Hands down my highlight of
SDCC 2011 was meeting
Le Merde and chatting it up about vinyl toys and the Kinnikuman universe.
Le Merde wielding the mighty
Megalith and neato Kinnikuman thingy
In a rather serendipitous twist of fate I hit the
Gargamel x
Grass Hut booth, and discovered the undisputed holy mecca of Kinnikuman fans at the con. Three cheers for Art Junkie Kinnikuman shirts.
Le Merde as it turns out is a HUGE Kinnikuman fan, and I give him major props for taking some time to kick it will ol' Nama Niku at their booth. He is insanely talented, and I seriously dig all his figures and artwork.
He explained that his new Megalith design was partially inspired by his passion for M.U.S.C.L.E. and Kinkeshi, and I have to say that the sculpt is beyond cool. He also let me check out some of the crazy keshi the Gargamel guys brought for him from Japan ~ can't get enough of rare boots!
Be sure to check out Le Merde's collabs with
Super7 and
Gargamel. You can also see a sample of his vinyl figures over at
his blog.
Some of the Le Merde goodies I picked up @ SDCC 2011:
The Heavens shining down on a truly epic Megalith vinyl blank
SDCC Le Merde x Super7 Burgerbuns meets Geronimo
Gargamel SDCC Exclusive w/ Le Merde's Hujili's Ghost
A little Le Merde Art action
Flesh Mania print by Le Merde ~ a possible new meaning here... ?
Super thanks to
Lucky Nakazawa and
Josh Barnett for noticing my
Art Junkie T, and for being so incredibly nice. Josh is a MMA legend, and it blew my mind to be chatting with him about Art Junkie and Yudetamago. Make sure to grab the latest issue of
Drunken Master featuring an interview with Josh, and keep your eyes peeled for the
Lucky Nakazawa x Gargamel FU Robo... (go toybot!)
Also big thanks to
Arbito and the Gargamel guys ~ really digging my
Mini Squishy figures and Mini Pocket Kaiju. It was totally rad to talk to you all about Kinnikuman and the amazing figures you are creating!
Can't wait for SDCC 2012!