the back of all Infinite Heroes figures). We’ll look at posting some images of the “work in progress” on MattyCollector.com in the near future!
2. The selection of the Wonder Twins and the big Super Powers influence on DC Universe Classics has many people wondering about what sources you might pull from for the retail line. For example, what’s the thinking on the possibility of more Super Friends, like Apache Chief, who weren’t comic book-based – would that kind of character selection be possible for the mass market, or is that more in line with Mattycollector.com 2-packs, or is it somewhere in-between?
JLU Super Friends Action Figure 3 Pack - Black Vulcan, Apache Chief & Samurai
A lot of the Super Powers characters have high mass appeal and we are doing an upcoming JLU pack with Apache Chief, Black Vulcan and Samurai. It is possible we will do more packs like this in different lines in the future. We do know collectors love these Super Powers characters and we do too!
3. Now that you’re getting deeper into the Masters of the Universe roster, with lots of the big-hitters released or announced, how does the team go about picking who’ll be coming up down the road? And seriously, what do I need to do to make sure Jitsu gets in the line-up? Do I need to start a Facebook group called No Jitsu, No Jacksons? 😉
We always take fan demand for specific characters into consideration as we’re planning the line. We will get to Jitsu in time, he is an important character with a big following!
4. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow man is one of the big (no pun intended) characters in Ghostbusters. Is something that big out of the question for the line, or could he be a Collect and Connect, or maybe a raffle item for next year?
We are looking at ways of doing Stay Puff extra large and in a way all fans can get him.
5. All right – here goes our latest attempt at fulfilling the ActionFigurePics.com mission to show pictures with each post – how about some more pictures of any of the upcoming SDCC exclusives?
There will be some new images in an upcoming issue of Toy Fare magazine showing off the different variants of He-Ro as well as the back of his cape!
Well, we tried!
Here’s a round-up of the other Ask Matty sessions from around the web. (Links to be added as they come up.)
Just wanted to post a quick reminder that the Masters of the Universe Classics Zodac and the Justice League Unlimited Legion of Super Heroes 4-Pack will be on sale tomorrow, May 15, at 9AM PT. The past two MOTU Classics figures sold out within hours, so don’t be late!
Masters of the Universe Classics Zodac
Zodac® Action Figure
Coming May 15, 2009
Masters of the Universe® Classics
Cosmic Enforcer™
$20.00
The original neutral Cosmic Enforcer™ is back as a highly detailed, fully articulated action figure in the new Masters of the Universe® Classics series. Zodac® comes complete with removable armor and cosmic blaster. A must have for any Masters of the Universe® fan!
Available May 15th, 2009 only on MattyCollector.com.
From the far reaches of the 31st century come four brand-new JLU action figures to complete your collection! We welcome the arrival of Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Braniac 5 by offering them as four individually carded figures shipped together in one slip case—the first time you can get ‘em this way at MattyCollector.com!
