HILLSIDE, N.J. — Action figure manufacturer National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) has included vice presidential candidate James David Vance in their new limited edition line of Universal Monsters merchandise.
“It seemed like a good fit to us,” said Ann Muovi, design coordinator and lead painter at NECA. “Usually we negotiate with popular media brands to produce figures of their iconic characters, but nobody here knew anything about Vance. His campaign paid us a lot upfront so we had to come up with something, and after researching his role in ‘Project 2025’ we all think he’s a monster.”
The collection, licensed by Universal Pictures, features other famous film fiends like ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein.’ Reactions from figure collectors on social media have ranged from tepid to lukewarm.
“I bought Vance to fill a spot on my villains shelf but my wife said he’s too creepy to keep on display,” reported the horror-themed YouTube channel ‘Necaphiliac’ in a full review. “I tried to scalp him on Facebook Marketplace, figured someone there would want #1 of 50, but it’s been weeks without a bite and they aren’t even sold out on the NECA store. And I get it. ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ is the most boring B-horror ever. My kids turned it off before he even started killing people. So I’ll just put him in the closet next to my Ted Cruz Lego set.”
Vance gave insight into the collaboration decision during a podcast which everyone agreed would not be fact-checked.
“I’ve always been a big fan of Necco figurines and it’s been great for the campaign,” said Vance. “The American working class loves my little doll. I’ve signed at least two thousand of them at rallies already. Cornering the high-end birthday gift market is my only way to reach the girlfriend and suburban mom vote. I’m aware of some negative responses but that’s just a bunch of childless toy guys.”
At press time, NECA issued an emergency recall after several customers were hospitalized from inhalation of toxic fumes when burning the figure as an effigy.
