Witchy Wonders 4, or "Mattel, Keep it Classy": Moonspell Magic by Monster High!

The MGA/Mattel rivalry has now reached the level of comedy where Mattel is doing the thing their own competitor did a decade prior to rip them off.

Witchy Wonders 3, or, "MGA, Stay Subtle" : Bratzillaz Switch-A-Witch

In the eternal MGA/Mattel feud, Monster High's monster success spawned two cash-ins by MGA: the alien-focused figurine/fashion doll line Novi Stars, and the more direct competitor: Bratzillaz. And it's high time I talked about the latter.

Witchy Wonders 2, or "A Green Gathering": Effanbee Goes to the Land of Oz!

I wanted to have a classic vintage-style sweet entry in this look at witch dolls, but Madame Alexander didn't have any I found interesting or appealing enough. I want a witch to be spooky or caricatured enough, and Mme. A's witches all look like sweet human little girls in costume. Fortunately, the Effanbee company provided in this niche!

Why Do Mansters Fall in Love?: The Monster High Spelldon Cauldronello/Kieran Valentine Couple Pack by Mattel

On the one hand, this doll release seemed inevitable. On the other, it seemed absolutely impossible. 

Happy Pride! Do these dolls celebrate it well?

Just What I Wanted: LEGO Minifigures Series 29

It's time for another review of a new Minifigures series...though I'm frankly surprised to be able to say so.

Witchy Wonders 1, or "Cinema's First Iconic Witch": The "Snow White" Hag in the Doll World!

While I may be out there calling myself the Walt Disney Corporation's #1 cynical hater most of the time, and am roundly determined to never even approach "Disney adult" status, I still enjoy the artistic product often, especially from prior decades and the Disney history--you know, when artist effort seemed more prominent and strong. And when I made the extremely dangerous search of "vintage plastic witch doll", one particular Disney villain popped up and I was sold. 

Introduction to Witchy Wonders!

Yeah, I'm running another series parallel to Hatter Madness! 

A LEGO Horror Chronicle, Part 9: Monster Miscellany

Time to wrap up some loose ends!

A LEGO Horror Chronicle, Part 6: Minifigures Series 14

Ten years ago...ouch. Well, anyway, ten years ago, in 2015, LEGO did its first Minifigures series of unlicensed characters united under one concept, and I will forever love that the horror genre was their first choice. And that this series came before the series-size reduction to 12 minifigures!

A LEGO Horror Chronicle, Part 2: Monsters from Early Minifigures Series

 After the original Castle and Studios monsters from the "pre-modern" LEGO eras, the Minifigures theme served as the next major repository for horror minifigure designs, and started delivering right at the very beginning! The Minifigures line gave us the first horror designs in LEGO's current minifigure art style which stabilized around the late 2000s-2010s and hasn't really changed since, though it's arguable early series still look a bit different facially from minifigures of today. The Minifigures line also gave us our first iterative designs repeating and reimagining monster archetypes we'd already seen. Let's take a look.

A LEGO Horror Chronicle, Part 1: Introduction to LEGO Monsters

Halloween season has begun, and this year, it's all about LEGO!

I've tried to figure it out before, but my love for the horror genre must be somewhat innate. I was always deeply enthralled by witches, adored Halloween, and monsters of any kind were my bread and butter. One of the bigger indicators for my belatedly-acknowledged passion came in the form of my LEGO hobby, and my singular focus therein on monster minifigures. 

Spinning a Web of Confidence: The Monster High x Harris Reed Witch Weaver by Mattel Creations

This is Monster High's second fashion-design collab, kinda another Skullebrity doll, and definitely their second genderqueer doll character after G3 Frankie. This is the Witch Weaver, modeled on the works of fashion designer Harris Reed.

Yes, It's Really LEGO: The Belville Witch

The concept of "LEGO for girls" has always been fraught and I think that can be a big blinder obstructing some really interesting toy design. So what if I told you a girl LEGO happened to be one of the best-articulated tiny figure designs I've encountered?

Leftover Candy: A Living Dead Dolloween Encore

Halloween never ends that quickly or easily for me, and I have to let myself savor. I'm ready to keep on with the year's events and festivities, but it's always hard to let go and cut off the spooky season right on the last day.

But what am I doing here? I've already combed through the Halloween history, and you already know these characters in the cover image. But not quite. These dolls you're seeing are their variants!  

A Living Dead Dolloween, Part 6: Honorary Halloween Living Dead Dolls Roundup (Roundup #8)

Now that the series and exclusive history of LDD Halloween has been looked over...who says we have to stop there? Why not look at other offerings fit for the holiday?

A Living Dead Dolloween, Part 3: A Series 18 Selection

 Onward to the next spooky series!

Kinder Surprise, Part 2: Fantasy

(Continued from part 1 here.)

Even though I had reobtained all of my childhood Monster Hotel Kinder toys (and then some), I realized quickly when looking at the sets on eBay that one monster figure I had always lumped in with my sparse collection was absent. Clearly, I had put it in the Monster Hotel group erroneously--or at least, it wasn't ever part of the two series I had pieces from. Thus, I had to dive into the rabbit hole to figure out just where that little guy had come from. He was so distinct and I had the figure for long enough in my life that there was no chance of mismemory or fabrication--it was real just as I knew it...but whence did it originate? 

Let's Talk Trolls, Part 1: My Childhood Russ Berrie Troll Dolls

One of my many childhood toy collections was troll dolls. They weren't new on the market anymore when I got them, but they weren't as long-retired as they are now. I used to have a lot of trolls, but now only have the most unique ones I'd gotten. Let's look at them! 

Living Dead Dolls Roundup 2

Time for another LDD roundup...at last! (These are never going to be finished as quickly as I want, are they?) Fortunately, at the start of May, I was finally able to order the last doll I needed to make this a proper roundup of three. I think three dolls (or to stretch things sometimes, three characters) will generally be the size I stick with for these roundup posts. 

This roundup will be long despite the pool being no larger than the group in my previous LDD roundup. Each of these dolls got me more involved and hands-on re: the creative side of things with extravagant photo staging requiring more elaborate props or extended diorama crafting setup, and I made a really outsized number of art pictures here (which I also think include some of my strongest). I think it was all worth it, though, and three is three. I wasn't publishing this at just two dolls. Let's begin!

Building for Willa the Witch

I'm backed up again, so I decided to work with what I have. My plans for LDD Roundup 2 have been stalled a few days, though hopefully it will still be able to be finished before the next week is out. I just haven't been able to get the last doll for it yet. So let's go back to my cherished LEGO witch, Willa!