Werebears was a line of cuddly toys created by George Nicholas in 1983 to give boys a more masculine alternative to Carebears. Each had the ability to transform from regular looking teddy bear to a monster by flipping the face and paws over. The line initially had four characters. Howler, Grizzler, Fang and Gums. Ear bear came with an audio cassette featuring a story about the character it came with. A few years later a fifth Werebear was released called Growler. This Werebear was larger to accommodate the electronics which gave it the ability to growl.
Four more characters were added to the line, this time as enemies of the Werebears. Called the Terrorteds, these bears did not have the transforming ability of the Werebears but were still monstrous looking. They were named Chomp, Munch, Snapper and Grunt.
A comic was also created by Nicholas and lasted 7 issues. Originally published by Clearmark for the first two issues, then London Editions for the last 5. It told the origins of the Werebears and Terrorteds.
In 2012 Werebears made a short lived come back, with new toys being sold exclusively in Farm Food stores The line consisted of Grizzler, Growler, Howler and Fang. All could not only transform but howl with flashing light up eyes. Gums was absent from the new line, probably due to being the worst selling character in the original line as kids didn’t seem to like a Werebear with no teeth.