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Toys

Play Is Serious Business

More illustrated books for young folks, this time from a well-known writer in Hollywood. Toy Academy is a new series from Scholastic Books, written by Brian Lynch and illustrated by Edwardian Taylor. “Welcome to Toy Academy: Where toys learn to play. This is where action figures train to battle, stuffed animals study the art of the hug, and collectibles practice standing very, very still. Though Grumbolt isn’t really any of those things, he’s determined to fit in. But when the Evil Toy Academy threatens to bring down his school, it’s up to Grumbolt to go where no good toy has gone before and prove he’s truly a great toy after all. This laugh-out-loud chapter book by the writer of Minions and a writer of The Secret Life of Pets is a classic in the making.” You heard it here!

image c. 2018 Scholastic Books

A Passion for Toys

Wow, what have we been missing? Turns out there’s an internet sensation named Johnny Wu (aka Sgt Bananas) who has made quite a name for himself with photography and stop-motion animation, featuring his impressive toy and action figure collection put together in some truly imaginative comic book style adventures. Now Mr. Wu has hooked up with comic book publisher Dynamite to bring us Ten Frames Per Second: An Articulated Adventure, a new full-color hardcover book highlighting some of Sgt Bananas’ best Instagram work. Outright Geekery has an article about it as well.

image c. 2018 Dynamite

They’re Not Destined For Pizza

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Fungisaurs.com is ready to get up and running. “What is a ‘Fungisaur’? Fungisaurs is the name we’ve given to our original dinosaur-mushroom hybrid species. We hope to inspired adventure, science education, and appreciation for nature.” And they are going at those goals from several angles all at once: Starting off with 8 different Fungisaur designs, they have toys, dedicated merchandise, an animated origin story, and even an augmented reality app all in the works.

image c. 2017 fungisaurs.com

Ponies of Darkness

Allan Gann made a name for himself as a crafter of custom plush toys for various organizations and individuals since 1999. Then in 2014, he expanded his vision with Midnight Mares, designed not only as a plush toy line but also as an animated series. Inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (obviously!), but Midnight Mares takes things in a darker and more grown-up oriented direction. Visit the official web site and you’ll see what we mean. Interestingly, Mr. Gann has retained the services of Duo Cartoonist to help create the animation. Duo Cartoonist is well-know as the creator of the Children of the Night animated short, which won a Special Ursa Major Award.

image c. 2017 MidnightMares.com

These Animals ROCK… If You Want Them To

[Just back from PAW-Con in Northern California, and STILL getting caught up on stuff from Stan Lee’s LA Comic Con!] Here’s a useful item with a Furry Fandom twist: My Audio Pet is “…a powerful Bluetooth speaker that enables you to listen to your favorite music, podcasts, or shows wherever you are. All My Audio Pets feature: Easy wireless connection to most smartphones, tablets, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices, a built-in mic for convenient hands-free option, and a rechargeable battery allows for portable tunes wherever you go.” Not to mention, they come in several cute animal designs — all with equally cute names like “Owl-capella”. Visit their web site to see all their current designs.

image c. 2017 myaudiopet.com

Toying With Magick

Tokidoki is a boutique toy and design company we encountered at Comic Con. Their web site describes them very well: “Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, tokidoki was founded in 2003 by designer Simone Legno and his partners Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold. An innovative line of apparel, handbags, cosmetics, accessories and more, tokidoki has built a worldwide following with its larger-than-life characters and designs. The brand’s cult status has fueled high-profile collaborations with Karl Lagerfeld, LeSportsac, Onitsuka Tiger, Marvel, New Era, Hello Kitty, Fujitsu, Levi’s, Smashbox cosmetics, Xbox, T-mobile, Fornarina, Skullcandy and Medicom Toy.” Whew! Those “larger than life characters” include unicorns, cute cows, and other chibi human and funny animal creations. Turns out they’re available at a large number of well-known retail stores worldwide too.

image c. 2017 tokidoki

Just Out of Sight…

Yet another Comic Con discovery. The creators themselves explain this one best: “Thimblestump Hollow looks like any normal slice of the natural world – in fact, it may be in your own yard, at the end of your street, or in that forgotten corner by the grocery store where that patch of weeds is growing. The creatures of Thimblestump Hollow inhabit these places, asking us to pause for a second and consider what worlds could be just beyond our notice, if we would only stop and look. The Thimblestump Hollow vinyl blindboxed toy line is based on characters created by artists Chris Ryniak and Amanda Louise Spayd, and produced by Cardboard Spaceship Toys.  Initially developed in 2014, it debuted at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con, and has since sold tens of thousands of pieces worldwide online, as well as through brick and mortar retailer outlets such as Hot Topic.” You can visit their web site to see the full line they’ have so far.

image c. 2017 Cardboard Spaceship Toys

Save

Funny Animal Housewares

More we found at Comic Con: Genkimix is an Internet store associated with the Gaia on-line roleplaying community. They specialize in household items and knick-knacks featuring a variety of cute chibi funny animal designs. Everything from toothbrush holders to purses to t-shirts to notepads and more. What more can we say? Check out their many forms of cuteness.

image c. 2017 GenkiMix

Save

Save the Sperels!

[Wow, we’re yelling a lot lately! It’s like that after a big convention like WonderCon…] Something else new we stumbled across: The Save The Sperels campaign, as created by Orion Spellman. What are Sperels? They are small, bluish, bat-like creatures with wild hair and leather wings on their backs. According to Sperel lore, they are an oppressed species — forced to labor in underground mines in a dreary land called Mulldrum. But having wings, the Sperels dream of escaping to the sky, free to fly! To that end, the Save The Sperels campaign has an official web site where you can assist the Sperels in their quest for freedom by purchasing plushies, t-shirts, art prints, and other goodies.

image c. 2017 savethesperels.org