BOOK REVIEW: I AM PLASTIC BOOK REVIEW: I AM PLASTIC
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The new book I AM PLASTIC: THE DESIGNER TOY EXPLOSION, by Kidrobot founder Paul Budnitz, is a handsomely designed and fun-to-flip-through visual history of “designer toys.” For those who aren’t aware, designer toys are essentially Beanie Babies for urban hipsters. They’re like regular toys except they’re garishly-colored, a lot more expensive and they don’t have any functionality besides sitting pretty on shelves. One of the justifications for the high prices of these “toys” is because they’re produced in limited editions, but as this book makes clear, there’s thousands of “limited edition” toys on the market, and despite their superficial differences, most of them appear to be cut from the same cloth. If anything, seeing the toys collected in a book like this only emphasizes how visually unimaginative and inbred the whole movement is. It’s sure to make a fine Christmas present for your friends who just don’t know any better.

Amid Amidi

Amid Amidi is Cartoon Brew's Publisher and Editor-at-large.

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