Funko, a leading lifestyle brand, has partnered with Warner Bros. to launch a special edition NFT: a cover of DC Comics The Brave and the Bold #28. The cover will be available exclusively on Walmart.com starting October 7th, 2022, and come with a digital twin, redeemable on the blockchain WAX.
Andrew Perlmutter, CEO of Funko, said the company is “thrilled” to bring this first-to-market opportunity to a mass market retailer like Walmart. He added that it’s an easy way for shoppers to start collecting fan-favorite brands and characters.
The Brave and the Bold is a DC legacy brand, featuring team-ups from DC Comic characters across that universe. DC first released the series in the 1950s and followed its debut with two mini-series in 1991 and 1999. Comic fans may know it best from its introduction to the Justice League, a team of crime-solving superheroes.
There will be a total of 30,000 “phygital” (physical + digital) collectibles available. To redeem the NFT version of the cover, users will just need to connect a compatible wallet. In the digital version of The Brave and the Bold cover, users will be able to see superhero favorites battling Starro the Conqueror.
Josh Hackbarth, Head of NFT Commercial Development at Warner Bros., said it is “exciting” to see the fan enthusiasm surrounding the Funko digital collectible series. He added making this drop a “phygital” experience will allow them to reach a broader audience, including those entering the space for the first time.
Comics Dive Deep into Web3
Comics are known as exciting tales that combine illustrations with dialogue, a recipe that makes them well-suited for non-fungible tokens. Here are three stories involving comics and the nascent technology space that exploded in 2021.
First, there is Archie Comics. Five months ago, the creators of the comic dropped a 66,666 NFT collection on the platform Palm. The NFTs afforded various utilities, including the ability to submit fan art and stories to an official channel. According to a statement at the time, the Archie team planned to incorporate some fan-submitted storylines into an actual comic.
Second, there is the subject of our article: DC Comics. Six months ago, Warner Bros. announced it planned to launch a collection of 6 million DC-inspired trading cards. Like with other DC Comics experiences, the physical trading cards came with an NFT twin. All told, they featured 155 superheroes and villains.
Third and finally, there is PUNKS Comics. The creator of these comics, the Web3 homegrown Pixel Vault, was the subject of a news article when it raised $100 million in funding eight months ago. Pixel Vault said the raise would go to build further out the PUNKS Comics and Pixel Vault universes.
For DC Comics collectors and first-time NFT collectors, the new The Brave and the Bold cover will be a nice entry point into digital collecting. And given the popularity of pairing comics with NFTs, it’s hard to not see this as a success.