Super7 Spotlight: Czarface

Music is a big part of what Super7 is about and it influences a lot of what we do. We've been very fortunate to have already collaborated with some of our favorite hip hop artists, including the supergroup Czarface!

Name and location.

Eso of Czarface, real name Seamus Ryan, coming to you live from Czarlem, MA on Earth 808.

What are the roots of Czarface?

Czarface the character actually was born out of Czarface the music, which is created by me, 7L, and Inspectah Deck of the Wu-Tang Clan. We make music first, but then to build on the world of Czarface came the action figures, first in 2013. My job was/is rapping, which meant I had to find time to write while raising a son, so I wanted to connect with him while doing it, because he always come first. He was 4 or 5 at the time, and I'd be listening to beats to write rhymes to, and it became a challenge because he was often interrupting my thought process because he was curious what the music was called. To keep his interest and let his mind wander I'd throw out random names like "this is the Magneto beat" or "this is the Stormtrooper beat" and then he'd let me write and he'd play with his action figures. We needed our own character. That's when we came up with Czarface....fleshing out his story came in time. Lamour Supreme illustrated the look of Czarface and now you can hold him in your hand! Comics and "book & record" sets followed soon after, featuring stories about Czarface, backed with our music on vinyl. Anyone that owns any of the Super7 Czarface Reaction figures are treated to his origin on the backing card.

What is your earliest memory of pop culture/toys/favorite toy growing up?

I remember having a few Mego figures, Spidey & Batman. Then came Godzilla with the flying fist and Star Wars, which has had me in a vice-grip ever since. Then GI Joe, Transformers, and Masters of the Universe. It is so hard to pick a favorite, but if I really thought hard about it, ones that I'm most attached to, it would be a tie between the first Kenner Chewbacca, the Spider-Man & Dr. Doom from Secret Wars, and probably Snake Eyes..and Zodac from MOTU.

How long did you know Super7 before your collaboration?

As a fan, for several years. My most vivid memory, not my first, but my most vivid, would have to be buying the Super7 jumbo Stormtrooper for a friend, it was so exciting to see a Star Wars character modeled after the Shogun Warriors...and this was for a friend named KARMA who grew up with these toys like I did. In retrospect, I wish I bought two!

The Super7 Super Shogun Stormtrooper was released in 2010.

What makes your collaboration with Super7 special?

Well growing up as a kid that lived through a somewhat unpredictable childhood, I leaned on action figures and comics to get me through some of the muck. Years down the line, having the opportunity to produce a toy I co-created, that was spawned from the music I devoted my life to, with a brand as cool as Super7, means tons. I know my partners Deck, 7L, and Lamour feel the same way.

How was it decided where to start with designing and planning the collaboration?

One of my first real meetings with Brian Flynn was right as The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 1 dropped. I used that first episode as small talk, and although he wasn't as impressed with the episode as I was, thus sinking my heart haha, it was still fun to chop it up about all things pop culture and connect on some mutual friends we've had over the years. From there we decided what type of launch we should have for a Czarface ReAction Figure. I wanted to have Lamour Supreme illustrate the backing card and then the Super7 team build the figure that we loved. We discussed the potential for growth for the character and a potential ULTIMATES! version down the line if the 3 3/4" versions do well...which is where we are at now! Dreams do come true, and the fans ultimately helped make this happen.

Does your fanbase cross over to the collector toys world?

Thankfully it does, yeah. Super7 has helped with that a bit over the years, but I think the original short-run figures we had sparked it. Our first Czarface figure was assembled by Sucklord from Suckadelic, from certain pieces I sent him that were special to me as a kid, they're sort of Easter eggs in an action figure...I've seen that sell for a couple thousand on eBay which is wild..and the second iterations of Czarface were from Peter Goral from Killer Bootlegs who really just killed the design of Czarface with sick attention to detail. Then Concrete Jungle made a Czarface and a Czar Noir statue, and throughout all of this, the demand for Czar stuff grew outside of the music, leading us to Super7 and having our figure next to the likes of Skeletor and Lion-O!

How have your fans reacted to the Super7 collaboration?

Favorably! The toy drops are practically an entirely different lane, a different side of the brain than the music, and it kicks open a whole new world of people to connect with....I've seen people post their Czarface action figure collection on social media and that means so damn much to me, because as a collector and a fan of action figures dating back to being just 4 years old, it hits hard. I see parents with their kids using the figures, and the kids are too young to even be exposed to the music, but they're just digging the character's toy and comics, which rules!! I love seeing the parents and the kids connect on it, because some of my most precious memories are introducing my son to figures like Spawn, Dr. Octopus, Hawkman, Greedo, Daredevil, etc and just watching his imagination soar.

What is your dream collaboration?

Hmmm....many, and we've been very lucky to achieve some set goals already, such as having a Czarface action figure, and getting our music into a Marvel movie, thanks to my man Tom Hardy. Hmmm... I'd love to work with an animation studio on a Czarface cartoon, and I'd love to see Czarface on the big screen. Maybe James Gunn can direct it? Dave Bautista can play Czarface and Tom Hardy can be one of Czarface's enemies or counterparts...or he can be Czarface...who knows? Haha. You can never dream too big! Maybe one day.

Is there something I didn’t ask you that you would like to add?

Yes you glossed over what I'm eating for lunch...it's a Porg from Ahch-To.

Check out "DOOM Unto Others" from the Czarface / MF Doom album Super What? that features a shout out to Super7!