Thrilljoy Brings The Passion OF Collecting To NYCC 2025

Breaking into the fandom collectible sales arena, a already saturated market, is no easy feat…. Unless you happen to be Brian Mariotti. If you’re already a collector, you will assuredly know his name.  He’s the former CEO of Funko, and is now the man behind Thrilljoy, a purveyor of collectibles seeking to “bring back the THRILL of collecting and joy of community.” The company had its coming out party right here at New York Comic-Con last year. We had the opportunity to talk with Mariotti at this year’s convention (NYCC 2025) to see how things are and where they’re headed in the company’s sophomore year.

Sadly, this year’s Con got off to a rocky start.  The recent typhoon in Southeast Asia significantly affected the company’s production there, limiting its presence at NYCC. Still, Mariotti remained upbeat. After a great first year, Thrilljoy is happy to be back and Mariotti is excited for the future. “We felt like we had a unique voice to bring back into the market,” he told us. One of the driving factors for the company is to tap in to the passion and excitement of the collector’s market with “chase pieces, super chase pieces,” and an unboxing experience that’s second to none.

Thrilljoy brings passion to collecting

Mariotti credits partnerships with some great studios like Warner Bros., DC, Universal, Paramount, and others that believed in what Thrilljoy is doing for the company’s early successes. When asked if we might see Star Wars collectibles in their portfolio anytime soon, Mariotti played a little coy: “We are making our way through some bigger licenses…. I’ll leave it at that.”

Thus far, Thrilljoy collectibles have only dipped into the retail market at retailers like Hot Topic and Box Lunch. That’s about to change, as you’ll soon be able to find the collectibles at retailers like Game Stop, Barnes & Noble, Toy Temple, and a slew of smaller-market toy-sellers. “We really believe in the specialty market, mom and pop stores that are such evangelists for pop culture brands like ours.”

Mariotti did reveal that they will soon be featuring collectibles from the 70’s and 80’s cartoons that Gen-Xers like me grew up with… including the old-school Justice League! “You are absolutely going to see that, specifically, yes.” Here’s hoping for a Wonder Twins 2-pack.

If you’re at the Con, you can check out what Thrilljoy has to offer at the Toy Temple booth (#2473). Otherwise, visit them at their website: thrilljoy.com.