This week, I’ve got the Dragonriders of the Styx action figure line to share. These dudes first appeared in 1983 and disappeared by 1985, roughly coinciding with the LJN Dungeons & Dragons toy line, which they were kind of knocking off. Dimensions for Children had a history of this; the previous incarnation of the Dragonriders line, molded plastic figures like army men, directly ripped off some of Donald Sutherland’s Monster Manual art work, attracting the ire of TSR. This line wasn’t so blatant — they’re more meant to be cheap consolation prizes, or to confuse clueless grandparents.

I can’t really express how much, or even why, I love these creeps. They’re cool, but accidentally so. They’re designed with a kind of naiveté or innocence I find appealing. I would almost certainly have been upset to get one as a gift instead of a D&D toy as a kid, and they are objectively less cool than them, but they still have a mystique. Honestly, they’re sort of remind me of how charmingly inferior most Judges Guild publications are in comparison to TSR products.

Anyway, this guy is a wizard, and he’s precious, with his little dunce cap. I love him. There is a black and silver colorway as well, but that one looks way too sci-fi disco. I prefer this more circus performer-esque scheme.