Knock-Offs: Totally Unauthorized Action Figures is the latest book from Brian Heiler, the creator of PlaidStallions and author of “Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings”. It’s a love letter to bootleg toys and action figures.
Knock-Offs is a celebration of the dime store bootleg figure; the copyright-infringing silliness meant to fool our grand people. The subjects range from toys of the 1960s to the 2000s and include every popular genre.
Chapter Index:
1) Crime Fighting Copy Cats - This chapter details the numerous superhero-inspired knock-offs from Captain Action clones to Mego Superhero copies to the multitude of Batman the Animated Series clones.
2) Discount Draculas - We look at the many attempts to copy the Horror genre with memorable items like the Sungold monsters, Krazy Kreeps, Nightmare Feddy and the fabulous Amigos Del Terror.
3) Space Madness - This chapter explores the crazy world of bootleg Star Wars, Star Trek with such notable weirdness as Lincoln’s Mr. Rock and Robert Cop.
4) Celebrity Impersonators - The cavalcade of cheap toys meant to look like our favourite 80s action stars like Rambo or Mr. T, WWF wrestlers and of course, James Bond.
5) ToyFoolery - The fantastic amount of toys meant to copy other toy lines, taking from the best like GI Joe, MOTU, Sectaurs and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. With such unique names as Supper Warrior, Amicable Herculean, Galaxy Warriors and Insect Man.
6) Bootleg Art - Chapter six talks about the bootleg toy-art scene and profiles some of the giants in the field, including Sucklord, Killer Bootlegs, Chance Priest, BKC Toys, Mr. Dan and many more.
132 Pages - 8.5 by 11