Me, on this very site, 9 months ago:

At its core, this isn’t a horrible pairing. Mondo lives and dies by their ability to get licenses, Funko has all the licenses.

The bigger concern is one of quality control. Funko is a very mass produced product. Mondo is not. Mondo is an artisan celebration of pop culture, with each artist selected and chosen specifically as a pairing.

Will this be able to remain the status quo with this purchase? My cynical side says no, but I’m very willing (if not wanting) to be wrong.

Let’s see how this plays out.

TheWrap, today:

Treasure your Mondo posters even more now. They won’t be making any more… at all.

Earlier this week, Funko unceremoniously laid off most of the staff of Mondo, the Austin-based company whose distinctive and idiosyncratic movie posters, collectibles and records were the go-to ephemera for discerning movie-lovers, three individuals with knowledge told TheWrap.

They killed the poster division, which is a shock considering that’s how Mondo started, along with a division meant for cutting-edge experiences and products called The Lab, which was run by Mondo co-founder Rob Jones, who was also laid off during the process. (Mitch Putnam, another co-founder, also got the axe.)

As of now, the only two divisions of the company that remain are the toys and records divisions. But insiders tell TheWrap it’s unclear how long those divisions will remain as part of the Funko portfolio.

This absolutely sucks.

I know, people are going to want to point a finger in this situation, and lord knows I’m not thrilled about it, but let’s look at the facts:

My heart goes out to this amazing company who supported countless artists while celebrating the movies, television and more people loved.

My hope is that someone is watching this, seeing that the heads of a very large, though cult-focused, business and decides to make an offer. This is a group who sells countless posters and vinyl just based on their brand name and experience. So much so, they had books made of their work AND they could run their own convention.

In the meantime, I cannot recommend enough the crop of great companies who also popped up during the time Mondo has existed, here’s a few:

And also, if there are artists whose work you’ve enjoyed over the years from Mondo, follow them on their socials, get on their mailing lists. I’ve no doubt they will continue to make great work, and I’m pretty sure they’re easy to find: just look at who the Mondo account follows on Instagram.