There's a fair share of top-quality goods being produced by the comics and collectibles industry today, and the processes that decide what gets made are incredibly interesting from a fan point-of-view. If you've ever lamented the high price of a nice action figure, or the lack of women's sizes in comics-oriented t-shirts, then you'll probably be interested in David Scroggy's job. Scroggy is a twenty-five-year veteran of the comics industry who has been in charge of developing and building Dark Horse Comics' now-extensive line of toys and collectibles for the last four years. While he often gets to enjoy the experience of introducing great new ideas -- and travelling to exotic locales to arrange their creation -- Scroggy is also in a position where he must occasionally play the "bad cop," usually when a favored project concept is found to be unworkable for any number of reasons.
So, those of you who are wondering why you can't buy an official Sin City Hatchet, Duct Tape, and Gasoline Kit might be interested in reading our interview with David Scroggy to see what elements are necessary for a successful project -- and what might be holding up your favorite goodie at the drawing board.
Shawna Ervin-Gore: How has the concept of developing products for a comic-book publisher changed since you first began working at Dark Horse?
David Scroggy: It has not changed so much as grown. When we started the product development department three years ago, we intended to bring forward a line of fun and collectible merchandise items related to comic books, science fiction and popular culture.
We have tried a number of new (at least for Dark Horse) items such as lunch boxes, action figures, statues and the like. We have continued with the ones that seem to have worked, and are going forward into new areas all the time.
It has gotten busier, as the number of projects has doubled this year compared to last year, but the concept is still the same -- offer a line of merchandise that is as diversified as our publishing program, yet, like publishing, bound together by a common thread of high quality and strong entertainment value.
SE-G: And how long have you been working with Dark Horse?
DS: I started a Dark Horse September 15, 1993. Before that, I have worked in the comics business since 1975 and have been, at one time or another, a retailer, distributor, editor, publisher, columnist, art agent and trade show organizer. Can't hold a steady job, I guess...
SE-G: After spending seven years with one company, and so long before that exploring the rest of the industry, I'm guessing you might have a good idea of why things work the way they do. What do you think has changed in these last few years, either about the market or our company, that has helped Dark Horse's approach to developing product evolve as much as it has?
DS: It is no secret that the comics publishing industry has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Sales figures in publishing continue to be soft across the board for all publishers, yet we are seeing some of the best comics ever these days.
The clever retailers are re-inventing their stores, and the product mix is changing to include a lot more merchandise items than we have seen in the past.
Dark Horse, along with other progressive publishers, has similarly re-invented itself with a greater diversification of products offered, and a growing number of new venues where these items are presented to the public.
SE-G: So, where does that find the product line of Dark Horse?
DS: With a successful and continuous offering of cool stuff and an ever-increasing number of places to buy them.
SE-G: Certainly one of the more successful projects you've introduced in the last year has been the line of metal lunchboxes. They've been a huge hit over the last eight months or so...Now that we've got Sin City, Hellboy...
DS: ...Groo, Bettie Page...
SE-G: ...And Evan Dorkin's Milk and Cheese...After those first five, what's next?
DS: First, let me say that we really worked hard to get this program up and running, so we are very happy that they have been so well-received. We had to look at over 20 manufacturers before we found one who not only could manufacture us the kind of large, embossed, high-quality lunch box that we remembered from the old days, but who was willing to accept what, by tin box manufacturing standards, was a smaller customer with modest size print runs. Now that we are growing so fast in lunch boxes, the relationship has proven to be solid for everyone.
Readers of Diamond Previews may already be aware of our next three titles, which are now on order and scheduled for release in August: Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey, Masamune Shirow's Intron Depot and Jeff Smith's Bone.
We are also planning a few new titles for late November release, and you are hearing about them for the first time here. They are: Geof Darrow's The Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot, Matt Groenig's swell Futurama, a retro-style treatment of Flash Gordon using Alex Raymond's fabulous artwork and a new lunch box of R. Crumb's Devil Girl. I might mention that this lunch box marks the first time that Dark Horse has published something by the great R. Crumb, so we are kind of excited by that.
SE-G: And understandably so! Let's talk about another area Dark Horse has been making great strides in -- statues and action figures. Now that the long-awaited Bettie Page action figure has been released, what do we have to look forward to, say, by the end of this year?
DS: We are "bullish on Bettie," as you might say. Dark Horse Comics has a long history with Bettie Page. We have done a number of projects centered on this timeless beauty. Dark Horse, unlike some others, has always officially licensed Bettie's image for our projects and has always paid her royalties. So we enjoy a strong support from Bettie and her agents.
We have some really spectacular Bettie Page items on tap for the end of the year. First off, we are really stoked about the Bettie Page Dress-Up magnet set. This is a magnet set inspired by the dress-up magnets like Michelangelo's "David" or Boticcelli's "Venus" -- you know, where there is a master figure and several outfits that can be mixed and matched. Kind of like a modern paper doll set, although you can stick it on your refrigerator or wherever.
We got the best Bettie Page artist of all, Dave Stevens, to create all-new artwork, and did he ever score a home run! Fully painted, the outfits and images are one of the best interpretations of Bettie that Dave has ever come up with.
We are also planning a new series of Bettie Page Zippo lighters. These will utilize licensed black-and-white photos by Bunny Yeager, which have been infused with color by the Dark Horse production and design team. The effect is a nice, 1950s sort of look.
Zippo has recently developed a new process where photography can now be applied to the surface of a lighter, which is something that they could not really do in the past. These Bettie Page lighters will be one of the first U.S. releases using the process. Each lighter will come packaged in a tin container, which is enclosed by a color sleeve that depicts the Yeager photo.
That's not all, though. We are also creating a Bettie Page holiday ornament. It is sculpted by fine art sculptor A. Wasil, who is winning national acclaim for his life-size, realistic bronzes. We convinced him to turn his talents to something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and the results are amazing. While this is being offered as a Christmas ornament, the pose is not seasonal-specific, and we suspect that this 4 1/2" figurine will find a place on collector's bookshelves all year around.
Lastly, we do intend to continue with a new Bettie Page figure, again sculpted by Steve Kiwus. This time Bettie will be in her glamour model persona, in a photo studio type of environment. We do not expect to see this until first quarter 2001, however, given the long manufacturing and design lead time required by action figures.
SE-G: Well, I guess that covers (or uncovers!) Bettie Page. Anything else in the way of statues or action figures?
DS: Although it has already been announced, we are very happy with the way "Requiem", our second statue based on Masamune Shirow's Intron Depot, is shaping up. It is one of our most ambitious sculptures. Sam Greenwell of Acornboy Studios, who sculpted the successful "Morning Star" statue in the Shirow series, returns again with this depiction of a winged fantasy female in a post-apocalyptic environment. We turned to Japan for the creation of the painted version, engaging Mr.Tsuyoshi Maeda. Best known for his work for Kotobukiya Toys, he is a true master and captured all of the subtle nuances of Shirow's color perfectly. This statue is due in September.
Other statues in progress include one of Monkeybone, who is the title character from a major film release from 20th Century Fox slated for December. Directed by Henry Sellick (James and the Giant Peach, Nightmare Before Christmas) this new movie combines stop-motion animation with live actors (such as Brendan Frazer and Bridget Fonda) in a downright strange and unique environment called "downtown." In the film, Brendan Frazer is a cartoonist and Monkeybone is his creation- come to life in all his mischievous-ness. Product development manager Christopher Beeson has worked closely with Henry Sellick and the Fox team to ensure that our statue, out in December, is as authentic as can be. He has visited the production studio in San Francisco in this effort, as well as the Fox archives and sound stages in Los Angeles. A second Monkeybone statue is also in the works.
We have also secured the rights to make a statue and probably some action figures also of two of our absolute favorites from the world of manga -- Rally and Minnie Mae, who are better known as the Gunsmith Cats. Not scheduled for release just yet, the work is underway at Sam Greenwell's studio. As with all of our manga items, we are working directly with the Japanese creator, in this case Mr. Kenichi Sonoda, for approvals and advice. On this job, which will feature both characters on a single statue, we also engaged none other that Adam Warren to refine Greenwell's pose in pencil drawings and to consult us on details of the costumes and other points.
SE-G: Speaking of those manga babes, there's talk of Dark Horse developing a line of girl-friendly t-shirts...Fact or fiction?
DS: Unknown. We have always wanted to expand our apparel offerings ó for women AND men. The challenge for us has often been finding adequate distribution channels in this area, and if we succeed in opening a few doors into this market, the products will follow! Stay tuned to DHC for more news in this area soon.
One thing I can say, however, is that we are not approaching merchandise as a "boy's club." I think Dark Horse enjoys a strong female readership in our comics line, with all of the manga titles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and even the Star Wars titles. We consider this when developing merchandise. It's funny -- feedback we get from some retailers indicates that even an item like Bettie Page lunch box, which might seem like a "guy thing" at first glance, is largely being purchased by females. So more "girl-friendly" projects are afoot, and t-shirts, baby tees and junior wear may well be among them.
SE-G: Before we wrap up, what would be your dream project to bring to Dark Horse?
DS: There are really quite a few, some obvious and some less so. I have the benefit of long time in this business and a broad resume during that time. That means that there are many dream projects out there for me personally.
One thing that is happening now is something of a dream project, in that it could help to continue to unify the U.S. and Japanese fan base.
As some readers may know, Mike Mignola's Hellboy is now being published in Japan by an imprint of Shogakukan, a leading publisher. It has been decided to create a manga story of Hellboy using a Japanese creative talent. While still in an early stage, the project is moving forward.
So, we decided to collaborate with a Japanese toy maker to develop a 12" soft vinyl figure of Hellboy, to be sculpted by Japanese sculptor based in part on the new manga style and in part on Mike Mignola'straditional version. The figure, scheduled for release in March 2001, will be "co-branded" (with Kotobukiya Toys) and will be presented simultaneously to the Japanese and U.S. and European markets. Shogakukan will join in with cross-promotions and a special insert.
This is exciting for me since it is a personal dream to see the world of comics beginning to ignore the imaginary (to me, at least) national borderlines and to simply recognize quality and outstanding material regardless of its country of origin. It is satisfying to be a small part of this process.
Stay tuned to the Dark Horse section in each issue of Diamond Previews for monthly updates on new merchandise and goodies from the product development team of Dark Horse Comics.