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
482- Natalie de Blois: To Tell the Truth
481- The Future of the Final Mile
480- Broken Heart Park
479-According to Need wins duPont-Columbia Award
478- Art Imitates Art
477- Call of Duty: Free
476- Reaction Offices and the Future of Work
475- Rock Paper Scissors Bus
474- The Punisher Skull
473- Mini-Stories : Volume 14
472- Mini-Stories : Volume 13
471- Mini-Stories : Volume 12
470- The Three Santas of Slovenia
469- The Epic of Collier Heights
468- Alphabetical Order
467- Cute Little Monstrosities of Nature
466- The Weight
465- Shirley Cards
464- Finding Julia Morgan
463- Fifty-Four Forty or Fight
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