In such publications as Dot Dot Dash!, Pictoplasma and the Puppet issue of Übersee, as well as monographs from Borris Hoppek and FriendsWithYou, dgv featured a wide range of characters and designers' toys. So it was perhaps not such a leap to provide a mechanism for moving them off the printed page in the form of the ReleaseTheFreaks.com site, which it launched earlier this year.

The site makes available character art labels as well as handmade and limited-edition art toys, which dgv describes as "deviant creations from established artists and graphic designers, as well as heroes from the Street scene." The red vinyl fellow above is a new release created by Bob Dob. Dubbed Luey, versions of him are available smoking, drinking or "raging," as shown here. ReleaseTheFreaks.com just added a blogboard, which visitors are using to post information about exhibitions and events related to character art. For example, enquiring minds will want to check out the German fabidoo.com site, currently in beta, an online community that claims to let you easily customize and share figures called—what else?—fabidoos, created via 3D printing.