Backstage Pass: June!

Hey Guys and Gals!

This month was insane! We had a launch of the Zobie XL and the Zobie Funko Mystery Grab Bag. On top of that, we had over 15 signings we conducted. Each month, I feel like we are getting bigger and bigger with all of the different deals we have in place for this summer. 

Here is an image of our orders from the Zobie XL.

Kellen Goff Signing

First signing of the month was Kellen Goff. Kellen is an extremely talented voice actor. You best know him for the voice of Funtime Freddy. If you get to meet Kellen at a comic con near you, you have to ask him to do the voice. Absolutely amazing!

Dalton Schultz Signing

The next signing we conducted was with 4th round draft pick from the Dallas Cowboys Dalton Schultz. Dalton was drafted from Stanford and is supposed to get a lot of playing time due to the recent retirement of Jason Witten. I got to spend some time with Dalton and he was excited for the upcoming season, as am I.

Andrew Bryniarski Signing

Next up was a private signing with Andrew Bryniarski. Andrew is known for his roles in The Program, Any Given Sunday, and the iconic role of Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Andrew was kind enough to do a Facebook LIVE stream of the private signing and answer questions for the Zobie Collectors Community. This is one of the many perks of being part of the fast growing community we have on Facebook. If your not part of the community, I would ask...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?. For real though...go go go now! (Facebook Collectors Community) We have a great community, where people talk about what they collect and share information that can be useful if you are going to a comic con near you. Andrew signed a lot of items that are available on ShopZobie.com. Go check it out!

Fright Pack Secret Signing

Next up was a private signing with one of the people featured in the Zobie Fright Pack that will be released on July 8th at 6pm CT. I make a special edition blog post for the Fright Packs, so stay tuned in to see photos of the signings and additional stories of being on the road for the Fright Pack.

Paul Blake Signing

Next up was a private signing with Greedo himself, Paul Blake. This signing was a joy as its always wonderful to work with Paul. He is really simple to work with and always wants to make sure his fans get a beautiful clear signature. If you are a fan of Star Wars and see Paul coming to a town near you for a comic con appearance, stop by and meet him; he is a joy to chat with. He will happily answer any questions you have about filming the iconic scene with Harrison Ford.

Quick Blurb About Austin, TX

We had a quick turn around for the next private signing, which we traveled down to Cedar Park, TX. I had never been to Cedar Park, but I love the Austin area. The drive down was a breeze as its only about 3 and half hours from where I live in Prosper. I must admit that the area where the talent was staying was amazing. There was lots of restaurants in the area, which makes a world of a difference. One of the things that's really difficult to do being on the road as much as I am is eating healthy. Austin is a real friendly place for great places to eat, where you don't have to scramble for a decent healthy option, and is definitely one of my favorites places to visit.

Tony Todd Signing

The meet up with Tony Todd in Cedar Park was great. This was the first time I have met him, but we have chatted for a long time online. We caught up as he is aware of all of the different things we do as a company and we obtained alot of new items from his roles as the Candyman, Zoom on the Flash and even Night of the Living Dead. If you haven't seen Night of the Living Dead, its one of the films I enjoy watching every year.

Matthew Lillard Signing

Our next trip was only a few days after the Tony Todd signing. I was off to LA for a signing with Matthew Lillard. If you aren't familiar with that name, you might have heard his voice when you were a kid. Matthew has voiced the iconic role of Shaggy from Scobby-Doo, as well as played roles in Scream, Serial Mom, and SLC Punk! He was a joy to work with funny to talk to as well as has great stories to tell. We were able to watch some of the FIFA World Cup on his phone as he is a HUGE soccer fan. I know you were thinking, why not watch it on the TV!? lol The dang hotel didn't have the channels or else we would have watched it there.

My Life of Constant Traveling

One of the most brutal things to deal with is long lines at airports. I usually fly on the earliest flight home from LAX, due to the traffic in LA. This particular time they didn't have the TSA line open and I was actually worried I was going to miss my flight. I got up at 2:45 AM to drive from Pasadena to LAX. If you are familiar with that drive, it would be brutal to do during the day due to traffic. I thought I was doing great in time, so I stopped at one of my favorite places to get donuts (because if you follow me on social media you know by now that I loooove donuts), Randy's Donuts. Well if I knew TSA line was gonna be closed, I probably wouldn't have made that stop lol. I did make my flight, but I was incredibly worried. Doing private signings is not as easy-going as some think.

Quick Signing with Sid Haig and Bill Moseley

NOTE: Quick signing with Sid Haig and Bill Moseley was conducted before Chicago. This was a quick signing in Indy before the 4 big signings in Chicago/Mississippi.

Maile Flanagan Signing

We pulled double duty and completed a signing with the very talented Maile Flanagan, who is known as the voice of Naruto. If you enjoy anime, this was a big signing for us as she is extremely popular at comic cons around the world. She even did a special shout out for Zoey (my oldest daughter, and one-half of Zo-bie) as she is a HUGE fan.

Signings with Steve Downes, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp

I was able to stay home for 3 days before I got on a flight to travel to Chicago. Before I continue, yes the first thing I did was go eat Giordano's. My favorite style of pizza is New York, but I like to eat a slice of deep dish when in Chicago. Why not? Anyways, back to what I was originally going to say, we conducted a signing with Steve Downes, Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp. 

You know I deal with a lot of different personalities in this business. Some are great, some are ok, and some are just awful. Sadly, the experience I had in Chicago wasn't all positive. I believe that in this business some people can be really fake, which is kinda of ironic as most things in Hollywood are fake. I just wish some of the people we did business with were more humble, but I know realistically that won't ever happen. That being said, we completed the signing and will have another signing with them in the Fall. A special shout out to Steve and Noah for being great to work with.

Finn Wolfhard Signing Pre-Order Available

Next, we announced a private signing that we had been working on for a very long time, Finn Wolfhard. If you are a fan of Stranger Things or the IT 2017 film, then you know of Finn's work as Mike and Richie, respectively. He is a great actor that I believe has a great career in front of him. If you are interested in taking part in this private signing, please check out the mail-in options or photo pre-orders here.

Signings with Ross Marquand

Next up is the last private signing for the month, which we traveled to Boston, then commuted an additional 2 hours that turn into 3 due to traffic, to Foxwoods Casino and Resort. The private signing was with Ross Marquand, who is known to many in the horror genre as Aaron from The Walking Dead. He is also the new Soul Stone Keeper in Marvel's Avengers Infinity Wars.

That's all for this month. Thank you for the continued support. Love ya!

- Jayare