The following is an interview with Wandering Planet Toys co-founders Doc Wyatt (writer – Essentials, Star Wars Resistance, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters) and Gavin Hignight (writer – Star Wars Resistance, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) regarding their return to Kickstarter for the first-ever officially licensed, 1:12 scale, fully articulated Kolchak action figures. Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Wyatt and Hignight about their incredible connection to the Kolchak fan community and its positive impact on their product development, the exciting backer rewards available through the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You are – yet again – delighting fans with your latest Wandering Planet endeavor: the first-ever officially licensed action figures of Carl Kolchak and his vampire nemesis Janos Skorzeny! What can you share with us about the genesis of your partnership with Monstrous Books for these incredible, new action figures?
Doc Wyatt: What I can tell you is how incredibly lucky we feel to be able to do this. When Gavin first had this crazy idea to start an indie toy company out of his garage, Kolchak was one of the first things we had on the dream list. Starting a small business can be tough, emotionally and financially, but it was the idea of doing stuff like Kolchak that got us going.
Gavin Hignight: And honestly on this one, the stars aligned. We have tons of crazy ideas we try to make happen, and they are not always meant to be. The team we work with for PR on all our campaigns (Looking at you, Superfan Promotions!) happened to also be doing work with Monstrous. We were all introduced, and talked about all kinds of awesome stuff, but landed very quickly on our mutual desire to see Kolchak cross into the world of action figures. Monstrous has already been breathing new life into the world of Carl Kolchak, as well as doing a new printing of the book that started it all! And we were thrilled to dig into that book and pull Kolchak from the page.
BD: When working through the production design of your action figures, do you have a set number of accessories that you include with your molds, or is it often dependent upon the characters themselves?
DW: It has to be the characters that lead the way. The question has to be: What details do we need to make the experience of having Kolchak (or the Prisoner, or Nancy Drew) on your toy shelf the most fun it can be? Then, you figure out stuff like budgets and tool space allotments.
GH: What Doc said! I’ll just add that we really researched the era… what camera, what shoes, what hat, what tape recorder Kolchak would have used. We got some help from some super fans and just settled into the accessories he includes. Janos (the vampire) didn’t really speak to us in terms of accessories… so for him we made sure to include an alternate set of terrifying outstretched pointed vampire finger hands.
BD: How would you describe your collaboration with Monstrous in bringing Kolchak and Skorzeny to life in 1/12 scale?
DW: We’ve known James, the principal at Monstrous, for years through a mutual connection, and just from being in the fandom. I’d describe the partnership as natural and organic.
GH: Yes, I’ve said this before, but our conversations have really just been horror fans talking about what they love. We’ve talked about all types of monster stuff, and the business part just came along naturally, which we are thankful to Monstrous and James for. Also, working with someone who understands what we are trying to do is nice, there is some shorthand there, things we don’t have to explain, that maybe we’ve had to use energy explaining to other licensors. Monstrous knows what makes a good collectible and what fans of Kolchak want.
BD: Why do you feel that Kolchak has maintained such an incredible legacy, both for fans as well as creators?
DW: It’s the perfect mix. The gritty, scrappy Noir-style reporter, seeking to uncover the truth everyone else is afraid of, combined with the bizarre and monstrous that could be hiding in your own city. It was Film Noir with monsters, and it was X-Files before X-Files.
GH: There are some bands, artists, shows, books, characters that will always be counter-culture, will be hugely popular, but not necessarily mainstream. I gravitate toward many heroes like this. The Prisoner is a good example, The Ramones are a good example and so is Kochak in his various forms of media. A real, flawed, but heroic character. Storytelling that is smart, clever and not obvious. You can tell Wandering Planet gravitates toward cult heroes. I think one thing about them… like Kolchak, is there is something of ourselves we see in them, or something of ourselves that we’d like to be more like them. Some of my favorite “good guys” aren’t the most strong, or the most skilled, but they don’t know when to give up, they get knocked down and their strength is they are too stupid to stay down… and that’s how they win, they always get back up. Kolchak is that.
BD: These new figures will be available through your Kickstarter campaign. Are there any specific backer rewards that you are most excited to share?
GH: We’ve really made a simple, easy-to-collect line with Kolchak. We know the current economy and especially the effects of tariffs on toys and collectibles has led to a lot of uncertainty, so for this line, instead of going big or crazy, we went direct. Let’s make the best possible figure of Kolchak and a monster for him to fight, and let’s get it at a price point fans can afford, and we can realistically get through all the current hurdles that are being thrown at us. I will say, we have a really fun ADD ON for the campaign, a retro lunch box! What creepy kid doesn’t want to take their lunch to school in a Kolchak: The Night Stalker lunchbox?
BD: Lastly, are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
DW: Kind readers, please check out my graphic novel, Essentials, out now from The Lab Press.
GH: Thank you for asking! Many probably don’t realize that Doc and I both work as writers and producers, as well. On the media front, a feature film I wrote called Unknown Company just completed production with director Vincent Talenti, and I’ve just completed the proof of concept film for my sci-fi/horror feature I’m working toward making… more on that soon I hope. On the Wandering Planet Toys front… We are hard at work on sculpts for THE PRISONER WAVE THREE! Which is amazing to say. And we are not finished with HORROR… something really cool is in development, figures I’ve been waiting my entire life to make… and we get to make them.
