A pair of toy industry veterans have embarked on a unique crowdfunding campaign to launch a new line of action figures that takes inspiration from the past.
Fresh Monkey Fiction has teamed up with designer and toy historian Jason Geyer aka ToyOtter Toys for the Longbox Heroes Collection. The new range of retro-inspired, 4.5-inch action figures introduces a host of characters from creator-owned comic books into the form factor made famous by the Mattel and Kenner superhero figures of the 1980s.
“We’ve known each other a long time and have collaborated here and there in the past, but we have been waiting for the perfect project to combine our talents,” says Fresh Monkey Fiction’s Bill Murphy.
The Longbox Heroes Collection features Madman created by Mike Allred; The Goon created by Eric Powell; The Tick created by Ben Edlund; Mr. Monster created by Michael T. Gilbert; Cassie Hack created by Tim Seeley; Grendel created by Matt Wagner; and The Rocketeer created by Dave Stevens. Additionally, the collection includes a pair of brand new characters: The Black Phantom and Onslaught Trooper inspired by The Rocketeer Jet-Pack Adventures stories. Each figure will have seven points of articulation and will come packed on a retro-inspired card.
“The love collectors have for the toys of their childhood — Kenner’s Super Powers and Mattel’s Secret Wars figures, among many more — made us think it was the perfect form factor to pay homage to with the fan-favorite indie comic characters that we all grew up with,” Geyer says.
The Longbox Heroes Collection is being funded by preorders in an eight-week campaign that includes a minimum order quantity (MOQ) for each character. If a character does not reach its MOQ through BigBadToyStore, that character will not be produced. As of this writing, the MOQ numbers have not been publicly revealed.
Pending successful crowdfunding, the action figures are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023.
