So this week we saw an image released of a new custom figure from John Carpenter's The Fog. It wasn't so much an action figure as it was a bundle of cotton.
Death By Toys commented on their newly released figure in this way (from their website): "Are you prepared for a highly articulated, fully lifelike, extremely detailed and movie-accurate representation of one of horror’s most terrifying villains? Well, are you at least ready for cotton balls that I mounted to cardbacks?" Either way, The Fog: The Action Figure is rolling in. I probably should’ve started by saying this is quite possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever made. That being said, at no point during production did I say to myself, “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever made. I should stop.” Instead, I said, “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever made. I should keep going.” "Despite the fact that it is just pulled-apart cotton, I'm still relatively pleased with the way the cardbacks came out. Seems like that poster art was meant to be turned into card art." I love the fact someone is showing love to another John Carpenter film besides The Thing, but is there anyway to actually build upon this $25 cotton ball?
This isn't the first time an obscure custom horror figure has popped up for sale, there's been many over the years. Fetty Kruger a mash up of Boba Fett and Freddy Krueger was released not too long ago from the same maker of the fog figure. This one actually has something other than a ball of cotton inside. Boba Fett and Freddy Krueger in retro carded figure style body with a custom cardboard box backing. So the artists doing these customs see there's a market for irony out there, but how can we get the bigger companies to see this? I love NECA as much as the next person and I know why they release a constant series of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Alien and Predator figures, but wouldn't it be cool to see what they could do with a line of more obscure horror figures. I know money talks and that's what the bottom line is (especially in this economy). Maybe they can hire some of these artists that do customs to try a one-off horror series line with the option for more? I don't pretend to know what the answer is, but I would love to have a Maniac Cop articulated figure made by one of my favorite companies.
Is the answer to continue to back these custom artists with their visions of what people may like to own?
This way is probably more feasible as the people making these figures have a vision and are not in a rush to get these figures mass produced. No large toymaker would have the guts to put out a comical Fog figure (of course we understand licensure et al), instead we'd get a new mold of Freddy Krueger.
I think also as a custom artist you only have to answer to yourself, no advisors or board of trustees pointing you in directions. The customs will either sell or they won't, there's not a huge gamble if you're doing it for the love of it (as long as it's a hobby). I guess all we can do is continue to enjoy the Fetty Krugers and The Fog figures of the world, not hold our breath for the bigger companies to take a chance on something different. Hence, the Customizer as the creative.
So, with heavy heart it's curtains for Sunday Bloody Funday. But you can still catch me weekly via my Bots + Monsters column where I will continue covering things that go bump in the night. Later eh!!