Marvel, Funko Debuted New Web3 Integrations at Comic Con NY 2022

About 200,000 costumed fans converged astatine New York’s Javits Center from Oct. 6-9 for the eventual popular civilization pilgrimage – NYC Comic Con 2022. While booths were stocked with acquainted plush toys and posters, respective accepted collectibles brands besides incorporated Web3 elements into their fandom, showcasing however blockchain exertion is being welcomed by mainstream collectors.

NFTs to signifier a TV amusement storyline

Many normal attendees look guardant to exclusive roundtable discussions and meet-and-greet experiences featuring the creators of their favourite movie and TV shows.

Among those was a caller amusement called “Krapopolis,” which hails itself arsenic the archetypal animated bid connected the blockchain. Created by Dan Harmon, the caput down “Rick and Morty,” the caller cartoon volition aerial connected Fox TV successful 2023.

The amusement is selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) dubbed “Krap Chickens,” which connection gated entree to real-world events, a virtual viewing country for behind-the-scenes contented and voting rights connected the elements wrong the show. In the archetypal occurrence sneak peek, which premiered astatine Comic Con, Krap Chicken holders voted connected which sailor successful the amusement gets slapped by a Kraken.

NFT holders astatine Comic Con besides received front-row seats to Harmon’s panel, arsenic good arsenic the quality to chopped the enactment for his autograph.

So far, 3,000 of the 10,420 Krap Chickens person already been sold. “10,420 chickens due to the fact that that’s however agelong it could astir instrumentality a chickenhearted to tally the marathon,” said Matt Bilfield, Krapopolis task pb astatine Blockchain Creative Labs.

A forgotten superhero, revived done NFTs

At the eBay booth, a forgotten superhero was brought backmost to beingness and turned into an NFT collection.

Slam-Girl was created successful 2001 by comic fable Stan Lee and creation manager Will Neugniot arsenic a reimagination of the Peter Parker-styled Spiderman series. The franchise was considered a "lost treasure" erstwhile past Stan Lee Media, an internet-based accumulation and selling institution founded by Lee, fell unfortunate to the bursting of the dot-com bubble and became defunct.

“When I discovered Slam Girl, I felt similar Indiana Jones uncovering the Lost Ark,” said Shirrel Rhoades, curator of Slam-Girl and erstwhile enforcement vice president of Marvel Publishing. “Who would person thought that determination were inactive Stan Lee superheroes that cipher had seen?”

Rhoades, present the Director of Stan Lee Holdings, said that the company’s properties were dormant until his collector person purchased each the assets and asked him to curate them. Rhoads past sought retired Will Meugniot, the one-time Marvel animator who co-created the superhero quality with Lee.

The genesis Slam-Girl collection, released astatine Comic Con, features a assortment of scenes of her warring her 4 nemeses. It is available connected eBay, successful collaboration with NFT level OneOf.

“The fans that really ain the postulation volition beryllium the assemblage that gets to ballot connected aboriginal storylines,” said Lin Dai, CEO and laminitis of OneOf.

Both Dai and Meugniot revealed to CoinDesk that the aboriginal concealed powerfulness of Slam Girl is “mind melding.” He teased that the 2nd and 3rd collections of Slam Girl NFTs volition alteration the holders to spot their unsocial NFT arsenic the Slam Girl quality wrong the show.

“This is based connected my ain acquisition arsenic a abdominous kid who loves comic books,” said Neugniot. “I would dice to person a abdominous kid who is simply a existent superhero … and the caller exertion volition alteration you'd person an NFT conscionable similar you volition alteration you to person merchandise that conscionable similar you.”

Comic books and augmented reality

One of the largest exhibitors astatine Comic Con was Veve, a marketplace for licensed integer collectibles, and a spouse of Marvel.

Veve’s communications manager Rhys Skellern showed CoinDesk Marvel’s first-ever comic publication from 1939, which was sold for implicit $2.4 million dollars successful March. Using VeVe, the uncommon comic collectible tin present beryllium viewed successful augmented reality.

“It's 1 of the astir costly carnal comics successful the world. You can't adjacent interaction it, right, you can't instrumentality it retired of its instrumentality … [we’re] giving you entree to intellectual spot (IP) that is retired of scope for astir radical successful the carnal world,” helium said.

Marvel has been licensing its intelligence spot to Veve since June 2021 arsenic a mode to interruption into Web3.

Prior to the partnership, Veve announced its plans to beryllium the archetypal carbon-neutral NFT platform, operating connected ImmutableX. Skellern said “sustainability” is 1 of the reasons down Marvel and Disney’s measurement into integer collectibles.

“NFTs are overmuch cleaner than manufacturing carnal products,” helium said.

Funko takes accepted collectibles into Web3

The nighttime ended with a Halloween-themed enactment hosted by Funko, which precocious released DC comics linked to NFTs.

Attendees purchased a peculiar $200 summons and were capable to instrumentality location a goodie container afloat of Halloween-themed Funko Pops, a poster and an NFT acceptable to beryllium claimed.

The assemblage ranged from Funko lovers to resellers who aimed to merchantability these items connected the secondary market. One attendee said helium instantly made $1,100 by posting his goods to a Facebook group.

According to Dai, this year's Comic Con continued to amusement similarities betwixt accepted collectors and crypto natives.

“If I could person 1 privation … we nary longer telephone these NFTs, conscionable integer collectibles,” helium said. “I deliberation that connection could resonate truly good with comic fans who are already rabid assemblage forming groups.”