Review – John Kovalic’s Mythos Buddies

Manufacturer: Dreamland Toyworks * Year: 2009 * Ages: 14+

There are several disclaimers to get out of the way before I dive into this review. First off, all of these Mythos Buddies toys were sent to me for review purposes by Dreamland Toyworks (website, Twitter). And the reason these were sent to me is that I know the artist, John Kovalic (website, Twitter), and have worked with him on several projects for the last ten years. Next, I work for the publisher of the Munchkin games (that John illustrates) and, finally, the Chibithulhu plush toy, also designed by John, was one of my projects. Whew. With all that out of the way I can get into the review.

The Mythos Buddies series is a blind boxed platform toy designed by cartoonist John Kovalic and produced by Dreamland Toyworks. A cute, cuddly variation on H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu character and stories (this Amazon search will give you more Cthulhu than you can handle), the Mythos Buddies are well-designed, attractive, and a great addition to any Cthulhu fan’s collection of oddities. Designer toy fans unfamiliar with Cthulhu, though, may take a little more convincing to get behind these tiny guys.

Packaging

A simple box design, the Mythos Buddies, as a blind boxed series, come in completely sealed packs that are each identical to those around it. The sides of the box show 11 of the 12 designs; #12 is marked as a mystery (but don’t worry, he’s below) to keep fans guessing at what that last design might be. Hell, for all I know there are actually 13 different designs and I’m missing one. The box is functional, clearly shows the character design, and is completely disposable.

The Basic Buddy

Coming in at 3-inches tall, the basic Mythos Buddies platform features articulated arms and head, stubby little wings, and feels harder than the vinyl that I’m used to encountering in designer toys. A plastics expert could no doubt immediately identify the plastic used to create these, but for most people all that matters is the look of the toy and not the specific plastic used in its creation.

The heads move beautifully, without any sticking, but each figure’s arm feels a bit stiff and almost like it’s ready to break. Some gentle — and slow! — twisting loosens them up a little, but even after repeated playings the arms feel too tight. It’s not a disaster, but for someone like me (you guys know how I break toys) . . . well, tight can be dangerous.

Each figure is nice and smooth — as we expect from most designer toys — and the sculptor did an excellent job of translating John’s artwork into a three-dimensional form (I speak from experience, since I’ve spent more than a few hours working with people as they try and turn John’s drawings into 3d objects; it’s not easy).

Hi, Buddies!

Following are photos of all 12 of the Mythos Buddies that were shipped to me. All but two of them use the basic body; the Flowerthulhu and Meanthulhu toys each have a modified right hand so keep your eyes open for the minor variation on each of those two toys.

• Ghost ‘Thulhu (Above Left): Drastically different in color from all of the other toys in the series, this guy features a minimal amount of detail, with just the eyes and belly decorated. This was almost my favorite in the series, but when it failed to glow-in-the-dark he got bumped back to #2.

• Meanthulhu (Above Right): Notice the poor victim in his right hand. Meanthulhu has the basic green color scheme with angry red eyes. Or maybe I should call them “mean eyes,” since there is an Angrythulhu design.

• Goth ‘Thulhu (Above Left): With his massive eyes and his goofy eyebrows, Goth ‘Thulhu is ready for your favorite goth friend to love. The black on this guy is a tad gray, and the matte finish makes him not quite as dark as he would have been if he was shiny.
  
• Little My Little Cthulhu (Above Right): This is basically a scaled down version of John’s My Little Cthulhu toy that was released in 2008.

• Angrythulhu (Above Left): This pinkish/redish guy is my favorite of the bunch, if only because he’s close enough to red that he is almost a red toy. (If there hadn’t been so many green toys in this set a green would have no doubt been my favorite, but since this is the only red I have to choose him as #1). Angrythulhu’s expression almost makes me think we should call him Crazythulhu.
  
• Unnamed (Above Right): Here’s our mystery toy, an Astrothulhu all set for a space walk! This guy stands out from the pack because of both his color design and because his arms move fairly freely.

• Matrixthulhu (Above Left): Black shades, black outfit, all this guy is missing are a few guns and he’d be ready to tear things up.
  
• Buddy Cthulhu (Above Right): The basic belly design with the large, round eyes on the green head, Buddy Cthulhu might be the simplest design in the set.

• Flowerthulhu (Above Left): Easily the cutest, most disgusting creature in the bunch, this guy’s eyes just make you wanna squeeze him until he explodes. The fact that he’s holding a flower in his right hand doesn’t make it easier on you.
  
• Ninjathulhu (Above Right): And from cute we jump right to menacing. Like Goth ‘Thulhu the black on this guy isn’t a rich, deep black, but it is slightly different from the Goth ‘Thulhu’s color. The mask drastically changes the appearance of the basic round eyes, turning this into one bad-ass Thulhu toy.

• Cthulhu for President (Above Left): Playing off of a common joke, this Thulhu toy comes dressed in a suit and ready to wow the voters. His red, white, and blue pin just adds to the cuteness, while his expression makes you wonder just what this guy has up his sleeve. This is one of the more detailed paint apps in the series and everything’s crisp and clean.
  
• Coolthulhu (Above Right): The last in the series — and definitely the “coolest” — Coolthulhu has the white shirt and sunglasses to show that he’s the coolest toy you’ll ever meet.

Closing Thoughts

While I probably wouldn’t have bought more than one or two of these on my own, I can honestly say I was planning to buy a box or two when word came down that a set was being shipped my way. At about $12/each they’re pricier that the 3-inch toys from Kidrobot, but I’m willing to bet that these were produced in far fewer numbers than Kidrobot’s releases.

The Mythos Buddies concept is cute, the base platform is strong (except for that annoying arm issue), and overall these are a good addition to your designer toy collection. I can’t see anyone but the most dedicated Cthulhu or John Kovalic fan going after the entire series, but I can see where designer toy fans would buy one or two of these just to get a close look at them.

Philip Reed has to admit that he’s working on more projects with John, including a game that was recently sent to print. So you should keep that in mind when considering whether or not to grab a Buddy or two.