Dynamite Is Down With The Homies!

Dynamite announced an agreement with Surge Licensing, Inc. and Homieshop, LLC to create the first-ever officially licensed Homies publications. The deal includes rights for a “History of the Homies” comprehensive retrospective hardcover art book, which will feature all of the toys ever released, along with behind-the-scenes art, info, and photos on the development of the characters, brand, and merchandise, including interviews with its creator, David Gonzales, and the story of how the Homies blew up! In addition, the deal includes the right to create original comics and graphic novels in all sizes, as well as reprint existing comic material.

The Homies first began as an underground comic strip created by artist David Gonzales that ran in Lowrider Magazine in 1978 and was based on his friends and lifestyle. The merchandising of Homies began in 1994 when trend-savvy retailer Hot Topic offered the shirts for sale, which soon became hot tees in their stores. Following on the heels of a successful T-shirt run, Homies was licensed for figurines in the vending machine toy industry, where all sales records were broken, with over 150 million figurines sold worldwide. The licensing program soon spread to products such as action figures, remote and die-cast cars, notebooks, posters, plush, Halloween masks, video games, music and more, and were carried by specialty and mass retailers, such as Walmart, K-mart, Kay-bee Toys, Spencer Gifts, Walgreens and many others. Today, the Homies are enjoying a comeback with new T-shirts, toys and more in the works.

“The Homies started as an underground comic strip back in the 70’s, and it has always been my dream to have them published in a comic book of their own. I have also always wanted to create a Homies history book of some sort to establish the legacy of Homies, and to share the stormy, controversial, and wild ride that they have taken me on,” says David Gonzales. “I am very pleased that Dynamite has recognized something special in my creation, and will champion me and my Homies in this quest.”

“I remember the toys, and how nuts people were in collecting them, back in the ’90s,” says Dynamite Director of Business Development Rich Young. “They were a phenomenon, and all the different characters they created were super-cool. I’m very happy that Dynamite is able to be the first publisher associated with the Homies and helping bring them to the printed page!”

“We’re not only excited to bring Homies to the comic and book market, but we also get to kick this off at San Diego Comic Con! For fans who come to our panel on July 9th, we’re going to give away a collectible Homie to each and every fan. The panel is in Room 6DE on Thursday, from 5:45pm to 6:45pm, and we can’t wait to talk more about Homies and our additional Dynamite projects,” says Dynamite CEO and Publisher Nick Barrucci.

As for the characters themselves, the Homies got started as a group of tightly knit Chicano buddies: Hollywood, Smiley, Pelon, and Bobby Loco, who grew up in the Mexican American barrio (neighborhood) of “Quien Sabe” (“who knows”), located in East Los Angeles. Over time, the Homies have expanded their crew to over 300 characters from all different cultures, genres, and even species. The wide-ranging personalities and characteristics together make up a single, composite entity that is the Homies. In an inner-city world plagued by poverty and oppression, the Homies have formed a strong and binding cultural support system that enables them to overcome the surrounding negativity and allows for laughter and good times as an anecdote for reality. The word “Homies” itself is a popular street term that refers to someone from your hometown or, in a broader sense, anyone that you would acknowledge as your friend. In use in the West Coast Latino community for decades, the word “Homies” has crossed over into the now mainstream Hip-Hop street culture that has taken America’s young people by storm.

“The Homies were a part of my childhood, and I couldn’t be more excited to see them offered for a new generation of fans,” says Surge Licensing’s Elan Freedman. “But even more so, there is nothing more exciting than being able to progress the evolution of the brand by offering a brand new experience to all fans, existing and new, through a publishing program.”