TOY2sDAY with KWAMÉ

Grown-Up Collectibles: The Revolutionary World Of High-End Toys

Thursday July 25, 2024

2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT

Omni San Diego Hotel, Omni Grand Ballroom DE, 4th Floor

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Lev (Toy Tokyo), Steve Forde (GoHero/co-founder of LBO), Fabio Varesi (Kaustic Plastik), Mike Polis (Atomic Toybox Entertainment/co-founder of LBO) and super-collectors DJ Amen, Paul Chu, and Kwamé (world famous rapper/platinum producer/co-founder of LBO) discuss the incredible advancements in artistry, technology, and whizbang features that have raised the standards for the entire collectibles industry. Q&A session moderated by Patrick A. Reed (pop culture historian/curator).

Historical Figures–From Real Life to Toy Store Shelves

Thursday July 25, 2024

6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Room 9
 

Acori Honzo (artist, co-founder, D.O.P.E./LBO Collective), LaWanda Shepherd (artist, co-founder, D.O.P.E./LBO Collective), Kwamé (world-famous rapper/platinum producer, co-founder of LBO), Fabio Varesi (Kaustic Plastik), Steve Forde (GoHero/co-founder of LBO), and Jen Cassidy (Super7), discuss the specialization of translating "real world" people, even themselves, into toy form for a lighthearted and impactful look at this phenomenon and archival art form. Panelists will take part in a Q&A session moderated by Patrick A. Reed (pop culture historian and curator).

Translating Toys: From Toys to Animation

Friday July 26, 2024

7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Room 23ABC

Just how do toys, or any ideas, make it into the world of animation? Following on the heels of last year’s Captain Action Classic Collection, this year the team, along with Flint Dille (GI Joe, Transformers), Michael Polis (Yo Gabba Gabba, Captain Action), Steve Forde (Go Hero), Acori Honzo (LBO), and Joe Ahearn (Captain Action), look to the future with a major announcement, and offers experiences that can also be used as a primer or template for other IPs looking to launch animation in today’s competitive marketplace. Moderated by Ed Catto (AHOY! Comics).

Hip-Hop and Comics: Cultures Combining

Saturday July 27, 2024

4:30pm - 5:30pm PDT
Room 24ABC
 

Hip-hop and comics share numerous connections and exist in constant communication with one another: Rappers and graffiti artists utilize superheroic imagery; DJs and producers create universes of sound; comic creators and animators incorporate hip-hop's musical and visual vocabularies; collectors dig through crates for key back issues and rare breakbeats; both forms reconfigure and remix elements, blending styles and genres and inspiring passionate fanbases. Here, moderator Patrick A. Reed brings together an all-star group of artistic innovators to discuss the bonds between these two vital creative cultures!