Funko Mike Becker at San Diego Comic Con Museum Mask O Raid October 2023.
Exclusive interview with Funko’s Mike Becker at San Diego Comic Con Museum Mask O Raid III.
Funko partners with San Diego Comic Con Museum for a Halloween Event that can’t be missed.
Read About Mask O Raid at SouthOCBeaches.com
Funko and Comic-Con International are two unbeatable brands of geek culture that seemingly have a universal reach.
Comic-Con International a non profit organization established in 1970 has arguably provided the stage that has transformed pop culture and the film industry over the past two decades.
In 2021, they established their own pop culture focused museum that is open year-round in Balboa Park, San Diego.
The colorful and creative brand of toys known as Funko Pops! established in 1998 by Mike Becker have become a yearly Billion dollar business that has taken over the world of collecting with over 150 different licenses.
David Crane at South OC Beaches spoke with Funko Founder and Funmaker Mike Becker at San Diego Comic Con Museum Mask O Raid on Friday October 27 2023.
They spoke about the relationship Funko has with Comic-Con International, the spirit of Halloween and cosplaying, even Cereal box mascots and so much more!
Enjoy the read!
DC: Thank you for meeting with me tonight Mike, to start off I’d like to ask what inspired you and Funko to team up with the Comic-Con Museum and put together the Mask-O-Raid events?
MB: Well first off I’d like to say that every time Comic-Con invites us to team up for an event we do it. It’s a privilege for us to work with them, as we have a long standing relationship. We’re celebrating over twenty years with Comic-Con and twenty five years with Funko. So it’s a big deal to us. We donate our time and whatever resources we can to raise as much money as we can to support the Comic-Con Museum while also making sure our fans have a great time attending these events. Earlier today I was up stairs in the craft area and met a lot of the staff and it really warms my heart to see where this money is going. It’s really a fantastic and world class museum. It’s really fun and as I mentioned the staff is wonderful. So we’re all in with San Diego Comic-Con.
DC: As part of tonight, and tomorrow’s Mask-O-Raid events you will assume the role of Fright-Maker as you host the mystery behind the mask presentation. Can you tell us a bit about that and what fans can expect to see?
MB: Well really it’s a metaphor for how a lot of people feel in life. Ya know during my time growing up I felt marginalized and scared a little bit. I wasn’t always the most popular or best looking kid in school, and so I always gravitated towards dressing up. I always liked that idea, and I loved Halloween because it gave me license to kind of act out with confidence, a kind of character that I wish I was. So it’s probably natural that I would gravitate to things like Comic-Con and creating Funko because it gave me license to act and live out those dreams I had as a kid. When someone goes to Comic-Con and sees people doing cosplay you see a loving family, you see culture and community in a way you won’t see anywhere else. It’s a chance for you to get in the game, it’s a chance for you to put your name on the back of your jersey if you will. It’s a chance to not sit on the sidelines and watch someone else participate, it’s a chance for you to participate.
DC: I absolutely agree with that. Knowing that Halloween is such an important holiday for you, I have to ask what is your favorite horror movie?
MB: Gosh, I think it would have to be the original Amityville Horror. I remember my parents taking me to see it with a friend, and I remember how scary it was going home that night. Just scary, I remember we dropped my friend off and he had to walk back about two blocks on his own back to his house. And he still talks about how scared he was walking back home that night!
DC: Some of your fans may be surprised to know that you are an avid collector of cereal boxes. What are some of the ones that you’ve really enjoyed collecting or interested in?
MB: Well you’re picking my favorite stuff here! As a kid growing up it was the one time I would go to the grocery store with my mom because she would allow me to pick out my favorite cereal. And of course I’d pick out the one with the best prize in it, Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms naturally were always on the top of that list right? And they were friendly, fun characters I’d watch in commercials during Saturday mornings. But the ultimate, ultimate cereal characters have got to be Count-Chocula, Franken-Berry, and Boo-Berry!
DC: They definitely have a big following, and they come back to store shelves every year for the Halloween season I think right?
MB: Absolutely they do, the single greatest time in my life were Saturday mornings eating monster cereals.
DC: Going back to Comic-Con, Funko had a massively successful panel in Hall H back in 2022. There were major celebrities, big giveaways and it was one of the most popular panel events of the year. Do you foresee Funko doing that again at Comic-Con in Hall H?
MB: Yeah, I think we may do one again at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024. 2022 was a really special one for us, we had Rosario Dawson, Simu Liu, William Zabka, and of course our personal favorite Funko family member “Fluffy” Gabriel Iglesias. He comes with us everywhere, and he truly is a Funko fanatic. He loves it, and heck he’s probably been Popped 17 times.
DC: 17 times is astounding! Well now I have to ask, whom do you believe has been immortalized in a Funko pop figure the most?
MB: Well I’m trying to remember, but ya know there’s a lot of controversy surrounding that question. If you’re talking about a fictional character it’s likely that Batman or Spider-Man have the most Pops! As far as personalities go we think Gabriel Iglesias at 17 pops may have been popped the most.
DC: Well I believe that’s our time, I appreciate you meeting with me before you begin night one of the Mask-O-Raid. Anything extra you can say for those going to night two of the Comic-Con Museum Mask-O-Raid?
MB: Well along with everything else that we have planned, Saturday the creator of Hocus Pocus David Kirschner will be here! So I hope you’ll be here for that as well, it’s going to be another night of great fun.
DC: Tickets are still on sale for that evening at Comic-ConMuseum.org, thank you so much for meeting me with me Mike.
MB: It was so nice to meet you, thank you.
Reporters Review of Mask O Raid 2023
I had a blast attending the third annual Mask-O-Raid.
It provided quality entertainment, food, giveaways, prizes, and music.
Having the party at the Comic-Con Museum provides a fantastic backdrop of pop cultural history.
My experience with the staff was outstanding with everyone generously going out of their way to ensure fans would have a good time.
The atmosphere of passionate fans (which includes Mike) having a great time involved in what they love truly made it a memorable night.
If you can, I highly recommend looking into attending tonight’s event. For more information on tonight’s event go to Event Brite
