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What better way to celebrate the independence of the United States than with a comic celebrating the cartoons I grew up with in its (arguably) greatest decade?!

I tried to fit as many cartoon references in this one as I could. For the uninitiated, Ben is Optimus Prime from Transformers, Apsara is She-Ra, Laura is Cheetara from Thundercats, Kate is Rainbow Brite, Kurt the Cynic is Orco from He-Man, Little Winslow is Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe, and the jar of jelly is a jar of jam, just like in Jem and the Holograms. I also wanted to include Annie dressed as Strawberry Shortcake but I ran out of room. Also not pictured are characters from lesser-known 80s cartoons like Dinosaucers and Tiger Sharks, or toys like Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E. men.

Winslow and Apsara have previously appeared dressed as Lion-O and Panthro and Papa Smurf and Smurfette, so I didn’t want to do that again. :)

Fun Fact: Kurt’s Orco costume is based on a real-life costume my mom made for me when I was five. It was awesome. The ears were part of the hat.

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Andrew Kaye (known in some circles as AK) is the creator of Ben & Winslow and other questionable comics, many of which can be found in his deviantART gallery and his Tumblr. He’s also the editor-in-chief of this magazine. Duh?