(Images via Nerdgasms and Marvel Comics of the 1980s)
Archive for November, 2015
Christmas Morning, 1983: The Saga of Crystar – Crystal Castle (Remco, 1983)
Published November 30, 2015 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Christmas , Christmas Morning , Fantasy Toys/Playsets , Remco Toys 4 CommentsChristmas Toy Aisle Zen, 1983
Published November 30, 2015 Christmas , Dimensions for Children (DFC) , Kenner Toys , Remco Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments 1 Comment
The store is a K-Mart in Billings, Montana, and I’m only going to name one of the toys I see, other than the gorgeous, underrated Crystar figures the kid is holding: there are Dragonriders of the Styx figures hanging on the rack in front of him. You guys name the rest.
‘Tis the season. Visit posts of Christmas past here.
(Photo via the Billings Gazette)
Atari Raiders of the Lost Ark Promo, 1982
Published November 25, 2015 Atari , Home Consoles , Raiders of the Lost Ark , Video Games Leave a Comment
(Via Atari Mania)
Frank Frazetta Cover Art for High Times #57 (May, 1980)
Published November 24, 2015 Frank Frazetta , Magazines/Zines , Occult/Supernatural 5 Comments
John Keel’s The Mothman Prophecies (1975) popularized what several witnesses described as a man-sized, winged creature with glowing red eyes sighted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, during 1966 and 1967. As far as I know, this is the only Mothman illustration Frazetta did, so I’m not sure what the “Exclusive Frazetta Inside!” refers to.
A 12-foot tall Mothman statue was unveiled in Point Pleasant in 2002, and appears to be based on Frazetta’s dramatic rendering more than actual eyewitness accounts.
High Times, as you might have guessed, is “the definitive resource for all things marijuana.”
Dungeons & Dragons Paint-A-Figurine (Hasbro, 1984): Strongheart and Warduke
Published November 23, 2015 Arts and Crafts , D&D , D&D Non-Gaming Merchandise 4 Comments
Galacticon II Program Cover, 1979
Published November 20, 2015 Battlestar Galactica , Conventions (Cons)/Trade Shows 3 Comments
Cover artist is unknown. The program is 16 pages. How cool would that have been if Cylons came out of the mother ship at the end of Close Encounters?
You can see a few photos of the event here. Guests included Linda Blair (Huh? To promote Roller Boogie?), Michael York, and the cast of the 1950 TV series Space Patrol.
Kenner’s Star Wars Toys: Patrol Dewback (1979)
Published November 20, 2015 Kenner Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 5 Comments
The dewback was in one shot of the original movie? Kenner missed nothing. That’s Ricky Schroder in the commercial, right after he starred in The Champ (1979), his film debut, and right before he starred with William Holden in The Earthling (July, 1980).
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Pinball Machine (Gottlieb, 1978)
Published November 19, 2015 Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Pinball 1 Comment
Designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison, both of whom worked on the psychedelic 2001 and Dimension machines, as well as Astro and Orbit, all of them released by Gottlieb in 1971.
All images are via the Internet Pinball Database.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Ringer T-Shirt, 1977
Published November 19, 2015 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion , Close Encounters of the Third Kind 4 Comments
Middle Earth Clothing Ad, Circa 1967
Published November 18, 2015 '60s Decor/Design/Fashion , Ads , Counterculture (1960s) , Lord of the Rings, The 3 Comments
The artist is Terre, who is closely associated with Haight Ashbury’s Straight Theater, which is identified on the middle left of the map. The exotic fruit hanging from the various branches, as well as the mountains at the bottom of the ad, are direct allusions to Barbara Remington’s cover art for the first authorized paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings.
According to SFist, in 2013 the awning of a beauty salon was removed in North Beach, San Francisco, revealing a beautiful, hand-painted sign (below) of what was once a second Middle Earth Clothing location.
See also A Change of Hobbit Bookstore.
2 Warps to Neptune 