We have an exciting slate of new releases on tap, and what better venue than Toy Fair to provide a sneak peek to the trade and, by extension, you. As we fearlessly approached the Vaderesque black glass facility known as Jacob Javits Center, we slid into our exhibit space, rolled up our sleeves, and set up our prototypes..
First of all, we were able to share an advance look at the upcoming Series 2 of our wildly popular Domo Qee “mystery box” toys, created in collaboration with Hong Kong–based company Toy2R and Japan’s NHK television. Project manager Chris Gaslin gave attendees the rare opportunity to view the complete set, which otherwise would involve purchasing and opening many a box. Aren’t you glad we made Chris do this for you? It only took a couple of weeks, but he eventually found them all!
This release has just arrived on our shores and is slated to hit store shelves at the end of March, which should be pretty soon after you read this. We couldn’t be more excited, and to celebrate, we flew over a few display boxes from China to share with buyers and other visitors. Some of these recipients were our exhibit-hall neighbors, the outstanding Japanese company Jun Planning. Known worldwide for their high-end, elaborately costumed dolls, it turns out they are big Domo fans as well. We were amused to see that one of our “rainy” design Domo Qees was outfitted in a new hat, appropriated from one of their doll prototypes.
In addition to the regular “mystery box” designs, we’d like to share that Dark Horse is also planning a special release of a Hawaiian-print variant. This limited-edition pressing will be offered in three unique color ways, each sold exclusively at a pop-culture event. The first, pictured here, is an exclusive for the upcoming C2E2 event in Chicago, April 16–18. Here is a sneak peek. There will be other show exclusives later this year at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July, and at New York Comic Con in October.
Besides Domo, we were able to present the first look at several forthcoming collectibles that have us pretty excited. The first one I’d like to highlight is our Bettie Page statue, which is based on an illustration of Bettie by the late Dave Stevens, who, besides creating the Rocketeer, is well remembered for his long personal and artistic relationship with Bettie. In honoring Dave’s interpretation of the 1950s glamour icon, we felt a sense of responsibility to get it right. Hopefully we have succeeded.
We engaged one of the giants of the sculpting world for this job -- Kent Melton. Besides being one of the most in-demand talents for the film industry, with clients like Disney, Pixar, and Laika, Kent was a longtime friend and collaborator with Dave Stevens. They always intended to do a Bettie Page piece, but Stevens had wanted to do new art for the project. Since this was no longer possible, we reviewed Dave’s considerable body of work to select a piece of art that would make a good sculpture while also conveying the special Dave Stevens nuance and lush line work he brought to Bettie. We also licensed the rights from not only Bettie’s estate, but Stevens’s as well, so we honor them both with this effort.
About creating the piece, Kent Melton remarked, “Dave and I talked frequently about how female anatomy should work in sculpture. When I started to sculpt, it felt almost as if Dave were there guiding me. The piece came together quickly, almost as if we’d rehearsed it over the years.”
The hand-painted sculpture, which will be a numbered limited edition (quantity still to be determined), stands approximately thirteen inches from base to top. Prepainted and packaged in deluxe packaging, it also includes an oversize certificate of authenticity reproducing the Dave Stevens illustration that inspired it.
The statue is the centerpiece of a refreshed Dark Horse Bettie Page program, which also includes a new journal, stationery, and note cards, a “strip tease” floaty pen, Bettie-themed giftware from our friends at Retro-a-go-go, and other fun stuff. We just love our pal Bettie, and hope to be a part of her ongoing celebration for a long time.
We also revealed several new and exciting merchandise items at Toy Fair, which you’ll be reading more about in the months ahead. Among the highlights were a limited-edition pocket watch and statue inspired by Gabriel Bá and Gerard Way’s award-winning The Umbrella Academy comic. The set includes a high-quality timepiece, a limited statuette of the 00.05 character (“the Boy”), and a high-end package featuring special Gabriel Bá art. With only five hundred produced for worldwide distribution, the clever collector will reserve this well in advance, as interest is high.
Other presentations included the first look at two new sets of Syroco-style statuettes -- the Peanuts characters in their original 1950 look and a second series of the sold-out Uncle Scrooge characters. The new series is inspired by specific Carl Barks cover illustrations, launching with Uncle Scrooge as depicted on the cover of “Back to the Klondike” and Donald Duck as seen on the cover of perhaps his most beloved story, “Lost in the Andes,” otherwise known as “the square egg story.” Our collaborators at Yoe! Studio outdid themselves on these. Not only did they bring their hallmark “primitive but charming” treatment to some of the greatest characters ever, but they finished the prototypes just in time for Toy Fair and drove them down for delivery to us the night before the show. Thanks, Craig and Clizia.
At the end of the week, after a post–Toy Fair visit to the Tim Burton career retrospective at MoMA, we returned to Portland tired but satisfied. Our respective sweethearts have had to learn to accept our absence on Valentine’s Day, but in doing so they allowed us to give the industry a different kind of valentine in the form of the fruits of our creative labors. While we’ll miss the New York pizza, we are happy to be back in the Northwest taking the next steps to bring these special creations to a retailer near you.