Here at Dark Horse, we are lucky to work with some of the comics medium’s most gifted creators. We are here to further their creative vision, not to get in the way of it. The same philosophy holds true when we are extending those creators’ characters into merchandise. We want to bring forward toys and collectibles that fit with the underlying property. Why not; we’re fans too!
We have a couple of upcoming items based on two award-winning comics and graphic-novel series, Usagi Yojimbo and The Umbrella Academy, and we wanted to give everyone a “peek behind the curtain” to show how developing this kind of product is a partnership with the talents who brought the comics to the printed page.
Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo has been winning accolades for over twenty years of continual publication. With everything from novel-length works to single-page gags, Sakai has proven himself a master of sequential storytelling. The series is set in seventeenth-century feudal Japan. It follows the adventures of Miyomoto Usagi, a masterless samurai. He also happens to be a rabbit.
There were two challenges we recognized: simplifying the character so it would work as a plush figure, and accurately capturing the details of costume that are Sakai’s hallmark. Stan understood and helped us immensely with original model drawings and corrections to the various prototypes. Here’s a look at the process.
We were lucky to engage a top-quality manufacturer, and the process unrolled fairly smoothly. Stan kept an eye on it all the way through, even contributing to small details like the hang-tag art. The initial order is sailing across the ocean as you read this, so look for it in your favorite shop in June.
We only want to do merchandise items for a property if they make editorial sense. We study the books, brainstorm the possibilities in house and with the creators, and try to emerge with something that feels appropriate. We want to resonate with the readers and add to the experience, not distract from it. That leads us to Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s The Umbrella Academy.
When we looked at the 00.05 character (AKA “The Boy”), we noticed his watch. We decided it would be fun to try to make it. Dark Horse isn’t in the watch business, you might say. Well, we weren’t in the umbrella business, either, but one successful item that we had to do was the Umbrella Academy umbrella. It was a hit. So why not a watch?
We researched the field and landed with one of the best manufacturers of quality timepieces. We always saw this as a very limited offering for the serious collector, so we realized that we would have to be creative when it came to details like packaging. We also felt that, since the watch was character driven, a maquette statuette of the character was the perfect companion piece. So we did it all!
Project manager Rebecca Dudeiros went through a variety of packaging solutions, arriving at a nifty hinged-lid solution that affords a handsome display. A specially illustrated sleeve encases it, and Gabriel Bá worked out custom illustrations for the exterior graphic design.Back and forth the samples went, with all phases being reviewed in Oregon, California, and Brazil. There were numerous revisions and tweaks, but the team effort between Dark Horse and the creators gave us the result we were looking for.
The watch itself is fabricated with the UA logo, and numerous details, like a metal certificate of authenticity, continue the small touches that exceed the industry standard. While only five hundred numbered watch-and-figure packages is a very limited run for worldwide distribution, we wanted the collector to have a keepsake that would (forgive me) stand the test of time.
We are grateful for the guidance we get from the creators we work with, and for their understanding of our role as well. We are in sync, and that creates an authenticity that resonates with the fans of the characters and stories. If it feels right to the creators and it feels right to us, chances are it will feel right to you. If so, we are succeeding.
--David Scroggy