New York Comic Con (NYCC) is in the books and though the show is over that doesn’t mean the fun has to end. With four full days of programming and events NYCC brings hundreds of thousands of fans each year to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan to celebrate all things pop culture from comics, anime, video games, TV, movies, collectibles, art, and of course the best artist alley there is. Additionally, with the writers’ strike over NYCC was able to finally feel like a fully formed show with a full slate of programming, top tier booths, and a tremendous amount of content over the course of the event.
Over the last few years I have begun to expand out of just art and collectibles coverage and am always keeping my eye open to new areas of coverage. This can be seen in my recent articles covering clothing companies who cater to the fans of many different fandoms. Here again I am going to take a step back and instead of looking at a smaller amount of many booths I am going to hone in on a particular company – Bioworld.
Bioworld should not be a new company to some readers as I have at past conventions had the pleasure to speak to Doug Johnson, Creative Director at Bioworld Merchandising, and get his perspective of how Heroes & Villains fits into that space and their sister brand Atsuko, a similar brand catering to anime related apparel. While at NYCC I did stop by the Heroes & Villains booth (more on that below) I actually found myself leaving the boundaries of the Javits center and heading downtown to Bioworlds New York office.
Bioworld
https://shop.bioworldmerch.com/
While I have covered Heroes & Villains in the past I haven’t really gotten into their parent company Bioworld. They are a premier design company specializing in creating and distributing innovative licensed collections of the most iconic pop-culture brands including Disney, Nintendo, Warner Bros., DC, and Marvel. Collectively they have over 1,000 brands designing into 25 categories producing over 50,000 SKUs annually. Their focus helps them not just produce quality products across their brands that set the pace for industry but also engage with their customers.
For NYCC along with their Heroes & Villains and Atsuko booth Bioworld were also inviting press to their New York office to view their luggage showroom and speak with Travel Category Manager Tiffany Tabeek.
As this was a bit of a swerve for me and my coverage over the year’s I decided to head over and learn what I could about Bioworld’s travel offerings. Their luggage lines span across all types of travel from flight to cruise and everything in-between and also includes packing organization, travel bags and backpacks, and even neckpillows, luggage tags, and air tags.
So let’s hear a little from Tiffany…
ML: I’m with Tiffany Tabeek, Travel Category Manager at Bioworld. The travel division is a newer area of Bioworld that I haven’t explored for our readers before. Would you want to give me a quick overview of what you produce, different types of products and licenses serving various audiences.
TT: Yes absolutely; so at Bioworld we do a bit of everything, with about 1,200 IPs we work on, including Heroes & Villains as well. But we do all the travel products including hard-side and soft-side luggage serving both adult and youth covering all age ranges. Then there is everything from the packing cubes and neck pillows; so everything you would need to make your travel smooth.
ML: I myself am still learning about the various products made and specifically in the travel space.
TT: Bioworld in general does everything from the kitchen sink to the closet, so we have you covered but as far as travel we try to think of any situation we think you could be in we have everything from duffels, wheeled duffels, backpacks, cooler packs, we have so much product.
ML: When you’re think of travel you have plenty of different things other than just bags…
TT: So when you think of travel it is not only airplane travel, it is auto and cruise line travel as well so wherever you are going so we have that all covered. We have travel backpacks which are great for the grab-and-go and they pack nice and deep so you can also put your technology. We have the kids ride-on luggage which is really cute because they can have their independence and they can pack their own stuff. Then we have the massive luggage for your family travel even at the 32” which is huge enough to get everyone’s products in there.
ML: You also have other travel products, outside of bags and luggage, such as for parents. Can you speak to other product types.
TT: So we have dopp kits which are TSA regulated which you can put those through the scanner without problems. We have wet bags, cosmetics bags, we have technology organization so you can put your chords and chargers away, and then we have jewelry cases and packing cubes
ML: Speaking of the tech space, I know oftentimes bags can have plug-in ports that can charge phones. Do some of your tech products offer that?
TT: We do have the capability to plug into the luggage but it depends on what the consumer or what the retailer is looking for
ML: And is all the luggage for air travel TSA compliant?
TT: Yes
ML: And do you try to sit within the regulation sizes.
TT: Yes so everyone has their own standards so we try to hit the mass standard of what a carry-on regulation would be.
ML: Switching gears I see over here we have Disney as well as Pokémon products; so what are some of your favorite IPs that you’ve worked on?
TT: They’re all my favorite. They all have some specialized art which makes them really unique and wonderful to work with.
ML: This is a completely new space for me so I’m learning of this new collectible space.
TT: I love that this is considered a collectible and that’s the fun part of the character, that it’s special
ML: It speaks to everyone’s fandom. If you have a specific fandom, how do you expand on that in whatever way you want and travel could be that way. People want their Disney bag when they are traveling to Walt Disney World or even want their Disney bags while in the Disney parks.
TT: Things like that we even think of novel ways for how we package things that are important for those trips. There might be a signature item that everyone likes to have and how do we create a case for it. Even cover cases, there are protective covers sleeves you can get to make sure that your luggage doesn’t get banged up on along the way which also adds a layer security to the product as well.
ML: So speaking of the specialized artwork when you create collections. Do you do any limited runs or is it just a collection wave.
TT: Absolutely, there are some properties that have anniversaries that come out and with that specialized artwork that is released only for a certain period, so it’s really exciting when we get to work on those kind of projects.
ML: In many different areas of pop culture many companies have gotten into an area that speaks to both the casual person as well as the collector as well such as when you have Heroes and Villains curating a line such as the Weapon X line for New York Comic Con, which has an amazing Deadpool duffel bag and Wolverine backpack.
TT: We really like to research; really go into the movies and research the characters and where we can pull out things that truly relate to the time and place of the movie and would it fit in and take that and apply it to our pieces.
ML: What goes into creating the aesthetic such as fitting what you need and how you want it.
TT: That’s where the fun pieces of the packing cubes come in because there are compression packing cubes, regular packing cubes ones and then if you don’t want to advertise your fandom it’s a really fun way to get just a little bit of fandom into your life. So you can have all these things tucked away but which really helps organize your life.
ML: And when researching that do you try to look at the limitedness or exclusivity of the product?
TT: It really depends on the IP and where its directed and then we might get limited artwork that is only allowed to be sold in certain places so there is a limited ness.
ML: As I’ve gotten into the collectible clothing space I very much appreciate the more subtle side of these collections which likely speaks to the aesthetic that some people whereas other people do want a loud bag, they don’t want another black bag when they’re traveling.
TT: So this is a fun way to have your black bag stand out just a little bit more. Nothing is cuter than having your novel piece come down and you’re like oh that’s mine in the sea of black.
ML: I’m sure the thought extends to accessories within the bags like tagging.
TT: We have all kinds of fun luggage tags that you can put you characters on which are really cute and then getting into new technology like the air tag holders.
ML: So let’s take a look at some products.
TT: Sure, so we have everything here including some of the aluminum luggage which is one of our more premium item types…this a fun under-seater sized and then here’s an example of a travel backpack which packs out wider in the front and then there’s tech sleeve in the back everything to make it hands free and easy. We try to keep everything smoother, there is a difference between four-wheel and eight-wheel, the eight-wheel does everything a bit smoother.
These products are more classic…which is the great thing about our product you can go as loud or as subtle as you would like. We again design to what the retailer is looking for and then we design the features into that so some of them might have the eight-wheels expansion so yeah there’s definitely different levels.
Other products are also great for the weekend where you can put a few outfits in and then it has the bottom compartment which is a shoe compartment or so you can switch out either your dirty clothes in there which is nice to keep it all separate.
These are some of the kids items where they can pack in it, they can scoot along on it, or when they’re done you can just pull them which is really easy to drag along and nice to keep your kid occupied.
The neckpillows are all memory foam which are very soft all with different elements on them.
ML: Over here I see some other luggage that appears molded outward.
TT: So this is the molded luggage. This is a nice way; it’s subtle but not. It’s really great the way some of the characters really just jump off the products. Figural luggage is something that we really enjoy doing here and making extra special.
One thing I didn’t touch upon but noticed after the interview is that when looking across the product types such as luggage, neck pillows, and other accessories you can find not just matching brands but also matching designs across the product types. So if say you wanted an entire collection of items with Lilo and Stitch you could find the same pattern to use or you could just stick with that movie and find different designs.
As a final note there are lines that again range from subtle to loud and from fun and playful to more modern and adult looking, one of those line is an upcoming Disney Mickey Mouse line. The three bags on display have a bit more of a business feel to them while still being very much Disney bags and to me these items looked amazing and what I would personally like to carry around.
Below is a taste of some of their other products
Thanks again to Bioworld for working with Hi-Def Ninja to give us a glimpse to a new area of fandom.
Disney Pixar’s Up Hardcase Luggage
To get a sense of their products here is an example of a hard-case carry-on luggage. The Disney Pixar’s Up is a bit simpler with just a blue hard molded outer case featuring the iconic house being lifted by balloons. But as you look at it you some of the other details about it such as the different colored wheels, the My Adventure Book luggage tag, and the balloon shaped zippers.
Functionally the suitcase feature eight wheels on swivels with an extendable handle, and expansion zipper. Internally it’s fairly open but on one side there is a clasp to keep clothing in place while the other side features a zippered compartment for smaller objects or shoes.
Heroes & Villains
https://heroesvillains.com/
As mentioned above Heroes & Villains should not be unfamiliar to anyone who has read my previous coverage of various comic cons but for those catching up the company creates and curates premium apparel, bags, and accessories from many iconic properties including Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Dungeons & Dragons, and more. Their goal is to present an authentic approach to what they coin wearable lifestyle gear for fans that expect more.
I first interviewed Doug Johnson, Creative Director at Bioworld Merchandising, at NYCC last year where they unveiled their X-Men Academy line. I again followed up with Doug at in San Diego a few months ago to discuss their curated Star Wars line which focused on a racing theme. Both interviews were extremely illuminating into the creative process that goes into collections as they are released from color palette and design aspects to what type of products to release; though both collections have been out for a while I highly recommend you check out my or anyone’s interview with Doug as he explains everything that goes into this process.
For NYCC 2024 the focus was shifted to Marvel and focused on this year’s favorite duo this year Deadpool and Wolverine. The booth was set up in the style of a Weapon X facility with X-Rays of Logan and Medical charts and even featured a photo-op to help promote this new line.
As typical for a new release products included apparel, hats, bags, and accessories with the main standout items, in my opinion, being the Logan Trucker Jacket and Travel Backpack and the Wade Wilson Mercenary Field Jacket and the Deadpool Barrel Duffle Bag. Additionally there were a few limited show only exclusive tees. Unfortunately unlike in San Diego where Doug had experimented with home décor there were no similar products in this release.
While I may still be a bit biased towards the Heroes & Villains Star Wars products and specifically their recent X-Wing Moto Racer Jacket I will say overall the new line continued to maintain the companies care and detail that goes into the release of each product line. And I will eventually look to get my hands on that Logan Travel Backpack!
Finally it was pretty nice to see the company on the Javit’s billboard at the front of the convention center.
Atsuko
https://atsuko.com/
Having learnt of Atsuko and their affiliation with Heroes & Villains at San Diego Comic Con this past year I had to be sure to pass by their booth in New York.
Atsuko carries officially licensed Anime apparel and accessories from the biggest names in anime including Cyberpunk 2077, Dragon Ball Z, Hunter x Hunter, Berserk, Evangelion, and many more. Similar to Heroes & Villains the quality of their products and care to detail in each new line can be easily seen with each new release. The store is run by their namesake, Atsuko, and her fuzzy little companion, Nuki. They’re here to make sure you feel welcome and find everything you’re looking for. New collections for NYCC included a One Piece and Demon Slayer line of apparel and accessories.
