Monster High, a doll collection from Mattel that has spawned such popularity that the novel roots of Lisi Harrison cannot hold it anymore. The Monster High line has become expanded into articles of clothing, carry bags, knick-knacks, doo-dads and specials on Nickelodeon, including very short videos on the Mattel website.

I have a very small collection of Monster High and I plan to keep it that way–I’m still fighting the urge to collect lunch boxes! I spent years as a Goth and came out with liking specific bands and having the enjoyment of remembering the good old days. As for old monster movies…well, it depends, I’m not adverse to watching them.
So, where am I going with all of this, simply put, I had become attracted to Monster High through my interests either past or present, however I have not gone overboard as I have with G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe and Transformers–among other things! I found my favorites and stuck with it and have no plans to go nuts.

So, here it is…Monster High.

The 2011 SDCC had the best of the best and with Monster High the selection was no less than awesome! Ghoulia Yelps, the daughter of the Zombies in the monster movies is the smartest ghoul in school…probably from eating a lot of brains… The “mailer” box is adorned with gray scale art of Ghoulia and Dead Fast and upon opening it and removing the doll inside, a small mini comic drawn and written by Ghoulia herself falls out. The comic is fun if anything and it is a great extra for this set.

Here, in this absolutely cool package that has foil details and a bit of comic strip is the Dead Fast Ghoulia Yelps doll. Dead Fast is a zombie who was bitten by a radioactive humming bird…(Is this where I put in LOL!)? Anyhow, Ghoulia has a great selection of details. First, Ghoulia is cosplaying Dead Fast in a more feminine style and she is holding her “mask”/DF sunglasses which can be swapped for her glasses which actually have clear lenses. She is clutching her DF comic and has a convention badge and a bag with an image of Dead Fast. Ghoulia also comes with a black MH brush which is behind the right part of the package. This doll truly embraces comic conventions as a whole and that is why I wanted to get it because it actually has meaning.

The final accessory is the icing on the cake. To the right of the dolls window in a heart-shaped window is a “mint in package” Dead Fast action figure–now how cool is that! This DF figurine is actually in a small bubble and card just like the real thing would be. It’s all about the details and this doll as a whole gives it all.

Next up is the Deuce Gorgon and Cleo de Nile 2 pack. This dreary couple are actually quite a mismatch. Cleo de Nile (is that Clear Denial)? Is the typically “bitchy” alpha girl and Deuce is actually a decent guy. One of the videos has him welcoming the new “norm” showing that he doesn’t care for prejudice–some of the messages are pretty cool for a kids show.
What is nice about the standard dolls is the fact that the total package introduces the character and they are accessorized with everything you need to get started. Deuce is the son of Medusa and he has snakes for hair as she does– the catch, he has it in a snake hawk, (the puns are classic)! The doll is dressed in fabric clothing and has rubber shoes, he doesn’t need a brush because his hair is molded but he does come with his sunglasses so he doesn’t turn anyone to stone.  Also included is a journal book and his animal friend which is a 2-tailed rat named Perseus–you know, the guy who beheaded Medusa…It’s supposed to be an in-joke like everything else in the comical aspect of the series. The doll is nice and detailed well, he is also taller than the female dolls as seen in the photo, he some-what towers over Cleo.
Cleo de Nile is the daughter of the mummy and of course everything is gold and jewels with her. Her outfit is a fabric wrap of bandages and other regal garb. She has rubber low boots and even a gold cell phone on her leg–can’t be undead without that…Cleo has earrings which never look right on dolls–but not so bad anyhow. She also has a brush, a gold handbag, journal book and her snake friend Hissette. The detail of this doll is really nice down to her gold and black hair. Deuce and Cleo are a great set and was the first 2 pack offered in the series, it was apparently a big sell out last holiday season.

The second starter doll is Ghoulia Yelps, just like the SDCC doll but dressed differently and with different accessories. Ghoulia has an interesting music theme going with a cassette messenger bag and a keyboard belt. She also has a great outfit with fishnet arm warmers and a red, black and white color scheme featuring stripes and a cherry patterned camisole. Ghoulia has a lot of detail that was made at a small size. The final pieces are her green headband, tall rubber boots, zipper earrings and her glasses with lenses. Ghoulia comes with a zombie owl called Sir Hoots-a-Lot. Ghoulia is probably my favorite of all the characters with Cleo being my second. They are made well and I think that’s the selling point for me. I wish the dolls would display a little better in the window boxes but I know with dolls that everything has to be tied down.

The back of the packages of the main dolls have full bios and character art.

The last doll is a single “beach” version of Cleo de Nile. The bandage bikini, green sunglasses and regal fan are included along with a brush. The doll is very good, but I feel the main version is better. The back of the package has a beach scene with a lot of the main characters and some minor info about the series.

The dolls are fully articulated and have stands that finish out the detail and accessories. The hair is “real” and of course the included combs keep it looking nice.
I have zero plans to open any of them because I don’t play with dolls and they wont survive for multiple reasons. The packaging is actually too nice to strip out anyhow and they display well.

The last Monster High items I have are 2 “dummy” plush dolls which are really nice for what they are. Deuce Gorgon and Cleo de Nile, each have yarn hair, and “button” eyes, most of the clothing is silk screened on the fabric and the other parts of the outfit are separate pieces. These dolls are actually featuring the characters animal friends, hence the description of “friends” on the bottom left of the windowless box–that’s right, there are no windows so they can’t be displayed without either being in a large zipper bag or something close, if they aren’t protected they will get ruined and they are too fun to do that to them.
These dolls that feature Perseus and Hissette more so than Deuce and Cleo were actually free when buying a certain amount of MH items, I probably wouldn’t pick them up normally, but I do like them for their collectible value.

The back of the box features bios on the animals as the dolls feature bios on the characters. All in all, these dolls are nice and they look good packaged–just have to protect the contents inside with a plastic bag or wrap it with plastic wrap.

For the fan-base, the detail of each of the dolls, the packaging and the line as a whole, I have to give Monster High a…

GRADE: A

The SDCC Dead Fast Ghoulia gets a…

GRADE: A+ (It’s that nice)!

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