Hasbro's Xevoz time in the light was way too short. Take the basic concept of Stikfas, with its interchangeable snap-together parts and versitile poseability, create a fictional world of warring insects, soldiers, monsters, animals, and robots, and supplement it with an interactive battle game -- hey, it's Xevoz!

And Xevoz are awesome. Like the red-haired fellow in today's strip, I never owned any. Oh, I certainly knew they existed, and I did think they were pretty neat, but I did this from afar. I remember when Graham, Jenni, and myself stumbled upon them in a Toys R Us a few years ago. We'd never heard of them, and neither had anyone else. They bought some immediately, and I think between the two of them, they own every single one. My roommate also has a good-sized collection of them. A Tomb Wraith (with optional chicken head) stands over our DVDs.

But I never owned any until yesterday. I collect lots of stuff, y'see. And anything that isn't Transformers tends to get thrown in a bin in the closet, rarely to see the light of day again. I'm increasingly aware of this, and budget non-Transformers stuff accordingly. And while I always agreed Xevoz are great, it wasn't until Thunder Shaman that I really had to have one. I mean, c'mon, he's a monkey. An awesome monkey.

Like the other Xevoz, he comes with a shitload of exchangeable parts. He comes with three heads: a gorilla, a baboon, a monkey head wearing a fez, and a tall tribal mask. He also comes with various backpack assemblies, some of which include human skulls, and a weapon rack that can hold his sword, bladed staff, and boomerang. Additionally, he has various decorations and bracelets to adorn him with. And a banana.

Yes, a banana. (Mine is acting as his bow-tie, right now. Versitility!)

Like Stikfas, you assemble these guys piece-by-piece. And due to their construction, you can swap parts from other sets to create things like mantis-monkeys or robot-skullwarriors. Each piece is amazing, and every set is full of personality. Xevoz are God's gift to creativity.

Which is why it's a huge-ass shame they didn't do better. The wave which includes Thunder Shaman are only barely available, and Steve-o and I had to get ours online. There's a couple more that probably will never see the light of day. I guess it just hurts that these things weren't licensed characters and were devoid of a cartoon. Now, they're in clearance bins, never truly getting the chance to take off.

So, please, buy a case or two. Xevoz deserves good homes.