Ultimate Iron Man Collector- Richard Brian Francisco!

Tony Stark makes you feel, he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel, indeed. With Iron Man’s well stocked armory, he is a collector’s wet dream. The guy’s got, what, over fifty sets of armor? The clothes really do make the man for Tony, as his powers and abilities stem directly from his brain and are translated to whatever piece of armor he’s wearing. Because of this, we’ve gotten a lot of pretty iconic suits of armor, and a bunch of them have gotten action figure treatment..

Because of his versatility and skyrocketing popularity, he’s been a favorite subject for toy makers, be they Toybiz or Hasbro. There are literally dozens upon dozens of figures even before the movie came out. And ever since it did, the number grew exponentially. It takes a special kind of man to ensure a complete armory- a man with real hair on his chest, and not the ones you usually draw on your offspring for when you dress him up as a Mexican. Enter a man named Richard Brian Francisco, or Zapzuu, as he is known over at the PTK forums.

Now, this guy is actually famous over there for having the most complete Iron Man collection out of all the collectors online. I asked for the guy who has the most impressive Iron Man collection and they all collectively pointed to ZapZuu, like he was the grand master of awesomness. Turns out, he actually is. And, he’s here with us today for a short word.

Comicology: So, Mr. ZapZuu, obvious questions first: Before you started your collection, were you already an Iron Man fan? What initially drew you to Iron Man?

ZapZuu: To tell you the truth, at first, I was not a big fan of Iron Man.  It all started with The Avengers and eventually my attention was drawn to Iron Man.  I was fascinated with his different sets of armor and one more thing that really boosts up my interest is the Extremis story, which I really like, (adi granov =badass!) and since then I’ve been a big fan of Tony Stark.

C: And what exactly made you want to collect Iron Man memorabilla? Was it the overabundance of extra cash? Pesky cash sometimes gets too damn hard to hide.

Z: One main reason is I’m a big fan of single theme collectors, some of them are at PTK and are really a big inspirations to me. I thought, why not be a single theme collector too? And that’s where it all started. Before I started to be on full blast in Iron Man memorabilla, I made a personal checklist from the hardest to find to easiest to find and how much will it cost me. Actually, cash is really a main issue when collecting. What I did is, at the time, I  was still collecting other figure lines and i decided to streamline my collection. To be able to have extra cash, I sold everything non-Iron Man in my collection and mostly I first tried to acquire the Hard–to-find figs and taking it slowly. Patience is a virtue. hehehe 

C: How long have you been collecting Iron Man stuff? And I guess, as a follow up to that question, what was your first Iron Man figure?

Z: I’ve been collecting Iron Man collectibles for almost 3 years now, and my first Iron Man is from Marvel Legends series 1.

C: Now, I noticed that a lot of your pictures are beautifully taken. Am I correct to assume that you’re either naturally gifted and I wish I was born in your place or you’re a professional graphic artist/photographer and/or both?

Z: No, I’m not a professional photographer, but i think you can say I’m an artist because in my field, as an architect, I have an idea of photography and composition. One more thing is I really like to pose my figs, especially when it has many points of articulation and at the same time I try my best to take a great pic in a dynamic way. Besides, you have to enjoy your figs, right?

C: When the movie was announced, how excited were you? I bet the prospect of having all new movie-based armories filled you with childish delight.

Z: Yeah, it really made me excited! It’s like a dream come true.

C: Here’s something that bothered me, though. When the movie was buzzing around the Internet, before its release, people were doubting its pulling power because they considered Iron Man a B-lister. Thing is, I’ve never considered him a B-lister. A lower A-list maybe, but never a B-lister. I guess this really isn’t a question, but I’d like to get your opinion on that.

Z: Yeah, me, too. I really don’t consider Iron Man as a B-lister, I’m really not affected by what other people say. I told myself to just wait and see when the movie is out;  you will surely see Iron Man in a different perspective. Prepare to be blown away! hehehe..

C: Sorry, we’re going a bit off topic. Anyway, I need to know. How many pieces are in your collection, exactly?

Z: Still looking around if i missed something, but it is safe to say about 300+ pieces.

C: That, good sir, is hardcore. And a rough estimate of the total cost, if you don’t mind, please? I really hate costing toys though. When I add my collection up, I just get extremely depressed.

Z: Hmmmm, it’s better not to answer this question. hehehe

C: Out of your entire collection, if you were to pick the top 5 figures, what would they be? Please rank accordingly.

Z: From 1-5 (1 is the best)
1.Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Mark 3(Ultimate Iron Man Collectible until the Battle Damage version comes out)
2.Sideshow Exclusive Iron Man Comiquette( love the pose and best representation of Adi Granov extremis armor)
3.Toybiz Marvel Vintage Avengers Boxset First Appearance Iron Man Chrome Variant (Shiny Iron Man Figure)
4.Hasbro Marvel Legends 2 Pack Series 2 Iron Man (great sculpt and paint)
5.Art Asylum Wave Marvel Minimates Wave 25 Classic Iron Man (Cool Little fig with articulation)

C: Hot Toys figures cost more than what I make a year. And your least liked 5 figures? I bet the ML Face Off Modular Armor is in that list.

Z:From 1-5(1 is the worst)
1..Hasbro Marvel Legends Ultimate War Machine (useless repaint)
2.Hasbro Marvel Legends Ultimate Iron Man(poor sculpt)
3.Hasbro Concept Series Satellite Armor(looks silly)
4.Hasbro Iron Man Movie Series Mark 3(looks thin)
5.Toybiz Marvel Face Off Modular Armor Iron Man(so small for a Marvel Legends scale, you guessed it! hehehe)

C: Alright, I’m sure you’re getting tired of all my questions, so we’ll end on a high note. Dream Iron Man figure. What would it be, and in what scale?

Z:1/6th Scale Classic Comic Iron Man with removable armor and led lights, hopefully someday Hot Toys will make one..

If they come up with one, I bet it’d cost roughly the same as a second hand luxury car. Well, that does it for our small interview, my man. Thank you very much, Mr. ZapZuu! We here at Comicology salute you, and we envy you and your collection immensely.

I will kidnap you in your sleep.