I was recently made aware of a specific excerpt in the February 2023 edition of the Big Toy Book which I have highlighted below:
And while I had been already aware of Cows vs Aliens and had been waiting for the first reveal of them (as I know they were shown to investors already at this point), I don’t think anyone was aware of the reveal of Puppies vs Squeaks as well.
I still don’t entirely know how to feel about Cows vs Aliens, which may be partially because I feel like everything in the Versus World is already way too much to keep up with without adding new series to the moniker. I only have a couple of Kittens I’m still trying to get (Lil Gumbo and Lil Moo, where art thou?* T~T) which I’m hoping to finish up before new releases, but even then, I have no idea when the next batch Gold Wave will drop either. There’s also still the matter of various Beans that were added to the Gold Wave sheet on the website before being removed– my personal theory is maybe a second batch of the Blue Striped Wave. Only a guess though.
*I know what stores they’re stocking in. Those stores are just not around here.
Regardless, Cows vs Aliens do look very cute and I’m already tempted at least by these three. But I also am curious about the Cow right above the Alien in the middle too:
As for the Puppies, I already am really excited to see more of them. I love Dogs so much and so the Puppies really calling out to me is not a surprise (though, my Wallet is less excited). If I also narrowed it down to three, I would say these are the biggest ones for me:
I’m also really curious about the Puppy to the right of the Pink Squirl (It reminds me of Alice, who is my favorite of the Dogs). Lil Brenda and Lil Hazel (the bottom left and bottom right respectively) also look very cute. With the catalog out, I hope maybe more pictures can be shared of the ones we can expect in the first batches of each… If only to keep track of the ones I want ahead of time.
It’s just crazy to think these are coming out this Summer alongside likely more batches of Gold Wave and also, one of Cepia’s newest lines of plushies, Pop Art Soft, is getting their second animal this Summer as well: Turtles!
I haven’t spoken about Pop Art Soft too much here yet, partially as I wanted to do so along with my Collection video update (which has been… taking a while– it’s hard finding a shelf that works with the Condos), but for those unaware, they’re cute Elephants (and well, eventually Turtles).
If you really like the feeling of the Cats vs Pickles, but wanted something a bit more proportionally weighted than how the Jumbos are, I’d highly recommend checking out Pop Art Soft. There’s three sizes: Mini (About the same size as a regular CvP Bean), Mighty (About CvP Jumbo size, slightly smaller), and Mammoth (Not as big as huggers, but fairly big and soft):
Can you tell who my favorite is? :P
I have various Minis, 1 Mighty, and 1 Mammoth… But you may notice three others that are a bit bigger than the one Mighty. Those are the retired size that was only available through the Soft Launch: Jumbo which is about an inch or so bigger than the current Mighty Size. You could get them either through the Lake Zurich Learning Express (which does take phone orders, but I don’t believe many, if any, art left) and CvP’s Official Store Front which is currently down for maintenance and only had a small selection. These are also the only places currently carrying one of the Mammoth Designs– Sugar. That said, if you happen to be going to Planet Comicon in Kansas City, Cepia will have an Exhibitor’s Booth there and the Jumbo size for sale as well.
Considering their MSRP (5$ for Minis, $10 for Mighty, $20 for Mammoth), I feel like what you get is very much worth it, though Minis are unfortunately through Blindbags only. Despite that, I am impatiently wanting this new Mini that was shown in the magazine as well:
As for the Turtles, I will say I don’t know if I like their design as much as the Elephants, but I am absolutely in love with this Turtle design at least and if nothing else, I definitely will be picking up this one:
I think this one also looks pretty neat:
Also in the magazine was a sneak peek of another new species to Pop Art Soft: Giraffes! (And confirmation that yes, more animals are to come)
Anyway, are you excited for Cows vs Aliens and/or Puppies vs Squeaks? Are you overwhelmed by how much is coming out when there’s still so much already that hasn’t yet? All of the above? Do you like Pop Art Soft? Are you Team Elephants, Turtles, or Giraffes? Let me know! I think I’m mostly excited… but also still very stressed.
I will say I am working on something though that will hopefully make things at least a bit overwhelming… Or at least it will for me.