hellpop

I've never bothered with best offers. Just seems like a waste of time.

I came very close to buying a couple during the TRU closing (Superman and the Joker) but I put 'em back for much the same reason. However, if I saw that great Bronze Age Batman for a price like that I don't think I could resist.

Always been a little weird to me that they've never made this team. I mean, none of these guys are A-list X-characters, but then neither is anyone in X-Force (no, not Cable), or the New Mutants, or Excalibur. DST loves this era, so I still think eventually it will happen.

I've long thought that one of DST's biggest blindspots is in identifying properties that have remained prominent in geek culture after their peak. Sometimes they get it right (NBX, Ghostbusters) and sometimes they don't (View Askew, Kill Bill). X-Files was a worthy attempt but ultimately not something that has a whole lot of cultural cachet any more (just look at how quietly the last two tv miniseasons came and went). Buffy still does; the fan community is still very active, merch still sells, and you still see Buffy cosplayers. To be fair, it's not like DST can just pick and choose what to make and not what to make. But I've seen Chuck dismiss things like Buffy, and Firefly, and Harry freaking Potter as being "past their time", which is just kinda nuts. I dunno, this stuff is hard and when you are small you don't have the wiggle room to miss quite like, say, Funko. Of course, this is all more or less my own opinion. I would have thought Muppets and Spongebob would have been big hits, and they clearly were not. And I never would have thought they'd get anywhere near as much milage out of Predator as they have. I was right about View Askew though!

Galactus and the mini-Silver Surfer FTW.

Buffy has a deeper lineup of characters though. Beyond Mulder and Scully, who is there that you really want? Plus Buffy still seems to sell merch. Not saying it's a slam dunk, but I don't think X-Files is a great comp.

So DST's Twitter feed posted something I found interesting: Random, right? What makes this interesting to me is that Zach mentioned that DST had reacquired a license recently, and I wonder if it might be Buffy. I've never been a fan myself, but it obviously has a still-devoted fanbase (plus a reboot in the works) and DST would be smart to get back into the Buffy business. I know they didn't do Minimates before, but I definitely think they'd be a strong seller now.

Yeah, it would make a lot of sense, and I'm sure DST could make a bunch or other products (pint glasses, signs, statues) that would sell. It seems to me that, usually, they have a deal with a production company or studio for a whole bunch of films; for example, Desperately Seeking Susan was one of several films covered by a blanket license. The Kevin Smith and Tarentino sets weren't just for one movie, but a bunch. Anyway, I'm not sure how it works with the Coens, and if they could do a similar deal. But in addition to Lebowski, Fargo would seem like another logical property. And I personally would be thrilled with Hudsucker Proxy and Miller's Crossing Minimates.

Somehow I totally missed this! Oh well.

I had a feeling you might be looking to get rid of some of those Turtles skateboards....

It would be a really good license for DST. Lots of things they can make, and with Warners pushing those characters a bit through DC and Boomerang, they might be interested. For Minimates, it's a huge library of recognizable characters that could produce several strong waves.

That's the one! I like those bracelets for the quantum bands too.

Apropos of nothing, but I'd be down for Hanna-Barbara Minimates.

Did you ever get home, Zach?

I bit the bullet too. Having all the DC animated shows in one place was too great a temptation, and I probably will want to buy the JLU figures. Not watching Titans though.