New York Comic Con 2008: NECA

With great glee I had to go and visit the NECA booth to check out their prototypes for their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection (seem above). But then I turned the corner was shocked to see a piece of my past when I spotted this Kurt Cobain lunchbox:

I though to myself “well you’re being a little bit too sacred with the music you love”, but then to my horror I spotted this sad item:

As a fanboy I guess I accept that some merchandise is just tacky, but to me this Kurt Cobain action figure is in real bad taste. While he had an untidy look, Kurt Cobain put a great deal of thought into not just his music but his image as well. For example he was was very involved in the art direction of his album covers and music videos.

To me the above statue is a sad parody of who he was — it turns him into a 2D cartoon character representing “90s slacker dude”. I realize that fans want something to remember him by — and as a fanboy i wouldn’t begrudge them that, but I think Kurt really cared about quality and wouldn’t like the conventionality of being turned into some sort of GI Joe doll with a guitar and torn jeans.

Like Elvis and the Beatles I approve of the idea of merchandising these acts to reintroduce them to a new generation (like a good Disney film or the Wizard of Oz), but to me this poor representation of this thinking man takes away from a treasured brand that stands for something.

So I’d urge the estate of Kurt Cobain and NECA to rethink this item and come up with a more creative way of honoring his legacy. NECA has always done amazing work, so I know they can get this one right. Pretty please?