Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor
"Scores!" Says He: May 2026
Pez Poetry
Pez Almost-Quote of the Month

Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor | top

Hello and Happy June from Pezhead Monthly!

My Pez world was a bit of a mixed bag in May. Although I did not add a lot of new Pez to my collection (and overall, I am tracking considerably lower this year in new Pez), I did enjoy what I added. And on top of that, I had a great Pez-related experience. This was at the pop culture convention PopCon in Indianapolis, where I met Diedrich Bader and he signed a Batman Pez dispenser for me. Astute readers of Pezhead Monthly know that I am a big Batman fan, a big Pez fan, and a big Batman Pez fan, so this was a very meaningful occasion for me. Diedrich was a really nice guy and I was glad to meet him. Diedrich’s signed Batman Pez will join my 2 other Batman Pez signed by Adam West and Kevin Conroy. (I also got a non-Pez autograph at Indy PopCon from the one and only Patrick Warburton, who played Puddy on “Seinfeld” and Joe Swanson on “Family Guy.” Patrick was also a nice guy and quite funny. He graciously signed my DVD of his TV series “The Tick.”)

I also put a few more plans in place for Pezhead Monthly’s big 25th anniversary this year. With the help of others in the community, I started working on something to celebrate this occasion, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work on it in June and July. All will be revealed at Pezamania 35 in July, so I hope to see you there!

In the broader Pez world, there were a few big stories. First off, Pez was featured on the show “CBS Sunday Morning” in a brief but quite interesting segment. From the Pez Visitor’s Center in Orange, Connecticut, there was Shawn Peterson, a Pez historian, collector, and employee who I’ve mentioned numerous times in this publication. (Among other things, Shawn’s book “Collector's Guide to Pez, vol 3” was the basis on which I started my Pez collection spreadsheet many years ago.) Shawn talked about the origins of Pez dispensers from an anti-smoking device that served breath mints in Europe, to a character-driven sensation in the United States. The segment also featured Brian Trauman, the Guinness record holder for largest collection (currently at over 6400 dispensers!) who I have also mentioned a few times here. On the CBS segment, Brian told the story of his search for the elusive vintage gray Donkey Pez dispenser that was gifted to (and ultimately rejected by) JFK. Brian mentioned that he eventually acquired one of these very rare dispensers for the price of $10000! I have the pleasure of knowing Shawn and Brian, who are both great guys in addition to being giants in the Pez world. I am looking forward to seeing them at Pezamania in July!

In May, there was also the release of Kid Guard, an art piece by Austrian artist JF Krichbaum that also just happens to be a Pez dispenser. This was a Pez.com exclusive here in the US (and there was also a live release show in Europe for it), and it appears to be the first in a series too. At $30, this was a bit pricey but it sold out in about 45 minutes and I was glad to order one of these. This will be included in my score rundown in next month’s issue.

And lastly, in May, the Sweets & Snacks Expo took place in Las Vegas. This is an event where various candy and snack companies, including Pez, show off their upcoming releases. As has been done for previous Sweets & Snacks Expos, Pez unveiled an exclusive dispenser for the event. This year’s dispenser was a Heart with a special design for the expo. It was only available to attendees, who had to spin a wheel to win it. I hope, as in years past, that it will be made available online, and that I am lucky enough to get one. As for the upcoming Pez releases at Sweets & Snacks, as these pictures from the Pez Palz Facebook page show, Pez has a lot of fun stuff in the pipeline, including Shrek, Bluey, Donkey Kong, and much more. I’m looking forward to all of it!

Turning to this month’s issue of Pezhead Monthly, things kick off with a cover image that Pezzifies the new live-action “Masters of the Universe” movie. For the title, I used the He-Man font generator at PixelFrame, which is a great site filled with lots of font generators. (The cover image also has a cameo from the Skeletor POP+Pez.) There are also a couple of notable Pez poems, including the milestone Pez Haiku #200 and a poem about Diedrich Bader signing my Batman Pez dispenser. I busted out the iambic pentameter for the Diedrich Bader poem, so you know I’m not messing around! In addition, there is a Pez Almost-Quote that includes a bonus Pez photo parody for good measure. Rounding out the issue is a rundown of my May Pez scores.

And lastly, I wanted to add a quick note about last month’s issue of Pezhead Monthly, in which I shared a variety of pictures of my Star Wars Pez collection. There was one glaring omission from these pictures: a photo of the various custom Star Wars Pez I’ve received in swag swaps from my Pez pal Rory. Rory is the biggest Star Wars fan I know, Pezhead or otherwise, and his work on custom Star Wars Pez is nothing short of genius. Below is a picture of Rory’s custom Pez that I have in my collection, which I’ve also added to the Pezhead Monthly “May The Fourth” Star Wars page. My favorites are his mashups of Chewbacca and Captain Caveman (a.k.a. “Captain Kashyyyk”) and C-3PO and Michael Myers.

Thanks as always for reading Pezhead Monthly. Take care and see you soon!

Joe Durrant
Editor, Pezhead Monthly
joe@pezheadmonthly.com

P.S. Did you miss last month's issue? You can still read it here. To search the full Pezhead Monthly archives, hop on over to the archive page, where you can browse by feature, Pez Poetry Slam, or issue. There's also a Google search bar to help you search the content across the site. And hey, maybe you would like to submit some words, photos, artwork, or videos to Pezhead Monthly to be featured in an upcoming issue? That would be great! Check out the submission details here.

"Scores!" Says He: May 2026 | top

I picked up a few new Pez pieces for my collection in May.

From Pez.com, I received the online exclusive Raspberry Presenter Girl. This is, by my count, the 12th Presenter Girl in this series that started in early 2024. All of these have been exclusives to either Pez.com or Sweets & Snack Expos. However, the last new Presenter Girl was back in December 2025 (the 2026 Golden New Year Presenter Girl), so I was quite excited to score this treat and add it to my collection.

From Hobby Lobby, while searching for the new Minecraft TNT Pez, I found 2 factory error dispensers on cards, Eevee (from Pokemon) and Spider-Man. Both of these backwards-facing errors, which seems to be the most common type. Also, these were found at 2 different Hobby Lobby stores on 2 consecutive days. Interestingly enough, 15 years ago, almost to the day, I found another backwards Spider-Man Pez. Here is a picture of both versions, with the earlier one on the left and the newer one on the right. (I did not find the Minecraft TNT Pez, but I hope to get that soon either out in the wild or when it becomes available on Pez.com.)

From the talented artist Mike Herz, I picked up his custom-made Spider-Ham Pez dispenser. Spider-Ham was a take-off of Spider-Man that first appeared in Marvel comic books in the 1980s, and was also seen in the animated feature film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Mike did a fantastic job with this custom dispenser, as always!

From Pezamania, I received a card for the upcoming big Pezamania 35 convention. It went out as both a reminder to register for the convention and a note to those who already registered, to see them in July. I definitely fall in the latter group! I registered way back in November 2025 and I cannot wait to be there. The card is a nice keepsake that I am placing next to my computer as a reminder for the big show, although I must say that a reminder is hardly necessary!

And lastly, at Indy PopCon, a pop culture convention that took place in Indianapolis, I met Diedrich Bader. Among Diedrich’s many roles in TV and movies, he voiced Batman in the animated TV series “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.” So, of course, I asked him to sign a Batman Pez dispenser. He was happy to oblige, and he also indicated that this was his first ever Pez dispenser autograph! This signed Batman Pez will look great in my Batcave along with the other 2 Batman Pez I had signed previously by Adam West and Kevin Conroy. Here is a picture of all of them together. And, elsewhere in this issue, there is a poem that celebrates this delightful autographed Pez addition to my collection.

Here is a picture of my May Pez scores. You can click on the picture for a larger view.

Pez Poetry | top

Pez Haiku #200

These small plastic toys
Take up a very large space
In displays and hearts.

A Batman Pez That’s Signed By Diedrich Bader

One sunny Indiana afternoon
Inside a lively, vast convention hall,
The timing, it was rather opportune
To meet a Batman and to be enthralled.
A handshake, chat, and then a moment later,
A Batman Pez that’s signed by Diedrich Bader

I told him of the Batmen from before,
Of Adam West and Kevin Conroy too,
Who each had signed a Pez dispenser for
This Batman fan, this Pezhead through and through.
And now a third would mark a Caped Crusader,
A Batman Pez that’s signed by Diedrich Bader

He mentioned that he’d never signed a Pez;
I was surprised and pleased to be his first.
Upon its sleeve, that Sharpie ran its quest;
Inside my mind, excitement almost burst.
‘Twas cooler than a new refrigerator,
This Batman Pez that’s signed by Diedrich Bader.

He lent his voice to Batman Brave and Bold
And kindly autographed my Pez that day.
And now that treasure’s something to behold,
Included in my Batman Pez display.
I tell you, friend, there’s nothing that is greater
Than Batman Pez that’s signed by Diedrich Bader.

Pez Almost-Quote of the Month | top

This month’s Pez Almost-Quote is inspired by a line from “The Godfather Part III,” which is without a doubt one of the top 3 “Godfather” movies of all time.

For more Pez Almost-Quotes, click here.