Food

ShowBiz Pizza’s Billy Bob Gets a Rare (and Creepy) Collectible

by Luke Y. Thompson
Nov 15 2018 • 2:34 PM

Hey, remember ShowBiz Pizza? Former Mondo CEO Justin Ishmael is hoping you do, as his latest independently released collectible vinyl figure celebrates one of Freddy Fazbear’s famous forerunners.The chain was formed when original Chuck E. Cheese investor Robert Brock decided he could get a better return on his investment as a competitor, and he ultimately won, buying out Chuck E. Cheese while adopting its better-known branding. As a result, the rodent known as Charles Entertainment Cheese is still the signature character of the company, with original animatronic ShowBiz band the Rock-a-fire explosion largely a thing of the past. Though versions of the band owned by collectors have showed up in reprogrammed form, both on YouTube viral videos, and at this past Comic-Con to promote Deadpool 2 coming to Blu-ray.

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Don’t tell Anger from Inside Out, but years before Pixar was a thing, this pizza party bear was named Billy Bob Brockali, planting a seed, if you will, for tree-shaped veggies on your pie. The figure stands 11 inches tall, and comes in a regular edition with banjo for $125, and a deluxe edition for $150 that includes Birthday Bird and a Five Nights at Freddy’s-style alternate head where the face has been ripped away to expose the mechanics beneath. Though officially licensed, this is an extremely independent production, and is expected to arrive some time in the middle of next year. Presumably if pre-sales are good, gorilla Fatz Geronimo could come next.Are your stomach and heart growling at the sight, or do removable-face animatronics just terrify you? (And is that fear good or bad?) Let us know in comments!

Image: Justin Ishmael