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salt in the wound


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No doubt; that is shitty news. No offense to Mezco (and their extremely sloooow production), they do occasionally put out nice product, but they broke my heart when they couldn't even follow-up on their highly praised HBII 3.75" line (minus main villain) to concentrate on their current garbage. I hope these fail miserably, G. Brewer gets demoted, and DCD finally realizes their folly. They could have even exploited TRU's current interest in 'mates had they played their cards right...what a pity. :down:

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Dealbreaker!

I'm genuinely surprised that Blammoids do, and that they expect Metzits to make more for them than Minimates would.

Guess my love of the critters makes me over-estimate how they may or may not have performed commercially.

Regardless - i wont be buying these things.

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Looking at this the article it implies that these are the 6" vinyl things that are mighty muggs rip offs not the little ones from way back, so I don't tihnk they would stop minimates being made.

What is stopping DC minimates is DCD not knowing a good thing when they had it and then not wanting to admit they were wrong in killing the line.

T.

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So out of curiosity, if it's Mattel that's the problem in making DC minimates for TRU (wasn't C3 some kind of trick to get around Mattel's licensing?) couldn't DST work with Mattel like they worked with DCD and Playalong before (and like how they keep implying they're working with Playmates on a 3.75 inch Star Trek line) to get DC Minimates to TRU or at least Matty Collector? Or does DC Direct still get the final say over the matter?

Because maybe if we can't contact Brewer to say how much we want DC minimates, maybe "Ask Matty" is the way to get DC Minimates a third breathe of life. Clearly they've seen the market demand for "Superhero Squad" and "Mighty Muggs" and responded with the excellent "Action League" and Blam-oids level terrible "Atti-Tubes", if minimates really are making that much of an impact on the market of niche collectables at big box retail maybe Mattel would like in at the ground level.

... well hopeless dreaming aside, I actually have been hoping someone would make DC "might muggs" and 6in Mez-Itz are pretty close so this news makes me happy, I've come pretty close to getting HB, Abe, and Freddy so if Batman or Joker are half as good they've got my $20

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Looking at this the article it implies that these are the 6" vinyl things that are mighty muggs rip offs not the little ones from way back, so I don't tihnk they would stop minimates being made.

T.

One would hope not, however, I found the "plan to offer several each year in a variety of sizes" statement particularly troubling. Fans of the original Mezits have been clamoring for more so hydroshrinking the rotocasts wouldn't be inconceivable especially based on Mezco's history with lines such as Popeye, HellBoy, etc. I suppose it depends on the specifics of their license. Regardless, I echo your sentiment that DCD is woefully out of touch. With the recent exposure and success that 'mates have gotten lately from the TRU, SDCC, and other exclusives this could have been a golden opportunity for the resurrection of the line. Rethinking the line with themed box sets and clever exclusive two-pack pairings (see Marvel) could have put them back on course.

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My eyes went straight to mrwhitecooks' comment. Was he simply being a troll or have we found someone who didn't like Minimates? If so, why not?

Anyway I've never heard of these before. If they do some kind of Blackest Night/New Guardians/Kyle one, I may check it out. Otherwise I'm not interested.

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Hang on – the most important thing about this story is the fact that the license is not through DC Direct – Mezco worked the licensing deal through Warner Bros. Consumer Products. So, where DCD was subcontracting DST to produce product, Mezco has just paid for the license outright and will (presumably) be making them independently. I've gotten the impression that the working relationship between DCD and DST was a major contributing factor to the end of the DC Minimates line.

If a specialized niche company like Mezco can do an end-run around DCD to get the license, why wouldn't DST be positioned to as well? Why indeed? It's something I've already asked on the AA Q&A... :)

Edited by Lobsterman
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Here's what I posted on the DCD board:

Unlike DC Direct's previous deal with DST/Art Asylum, this is a license agreement. DC Minimates were produced as work-for-hire which, I'm guessing, is what made them less profitable for DCD.

I'm not sure if DST is unwilling to acquire the license or if DCD is unwilling to license it due to their past relationship but the deal between DC and Mezco through WBCP is a different animal. DCD didn't go to Mezco and ask them to produce [Mez-Its] as a third party vendor. Mezco will pay an annual guarantee (whether the line takes off or not) as well as a percentage of the profits.

There's no reason why DST couldn't do the same thing with Minimates. It's possible they think the royalty rate is too high (15%, I'd guess) or that covering the guarantee is too risky (we're talking probably hundreds of thousands of dollar a year). All I know is that every time DST is asked in a Q&A about the return of DC Minimates, the reply is something like, "We'd love to. Talk to DC Direct."

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Here's what I posted on the DCD board:

Unlike DC Direct's previous deal with DST/Art Asylum, this is a license agreement. DC Minimates were produced as work-for-hire which, I'm guessing, is what made them less profitable for DCD.

I'm not sure if DST is unwilling to acquire the license or if DCD is unwilling to license it due to their past relationship but the deal between DC and Mezco through WBCP is a different animal. DCD didn't go to Mezco and ask them to produce [Mez-Its] as a third party vendor. Mezco will pay an annual guarantee (whether the line takes off or not) as well as a percentage of the profits.

There's no reason why DST couldn't do the same thing with Minimates. It's possible they think the royalty rate is too high (15%, I'd guess) or that covering the guarantee is too risky (we're talking probably hundreds of thousands of dollar a year). All I know is that every time DST is asked in a Q&A about the return of DC Minimates, the reply is something like, "We'd love to. Talk to DC Direct."

There does seem to be a bit of contradiction going on the matter...hmmm. A bit off-topic, but spawned from this post, how awesome would it be if DST were to swing a "Warner Bros. catalog license" like their current MGM one? Highly improbable (and pricey I'd imagine), but dreaming is free! The possibilities would be monumental.

*big, stupid grin as I "whoosh" my imaginary (Bladerunner) Spinner mini-vehicle around the room!

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Even if DST can't get the DCU in comic form, there's nothing stopping them from getting licenses WBCP offers separately like Smallville, The Losers, Jonah Hex, Human Target, and Watchmen. Then there are non-comic properties like Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter that could be the next Ghostbusters.

And DST doesn't have to go after the entire DCU. WBCP offers Batman and Superman as separate franchises and each includes film, TV, and comic incarnations in the agreement. As much as I'd love to see the entire DCU catch up to Marvel Minimates, I'd be tickled shitless just to see some Minimates based on the last two Batman movies. Hell, at this point I'm desperate enough to petition for Schumacher 'mates. :blink:

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From the latest DST Q&A:

DSTChuck: Brian I think every possible angle has been looked at for DC Minimates and you’re just going to have to ask them. We’re ready willing and able whenever they are.

Translation: Get your asses over to the DC Direct board and start pestering those idiots until they acquiesce to our demands.

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Also, anyone who going to SDCC who can get Georg Brewer on film to talk about the possible return of DC Minimates will get a nice Minimates surprise from yours truely. Depending upon the number of people who can do this, the prize may include the words "2-pack", "Dead" and "Pool" in the name.

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Also, anyone who's going to SDCC ought to get George Brewer on his back... on the floor ...then talk to him about the possibility of him returning to his feet...... after he has agreed to give us more DC Minimates. Depending upon the number of people who can do this may influence his decision favourably.

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Also, anyone who's going to SDCC ought to get George Brewer on his back... on the floor ...then talk to him about the possibility of him returning to his feet...... after he has agreed to give us more DC Minimates. Depending upon the number of people who can do this may influence his decision favourably.

I'll call in a favor...

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Also, anyone who's going to SDCC ought to get George Brewer on his back... on the floor ...then talk to him about the possibility of him returning to his feet...... after he has agreed to give us more DC Minimates. Depending upon the number of people who can do this may influence his decision favourably.

Or chuck a Mez-it or Blammoid at the back of his head yelling out "These things suck, bring back the DC Minimates!", and then running before security shows up.

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Or chuck a Mez-it or Blammoid at the back of his head yelling out "These things suck, bring back the DC Minimates!", and then running before security shows up.

Your Plan is flawless except for the end. Just Ocean 11's that crap and have someone cause a panic at one of the other DC related lines (someone in the Mattel line yells "WHADDYA MEAN THERE'S ONLY 4 Plastic Man Suit Cases Left?!?!" or stands near the Graffiti-Designs booth with a sign that says "Line starts here for White Lantern Sinestro: no ticket needed" then watch the fun start when 80 people start yelling they waited for 3 hours and didn't get a ticket because the line said they didn't need one) then all of the "ELITE Security Team" will have to go to those locations asking them to please use their inside voices and NO ONE will be able to stop you from chucking Blamoids and Mez-Itz Jokers (that Mez-Itz Batman is awesome, it does NOT suck!) at Brewer and he'll HAVE to bring back minimates.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

I, for one, REFUSE to buy most of these. Having said that, I *might* buy the batmobile JUST to put my DC Minimates in!

But, these things are going to be more profitable for Mez-co. Only one new-sculpted head (Batman), everything else is one basic buck re-painted ad-nauseum.

Now that Georg is gone, hopefully we can get DC mates back. But even better would see them allowing mold re-use between lines to keep them more profitable for DST, hence leading to more continued DC minimates.

Edited by monkeycrumb
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