If you were a child of the 80’s, there’s no doubt that you remember the Madballs toy line. In essence, they really weren’t anything more than large rubber balls, but the creators managed to capitalize on the popularity of gross things back then, and they also featured some pretty memorable designs. What kid wouldn’t want to own a green ball-monster dripping with puss and slime with an eye hanging out? I certainly didn’t know anyone back then who didn’t think that Madballs were the bee’s knees…

Madballs were quite popular for something that most people would think of as a passing fad. Growing up it seemed like everyone owned at least one Madball, knew someone who did, or wanted one for Christmas. The original series of toys sold well enough that a second series was introduced, as well as spin-offs such as Super Madballs (larger and in the shape of sports balls, although they didn’t really work that well for actually playing sports with them), mini water-squirting Madballs, small walking wind-up toys, and the underloved but totally awesome Madballs action figures with “head popping” action and interchangeable bodies. The action figures were particularly awesome and I had a ton of fun as a kid popping their heads off and switching the bodies around. Ahh, the joys of childhood…

Madballs were so popular back in the day that someone actually thought that it would be a good idea to give them their own cartoon series. I could see how it could have worked but unfortunately the show only lasted for 2 episodes. I never actually caught it on TV when I was a kid but watching it now as an adult it definitely seems kind of lame, with the Madballs being some sort of alien rock band. Marvel Comics also entered into the Madballs craze with a comic book which too was short-lived, being cancelled after the 10th issue.

Anyway, despite being a relatively short-lived fad, the Madballs definitely made their mark on society and pop culture, not to mention provided hours of fun for children of all ages back in the day. They didn’t feature any electronic gizmos, doo-dads, or bells and whistles, but the characters were classic and incredibly cool back in the day and even now. In fact, in 2007 the toy company Art Asylum revived the Madballs toy line with a re-designed re-issue of the original characters and some brand new ones, as well as a brand new series, the “Sick Series”, which are squishy balls filled with “guts” and “brains” and whatnot that you can squeeze for extra gross-out fun. Oh yeah, and they also got their own video game in 2009 for Xbox Live Arcade. I haven’t played it yet because I don’t personally have an Xbox 360 yet, but the fact that someone actually made a game about Madballs 20 years after their prime is pretty cool.

The new Madballs:

Here’s a list of the original Madballs characters:

Original Madballs

• Screamin Meemie : A baseball
• Slobulus : A drooling creature with one eye hanging out
• Aargh : A one-eyed, blue Frankenstein’s monster
• Hornhead : A horned cyclops
• Dustbrain : A mummy
• Oculus Orbus : An eyeball
• Skull Face : A skull
• Crack Head (Bash Brain): A head with an exposed brain. This Madball was later renamed ‘Bash Brain,’ due to the unpleasant connotations of ‘crack head’ as a slang term for a drug user.

Second Series Madballs

• Snake Bait : A gorgon
• Freaky Fullback : A mutant football player
• Splitting Headache : Unmatching left and right head sides stitched together
• Bruise Brother : An ugly biker
• Wolf Breath : A werewolf
• Fist Face : A hand clutching an eyeball
• Swine Sucker : An ugly pig
• Lock Lips : A creature with its jaw locked shut with a padlock and one eye covered by a riveted plate

Super Madballs

• Touchdown Terror : An American football with a manic grin and missile-like fins and tip
• Goal Eater : A soccer ball with very large pointed teeth
• Foul Shot : A basketball bursting open to reveal a face with worms crawling out of one eye socket

For further reading for all of you Madballs fans out there, you should definitely check out Madballs Central, which is a really cool blog about Madballs by the people who actually create them, with lots of cool original artwork!