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MONSTER TOYS

Monster toys. . . I think I first became fascinated with monsters when I was about 8 or maybe ten. I was over at my friend Alan Davis' house and we were looking at comics. In amongst the (probably now priceless) superhero stuff was a horror comic. I don't remember the title, but the image in my head is in a kind of John Tottlebein-Swamp Thing kind of style. I was hooked. The images were so imaginative and evocative. The colors seemed so bright and the stories were a lot more gripping than angst ridden superheroes. 

If you click on the images then you can see a larger picture. 

 

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Doctor Caligari was the figure who originally attracted me to the Silent Screamers series of monster toys. His jacket comes off to reveal a body composed of snakes.  
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Personal preference here, but I think this one wins out from the Silent Screamers Series One. I love the bendy lamp-post and the inclusion of the victim lying prostrate at the killer Cesare's feet is a touch of gothic genius. Also note the vacant expression on Cessari's face. The casting really catches the look of the somnambulist killer.
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Just a little scene with the two "Cabinet" figures together. These really are some of the best modern monster toys. The MacFarlane toy range is just too obvious for my liking. Slashers only work in the context of their respective movies. Characters like the good Doctor here are fundamentally scary images. Together I have to give them the full five stars. 
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Nobody needs to be this articulated. Every part of Maria the android from Metropolis is articulated. She is a nice figure though, although this is a little too much of a straight copy from the movie, and doesn't contain any of the extra little touches that make the others so scary.

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John Constantine from DC Direct. This is a good cast of a great character. It really captures his ruffled appearance. Unfortunately I have to knock off at least one star because the figure simply doesn't do anything. Most DC Direct figures have some special feature which is unfortunately absent in this figure.   

 
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I think these toys were first only available through the CVS Pharmacy in the US. There were six (I think) in the series. I have only bought these two (so far) as I thought they were the best. The way the bandages wrapping the mummy, although stitched on, really look and feel like they have been wrapped around. 
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My favorite from the CVS pharmacy series of Universal Monster beanies. The colors on the figure are great and the shape of the head is spot on and pleasingly firm. The silver fabric on the bolts is a really nice touch.