How DC Collectibles Kindly Surprised Me at Toy Fair 2017

Toy Fair is a month behind us, but my meeting with DC Collectibles and personal tour by Jim Fletcher needed a very special post that required taking a very special amount of time to put together. I’m not often overwhelmed by people’s kind responses to me. This is pretty much because I have low expectations of the world as an equal opportunity misanthrope. During my first Toy Fair, I wasn’t as aware of the appointment protocols as I should have been. When I walked up to the DC Collectibles booth to check out the size, I was greeted by a very lovely PR rep who asked if I needed help. When I explained that I wrote for GeekMom and would be particularly interested in looking at the Girl Lines, specifically the DC Bombshells, she took me under her wing and offered an abridged tour that focused on my specific interests. For this, I am incredibly grateful. More to the point, the very kind Jim Fletcher, took time out of his schedule to walk around this little purple haired nobody.

And here’s the thing: it wasn’t until I got home that I realized just how lucky I was.

INORITE?!

I love art. I love the DC Bombshells because I love the art. I’ve always been a WWII fan, and the movie Memphis Belle is one of those childhood visuals that somehow formed my artistic interests. I really have no idea who does what in terms of making collectibles, however, because I generally have no space or money for them which makes my life Sad Panda level when I lust after the pretties that I can’t really have. So, when I was set up for a tour with the amazingly talented and fun Mr. Fletcher, I wasn’t really aware that I was getting a personalized tour by someone that is conceptually a person I admire a bunch without realizing I admired him.

Does that even make sense? It does to me. I admire art because I’m the least artistic person I’ve ever met. I admire the ability to create objects of beauty. I didn’t realize that the person responsible for those objects was totally walking me through them omg. I’m just a naive blogger when it comes to all this stuff sometimes. So, after walking through all the gorgeous statues, I looked up my tour guide.

I almost passed out y’all. I had no idea. This made the time he took out of his schedule at the last minute even more amazing to me.

I went home and read The Art of DC Comic Bombshells beautiful digital cover to gorgeous digital color. In fact, I’ve been using it with my art students this semester in our research class as an example of how to use research about artistic styles when going from 2D to 3D. My personal favorite from the book is this:

The discussion about going from the 2D figure of Superman in “flight” stance on Powergirl’s shoulder to having him sit because of the 3D balance issues fascinates me. This is one of those examples I show my students when we’re talking about how the translation of art in different mediums has considerations they wouldn’t always consider.

Getting a personalized walk through at the DC Collectibles booth, however, had one amazing benefit. I didn’t have to look at things in which I wasn’t interested. I got to ask all sorts of fun questions. Even though some of those questions obviously (as you’ll see if you watch our amazing interview/walk through below) are totally n00bish. And, I have to admit, I even had a lot of fun with Mr. Fletcher putting me on camera to do some silly poses. The whole experience feels like one of those once-in-a-lifetime things. Next time, for example, I’ll know better. Next time, I’ll be more prepared. Next time won’t be my first time and won’t have that same magic. So, to the DC Collectibles folks, if you ever read this, thanks for the great memories.

(And double thanks for the Wonder Woman Toy Fair exclusive figure. She sits on my desk and watches me work every day.) For the full video walkthrough, watch below: