Toy Talk: Erique Watson

This month, we turn our attentions away from industry insiders — the guys who create the Toys, Statues and items we love to collect — and focus on one of our own: Diamond brand manager for our Toys section, Erique Watson.

Erique is an avid collector and toy enthusiast, and is the main liaison between Diamond and Funko (among others), which puts him at the frontlines for bringing exclusive POP!s to the pages of PREVIEWS throughout the year.

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PREVIEWSworld: Tell us about your role at Diamond as a Brand Manager for the Merchandise team?

Erique Watson: I look for new vendors offering pop culture toy product, as well as develop product exclusives for Diamond, based on trends in entertainment licensing.

PREVIEWSworld: You are the brand manager for Funko and you handle the many Exclusive POP! Vinyl Figures we see in PREVIEWS each month. How do you work with Funko to determine those exclusives?

Erique Watson: I come up with a list of characters and concepts that we want to develop into exclusives, and we work to whittle that list down to the best possible product offerings for our retailers and their consumers. This is often times based on upcoming TV/film releases, video games, events in comic books or feedback from other sources.

PREVIEWSworld: This past year you have also worked with Funko to offer limited edition variant cover comics to go along with the PREVIEWS Exclusive Pop! Figures. Tell us more about that program?

Erique Watson: Sure. Going forward, select upcoming Marvel POP! exclusives will offer incentive, exclusive comic book covers, based on that POP! character. We’re hoping to extend this program to other publishers in upcoming projects. Be sure to check in with your local Diamond retailer for details on the next exclusive POP! comic offering from PREVIEWS!

PREVIEWSworld: Can you tease any PREVIEWS Exclusive POP! Figures that will be coming in 2020? Anything for Free Comic Book Day?

Erique Watson: In 2020, we’re going to have some really cool POP! exclusives, based on some A-list characters and fan-favorites that have not yet been seen in the POP! format. And something really, really cool is coming for Free Comic Book Day! Stay tuned!