1/6 scale MOTU toy line coming from Mondo, and prints & posters

[Ornclown]

Not yet but I drew two bad guys!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Woot!

I can't wait to see who/what they are!!!

[Ka Rot-Top]

Oh we all want to do Man E Faces! One of my favorites as a child


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh gosh. I'm trying to be selective from here on out due to price and display space, but I really couldn't turn down a MONDO Man-E-Faces! She-Ra turned out so beautiful, I imagine you guys would make an awesome Teela. And Trap Jaw was always my favorite character so I really can't wait to get him in!

[banthafett]

Wallet doesn't look forward to a Man E. Would have to buy 3 of them.

[chuc98]

Oh we all want to do Man E Faces! One of my favorites as a child


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good to know I'm not alone!

[zodak74]

WHOA.

Funko laid off the majority of Mondo. I was wondering what happened to their planned Happy Hour this week.

https://www.thewrap.com/funko-mondo-...se-production/


Toys and records are "safe" (sure they are), but this is huge considering they rose up because of their prints.

[Stalemate]

WHOA.

Funko laid off the majority of Mondo. I was wondering what happened to their planned Happy Hour this week. Doh!

https://www.thewrap.com/funko-mondo-...se-production/


Toys and records are "safe" (sure they are), but this is huge considering they rose up because of their prints.

Crap, wonder if I'll ever get to use that credit I got from my defective He-Man. Guess I should have gone in on Trap Jaw.

*edit
Also shades of Bain Capital.. buy up another company, transfer all your debt to it, shut it down.

[zodak74]

Crap, wonder if I'll ever get to use that credit I got from my defective He-Man. Guess I should have gone in on Trap Jaw.

*edit
Also shades of Bain Capital.. buy up another company, transfer all your debt to it, shut it down.

Yeah, this is pretty nuts. They were just talking about a month ago about a new Mondo Gallery opening up here in Austin, too. I imagine the folks who got let go are resourceful and connected enough that something will rise from the ashes, probably just not right away.
It's also weird on a personal level, because my husband used to be an employee years back, got unceremoniously laid off, and recently had applied for a graphic design position with Funko. So lightning would have struck HIM twice!

[wayne-klops]

I just saw the news. Doesn't give me much hope for a bright, long future with the Mondo MOTU line.

[zodak74]

I just saw the news. Doesn't give me much hope for a bright, long future with the Mondo MOTU line.

Right?! I mean, the way everything is going these days there's just no way.

[Carnivos]

Argh, and I had just auctioned off my original Mondo Skeletor in preparation for the new reveal. I feel like I'm at a weird crossroads of either crossing my fingers and hoping to see the new one launch or scrambling to go buy the old one back at a loss before the prices detonate.

[Glasstor]

Funko is on my S*** list now. What a horrible decision. The posters were the heart of Mondo.

[zodak74]

Argh, and I had just auctioned off my original Mondo Skeletor in preparation for the new reveal. I feel like I'm at a weird crossroads of either crossing my fingers and hoping to see the new one launch or scrambling to go buy the old one back at a loss before the prices detonate.

Yeah, I kinda have a feeling the Mondo stuff is going to be even MORE pricey on the aftermarket now. My husband was just saying "does this mean all the art on our walls is going to be worth more than our house now?".

[Carnivos]

Yeah, I kinda have a feeling the Mondo stuff is going to be even MORE pricey on the aftermarket now. My husband was just saying "does this mean all the art on our walls is going to be worth more than our house now?".

They're definitely going to be treasures. And it's always nice to have a collector's investment in case of emergency!

[zodak74]

They're definitely going to be treasures. And it's always nice to have a collector's investment in case of emergency!

I imagine that's what every single former employee is saying right now, too.


Here's the beef of the article from Variety that gives a bit of Mondo history for context:

"Funko, less than a year after acquiring high-end collectibles brand Mondo, has wound down Mondo’s current movie-poster business and let go several employees — including Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones, Variety has confirmed.

Mondo, based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2004 and was previously a subsidiary of indie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse before Funko inked a deal to buy it last year for $14 million. Mondo had gained a strong following for its limited-edition screen-printed movie posters. Notable artists who worked with Mondo have included Olly Moss, Shepard Fairey, Ken Taylor and Kevin Tong. Sources said that Mondo’s vinyl records and collectibles businesses are intact.


In addition to Putnam and Jones, Mondo senior creative director Eric Garza also has been laid off. For now, it appears that Mondo’s poster division is defunct; however, a source familiar with the situation said Funko expects Mondo to continue producing posters going forward.

In response to the news, actor Elijah Wood tweeted, “This truly horrendous news. I’m in shock. What have you done @OriginalFunko?”

Artist Daniel Danger said in a tweet, “Funko effectively decimating MONDO by firing the creative old guard of Rob Jones, Mitch Putnam, and Eric Garza among others is a ********** travesty and sheer idiocracy. End of an era, but im with them for whatever they want to do next, and I imagine every Mondo artist will follow.”

Funko declined to comment on the news, which was first reported by TheWrap.

Earlier this month, in announced fourth-quarter 2022 earnings, Funko CEO Brian Mariotti told investors the company planned to cut its overall headcount by about 10%. As of the end of last year, Funko had 1,466 full-time employees.

Mondo had about 30 full-time employees when Funko acquired the company. Per Funko regulatory filings, it paid $14 million in cash for Mondo. Funko had said it intended to run Mondo the way it has managed Loungefly, the apparel and accessories brand it acquired in 2017, with the idea it would integrate Mondo into common back-end functions where applicable.

“Mondo’s devoted fanbase and high-end pop culture collectibles make it the perfect complement to Funko’s current portfolio of brands,” Funko’s Andrew Perlmutter, formerly CEO and now president, said when the deal was announced. “By leveraging our international distribution and licensing network, we feel well positioned to expedite the growth of the Mondo brand.”

In 2022, Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group led a consortium of investors including Bob Iger that paid $263 million to acquire a 25% stake in Funko."

[jibernish]

Feel bad for those laid off, as they are my neighbors, but selfishly I'm wonder if we'll get that new Skeletor. Ugh... had I known this I wouldn't have started with the Mondo figures at all. I jumped in to get He-Man, Battle Cat, Skeletor and potentially Panthor. I wanted that set (I also got She-Ra). Without Skelly... eh... there's just a big hole. I don't like the first version of him and Revelation version doesn't fit in. Hopefully he still comes.

Hopefully Florian and everyone else gets to keep their jobs.

[anytimepally]

Sounds like Funko is trying to make Mondo "more Funko." Funko's expertise (can I call it that? ) is in toys and collectibles. They probably didn't know what to do with the poster side.

[jibernish]

Funko will just release their own AI generated posters...

[zodak74]

Funko will just release their own AI generated posters...

#gross

But not far fetched!

[chuc98]

This is heartbreaking to hear about for all those effected. I've seen people at work get laid off before, including someone with 40 years of service. The all mighty dollar reigns supreme in the U.S. Companies aren't families any more, employees are merely numbers.

[Ka Rot-Top]

WHOA.

Funko laid off the majority of Mondo. I was wondering what happened to their planned Happy Hour this week. Doh!

https://www.thewrap.com/funko-mondo-...se-production/


Toys and records are "safe" (sure they are), but this is huge considering they rose up because of their prints.

BOOOO! Shame on Funko! You just lost this "loyalist" Funko! What a shame. That's America for ya folks! Welcome to the land of bilk and money! Let freedom cha ching $$$! BOOOO!

[Ornclown]

Man... that's brutal.

The guys who built the company are sent away?

I wonder how this will impact the Mondo collectibles in the long run...?

[depp76]

Wow. That sucks.

[Durendal]

Man... that's brutal.

The guys who built the company are sent away?

In fairness, the co-founders were the ones who decided to sell Mondo, so in no way should this move have come as a surprise to them. The old boss(es) is never kept on long term after a takeover/buyout - only for a transition period at most.

[zodak74]

In fairness, the co-founders were the ones who decided to sell Mondo, so in no way should this move have come as a surprise to them. The old boss(es) is never kept on long term after a takeover/buyout - only for a transition period at most.

Not entirely accurate... the company Mondo itself was owned by their parent company, the Alamo Drafthouse. It was the Drafthouse that unloaded Mondo, not the co-founders. It wasn't Rob & Mitch's idea to sell themselves to Funko. And while I'm sure everyone was nervous about the transition to Funko, I sincerely doubt any of them thought Funko would tear out the heart of what Mondo's business was primarily known for: prints.

That said, you're not wrong in that this sort of thing fits a long-standing pattern. Heck, I've now worked for two companies in Austin that got bought up by larger entities and pretty much the exact same thing ended up playing out in the end. "Gee, thanks for creating all this. And now it's time for y'all to go!" But I don't think it's something one always is prepared for or really thinks is coming, per se. I doubt this is the outcome anyone was hoping for- just recently on their last Youtube Happy Hour they were teasing the return of their physical gallery space and a big event coinciding with it.

[BCI Guy]

This is so sad. My office walls are covered, almost exclusively, with Mondo prints.