Since 2005, Bif Bang Pow! has sold contemporary toys and collectibles to fans around the world. Based on licensed properties, the company makes everything a pop culture fan could need from action figures and prop replicas to totes and bobbleheads. At this year’s San Diego Comic Con, attendees could find the company’s products at the Entertainment Earth booth.
During the convention, Jason Lenzi, the company’s co-founder, spoke to Blast Magazine about Bif Bang Pow!’s success and what products we can expect to see in the future.
Blast Magazine: Bif Bang Pow! sells a wide variety of pop culture products. What is your overall best selling item and what has been the most popular here at San Diego Comic Con?
Jason Lenzi: At Comic Con, the SNL Amy Poehler and Tina Fey figurines are really popular. We have so many licenses and categories that it’s tough to pinpoint exactly what the best-selling item is, but Doctor Who and Twilight Zone have sold really well in the past. The best would probably be Big Ban Theory action figures and toys.
Blast Magazine: What do you think is the next big trend in pop culture memorabilia?
Lenzi: I have a hunch that stacking dolls are going to be the next bobble heads. We can create the dolls for superheroes, television shows and anything else the public wants. People will start to collect them and want the next one in the series. We have prototypes of our black and white Twilight Zone and Batman ones at the booth [at Comic-Con].
Blast Magazine: Has there ever been a product that hasn’t sold as well as you predicted?
Lenzi: Absolutely. None of this is a sure thing. You can love something and think that other people will too, only to find out that it just doesn’t appeal to them. I don’t want to name names because it’s nobody’s fault. Sometimes audiences like or dislike certain things that are different than what you predicted. For example, Venture Bros. fans seem to be an audience that buys cloth items, like t-shirts. However, they don’t love action figures quite as much. Our products did okay but not quite as well as we thought they would.
Blast Magazine: Bif Bang Pow! has been selling products for over a decade. What was the motivation to create your own toy company in 2005?
Lenzi: I am a big geek and I have loved this stuff my whole life. I moved to Los Angeles about 20 years ago to do production work and write for voice-over projects. I wanted to start a company that would earn me money while I was in between jobs. I just really love toys and I wanted to create the things that I never had as a kid. The Flash set that we sell never existed when I was young, and neither did The Big Lebowski or Twilight Zone toys. I thought maybe I would be the guy to get the ball rolling. That was my selfish idea and then I found like-minded people and it just worked. The first physical exclusive we had at Comic-Con was a bobble head of “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski. We wanted to start with action figures and bobble heads and expand from that. Since then, it’s just grown and grown.
Blast Magazine: Since you are creating the toys that you never had as a child, what product is your personal favorite?
Lenzi: The Flash figurine set is my favorite because when I was a kid and saw the movie, I ran to look for something like this and it didn’t exist. I loved the movie and it’s great to see that other people still love it and want to buy these products.
Blast Magazine: You are currently selling your products at San Diego Comic Con and fans can buy all of your items online on Entertainment Earth. Do you sell in regular comic book shops as well and where do you think you sell best?
Lenzi: We sell in lots of brick-and-mortar and mom-and-pop shops. Our products sell best online just because of the ease of purchasing it and the worldwide access to us.
Blast Magazine: You have released hundreds of products throughout the years. Is there a product that you have dreamt of creating that hasn’t been made yet?
Lenzi: There are some things that I’ve thought about that are so cult, I’m not sure if they would sell. You can be cult, but you can’t be too cult that no one shows up to the party except your mom to buy one thing. I would really like to do more music stuff, like products for Queen and The Beatles. I want to do whatever I can to leave behind a tribute to the things that I love.
Interview with Jason Lenzi, creator of @bifbangpow: http://t.co/81nbfuSyWx
Y yo por prisas me he pillado solo el primer número, podÃa haber esaoprde. Los que aún no lo tengan les merece mucho la pena pillar el pack de dos tomos.