Summer in the Studio with Daryl Slaton

Licensing is a long, slow process, but when it gains speed, it’s like a tornado. Or, in the case of The Wundernauts, Daryl’s new graphic novel begun in July, it has meant a whirlwind summer full of work in his studio. 

Daryl at work in his studio, creating The Wundernauts

From research to concept development to creating characters and story, building a property of this kind in a few short months requires an intense creative focus. The Wundernauts, a new intellectual property for kids aged 4-8, will be submitted to publishers, studios, and retailers before Halloween. You should see graphic novels, plush, and T-shirts in the marketplace in 2016.

Here’s a good example of where Daryl’s ideas come from:

Over a breakfast in Vegas with our agent Leo Valencia of Quantarra and Radio-Days, Leo expressed interest in creating a new project for broad distribution that would combine futuristic elements with some down-home goodness. Now, Leo is kind of a Renaissance man, and besides being a brilliant licensee of well-known images, he is an artist, accomplished musician, and proud Dad to Savion. We met Savion at Licensing Expo, too, and he’s quite a charmer. He also shows signs of being a great character artist. Why not, thought Daryl, create a clever mash-up of classic and contemporary story elements with some of Savion’s monsters in the mix.

Scooter tells Savion a big secret at Licensing Expo 2015.

Check out this sneak peek at The Wundernauts! Savion's monster is on the sign.

Now, meet one of the Wundernauts: P.U.P, a strong and loyal Pumped Up Powerhouse! P.U.P. is one of a large cast of characters that you will meet when The Wundernauts show up in stores and on digital devices.

Meet P.U.P., one of the Wundernauts!

So here’s your very first look at P.U.P. and some of the many Wundernauts. Stay tuned for more! Books, T-shirts and plush are due in stores soon.