Miniatures: from bubble-gum machines to blinds bags and boxes, inexpensive to expensive. Yet, always highly addictive. There are so many various companies and properties to concentrate on. I'm going to cover a miniatures line that has seen two recent releases. A line that is still a strong favorite of mine....Homies!
The Homies were first introduced to us way back in 1998. Through bubble-gum machines across the nation. What made Homies so popular and addictive was the price point, typically $.50 USD. The property featured likenesses of people that are familiar to citizens that live in the barrio. Not to mention that the figures had great sculpts and included many characters to collect.
The introductory set featured six characters: Eight Ball, Smiley, Big Loco, Droopy, Sapo, and Mr. Raza. Those that know, or may not know, these characters origins stem from comic atrips. The strips were a feature in Low Rider Magazine. When the comic strip was introduced it was called, "The Adventures of Chico Loco", which was shortly changed to, "The Adventues of Hollywood". Hollywood was based on it's creator David Gonzalez. The strip was later released as a figures in a later Homies series collection. These strips featured stories about barrio life and lowrider culture.
Recently two sets have been released, Zombie Homies and Big Head Homies. Big Head Homies are more stylized and are chunkier then what we had seen before. Zombie Homies are, well, Homies that are zombies. Zombie Homies are also in the style of the Big Heads. The line itself may be heavily focused on American-Mexican or Chicano culture but also included some diversity. The line included African American, Filpino, and Japanese community members as well. Each character included a positive background.
The line also spawned a few sister lines such as Palermos (Italian-Americans that run a pizzeria), Hoodrats (humanoid rats), Mijos (characters portrayed as kids) which were geared toward a younger audience. There was also a collection called Trailer Park. The line grew steam once it debuted and became a national sensation. Inspite of the popularity, the line saw some resistance. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) wanted to ban the figures, their position being..they thought these figures would encourage children to join gangs. Or participate in other delinquent behavior.
This wasn't so.
The Homies are still regarded as a favorite to many collectors. Now with two new current sets, The Homies will live on with a new generation. Check em out. Oh, and Like Us on Facebook and join the conversation.
Patrick J Martinez hails from East Los Angeles, CA where he lives with his 8yr old son. Patrick often likes to pretend that he's Jughead.