Soon, Dark Horse was producing everything from action figures and full lines of statues to metal lunchboxes, stickers, and PVC figure sets. This was a banner year for Dark Horse's hard working product development team, and the three-person super staff that keeps the whole fun factory rolling is gearing up to make 2002 just as exciting for fans and collectors.
To give our readers a look ahead at the year to come (and conveniently, just in time for the holidays!) we sent a reporter to chat with the mastermind behind the Dark Horse fun factory, Vice President of Product Development, David Scroggy. Here's a quick look at where the product program has been, what's been learned, and what's to come in the new year!
Shawna Ervin-Gore: Before we get into the specifics of what's coming from Dark Horse in terms of merchandise in 2002, it seems that the company has virtually exploded in terms of product output in the last few years. When did the upswing start and what do you think is the reason for the increased interest in Dark Horse product?
David Scroggy: We have always tried to make a few ancillary items based on the
publications. Dark Horse thinks of itself as a total entertainment company,
so it seemed natural to branch out into all kinds of cool stuff, not just
books and comics. As the program grew, it kind of took on a life of its
own, and since people have supported the different items we have continued
to go crazy with them.
SE-G: In the last year or so, you've introduced some new and very exciting merchandise for comics and pop-culture fans. Is there any one product line or category that stands out in your mind as being the most successful?
DS: Quite a few of the lines are successful in their own way, which iswhy we continue them. For example, the Zippo® lighter program has been ongoing for over five years now. Perhaps a personal favorite has been the Classic Comic Characters series, which is now up to its thirtieth release. This is the series of stauettes of famous newspaper comic strip characters like Dick Tracy and >Alley Oop. They are numbered limited editions packaged in a custom litho-printed tin box. We are very proud of them.
SE-G: Two-thousand one was a banner year in terms of some of the licenses Dark Horse was able to wrangle for merchandise production, with Futurama, The Simpsons, and some notable HBO properties weighing in as heavy hitters. Do you have plans to continue with these licensors in the futures, and are any new projects of similar broad appeal looming on the horizon?
DS: Working with Matt Groening's team on Futurama has been inspiring. They are so creative and funny... it's like having an extension of the creative nutballs one finds roaming the halls of Dark Horse. We are bringing out a "squishee" toy of a character called "The Horrible Gelatinous Blob" that is a riot, and I hope everyone is going to pick up the Futurama Paper Doll Book. It's a hoot!
One of the licensing areas we hope to expand on next year is the manga-based properties. We have action figures and statues of both Gunsmith Cats and The Dirty Pair coming out early next year, as well as a number of merchandise items based on properties like Oh My Goddess, Blade of the Immortal and Lone Wolf and Cub.
We are making a new lunch box of a cult favorite media property -- the British super-marionette show The Thunderbirds! This is new to us, but hopefully there will be more in the future.
We are also planning a few things based upon Joss Whedon's smash hit comic series, Fray.
SE-G: One of your biggest hits of the past year was the Hellboy PVC figure set, based on sales and how enthusiastically everyone responded to seeing it at the various conventions. After last year's Beetle Bailey collector's set, this was only Dark Horse's second attempt at creating PVC sets, and it seemed to prove very successful. Do you see the PVC figure market as a growing area for Dark Horse merchandise and comics-related toys in general? And are the any plans for new PVC sets in 2002?
DS: We are really having some fun with these. We have enjoyed making the sets, and it seems like stores and customers like them, too. We will do several new sets next year. The first ones you will see will be Sergio Aragonés' Groo as well as one of the all-time favorite cartoon characters, Popeye. There are others in the works, but those will lead off the 2002 program. -
SE-G: Clearly one of the most outstanding lines of merchandise Dark Horse produces is the Bettie Page products. For Bettie's fans, can you briefly describe how Dark Horse came to work with this living legend, and if you have plans for more Bettie merchandise?
DS: It has been exciting to work with Bettie Page. Although we haven't met her in person, we know that she looks at everything we do and personally approves it all. We are also happy to say that we have always officially licensed every item. Bettie has been ripped off plenty over the years, but never by us.
Our Bettie Page program has been a hit, and we aren't stopping now. We got famous Bettie Page photographer Bunny Yeager to comb her archives, and have unearthed a delightful series of color photos, seldom or never seen, of Bettie frolicking at a 1950's amusement park. We are applying these images to a brand new lunch box, a brand new coaster set, stickers and t-shirts.
We are also creating something fun for summertime -- a full-size, full-color Bettie Page beach towel.
SE-G: Speaking of sexy ladies, you've also been working with the renowned pin-up artist Olivia in creating officially licensed merchandise based on her art. How has the line been received? Is there a healthy market for pin-up-related products now?
DS: Olivia De Berardinis is one of those special talents that transcends genre art, in this case pin-ups, and becomes an important contemporary artist period. Her paintings sell for many thousands of dollars and rightfully so. Olivia is very judicious about awarding licenses for merchandise. She could have a lot more licensed product out there if she chose to, but would rather maintain high quality on fewer items. We are very gratified that she has allowed us to create a few items based on her work.
There has always been a healthy market for glamour and pin-up art, and I expect there always will be. At the same time, I do not see this area becoming Dark Horse's primary focus.
SE-G: Finally, one of the more prolific and buzz-generating product lines Dark Horse has developed is the Classic Comics Characters line of collectible statues. Is this series finite, or will you continue to add new licenses to the program as they become available? Any new ones lined up for next year that you can share with us?
DS: As I mentioned earlier, this series has been a personal favorite. Sculptor/designers Yoe! Studios are doing a great job. While we do not plan to end this series anytime soon, we do have tentative plans for some"spin-off" series utilizing the same basic package but different types of subject matter.
I'll have to let you guess as to what that might be, but I can share some of the upcoming releases in the Classic Comic Characters line. We will add to the Li'l Abner group with The Shmoo, bring out one of the favorite duos of many comic collectors with Little Lulu and Tubby. And we have secured rights to create a statuette of one of the true greats of not only comic strips, but popular culture generally with Tarzan! So the parade marches
on...
The product parade starts in 2002 with the January release of the Futurama Horrible Gelatinous Blob squishy, an all-new set of Bettie Page stickers, the Dirty Pair statue, and tons of other great merchandise. Stay tuned to the Dark Horse website for monthly updates on the coolest comics merchandise on earth.