Everything was better in 70s, 80s, and 90s, right? Television wasn’t spammed with reality TV shows. Sure, music had its teen heartthrobs/boy bands, but at least we didn’t have to deal with the hot mess that is Justin Bieber and/or Miley Cyrus. The toys of yesteryear were great too, which might explain the phenomenon of retro toys coming back. They were detailed, had great packaging artwork, and were truly imaginative. There also wasn’t a stark division between children and collectors. In short, life was simple.

However, to help us recreate those simple times, Chicago-based toy company Warpo is bringing toys to the modern age with yesterday’s flavor. Just to be clear, they aren’t remaking licensed products, but creating a brand new line of original toys employing the techniques that made our original toys so great.

Today they unveiled their first action figure line called the Legends of Cthulhu. Inspired by the stories by H.P. Lovecraft the line features characters such as the Cultist, the Spawn of Cthulhu, the Professor, and the Deep One. Crafted by Eddy Mosqueda – famous for his work on Mattel’s Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line – each figure stands at 3 3/4” tall, with 5 points of articulation, and comes with character-appropriate accessories. The Kickstarter-exclusive figures also come packaged on blister-cards showcasing Ken Kelly’s stunning artwork.

“We’re creating collectible figures to sit right alongside our vintage figures from the past,” says Warpo president Bryan Katzel.

Although this is Warpo’s first action figure line, their product line will expand in the future including but not limited to: board games, dolls & stuffed animals, and other collectibles with a vintage feel and look. Just look at detail on some of the stuff you can get through their Kickstarter: posters, t-shirts, coloring books, and cups. A VHS copy of their retro commercial is also available, which you can see below and includes a featurette on how the toy line came to be.

With their first line being based on Cthulhu and H.P. Lovecraft, I for one am beyond excited to see what other franchises this toy company tackles.

Visit their Kickstarter page here to donate and get your own copy of the figurines the mighty Cthulhu commands it. For more information and to keep current with Warpo and their projects, visit them at warpo.com.

The writer of this piece is:



Laurence Almalvez

Laurence has previously written over at Whatculture.com.

Laurence tweets from @IL1511