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Invincible Minimates


Pete

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I just want Hellboy and his associates back in a major line of any sort, I missed out on the Mezco line, and I've been waiting for something of the same quality to take that spot since then.

I have been hoping to see a line of independent comic 'mates for a long time, I feel like DST dipped their toe in at one point, but they didn't swing for the fences.

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To swing somebody has to throw you the ball first. If comic shops and online toy stores aren't willing to order there's not a whole lot DST can do. And as much as I'd like Hellboy 'mates or a few other minor properties I can certainly understand being hesitant to order product that you aren't sure you can sell.

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To swing somebody has to throw you the ball first. If comic shops and online toy stores aren't willing to order there's not a whole lot DST can do. And as much as I'd like Hellboy 'mates or a few other minor properties I can certainly understand being hesitant to order product that you aren't sure you can sell.

I was referring to the fact that the Indy 'mates they released were all female characters, some of whom I wasn't familiar with after years of reading comics and Wizard subscriptions. Why not include male and female characters and have your pick of the best characters you can get? We frequently are told "female characters don't sell as well" in mainstream toy lines, so why not follow that same advice in this case?

Edited by Valo487
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Well, yeah, I never understood those either, but I'd be surprised if the sales of those particular figures were a major factor in avoiding some other properties. Invincible almost certainly was, though I can see DST thinking differently about independent characters if Valiant sales end up decent.

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It was my understanding that Invincible came withe the overall Skybound deal that included The Walking Dead and Thief of Thieves. That would explain those 'mates.

Valiant, though... that seems to be Minimates only for now. Then again, DST launched Lost in Space with a couple Minimates 2-packs before they got around to offering bottle openers and the electronic Robot.

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Now that DST is making a Cassie Hack from HACK/SLASH (thank you thank you thank you!) Cassie and Vlad would make a nice stand alone 2 pack!

I'd love more indy comics minimates, and can't wait for more Valiant mates.

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Honestly, at this point I don't know what the future for non-Marvel and DC comics Minimates (or figures in general) is. I thought that Invincible would sell well to comics shops, but I was obviously wrong. I suspect that the Valiant set will not be a strong seller, though I hope I'm wrong. Walking Dead was a big hit out of the gate, but sales certainly seem to have slowed down.

I think that part of the problem is that Chuck isn't great at identifying what are the hot comics properties. Right now, the stuff that really seems to get people talking is the Image creator owned stuff, and I suspect we're not going to see any sets from there any time soon. And that's a shame, because I think there are plenty of properties there (Saga, East of West, and Rat Queens off the top of my head) that would probably do really well and make for eye-catching figures.

DST has made some... odd choices when it comes to comics 'mates. Grimm's Fairy Tales is baffling, but even that pales in comparison to freakin' Tarot. I assume that a lot of these decisions are based on opportunity, and I'm sure that DST would do Hellboy in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose. Remember, it makes little sense to pick up a license for just Minimates, and there's a lot of other Hellboy stuff out there. But hope springs eternal....

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I'm not sure you can draw a straight line from hot comic property to successful minimate (or other action figure) property. Walking Dead was a popular comic, but no one was risking putting out merchandise until the show was massively successful. Even if you're selling 55,000 copies of each issue you probably still need to be another order of magnitude more popular to be a safe bet for figures.

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I think there's also something to be said for the versatility of Walking Dead 'mates, even if you have no interest in the comic or the show, you might want to buy the zombies to use with your other characters or just to go with a horror movie display.

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To echo Valo's sentiment...

I'm pretty strictly a Marvel collector with a few exceptions (like the entire wave two of TMNT) but I DO look for customizing fodder. The problem? Something like SpongeBob is a bit TOO specific in its look while something like Gotham is a bit TOO generic (presumably). Despite my initial disinterest, the Grimm set actually offers a lit of REALLY useful pieces to part out to other Mates by walking that fine line of "visually distinct but universally applicable."

In other words, some sets will offer broader appeal to everyone while some will only sell to that property's fans

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I think this line should have been rolled out the same way that Thundercats was. Small, limited run but pushing to cover the major characters in the first 4 box sets. I just don't understand how a line based on a comic that's been around since 2003 didn't have the legs to keep going. Maybe I'm overestimating the popularity of the comic or the cross-over potential between Invincible fans and Minimate collectors. But it seems to me that this line filled a void in Invincible merchandise. Anyway, I'm hopeful we still see more box sets but at this point I'm doubtful.

Zach, out of curiosity, how many box sets were produced? 3000?

NOT 3000 no.gif

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Honestly, at this point I don't know what the future for non-Marvel and DC comics Minimates (or figures in general) is. I thought that Invincible would sell well to comics shops, but I was obviously wrong. I suspect that the Valiant set will not be a strong seller, though I hope I'm wrong. Walking Dead was a big hit out of the gate, but sales certainly seem to have slowed down.

I think that part of the problem is that Chuck isn't great at identifying what are the hot comics properties. Right now, the stuff that really seems to get people talking is the Image creator owned stuff, and I suspect we're not going to see any sets from there any time soon. And that's a shame, because I think there are plenty of properties there (Saga, East of West, and Rat Queens off the top of my head) that would probably do really well and make for eye-catching figures.

DST has made some... odd choices when it comes to comics 'mates. Grimm's Fairy Tales is baffling, but even that pales in comparison to freakin' Tarot. I assume that a lot of these decisions are based on opportunity, and I'm sure that DST would do Hellboy in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose. Remember, it makes little sense to pick up a license for just Minimates, and there's a lot of other Hellboy stuff out there. But hope springs eternal....

HP, our sister company (and distributor) is the number-one distributor of English-language comics in the world. Chuck knows what the hot comics are, and 91 of them are Marvel and DC titles. Only 9 of the top 100 comics for February are non-Big-Two, and one is IDW's Orphan Black, a TV show comic which Lootcrate ordered in bulk. One of the 8 remaining Image titles is The Walking Dead, and another is Spawn -- a big question mark as far as licensing goes.

Most of the remaining Image titles are in the single-digits; East of West is only up to issue 12. I love independent, creator-owned comics, but just because issue 1 or 3 of a hot new title is in the top 100 doesn't mean it's going to be an active, ongoing series with a consistent readership 10-12 months down the road -- which is when product would hit after the dealmaking, product development, solicitation and manufacturing would take place. The relaunched Valiant has been around for a while now. Grimm's main book is past issue 100, and has been a consistent seller. Tarot is up there, but we were also working on Femme Fatales of them, as we have with other titles.

If we're working with a company on a license, it's because we have data on the level of their success at comic shops, we see merchandise potential in the world, and they're interested. Valiant and Zenescope are both established universes, like Marvel and DC, with multiple titles that have starring characters -- they have an interest in making merch happen. And a shared universe means crossover appeal (literally, based on crossovers) to readers and collectors who may only follow a part of that universe -- the potential audience is the sum total of all of their title's sales. Each Image title is a standalone story-wise, as well as licensing-wise, except in the rare cases that a creator has TWO hot comics; even then, getting toys may not be their top priority.

In the end, current readership is secondary, I think, to longevity. Think about how many Marvel Minimates collectors on this board have absolutely no idea what is going on in current Marvel comics. The Marvel toy collector base is fueled as much by ingrained/nostalgic love for the group of characters as it is by actual current readership.

I mean, Saga is amazing, and is up to issue 25, but part of the appeal of that book is that it defies easy merchandising; the status quo

is constantly changing, and the characters fit into no established archetypes. Grimm's Fairy Tales and Valiant Comics are established groups of mythical and superhero characters, with a fairly consistent appearance.

Finally, I think there are simply you have to look at the ultimate sales potential -- TRU took Valiant, but would they carry toys called "Bitch Planet" or "Sex Criminals"? As good as they are, these were not books created with mass-market merchandising in mind. biggrin.png

I think this line should have been rolled out the same way that Thundercats was. Small, limited run but pushing to cover the major characters in the first 4 box sets. I just don't understand how a line based on a comic that's been around since 2003 didn't have the legs to keep going. Maybe I'm overestimating the popularity of the comic or the cross-over potential between Invincible fans and Minimate collectors. But it seems to me that this line filled a void in Invincible merchandise. Anyway, I'm hopeful we still see more box sets but at this point I'm doubtful.

Zach, out of curiosity, how many box sets were produced? 3000?

NOT 3000 no.gif

BHM, I think you are getting most of your info on production runs by doing math on the "box 16 of 134" on the side of your shipping cartons, right? Sometimes, there are multiple batches of a set/series, and multiple shipments to different retail groups, so those numbers may not represent the total production run. Just FYI.

Edited by DSTZach
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Zach ....your comments on 'case numbers' are noted & accepted . How could I possibly argue ?

Over the years..........in the absence of any Minimate production numbers from official sources I have merely corellated what I read ,what I hear & what I see & then decide for myself on potential scarcity/rarity . My system ,although flawed,works well for me & I believe that, within reason, I'm not far off in my calculations. The system involves a bit more than reading case numbers because ,as you know, ....TRU does not number its cases .

Bottom line is that I have no agenda just an opinion...............in my opinion The Invincibles box set was produced in numbers of less than 3000 sets...... a lot less . It seems I might be wrong.....never mind.

Edited by buttheadsmate
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  • 1 year later...

Thank God.  It's become a chore for me to read.  I usually bail on something once I stop enjoying it, but Invincible has somehow become the exception.  I guess I want to know where it goes despite myself. Anyway, I'll just be glad to be done with Kirkman forever.

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  • 7 months later...

I don't see a lot of Seth Rogan-brand humor in the Preacher TV show, so I'm not worried about the vibe here just based on his name being attached.  As always, fingers crossed, but not holding my breath!

Also, did get the Skybound Shop exclusive Invincible figure, didn't care for it.  Too small for my collection and seems brittle.

Edited by JeffBohn
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16 hours ago, JeffBohn said:

 Also, did get the Skybound Shop exclusive Invincible figure, didn't care for it.  Too small for my collection and seems brittle.

 

Yeah, I wonder how that 5-inch universe is working for Todd. He's so counter-culture! :glare:

 

Seriously, if that had been a 1:12 or 1:18 scale figure, I might have bought one but I stopped collecting 5-inch figures when Playmates stopped making Star Trek figures back in the 20th century. At least Walking Dead collectors have an Invincible figure they can add to their shelves.

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