Having first launched at New York Comic Con back in 2024, collectible company Thrilljoy returned to the Javits Center for the third time this year, and spoke with The Direct about the past, present, and future of the brand.
Last year, destructive floods in China changed Thrilljoy’s plans for its second appearance at New York Comic Con. But, this did not stop the growing company from having a presence at the convention that started it all.
Turns out, this fast recovery showed those at Thrilljoy just how quickly it is possible to get things done. Director of Marketing Karissa Marston said the situation “taught us how to just be nimble with a lot of other things.”
For instance, Marston shared a story about how one IT: Welcome to Derry figure was able to make it onto shelves only two weeks after the scene it is based on released to the public:
Marston: “Our team watched ‘[IT:] Welcome to Derry.’ It was the one scene that made us all weep in there … We have an incredible relationship with our licensing partners, and we talked to them, and from ideation to our pre-sale on-shelf date was 14 days since that episode. And I think that that just shows that we learned a lot, that we were able and to do things quickly, to pivot quickly, and we want to continue to do things like that.
Since Launch, Thrilljoy Has Prioritized Fans
Thrilljoy CEO Brian Mariotti formerly held the same role at Funko, and says that in just one full year with PIX!, Thrilljoy has seen a level of response that took Funko nine years to get.
Director of Marketing Karissa Marston said she is “humbled by the response that we receive from the fans and from our retail partners:”
Karissa Marston: “We’re all doing this because we love it — the love of the game. But I think that we’re all so humbled by the response that we receive from the fans and from our retail partners.”
Brian Mariotti: “That’s about nine years of Funko, like, growing to the level we got in our basically our first full year with PIX!. I always look at how we grew Funko from the ground up bit by bit by bit. To see us have those kind of numbers on a new product platform, well within the first year, is so far ahead of what we did at Funko.”
Mariotti attributes this fast growth to “fans recognizing the effort that we put into these products.”
Since its launch in 2024, Thrilljoy has been very vocal about putting the fans and collectors first. One way the company achieves this is through its fan advisory board — an element of the company The Direct has reported on since it was first announced.
Back in 2024, Mariotti described the then-forthcoming fan advisory board as one way Thrilljoy would put fans first. Two years later, Thrilljoy is seeing that exact result:
The Direct: “What is something that is visible and seen right now that comes from the fan advisory board?”
Marston: “First of all, the trays — the plastic trays that exist on our our products. Our fan advisory board was getting just inundated with all of these fans saying that they’re going into their local stores and people were cutting the bottoms open, or you know, corners were being damaged, and brought that back to Brian. And in real time, by the time our next drop happened, we had put plastic trays on the top and bottom. That feedback came directly from the ground from our fan advisory board, who gave that feedback to us.”
Mariotti continued, saying “We’re only as good as our fans,” and that Thrilljoy is “not about top-line revenue:”
Mariotti: “It’s about sustainable business and making things that are really cool that people are dying to get. And if you do that consistently, the business part takes care of itself.”
As for what fans can expect from Thrilljoy next, there is a lot to get excited for.
Mariotti teased “two new platforms that come out next year that we can’t talk about it this show,” describing them as platforms “Thrilljoy can add a unique take on:”
Mariotti: “We have two new platforms that come out next year that we can’t talk about it this show, but we’re close on that we’re really excited about as a company. … Things that I think Thrilljoy can add a unique take on that maybe the rest of the market isn’t thinking like we are, and I think our fans are going to be really excited what we bring in in [20]27. 27 is going to be an amazing year as we expand our portfolio with licenses and shows, but also new platforms.”
When it comes to products, Marston said she knows “that fans have been wanting a lot moreanime, and we can promise that that’s coming.”
Marston also teased that there is more on the way from Thrilljoy’s partnership with Disney, following its first Disney release of Toy Story figures. She described what is coming as “absolutely insane:”
Marston: “I know our fans have been really excited about Disney. We’ve only had the ‘Toy Story’ out, but like that’s just a tase of what we’re doing with Disney and some of the you know decos that Brian is working on for different favorite Disney characters that are just absolutely insane — things that you haven’t seen in the market yet.”
