With massive flooding in China affecting one of Thrilljoy's factories, the company was unable to maintain its original presence at New York Comic Con (NYCC), but that did not stop it from making a strong showing nonetheless. Thrilljoy partnered with Toy Temple and exhibited at its booth, where its executives spoke with The Direct.
Thrilljoy's Karissa Marston explained that the company was "actually supposed to exhibit here pretty big with a booth and a party" before the "massive floods." They "are so happy everyone is safe" and were able to turn around an alternative for New York Comic-Con quickly:
"We were actually supposed to exhibit here pretty big with with a booth and a party, but our factory unfortunately had some massive floods with all the terrible weather in China. So, you know, we are so happy everyone is safe. And it was a great pivot with our friends at Toy Temple. And we were really able to get some some stuff out, even though there we didn't bring it exclusive."
Toy Temple launched exclusive products, including ones based on Ben 10 and Man At Arms, which Thrilljoy was "really excited" to be a part of. This allowed for something that can "still feel exclusive" for Thrilljoy fans.
The company, founded by former Funko CEO Brian Mariotti, made its official debut at NYCC last year. In the year since, Thrilljoy made clear that it intends to follow through on its promises for fan input to steer the company's direction, per Marston:
"Our fans and the community [are] at the core of everything that we're doing, and we really want to make sure that we're speaking to that audience. So what we did is we took all this fan feedback, listened to our Fan Advisory Board, made sure that, you know, we really made a product that we were proud of and that our fans would love and want to collect."
Looking Ahead to Thrilljoy's Future
While Marston could not reveal much about what fans can expect to see Thrilljoy (read more about its mascot, which debuted last year) work on soon, she did have a lot to tease.
Thrilljoy is planning to "double all the IPs" it works with in the coming year. Also, Marston said fans can expect to see "some niche characters" from franchises the company already works with:
"2026 is going to be a huge year for us. We're so excited. We're gonna double all the IPs that we have. We're working with some niche characters and the IPs that we do have. So there's a lot of stuff coming down."
She also mentioned some franchises that were officially announced for upcoming products, including Dexter, Astro Boy, and the Universal Monsters, the latter of which recently launched.
Marston added that what she cannot share yet is among her "dream stuff:"
"Some of my dream stuff, I can't say quite yet, but, but we are working on some things that the fans know me and the things I love, I think they'll be excited about some things that we have coming out."
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
