SDCC Interview with Bif Bang Pow (Part 2)
VBB: We love the lunchbox packaging. It’s a great tie in to the show.
JL: Yeah. I hope fans believe in us and get how genuine we are about the series. These are flashback characters with little screen time and to make them a convention exclusive… I hope fans get how were winking at them.
VBB: With references on the show, some fans were disappointed there was no Rusty Venture thermos.
JL: [Laughs] Then I would put this to the fans, would you rather have one figure and a thermos or two figures and a lunchbox? Yeah. Have them answer that and maybe next year we’ll have less toys and maybe a thermos.
VBB: What can you tell us about the art on the lunch box?
JL: Stephen DeStefano and Liz Artinian did the art on the lunch box. When we started discussing the idea, there wasn’t a whole lot of art we could use for the lunch box and the guys made it happen. This is all new original art contracted for this product. We didn’t pulled off a design disc or something. It was made for the lunch box.
VBB: That’s fantastic.
JL: I’m just floored that here we are talking about a lunchbox that existed in a show within another show and that’s where it gets kinda meta if you will.
VBB: It makes the Rusty Venture show real to fans. It’s something they can use everyday.
JL: Yeah, I guess it’s like a Simpsons or Looney Tunes thing with their fictional products.
VBB: Let’s talk about the Venture Bros. 3-3/4″ action figures reveal here at Comic-Con.
JL: Surprised you, didn’t it?
VBB: Great reveal. Fans weren’t expecting it.
JL: We always say with Bif Bang Pow, expect the unexpected.
VBB: The figures are a welcomed surprise that many fans at the convention have been talking about. Prototypes on display include Dr. Mrs. the Monarch, Brock Samson and the Venture Brothers with hover bikes. Can you tell us a little how this line came about?
JL: As you know, the first conversations we had with Doc and Jackson were about producing an 8 inch retro line and once we had nailed that down, I sorta had a revelation which grew from some feedback floating around the internet. I got on the phone with him (Jackson) one day and I said in a little while we do make a 3-3/4 scale, but just to be retro again and piss everyone off [Laughs], we’ll make ’em with 5 points of articulation. It’ll have shoulders, hips and neck (movement) and it’ll be just like the old Star Wars figures and he laughed. So it kinda came out of that, sorta a joke. And we explored it more and we were gonna mention it at Toy Fair but we didn’t want to take any energy away from the 8 inch scale figures we revealed.
Now, as excited as everybody is and I don’t mean to pee in anybody’s internet cornflakes, these are not green lit. We are not definitely going to make these yet. It all depends on audience interest and cost. With this scale, we are dealing with a different material and we would be doing everything from scratch. Each part of the figure has to have it’s own laser cut mold and it can get very costly. So it’s a question of whether there’s enough support from the fans to make the minimum needed.
VBB: I believe there is a strong interest for these new figures. This scale also seems vehicle friendly.
JL: Yeah, that was our intention. If we were to go full force on this like a G.I. Joe type line, then we could do vehicles and play sets and things like that. And again it will all depend on interest. Hopefully, there will be enough support to make these figures. I think with the show getting renewed and the buzz surrounding the figures on the internet, we will be able to make these figures.
VBB: What can fans expect from the Venture Bros. toyline in the near future?
JL: Argh! I really want to tell you this idea I have, which is so cool. I’m afraid I’ll shoot myself in the foot. So, I’m not going talk about that. But instead I will tell you about things we are doing currently.
In addition to the 8 inch prototypes you see here, I’m hoping to get another wave out. Knock on wood, we are going to see the 3-3/4 figures hit and if that happens, you’re gonna see more figure release dates, rather than build up to Comic-Con or the Spring. Were gonna keep it peppered throughout the year. That way, there isn’t too many lulls and fans don’t have to wait too long for new figures. And the lunch box is something that gets the network really excited about what were doing. We are trying to go beyond bobbles and action figures. If you look at our Doctor Who and Twilight Zone line, we have lunch boxes, water bottles, magnets and other merchandise. We hope to do more fun stuff like that for the line.
Bif Bang Pow’s Venture Bros. Series 4 (Hank Venture & Dr. Girlfriend) and Series 5 (Dr. Orpheus & Phantom Limb) are now available on Entertainment Earth. The Rusty Venture Action Figure Set and Tin Tote is also available for pre-order and ships in November.
Special thanks to Jason Lenzi and Jason Labowitz of Bif Bang Pow!
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