Frequent visitors to this humble blog are no doubt aware of my ongoing worship of Bif Bang Pow!, a company specializing in collectible action figures and bobbleheads. Their current film licenses include The Big Lebowski and Flash Gordon, and their current TV licenses include Cartoon Network’s The Venture Brothers, Showtime’s Dexter, ABC’s Lost, and…. and…
Yeah, that’s right. The Twilight Zone.
I first became aware of the company early last year, when it was announced that, just in time for the series’ 50th anniversary, they’d be producing a line of TZ collectibles. To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. Twilight Zone collectibles have come few and far between over the years: a book or two here, a CD soundtrack there… .and that’s about it. Pretty slim pickin’s (okay, Sideshow Collectibles did release a few very limited deluxe 12-inch action figures several years back, but those were expensive to begin with and now command a small fortune on the secondary market. I own none of them, and won’t until I’m a whole lot richer). It’s bugged me for years that other brands --- Star Wars, Star Trek, GI Joe, even those goddamned Transformers --- continue to be represented by countless toy offerings, while my beloved Twilight Zone is left out in the proverbial cold. Given the relative dearth of collectible product, news of new merchandise was a pretty big deal to a TZ nut like me. I wanted desperately for the line --- whatever it ended up being --- to succeed. And damn it, I wanted it to come to market the day before yesterday.
So I started writing about it in my blog, which at the time was still pretty young (I guess it still is, in all fairness). I posted/reposted every scrap of news that I could scrounge up as I waited with the patience of an ADHD-addled seven year-old for the initial items to arrive. And when they did….
Wow. Seriously, wow. Bif Bang Pow!, whoever they were, came out of the gate kicking ass and taking names. Ten bobbleheads and six action figures later, they’re still rocking it. I’ve said it before in this blog, and I’ll say it again: this is a great time to be a Twilight Zone fan. And apparently my blogging efforts have paid off, at least on a personal level. It’s put me in regular contact with Jason Labowitz, one of three partners in the company, and I’ve managed to get a news scoop or two in the process (I’m privy to a couple of things that I’m literally bursting at the seams to reveal, but I can’t, so don’t ask).
I’ve spotlighted Bif Bang Pow!’s offerings as they’ve been released, but I’ve fallen a bit behind over the last few months. I find myself, therefore, in a position to unleash a literal volley of spotlights all at once. And so, each day this week, I’ll be posting a look at the more recent releases with a plethora of pictures and opinions galore. In six short days, I’ll be spotlighting a total of eleven distinct items, every one of them a must-have for the serious TZ collector. And to wrap things up on Saturday, I’ll be posting an exclusive Q&A with the aforementioned Jason Labowitz and Jason Lenzi (the CEO of Bif Bang Pow! himself), in which they’ll answer my geeky questions and drop a hint or two about what the future of the line holds.
This’ll be a great week, full of cool collectibles and tons of eye candy. So let’s begin, shall we...?
Yeah, that’s right. The Twilight Zone.
I first became aware of the company early last year, when it was announced that, just in time for the series’ 50th anniversary, they’d be producing a line of TZ collectibles. To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. Twilight Zone collectibles have come few and far between over the years: a book or two here, a CD soundtrack there… .and that’s about it. Pretty slim pickin’s (okay, Sideshow Collectibles did release a few very limited deluxe 12-inch action figures several years back, but those were expensive to begin with and now command a small fortune on the secondary market. I own none of them, and won’t until I’m a whole lot richer). It’s bugged me for years that other brands --- Star Wars, Star Trek, GI Joe, even those goddamned Transformers --- continue to be represented by countless toy offerings, while my beloved Twilight Zone is left out in the proverbial cold. Given the relative dearth of collectible product, news of new merchandise was a pretty big deal to a TZ nut like me. I wanted desperately for the line --- whatever it ended up being --- to succeed. And damn it, I wanted it to come to market the day before yesterday.
So I started writing about it in my blog, which at the time was still pretty young (I guess it still is, in all fairness). I posted/reposted every scrap of news that I could scrounge up as I waited with the patience of an ADHD-addled seven year-old for the initial items to arrive. And when they did….
Wow. Seriously, wow. Bif Bang Pow!, whoever they were, came out of the gate kicking ass and taking names. Ten bobbleheads and six action figures later, they’re still rocking it. I’ve said it before in this blog, and I’ll say it again: this is a great time to be a Twilight Zone fan. And apparently my blogging efforts have paid off, at least on a personal level. It’s put me in regular contact with Jason Labowitz, one of three partners in the company, and I’ve managed to get a news scoop or two in the process (I’m privy to a couple of things that I’m literally bursting at the seams to reveal, but I can’t, so don’t ask).
I’ve spotlighted Bif Bang Pow!’s offerings as they’ve been released, but I’ve fallen a bit behind over the last few months. I find myself, therefore, in a position to unleash a literal volley of spotlights all at once. And so, each day this week, I’ll be posting a look at the more recent releases with a plethora of pictures and opinions galore. In six short days, I’ll be spotlighting a total of eleven distinct items, every one of them a must-have for the serious TZ collector. And to wrap things up on Saturday, I’ll be posting an exclusive Q&A with the aforementioned Jason Labowitz and Jason Lenzi (the CEO of Bif Bang Pow! himself), in which they’ll answer my geeky questions and drop a hint or two about what the future of the line holds.
This’ll be a great week, full of cool collectibles and tons of eye candy. So let’s begin, shall we...?
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