There weren't a lot of Yetis in the Eighties.
Maybe because my childhood spans the decade, I associate the '80s first-and-foremost with Saturday morning cartoons. They were a pretty big deal growing up. And that seems to be where Yeti made most of his appearances. Some notable favorites of the period featured cameos: The Smurfs, Thundercats, Dungeons & Dragons, Jem and the Holograms, Ewoks, DuckTales, Count Duckula. He'd made a splash in comics during the 1970's and we can see this trend continuing in the first part of the '80s. He also got his own Choose Your Own Adventure book. And this is the first time he shows up in the burgeoning world of video games. His first role was in Alpiner for the TI-99/4A, and it's not an auspicious start. But by the end of the decade, he was playing the part of baddie in Wizardry V and Final Fantasy II, a marked improvement.
I can't help but mention a certain Elephant in the Room, or should I say Wampa in the Cave. In 1980, The Empire Strikes Back introduced the Wampa to the world. I have dubbed it an honorary Yeti and included it in the time line because it's clearly had a significant influence on the Yeti depictions that came after. This is probably the first Yeti-like creature with horns, and nowadays we see that characteristic all the time. Star Wars is HUGE, an unstoppable pop-cultural force. And a Star Wars Yeti makes a pretty big RARR throughout the yeti-sphere.
1980 Empire Strikes Back (film)
1981 Alpiner (game)
1981 The Smurfs (animation)
1981 Batman (comic)
1981 Caveman (film)
1981 Richie Rich (comic) [Not pictured]
1982 Creepshow (film) [Not pictured]
1982 Conan Savage Sword (comic)
1982 Choose Your Own Adventure: Abominable Snowman [Not pictured]
1983 Bigfoot (game)
1983 Spike's Peak (game)
1983 Master of Kung Fu (comic)
1983 King Conan 15 (comic)
1984 Dungeons & Dragons (cartoon)
1984 Yeti (game)
1985 Thundercats (animation)
1985 He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special (animation)
1985 Ice Climber (game)
1986 Ewoks (animation)
1986 King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (game)
1986 Dragon Quest (game)
1986 Gatchaman/G-Force (animation) [Not pictured]
1986 Frost Byte (game)
1986 Dragon (magazine cover)
1986 Badger (comic)
1987 Family Ties Christmas Special (television)
1987 Jem and the Holograms (animation)
1987 DuckTales (animation)
1987 Wonderboy in Monster Land (game)
1987 Cave of the Ice Ape (game)
1988 Dinosaucers (animation)
1988 Wizardy V Heart of the Maelstrom (game)
1988 Final Fantasy II (game)
1989 Paddington Bear (animation)
1989 Cheerios commercial (ad)
1989 Count Duckula (animation)
On to the Nineties...
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