MILWAUKIE, OR, –One of the greatest toy phenomena of all time has been Good Luck Trolls, originally created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam. At various times since the early 1960s these charming little dolls have been a top-selling toy, building a seldom-achieved brand equity and strong consumer response. After disappearing from the market for many years, Good Luck Trolls are set to return this year with a modern twist on their timeless charm.

Good Luck Trolls “mystery box” assortments are a new collectibles merchandise program by Dark Horse Comics under a license granted by Dam Things, who hold all rights to the works of Thomas Dam. The mystery box is being introduced to the market with an on-sale date of July 25.

Dark Horse sees Good Luck Trolls as a natural for the company’s designer vinyl line of toys, and has created variations of color and design to pique the interest of customers. The first collection offers up fifteen different versions of the figures in various colors and with unique surface treatments, including metallic, flocked, black-light sensitive, glitter, and glow-in-the-dark.

Dark Horse’s VP of Product Development, David Scroggy, notes, “When we considered developing Trolls for the first time, we were confident that they would resonate with our audience of pop culture fans and modern collectors. We have a good sense of our customers’ tastes, and are not afraid to commit to an under-the-radar property if we think that it is likely to be embraced by our young adult consumers.”

Mystery box (also known as “blind box”) trading figures are essentially the same product, varying in decoration and materials, and sold randomly out of sealed packages. Some of the figures are common to every counter display, whereas “chase” figures are much harder to come by. The ratio of availability is printed on each package, so the consumer knows the relative scarcity of the figure purchased.

Dark Horse has varied the hair color within the most common figures, so that there will be more variety and more fun for the collector. For example, half of the yellow-body figures in a 2/15 ratio will have blue hair; the others will have pink hair.

The Good Luck Trolls are presented in a counter display unit holding fifteen individual blind boxes. Each Troll is packaged in an opaque foil bag inside its box to prevent tampering or viewing prior to purchase.

Dark Horse has also created a one-time limited edition of 1,500 green-body Good Luck Trolls with snow-white hair that are sensitive to black light. They will be sold exclusively at the Dark Horse booth at Comic-Con International in San Diego, July 12–15, 2012.