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Thread: Golden Girls action figures the most popular thing at Comic Con

  1. #1
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    Default Golden Girls action figures the most popular thing at Comic Con

    The hottest thing at New York Comic Con this year isn’t Batman, Pokémon or Darth Vader. It’s Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia.





    That’s right: Action figures from the “Golden Girls,” the sitcom which aired from 1985 to 1992, disappeared from shelves in less than an hour on both Friday and Saturday mornings at the pop culture convention.

    “Who doesn’t love the Golden Girls?” said Carly Hollinshead, 23 years old, who was waiting in line to get her hands on the action figures at 9 a.m. Saturday. Ms. Hollinshead, who had traveled from Pennsylvania, said she plans to display the figures in her home.

    Steve Thewes, 56, said he was standing in line on the orders of his 20-something-year-old nieces and nephews, who found out he had tickets to the Funko exhibit at Comic Con. “I didn’t even know that they knew the show existed,” he said.

    The Everett, Wash.-based toy maker Funko LLC made the box set of the show’s main characters, played by Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, exclusively for the New York Comic Con.

    Attendees had to win a raffle just to line up for the chance to buy a box.

    Within hours, the toys appeared on eBay, marked up to as much as $180, more than six times the original price of $25.

    The annual event at the New York Javits Center was swarming with fans geeking out over their favorite shows, movies, games and books like “Game of Thrones” and “Star Wars.” They showed up in costumes of everything from the Joker to Wonder Woman. But no one appeared to be decked out like any of the beloved senior citizens.

    Funko was also taken aback by the response to the set. “I don’t think we were prepared for how excited people would be,” said Mark Robben, the company’s director of marketing. “We wanted them to be limited, but we didn’t know they would go that quickly in the morning.”

    The success wasn’t just in New York. Another few thousand units were distributed to Target Corp. and sold out in less than 24 hours. Target was “surprised by the speed at which the product sold through,” said spokesman Joshua Thomas. “It has clearly struck a chord.”

    The company produced a limited number of the 3 ¾-inch, vintage-style action figures. They are Funko’s second take on the show’s characters. This summer Funko began selling pop vinyl versions of the “Golden Girls” at multiple retailers. In that line, the characters are sold separately and look more like exaggerated cartoons.

    Sab Rahman, who works at a comic book store in Hartsdale, N.Y., said those figures have also been “flying off shelves.” Mr. Rahman, 31, who was waiting in line at the event in New York to buy the new set, said he didn’t think many of the “Golden Girls” buyers were resellers. “Scalpers act cool,” whereas true collectors are “usually soaked in sweat,” he said. “There’s a palpable feeling of excitement.”

    The idea for the figures came from Andrew Perlmutter, vice president of sales at Funko. Mr. Perlmutter, 39, was watching an episode of the show when his wife, Courtney, joked to him, “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if there were ‘Golden Girls’ action figures?” he recalled. “I thought to myself, ‘Oddly enough, I can make that happen. I work at a toy company.’”

    But he was met with skepticism when he first shared the suggestion with colleagues, he said. “They were like, ‘Do you have some kind of fetish we don’t know about? Who’s going to play with ‘Golden Girls’ action figures?’”

    Mr. Perlmutter, who at one point offered to fund the project himself, eventually got his way, and the company launched the first version of the figures before making a limited-edition set. “I just knew there was something there,” he said.

    The company may launch another version from “Golden Girls,” featuring two action figures and introduce another mystery character, said Mr. Perlmutter.

    On Saturday morning, the line at Funko’s exhibit snaked all the way around the structure, and the action figures were selling so fast that one attendee noted there may be none left for Ms. White, the last living actress featured in the box set.

    Ms. White wasn’t readily available for comment. “There’s nothing really for Betty to say,” said Jeff Witjas, a representative for the actress. “She has not seen the dolls.”

    The figures of Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia may never see the light of day. Several buyers are planning to leave them in the box set forever.

    Jose Santiago, 48, who grew up watching the show, said he didn’t want to play with them if he was able to buy a box. “They aren’t dolls,” he said, “They are action figures. There’s a difference.”









  2. #2
    God's Replica Mumm Ra's Avatar
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    I truly would never guess GG action figures to reach any sort of popularity

    they even look like they were made in 1985


  3. #3

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    the one on the right looks like a female Doc Ock without the tentacles
    Retired.

  4. #4

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    Reaction will make a toy out of just about anything

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    Looks very similar to the Pubic Enemy figures, must be same makers.





  6. #6

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    No surprise

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