Funko HQ

Miss V is home for a couple of months before she starts her summer job. So, of course, there are a few things that need to be done in the short time she's here.

One of those things was to visit Funko headquarters in Everett. So on Tuesday, that's what we did.

It was a beautiful day in early spring and... hey, is that Grape Ape? I haven't seen that big lug since Saturday mornings in the '70s!

Let's take a look inside this place.

If you've never been, be aware that Funko HQ is essentially a glorified gift shop for all things Funko, including some items you may never have heard of before. For me, that included Wetmore Forest, a product line named after the street where Funko HQ lives. Lots of little enchanted animalesque critters in this area...

...including Mr. Wetmore Wizard here. (His real name is Magnus, for the purists among you.)

There's also a Japan-themed area, which includes Sailor Moon here (and Super Saiyan Goku on the other side of the torii gate, but I didn't take his picture).

What else can you find in Japan?

Pfft. Like you have to ask. AIIIEEEEE GOJIRA! And, you know, MERCHANDISE!

They do a pretty good job of Funko-ing up Tokyo in here.

Oh no, watch out Gojira! All those Huckleberry Hounds on the bullet train are about to meet their maker! I can't look.

There are quite a few other themed areas, including Star Wars, Marvel, Disney...

... and of course, DC. (Sorry about the slightly blurry Batman. He's a hero on the go. Hard to get a nice sharp fotie.)

We got to see the Joker...

... and Killer Croc in lockdown.

Because JUSTICE.

Quick, Robin, to the Batmobile! *farrago of trumpets*

There may or may not exist a picture of Miss V riding shotgun with Batman. Just saying.

The aforementioned Disney section with JUST MY FAVORITE DISNEY CHARACTER EVER. (Brown-haired bookworm in her own little world? Um, yep, I'll take a half dozen.)

OK, fine, they also had Tiana.

And Elsa. Big deal.

And then there was the area where I spent the majority of my time.

This shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone who's ever talked to me about books for half a second.

I'm not a fan of the hypercephalic squared-off head look, so much of Funko's merchandise doesn't thrill me, but I was highly tempted to pick up a T-shirt of Hermione sitting on a stack of books. Again, brown-haired bookworms are My People.

This area was full of nifty details. There are, of course, the obvious characters like Hagrid and the trio above, but if you look you might see Dobby hanging out in a window.

 Some of those windows contain creepiness, like this display from Borgin & Burkes.

I also spied Dumbledore hanging out on an upper floor.

And the Noseless One himself skulking around Knockturn Alley.

Everybody say bye to Pete the Dementor. "Bye, Pete the Dementor!"

Thus ends our small adventure at Funko HQ. Miss V picked up some DC-themed goodies and I took a raft of pictures, and we subsequently departed in search of lunch.

If you want to go: admission is free (it is basically a big gift shop), but parking in the Diamond garage across the street costs $5 for 2 hours as of this writing. Start with the minimal time (and money) investment for parking unless you're really, REALLY into Funko stuff.