Into the Archives: Caroline Abbott

[impy]

And so it has begun. Today, this day of joy (May the Fourth), marks the day that Caroline Abbott begins her shuffle to the archive of DOOM.

If I hadn't had the whole year thus far to get used to it, I'd probably be very whiplashed about the whole thing, but I have and I think I've snagged most of her stuff that I want and have the room for (RIP, Parlor. RIP) and at this point it's down to deciding on whether I'd want her in the future and thus should just buy her soon or if I learned my lesson with Lyssie.

Oddly enough, Caroline's reign feels even shorter than the NOLA girls though I don't really know why. Maybe since there were two of them it somehow felt a little longer, maybe it's because Caroline actually gave the impression of being somewhat popular and the NOLA girls never did. I don't know.

In any case, I will be sorry to see Miss Abbott go. If you still haven't read her books, I suggest rectifying this mistake quickly, whether this means you pick up the BeForever versions or go with the 'Classic' books since her illustrations are usually lovely. She's a strong willed girl who loves her family (definitely a Daddy's girl) and makes sacrifices without being over the top about it. She gets nervous when presented with danger and she has moments she jumps in and others where she has to think about it.

Her grandmother and her mother are made of steel and are awesome and her father, well, he's the damsel in distress and it's kind of awesome. :P Her mysteries aren't bad either and overall, I definitely think she's one of the better written characters.

Any mold other than classic, Mattel, and she'd have been here years ago trying to con me into her ship or something.

Comments

[luxken27]

Wow! I do find it surprising that they're archiving the relatively new girls instead of shuffling the veterans off this mortal coil. The Original 3 that I grew up with are gone (even if Sam is back) so it just feels weird to me, because I remember when this one came out and it wasn't really that long ago, was it?? Sheez!!

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

Some people are trying to spin it that since the War of 1812 ended in 1815, it's only fitting that her run also end in '15 (especially since she came out in 2012), but really, her stuff apparently didn't sell worth a damn. And considering how many of the collectors actually bought Caro's stuff, that right there should tell them that they are never going to be the AG market again.

It's still amusing since Caroline sold fairly well and was one of the only two I saw people go gaga for in store.

Annnnnnnnd rumor has it that Caro got the chopping block when AG got their ass handed to them for getting rid of CeCe and Ivy at the same time. "Wipe out half the dolls of color at once, will you? Think no one will notice, do you? HA!" so Josefina was saved at the last second.

[luxken27]

...

Wow, doll world politics suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck :(

Have collectors ever been a mass-market product's target market, tho? Which also sucks (I say as the hunt for WnW stuff goes on) but I guess if they're trying to turn a profit they have to shoot for the lowest common denominator: the fair-weather flakes.

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

We got our Silver Lake blushes in. Wheeeee!

Barbie's got her collector side going (and there are varying tiers of collectibility) with Barbie Collector, and Monster High is coming out with an official Collector's doll via Amazon sometime soon, plus they've pretty blatantly gone after adult collectors in the past. So I get why the AG fandom is perplexed that they get no love from AG considering Mattel isn't exactly new to the idea that there are adults who buy dolls.

That said, AG collectors can't agree on anything and it doesn't appear there are the numbers to support throwing them/us a bone. Woes.

[luxken27]

TBF, Barbie is an institution now because she's been around for so long, and because it is such a serious collector's item. Glad to hear Monster High is throwing their collectors a bone, especially since by its very nature collectors drop a nice chunk of change for product.

AG seems to inspire such wankery, even just looking on from the fringes as I am. I guess the collectors haven't proven themselves to be worth the trouble like the Barbie aficionados have (plus its not like Barbies don't sell like hotcakes ANYWAY, even with the whole body image backlash thing).