Once again it's February, and that means it's time for my annual Best Of lists for the previous year. I see a lot of other collectors putting out their lists in December, and sometimes even November, but I usually like to give myself a month or so to find items released at the end of the year and give them their fair shake. I also try to really go through my list and make sure items I'm basing my picks on really did get released domestically in North America during the previous year. I have three lists that I do every year and you'll see one a week for the next three weeks or so. I'm starting off with my top honors, though: My Top 10 Toylines of 2024.
Creating my "Top 10" lists is always one of my favorite things to do at Action Figure Barbecue and I always spend quite a bit of time pouring over my notes from the previous year to determine which toylines were my favorites to collect. This is the thirteenth year I've created a list (the earliest ones were posted at The Epic Review) and it's always interesting too see how my lists change from year to year, often reflecting my changing interests and collecting trends. Like is often the case, 2024's list had some long time favorites, some returning champions, and some new comers.
In 2024 I noticed what seemed to be a continuing trend of lots of toylines being marketed directly to collectors and being sold just online or through specialty vendors. I know it's been the case for quite a few years now but no longer is traditional retail required to have a successful toyline. Lines like Mythic Legions & Cosmic Legions, Action Force, Savage Crucible, LooseCollector's Coffin Comics, Animal Warriors of the Kingdom, anything from Boss Fight, or Chicken Fried Toys are impressive, robust lines, some going for a decade now, and the bigger retail giants have nothing on them.
Going straight to collectors is the order of the day once again, even for Hasbro, Mattel, and NECA. They have continued to sell product at retail, sure, but also have lots of online exclusive products targeted to collector's base. Heck, NECA might even ship you product you didn't order! At regular retail, you'll find most product marketed to kids in the action figure aisle is based on videogames, probably even more than superheroes, Trasnformers, wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the now perennial Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World right now. Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Bendy, Pokemon, and something called Skibidi Toilet. Heck, Walmart even has classic Sega stuff, including toys from Altered Beast! Altered Beast at Walmart in 2024!
Unlike last year where it seemed like lots of box office bombs led to lots of product sitting, getting clearanced out, and ending up at Ollie's and the like, this year toy companies seemed to be more conservative. As mentioned earlier, Hasbro was even conservative with Deadpool & Wolverine, The Acolyte, and Skeleton Crew. This year most toylines that collectors care about from the big players seemed to be produced in smaller numbers. It's been rare to see much new stuff hitting discount stores and liquidators in any significant numbers.
Going straight to collectors is the order of the day once again, even for Hasbro, Mattel, and NECA. They have continued to sell product at retail, sure, but also have lots of online exclusive products targeted to collector's base. Heck, NECA might even ship you product you didn't order! At regular retail, you'll find most product marketed to kids in the action figure aisle is based on videogames, probably even more than superheroes, Trasnformers, wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the now perennial Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World right now. Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Bendy, Pokemon, and something called Skibidi Toilet. Heck, Walmart even has classic Sega stuff, including toys from Altered Beast! Altered Beast at Walmart in 2024!
Unlike last year where it seemed like lots of box office bombs led to lots of product sitting, getting clearanced out, and ending up at Ollie's and the like, this year toy companies seemed to be more conservative. As mentioned earlier, Hasbro was even conservative with Deadpool & Wolverine, The Acolyte, and Skeleton Crew. This year most toylines that collectors care about from the big players seemed to be produced in smaller numbers. It's been rare to see much new stuff hitting discount stores and liquidators in any significant numbers.
It's also been interesting seeing which smaller companies have made it into Walmart, Target, and the like. At my local Walmart and Target I can find figures from Super7, Nacelle, Trick 'r Treat Studios, NECA, Mego, others. It reminds me of the good ol' late 1990s and early 2000s where there was crazy stuff everywhere, though especially at places like Media Play.
A number of years back I divided my Top 10 list into two separate categories: My Top 10 Toylines and My Top 10 Individual Releases. I always start with My Top 10 Toylines as it's my standard best of list. These are the 10 toylines (action figures, statues, minifigures, etc.) of the past year that I had the most fun collecting and enjoyed the most. They may not always be the best or the most expansive lines, but they're my favorites for one reason or another. As I reiterate every year, the two key word for this list are "my" and "favorite." My list isn't necessarily based on a toyline's true merits and I really don't go outside of what interests me. Take this as a snapshot of the ten toylines I had the most fun collecting in 2024. As always, these are listed alphabetically rather than by any order of merit. And now, for My Top 10 Toylines of 2024...
