Remember a few years ago when Todd McFarlane created his Twisted Land of Oz toyline, which gave the classic Wizard of Oz characters a new risque look and quite the alternate storyline?
Well, artist Tom Kyzivat has done some twisting of his own lately with some of the most beloved 1980’s toys in his Post-Apocalyptic 80s Toy Storyline series.
The artist has posted five drawings on his Deviant Art page that depict Strawberry Shortcake as the leader of a rebellion against Brainy Smurf, known here as The Brain, with Rainbow Brite on her side as a Tank Girl-like demolitions expert.
While I love what Kyzivat has done with the ladies, my favorite re-imagined character is The Necromancer. See that image here at top right. I don’t want to tell you who it is, because Kyzivat wants you to guess (if you look at the comments on the image on his site, you’ll see him confirming this character’s identity).
Lastly, there’s a bear named The Pessimist (easily recognizable) and another Mystery character for you to guess (again, the answer is in the author’s comments section).
Check out all the images and descriptions collected here below.
It seems that Kyzivat, who goes by the handle MurderousAutomaton, is creating this artwork for his own enjoyment, as there’s no mention on his site about an official project. The artwork is great and the storyline is fun as hell, so I’d really like to see more images and read more about this most interesting Rebellion.
Images
Here’s all five images, along with the artist’s descriptions from the MurderousAutomaton Deviant Art gallery.
Strawberry Shortcake and WilyKit
Strawberry Shortcake and WilyKit, from my post-Apocalyptic 80s toy storyline.
Shortcake’s the humorless leader of the Rebellion against Brainy Smurf. Never far from her is Kit, a strange, cat-like child found near her dead twin brother after the war. She’s emotionless and mute, but follows Shortcake everywhere she goes.
The Necromancer
From my 80s toy series, he’s a powerful sorcerer from a fallen city, seeked out by the Rebels for help in defeating The Brain.
He’s one of 80s cartoons’ lamest characters! Can you figure it out?
Rainbow Brite
Rainbow Brite, another character from my post-Apocalyptic story pitting characters from 1980s shows against each other.
She’s part of the rag-tag rebellion against the industrial dictatorship of Brainy Smurf (aka “The Brain”), and aside from being the obligatory Tank Girl look-alike, she serves as their demolitions expert. She’s wild and care-free, and her involvement stems more from her love of blowing shit up than her loyalty to the cause.
The Pessimist
The first mostly completed character from my 1980s toyline post-Apocalyptic story! Can you guess who it is? Given the name and that he’s a bear, it’s pretty easy.
*Edit: I changed the background to have a little more style/consistency. It’s not much different, but it’s a bit more subtle and helps the character pop.
Mystery 80s Character
Can you guess what 1980s toyline character this is? It had a cheesy TV show, too! If you guess right, you get a cookie!!!
Definitely go check out this one at the author’s page to read the discussions for this character.
[Source via io9 (awesome find, guys!!!)]
All images © 2010 MurderousAutomaton
Excellent colouring, but the linework on human faces need more work – currently they are a low-quality manga style that don’t do justice to the bodies they are on. Get ye back to life drawing practice, Kyzivat!
Comment by Shilling — February 24, 2010 @ 8:37 am
I have to agree with Shilling, there’s something missing in the concept art, The Necromancer in particular doesn’t look that good, I like the others somewhat.
Comment by Jon the action figures buff — February 24, 2010 @ 9:48 am
I’m 31 and I have all my toys from the 80s in a glass window in the attic. He-man, Transformers…you name it I have it. I refuse to throw them out. Its classic ;)
Comment by dreiber — September 22, 2010 @ 3:48 pm