There's a new version of the venerable 'jack-in-the-box' toy, and that silly little clown head had better spring his way out of town because he has been replaced in Art Asylum's new line of Rock 'N Boxes by insanely detailed sculptures of rock superstars who burst forth to the accompaniment of a full minute's worth of music from one their grinding rock anthems, not to the sing-songy strains of 'Pop Goes the Weasel.'  The first wave of Rock 'N Boxes includes ten-inch sculpts of Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, and Alice Cooper which erupt into realistic likenesses thanks to an innovative flexible 'skin' that captures the essential look of guys who have to spend more time on their makeup than Joan Collins.  When not springing to attention, these compacted crooners dwell in decorated boxes that will retail for $24.99 each.

 
Bark at the Moon
Veteran shock rocker Alice Cooper jumps out his nightmare and into your face to accompaniment of (what else?) 'Welcome to My Nightmare,' while Rob Zombie explodes in all his dreadlocked glory to the strains of 'Dragula,' and Ozzy Osbourne pounces out in full werewolf drag to the oh-so-appropriate tune of 'Bark at the Moon.' Art Asylum's Rock 'N Boxes are not the type of product that you will find at your local discount kiddie toy store.  This is good news for specialty retailers because it is a lot easier to compete with Hot Topic and Musicland than it is to go toe-to-toe with the Wal-Marts of the world.  Rock 'N Boxes may not be right for every store's product mix, but they are certainly worth experimenting with in any store that carries cutting edge pop culture products.