In the mid-1980s, a craze swept toy isles that introduced various colorful and downright disgusting characters known as Madballs, spawning comic books, direct-to-video cartoons, and video games.
Despite the foam balls receiving a relaunch in recent years, some younger visitors may have never heard of the grotesque breed of oddities, with highlights including an overly red-veined eyeball, a screamin’ baseball, a mummy, and a droopy-eyed sludge bucket oozing sludge. For those needing a refresher or want a taste of nostalgia, enjoy one of the original commercials below, comprised of “gross-out adults” marketing for which the era of toys was known.
While not hitting the heights of their original release, Madballs did manage to make the news with a crossover comic series released last year, teaming up with fellow gross-out franchise the Garbage Pail Kids. This led some to sit and ponder what other retro franchises would make a good fit, including artist and Ghostbusters News collaborator Badoochi Studios, who’s shared his toy concept for Ghostballs, crossing streams with Ghostbusters.
The fictitious assortment comprises six designs, including Ghostbusters staples Slimer, Muncher, Gozer, Bug-Eye Ghost, a Terror Dog, and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, each taking heavy inspiration from previously released Madballs.
While we may likely never see Ghostballs, or the must-have and equally fictitious follow-up series, Busterballs, ever hit retail store shelves, a t-shirt is available now through Fantazm Toys, along with murmurs of a possible pin drop within the near future, so stay tuned!
