Somebody call up VH1’s ‘I Love the 80s’ because they need to make a new episode!  The freakin’ Battle Beasts are making a comeback in a big way this summer! Obviously the world is on a big 80s nostalgia trip, with Transformers, Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joe movies coming out. But who could have possibly thought that the Battle Beasts would ever be back?

What’s that? You don’t remember the Battle Beasts? Of course you do! Just look:

Revel in your childhood!

I had a ton of these little guys when I was a kid. They were these neat little figurines based on animals, and each one had a special heat-sensitive rubbing area on the front that revealed their power element: fire, water or wood. Really, wood? Yep! And you were supposed to play a game of Paper, Rock, Scissors with them. Instead, I’m pretty sure I just played with them like normal action figures.

Am I the only one getting chills from this picture?

You can check out a gallery of all the Battle Beasts here. I had a blast just looking through them, recognizing the ones that I had.

I definitely remember Sledgehammer Elephant.

The name sums him up pretty nicely

And Octillion Octopus.

We have a weaponized octopus, people!

Man oh man, just looking at those galleries takes me back.

But the good news is that Diamond Select Toys and IDW Comics have teamed up to bring the Battle Beasts back in 2012! You can read all about it here, but I’ll sum it up for you. Basically, Diamond Select got the license for Battle Beasts back in 2009. Since then, I guess they’ve been looking for something to do with the toys. And it seems they have settled, with proper introductions planned for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend.

The two companies are going to recreate the story of Battle Beasts, giving them a plot and main characters. IDW is then going to publish a comic book about them.

Instead of a walrus, may I suggest an elephant? Possibly with a sledgehammer for a hand?

Something about the Battle Beasts coming to Earth and interacting with humans. Sounds meh, but who knows! That plot has worked for the Transformers. Here’s a look at the cover of the comic book:

I want to buy it right now!

Then, later this year, Diamond Select is going to produce mini-mates of the new Battle Beasts characters. They won’t be like the old versions, but instead be based of Diamond’s mini-mate design. I really like the mini-mates, and own several myself. Diamond has been getting into a lot of different brands with their mini-mates. Just the other day I had to stop myself from buying Ghostbuster mini-mates.

I can only hope that 'wood' remains a key factor of the games

Hooray 80s notalgia!