Rom: Spaceknight was an improbable comics success: Based on a toy series that consisted of one figure (Rom), the comics series debuted in 1979 and lasted an unlikely 75 issues, featuring art from such luminaries as P. Craig Russell and Steve Ditko (previously, previously and previously). The series was written by Marvel Comics mainstay Bill Mantlo, who retired from comics and became a public defender (the legal kind), only to suffer a tragic accident in the mid-1990s that left him in need of constant medical attention. A 2007 benefit for the writer -- Spacenight: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo -- will be followed by Spacenight 2, an auction of original Rom-related artwork that can be viewed here.
posted by kittens for breakfast on Sep 19, 2009 - 32 comments

Robert Burden's artwork (drawings, paintings) mainly concerns toys. [more inside]
posted by klangklangston on Jun 7, 2009 - 9 comments

You probably thought all those wooden toys and Nutcrackers from your local version of the KrisKindlMarkt were made in Bavaria. But wooden toys from Germany were an economic engine that supported a large percentage of the population of the Deutsche Democratische Repulic. In fact, people in the DDR were not allowed to own these toys, they were all made for export to the west. You can still find "Unter dem Tisch" (secret, illegal) collections in towns like Dippoldiswalde in the Erzgebirge mountains on the Czech border.
posted by nax on Jan 11, 2008 - 14 comments

Toy art: tribal scooters, spider car, little animal robots out of broken electrical parts, a color changing house designed by a 14 year old boy, of wood, wind-up, MunkyKing, Ugly Dolls, out of beer cans, with balloons, Cute Things, artoyz, toys from trash, tiny knitted dolls clothes and accessories, vintage and retro at Tick Tock Toys.
posted by nickyskye on Jul 7, 2007 - 15 comments

The Toymaker offers over 40 free paper toys and pretties you can print out (PDFs) and make yourself, as well as "Stories to be Told by Firelight" - online versions of author/illustrator Marilyn Scott Waters' children's stories and lots of other fun goodies. For people who have kids, people who know kids, people who are kids, and people who love papercraft, illustration, toys, and tales. [more...]
posted by taz on Jul 24, 2006 - 18 comments

Etch-a-Sketch options: if you don't want to buy one of several off-the-shelf choices, you can modify a classic Etch-a-Sketch so that it uses a serial mouse. Or play online (Shockwave required). And for the less active, why not order one showing your portrait for $5,000 to $8,000? (See the gallery here for a dozen examples of the artist's work, and the artist's website for full information. ) [Preventive strike against double-post monitors: some MetaFilterite comments about Etch-a-Sketch can be found at this June 2000 post.]
posted by WestCoaster on Jan 28, 2005 - 10 comments

desktop subversibles ... a collection of background subversions and awareness applications for the desktop.
posted by crunchland on Oct 30, 2003 - 5 comments

Happiness is a Dream of Fisher-Price
posted by anastasiav on Oct 15, 2003 - 9 comments

Ladies & Gentlemen, George Vlosich, the world's greatest etch-a-sketch artist. I'm nervous that I've seen this on Mefi before, but search came up blank...
posted by jonson on Aug 28, 2003 - 15 comments

Sure, Scarlett O'Hara Barbie is lovely, and yeah, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz Barbie is cute, but for my money, it's hard to beat Marge Simpson Barbie, Medusa Barbie, or Dominatrix Barbie. The full collection, located here, clearly owes a debt to Todd Haynes, and the Barbie Liberation Army, but is still worth a chuckle.
posted by jonson on Jun 21, 2003 - 7 comments

Nostalgic time-wasting. Anyone else getting misty-eyed?
posted by solistrato on Oct 25, 2000 - 9 comments