If there is a cartoon character which has been an influence to the things that I love as a collector, that is Scooby-Doo. As a child, its adventures awakened my interest in mystery novels, and of course, a few years later, this passion led me to discover classic horror and science fiction movies.

Since its debut in 1969, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! has become a timeless TV show captivating several generations. The legendary franchise, originally created by Hanna- Barbera, includes subsequent cartoon and life-action movies, new TV shows adaptations, comics and video games, being a staple for pop culture enthusiasts. So, it is not strange that Funko took its eyes over these eternal characters.

From the Wacky-Wobblers days, the company from Everett, Washington, has been releasing a long list of figures of the beloved Great Dane, its inseparable friend Shaggy, the members of Mystery, Inc, and some of the main antagonists, finding them too in other lines such as Funkovision, HeroWorld, Pop!, Dorbz, FunkO’s, Soda and Rewind, offering a great variety of shocking pieces for the most demanding collectors.

It is a difficult task to highlight all of them in one article, but here comes a selection of my favorites. Starting with the limited in pieces items from Funko Pop! Up Shop event which took place at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con edition.

Funko presented us with Scooby-Doo Pop! in three technicolor variants, with the flocked treatment that they deserve. The Green and Pink versions, both limited to 1,000 pieces and the blue one limited to 2,500 pieces, being very desired pieces for funatics.

In parallel, and without leaving that convention, we also had the opportunity to enjoy the exhibition “Space Clones! Invasion: Phase 1.” where Funko and Warner Bros. teamed up, finding among the customized 12-inch Dorbz Marvin clone creations, an amazing Marvin the Martian X Scooby-Doo masterpiece. I must say I love this one-of-a-kind artistic piece.

Now it is time to remember one of the most wonderful series ever made from the Making Fun factory, FunkoVision. This exclusive and limited Sooby-Doo set brings a screen capture to life from the classic chapter “A Night of Fright is No Delight” (1970), spotlighting how the Phantom Shadow scares away the terrified figures of Scooby and Shaggy. It is just simply a must-have vinyl treasure.

About the antagonists in Funko’s catalog, my preferred, by far, is the Creeper, and although we found it in different lines, I humbly think that the Pop! is the best. It was released at 2017 Emerald City Comic Con, being the first figure of the villains manufactured by Funko.

In the last few years Funko has surprised us with some exciting pieces such as Scooby-Doo Classic Art Lunch Box from Soda series, or the very first Freddy Funko figures of the line, so I am sure that the magic will continue with new incredible figures from the Scooby-Doo Universe.

The show has always shown us small tributes and amazing collaborations through those years, so, it would be nice to imagine new Funko figures such as Vincent Van Ghoul, based on the iconic Seventh Art legend, Vincent Price, who also voiced the character.

Beyond that, for many of us those characters represent an important part of our childhood, and they will always be in our hearts. Until then, we’ll see what will happen in the short term. I will keep singing “Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you? We got some work to do now…”

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and keep on Popping!

The post History of Scooby-Doo! Collectibles From Funko appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

hobbyDB super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr gives us quite the scare with Funko’s new Legendary Myth’s Creatures. Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

We are at the doors of Halloween and Funatics around the world are planning to get some of the last and most terrifying Funko releases before October 31st to their collections, enjoying a fright night with their scary figures. And it will be a difficult task, considering that there were a bunch of announcements in the last month and probably we must wait to see some of those new Pop!s in our shelves a little bit.

However, and in my humble opinion, the most amazing news came from Asia. We had to wait more than four years to see new figures from the Legendary Creatures & Myths series, and MINDstyle did not let us down, showing us Asian folklore in all its glory.

The new supernatural creatures that join in the series are Yecha, Jiang Shi, Treasure Guardian and Sleepy Ghost, bringing to life some of the most relevant and creepy creatures of the Asian horror mythology in a Funko Pop! size.

It will not be a surprise to see other figures of this series in the short time, and it would be possible that MINDstyle could launch variants of these new figures, such as it did in the past, bearing in mind some of the one most wanted of the series, Aswang (orange), which was one of the surprises of the Funko Funtastic Party 2015, organized by Funko Funatic Philippines.

The fact is that those legendary creatures of the night captivate us since from immemorial times as an important part of myths and traditional legends. But we must be respectful with them, because on Halloween night anything could happen. So, be careful chosing these spiritual figures before adding them to your collection.

I hope you find this information helpful. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and enjoy trick-or-treating this Halloween.

The post Happy Halloween! Funko’s New Pop! Asia Legendary Myths & Creatures Creates a Fright appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

As every year one of the most-awaited events for Funatics around the world is ToyCon Philippines and this year is back full of surprises. On its 20th anniversary and with the slogan “Celebrating 20 years of play,” the present year edition of this pop culture event brings us some interesting exclusive figures and limited editions.

MINDstyle introduces new Pop! Asia figures, releasing them with the Funko treatment that they deserve, showcasing unique pieces for the most demanding collectors. The art is made present itself on its booth, with the pre-release of Love #180, a genuine design from the Filipino contemporary artist Reen Barrera.

Following with another shocking launch, the Punk Drunkers figures, MINDstyle joins over 20 years of fashion, art, illustration, design collaborations and sofubi toys from this Japanese brand to the Funko Universe. The motto “Uncool is Cool” comes alive with the variants of Pop! Asia Pop Drunkers #234.

And of course, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ToyCon, the charismatic mascot of this amazing event, is presented as Pop! Asia TC-02 #223, completing the MINDstyle exclusive figures for this edition.

As we expect, Funko Funatic Philippines is part of the celebration with the exclusive Freddy Funko as Champ. The new member of the Jollibee family has two versions, common and glow in the dark, limited to 3,000 and 1,000 pieces respectively. For this edition a marvelous tee is launched as well, with Freddy Funko and his mascot Proto ready for a boxing fight.

ToyCon has been offering interesting pieces for our collections since 2013, and it will always be a staple for Funatics, so it will not be shocking waiting for more limited editions in the years to come as a part of our beloved hobby.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and keep on Popping!

**TOYCON is held at the SMX Convention Center and lasts from July 7 to 9, 2023**

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Pop Price Guide super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr, takes a look at Funko’s latest “gold” standard! Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

When Funko announced its Gold series, and I watched the first concepts, I was surprised by the new premium vinyl figures. However, I was also very intrigued about how the packaging would be or how would these new stylized figures that introduces a new form factor be, thinking that this line would be produced in two scales, 5 and 12 inches.

Gold has been focused on legendary musicians and super-star athletes from the NBA and NFL, providing a prestigious level of quality to the Funko universe with the new designs. Before the official release, some Funko enthusiasts, including myself, believed that other franchises would be part of the newborn line, but it seems that it would be hard to see Darth Vader or Captain America like Gold figures.

The first figures that I saw at retail, were the ones of the smaller scale, and I was not very excited by them. But, when I found their big brothers of 12 inches, I must say, it was love at first sight, not just for the figures themselves, just for the amazing high-quality packaging as well. And it is weird because the shape for both scales is the same and the elegant black and gold box is very similar too, but I have got the feeling that I am buying different figures.

Nowadays, we have some 200 different Gold figures on Funko’s catalog, including both scales, and with some exceptions, most of them have their Chase version. Furthermore, Gold leaves us some curiosities, considering that it has been on the market less than two years, making it a very collectible line. So, let’s review some of them.

Back to 2021, we found some concepts that were changed at the last minute. The detail is on the sneakers, as was the case with Lebron James and James Harden. In my opinion, those concepts were much more remarkable than the final figures, sadly, now they belong to the long list of canceled Funko concept prototypes.

One of the first 12 inch vinyl figures on the market was Notorious B.I.G., which shows a small difference with the rest of the other super-size figure boxes. The box is the only one which has not got the golden lines in the front and the sides of the box, making it a unique piece of this series and a must-have for Gold collectors.

Following the marketing actions of that year, at ComplexCon 2021, part of the audience could get the Funko Gold – ComplexCon Promotional Packaging, the most wanted and the only set of this series which is simply extraordinary. The stylish and highly detailed case includes four random figures, two of each scale, bringing an elegant and extraordinary set to our collections.

As we expected, we also found some limited treasures among Gold, in particular the 12-inch Chase version of the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, the most limited of them until now, with 375 pieces produced. This hard-to-find jewel was exclusively sold at Funko Shop.New surprises and interesting facts will come from everything related to Gold, which is playing an important role in the world of Funko right now. And one thing is sure, it has the original and unmistakable touch of the King Midas of the toy industry these days. So, it will not be shocking to see more releases, as recently at Funko Toy Fair with the first neon colors figure of the line, Jimi Hendrix (Blacklight). In the meantime, I am already curious to see the upcoming MLB Gold figures.

It is not a secret that there are mixed feelings among Funatics about this series. Some love it, some do not. In the end, as collectors, we never know what kind of figure has the power to catch our attention. However, when it comes to Gold, and just my opinion, I feel like those miners from the Wild West looking for the biggest gold nugget.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comment below.

The post Funko Gold Quickly Becoming Coveted Series Among Funatics appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

Pop Price Guide super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr, takes on the tall task of highlighting Funko’s Life-Sizes figures! Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

It is not a secret that Funko has become one of the greatest giant toy companies of the moment, and the passion for its vinyl figures has millions of Funatics worldwide. In the early days, the marketing actions were simpler than today, and Funko released some promotional figures to promote its products at retail or just to reward loyal collectors at Fundays.

As we expected, the main marketing super-star of those days was Freddy Funko. We can track the origins of these amazing vinyl super-sized figures in 2002, finding the Freddy Funko Wacky Wobbler 20 Store Display holding a green Wacky Wobbler card holder. This item was re-released in 2010 to promote the Pop! series as well.

In 2005, the big brother of that Freddy was launched, Freddy Funko Life-Size 40 inches, having two versions of it. The Freddy Funko Supermat and its Glow in the Dark version, limited to 100 and 8 pieces, respectively.

The GITD version is one of the most limited editions ever made and one of the most wanted in Funko’s history. All of them are hand numbered and signed by the Chairman of Fun Mike Becker.

New Freddie’s came to the world of Funko in 2014, to push new series and events among the fans, however, this time the turn was for Retro Freddy Funko figures, and they were produced in scale of 36 inches, including the legendary Toys R Us exclusive Freddy Funko display. The latter is the only one which includes a base.

In the following years, the very first giant Pop!s jump to the promotional arena, started to appear in different events and shows, and from time to time we could see other real size figures from other series such as Rock Candy or Mystery Minis, or much recently from Gold series.

With the Grand Opening of Funko’s New HQ in 2018, everything changed, not only new mega promotional figures started to be part of our visual hobby, but also real scenarios were also brought to life showing all the magic of the universe of Funko in a life-size scale.

Now, we can enjoy those giants in every Funko event around the world, however, there was a time, and it is good to think about it, when the things were very different than today. In the end, Funko is going to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, but it seems that Big Boy Wacky Wobbler was launched yesterday.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and keep on Popping!

The post History of Life-Sized Funko Pop! and Wacky Wobblers appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

Pop Price Guide super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr takes us to the Pacific Rim in search of exclusive Funko collectibles! Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

I have been collecting toys for more than three decades, and the Asian market has always offered interesting treasures of our favorite brands. Funko is not an exception, and it is important we understand the way how it operates there, to have a full view of the business that will help us as collectors.

Funko has divided its operations in Asia, into two markets, Japan and the rest of Asia.

Funko and Japan

About the Japanese market, Funko has always had business collaborations with other toy brands.

Finding its first partner in 2010, when the company from Everett, Wash., made a co-branding with Kotobukiya, releasing mascots from Japanese Baseball Teams as Wacky Wobblers and their versions from the lesser-known line Computer Sitters, being the very first Funko figures launched and distributed on the Asian continent.

In 2014, Funko joined forces to distribute their vinyl figures with a new partner, the Chinese company, Hot Toys. The products were distributed and sold by its subsidiary company Hot Toys Japan, through its shops, Toy Sapiens, where many SDCC and NYCC grails from 2014 to 2016 were sold for retail price. It’s hard to believe, but it is true.

Besides, we found variants from U.S. retailers with the Toy Sapiens sticker. In my humble opinion, the most “Amazing” Pop! figure of this list is the Chase version of Spider-Man #15 (Glow in the Dark).

From the last quarter of 2020 the new and exclusive distributor of Funko in Japan is the giant toy company, Bandai. I guess in the short term we would see some interesting news from the land of the rising sun. Let’s wait.

The Rest of Asia

And now, it is time to figure out the rest of the Asian market, which leaves us with too many interesting facts and curiosities. First, to help in this review, MINDstyle and PopLife Global are all one and the same company, even when they use different licensing brands, including their sister brand SFBI.

An important player in the partnership among Funko and MINDstyle/PopLife Global, is a well-known New Yorker shop and toy distributor, Toy Tokyo. The toy business from New York has been distributing their products and hosting these vinyl toy brands at New York Toy Fair for years.

In parallel to San Diego Comic Con 2014, explicitly on July 24, Pop! Asia was officially launched in an exclusive event under the auspices of Funko, MINDstyle and Toy Tokyo, leaving with us among the surprises of that day the hard-to-find Gold Hula Girl Pop! as a part of the limited editions released at SDCC that year.

MINDstyle has a strategic creative and manufacturing partnership agreement with Funko, and initially Pop! Asia was distributed in the Philippines and Thailand. But not only the new line of Pop! figures came to light, the first Sofubi (soft vinyl toy) Funko line was born too as part of this collaboration, Hikari.

To promote them, several exhibitions took place on both sides of the World, showing very rare and unique prototypes of those series, highlighting 1st Funko Pop! Roadshow Philippines (2014), and Creatures of Light (2014 Manila – Philippines). Later it was in Bangkok at Thailand Toy Expo (2015) as well, billed as “Where Art Meets Play,” and had other tour stops such as Funko x MINDstyle — Pop! Life World Tour San Diego (SDCC 2015), the event was sponsored in SDCC by Toy Tokyo and BAIT.

On the other hand, Toy Tokyo promoted both series in the United States in several conventions.

The start of the race was in New York Comic Con 2014 where the audience had the opportunity to get several prototypes of the new lines.

Besides, 38 ultra-rare and limited in pieces Hikari figures were given away to the Lucky Kitty Red Envelopes winners at Toy Tokyo x Funko Hikari Super Exclusive Halloween Party (NYCC 2014), giving the opportunity to get another jewel on that event and limited to one piece, Freddy Funko as Creature of the Black Lagoon, better known as Freddy Halloween Creature.

Next year, at New York Toy Fair 2015, MINDstyle exhibited at Toy Tokyo booth some of the rarest Freddy Funko prototypes ever shown, outfitted like Asian characters, and where a few lucky people saw another white whale, the Pope Francis Pop! vinyl figure. Where are those prototypes?

Pop! Asia presents us with different kinds of characters and celebrities, such as the former boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao or different monsters from the Asian mythology. Another curious thing is that we can discover references to Japanese culture too, particularly characters created by the “Godfather of Manga,” Osamu Tezuka.

Collaborations like the one made with the greatest and famous Japanese tattoo master, Mutsou, bringing to life Pop! Asia Fudo Myo-o #77 on its four variants or the Omamori Dolls based on the traditional Kokeshi Japanese dolls. The funny thing is that those figures were never released in Japan.

And of course, our beloved Freddy Funko was officially launched at SDCC 2015 as a part of the sets of Pop! Asia and Hikari series, Funko Hikari Collector Starter Kit (two variants) and Funko Pop! Asia Collector Starter Kit, being the first vinyl figures of Freddy Funko as Monkey King in the market.

Over those years (2015-2019), incredible Pop! Asia exclusives were launched in conventions, highlighting Bangkok Comic Con, ToyCon Philippines, Thailand Toy Expo and Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong, being remarkable Stan Lee as Guan-Yu, characters from Street Fighter franchise and bearing in mind some variants of the mythical and legendary Asian folklore like Tossakan, Siyokoy, Hanuman, and Giant Lady among others.

Not too many people know, that in 2016 the first wave of Pop!s were distributed in China, releasing characters of the Chinese blockbusters Surprise! (2015) and Sweet Sixteen (2016), socking us with the Sweet Sixteen Pop! Asia Exclusive Box with the chance to get Xia Mu (Gold) #112 Chase version, a very rare beauty for treasure hunters in the wild.

Following with the Chinese market, Funko x MINDstyle pulled out all the stops since 2021, with events such as Funko 2021 Shanghai Event, QTX QQ Tencent 2021, ChinaJoy Con 2021, and Funko Fun City Exhibition in Beijing (Dec 2021 – Feb 2022), with new releases of characters from The Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Beijing Opera, and not forgetting the new version of Freddy Funko as Monkey King, Freddy Funko Kung-Fu, and Freddy Funko as Guan Yu.

During the last two years we have seen other launches in the Chinese market, focusing on characters from its millennial culture, literature, and folklore. Some of those were released at San Diego Comic Con 2022 (MINDstyle’s Booth).

A very interesting fact is that at Funko 2021 Shanghai Event (April 2021), four months before FunKon 2021, some of the Freddy Funko exclusives of Funko Box of Fun 2021 were exhibited at Joy City Mall, and the stickers were completely different – even the ones with the Funkon sticker don’t show the number of pieces on it, just the words Limited Edition.

The most fantastic thing is that some of those Freddy have the non-existent SDCC 2021 sticker. Being honest, I don’t know if those pieces are unreleased figures, A/P, prototypes or were given away, and I wonder, how many of them were previously exhibited in Shanghai?

Funko x MINDstyle/PopLife Global bring us some figures from the Eastern to Western market in a round licensing business trip. In 2019, PopLife in collaboration with the Beijing Imperial Court Cultural Development Company and in association with DC Comics (Warner Bros), created a line of collectibles based on the archives of the museum collections from the Imperial Palace in China. The series was called DC Imperial Palace, finding DC heroes and villains characterized by ancient Chinese warriors’ armor.

PopLife Global launched at MINDstYle booth (SDCC 2019) the first wave of 15 inch figures of this series. We had to wait until 2021, when the very first Funko Imperial Palace figures came to our shelves in a wonderful red box.

The new waves are presented in white boxes, and during this year the first models of Blacklight Pop!s have been added to the Imperial Place list.

However, the most limited figures have been released in China, spotlighting the metallic versions of them. I guess that we will see in the short term, the Green Arrow Pop! figure too, the only one that Funko have not produced yet. In the meantime, we will wait for the upcoming new Blacklight figures.

As we have seen with the Imperial Palace, the Asian market offers us more exclusive figures from other Pop! lines, having AD Icons, such as Jollibee and friends (Philippines) and Ronald McDonald (Thailand), icons like The Merlion, the official mascot of Singapore, Animation with the Japanese anime phenomenon from the 70’s, Voltes V, Comics with the paranormal detective Alexandra Trese, and Darna, the heroine created by the Filipino graphic novelist Mars Ravelo.

Let’s not forget another Asian exclusive which made its debut in Valiant Entertainment booth (NYCC 2016), the pre-released of Faith Herbert aka Zephyr.

Surprisingly the member of the Harbinger Renegades was not released as Pop! Comics, just as POP! Valiant #1, being the only figure of this line. It was a pity that the other figures of that series were canceled.

Even Pop! Rocks started this year with the Filipino singer Jose Mari Chan.

So, it is not strange seeing some characters from Pop! Disney in this long list too. Finding in 2014 the charming variants of Prince John #98 and Olaf #79. In 2020, Mickey Mouse (Go Thailand) #787 was featured in Thailand’s national outfit and in the iconic “Wai” pose.

At the beginning of the present year, the Philippines Department of Tourism teamed up with Funko, and they announced five variant stickers of Mickey Mouse (Go Philippines) #1139, wearing the traditional barong tagalog, to promote the major tourist magnets of that country, Boracay, Baguio, Cebu, Manila, and Siargao Island.

The sepia version of this Pinoy Mickey was launched as Big Boys Toy Store exclusive and was limited to 5,000 pieces. Those figures also contain a postcard inside the boxes.

Funko also came up with the world’s famous Disney character representing some Chinese Zodiac signs, having so far Mickey Mouse Year of the Rat (2019) and Mickey Mouse Year of the Tiger (2022). So, I assume the rest of the Zodiac signs will be arriving in the years to come. The Mickey Mouse Chinese Zodiac vinyl figures are exclusively sold in China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

This co-branding doesn’t only bring Pop! and Hikari figures on Funko’s catalog. In 2019, the Soda Kats series, was released by Funko in The United States, however, we have previously seen those lovely vinyl figures in the Asian market such as Soda Kats x Black Seed Toys x MINDstyle DC Heroes by Kenneth Tang, SODA Series 汽水系 by Black Seed Toys x PopLife SFBI, Mini Soda Kats Blind Box Series by Kenneth Tang Blackseed Toys x SFBI Originals and SODA KATS By Black Seed Toys x SFBI Originals.

And more recently the magnificent Ron English’s Mona Lisa Grin (Funko Shop Exclusive) was included at Ron English x MINDstyle and Funko PopUp (Shanghai 2021) as one of the greatest artistic collaborations of this partnership ever made.

Furthermore, events like Funko Funatic Philippine Christmas Party leaves us some relevant limited editions from other Funko lines, including the Huckleberry Hound (Gold) Pop! Pez, which is limited to 500 pieces.

As we could see a few days ago at the 2022 edition of this event, and going back to Pop! series, we were surprised again with another must-have figures, the new and exclusive limited editions of Freddy Funko in Philippine Barong and Jose Mari Chan Gold Suit version, both limited to 1,000 pieces.

Just my opinion, but I consider the Christmas party organized by Funko Funatic Philippines, one of the most important Funko events worldwide. I don’t know when, but I would like to go there someday.

The Asian market has a key role in the world of Funko, and it is not a secret we will see more exclusives from there waiting to be a part of our collections. So, next time when you find a limited edition from Asia in your next hunt, don’t think twice, get it if you don’t have it, because you won’t regret it. I know that from my own experience.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and have the best Christmas ever.

The post From Japan and Beyond, Funko’s History of Asian Pop! and Other Collectible Figures appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

Pop Price Guide super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr gets digital with a look into the NFT collectibles market! Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

Since 2014, when the first NFT was launched, it has been a constant debate among collectors and investors. The NFT market skyrocketed during the pandemic, hitting its peak of investment in January 2022, with $17.2 billion. If we consider that celebrities, such as artists, musicians and athletes and global companies are behind the curtains, that makes NFTs attractive to the audience.

Besides, the NFT industry has left us some records of sales that exceed seven-digit numbers, so everything presaged that it could be a success.

On the other hand, some people still think that NFTs could be another Tulip mania, predicting a dramatic collapse in the short term. According to Bloomberg, the NFT industry tumbled 97 percent in September of 2022, sliding to just $466 million of investment.

And new marketing actions related with, such as Europe’s ‘First’ NFT Vending Machine that was placed in London, had as a result a cold reception for the public.

But the most important question for us, what about the NFT toy industry? Toy brands show us that it could be work, considering that some of them such as Funko, Hasbro and Mattel have offered us redeemable items and that action has been welcoming for a part of the collector’s community.

Now the question is, are toy collectors interested in NFTs or in redeemable limited editions? To me the answer is easy, some people were interested in them while the prize would be tangible.

Of course, there are communities that are growing up around the NFT industry, such as VeeFriends, a platform developed by the visionary Gary Vaynerchuk. However, when Mattel released the very first tangible collectible of VeeFriends as an UNO card game, it was an instant success, including for the secondary market of collectors.

And sometimes the answers are given by their own communities, such in the case of Panini, where collectors around the world are not very enthusiastic with the idea of collecting their beloved cards in a digital form.

Although there are positive and negative indicators, it is difficult to say if NFTs will remain as a viable collectible or are destined to crash. In my humble opinion, I will go on collecting in the same way that I know, searching my mint in box figures.

In the end people can spend their money on the things they like. And only time will answer the question: NFT or Not NFT? But whatever happens, one thing is true, those redeemable figures will always be part of our collections.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and collect in the way you love.

The post Contemplating the History and Future of NFTs for Funko, Hasbro and Others appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

Pop Price Guide super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr steps into his laboratory to make Funko’s history of Frankenstein collectibles come to life! Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

Halloween is round the corner, and it is not difficult to think that some people disguise themselves as Frankenstein. This iconic character was born from the imagination of Mary Shelley during the summer of 1816 on the banks of Geneva Lake, Switzerland, where the eternal Lord Byron challenged his friends that they each write a ghost story. That short story became the novel, The Modern Prometheus or Frankenstein, having a relevant culture impact in the years to come.

In the early days of cinema, the jump to the Big Screen came swiftly. After the success of Dracula, Universal Studios developed new projects focusing on classic horror literature characters, including Frankenstein. Portrayed by Boris Karloff and directed by James Whale, this horror masterpiece has been an influential film generation after generation since its premiere in 1931.

Universal’s Frankenstein was followed by a string of sequels, beginning with Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and following with amazing titles such as Son of Frankenstein (1939), Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945). The Frankenstein series of Universal Pictures is completed by the horror comedy Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

The Universal Classic Monsters have always been connected to the toy industry, so, it is normal that Funko couldn’t take its eyes off them too. We can track the origins of the Creature in Funko’s laboratory in 2011, when the very first Wacky-Wobblers based on this character were released.

Finding among those bobble heads two of the most exclusive figures ever made and limited to 12 pieces each, Frankenstein (Metallic) and the Silver Screen Monsters (4-Pack) (Metallic). Later was remade as Pop! Vinyl set, limited to 300 pieces, including its Black & White variant. All those incredible figures and sets were made exclusively to Gemini Collectibles.

Funko has presented us this legendary monster in different shapes and scales, featuring it as Funko Force, Pop! Vinyl, Hikari, Plushies, Mystery Minis, Funko x Super7, Soda Figures, Pop! Pin and FunkoVerse.

We even found it as a puppet from the lesser-known Handy Dandy series. Other highlights among them are the Haunted Crypt sets. Those Glow 3.75 inches action figure sets (blue and green versions) were produced as Reaction Figures, as part of the co-branding between Funko and Super 7. Some of our favorite Universal Monsters were displayed in an afterlife packaging, that remind me in a way the essence of the Aurora model kits.

Our beloved Freddy Funko was launched as Frankenstein’s Pop! Vinyl figure as well. The very first edition was from common and the glow versions, limited to 350 and 24 pieces respectively. The second release was Franken Freddy as a Funko Shop exclusive in 2020.

Another remarkable Pop! figure is Kirk Von Hammett characterized as the classic timeless monster, in my opinion a tribute for one the greatest collectors of Horror memorabilia at world-class level. This unique vinyl figure is limited to 1008 pieces.

Karloff’s portrayal of Frankenstein’s Monster established the character as a cultural and legendary horror icon to the present day, being an important part of toy history too. It is fascinating to see the heritage of Frankenstein on Funko’s catalog through the years, so, it won’t be shocking to wait new releases and find more treasures in the years to come. In the end, believe it or not, “It’s alive” more than ever.

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and have a nice Halloween!

The post It’s Alive! Funko’s History of Frankenstein Pop!s and More! appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

Pop Price Guide super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr takes over the remote control with a look at Funko’s history of FunkoVision figures. Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

Since the Wacky Wobbler days, the passion for Funko vinyl figures has created a huge obsession among pop culture enthusiasts and collectors worldwide, going from a once a small company to a billion-dollar toy giant these days.

Over the years, the company from Everett, Wash., presented us a relevant number of nostalgia-themed figures in different lines, with FunkoVision being one of those series that allows us to relieve some iconic cartoon moments of our recent past.

There are similarities in shape and scale between FunkoVision and the previous series from 2006, Fantastik Plastik, the first line of static vinyl figures launched by Funko. Found among them were Wacky Races (Hanna-Barbera) and Duck Dodgers (Warner Bros.) characters.

Those limited-edition figures were released in their own individual circular plastic packaging. For those who are interested in curious facts, the first series to come out under Brian Mariotti era was Fantastik Plastik. As expected, Mr. Mariotti’s leadership brought new lines of products, trying to connect those projects with a new audience of collectors.

FunkoVision, which was produced for a short term in 2007, featured vinyl figure sets, ranging them in a scale from 5 to 7-inches, from classic Television cartoons, such as Betty Boop, Peanuts, Lippy the Lion, Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny, and The Flintstones among others. The singularity and main characteristic of FunkoVision is on its packaging, where the figures are placed inside their own and personalized retro Televisions.

A surprising fact is that all the FunkoVision sets are limited editions, and of course, we also find another peculiar thing, having two sets that included bobble heads instead those static figures, the Yogi Bear & Huckleberry Hound pack limited to 480 pieces and made exclusively for Gemini Collectibles, and the Snoopy & Woodstock set limited to 175 pieces, being the most exclusive of all of them.

It is very difficult to choose among those Television sets. All of them are amazing, however, I want to highlight the two-pack with Yosemite Sam as the Black Knight with Fire Breathing Dragon, from the 1958 Warner Bros Looney Toons short, “Knighty Knight Bugs,” which is the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win the Academy Award for Best Animated short film. This amazing set is limited to 1,000 pieces.

As usual, such as other Funko lines, a few of them were canceled, such as Scooby-Doo & Witch Doctor, and the Gruesomes sets. However, Funko decided to launch them as a part of the Cartoon Classic series, keeping the same shape and scale as FunkoVision – only changing the packaging.

The Cartoon Classic series only were produced during 2008. In the edition of San Diego Comic Con of that year we could find some treasures based on the original FunkoVision figures. Remarkable are the limited editions of Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble pack, having four different Techni-color versions, limited three of them to 48 pieces and the other one to 240 pieces.

Among the 2008 SDCC exclusives, the Gossamer & Evil Scientist sets showed us another interesting detail, besides the traditional Con sticker, all the boxes were printed with the text “Comic Con 2008 Special Edition!” on the top and back sides.

Although that line was also another hit, in my humble opinion, the new sets lost part of the essence of FunkoVision because of the new packaging. However, I have always considered both series a must-have for Funatics around the World.

FunkoVision, such as Fantastik Plastik and Cartoon Classic series allow us to travel to our childhood, bringing classic characters and epic moments of our favorite cartoons to our shelves. So, we must be faster to hunt those figures and sets before it would be an impossible mission to find them.

Only time will tell if Funko decides to surprise us again with amazing series like those. At the end, a new era has begun the present year, under the management of the new Funko’s CEO, Andrew Perlmutter. Maybe next year, when Funko is going to mark its 25th anniversary, a new shocking series will be launched to remind us of many sweet memories of our visual history.

Until then and paraphrasing the legendary Porky Pig “Th-Th that’s all folks!”

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comment below and keep on Popping!

The post Tuning Into Funko’s History of FunkoVision Collectible Figures appeared first on Pop Price Guide.

hobbyDB super user Javier Serrano, aka Fjaviserr gets our day started right with a look at Funko’s history of Cereal Mascots. Read more of his wonderful guest posts here!

The revolution created by Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg with Corn Flakes, not only had an impact on our nutritional habits, but over the years The Kellogg Company also changed the way to promote the food industry with the addition of the cereal mascots.

Since the birth of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger in 1952, other companies such as General Mills and Quaker Oats, followed in the steps of the company from Battle Creek, Michigan, creating their own promotional icons, uniting all of them as an important part of pop culture.

The mascot fever was an immediate success in the child audience, not only for their colorful characters, but also because of the surprises inside the cereal boxes. It is hilarious to think, when we were kids, most of us chose the box not for the flavor, but just for the toy inside them. And maybe someone is still doing that today.

The passion for the licensing cereal industry on Funko’s catalog, which started in the Wacky Wobbler days, leaves us some must-have pieces from the most important related companies. It is difficult to choose among those bobble head treasures, but I want to highlight the crystal variants of Franken Berry, Count Chocula and Boo Berry, limited to 50 pieces each and made exclusively for Wild Bill’s Nostalgia. Remarkable are the 12-inch Wacky Wobbler Bobble-Banks based on these General Mills characters as well.

In 2002 and 2003, following with another pop culture tradition, the redeemable coupon of cereal boxes, Funko in a partnership with General Mills presented us a promotion in the boxes of Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry, giving us the opportunity to get their respective Wacky Wobblers vinyl figures or an exclusive T-Shirt using that promotional action.

The charming “horror” trio of General Mills fired the starting signal as Pop! Vinyl figures in 2011, and in parallel our beloved Freddy Funko was presented as Count Chocula and Franken Berry at San Diego Comic Con the same year. The Metallic and the Glow in the Dark versions of both figures are among the most exclusive items Funko ever made and were limited to twelve pieces each.

We must wait until 2017, when Funko pulls out all the stops releasing new Pop! vinyl figures that continue until today. Finding among them in different shapes and scales the amazing figures of Dig ‘Em Frog, Trix Rabbit, Tony the Tiger, Quisp, Quake, Cap’n Crunch, Jean LaFoote, Toucan Sam, Big Yella, Buzz, Lucky the Leprechaun…and my favorite the three pack with Snap! Crackle! and Pop!

And of course, we find more ironical cereal characters too in other series such as Hikari, Dorbz, Popsies, Pop! Pez, Funko Soda, Vynl., Blox, Pop! Pin, Pop! Digital, Pop! Watches and Retro Freddy.

In 2018, the company from Everett, Washington, released the series FunkO’s, bringing together so many different characters though as cereal boxes, that include their Pocket Pop! versions inside them, such as Jason Voorhees, Scooby-Doo, Batman among the endless list of vinyl figures of this tasty series.

As usual in the world of Funko, there are a few exceptions, finding all of them at Designer Con 2018, where the surprises inside them were pins and stickers. Even Funko launched at that event the co-branding Be@rbrick FunkO’s boxes (Blue and Red), the only ones that include a different figure, a classic Medicom 100% Be@rbrick.

Recently, we saw new releases of more legendary icons in some of these series, being the later of this incredible and never-ending list Kaboom Cereal Clown on its Pop! vinyl version as exclusive to New York Comic Con 2022.

So, it won’t be a surprise seeing more of them in the short term, and maybe at one point we will see the missing and desired Freddy Funko (Pop! Vinyl version) as Boo Berry or the forgotten Kellogg’s characters Katy the Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant, and Newt the Gnu. But one thing is sure, there’s always room to add a few more to our collections, isn’t there?

I hope you find this information helpful. Have an excellent week. Let me know if you’d like to know more in the comments below and keep on Popping!

The post Snap, Crackle and Pop! The History of Funko’s Cereal Icons appeared first on Pop Price Guide.