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
328- Devolutionary Redesign
556- You Ain’t Nothin But a Postmark
555- The Big Dig
554- Devil in the Details
553- Cautionary Tales of the Sydney Opera House
552- Blood in the Machine
389- Whomst Among Us Let the Dogs Out AGAIN
551- Office Space
550- Melanie Speaks
549- Trail Mix: Track Two
548- Trail Mix
547- Cooking with Gas
The Country of the Blind
545- Shade Redux
544- Chick Tracts
543- In Proximity: Ryan Coogler and Roman Mars
542- Player Piano
541- The Frankfurt Kitchen
540- The Siren of Scrap Metal
539- Courtroom Sketch
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