Mighty Men & Monster Maker simulator

You ever wonder if you could do a thing, and then kind of idly figure out a way to do it, and then find yourself compelled to do that thing because now you know it's possible? That's how I got here.

Reload this page for a new comic book weirdo!

So, the Mighty Men & Monster Maker was a toy released in the late-1970s by Tomy. Basically, it consisted of a stack of plastic tiles with the heads, torsos, and legs of generic monsters and superheroes embossed on them, and a frame to fit them into. The frame held the tiles in place and clamped a piece of paper over them. Then, you'd take an unwrapped crayon and drag its side over the paper, grave-rubbing style, producing a passable comic-style character.

For a little kid in an era where videogames barely existed, much less character creation screens, this was magical. And, for real, it was probably a big part of why I'm such a sucker for cosmetic DLC these days. Might have something to do with my approach to TTRPGs, even.

Anyway, all the art for those plastic tiles was done by no less than the late, great Dave Stevens, who was primarily known as the creator of The Rocketeer. I created the images I'm using here using some extremely convenient photos from an article on the Mars Will Send No More blog. The results certainly don't do justice to Stevens' work, but the smudgy quality is kinda representative of the actual toy's output.