Arizona-based McFarlane Toys has inked a multi-year brand deal with Hasbro to develop licensed products for Transformers, G.I. Joe, Power Rangers and Dungeons & Dragons.
The agreement focuses on McFarlane’s two-year-old Page Punchers range, which combines a comic book and two action figures in one package. The Hasbro-branded Page Punchers will roll out to mass and specialty retailers worldwide in Q1 2024, starting with Transformers and G.I. Joe SKUs.
Offering extra-value collectibles is an effective way to encourage kids to pick up and read more comics, says the toyco’s namesake CEO Todd McFarlane. The Page Punchers line is already producing licensed SKUs for DC and Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Comics seem to be a growing focus for both companies, which previously teamed up in June when McFarlane’s Image Comics secured the license to publish new Transformers and G.I. Joe titles.
There also appears to be a market for Hasbro comics. For example, Transformers #1 (pictured) has already sold more than 153,000 copies at specialty retailers since Image launched it in October. New G.I. Joe titles Duke (this month) and Cobra Commander (January) are next up in the release schedule.