This year marks the 40th anniversary of a lot of landmarks in pop culture, especially sci-fi and fantasy. So many franchises were born in 1984. Some came to define the genre or invent new genres. The great podcast Imaginary Worlds noticed this and produced a three-part series about 1984's Cambrian explosion of creativity that landed on the big screen, the small screen, bookstore shelves and, of course, the toy store.
In this episode we learn about at two iconic franchises that launched in 1984: Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They came from opposite ends of the business spectrum. Transformers was a top-down marketing synergy between American and Japanese toy companies along with Marvel Comics to compete against He-Man -- another TV toy behemoth. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle would eventually rival them in cultural dominance, but it began with two indie comic book creators making a black and white comic as a lark. But Turtles and Transformers both ended up wrestling with similar questions around what happens when you put the cart before the horse in creating content to sell products.
Toyetic
Christmas with The Allusionist
Mini-Stories: Volume 5
Bonus Episode- Avery talks Articles of Interest with Roman
The Accidental Room
Oñate's Foot
Raccoon Resistance
The Green Book redux
Orphan Drugs
Devolutionary Design
A Year in the Dark
Welcome to Jurassic Art
The Worst Way to Start a City
Punk Style: Articles of Interest #6
Blue Jeans: Articles of Interest #5
Hawaiian Shirts: Articles of Interest #4
Pockets: Articles of Interest #3
Plaid: Articles of Interest #2
Kids' Clothes: Articles of Interest #1
Billboard Boys: The Greatest Radio Contest of All Time
The House that Came in the Mail
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