Beasts as well as their names. A strap called the Bandolier was introduced for children to hold and carry around their Battle Beasts figures, in the middle of it was a box that has the Battle Beasts logo on it and all over it are compartments to hold several figures. A comic series simply titled Battle Beasts was published by Blackthorne Publishing from February through November 1988. There were only four issues published by the company before it was canceled on a cliffhanger. All four issues were published in black-and-white. The stories were written by John Stephenson, penciled by Andy Ice, and inked by Jorge Pacheco (issues 1 and 2), Shepherd Hendrix (issue 3), and Rachel "Fuzzy" Haze (issue 4). They centered primarily on seven characters: Horny Toad, Knight Owl, and Gargantuan Gorilla dealing with the betrayal of Chameleon, Rocky Rhino, Blitzkrieg Bat, and Cutthroat Cuttlefish, who interrupted a ceremony with the Soulspirit causing madness and constant sign changes among their people. A sludgy devil character called Ruhin was also featured. The final issue implied that Pirate Lion, piloting the Shocking Shark with first mate Webslinger Spider, was the Sunburst Warrior who would be able to set things aright. Two annuals were published as well, although by a different company and they were only released in Europe. The stories are unrelated to the Blackthorne series. Revivals In 2011 Takara Tomy announced the Beast Saga line, a spiritual successor to the original figures. The line focuses on three factions - land, air and sea. The fire/wood/water battling mechanism was replaced by a dice launcher which enables a dice battle game between figures. The series was released in September 2012. Figures include shields in addition to weapons and have been released in monthly waves. Shonen Jump produced a manga based on the toy line and an anime was released in 2013. At the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, Diamond Select Toys acquired the Battle Beasts brand name after Hasbro allowed the trademark to lapse. They displayed a playset featuring a Minimates version of their new Battle Beasts line. The playset was to become available for sale on December 31, 2009, but was cancelled. Several repaints of the figure were sold in 2010, and at C2E2 2012 the company confirmed they would be going forward with a full line of figures. Additionally, a comic book based on the Minimates franchise was released by