Lawmakers Do Monster Mash-Up

As if politics wasn’t scary enough, Heroes in Action Toys is putting its own spin on how truly frightening politicians can be. The Northridge company has released a series of action figures that meld public office holders with famous horror and supernatural characters. The latest additions: female vampire Hillvira, the Secretary of Stake, and Van Palin, a vigilante monster hunter wearing a grizzly bear headpiece and sporting a bandolier. Guess the politicians who inspired those characters. Mark Huckabone, who founded Heroes in Action four years ago, traveled to New York City this month to introduce the two new models in the Presidential Monsters series at American International Toy Fair. Targeted to toy collectors, the action figures – which include President Barack Obama as vampire Baracula and Richard Nixon as The Monster from the Watergate Lagoon – are proving popular with political junkies, he said. “That’s the part I didn’t see coming,” said the 41-year-old Chicago native who has been collecting and selling vintage 1970s and 1980s toys since his teens. The figures are available at the company’s presidential- monsters.com website for $24.99, a suburban Chicago collectibles store and at online retailer BigBadToyStore. Huckabone is working out details to sell through a national chainsummer. And he has plans to expand the line to historical figures, such as Napoleon Bonaparte or Josef Stalin. Now that’s truly frightening. – Mark R. Madler