Not Yeti Friday - Karmans

The Karmans are a faction in AT-43, the table-top miniature war-game notable for its minis arriving pre-assembled/pre-painted with interchangeable parts.



This alien race resembles white gorillas and likes to wear big armored battle-suits. Their society is focused around the concepts of karmic debt, environmental awareness and a warrior ethos. They're sort of like New Age Klingons.



Interestingly, the Karmans have chosen the names Yeti and Wendigo for some of their infantry groups. This either means they are self-aware of their resemblance to these presumably now ancient folkloric entities - or it's just what the human factions call 'em.





I really don't think it gets that much better than yeti in armored battle-suits wearing goggles and aviator caps. And just knowing they're obsessed with karmic debt takes it over the top.



If any of you all can beat this with something else, I'd like to see it.

Not Yeti Friday - Bigfoot Er, Is Yeti

I wish it was Not Yeti Friday. But it's not not yeti. Not yet anyway. It's Thursday. And it is therefore yeti. What you gonna do?



The cartoon above, which you should click on to see bigger, is by Mike Jacobsen of See Mike Draw.

I like it a lot. But it is the antithesis of Not Yeti. You know what they say: 'Tomorrow is only a day away'. Sigh.

Superman No. 266

Who is the toughest and roughest of Superman's foes?

If you guessed the yeti, you'd be right! He can withstand Kryptonian super-punches like they're nothing!

This August 1973 issue reveals the truth: Yeti has Abs of Steel. No, not steel... Diamond.

Qee Yeti (without those ears)

This just in! Gama-Go yeti figure! Now available to consumers.



Previous versions had Mickey Mouse ears. I am pleased a bona fide yeti bereft of such inauthentic extremities has been produced.

I believe one can get one here for $9.95 before they sell out.

Note: The is an example of Qee.

Role Reversal

This French parody of the Tintin comic book by Daniel Goossens appears to feature the yeti as the star and central protagonist. His quest in the book is to find the elusive Abominable Tintin.

Not Yeti Friday - Totoro

The 1987 anime movie "My Neighbor Totoro" featured a creature named Totoro, a forest spirit that was sort of a cross between an owl and a cat. According to the wikipedia page, his name is a little girl's mispronunciation of torōru, the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "troll".

The popular Totoro is not a yeti. But it occurs to me he may very well have inspired many modern representations of yeti.

Before Totoro, yetis were monsters through and through: ape-like and skulking, with menacing eyes, fangs and claws (Even Rudolph's Bumble fit the bill). In the two decades since Totoro, however, there has appeared an entirely new kind of yeti on the scene. This one is less ape-like and more fat and cuddly. The depiction is abstract and stylized with a wide mouth, round eyes and a friendlier, cuddlier appearance. It's more like an imaginary friend than an abominable monster. More like a Totoro.

Here is a sampling of the possibly Totoro-inspired breed, but there are TONS more out there:







Totoro could be the missing link!

Check out Totoro Forest Project, a charity foundation to help save a forest. Artists create works for auction and many depict their own yeti-like beings.

Felt Mistress Yeti

Louise aka Felt Mistress makes plush creations of the monstrous persuasion and posts them to her blog and flickr page. Her latest series (example above) is based on her husband Jonathan Edwards' sketches.

This one-eyed, horned politician isn't the only yeti in her oeuvre. She also made this yeti plush as gift for a friend.