So, New York Comic-Con has come and gone. Close to a quarter of a million people came to the Javitts Center in New York to experience the very best Pop Culture show on the East Coast. We were there again this year, but our coverage is more selective than it has been in the past. We will be covering select panels, but mostly we will be focusing on covering select booths at the show. This is our experience at NYCC. And, it starts with DC Entertainment.

Figures and More @ New York Comic-Con

DC Entertainment

NYCC begins for us this year at DC Entertainment. Many will be hard pressed to forget last year’s DC Entertainment exhibit space. It was the 75th Anniversary of Batman, and to celebrate, DC brought all of the Batman costumes that had been seen in the movies since 1989. It was an incredibly cool showpiece and many wondered how they would top it this year. The answer was, by bringing the Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman costumes from the upcoming film Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. But, more on those later. For now, our focus shifts toward DC Collectibles, the toy producing arm of DC Entertainment. I have had the good fortune to meet, and work with, the greatest team of people at DC Collectibles. Although, Jim Fletcher, one of my favorite people in the Toy Industry, period, was not there, I was fortunate enough to score an interview with DC Collectibles Vice President Kevin Kiniry. NOTE: This is a text only report of this interview. There is no audio because this had to be the most informal and one of the most enjoyable interviews I have ever conducted. Kevin is one of the most personable people on the planet, and one of my favorite people to talk to, because he is, at heart, a huge fan of the product. He really wears his heart on his sleeve about this stuff, and is as passionate about his product lines as the most dyed-in-the-wool of fanboys. Here is a summary of our (very) informal interview.

A Chat with Kevin Kiniry, VP, DC Collectibles

FULL DISCLOSURE: This interview was conducted in front a display case that had the Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile in it, and I had to force myself to stop staring at it. Anyway, the first question that I asked Kevin, was one that had been on my mind, and the minds of others for quite a while: “Why has DC Collectibles not done anything for Batman ’66?” His answer: “We were letting the other company (Mattel) handle the action figure portion of the license.” Now, many suspect Mattel may be heading towards the end of the license, so I asked Kevin “with next year being the 50th Anniversary of the series (2016), would you consider doing something?” He said that they “would be talking with Mattel to see where they are at with the license and going from there, though nothing is currently planned.” I, for one, hope they are able to do something, because as I told Kevin, it just felt wrong to not have them involved in some way with the ’66 series. I know that I would love to see the people who made the BTAS Batmobile take a crack at the ’66 version. Speaking of BTAS, the second question I had was about the incredibly popular line. I asked Kevin about the switch to larger joints, after reports of some problems with the small ankle joints of the Series One Batman , Catwoman and Two-Face figures. “The switch, he said, was not just to different joints, but to a different factory altogether.” This new factory was able to better hide the peg holes, making for a much more aesthetically pleasing figure. DC Collectibles will be reissuing the initial figures with the new joints. Now, my focus turned to the future of the line, and the hypothetical portion of this chat began in earnest. I asked Kevin “given the response for the Batmobile, might me see other methods of Bat-Conveyance, possibly of an aerial nature?”He refused to comment, except to say “(DC Chief Creative Officer) Geoff Johns fell in love with the Batmobile, and told us we had better be prepared to top ourselves next year.” I can’t even imagine what that means, but I can’t wait to find out. We also talked about “non-costumed” characters (Alfred, Bruce Wayne, Bullock, Montoya…etc.) appearing in the line. He said “the objective is to make this as complete a line as possible.” I also expressed my interest in a BTAS Batcave that loos like the one in the cartoon, which Kevin seemed to share my interest in. One final BTAS question: “will we ever see the unmasked Phantasm figure get released? (HISTORY LESSON: At Toy Fair this past February, DC Collectibles showed off a Mask of the Phantasm 2 pack. The Phantasm figure in that 2 pack was originally slated to have a removable mask which would then show Andrea’s head underneath. This feature was abandoned when it was determined that Andrea’s head on the flat-chested Phantasm body looked silly) Kevin’s response to me was “Nothing gets thrown away.” All in all, it looks like the future of BTAS is very bright indeed. Turning to other Batman properties, I asked Kevin about a possible line based on the upcoming Killing Joke animated feature. His response was “we have not seen the production art for the film yet. Nothing is currently scheduled.” We also spoke about the Designer Series, specifically the Greg Capullo line. I was dismayed when they announced at Toy Fair that the line would be taking a break. I was elated at SDCC, when the line came roaring back with a super disturbing Joker from Endgame. I told Kevin, I would like to see figures of Bruce, Alfred and Julia, and while talking about the Capullo line, talk naturally turned to the current status quo on Batman, and the inevitable question: “Are you doing Robo-Bats?” Kevin’s reply was a succinct “No Comment.” My final question to Kevin was one I have been dying to ask: “How do you decide what gets made?” Kevin’s reply was “We plot things out about two years in advance. We look at all of the movie and TV properties and any animated movies or major comic story arcs that may be coming out during that period. We schedule new waves of successful lines and slot them in at periodic intervals. Most of next year is done, and the year after is filling out now.” As we were talking, Kevin also showed me the new DC Icons figures, which look amazing and have some incredible articulation. Kevin also mentioned the price of figures will probably go up a couple of dollars to maintain the quality of the figures. They still plan to keep their products as affordable as possible without sacrificing quality. Kevin also mentioned that they do not currently have plans for figures based on Supergirl or Legends of Tomorrow, stating they need to see how the new series are received before they can commit to merchandise. Throughout the interview, Kevin kept hammering home the point that Toy Fair in New York this year was going to be amazing, and that I should “make my appointment early.” Which I will.

My sincere thanks to Kevin Kiniry and the rest of my DC Collectibles friends: Brandy Phillips, whom it was great to see again, and Sara Ruiz, and Jim Fletcher, who were spoken of, and greatly missed. I will see you all again in February.

Outside of the interview, I was also able to attend the Batman panel. During the panel Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo spoke about issue #45 and #46 of the main title. In issue #45, according to Snyder “Batman hits someone with a shark!” And, in issue 46 you will see the “seeds” of the return of Brice Wayne. Next “up, James Tynion IV spoke about the new weekly title “Batman and Robin Eternal.” The title will run for 26 weeks, and feature a dual-timeline story as part of the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Dick Grayson as Robin. Most significantly, it features the long asked for return of fan favorite character Cassandra Cain. In Detective Comics, the next 2 issues are about the Justice League coming to terms with Jim Gordon as Batman. We Are Robin will use their next few issues to set up a big Winter Event called Robin Wars. And, finally, in the main Grayson title, we will see Dick go up against Spyral in issue #13.

DC also had an incredible space set up in the South Hallway of the Javitts Center, with the aforementioed costumes and props from Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, in addition to display cases housing some BvsS:DOJ products from other vendors, such as action figures from Mattel and hats from New Era. They were also showing off some upcoming Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures figures, including: Nightwing (TNBA), Scarecrow (TNBA), Bane (TNBA) and Mad Hatter (BTAS).

Also part of this space was the DC Autograph table, which was, thankfully, moved out of Artist Alley. This year, I got to fulfill a 3 year long dream of actually getting to meet Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, the current creative team responsible for the incredible adventures playing out in the monthly Batman comic.

(SCOTT SNYDER IS ON THE LEFT, GREG CAPULLO IS ON THE RIGHT)

Both Scott and Greg were incredibly gracious and could not have been nicer. I had actually met Scott by chance in the concourse outside the show floor earlier that day, and he was as cool as I knew he would be.He is very aware of the fan base and is extremely accommodating and more than willing to take pictures.

(SCOTT SNYDER IS ON THE LEFT…..LOL)