If Fanboys know anything, we know our Funko Pops! While Fanboys is a licensed retailer, we’re also big collectors. In our Marketplace stores several vendors specialize in Funkos and we love to keep our finger on the pulse of Funko news. Even though we can’t always talk about what Funko is coming out with next, there are some things every fanboy knows about Funko!
- Big Boy started it all. Mike Becker, founder of Funko, originally made t-shirts. Big Boy, the mascot for the popular restaurant chain, was his favorite pop culture figure, and he wanted a Big Boy coin bank. Problem was, everything on Ebay was too expensive. So, he decided to make his own Big Boy bank. He was hooked. After the first figurine he made puppets and later on added a bobblehead. And thus, Funko was born.
- General Mills cereal characters were the first Funkos. You remember those halloween themed cereal characters: Count Chocula and Frankenberry? Well, those were the first. Those too had bobble heads and Becker called them “wacky wobblers.”
- Funkos had a hard time getting off the ground. In the beginning, Becker had distributors who wouldn’t pay him and found it difficult finding an audience. Things changed for Becker in 2005 when Funko CEO Brian Mariotti bought the company. Even then it took several years to catch on.
- Funko hasn’t got the license on everything. A couple of figures you won’t find with the Funko label on are Mario and Luigi. You’d think they’d be a shoe-in but reportedly Nintendo keeps a pretty tight grip on its intellectual property. That doesn’t keep fans from making fake ones though. I mean, it’s cool if you want to customize a Funko for yourself, but if you happen to find a Mario Funko Pop for sale-it’s not legit.
- The actual word “Funko” is a combination of the words “fun” and “kitsch.” And “Funko Pop” wasn’t even what they were initially called. When they debuted in 2010 they were called “Funko Force 2.0.”
- Those big eyes and tiny noses are all part of the plan. It’s hard to resist things that are cute: puppies, babies, and baby Yoda. Funko Pops fall into that category as well. In fact, over the course of time, they’ve moved the Funko figure’s nose closer towards the eyes in order to make the figure “more endearing.”
- From start to finish it takes about 4-6 months for a Funko Pop to be born. That’s from the initial licensing to design to creation to having it arrive on the shelves in the marketplace.
- Batman is the most reproduced Pop character. Funko has over 100 different designs of Batman Funko Pops out in the world. That’s enough to where a superfan could just collect Batman Pops alone and have shelves full of ’em.
- Funko Pops weren’t always popular. When they debuted at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010 fans panned them. At the time, plushies were the rage and these new vinyl plastic toys weren’t groundbreaking. It was only after licensing The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones did fans start to pay attention.
- Their headquarters is in Washington state, and if you’re ever in town you should definitely go there. It’s a popular tourist destination even for those who aren’t collectors. There’s oversized Funko Pops all around the HQ perfect for taking photos with. You can also immortalize yourself by making your own custom Funko. Funko staffers host free workshops on the weekends for anyone who’s interested in art, sculpting, and illustration.
