Published November 10, 2019, 6:00 AM
Compiled by ANGELA CASCO, ROC VERDERA, VIANCA GAMBOA, and JULES VIVAS
It was not my intention to start collecting FunkoPops. My best friend was the one who influenced me. I bought my first Funko Pop (SpiderMan with Upgraded Suit #470). It didn’t feel right to just have one, and the rest was history. I am now collecting because it is satisfying to see your favorite characters and personalities become part of what I can call a “family” and see this family grow. Plus, they’re also nice to look at when they start to look like one big wall. —Argyll Geducos, news reporter
The very first Funko Pop I ever bought was a Jon Snow vinyl figure that was meant as I am an avid fan of the TV series Game of Thrones. Not long after I first bought Jon Snow Funko, I slowly began picking up Funko for myself after I began seeing characters from genre franchises I loved and even from the anime series like My Hero Academia and One Piece. There was no real reason that dictated which Pops I collected beyond my simply liking a particular character. But in time, something about the beady-eyed vinyl figures began to amuse me. I don’t really think of myself as much as a hoarder, though. At the end of the day, Funkos are symbols to represent the emotional relationship that I have to all the characters and stories I love. Everyone is a fan of something—Funko! —John Dexter Geran, graphic artist
I currently have 25,000 unique pieces of fast food toys. I got into collecting FunkoPops when they started producing Funko Pop versions of famous fast food icons. My first acquisition was the Jollibee Funko Pop, which was given to me by Collectors Hive when they invited me to give a speech and receive an award at the 2018 History Con. Then it was followed by friends who sold me Funk Pop Col. Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, one original and the other a rare variant. I also got the famous mascot of Big Boy Fast Food Restaurant from the US. When Jollibee in a Philippine barong was released, I went a tad out of control because I bought four of those. I am so looking forward to Nov. 11 because Jollibee will be releasing a Twin Funko Pop of Jollibee and Twirlie. I am so excited! I guess because I was bitten by the Funk Pop bug so hard that now I ended up buying Funks of other characters that aren’t necessarily fast food related. Today, I have the set of Golden Girls Funko Pop (Blanch, Sophia, Rose, and Dorothy), Toy Story Funko Pop, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Marvel, DC, and other pop culture Funkos like Captain Crunch. I have preordered Funkos of Tony Tiger, Coke Bear, and the Noid from Dominos Pizza, which will be delivered by December.
I love collecting Funko Pop toys because they are a little bit strange looking but in a good and cute way. They are great conversation pieces. At home, my wall of Funko Pop toys is almost full, which creates a unique and interesting display for my house of toys. I love Funko Pop so much that I hope one day my own comic strip character, Amazing Grace, which comes out every Sunday in The Manila Bulletin, would have her own Funko Pop version. I am keeping my fingers crossed. —Percival Lugue, current Guinness World Record holder for largest collection of fast food toys
I started my Funko Pop collection in June 2019 during a ToyCon. But technically I already have in my toy collection a few Funko Pop, like the Avengers and Black Panther. A few friends encouraged me to start collecting Funko Pop. I was hesitant at first, with all the lines they got from movies to TV series and all others. But then on that very ToyCon, I finally decided to start collecting… My line would be horror, suspense and villains. My first four on this line included the shark from Jaws, Pennywise, Chucky, and Gizmo from the ’80s movie Gremlins. Since then I’ve become so active in hunting items I want. Greenhills has become my favorite tambayan and I also joined Facebook groups where people post about their Funko Pop collections. Since I love sports, I also included it in my collection, as well as some of my favorite cartoon characters like those from Looney Tunes, Shrek and Donkey, Tom and Jerry.
I think in any collection or hobby, you find joy every time you see something that interests you. You feel so happy. It’s a stress reliever that when you get home, you just look at your collection and admire them. The best thing so far about collecting Funko Pop now is that my daughter also got her own: Scarlet Witch from the Avengers and later Eleven from Stranger Things. Funko Pop has become a part of our bonding moment as father and daughter… and that for me is priceless.—Waylon Panlilio Galvez, sports writer
At first, I just found it cute how my favorite characters, especially horror characters, were converted into vinyl figures. I didn’t expect that my collection will get this huge. Seeing my Funko wall in my apartment makes me feel like a kid again. I consider it as an achievement every time I complete a Funko line, especially when you spend months or sometimes years to complete a set. It’s my stress reliever. And, believe it or not, it helps me with my anxiety sometimes. —Christian Carl Quides, video editor
Tags: Angela Casco, Collector's Life, Funko Pop, Jules Vivas, Philippine Panorama, Roc Verdera, Vianca Gamboa