Back in the late 1980s, the California Raisins were huge. Like so many pop culture characters of the decade, they began as a marketing gimmick. Within a year or two they had toys, albums, TV specials, and they were even awarded that epitome of 1980s pop culture adoration, a (short-lived) Saturday morning cartoon. They even got a freakin’ videogame, although it was never actually produced. My personal favorite Raisins-related production was Meet the Raisins, a clever Beatles send-up which, sadly, remains unavailable outside of old VHS tapes.

Of course, young Poe had some of the Raisins toys–mostly just the little Applause figurines. They weren’t articulated, but they served their purpose of offering Poe a plastic totem of some beloved marketing icons.