News
Brand New Madballs Have Begun Popping Up in Stores!
I always knew Target was the greatest place on Earth.
Who doesn’t love a good ’80s monster toy? Companies back in that oh-so-glorious decade were hellbent on one-upping each other in the gross department, and one of the most totally awesome exports of the gross-out ’80s were the Madballs. Released by AmToy in the mid-’80s, the rubber monster balls have been revived several times throughout the years, and we’re happy to report that they’re once again back on store shelves. Courtesy of Just Play, those lovable Madballs are intent on making your toy shelf great again in 2017, and they’ve already begun popping up.
We thank Twitter user Toy Empire for bringing this to our attention and providing the above photo, which was taken at Target. We don’t yet know whether or not the new Madballs are exclusively going to be available at Target, but since that’s the only place we’ve heard of them being spotted, we encourage you to head out to your local store and do a little hunting.
*UPDATE: Looks like the new Madballs will also be available in Walmart and Toys R Us, and the full rollout is scheduled for January 17th!*
Seen in the photo are newly stylized takes on classic Madballs characters Oculus Orbus, Skull Face, and Dust Brain. As you’ll see in the photo below, new versions of Horn Head, Slobulus, and Screamin’ Meemie will also be available. Companies like Kidrobot and Mondo have also been making their own Madballs, so it’s a damn good time to be a fan of… gross… balls.
Yeah I just wrote that. What of it?!
We have learned the sad news this week that prolific horror author Ray Garton, who wrote nearly 70 books over the course of his career, has passed away after a battle with lung cancer.
Ray Garton was 61 years old.
Stephen King tweets, “I’m hearing that Ray Garton, horror novelist and friend, died yesterday. This is sad news, and a loss to those who enjoyed his amusing, often surreal, posts on Twitter.”
Ray Garton’s novels include Seductions, Darklings, Live Girls, Night Life, and Crucifax in the 1980s, followed in later decades by output including A Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting, Trade Secrets, The New Neighbor, Lot Lizards, Dark Channel, Shackled, The Girl in the Basement, The Loveliest Dead, Ravenous, Bestial, and most recently, Trailer Park Noir.
Garton also wrote young adult novels under the name Joseph Locke, including the novelizations for A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master and The Dream Child. He also wrote the novelizations for Tobe Hooper’s Invaders from Mars and Warlock, as well as several books for the Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises.
Other young adult horror novels you may remember the name Joseph Locke from include Petrified, Kiss of Death, Game Over, 1-900-Killer, Vengeance, and Kill the Teacher’s Pet.
You can browse Ray Garton’s full bibliography over on his official website.
He wrote on his website when it launched, “Since I was eight years old, all I’ve wanted to be was a writer, and since 1984, I have been fortunate enough to spend my life writing full time. I’ve written over 60 books—novels and novellas in the horror and suspense genres, collections of short stories, movie novelizations, and TV tie-ins—with more in the works.”
“My readers have made it possible for me to indulge my love of writing and I get a tremendous amount of joy out of communicating with them,” Garton added at the time.
Ray Garton is survived by his longtime wife, Dawn.
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