In the early ’90s, every toy company wanted a mutant animal hero property to compete with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa would have seemed to have a big advantage in that regard. It was created by Ryan Brown, a former inker for Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird on TMNT comics, and creator of such characters as Leatherhead, Ray Fillet, Monod Gecko, Scumbug, and Wingnut. A toy line from Hasbro featured spring action lassoing and ripcord-powered “iron horses,” while the cartoon lasted two seasons. Still, it’s not one of the first cartoons that comes to mind when you think ’90s toys.
Ranch Re-dressing
And that’s probably how Nacelle was able to acquire it. Like Robo Force, it may have it’s loyalists, but they are not legion. Now, however, the anthropomorphized cattle will join the shared Nacelleverse, with an animated series that crosses over with Biker Mice From Mars, Sectaurs, Power Lords, The Great Garloo, and Robo Force. As it turns out, the C.O.W. Boys were the final license that wasn’t ready for revealing at San Diego Comic-Con.
Per official press release the original storyline involved “an irradiated comet [which] struck the late 19th century Western plains creating a miles high mesa shrouded in clouds. Everything trapped on top of the mesa was ‘cow-metized’ by the light from the ‘cow-met’ and ‘evolved’ into a ‘bovipomorphic’ state. Inspired by old tales of the Wild West, this new bovine community developed to the point where they emulated that era’s way of life, including the requisite ruffians and corrupt sheriffs.”
“The lawbreakers were too much for the corrupt regulators of Cowtown (namely Mayor Oscar Bulloney and Sheriff Terrorbull) to handle by themselves. Helping them out, whether they wanted it or not, were a group of peacekeepers known as C.O.W.-Boys (the C.O.W. part is short for “Code Of the West”). Led by Marshal Moo Montana, the C.O.W.-Boys also included the Dakota Dude and the Cowlorado Kid. Marshal Moo Montana and his deputies had their hands full with various ruffians and outlaw gangs that plagued the otherwise peaceful town.”
The original voice of Sheriff Terrorbull was Joe Piscopo. There’s no word on whether he’ll be back or not, nor what the timeline is for action figures. But both Nacelle and Brown are determined to make them happen sooner than later.
Here’s a taste of the original show:
