Mars Attacks is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by cruel, hideous Martians under the command of a corrupt Martian government who conceal the fact from the Martian populace that Mars is doomed to explode and, therefore, proposes colonization of Earth to turn it into their new homeworld. The cards depict futuristic battle scenes and bizarre methods of Martian attack, torture and slaughter of humans, as well as various Earth nations being attacked. The story concludes with an expeditionary force of humans volunteering to embark on a counterattack on Mars, in which the Earth force attacks the Martians in their manner. This necessitates the Martians that are still on Mars to defend their homeworld. The Earth attack forces, after destroying the Martian cities and killing the Martians, depart just before Mars is destroyed in the predicted cataclysm, thus ensuring the peace and safety of Earth as the Martian race is seemingly doomed to extinction.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American media franchise created by the comic book authors Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' rat sensei Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder.
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models. The company was closed by its corporate parent Hasbro in 2000.
Rainbow Brite is a media franchise by Hallmark Cards, introduced in 1984. The animated Rainbow Brite television series first aired in 1984, the same year Hallmark licensed Rainbow Brite to Mattel for a range of dolls and other merchandise. A theatrical feature-length film, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer, was released by Warner Bros. in 1985. The franchise was rebooted in 2014 with a three part mini-series released on Hallmark's online streaming video service, Feeln. A line of new merchandise by Hallmark online and in its shops debuted in 2015.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a 1996 multimedia project created by Lucasfilm. The idea was to create a story set between the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release without actually making a film. The venture was intended to reinvigorate interest in the franchise ahead of the theatrical Special Editions of the Star Wars trilogy released the following year.
Kandi Lenice Burruss-Tucker, known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xscape. In 2000, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her writing contributions on the TLC hit song "No Scrubs".
Ron English is an American contemporary artist who explores brand imagery, street art, and advertising.
Kyle Richards Umansky is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. She began her career as a child actress, appearing in a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie, and in several adventure and horror films, including The Car (1977), Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive (1977), and Walt Disney’s The Watcher In The Woods (1980), as well as portraying Lindsey Wallace in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and later Halloween Kills (2021). Since 2010, she has appeared as a main cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and as of 2022, is the last remaining original cast member on the show. In 2017, she was a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice, playing for the charity Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Dave Dorman is a science fiction, horror and fantasy illustrator best known for his Star Wars artwork.
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series created by Glen A. Larson that began the Battlestar Galactica franchise. Starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict, it follows the surviving humans as they flee in Battlestar Galactica and other ships in search for a new home while being pursued by the Cylons. The series ran for the 1978–1979 season before being canceled after 24 episodes.
Timothy MacKenzie Gunn is an American author, actor, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative officer. Over 16 seasons Gunn has become well known as the on-air mentor to designers on the reality television program Project Runway. Gunn's popularity on Project Runway led to two spin-off shows; Bravo's Tim Gunn's Guide to Style and Lifetime's Under the Gunn, as well as five books. In addition to being an executive producer, Gunn has served as mentor for the teen designers on Project Runway: Junior. He also provides the voice of Baileywick, the castle steward in the Disney Junior television show Sofia the First and narrated the sitcom Mixology.
DC Direct was a division of WarnerMedia that sold collectibles based on DC Comics characters.
The Real Housewives is an international reality television franchise that consists of 11 series in the United States and 21 international series. Most of the series document the lives of a group of affluent women residing in a certain city. The American series have mostly been broadcast on the Bravo network. The franchise began with The Real Housewives of Orange County, which premiered on March 21, 2006. That show was inspired by several soap operas, most notably Desperate Housewives; the franchise has sometimes been referred to as a "docu-soap". Of the international series, the longest-running is The Real Housewives of Cheshire, which has aired 14 seasons so far.
Mike Leavitt is an American visual artist based near Seattle, Washington responsible for a variety of pop art, fine art, design and satirical works in various media. His sculptures are one of a kind one-off's though some of his design projects are prototypes reproduced in limited or larger quantities as Leavitt "blends art, design and social commentary". Well known for his handmade statues of cultural icons, his more recent work includes a series of action figures reproduced by the Brooklyn, NY toy company FCTRY inspired by Leavitt's political persuasions as an 11th-generation American descendant of John Leavitt (1608-1691).
Simon de Pury is a Swiss auctioneer, art dealer, and collector. He has appeared in several television programs and films, including the Bravo network reality series Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. His book The Auctioneer: Adventures in the Art Trade was published in 2016.
Work of Art: The Next Great Artist was an American reality competition show that aired on the cable television network Bravo, in which up-and-coming artists compete for a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. The show was produced by Pretty Matches Productions and Magical Elves Productions, the same company that created Project Runway and Top Chef. The series premiered on June 9, 2010. Work of Art was renewed for a second season in September 2010 which began on October 12, 2011.
Phetus is a New York artist with roots in the graffiti and street art movement. Originally from Huntington, Long Island, now based in Manhattan, "Phetus" has been creating artwork under his "Phat Phace" icon since 1988. He began his career as a graffiti artist by taking trips into New York City.
Peregrine Honig is an American artist whose work is concerned with the relationship between pop culture, sexual vulnerability, social anxieties, the ethics of luxury and trends in consumerism. Honig appeared on season one of Bravo’s artist reality television show, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, which aired from June 9–August 11, 2010, finishing in second place.
Invizimals is an augmented reality video game franchise developed by Novarama and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The series, which originally began in 2009 as a video game on PSP, has since inspired toys, trading cards, comics and an animated television series telling an interconnected transmedia story.
The Toy Box is an American reality television show that debuted on April 7, 2017 on ABC. The show is about contestants as aspiring entrepreneurs, who present toy inventions first to a panel of toy industry professionals, then to a panel of children. Only toys approved by the mentors are presented to the judges "in the Toy Box," who select one toy to advance to the finals each episode. The season's winning toy will be produced and distributed by Mattel and sold exclusively at Toys "R" Us stores.
