Tat Tuesday.

I am finally back. You have no idea how hard it is to get back into the swing of things after being 'away' for so long. It doesn't help that I am very lazy by nature. Thankfully I was able to get past the siren song of my bed and get back to 'work'. On this edition of Tat Tuesday I'll looking back on one of the more unique toys of the 80s/90s. Let's take a walk down memory lane and pay a visit to the nostalgia bomb that is Madballs.

 

Madballs were, at it's core, a series of collectable rubber balls that were designed to be gross or even slightly scary. You could easily see that Madballs took it's influence from the Garbage Pail Kids. The series debuted in 1987. It was created by AmToy which was a subsidiary company of American Greetings.

The first two series of toys consisted of 8 different balls. There was also a series of larger balls shaped like sports balls. These included "Touchdown Terror", "Goal Eater", and "Foul Shot". The toys never sold incredibly well. They were a passing fad more than anything.

A number of other series followed the initial release, these included the Sick Series, Mini Madballs, Video Game Balls, and TV/Comic Balls.

As with most fads, spoofs and bootlegs abounded. ERTL had "Blurp Balls", Mel Apple had "Weird Balls", Bonkers had "Odd Balls/Ugly Balls", and Lanard had "Spit Balls". None of these were as popular as the original line.

Considering the success, although short lived, of the line it was inevitable that a Cartoon and Comic would eventually be released. The series, which was released on video, lasted only two episodes. The first episode, which was titled "Madballs: Escape from Orb!", cast the Madballs as an alien rock band. The second episode was a collection of skits and jokes being performed by the Madballs themselves.

The Comic was released by Marvel Comics through their children's comics division, which was called Star Comics. The series was originally planned as a three issue mini. It was then turned into a bi-monthly series with issue #4 before being cancelled at issue #10. Somewhere along the line the Madballs had a crossover with  the Care Bears. That actually happened. There was also a Madballs video game which was released in 1988. The game was published by Ocean Software and received generally poor reviews.

Considering the nostalgia factor of the series it was only a matter of time before a revival appeared. In 2006 Art Asylum announced that it had partnered with American Greetings to revive the line. Only two series were released before the line went quiet.

Madballs was one of those toys that everyone had. even if you weren't very interested in the toys you still had one. They were omnipresent. It was such a simple idea, take the quintessential toy, the ball, and give it a face lift. This made them must haves and easy gives. What else is there to say? Madballs were perfect in their simplicity. It amazes me that a more successful revival has yet to happen. Wikipedia Amazon Youtube Official Site P.S.

While doing this post I learned about an odd offshoot of the Madballs line. From the above picture you can see that the line spread out to figures and vehicles. These toys were called Madballs Head Poppers. I never heard of them and am greatly disappointed by that. They came out during the lines original run. I feel that if they had been better represented the line would have moved away from the 'fad' category into a well established toy-line.