Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 27, 2024 | 5 comments

The INSIDE SCOOP on one of the grooviest toy lines right now — DC Comics, horror, monsters — and MORE…

The stunner to come out of this month’s New York Comic Con was the reveal that NECA would be releasing a wave of DC Comics characters for the company’s burgeoning Mego-style Ben Cooper costume action figure line.

Almost as soon as I saw them, I contacted Randy Falk, the company’s VP & General Manager of Product Development, because, y’know, I had questions. LOTS of questions.

Quick back story: NECA’s been producing 5 1/2-inch figures — the Ben Cooper Costumed Kids — since the spring, featuring the famed Frank Romano designs of ghosts, skeletons, devils and even Universal Monsters like the Creature From the Black Lagoon that were especially popular from the ’60s through the ’80s.

They quickly pivoted to other licenses like Alien, Gremlins, Beetlejuice, with much more to come. There’s even a “what if” wave coming soon with characters that never got Ben Cooper costumes, such as Nosferatu and Captain Spaulding. They’ll be in Wave 4.

Wave 5, though, is the big one, the cream of the crop, the top of the heap — at least for fans like me (and very likely you): We’re talking Superman, Wonder Woman and no less than three denizens of Gotham City: Batman, Batgirl and the Joker.

So here are 13 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS about the DC heroes — and what’s to come overall.

But wait there’s more! We’re also unveiling the EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at all five DC characters, running from now until Halloween. That’s right. You’ve seen the basic prototype overview shots out of NYCC but you haven’t the figures UP CLOSE and superbly detailed like this. We start the series with Superman and you can click here to check that out. You will most definitely want to.

Now here are 13 QUESTIONS with Randy Falk:

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Dan Greenfield: Randy, where did this idea even come from?

Randy Falk: A few years back NECA acquired Rubies and I was helping consult with some of their team on trying to establish a collector’s business with their costume and mask categories. When I realized they owned the brands Ben Cooper and Collegeville, the light bulb went off. I grew up in the ’70s and wore those costumes and love the artwork and colors and pretty much everything about them. Nostalgia fuels me and drives what I do, so this was a perfect combination of all of those elements. I knew I wanted to create some figures based on the classic costumes and Frank Romano art and hoped that the fan base would embrace them and feel the same way I did.

Wave 1

Dan: What were the challenges in bringing the first waves to market?

Randy: Honestly there were only two obstacles. Choosing characters, as there are an endless number of SKUs (stock keeping units) and styles to pull from, and finding time to develop them. We have major tentpole theatrical releases we are making toys and collectibles for and those always have to come first, along with maintaining our schedule on fan-favorite lines like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Universal Monsters, and so on. The Ben Cooper Costumed Kids was a new form factor and an experiment of sorts that I could only work on in between the more urgent or time sensitive licenses.

Wave 2

Dan: Your DC wave includes five characters but the packaging also includes, for example, Catwoman. (Did she actually have a costume? I don’t recall seeing one.) What are the chances we’ll see other DC characters, like the infamous Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman costumes?

Randy: Only time will tell. There is so much to cover and I want to make sure we have variety and bounce around (licenses) so it is fresh. But I would love to knock out the other DC characters for sure. As far as Catwoman goes there was a Batman: The Animated Series version and a Batman Returns version in the early ’90s. There is a mysterious Catwoman mask from the late ’60s or early ’70s…

Dan: What’s been your source for the costume designs? How has that worked?

Randy: Well where possible I have purchased some of the original costumes to photograph or scan in, and we have also used hi-res photos and images of the original costumes to help us recreate the artwork. Same with the box art and packaging to ensure we are as accurate and authentic as possible. I take great care to think of all the little details and make sure we get it right. Even the trick-or-treat bags and pumpkin pails that the kids are accessorized with.

Wave 3

Dan: Hasbro is notoriously tight with its master Marvel license. Any possibility of a deal there?

Randy: I WISH! The two licenses I would want most for this format are Marvel and Star Wars.

Dan: Tell me about your own experience as a Ben Cooper kid in the ’70s. Do you have any particular memories? What were your favorite costumes?

Randy: I have so many fond memories of these costumes and play suits and wearing them year ’round, not just for Halloween. My younger brother and I would look forward to choosing them each year and the excitement of being Vader, Spider-Man, Batman, E.T., Wicket, and so on. Spider-Man was a huge favorite of mine and I remember giving my mother a heart attack when I attempted to crawl out of a second story window with the costume and my grandpa’s fishing net (as my web) to see if I could crawl walls and capture criminals.

Randy, out for justice — and candy

Dan: I love the Super Friends pillow case/candy bag. Tell me about that — and the others you’ve used for other characters.

Randy: Well I had that bedding around the same time (mid ’70s) so it just made sense. We have been using bags and pails but I knew I wanted to get pillow cases into the line at some point and while certainly some can be plain white, when it came time to do these with DC I was looking at that art and those old pillow cases and was like, “This is perfect. As long as WB/DC would allow it, we have to do the Super Friends and super villains bedding.”

Dan: I’ve long wanted a line of Ben Cooper T-shirts based on the DC designs and other costumes. What are the chances?

Randy: I would love to and would wear them with pride. Have to see if the licensors will allow.

NECA has some shirts for sale already.

Dan: Tell me about the “what if?” wave and the thinking behind it.

Randy: The idea with that wave is to take more modern contemporary characters and retrofit them to this format to introduce a new generation(s) to the world of Ben Cooper and Collegeville costumes. It doesn’t hurt that the creators and directors of these modern movies, like Eli Roth, Rob Zombie and Michael Doughtery, all grew up with these costumes so they share the same nostalgia and love for the format and all of them were very supportive of seeing their characters in this line.

Wave 4

Dan: I would love to see Planet of the Apes, Star Trek — hell, even The Bugaloos! (I was Courage one year.) What licenses can we look forward to?

Randy: Perhaps you will get to see some of those… I don’t want to divulge too much but within reason I am trying to cover as much as we can. I want to keep the line fun and have a wide variety of characters from all worlds of fandom – animation, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, music, you name it.

I so hope this one gets done. — Dan

Dan: Are most of the waves going to be a mix of licenses or will we see a lot of themes?

Randy: A little of both. Where possible, themes are definitely fun like “what if?” and DC Super Heroes.

You can vote for the next character! Click here for details.

Dan: How many waves do you envision?

Randy: The possibilities are endless. I have loosely plotted out 13 waves as of today but as long as the collectors and fans are engaged we will continue. Besides the licensed IP, the original designs of Cooper/Collegeville are so much fun and amazing to see as figures. Wave 6 will most likely be an assortment of some of those like we did with waves 1 and 2, and there are a few deep cuts I am really excited about.

The first two waves, in package

Dan: Tell me about the overall response — from fans, licensors, retailers, you name it.

Randy: Validating. Gratifying. Enthusiastic. Rabid. Seriously I am beyond thrilled with the response from everyone on this line. It is the most fun I have had creating a toy line in years. To see almost 50 figures designed and in various stages of production already after just launching this spring is nothing short of remarkable. I am so excited to continue expanding it and I am grateful to all the fans and sites like yours who have supported and spread the word since we debuted the initial prototypes one year ago at the 2023 Toy Fair. Sincere thanks and gratitude to all of you and 2025 will be an amazing year!

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MORE

— Dig This EXCLUSIVE UP-CLOSE LOOK at NECA’s BEN COOPER SUPERMAN Action Figure. Click here.

— NECA Plans Mego-Style DC COMICS BEN COOPER Action Figures. Click here.