Secret Wars is the biggest thing Marvel has going in comics this year, but that’s not all it is. To misquote Yogurt only slightly, it’s also about, “Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money is made!”
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Marvel had promised a licensing and merchandising program the likes of which we have never seen for a comic book event, and while some products have already been unveiled, Disney Consumer Products released more details about the full initiative today. Specifically, you can expect and look for the following:
- Apparel lines from Mad Engine and Bioworld.
- Collectible figures from Funko — presumably the now ubiquitous but still awesome POP Vinyl figures and other goodies as well.
- Puzzles from Cardinal.
- “Special products” including apparel and drinkware specifically for comic books shops.
“Secret Wars is an unprecedented comic book event that completely alters the Marvel Universe, and we are pulling out all the stops to honor the overwhelming excitement coming from our fans,” Paul Gitter, senior vice president, licensing, Marvel at Disney Consumer Products, said in a press release. “For the first time, we are working with our best in class partners to create a robust retail program that encapsulates the storylines from our comic book universe and offers fans new ways to interact with our Super Heroes off the page.”
If you collect action figures and other typical comic book collectibles, you’re already used to the idea that they trail the comic book storylines that inspire them by quite a while in many cases. Just a thought here, but Secret Wars could really benefit by product that is in stores right now. Of course if the main series and the tie-ins that reference it most heavily end up being delayed long enough, that might happen unintentionally. Serendipity!
Regardless, the point is that all of the cool and different stories coming out of the Secret Wars stew, stuff that’s different from the normal super hero fare, might end up with their own merch. And that idea is actually kind of exciting.
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