Culturally Significant Presents The Cultural Archives!: IT Came from Kickstarter: Don't Cuddle the Krampus

I haven't had the time to do an official "IT Came from Kickstarter" for "Don't Cuddle the Krampus", the newest campaign from WARPO Toys. You may recall WARPO from their successful 70's throwback "Legends of Cthulhu" toyline.

Now the team at WARPO are moving forward into the 80's to hit on the current Krampus craze with a loving tribute to the so-called grossout toys of that era.

This is the stuff of "My Pet Monster" and "Madballs" fame. In fact WARPO has even brought on Jim Croman and Donna Miranda, both who worked on the original "My Pet Monster", to help design the Krampus and his naughty children.

Art by Jim Croman

With every WARPO line comes a extensive backstory and "Don't Cuddle the Krampus" is no different. Imagine it's Christmas 1986. All you wanted the entire month was a "Don't Cuddle the Krampus" plush toy. It's not you fault after all, they made you want it. You had read the official Krampus adventure books, eaten bowls of Krampus Krunch, and watched endless loops of their commercial. It was everywhere that December.

You sprint down the stairs Christmas morning, foaming at the mouth. You head straight for the tree and begin tearing gifts to shreds and behold, like stealing fire from Olympus, you find your very own Krampus to torture your sister with. Best. Christmas. Ever.

WARPO's Krampus is designed with a love of 80's toy design, featuring such classic features as:

Standing height of 18.5" tall.
Covered with two faux-fur fabrics with corduroy belly.
Plastic molded face, horns and ears with detailed deco application.
Vinyl tongue, hooves, & claws, and fabric tail.
Vinyl belt/sash with plastic buckle, Naughty Kid bag with Krampus logo print,
and soft plastic molded manacles with chains

That's not all. If you know the Krampus legend then you know that he's never without some naughty children in his clutches. WARPO's got you covered with three duel sided 80's youths just asking for some Christmas wrath.

Being that WARPO has gone to the effort to create a whole universe to accompany their toylines it makes sense that this would involve extra items to exist in the same universe and this campaign is no different. By donating at a certain level you are allowed to add on items from thier Krampus Holiday Bazair including cassette tape adventure, coloring books, mugs, hats, and even a box of Krampus Krunch cereal.

The thing is, I never got a Krampus for Christmas. Nope, Santa decided it better to teach me a lesson in doing without that year. But '86 wasn't a total lost, I did get one treasured item that Christmas morning: The Don't Cuddle the Krampus video game for the Nintendo.

Based off the animated TV show, the game was a simple side-scroller where you played as Krampus trying to capture as many bad children as possible before Christmas morning. it was fun and provided hours of entertainment, but it wasn't a stuffed Krampus. I had to settle for a My Pet Monster. The 80's was a tough time for all of us.