As some of you following me on Twitter might already be aware, I left the friendly confines of Splash Page HQ last week to visit with the fine folks at Mezco Toyz and get the first look at some very cool, customized figures from their new line of "Mez-Itz" vinyl toys.
A few months back, Mezco announced that they were resizing the popular line of collectible figures from a 2.5- to a 6-inch scale, and would be delivering bunches of the blank figures to artists and animators around the world to create their own unique takes on the toys. From comic creators to musicians and animators, a variety of artists answered their call, and 60 of the custom Mez-Itz are going on display for the first time at San Diego's Comic-Con International this month.
But you can get your first, exclusive look at some of the coolest figures weeks ahead of time here on Splash Page!
From Hellboy to Michael Jackson and a variety of other tremendously creative takes on the figures in between, I'm pretty sure you'll be as impressed as I was with the results of Mezco's Mez-Itz experiment. But let's the pictures do the talking here, eh?
Here's the full spread that was laid out when I arrived at the Mezco showroom. The artists who created the Mez-Itz include (left to right in the back row): RTLITETOO, Miss Monster, Irene Mendonis, Jason Jerde, Stephen Blickenstaff, Trevor Zammit, Daniel Brodzik, Josh Izzo and Ken Usanami.
On the left side of the photo above is the Mez-Itz designed by popular "Hellboy" artist Guy Davis, and on the right is a figure customized by musician and animator Voltaire. Sandwiched between them in the back row is a Mez-Itz created by Daniel Brodzik of Front Line Studios inspired by Val Kilmer's character in "Tombstone." (I'm pretty sure that one's my favorite of the bunch.)
On the right side of the above photo is a Mez-Itz customized by artist Angus Oblong, creator of "The Oblongs" animated series.
This "Thriller"-inspired Michael Jackson Mez-Itz was created by Joe Dunn of "Joe Loves Crappy Movies."
These two "Hellboy II" movie-inspired Mez-Itz will be exclusive to Toys R' Us stores.
And finally, saving the best for last, this Hellboy Mez-Itz was inspired by the artwork of the character's creator, Mike Mignola, and will be an exclusive Comic-Con Mez-Itz at this month's convention.
You can drop by the Mezco booth during Comic-con to see these and many, many other customized Mez-Itz on display.
What do you think of the customized Mez-Itz? Which one is your favorite? which one would you like to own?