Mondo Veterans and SpectreVision Announce New Collectibles Company Mutant

The collectibles market is changing again with the formation of new imprint Mutant, founded by many of the key creatives behind the success of Mondo (Image Courtesy of Mutant)

Art doesn't evolve, it mutates. That's clear with the arrival of Mutant, an Austin-based posters, vinyl, toys, and collectibles firm established by some of the key figures behind the powerhouse Mondo and backed by production company, SpectreVision.

The new company is a partnership between SpectreVision, Talon Entertainment Finance CEO Steven Demmler, and four former Mondo mainstays: ex-Mondo Senior Creative Director Mitch Putnam and creative directors Eric Garza (who will lead Mutant's posters, original artwork, and additional consumer product lines) and Mondo's former Creative Director Spencer Hickman and record label manager Mo Shafeek, who will run the music side of Mutant.

SpectreVision founders Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah explained that “it’s not hyperbole to say that we’re superfans of this team and their work. Our offices are covered in their prints and our shelves lined with their records. It’s a true privilege to provide a platform for them to not only continue the incredible work they’re known for, but to also expand in ways that they’ve been keen to for years.”

And there's still an Alamo connection, as Drafthouse and Mondo founder Tim League is also on board as founder. Praising the Mondo veterans, he said, "I've worked with this incredible team for nearly 15 years. When I got the call from Steven Demmler and SpectreVision to reassemble the squad and help enable the next exciting chapter, I immediately said hell yes."

Mondo was founded originally to produce posters for Alamo Drafthouse special events and T-shirts for sale at the first Mondo store at the original Alamo on Colorado Street (thus explaining why the firm's original url was Mondotees.com), before moving to Alamo South Lamar and finally to its own gallery space on Guadalupe. Over the years it expanded into limited edition prints, vinyl records, toys, Tiki mugs, books, puzzles, and more. However, in 2022, when the Drafthouse was facing bankruptcy due to the pandemic, it sold off Mondo to toy and collectible giant Funko, which was more interested in the toys and vinyl than the prints division. Within a year, it had laid off most of the print team, including Putnam, Garza, and founder and Creative Director Rob Jones. Within three months, Hickman, Shafeek, and Music Label Manager Shannon Smith had all left the company. It seems that when the music team closed out their exit announcement with the words "we'll see you soon," they really meant the "we" part.

(l-r) Jenny Jacobi, Eric Garza, Elijah Wood, Spencer Hickman, Mitch Putnam, Mo Shafeek, the team behind Mutant (Photo by Lindsey Byrnes)

While Funko Mondo continues, with a particular emphasis on its toy division, that was too much talent to go to waste. Now two-thirds of that leadership team – Garza, Hickman, Putnam, and Shafeek - has reassembled to form Mutant, alongside former Drafthouse senior director of content, sponsorship & events and South by Southwest Film Festival advisory board member Jenny Jacobi, who will serve as Mutant CEO. Jacobi said, “Joining this visionary team under the Mutant banner is an incredible opportunity, and I’m honored to work with some of the very best creative minds to bring fandom to life and to celebrate and elevate artists and creators in the process."

Speaking for the poster division, in a joint statement Garza and Putnam wrote, “We're extremely excited about being back in the poster game as we aim for a ‘return to form’ for limited edition artwork. Our priorities center around art-focused projects with an emphasis on championing our favorite artists, designers, writers, and filmmakers and continuing to push the boundaries of what we've accomplished already."

In their own statement, Hickman and Shafeek explained Mutant's philosophy: “Gone are the days of monoculture – and with that, we’ve seen a fracturing of cultural awareness around much of the media produced year after year. With Mutant, we aim to build a foundation for fandom with curation and celebration — not only for the biggest soundtracks of the year but also for those films, television and video games that get lost in the sea of choices in the world of streaming. We want to build a community where all are welcome by creating tangible pop culture products for all fandoms."

(For those wondering where Jones is in this, earlier this year he announced that he had joined Denver-based record company Vinyl Me, Please as their executive creative director.)

The first Mutant release: the soundtrack to Netflix's Oscar-nominated The Society of the Snow (Courtesy of Mutant)

Of course, this doesn't mean they're starting from scratch. Alongside a commitment to working with independent artists, Mutant announced a portfolio of partnerships with some of Hollywood's heaviest hitters, including Disney, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and Netflix.

And, of course, this means they'll be bringing their unmatched contact list of artists with them as well. The confirmed initial artist roster includes many Mondo regulars, including Nicolas Delort, Matt Taylor, Deb Lee, Phantom City Creative, Rory Kurtz, Matthew Woodson, Greg Ruth, Francesco Francavilla, Teagan White, Daniel Danger, Murugiah, We Buy Your Kids, and Ken Taylor (some of whom had pledged never to work with Mondo after the sale to Funko, proving that, in business, it's personal connections that matter).

One of the very first projects announced is a collaboration with Pressure Printing, an original sculpted and foil-stamped art print by Mondo regular Aaron Horkey. On the vinyl side, there's an upcoming release for the Wonka soundtrack, with songs by Neil Hannon and score by Jody Talbot. Following soon after will be posters for another of Warner Bros.' biggest releases of the upcoming year, Dune: Part Two. Following that, the Mutant team promises releases from Hans Zimmer, Carter Burwell, Isabella Summers, Goblin, Laura Karpman, Le Matos, Simon Wasko, and more.

But this all begins with the first Mutant release, a vinyl edition of Michael Giacchino's soundtrack for Netflix's Oscar-nominated Society of the Snow, with liner notes from director J.A. Bayona and artwork from Shafeek.

Get all your information (and get your credit card info ready too) at madebymutant.com.