The following is an interview with Bryan Adams (Director of Marketing) regarding the recent launch of a Kickstarter campaign for The Nacelle Company’s hardcover art collection, The Art of The Toys That Made Us, in collaboration with Oni Press. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Adams about his experience in revisiting the artwork of the hit TV series, the incredible reward tiers available to backers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: The Nacelle Company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign in collaboration with Oni Press for The Art of The Toys That Made Us, a set of deluxe hardcovers collecting artwork from the smash-hit series. As the books will collect over 250 pages of designs, artwork, advertising, and more, what has been your experience in revisiting this work in preparation for launch?
Bryan Adams: When revisiting, we realized there’s some insanely cool facts, photos, box art, concept art, and other items that we left on the cutting room floor when making the episodes due to time constraints. So, it felt natural to do an art book that helps encapsulate the larger stories for each of these brands without feeling like we were leaving any important information out. It’s been a blast looking through these archives and piecing the books together page by page.
BD: Why do you feel that the brands represented in these books made such an indelible mark on audiences and consumers?
BA: Because brands like MOTU, G.I. Joe., Barbie, Transformers, and others covered in the book weren’t scared to take big creative swings. They embraced the beauty of unvarnished creativity and the big wigs at the top supported that endeavor. I also think fans that grew up with these brands feel connected because of the tactile nature of toys in the pre-digital age, making those toys part of larger nostalgic memories from our childhood.
BD: In light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
BA: I personally love the 1 of 1 artist edition boxes for our Biker Mice from Mars figures. If you ever got a blank comic cover sketched by your favorite artist at a con, this is essentially the same thing, but in toy form. I can’t wait to see the incredible art Juan Gedeon comes up with. These are very limited, so I’d grab one quick if you’re interested!
BD: What has been your experience in collaborating with Oni Press to bring these hardcovers to life?
BA: They are some of the best partners we’ve ever had on a project. Their knowledge of the comics and book-world, combined with our knowledge of toys and pop-culture, has made this a seamless working relationship.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – from The Nacelle Company that you would like to highlight for our readers?
BA: We make toys, too, not just documentaries about toys! We make the officially licensed 1/10 scale Star Trek figures for Paramount, as well as figures for Biker Mice from Mars, C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, Sectaurs, RoboForce, and more. We also make a show on Disney+ called Behind the Attraction and a new season for that series just dropped recently. Lastly, we’re working on new seasons of Icons Unearthed, and should have an larger announcement about that later this year.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for readers to lend their support to the The Art of The Toys That Made Us Kickstarter campaign?
BA: Back the campaign if you’re financially able to do so. If you can’t financially, that’s okay, too! Sharing the link with your friends goes a long way to amplify the campaign and we appreciate everyone’s support, big or small.
