Toy Fair 2018 is in the books, and this year, Batman News was on the scene to catalog all things Batman—and a little from the greater DC universe—at the show. One of the industry’s biggest events, Toy Fair brings vendors, retailers, purchasers, and more from across the globe to showcase new products, network, and plan out inventory for the future. It also brings members of the media, and I got up early and took the train into New York City with a mission: find the Dark Knight wherever I could.
An impossible task
I more-or-less walked the entire convention center four or five times, and I was still finding new Batman merchandise on my final pass. I’m convinced that there were still booths that I missed. And, being a newb, I didn’t realize that certain larger brands required appointments to get into their space, so I missed out on some of the heavy-hitters like Mattel and Lego. So what we have here is what I consider the cream of the crop—that I saw. I’m sure any reveals that I missed have already trickled out from other outlets.
DC Collectibles
DC Collectibles released information about a number of new items in advance of the show, and we reported on them here at Batman News. But getting to see them in person was much better. The new DC Core line of PVC statues looked incredible in person, as did the vinyl Artist Alley pieces. And we got to see a prototype for a forthcoming Jim Lee Superman, featuring the new (old?) costume debuting in Action Comics #1000. Once my tour through the booth was over, they sent me away with this little beauty, a show-exclusive variant of the Uminga Artist Alley statue:
Diamond Select
Diamond has a fairly diverse portfolio of DC products, and they had some great stuff on display. It was nice seeing their excellent resin busts (looking forward to Clayface and Croc!), but above all, I was blown away by some of the statues they revealed from their Gallery line. Most of the Justice League is represented in comic styling, and they look fantastic. I want all of them. The previously-revealed diorama statues from the Justice League film were also on display, and they likewise looked great. The skin color on Superman still looks a little bit off, but it’s not as severe as it appeared in the images that hit the web weeks ago.
I asked my rep about future film statues for this line, and he told me that, while there’s nothing specific to announce, Diamond has worked on statues for DC films in the past, and they expect to continue to do so in the future. Bring it on!
Kotobukiya
Koto usually announces a fair amount of DC-related items each year, and this year looks to be no exception. They had some pieces at the show that I’ve seen online, like the Gotham by Gaslight Batman, Red Hood Ikemen, and Rebirth Batman. But, just as with anything else that I saw, it was great getting to see these things in three-dimensional space. I can’t remember if the original announcements for the Gaslight statue mentioned it or not, but it actually comes with two different heads—one with a comic-style face and eyes, and one that’s more in-line with the just-released animated film. They also had some cards advertising forthcoming Damian and Tim Ikemen statues, so if that’s your thing, it looks like it won’t be long before you can have every Robin on your shelf, looking prettier than they ever did in a comic book. Also revealed were two expansions to Koto’s Batman: The Animated Series offerings: Harley and Joker ArtFX+ statues.
When we were done working through the products on display, Dan from Koto sent me away with a Justice League Batman ArtFX+, so look for a review coming soon to Batman News.
Funko
If you follow my writing at Batman News, then you know that I’m a huge Funko fan. There weren’t any new Batman products revealed, but there are some new Smallville Pop!s coming. If you were a fan of the show, you’ll love them. I got to see the Mystery Mini plush keychains up close, and I at last beheld the Teen Titans Go!: Night Begins to Shine Pop!s in all of their glory.
Mezco
Mezco is most well-known for their One:12 Collective line of figures, and they had a slew of them on display. Most of these have been announced previously, but there were still some new ones that were great to see, including the rest of the team from the Justice League film (we already knew about Aquaman), Green Lantern John Stewart, Darkseid, Batman Beyond, and more.
Quantum Mechanix
Quantum Mechanix is most-known for their fantastic Q-Figs, and they had plenty on display at the show. They also had an excellent, metal replica of Batman’s batarangs from the recent films. We may have a review in the works for that last one, so stay tuned.
Factory Entertainment
Factory Entertainment takes a kitchen sink approach to their DC licenses, but everything they make is really cool! Their new SWAT (Soft Weapons And Tactics) line features some excellent, non-lethal movie prop replicas, including a highly-detailed Harley bat from Suicide Squad. Tom from Factory gave me my tour, and he actually designed the bat, and told me how he ended up flying to Burbank to look at the real deal so that he could get all of the writing and other details correct. Other highlights for me included their new REVO line—a new spin on an old toy—and an Alex Ross-inspired sculpture of the Justice League.
Jada Toys
Jada was my first stop at the show, and they had lots of great stuff on display. I particularly enjoyed their die-cast Batmobile and figure sets, but their Nano Metalfigs were also very impressive up close. There were a few things in the booth that I couldn’t photograph or tell you about, because DC approval is pending, but trust me when I tell you that they’ve got some great stuff coming soon.
Cryptozoic Entertainment
If all you know of Cryptozoic is their selection of card and board games, then you’ve only scratched the surface. They had those on display, of course, but they also had lots of other great items, all with a bit of dramatic flair. They were one of two companies to feature tiki-style DC products at the show, they had some excellent sculptures (love those hands), and their Superman-saving-Lois statue was probably one of the coolest things I saw all day.
What a show
Those are my strongest impressions from the show, but there were tons of great companies and tons of great products. I’m already anxious for next year. Have a peek through the rest of my pictures from the show, and hit me up with any questions you may have in the comments.
