Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles and Transformers are so last decade. Nowadays, the real cutting-edge toys are those rare, cute, weird-looking vinyl figures that owe a lot to Japanese pop culture. They come with even cuter names -- Dunnys, Labbits and Zoomies. The premier seller of these oddities is Kidrobot, which acts as a toy brand itself and a physical store (in four cities) for these collectibles. But it's Kidrobot's website that serves as the primary intersection for people looking to buy, read about and fawn over these toys. Founded in 2002 by Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot now includes high-end clothing, art books, magazines and more. After perusing the site, you can see why many fans call these toys works of art. They're not the only ones. New York's Museum of Modern Art acquired 13 Kidrobot figures in 2007, and a few are on display right now. Think we'll ever see a Power Ranger in MOMA?
TOM HORGEN
