Monster In My Pocket was a toy-line released by Matchbox in 1989. They consisted of small, soft plastic figure that represented some type of monster, such as a Werewolf, Griffin, Zombie, etc. During the original run over 200 monsters were released. Each of the original monsters had a point value of between 5 and 25. However, later series changed this to 30, while the Super Scary series introduced monsters with a 50-100 point value.
Due to the success of Monster In My Pocket, numerous other tie-ins were released. This included an animated special ‘Monster In My Pocket: The Big Scream’, comic books, board game, a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, trading cards and an audio cassette of original music. A CGI series was released much later on (2003) by Peak Entertainment in the UK. The series was intended for US release by Cartoon Network. However, the show was never picked up.
Monster In My Pocket
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 1 (1990)
The first series of Monster In My Pocket his shelves in 1990. Forty-eight monsters were available in four different colours; red, green purple and yellow. Sometime later another four colours were added, all of which were neon: neon-green, neon-yellow, red-orange, and violet.
Premium colours, available with items such as the board game, also existed. These included pink, neon orange, blue, pine green, brighter neon green and a glow-in-the-dark white. Each monster had a points value between five and twenty-five, representing the monster’s relative power and the figurine’s scarcity.
Figures were available in single packs (with battle card), four packs, ‘Secret Twelve Packs’ in which only one 25-point monster was viewable without opening the packet. And finally a twenty-four pack, the packaging of which functioned as a basic display case.
The first series of Monster In My Pocket was incredibly popular in the United Kingdom and Europe. However, the series did cause some controversy in the UK due to its representation of the Hindu deity Keli as a monster.
Similar problems would arise in later series, which featured monsters such as Yama, Ganesha, and Hanuman. Public outcry from the Vishva Hindu Parishad led to Ganesha and Hanuman being recalled from later series.
Releases in other countries included some different colours. Italian releases came in blue, orange-red, yellow, neon-green and gold. Mexican, Argentine and Peruvian figures included a large array of colours including black, white and clear. Argentine and Peruvian figures tended to be of a lower quality than the European and North American releases.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 2 (1992)
The second series of Monster In My Pocket was released in 1992. This series was only half the size of the first, with twenty-four monsters available in four different colours. The colours were neon-green, blue, pink and orange. This series also introduced the first 30 point monsters and got rid of the 5 point monsters.
This series came in a 24-figure box set with all the series 2 figures included. Also available was a 12-figure box set with one 30-point monster and 11 random monsters.
Due to protests, the Hindu deity Ganesha was deleted from all but the very earliest releases in the United Kingdom. This makes the figure particularly scarce there. Because the figure was removed, 24-packs in the UK included a series 1 monster in its place.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 3 (1992)
The third series of Monster In My Pocket was only available through Nabisco Shreddies and Big Boy restaurants. The colours were similar to series 2; pink, blue, orange and green. Select Big Boy restaurants also had yellow and purple editions.
One figure, Blemmyae, was packaged with the Monster In My Pocket video game. This figure is considered part of series 3, it came in all four standard series 3 colours and had a points value of twenty-five.
In total, only nine figures were released in the third series.
It is believed that the third series is so small because the ‘Unreleased Monsters’ were part of this series. The Unreleased Monsters (monsters 82 to 96) are a selection of monsters for which some information exist, but appear to have never been made into figures.
In alphabetical order, the figures were the Achelous, Ankou, Banshee, Catarenha, Djinn, Shapeshifter, Genie, Grendel, Hairy Boggart, Headless Man, Hieracosphinx, Hodag, Jabalius, Sciapod, Talus, and Troll.
The Troll made a brief appearance in the Monster In My Pocket comic. Ankou is another name for Grave Watcher, later released in series 4. Sciapod appeared in a poster spread inside a comic.
Any other information on the Unreleased Monsters is scarce, and often contradictory.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 4 (1992)
The fourth series of Monster In My Pocket is the ‘Super Scary’ collection. These monsters were slightly larger than the previous series and feature more detail in the colourisation.
The base colours are purple, yellow, green and orange. However, this series features multiple colours on each figure, rather than just one solid colour.
This series features six 100-point monsters which were made from glow-in-the-dark yellow or green, distinguishing them from the lower value monsters.
The points value of 50 to 100 points is significantly higher than the previous series. The Super Scary monsters came in single, ‘secret six packs’ and ‘monstrous twelve packs’; in which the packaging formed a haunted house display.
In the UK this series was released under the name ‘Super Scary Series 3’, as the third series of premium monsters were not released there.
Some monsters were also renamed for the British market. Hanuman was also removed from the series in the UK due to backlash from the Hindu community.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 5 (1992)
The fifth series of Monster In My Pocket is known as the ‘Super Creepies’. There are 24 different figures in this series, made from five body colours; pale green, neon green, neon yellow, neon red, and neon orange. The plastic used to make these figures were far tougher than the previous series.
Like the Super Scary figures, this series figures came in multiple colours, rather than just one solid colour. The points value were even greater for this series, ranging from 50 to 200 points.
Super Creepies came in packs of one, six or twelve. The six packs displayed two of the figures, keeping the remaining four hidden within the box. The twelve packs displayed all figures, and functions as a basic display case described as a ‘Creepy Castle.’
Single figure packets kept the monster secret within the bag; they also included a relevant Battle Card.
The fifth series of monsters was the first not based on genuine myth and legends. They were instead entirely invented and given the names of an arachnid or insect.
The top six ‘monsters’ were all spiders and given 200 points.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 6 (1993)
The sixth series of Monster In My Pocket featured dinosaurs. These figures came in packs of 2, 6 and 12 and were mostly released in European markets.
Made from a hard molded plastic, these figures came in dark green, yellow, violet, brown and orange with painted details. Each dinosaur had a point value of between 50 and 150.
Although most of the figures are dinosaurs, some non-dinosaurs, such as the Cave Man, were also included.
The Dinosaur series would be re-released in 1994, this time under the name ‘Secret Skeleton Dinosaurs.’ These dinosaurs had a sensitive pigment layer that allowed a rough outline of each creature’s skeleton to be shown when wet. They are sometimes referred to as Series 6B.
The 24 different Secret Skeleton Dinosaurs were available in single packs with a fact card. They were also available in 4-packs and 12-packs.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET SERIES 7 (1994)
In 2994 the seventh series of Monster In My Pocket was released. This series is known as ‘Space Aliens.’ Sixteen different aliens were available; they came in single, four and twelve packs. This series came in neon colours pink, orange, blue, green and chartreuse.
They were also the first monsters to use silver detailing, usually for their weaponry.
The Space Aliens had different point values to the previous series, ranging from 150 to 500. They were also divided into two camps with your standard ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys.’
Each of the aliens had a heat-sensitive sticker, which when warmed by touch, would reveal the monster’s point value and its affiliation. Good guys had a sword and star symbol while the bad guys had a skull and crossbones.
After 1995 a few more lines were releases, this included ‘Monster Wrestlers In My Pocket,’ ‘Monster Sport Stars In My Pocket’ and ‘Monster Ninja Warriors In My Pocket.’
All of these toys had different numbering to the original 7 series, which flowed through from 001 to 226. However, some people do class them as part of the original run.
