Mondo (American company) explained

Mondo
Founders:Tim League
Kier-La Janisse
Lester Smolenski
Rob Jones
Mitch Putnam
Location City:Austin, Texas
Location Country:United States
Parent:Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (2004–2022)
Funko (2022–2023)

Mondo is an American company known for releasing limited edition screen printed posters for films, television shows, and comics, as well as vinyl movie soundtracks, clothing and apparel, toys, and re-issues of VHS releases. Founded in 2004 as Mondo Tees, the company is a former subsidiary of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain in Austin, Texas, and currently hosts a permanent gallery space there which features original artwork and custom posters.

In June 2022, Funko announced that it had acquired Mondo. Nearly a year later on 24 March 2023, Funko announced staff layoffs of a portion of the company, including co-founders Rob Jones and Mitch Putnam, as well as announcing the discontinuation of some Mondo products.

History

In 2001, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema founder Tim League was visiting Kier-La Janisse in Vancouver for the CineMuerte Film Festival. League visited a vintage iron-on T-shirt shop called Bang-On, and years later, pitched the idea of a T-shirt store as a branch of the Drafthouse chain to Janisse and her boyfriend Lester Smolenski.[1] With the help of graphic designs from Smolenski, who worked for Bang-On, the offshoot Mondo Tees was established in 2004.[2] [3]

In spring 2004, Mondo Tees collaborated with Graham Williams of the Austin club Emo's for a summer outdoor film and music festival called Cinemania, wherein the Drafthouse booked the screenings and Emo's booked the live music shows. Ticket sales failed to reach even one thousand, so to prevent the festival from being a financial failure, it was moved indoors and a line of custom posters were created to promote the event. Williams hired freelance designer Rob Jones, who had created posters for Emo's performances in the past, and Jones produced posters highlighting the planned screenings of Better Off Dead, Foxy Brown, and The Warriors.

Mondo Tees continued working with Jones for the Quentin Tarantino Film Festival in 2006, and Jones introduced the founders to artists such as Jay Ryan, Todd Slater, and Tyler Stout, and the company shifted its focus to posters more than T-shirts.[4] Jones is currently a creative director at Mondo.[5]

Creative director Justin Ishmael and co-founder Mitch Putnam helped elevate the business model to secure licensing from companies like Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company for more well-known properties like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[6] [7] Ishmael, who joined the company in 2009, left to pursue other opportunities in 2015.[8]

In 2017, in collaboration with USAopoly's Project Raygun division, Mondo released their first board game: The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31, based on the 1982 film The Thing.[9] [10]

Artists who have created posters with Mondo include Becky Cloonan,[11] [12] Laurent Durieux,[13] [14] Olly Moss,[15] [16] Gary Pullin,[17] Matthew Woodson,[18] [19] [20] Jay Shaw,[21] Matt Taylor,[22] [23] Kevin Tong, Tom Whalen,[24] Sam Wolfe Connelly, and Jock.[25]

In June 2022, Funko announced that it had acquired Mondo.[26] On March 24 2023, Funko laid off Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones and announced changes to its poster printing division,[27] a decision that was met with such negative reception by the public and Mondo-affiliated artists[28] that Funko CEO Brian Mariotti released a statement on March 30, 2023 attempting to clarify Funko's plans for Mondo's future.[29] This statement was also negatively received by the public, including celebrities such as Elijah Wood, who wrote that Funko "fundamentally misunderstood Mondo, its extended family of artists and its loyal fan base."[30]

Growth and reception

Posters released by Mondo have been added to the movie poster archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as included in the catalog of Heritage Auctions. In 2011, Mondo collaborated with Paramount Pictures on custom posters for and . When Mondo released a custom poster for the film Pan's Labyrinth, director Guillermo del Toro stated, "I felt completely overwhelmed and happy. I'm a huge fan of their posters. They involved me in approving every step of the design. They took some of my notes to heart, but mostly my notes were 'Wow!.

Beyond posters, Mondo and its sister label Death Waltz have received positive reception for their soundtrack releases, which feature custom cover art, inner art, and special designs on the vinyl records themselves.[31]

MondoCon

See main article: MondoCon. MondoCon is an annual festival held in Austin that showcases the artwork of Mondo and features exclusive collectibles, panels, and special screenings with filmmakers and artists.[32] The event has been called "the world's coolest poster convention"[33] and "the venerable kingpin of the artisanal movie poster game".[34]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: League . Tim . Brad . Bird . October 10, 2017 . The Art of Mondo . Insight Editions . 9 . 978-1-60887-806-2 .
  2. Web site: Inside the beautiful and ruthless world of Mondo poster collecting. Sarah Weber. September 25, 2014. The Daily Dot. January 1, 2018.
  3. Web site: The 50 Best Mondo Posters (So Far). Andrew LaSane. April 22, 2013. Complex. January 1, 2018.
  4. Book: League . Tim . Brad . Bird . October 10, 2017 . The Art of Mondo . Insight Editions . 10 . 978-1-60887-806-2 .
  5. Book: League . Tim . Brad . Bird . October 10, 2017 . The Art of Mondo . Insight Editions . 12 . 978-1-60887-806-2 .
  6. Web site: How Mondo Posters Get Made. Erin McCarthy. March 26, 2013. Mental Floss. January 1, 2018.
  7. Book: League . Tim . Brad . Bird . October 10, 2017 . The Art of Mondo . Insight Editions . 15 . 978-1-60887-806-2 .
  8. Web site: Justin Ishmael Leaves Mondo. Gregory Adams. June 8, 2015. Exclaim!. January 1, 2018.
  9. Web site: THE THING: INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31 Board Game. May 3, 2017. MondoTees.com. January 1, 2018.
  10. Web site: Elijah Wood explains the rules of the game in a The Thing: Infection At Outpost 31 exclusive. Katie Rife. November 2, 2017. The A.V. Club. January 1, 2018.
  11. Web site: Exclusive: Mondo's New 'Bambi' and 'Fantasia' Posters are Beautiful [Updated]]. Jacob Hall. April 25, 2017. /FILM. January 1, 2018.
  12. Web site: Gorgeous 'Castlevania' and 'Silent Hill' posters make us miss Konami. Adam Rosenberg. April 5, 2016. Mashable. January 1, 2018.
  13. Web site: The 15 Best Mondo Movie Posters of All Time. Zack Sharf. October 22, 2015. IndieWire. January 1, 2018.
  14. Web site: The Poster Art in 'The Art of Mondo' Is Rich with Inventive and Clever Interpretations of Film. J.M. Suarez. November 26, 2017. PopMatters. January 1, 2018.
  15. Web site: Movie Posters are the Business of Mondo. Mekado Murphy. October 7, 2011. The New York Times. January 1, 2018.
  16. Web site: Jaw-Dropping Mondo STAR WARS Posters by Olly Moss. Matt Goldberg. December 17, 2010. Collider. January 1, 2018.
  17. Web site: Artist "Ghoulish" Gary Pullin Releasing Retrospective Art Book. Jonathan Barkan. November 2, 2017. Dread Central. January 1, 2018.
  18. Web site: Exclusive: Matthew Woodson Walks Us Through The Making Of His 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Poster. Hughes. Amanda. 2017-11-27. Birth.Movies.Death.. en. 2019-02-14.
  19. Web site: Exclusive: Matthew Woodson Walks Us Through The Creation Of His Incredible UNDER THE SKIN Poster. Wampler. Scott. 2016-12-01. Birth.Movies.Death.. en. 2019-02-14.
  20. Web site: This Striking New 2001: A Space Odyssey Art Is Full of Stars. Lussier. Germain. io9. en-US. 2019-02-14.
  21. Web site: Mondo's Jay Shaw Details The Development of 'The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31'. Luke Brown. May 4, 2017. ScreenCrush. January 1, 2018.
  22. Web site: Art Show Featuring Infographic Film Posters by Tom Whalen, Kevin Tong, & Matt Taylor at Mondo Gallery. Justin Page. July 7, 2016. Laughing Squid. January 1, 2018.
  23. Web site: Talking Comics and Movie Posters with Illustrator Matt Taylor. Chris Jalufka. May 25, 2017. PRINT Magazine. January 1, 2018.
  24. Web site: These Disney-inspired prints are positively enchanting. Angie Han. April 28, 2017. Mashable. January 1, 2018.
  25. Web site: Mondo Announces 'The Art of Jock' Retrospective. Graeme McMillan. October 5, 2015. The Hollywood Reporter. January 1, 2018.
  26. Web site: Lovett . Jamie . Funko Acquires Mondo . Comicbook.com . June 13, 2022.
  27. Web site: Spangler . Todd . Funko Cuts Back Mondo Movie Poster Business, Lays Off Co-Founders and Other Staff . Variety . March 24, 2023.
  28. Web site: Germaine . Lussier . Funko Lays Off Original Mondo Employees, Ending an Era . Gizmodo . March 24, 2023.
  29. Web site: Germaine . Lussier . Funko CEO Explains Future Mondo Strategy, and It's Pretty Bad . Gizmodo . March 30, 2023.
  30. https://twitter.com/elijahwood/status/1641901332746362884
  31. Web site: The 12 Dopest Mondo Soundtracks Ever Pressed. Jon Fusco. November 9, 2015. IndieWire. January 1, 2018.
  32. MondoCon: The Offbeat Convention That Pays Tribute to Your Favorite Cult Classics. Angela Watercutter. September 12, 2014. Wired. January 1, 2018.
  33. Web site: The World's Coolest Poster Convention Gets a Goofy Warriors-Inspired One-Sheet. Germain Lussier. September 11, 2015. io9. Gawker Media. January 1, 2018.
  34. Web site: Bringing STAR WARS to MONDOCON and Mutilating Donald Duck. Michael Arbeiter. October 18, 2016. Nerdist. January 1, 2017.