This weekend sees the release of Ted 2, the sequel to the raunchy Seth MacFarlane comedy about a stuffed bear who comes to life.Comics have also occasionally explored what would happen if toys came to life, with various series offering radically different views. Most of those comics explore themes of childhood and growing up, often with dark undertones. So without further ado, here are five comics that feature toys that come to life.
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Stuff of Legend
Remember all the epic wars you made your toys fight as a kid?What if those wars were real? The Stuff of Legend is a dark comic about a group of ragtag toys who venture into the dangerous realm of the Dark to save their young owner from the forces of the Boogeyman.Opposing them are the Boogeyman’s massive army of the boy’s forgotten toys, as well as the own haunting realization that their owner may one day neglect them too.The Stuff of Legend is both perilous and filled with adventure, and examines the sinister underbelly of childhood imagination.
Bleach
Shonen Jump’s popular Bleach manga is best known for its colorful Soul Reapers and their oversized swords, but the series also features a talking stuffed animal of its own. Kon is a “Mod-Soul”, an artificial soul created to possess dead bodies and help fight evil souls.However, the Soul Society, the group that manages the realm of the dead, declared the Mod-Soul experiment a failure and tried to destroy Kon and the other souls. Kon escaped in the form of a pill and eventually came into the possession of Ichigo, the main character of Bleach.While he usually occupies the body of a stuffed lion, Kon often takes control of Ichigo’s body when the latter transforms into a Soul Reaper.Kon serves as the comic relief of Bleach, acting perverted around many of the female characters and acting obnoxious while the others are fighting evil creatures.
Calvin and Hobbes
One of the most popular comic strips of all time, Calvin and Hobbes is Bill Watterson’s masterful story about a young boy and his stuffed tiger.It’s never clear if Hobbes is truly alive or just a figment of Calvin’s imagination, but the tiger served as a faithful companion and voice of reason through the strip’s ten year run.Hobbes shared many characteristics with the common house cat; he loved to playfully pounce and attack his owner in sneak attacks and had an unhealthy love of tuna.However, he seemed very proud of tiger heritage and often reminded Calvin that humans existed only as food for tigers.Calvin might be the most famous stuffed animals in all of comics and he continues to delight millions to this day.
Lions, Tigers and Bears
Lions, Tigers and Bears was a 2005 Image series about a young boy named Joey and his pack of fiercely protective stuffed animals.According to the all-ages series, stuffed animals are alive and exist to protect humans from the Beasties, who occupy the dark closets of childrens’ rooms.Joey’s stuffed animals are nicknamed the Night Pack, a group of four large cats with sarcastic personalities and large hearts.After Joey and his friend Courtney venture into the Stuffed Animal Kingdom, the Night Pack follow them through, protecting the pair of children as they confront their destiny.Lions, Tigers and Bears was a fun and underrated series perfect for readers of all ages.
Non-Humans
Non-Humans was Image’s grimmer take on the stuffed animal trope, featuring a world struggling with the sudden emergence of an entire population of animated toys.After a virus gives children the ability to bring toys to life, usually with the darker aspects of their personalities, the toys are corralled by police and treated like second class citizens.The relationship between human and toys parallel that of the divide between Caucasians and African-Americans during the L.A. race riots of the 1990s.Indeed, the main character of Non-Humans, a L.A. police officer, struggles to solve the murder of a leader of the Non-Human community before the city erupts into violence.If you’re looking for a more mature look at toys come to life, Non-Humans is the comic for you.
