Rue Morgue has generously allowed us to run the original interview in its entirety on our web site. We thank them. Mary-Beth Hollyer writing from Rue Morgue Magazine.
Mary-Beth Hollyer - What motivated Dark Horse to pursue a line of toys based on Burton's book?
David Scroggy - We thought the characters were very original, and we felt an affinity for them. We thought they would translate well into merchandise. We're all big Tim Burton fans, and we thought we could really get behind the program and do a good job.
MBH - Dark Horse is traditionally a comic book company. Is this venture the beginning of a greater expansion into other products?
DS - Actually, we have been expanding into merchandise for about six years. While publishing remains the major focus of our business, we have been increasing the number of projects and types of merchandise for awhile. It now accounts for over 20% of our business. If you review our web site, you will find we are creating everything from lunch boxes to action figures, t-shirts to Zippo® lighters. As this program has grown, so has the number and type of retailers who carry it- not just comic shops.
Consequently, the variety of subjects is not limited to comic book material. We've done programs using modern, hip illustrators (stationery and journals), pop culture icons like Bettie Page, film and television shows, vintage comic strips and a lot more. Of course we do not ignore our own comics for source material, so you will find plenty of Hellboy and Sock Monkey merchandise, but we are not limited to any one genre.
The merchandise program is one of the fastest-growing parts of our company.
MBH - Whose idea was it to pursue a line of Burton-inspired toys? Who approached whom? I'm looking for a bit of the history on the deal.
DS - Our sales and licensing V.P., Anita Nelson, saw the book at the Frankfurt Book Fair and was enchanted. She brought it back to Dark Horse and championed the project. She distributed copies to product development, the art department and the executive team. Everyone agreed that this was hot stuff.
We then approached Tim Burton through his agents. We sent a proposal outlining what we wanted to do, and sent a giant package of samples of different kinds of things we had made. Tim liked them, so the agents called back and set up a meeting between me and Tim in London. The first night, we met at a big comic book/ pop culture shop there after closing and looked a bunch of toys and things, then the next day had a more substantive meeting to discuss all sorts of details. I guess he was happy with the way things went, so we began to work out the parameters of a deal with his agents. At that point Anita Nelson took the lead on the business side. On the creative side, our product development department and design department brainstormed a number of kinds of projects, making big lists of stuff. These were presented to Tim for review, and we decided on some definite ones and some that we would like to do, but are so challenging we're not sure if they are possible.
An agreement was reached defining the financial and other aspects and goals, so we began to move forward.
MBH - Could you give me details about Burton's input on this project?
DS - It is extensive, to say the least. One of the reasons that Dark Horse wound up with this program is that we clearly understood that we are here to achieve Tim Burton's personal vision for each character. Rather than shoehorn the characters into some existing product line, we are developing items appropriate for the unique characteristics and personality of each character. So, for example, you could see a squishy toy next to a metal toy next to a fabric doll. Whatever that character "wants" to be is the direction we will take.
Tim is very hands-on with all aspects of our program. These characters are like his little children and he treats them that way. At the same time, he is very professional.
One of the first things we did in developing the line was to sculpt all of the characters in three dimensions. We engaged the fabulous talents at Gentle Giant Studios in Burbank to do the sculpting. Tim attended several meetings to observe the work in progress and direct whatever revisions were called for. Then when everything was sculpted to his satisfaction, he took the maquettes and hand-painted them himself. He did a great job and it really gave us the Burton "look" in the subtle area of color reference.
He approves every graphic, every ad, every project at each of it's key milestones. So he is not only involved, he's directing the entire program.
MBH - I understand that there will be toys. What other types of merchandise will Dark Horse be producing surrounding the Burton book?
DS - We are planning pvc figures in three-pack boxed sets, t-shirts, ornaments, lunch boxes, stationery, journals and stickers to name just a few.
All art will either be selected by Tim Burton from existing pieces or created by him for that specific project. As we move forward, other unique items will appear.
MBH - This is a vague question, but is there anything that is particularly unusual or different about these products?
DS - Besides the characters themselves? I mean, it's kind of unusual to be making a little figure of a character called "Boy With Nails In His Eyes", isn't it? I doubt we'll be seeing that one in Toys R Us anytime soon.
But seriously, there are several challenging and unusual aspects in creating the merchandise. Most of the characters were never designed to be three-dimensional items. They have big giant heads and skinny little bodies and legs. So when you go to create one as a real object you're challenged by the need to make it able to stand up with sufficient support.
Another example might be the forthcoming squishy toy of Toxic Boy. To make this we had to make the bottom part of the soft vinyl character's material opaque, and filled that part with sand. This supports the figure while maintaining the correct shape. Then the upper half is a translucent version of the same material filled with a swirly gel like a splatz ball. His face is painted over that. To make his little hairs correctly, they were created by an injected plastic process and adhered to the soft vinyl. Additional support devices were concealed into the neck structure.
So I guess they are unusual in the sense that in some cases we're doing things that have never been done before.
MBH - Which characters has Dark Horse chosen to reproduce as toys/merchandise?
DS - Here are Tim's picks for the PVC packs:
Pack #1 with Stain Boy, Robot Boy, The Girl with Many Eyes
Pack#2 with Toxic Boy, Mummy Boy, Jimmy the Hideous Penguin Boy
Pack #3 with Oyster Boy, The Boy with Nails in His Eyes, Junk Girl
MBH - Will the text from the original book be integrated into the packaging and/or toys/merchandise?
DS - A little bit if appropriate but not very much. We will be referring people to the HarperCollins book on the packaging, however. So the merchandise will support the publishing and hopefully help to make a wider audience aware of the book.
MBH - What materials will be used to produce the toys (ex. plastic or cloth)?
DS - It will vary. As mentioned above, the unique aspects of the various characters will help to dictate things like materials.
MBH - Will the toys come with accessories? For instance, the possibilities for Toxic Boy, as far as accessories go, seem endless.
DS - We'd like to have some fun with them where it makes sense, but Tim Burton will have the most to say about that. We're not free to just make stuff up and place it with the characters. We could probably present some ideas to him, or better yet ask if he could make something up, but for right now the characters will be pretty much as defined in the book and additional art we have received.
They are not action figures, per se, so the accessories are less appropriate the formats we are bringing forward.
MBH - Do you have any idea of how much the toys/merchandise will retail for? Please specify US or Canadian dollars.
DS - The pvc sets will each be U.S. $14.99, our t-shirts run U.S. $17.95, there is also a special long-sleeve shirt design at $24.99, lunch box target price is U.S. $14.99, Toxic Boy squishy toy is U.S. $9.99, stationery sets are U.S. $4.99.
MBH - Where will the products be sold?
DS - You will not be seeing them in mass market outlets. You will hopefully be seeing them in places like comic shops, independent gift and pop culture stores, specialty retailers like Hot Topic, Tower Records, Musicland, Virgin Megastores, etc. Various e-commerce sites will have them, including our affliated retail site at TFAW.com
MBH - I'm assuming that these products will be marketed to adults, right?
DS - Yes.
MBH - Has a specific release date been set? The press release said Autumn 2003.
DS - We'll see the pvc sets in August and September, some t-shirts in August; other releases are aimed at fourth quarter.
MBH - Do you foresee an expansion of the product line in the future?
DS - We certainly hope so. We have lots of interesting ideas.
MBH - What's your favourite character and toy?
DS - Of the Burton line? It's hard to pick just one. They're all pretty nifty.
MBH - Do you know where the original flash animations of these figures originated? Do you have anymore info on the evolution of the characters and Tim Burton himself?
DS - I have seen the Flash animation of these characters on AtomFilms.com and I enjoyed it!
I couldn't really speak about the "evolution of Tim Burton" other than as one of his many fans. I don't have any special insight- just loads of admiration and thanks for trusting our team with these characters.