Mezco Toyz is a toy company that manufactures figurines and other collectibles based on original and licensed properties. Mezco Toyz was created by Michael Markowitz (Mez), the president of Mezco, who maintains itself as the driving force behind all aspects of design and development. Working with the best talent in the toy industry, Markowitz designs and directs each line from start to finish. Mezco Toyz was created in 2000, from the ashes of the short-lived toy production company: Aztech Toyz, which has earned recognition for its stylized range of Silent Screamers figures based on classic black-and-white silent images of early cinema. The Silent Screamers range has been renewed as one of the original versions of Mezco.