Disch's Little Toaster

The Toaster and Friends frighten the Junk Pirate (or Elmo St. Peters, as per his name in the film!)

yes, this is my daily vacuum cleaner, yes it is Kirby from the Brave Little Toaster.

The Brave Little Toaster: vacuum cleaner edition (Hoover VS Kirby)

This is the cover, and some very low resolution sleeve illustrations for the Thai version of The Brave Little Toaster. There are some funny quirks with the character designs…the Toaster is red, the Lamp has a shade rather than a gooseneck, and the old Hoover is a shop-vac style canister! (Which makes sense as upright models have never been common in Asia due to the types of flooring used) I would love to find a copy of this edition, as it’s only only major version of the book that I’m missing!

These are the gorgeous illustrations from the Japanese hardcover of The Brave Little Toaster. The character designs are very similar to the original versions drawn by Karen Lee Schmidt for the English/French language publications. Even so, I think this the most beautiful the story has ever looked…There’s something wonderfully haunting and evocative about these illustrations; and the lack of anthropomorphic features on the Appliances adds something new! Probably the spookiest version of the Toaster and friends scaring the Junk Pirate. And hooray for more cute Swap Shop Kittens! Also, both Japanese editions feature a picture of the moment when the Radio spies a fox. (Interestingly, the new vacuum cleaner in the City Apartment is shown as an upright model, unlike its counterpart in the paperback bunko, and in the movie- both of which are canister vacuums with hoses! Or a hamburger bun on wheels, as Disch describes it in the book!)

There have been three Japanese editions of Thomas M Disch’s original ‘The Brave Little Toaster’ novella. One was published in the magazine of Sci Fi and Fantasy, there was also this illustrated paperback bunko, and a tankōbon hardcover which used character designs similar to Karen Lee Schmidt’s art from the 1980 Doubleday/Grafton pressing. The artwork in this paperback is especially cute! I love the depiction of the old and new appliances gathered in the city apartment, and the master and mistress meeting the Swap Shop kittens ☺️