Funko as a company was founded in 1998 by a gentleman called Mike Becker. They originally were a “bobblehead” company. The original products are the figures now more commonly know as the “Wacky Wobbler” figures which have become so vastly popular today. Becker started the business after he searched for a vintage “Big Boy” coin bank figure and could only find one worth hundreds of dollars, so he decided to have one made in china for a fraction of the cost and thus Funko was born.
In 2005 Mike Becker was bored of the brand and didn’t want to grow the company, so it was fold the company or sell it. He sold Funko to Brian Mariotti. Mariotti has taken the brand from strength to strength by introducing so many more products. Whilst Funko have always had licences for hundreds of characters, Mariotti decided to capitalise on this and bring in further products such as clothing and housewares. Most of these products still hold the iconic Funko Pop style to them but some of the other products have moved on from that.
In 2010 the Funko Pop line was born. It was met with mixed reviews as hardcore Funko fans were used to the bobble heads the company were known for. These new products came along and didn’t bobble. However despite initial resistance the product line took off, and Funko haven’t really looked back since! The first proto types were unveiled at SDCC and were in the DC Comics range. A line that is still a popular best seller today.
The company sell millions of figures to collectors all around the globe on an annual basis. Each year they retire various collections to make room for new collections coming out. They also have specials every year which are highly sought after. Examples of these include the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) exclusives, the Hot Topic Exclusives and the subscription box exclusives. These are usually limited in number and tend to escalate in price fairly quickly as they go out of circulation almost as soon as they come into circulation!