The Toy Box #1 Alias Enterprises and Astounding Studios
Most of the reviews we've done to date have been from the big two publishing houses (Marvel and DC) and those have focused on a distinctly superhero target audience. Since there's a whole world of great titles out there that don't fit that mold, we though it would be fun to review a third party title and, why not make it an all ages one at that. For this honor, we turn to The Toy Box from Alias Enterprises and partner Astounding Studios.
For those of you unfamiliar, Alias is a publishing company based in San Diego, California that's dedicated to bringing comics to an audience that rests outside the traditional comic fan aquarium. Their philosophy holds that there's a massive number of non-comic fans that would clearly enjoy comics if they only knew they existed. That's Alias' target audience.
Looking at Toy Box, we have a comic that asks the perplexing question, what happens to your old toys when you've grown up? Unlike the land of forgotten toys from the classic Rudolph special, no vast winter wasteland awaits here. In this tale, the toys live in Hobbyville (pictured right). Lead characters Robert Parks and son Tommy are about to find out quite a bit about this land as they fall into a magic toy box and arrive in Hobbyville. Here toys rule with a plastic fist!
From the start, the story behind issue #1 is both instantly familiar, fresh and charming. Tommy, like all boys his age, wants to loose himself in a fantasy world of superheroes and adventure. A somewhat distant yet kind dad, Robert, is focused on work and worries that his son spends too much time in a life of fantasy. The relationship between dad and son is strained and Tommy's mom comes in as a bit of peacemaker. She counsels he must accept responsibility, grow a little and give his father a chance. Does this Saturday morning family special moment heal all wounds? Of course not, there's a story ahead that needs told. Here, it takes a magic toy box, a loose basement stair and a wondrous fantasy world to begin bringing father and son together.
In Tommy's fantasy world, he's replaced his dad with Megaman to which Tommy plays the stallwart sidekick, Megakid. Several of the early pages (and a few later ones) are dedicated to battles between the dynamic-duo of Mega-dom and villainous foes such as the alien Zyronite and Fankenborg (pictured left). All this action takes place in their city... the city... Capital City. These fantasy sequences are all larger than life fun seen through the eyes and active fantasy life of a lonely (his family just moved away from all his friends) young boy.
So what's the story of the toy box? How does it access Hobbyville? Why does it have such magical powers? How did it come into the possession of Parks family? That is the tale hinted at here in issue one. It looks as if Santa Claus and his lead elf (referred to as Mr. K and Theo respectively and pictured right) play a clear role in the toy box's history. They turn up midway through the issue, end up on the loosing end of a bulldog and are clearly looking to recover the toy box before it leads to trouble. The box and it's trouble found it's way to the Parks household thanks to Tommy's grandfather who picked it up at an antique store, filled it with Tommy's father's old toys and brought it to Tommy as a gift. Grandpa explains that Tommy's dad's favorite toys when he was young were "a rubber duck and a stuffed elf named Ernie".
This pair turned up at the start of the issue as, right off the bat, we learn that all isn't well in the land of Hobbyville. The opening page of the gives you the feel that a rebellion is afoot as three toys (an elf, a duck and a soldier named Jaxon) face a dark robot menace. Could Tommy and his dad play a role in the future of Hobbyville? We're betting that will be the case.
Looking at the issue as a whole, it was a fun ride. It took a bit long to get to Hobbyville and at times it felt as if we were spending a bit too much time discussing relationships and responsibility, but that is minor considering how promising the story looks. As a kickoff issue it did everything needed to sow the seeds for what looks like a fun tale to come. What young reader hasn't wished his favorite toys had a life of their own? The Toy Box appears destined to take that fantasy and kick it up a notch. I would recommend this title to any young reader that you want to get excited about reading comics or simply reading. The art is top notch, the action entertaining and the story has a heartwarming charm often missing it today's biff, pow, blam, grim and serious comic market.
Scale of 1 to 10 ... 7 Reviewed by Chuck on September 24th, 2006
The Toy Box #1
Creator/Writer: Kevin Grevioux / Art: Javier Giangiacomo
Colors: Lisandro Ponzielli / Edited: Vince S. Moore / Letters: Aposcar Guevara
Most of the reviews we've done to date have been from the big two publishing houses (Marvel and DC) and those have focused on a distinctly superhero target audience. Since there's a whole world of great titles out there that don't fit that mold, we though it would be fun to review a third party title and, why not make it an all ages one at that. For this honor, we turn to The Toy Box from Alias Enterprises and partner Astounding Studios.
toys from the classic Rudolph special, no vast winter wasteland awaits here. In this tale, the toys live in Hobbyville (pictured right). Lead characters Robert Parks and son Tommy are about to find out quite a bit about this land as they fall into a magic toy box and arrive in Hobbyville. Here toys rule with a plastic fist!
In Tommy's fantasy world, he's replaced his dad with Megaman to which Tommy plays the stallwart sidekick, Megakid. Several of the early pages (and a few later ones) are dedicated to battles between the dynamic-duo of Mega-dom and villainous foes such as the alien Zyronite and Fankenborg (pictured left). All this action takes place in their city... the city... Capital City. These fantasy sequences are all larger than life fun seen through the eyes and active fantasy life of a lonely (his family just moved away from all his friends) young boy.
So what's the story of the toy box? How does it access Hobbyville? Why does it have such magical powers? How did it come into the possession of Parks family? That is the tale hinted at here in issue one. It looks as if Santa Claus and his lead elf (referred to as Mr. K and Theo respectively and pictured right) play a clear role in the toy box's history. They turn up midway through the issue, end up on the loosing end of a bulldog and are clearly looking to recover the toy box before it leads to trouble. The box and it's trouble found it's way to the Parks household thanks to Tommy's grandfather who picked it up at an antique store, filled it with Tommy's father's old toys and brought it to Tommy as a gift. Grandpa explains that Tommy's dad's favorite toys when he was young were "a rubber duck and a stuffed elf named Ernie". 
This pair turned up at the start of the issue as, right off the bat, we learn that all isn't well in the land of Hobbyville. The opening page of the gives you the feel that a rebellion is afoot as three toys (an elf, a duck and a soldier named Jaxon) face a dark robot menace. Could Tommy and his dad play a role in the future of Hobbyville? We're betting that will be the case.