Some of you may remember our review of the 2007 Series 1 Madballs back in December. I mentioned that we were looking forward to reviewing Series 2 — and I was! — but I had no idea that I’d have the opportunity to review them early. Thanks to the good folks at Basic Fun, however, I’ve been able to do just that: for the first time ever, a toy company has seen fit to send new products to Scary-Crayon before they hit the street. (Actually, this is the first time a toy company has sent us anything. Woo!) The Series 2 Madballs will be appearing at Toy Fair 2008 this week, but you can also see them in all of their 12^2 glory right here on Scary-Crayon! (12^2 = 144 = gross, remember? 😉 ) As noted, they’re not out yet in stores, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them and will let you know when I find them. Given how much I enjoyed working with Grodd (even though he tortured the crap out of me), I’m eager to try customizing a normal 2008 Dust Brain into the female “Dusty” that I knew and loved from her animated appearances.
Some additional info on Bruise Brother — or rather my history with the character and original toy — in case you’re curious. I actually did and do have an original Bruise Brother, but I have no idea where he is. See, he was one of the toys that I decided to take with me to college junior year to better decorate and personalize my room, but I had the misfortune of placing him in the same bag with several other toys, including the original Playmates TMNT Triceraton, when I packed him up. I opened the bag upon arriving in New Haven to find the toys inside dusted with yellow foam — apparently, at some point during the six-hour trip, Triceraton had seen fit to gore the heck out of poor Bruise Brother. Even more upsetting than the fact that this toy, which had been in near mint condition despite spending over a decade under my bed, had been given to me by my long-dead paternal grandmother. In fact, I can’t really remember anything about her except that she bought me that toy one year. Anyway, I wrapped what remained of Bruise Brother in paper towels, placed them in a plastic bag, and — upon finally bringing them back to the house — put them somewhere where I was certain he would be safe from further injury and apparently forgot where the safe spot was. I hope he’s happy there. 😐
So while Bruise Brother wasn’t as prominent a character as Aargh in the Madballs universes — and as such I’m not too upset that he was replaced by Blechbeard — it does make me a bit sad that he didn’t get the official revival treatment. My criticisms of Blechbeard would probably have been just as sharp had Bruise Brother survived the journey completely intact, but it is a bit disappointing that they’d make a “new” character that is so reminiscent of Bruise Brother, especially when the concept — a pirate Madball! — could have inspired a truly unique and significantly different design. As said, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the artists come up with once they’ve exhausted the original cast.
Thanks to the folks at Basic Fun for making this early review possible — and for keeping the Madballs going strong into 2008! I sincerely wish you guys the best of luck in this competitive toy market.
Poor Bruise Brother got bruised. (I’m starting to get too punny, like the Mad Balls.)
How’d licensed Madballs go? Like Transformers or Star Wars Madballs? I wouldn’t say that’s beneath the toy industry…