Mondo has had a huge impact on my life. As far back as I can remember, I always loved movie posters. Growing up, I’d buy posters at Suncoast or take them from my video store, and tack them to my wall. If they ripped, I’d just throw them out and get new ones. Years later, the posters of Mondo made me realize the papers hanging on my wall could be more than just decorations. They could be collectible art too, and that flipped a switch.
In 2008, I bought my first Mondo poster, The Lost Boys by Tyler Stout. I got it in person at a screening, which was how the brand got its start: making gig posters as one would do for concerts, but for movies. The poster opened my eyes to a whole new world—and since then, I’ve continued to buy posters. Becoming a collector introduced me to places like Gallery 1988, which releases similar cool art based on pop culture, and when I saw people spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars on the posters I bought for much less than that, it was a really good feeling.
I’ve been collecting and writing about Mondo and the pop culture art world for years, and I could go on forever about the impact it has had on me. Maybe one day I will. Today though, I feel like showing is better than telling.
After the news that Funko fired almost half of Mondo’s employees, including co-founders Mitch Putman and Rob Jones, who were key components in making Mondo cool for over a decade, Mondo as it once was is dead. Thinking back on the past, I walked around my home and saw a lot of Mondo. Mondo lives with me every single day—and here are some of my favorite pieces.
