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REVIEW: Warpo Legends Of Cthulhu
Professor, Cultist, Deep One, & Spawn In 3 ¾ Inches...
Earlier this year, the new toy company Warpo made a big splash with its Kickstarter campaign for the “Legends of Cthulhu Retro Action Figure Toy Line.” Warpo is the brainchild of toy industry veterans and visionaries Bryan Katzel, Tommy Baldwin, and Eric Lefeber, and with Legends they sought out to create a series of 3 ¾ inch figures that were wholly authentic to the styles and sensibilities of the 1980s (the golden age of toys as far as many are concerned). Rather than going after an existing property they chose a lineup of figures we would have loved to have as toys in that era, characters and monsters from the works of H.P. Lovecraft! Heading to crowdfunding, Warpo put together an incredible package of prototype figures and unique 80s-inspired artwork... and the results were amazing (see our coverage of Warpo and these figures from Gen Con for much more background information HERE). On July 9th the funding period ended with a whopping total of nearly $132,000 pledged toward the toy line and just a few short months later they’re a reality! Today we’ll take a look at the four standard figures that are available to everyone via Diamond distribution and your local comic book store.
In the old days more so (and even somewhat today), a toy was only as good as its packaging as that’s what you saw in the toy aisles. For Legends of Cthulhu Warpo didn’t mess around, procuring the talents of iconic painter Ken Kelly (known for album covers, fantasy novel covers, LJN’s D&D and Micronauts packaging, etc.). His work on this toy line resulted in the beautiful and historically/thematically accurate cardbacks that look like they could have fit in with all of your childhood favorites. The front panel has a darkly mysterious image of cultists bowing before a monstrous bust, just enough to tease your interest. At the top of the card is the line’s title logo in appropriately awesome 80s typography and colors. You’ll find each figure loosely held in a plastic bubble at the bottom-left along with his (or its) accessories; just like with the old toys you won’t find “high tech” trays, twist ties, or tape in there! Flip that card around to see a real work of art in Kelly’s full shot of the action featuring the Professor getting more than he bargained for as he interrupts an arcane ceremony. The back panel naturally features a lineup of all of the figures so you can collect them all.
As we learned from Warpo, selecting the characters to include in this toy line was a complicated and tough process. They wanted to make some cool monsters and the cultist but to be authentic to tradition it needed to have a hero and balance between the “real” and alien. To that end they settled on the academic but intrepid Professor, a deranged Cultist, his Deep One lackey, and a mighty Spawn of Cthulhu! Lovecraft’s tales never really celebrated the action hero type, but had several iconic brainy protagonists like Dr. Armitage in the Dunwich Horror; the Professor works great as a character like that or the more straightforward no nonsense Inspector Legrasse of Call of Cthulhu. Cultists abound in the supernatural tales, driven mad by the Great Old Ones and worshipping with insane devotion. The Deep One comes specifically from the Shadow over Innsmouth in which a town is taken over by these fish-like humanoids from the deep, and the Spawn are essentially miniature versions of their dark god Cthulhu. All in all it’s a fantastic set of characters whether you’re looking for something to spice up your retro 3 ¾ inch collection or you’re a diehard Lovecraft fan (like me!).
To bring these characters to life in three dimensions Warpo recruited another master of the genre with Eddy Mosqueda (sculptor of Masters of the Universe, original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more). Always with an eye on the specific time period in which these toys could have fit they chose the then (and now) ubiquitous 3 ¾ inch scale with exaggerated features and the classic five points of articulation. Everything was sculpted by hand so the parts are unique, and there’s a tremendous depth of character to these figures. It’s really a testament to Warpo’s vision and Mosqueda’s sculpting, not to mention the paint work, that these toys look so good both within their specific style and on their own. In fact, I’d measure them ahead of any of the other current “retro” or faux “vintage” 3 ¾ inch lines. While at first glance the figures may seem simple or blocky, just look close up to see tons of details on every single one.
The Deep One is a crusty little fellow, barely bipedal with short legs ending in long webbed feet. Its torso is long and triangular with underbelly segments and a lumpy back with a fin ridge that extends to the back of its head. It has long, muscular arms with claws and little fins, and its no neck head is completely fish like with bulbous eyes, a crooked mouth with extending teeth, and more fins. Its master the Cultist wears full body robes (note the era appropriate sculpt of the legs with the joint cut through them) complete with collar piece and attached chain, sash, and hood. The villain’s face is eerie and blank with slightly droopy eyes and a sneer on his lips. Of course, the clothing effect is completed with a soft rubber robe with arm holes!
Representing the Great Old One sleeping in R’lyeh is the Spawn, a grotesque amalgamation of humanoid, dragon, and octopus. His blobby body is covered in lumps with claws at the hands and feet. The wings and tail come courtesy of a separate soft rubber piece that plugs into the Spawn’s back. Its distinctly Cthulhu-like head is a monstrosity with pointed ears, huge eyes, and a mass of tentacles where a mouth should be. The valiant Professor fighting against all of that evilness is an adventuring gentleman in layered clothing suitable for travel, study, or more vigorous nighttime endeavors. He wears a bowler hat, gloves, and boots for good measure.
Paint work is always crucially important on toys, and thankfully that’s another area in which these figures excel. In fact, it seems as though they could have gone much further but purposefully pulled back to stay within the strictures and traditions of their target era. Each character has a totally unique color scheme and appropriate details whether they’re on clothing or weird flesh. The Cultist is resplendent in a dark red robes bordering on purple with added touches of brown and black; meanwhile, his flesh is pasty and his sunken in eyes a creepy solid white. On the other hand, the Professor is all business in his white dress shirt, dark tie, tan sweater and pants, dark brown hat and jacket, and black boots and gloves. He has a much better tan than his cult companion and he has sharp black hair, eyes, eyebrows, and moustache. The Spawn looks like most representations of Cthulhu you may be familiar with, specifically in an eldritch green that lightens to a yellowish on the top of the head, belly, and along the limbs. There’s nice shadowing in the wings and gray on its claws, and the creature’s eyes are beady red orbs within black holes. Last but not least is the Deep One, colored in a groovy aquatic pale blue that’s broken up by nicely applied darker bands of coloration, black claws, and tan on the underbelly and fins. The tusk-like teeth sticking out of its mouth are the same tan, and its bug eyes are white spheres in sunken black sockets.
In articulation Warpo kept to the exact standards of their target era and that means a strict five points per figure, no more no less. Each figure has joints at the neck, shoulders, and hips for a modicum of posing and play. Fans of this scale and genre, not to mention nostalgic collectors, will appreciate this articulation scheme, and thanks to other retro lines out there as well as the return of five point articulation figures by some of the big companies there shouldn’t be anyone put off by it. There are some interesting notes where the articulation coincides with unique body parts or clothing, notably the Cultist’s robe legs, the back of the Professor’s legs, and the Deep One’s no neck head that gives him great “confused animal” looks.
Where the articulation is minimal, somewhere Warpo really went above and beyond is in accessories, outfitting each figure with fun character-specific weapons and artifacts. The Deep One needs the least and so has the least, equipped with only a rudimentary spear that looks like a piece of an animal’s jaw lashed to a stick. Mr. Spawn too brings along one item, a heavy duty bound tome with tons of sculpted detail like a lock, decorative edges, and tentacles on the cover. We won’t say for sure that it’s the Necronomicon... but it’s the Necronomicon. Investigating evil has brought the Professor into contact with strange things, none more so than the idol he carries with him. Resembling a canopic jar with an octopus on top, it’s a perfect centerpiece to a cult ritual. Mankind can only do so much against the Great Old Ones, but nevertheless our hero also carries his trusty revolver. Fully outfitted for evil, the Cultist has the most accessories. His tall staff features a wavy shaft and Cthulhu-like head with tentacles, and sacrifices are performed with a wicked wavy dagger. One of the coolest accessories in this set is the Cultist’s Cthulhu mask which attaches to his face by tabs that go into hidden slots in his hood! All accessories are solid color plastic pieces and where applicable fit relatively well into the hands of the figures.
Warpo’s is a pretty amazing story, and the result is this line of awesome figures. For collectors like me they’re a perfect combination of Lovecraft characters, the 3 ¾ inch scale, and great sculpts. If you’re a fan of any of those then you should absolutely check ‘em out, especially if you missed out on the Kickstarter. Thanks to the overwhelming success of and interest in these toys Warpo very quickly got distribution, and via Diamond the Legends of Cthulhu figures will be in comic book and specialty stores in coming months. Get in touch with your local store and make sure they order the figures for you and add these unique characters to your collection.
Review and photos by Scott Rubin
Review samples courtesy of Warpo
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