Saturday, October 31, 2009

DOCTOR STRANGE HALLOWEEN-COSTUMES
SPECIAL-EDITION! 2009

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Welcome to a
SPECIAL EDITION
of the
SANCTUM SANCTORUM COMIX BLOG!
- HALLOWEEN - 2009!

This post is to hopefully make good on a promise that I had made in LAST YEAR's Halloween post [HERE] wherein, after I showcased all of the Ben Cooper Dr. Strange Halloween costumes (y'know... those "plastic smock and mask" types that everyone knew from childhood?), I said that I'd post pics of my very OWN homemade Doctor Strange costumes (one of which was featured as a winner in an old WIZARD Magazine Costume Contest).

I pulled a "trick" on you last year and wasn't able to pull the pics together in time.

To make amends, I have scanned in not only the page from the old issue of Wizard (showing me in full mystic raiment), but also pulled together the photos that I sent in to the contest, waaaay back in 1997!

Yes. That's right. These photos of me are over 10 years old.
I look even MORE like Doc NOW, because the grey hairs are REAL.

This is the page from the "All Dressed Up With No Place To Go - 6th Annual Wizard Costume Contest" . Issue # 75

"Peter Knight" is only but one of the many pseudonyms that I used in my lines of work back then.
That was the nom-de-plume that I used for my comic book work, so I thought it appropriate to use for the contest.

For their privacy, I have blacked out all the other names that appeared on the page alongside my own.

Back then, Wizard was prone to having one "pants" joke per issue. I won the dubious honor of having the joke tagged to "my" word-balloon.

Still, they sent me a huge sack of signed comics and other goodies swag, so who's to complain?

Here are the covers for that issue.


Lady Death by Hughes - and - JLA by Alex Ross

The strange thing is, from that tiny, blurry photo, some people were able to recognize and remember me, so that months later, I'd get the occasional "Hey. I saw you in Wizard!"

The best/worst such instance, was just after I had married and moved from Long Island to upstate NY (near the original Woodstock site), I walked into a comic book shoppe in Middletown, NY and some hot goth chick recognized me and said; "Hey! You're the guy from the Wizard contest! Doctor Strange!"

Who knew I could get the attention of hot goth chicks that way?
At any time before my betrothal, I would have been inclined to chat up the goth girl.
But, I was by then married a month or two, so all I said was; "Yeah. That was me".
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So now, for your approval (and derisive laughter), I shall showcase those [0]1997 photos here on my blog.

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This classic costume, I had made with an old friend of mine, even further back - in 1987!
Yes. The costume was already 10 years old by the time that these pics were taken.
Truthfully, however, I do make a new tunic/shirt every few years.
The one in these pics is the 3rd tunic since the costume was first made.

I'd worn this garb to several costume contests and had always won some prize while wearing it.
These photos, sadly, do not do it justice.

Casting a spell

Contemplating the mysteries of the Crystal orb

Summoning forth images of other realms from the orb

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Now, well over 20 years since it's creation, with many moves and packing and re-packing, the costume could use a little refurbishing.
That is why I hadn't taken NEW pics of myself in the costume.
(I sent it to be patched up by Enitharmon the Weaver, but can't pick it up because I lost the claim check ticket.)

Still, that wasn't the only costume that I have.
This variation (remember this one that Doc wore at the end of his "Sorcerer Supreme" series?) was made during that time-frame. I believe it was in late 1995.

The Crystal Orb and the Book of the Vishanti!

A skull from the Crypts of Kaa-U

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In a future post, I'll give you an up-close look at my home-made EYE of AGAMOTTO!
I would have included it in this post, but it truly deserves it own individual post.
*UPDATE*
It took over 3 years to get to it, but that promised up-close look at the Eye has finally been made a reality! Check it out [HERE]!
*END UPDATE*

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That's all for this year. Consider this my "telecommuting" of my "trick-or-treating", and you can send my goodies via electronic message in the comments section!

And to all of you "Hoary Hosts" out there tonight...



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Friday, October 30, 2009

MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL
- part 5 : "THE END" OF GARMENTS!

Welcome back, to this, Part 5 of a series of posts that will seek to catalogue my extensive collection of Doctor Strange (and related 6-Dimensions characters) apparel!

Previous parts of this series:
MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL

- part 1 : CAPS and TIES
- part 2 : SOLO APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS
- part 3 : TEAM-UP APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS
- part 4 : THE "OTHERS" / "6-DIMENSIONS" T-SHIRTS

can be found at those links.

---

*Note*
LOOK FOR UPDATED ENTRIES
- Placed in chronological order of manufacture and release! -
(... I KNOW! I NEVER thought I'd have more than one article of Doctor Strange related underwear to blog about!) 

Today's installment concludes my primary collection of Doctor Strange apparel, with what could be called the "bottom"-line... or "the end" of my collection's clothing options:

MARVEL UNDERPANTS : BOXER SHORTS STYLE!

This is the shot from the back-side of the shorts.
The front is exactly the same, but this view is less broken up by the wang-window.

DOCTOR STRANGE, as drawn by Marshall Rodgers, can be found on the far right, between Psylocke and Jean (Phoenix) Grey.


While not present on the outside of the garment, there is, when worn, a "Giant-Sized Man-Thing" may lurk inside of the boxers. Yes. I made "that joke". Everyone does. So sue me.

No. Seriously. Oddly enough, while nearly every character who ever had his or her own title is represented on these boxers - the Macabre MAN-THING is conspicuous by his absence.
Could it have been a deliberate decision?

Was it ever heard in some design room; "Ye GODS man! What do you think you're doing? You can't put the image of a character who is called 'Man-Thing' on men's boxers! You just jumped from subliminal, past liminal straight to super-liminal! Do you want Tipper Gore to bring the hammer down on us? Erase it! ERASE IT - NOW!!!"

eh. Maybe that never happened.

Although, not all of the possible transgressions were discovered:
Notice DR DOOM and RED SKULL are up to no good in a very "inappropriate" area.
No good can come from that.

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These boxer shorts were purchased in 1995, although the tag states that they are copyright 1994.
The story of their acquisition is as thus:
At one time or another, everyone who gets to know me well enough get to know what kind of insane DOCTOR STRANGE fan that I am, and they sometimes take it upon themselves to be on high-alert to inform me if they see ANYTHING with the good Doctor represented thereupon.

One day while I was at work (back in those days, it was at an Antiquarian BookShoppe / Comic shoppe), and one of my work-buds calls me up to tell me that he sees Doc on a pair of UNDERWEAR at a local store, and that if I want them (if I didn’t ALREADY own a pair - he couldn’t know for sure), that I should hustle on down quickly, since there were only a few remaining.
So, I immediately took my lunch-break and drove quickly (minding the posted speed-limit, of course) to the store (K-Mart... iirc).
There were three pairs remaining, two men's and one boy's, so I bought them all.
The plan being to wear the two men's pair and save the "boy's small" for my collection.
When I took them to the register to pay for them, the LOOK that the woman behind the counter gave me was PRICELESS!
She looked at me warily, like I was using these things to lure young boys to my van or something.
I wasn’t sure if I should tell her that they were for ME or not (with the explanation that I’m a collector of a weird comic character and that, yes, even boys underwear are fair game…), so I just paid for them and got the hell out of there before she could trigger the silent alarm.
Ahh… the things I have done for my collection.

Ridiculous?
Yes.
Good blog fodder?
Also, Yes.


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*UPDATED Jan-09-2011*
- NEW ENTRY! -

Pulling up the "rear" of this "brief" entry... is this new pair of 
MARVEL HEROES BOXER SHORTS!

Made by BRIEFLY STATED in 2010 these shorts feature a who's-who of Marvel characters.


A detail of the shorts shows Doc next to his old Strange Tales book-buddy: Nick Fury!
The very fact that Nick Fury's GUN and Mr. Fantastic's "stretchy-parts" are on the wang-window is a little disturbingly "coincidental" for my tastes.
 Doctor Strange is the ONLY character found on the INSIDE of the shorts...
he is placed strategically on the wang-flap.
Cool? - or - Disturbing! : YOU DECIDE!

 (sized XL, ensures that I will NEVER be able to wear these. Not unless there are two of me in there.)

 While the front of the boxer shorts seems to have all of the heroes who either HAVE HAD, or in the case of Doc (and Iron Fist and Black Panther), WILL HAVE a film deal, the rear of the shorts is just a mash-up of various villains, some having had movie incarnations and others... not so much.
Or at least, not yet (lookin' at YOU Hobgoblin, Lizard and Sentinals... and I'm not sure if that cloud in the 2nd FF movie ever counted as Galactus).

 Lizard seems ready to do a proctological exam with that tail!

 I should give proper thanks to Howard Hallis, once again, who saw these in a WalMart and, as the awesome friend he is, bought one for me as well.
Good thing, too, because I happened to have been in a WalMart a few days later and these were not available.
Since, I hardly ever frequent the store, I'd have missed out for sure.

Both of our wives thought it odd that one, straight, adult man would buy underpants for another, straight, adult man...
To this we say; "But... DOCTOR STRANGE...!" ... and that's all that is needed for understanding (or at least begrudging acceptance) to settle in.

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Oddly enough, because when I originally wrote this blog entry with the first pair of Marvel Boxers, I never thought that I'd ever see another such item again, and so, I padded out the rest of the article with the following silliness.
Enjoy.

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In keeping with my original justification (as mentioned in part 1 of this series) for running all of these garments as potential "Halloween costume-wear" (because as shown LAST year, in the post found [HERE], those old kiddie costumes were nothing more than plastic smocks with the picture and name of the character you were supposedly portraying. So, how is wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts with a cap instead of a lame mask any different?), I present to you this (very hastily done) composite:

"Trick or Treat!"
If she were to ring my bell... well... she could take ALL the candy!

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Anyway, that nonsense with the mannequin aside, these boxers are nifty and everything, but NOTHING would have been cooler to me than if there were Dr. Strange UNDEROOS when I was a kid!
C'mon! You all remember Underoos!
"Underwear that's FUN to wear"?
Another hastily done bit of Photoshop.
Unfortunately, while all sorts of superheroes were being given the Underoos treatment (Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Captain America... all the big hitters), characters like Doctor Strange were left pantsless.
At least, until these boxers came along and included him in the pajama party.
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One day soon, I'll showcase the clothing "accessories" that are in my collection (ie; patches, badges, pins, jewelery and more)!


Until then, I will also be continually updating the entries in this series - whenever new items make themselves available.
Previous parts of the
MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL SERIES:

- part 1 : CAPS and TIES : [HERE]
- part 2 : SOLO APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS : [HERE]
- part 3 : TEAM-UP APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS : [HERE]
- part 4 : THE "OTHERS" / "6-DIMENSIONS" T-SHIRTS : [HERE]
- part 5 : "THE END" of GARMENTS  : [HERE]


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"Tamam Shud!"
~P~

Thursday, October 29, 2009

MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL
- part 4 : "THE OTHERS" T-SHIRTS

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Welcome back, to this, Part 4 of a series of posts that will seek to catalogue my extensive collection of Doctor Strange (and related 6-Dimensions characters) apparel!

Previous parts of this series:
MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL

- part 1 : CAPS and TIES
- part 2 : SOLO APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS
- part 3 : TEAM-UP APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS

can be found at those links.

Today's installment continues with my collection of Doctor Strange T-SHIRTS.

As discussed last time, since I have so darn many Dr. Strange related shirts, I have to divide them all into three groups.

Today is Subsection C : "THE OTHER 6-DIMENSIONS" (meaning; shirts that may not be directly tied to Dr. Strange, but are either tangentially linked to him - or - deal with one of the other "6-Dimensions" characters that I collect)!

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*Note*
LOOK FOR UPDATED ENTRIES

-Marked by Date of Entry-


Starting off this section, with shirts in no particular order, really, I'll lead off with an item that is only tied to Dr. Strange by the NAME.

This is a shirt for the underground / punk record label;

DR. STRANGE RECORDS.

The mail-order shoppe / record label has been around since 1988, and they have numerous logo styles available. I chose this one because it emulates a classic DR. PEPPER soda logo, taking aspects from several of the old logos - and, like the old commercial jingle touted; "I'm a Pepper!", it being my favorite soft drink.

"Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, Too?"
Previous Dr. Pepper logos.


However, Dr. Strange Records has NOTHING to do with the comic character (with perhaps a love of the character by the owner of the label - maybe. I've never read anything to that regard)
For more info, a link to Dr. Strange Records can be found [HERE].


I'm not really a big fan of punk, (although, I have been known to like some,) but with a logo like that, and the name of Dr. Strange emblazoned upon it, how could I not own one?

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*UPDATED Sept-02-2010*
- NEW ENTRY! -


While keeping in the line of "Logos", this next one, from COMIC IMAGES in 1993 is one of the freakiest, most garish shirts in my collection (and that includes my Hawaiian-themed shirts)! Honestly, it was tough talking myself into buying this one. However, the fact that there's an actual Dr. Strange logo on it (bottom center) was the writing on the wall... or in this case, shirt. It was a "fait accompli".

Looks like it was made out of kiddie bed-sheets.

Let's move on. The less said about this one, the better.

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However, as I mentioned earlier, not all of these shirts will have any link to Doc - at all (although, there ARE more of those, and I'll get back to them in a little while), but instead some tie to one or more of the other characters that I collect.

Like the "Dr. Pepper" style logo above, not all shirts in my collection are going to be mass-market releases either.
There are a few that are small press or even "bootleg" style items as well.

One such item deals with one of my all-time favorite characters, and one of the "Trinity" of characters that my entire basis of comic love originates (and for anyone interested in THAT little history lesson, feel free to visit this link which details the reasoning for such [HERE])...

ROM; SPACEKNIGHT!


This shirt has been featured on the blog before, sorta.
On my most recent birthday, I posted [HERE] a complete showcase of the ROM "action figure / doll / toy" and also posted a YouTube video that I had made of myself showing how the figure worked.
In the video, I was wearing one of these ROM shirts.

The artwork used on the shirt is a reworking of this old ad piece (, found on the website of ROM creator Bing McCoy - [HERE]).


That image is, in itself, a reworking of this old in-house Marvel ad for the ROM comic book.

artwork by series' artist; Sal Buscema


However, as lovely as the shirt is, (and of nice quality, as well,) it is not an official product, since the rights for ROM SPACEKNIGHT are deep in legal limbo. Thus, the only way to obtain a shirt showing your love of ROM is to make one yourself, or find a bootleg.

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Not all of my "6-Dimensions" characters need to have underground artists silkscreening away in basement sweatshops. This one for the SCARLET WITCH was officially released in 2007 by Marvel license-holder; Mad Engine.


I loves me the Scarlet Witch. 'Nuff Said

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Here's a shirt, from the early 2000's, by Graphitti Designs featuring many characters from the MARVEL KNIGHTS sector of Marvel's stable.

Yes, Dr. Strange was indeed part of the KNIGHTS' imprint, and as such, there is a link to him that qualifies for inclusion into my collection.


However, this shirt features the cover art, by Joe Quesada, for the cover to issue # 1 of the Knights "team" title, of which Doc only guest-starred in three issues.Still, even without that link to Dr. Strange, I may have bought this item solely because of the KNIGHTS' name, and the fact that it features DAGGER (bottom right) whom, with her teammate CLOAK, is one corner of my "6-Dimensions" collector's interest.

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*UPDATED Sept-02-2010*
- NEW ENTRY! -


From licensee, JUNK FOOD this shirt, released in 2009 is a reprinting of the cover to the old "Bring On The Bad Guys" book, released by Fireside publications way back in 1976 and featuring some amazing artwork by John Romita (senior).


Featuring DORMAMMU, MEPHISTO and DR. DOOM (and even LOKI) this was a must have for my collection.

I'm not evil, I just dress that way.

The original publication cover is here in all its kick-ass glory.

Someone needs to get this whole thing tattooed on their back.
Not me though. I'm just sayin'. Someone need to.

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Next is an item with a very loose tie to not only Dr. Strange, but also my other main comic book fave; MAN-THING!
This shirt, while being cool enough to GLOW-IN-THE-DARK, also features characters in the loosely-affiliated IMAGE publishing universe -

DR. WEIRD & The BOG!

Close-up of the shirt image.
Taken from the cover to BIG BANG # 15, the shirt features the artwork by Steve Bissette.
While "The BOG", a Man-Thing / Swamp-Thing type of creature is a creation of recent talents, DR. WEIRD, however, has a history going as far back as 1963, and was even drawn in an early fan-based work by Jim Starlin! (For more info on Dr. Weird try [HERE]).


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Looking at that shirt with Dr. Weird on it, it's hard to ignore the similarities to his chest-design "demon" and Dr. Strange's. They're almost identical.

The next shirt in my collection has a slim tie to Strange's demon symbol, as well as an old costume that he only wore on a few separate occasions.

This shirt, produced by Graphitti Designs in the year 2000, features the bat-symbol for the character of Terry McGuinness also known as "Batman" (in the BatMan Beyond - aka Batman of the Future) animated series!



So, WHY would there be any link between Batman Beyond and Dr. Strange?

In several interviews (one such being printed in issue # 1 of the now defunct; Comicology magazine, by TwoMorrows Press), Bruce Timm, the creator of many animated series, stated that the old costume worn by Dr. Strange - the one with the full face mask - was such a cool look that it served as the inspiration for the look for the Batman Beyond costume. Here is one image of that Dr. Strange costume as drawn by Bruce Timm.
So, there is that one link to Dr. Strange and is reason enough for my collector's mania to think it proper for inclusion into a Dr. Strange collection.
However, there is another slight link to Dr. Strange as well, that might exist.

With the success of the Batman Beyond character and his edgy look, it might be possible that the creators of Marvel's "MC2" universe (basically 10 years into the future of the 616 universe), may have used that look as the jumping off point for one of their new characters. In the same world as SPIDER-GIRL, A-Next and other new heroes, Doctor Strange, has grown older and lost his ties to the Vishanti, and so a new Sorcerer Supreme was chosen...

DOC MAGUS!
(aka Dormagus - who seemed to be that realities' son of Dr. Strange and Clea)


His demon symbol being bright red and looking fairly similar to the bat symbol from Batman Beyond, but all the while also wearing a black & red skin-tight costume like that Batman character, as well as a full face-mask like that Batman as well as the old Dr. Strange costume.

Worlds within worlds - I see links where there may be none, but which would be hard to dismiss outright.

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That isn't the only crazy, hair-brained reason to my having a shirt in my collection.
This next one, another Graphitti Designs product, from 2001, featured the star-burst symbol that emblazoned the costume of Genis-Vell; Captain Marvel (and the son of Mar-Vell; the original Marvel comics' Captain Marvel).
I don't claim any real link to Dr Strange other than that the same symbol was also used on the "final" version of the costume for the TV movie of Doctor Strange.

Peter Hooton wearing the costume as designed by long-time comic artist Frank Brunner.

The star burst symbol was also the "signature" of sorts for long-time comic artist, TV and movie storyboard artist and designer; Frank Brunner. He designed that costume for the Dr. Strange TV movie (a complete history and run down of all things pertaining to that movie can be found in a previous series of posts found [HERE]), and as such, I thought it appropriate to include in my collection.
Yes. My mania had gone 'round the bend by that time.

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We'll continue along with another item that is only tangentially linked to Doctor Strange, and also via the realm of television.
Actually, TWO shirts that feature the SAME link.

From the animated series; The VENTURE BROS, (a twisted take on Johnny Quest type charcters, mixed with a steep geek-cred of comic book archetypes) comes...

DOCTOR BYRON ORPHEUS; Necromancer!

In show commentary from the DVD's as well as many interviews, creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have stated that (as if it weren't totally obvious) Dr. Orpheus IS their version of Dr. Strange.

To watch Dr. Orpheus in action makes it IMPOSSIBLE to not read any Dr. Strange appearance without "hearing" his lines spoken in Orpheus' over-the-top melodramatic delivery.
Impossible, I say!


While the previous shirt is yet another unofficial bootleg product, (it was also mentioned in the commentary for the fist season DVD as their being aware of it, it being a bad knock-off, but it being fair game - due to the dearth of actual product that the fans clamored for), the creators of the show DID finally get around to producing a line of shirts - that were available on a VERY limited basis.

One of which features the logo that serves as the symbol and "calling card" to his team of mystic heroes;

THE ORDER OF THE TRIAD!
My two TRIAD shirts pictured along with mailing packet and illustrated receipt showing my "induction" into the Venture Bros "Shirt Club".


The symbol of The ORDER of the TRIAD!

The ORDER of the TRIAD includes Dr. O and two other mystic heroes;
Jefferson Twilight - Blackula Hunter (an homage to Marvel character; BLADE)
The Alchemist (possibly a Dr. DRUID homage, but not an outright one)

This team seems to me to be along the MIDNIGHT SONS type of team, and that, along with the Dr. Strange tie-in make this a definite MUST to any Dr. Strange collection!


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*UPDATED*
01-15-2011



This next shirt is something that, as of the time of this writing, I have not yet received, but I DID order... and should have on Feb. 15th, 2011. I have now received, along with the Special Edition of the Marvel vs Capcom3 game!
Offered as an incentive exclusive for pre-ordering the Marvel vs Capcom3 game direct from the Capcom website, this shirt, deigned by "Meat Bun", entitled "Waste of Flesh" features none other than SHUMA GORATH!

HE WHO SLEEPS BUT SHALL LP, LP, LEFT, HK, HP, UP, UP, DOWN, UP


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*UPDATED Oct-09-2011*
- NEW ENTRY! -


This shirt  is perhaps one of my favorites in my collection. Something that is so friggin' cool, that I really NEED another one! (- as I will explain in a moment.)

Another of the 2011 limited edition exclusives by STUSSY x MARVEL (as seen with the DOCTOR STRANGE solo shirt in the Oct. 09, 2011 update for the  - part 2 : SOLO APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS. category), this shirt features classic Steve Ditko creation, and Doctor Strange entity - ETERNITY as redrawn by Will Sweeney.




Peace, man!

Black ink with details in SILVER on a simple, grey tee, this is perhaps one of the coolest of the Stussy shirts and one that I really, really, really want another of, so that I can WEAR it!

"But, PTOR..." I hear you ask, "Why not just wear the one that you have?"
Well, folks. But for two reasons, I would.

You see... even if I did want to wear this one - and thus cause its inevitable wear and tear and destruction (which I won't, since it is so cool, so don't ask me) I really can't wear THIS ONE... because it is in a size MEDIUM. I could probably fit onto a medium, as I am svelte of built, with a dancer's/swimmer's body, but I typically prefer my shirts to be in a LARGE, as I like the freedom of movement and minor drapery that a slightly larger size provides.

And so, I can only look upon my Eternity shirt entombed within it's plastic sarcophagus -  thus, and dream of what might be.




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Come back tomorrow for the 5th (and theoretically final) installment of this series:

MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL
- part 5 : "THE END" OF GARMENTS!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL
- part 3 : TEAM-UP APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS

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Welcome back, to this, Part 3 of a series of posts that will seek to catalogue my extensive collection of Doctor Strange (and related 6-Dimensions characters) apparel!

Previous parts of this series:
MYSTIC GARB : DR. STRANGE APPAREL

- part 1 : CAPS and TIES
- part 2 : SOLO APPEARANCE T-SHIRTS

can be found at those links.

Today's installment continues with my collection of Doctor Strange T-SHIRTS.

As discussed last time, since I have so darn many Dr. Strange related shirts, I have to divide them all into three groups.

Today is Subsection B : Dr. Strange TEAM-UP Appearances (meaning; shirts that have Dr. Strange and any other number of heroes - from a duo to a group)!

---

*Note*
LOOK FOR UPDATED ENTRIES

- Placed in chronological order of manufacture and release! -


While Dr. Strange had his first SOLO shirt in the 1960's, it took a little while longer for him to appear on a TEAM-UP and/or GROUP shirt.

First up (at least as far as I know) was this 1991 shirt featuring the George Perez cover art for INFINITY GAUNTLET # 1.

I'll show the cover here so you may get a better view at the work.

Dr. Strange in the far left quadrant.

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Next is this spectacular shirt produced by Marvel license-holder; COMIC IMAGES from 1992 featuring a full-shirt wraparound image of the
MIDNIGHT SONS!

Because this blog is also about characters like the Midnight Sons, I'll list the characters, from left to right / top to bottom:

Background:
-Big-Assed Ghost Rider skull

Front of shirt:
Giant head of Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Hannibal King, Johnny Blaze, Morbius

Back of shirt:
Agent Sam Buchanan, Victoria Montesi, Nakota, Lilith, Pilgrim, Infinks, Blackout, Meatmarket, Frank Drake, Blade, Dwarf


This kick-ass image was used on the kick-ass "Rise of the Midnight Sons" trade paperback as well as the kick-ass poster shown here.

Artwork by Ron Garney

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The next year, 1993, Comic Images released this shirt, that reproduced the artwork from the promotional ads for the
SECRET DEFENDERS!

As with some other shirts in this section, I only have one of this shirt and it is still in its original package-wrapper. No worries. As usual, I will also show the whole image in the original context from whence it came. In this case... a Secret Defenders promotional in-store poster.

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Anyone who read the previous post in this series saw that one of the SOLO appearances shirts showcased an image of Dr. Strange from an issue of Uncanny X-Men (# 329). I mentioned that the following issue (# 330) also featured a TEAM-UP image that would garner its own shirt.

This shirt, produced by Comic Images in 1996, reprinted the image of Doctor Strange in a team up with The Angel (although, I'm pretty sure he was still being called ArchAngel then) and ancient Asian mystic, Gomurr against many shadowdemons.


The original image, from the issue, looked thus...

Uncanny X-Men # 330
(Joe Maduriera - artist /Scott Lobdell, Jeph Loeb - writers)
info found [HERE] on the GCD

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The following year, 1997, Dr. Strange was shown in a TEAM-UP image, with Elektra, in this Comic Images shirt.


This image came from Elektra (vol 1) # 4 with artwork by Mike Deodato.


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This next shirt, released in 2000 was one of the wares of GRAPHITTI DESIGNS, who was the Marvel license-holder at the time.

With artwork by Alex Ross, based on painted covers for the EARTH X series, it is one of the rare shirts that feature both a front and back image.


On the FRONT image, Dr. Strange displays his magic in the presence of the "classic" incarnations of the Marvel heroes.

However, on the BACK image, it is Mistress CLEA, the Sorceress Supreme of the "Earth X" reality, casting her spell along with the altered variant Marvel heroes.
These images showcased thereupon, were also released as deluxe edition lithographs.


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By the year 2000 numerous companies held licenses to produce Marvel apparel, and this is one of the generic pieces released during that time.
The graphic reproduced here is also by Alex Ross and was first released as a cover for a hardcover Marvel Encyclopedia.


If you're having a hard time spotting Dr. Strange, he is waaaaay in the back, using the light from the Eye of Agamotto to shine a bright spot on Ben Grimm's bald, rocky head!

The graphic is one those "rubbery" iron-on x-fer types that were ubiquitous on t-shirts in the 1970's. Back then, the rubbery material of the transfer would usually tend to dry up and crack if washed and dried more than a few times. Thus, between the uncomfortable nature of the rubbery-clinginess and the short lifespan, this shirt is safe from ever being worn by me.

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One of the more recent license-holders for Marvel apparel is MAD Engine. In 2007 they released this "retro" image of the George Perez artwork from the cover of Infinity Gauntlet # 3.



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*UPDATED Sept-02-2010*
- NEW ENTRY! -

Next, also from Mad Engine in 2007 is a reproduction of the 2-cover diptych image from 2007's New Avengers v1 # 27 (1:100 variant) and Mighty Avengers # 1 (1:100 variant).



Art by Leinil Yu

Image detail showing Doctor Strange - behind Wolverine.
(How wrong is it that ONLY Wolverine is in color.
Not even Spider-Man.
Although, Spidey is in his black costume so maybe he IS in color...).

Here are the original comic covers.


The full image would also be used as a full-color poster - allowing everyone and not just Wolverine to be given the limelight.

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*UPDATED Sept-02-2010*
- NEW ENTRY!


Also from Mad Engine in 2007 is this cover image by John Romita Jr., taken from the cover to WORLD WAR HULK : Prologue.


What? Can't see Doc? Check out one of the bodies at Hulk's feet.
Here's a close-up.

Momma say; "Knock Doc Out!"
or should that be; "Mamma say; "Doc, You Out!"

This was the cover to the issue in question.


However, in typical "not-easy-being-a-Dr.Strange-fan" fashion, the UPC code box covered Strange on the cover.
Luckily, there was a promotional poster and card for this event - that didn't obscure Doc.


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2008 saw Mad Engine's release of this bright blue shirt showcasing a reworked variation of the cover of MARVEL TEAM-UP (vol3) # 1.


As an ADDED BONUS!!! This shirt is the FIRST ONE to also feature the MAN-THING!
Manny is to the far left, his head behind Hulk's bicep. Doc is up top at the right flying behind the Human Torch.The difference between the shirt image and the comic cover is that for some reason, someone decided to replace Scott Kollins' very good upside-down Spider-Man with a more generic right-side-up version.
Frankly, they both showcase Spidey with legs akimbo, and his ass and junk prominently displayed, so I don't see any reason for the new drawing of Spidey. I guess aside from a reason of pseudo-censorship, it might just be that they thought that asses-up Spidey was less marketable than a head's-up version. Go figure.

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Mad Engine (and Marvel?) is heavily into the "many characters on one shirt" concept, so they keep cranking out items with that type of image. So in 2008 we saw the release of this bright yellow garment with a reproduction of Sal Buscema's cover art for Marvel Legacy Handbook - 1960's Edition.


The printing style is "distressed" and as I mentioned at the end of yesterday's post, I loathe
pre-damagedstressed clothing.

Since the nature of the "distressed" image makes it difficult to see who's who, here is the cover to the comic from whence it came.
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2008 saw this "Marvel Civil War" themed item. Also by Mad Engine, featuring the art of Steve McNiven.

For some unknown reason, the image has a raised rubbery border of puffy-paint around it, with raised rubbery puffy-paint lettering below.
The image was the wrap-around cover to Civil War # 1 (as well as a poster released around the same time as this shirt). Dr. Strange is the figure on the far right - at the graveyard scene.


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2008 was a banner year for Dr. Strange group shots because next we see a Mad Engine shirt with the group shot from the CIVIL WAR "Whose Side Are YOU On?" campaign.


Art by Steve McNiven

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Next up in the 2008 hit-parade was this shirt, produced by Mad Engine for HOT TOPIC, showcasing the Leinil Yu artwork that heralded the beginning of the SECRET INVASION!


The cover to SECRET INVASION SAGA showed typical disrespect to Dr. Strange by placing the UPC barcode over his face, so I'll give you the unadorned version below.
No respect.
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*UPDATED Sept-02-2010*
- NEW ENTRY!

Next up from 2008, again from Mad Engine is this cover image to New Avengers v1 # 42.

Can't see Doctor Strange? Look down to the bottom left of the image
(bottom right of the shirt).
See that EAR and bit of the side of his head?
(Yes. I got it even with such a small bit of an appearance. Such is the power of the magic monkey on my back. Quiet you. Don't judge me.)

While Strange is shown even less on the actual comic cover of New Avengers v1 # 42 (although for a promotional ad, he was more plainly visible) I knew it was him - because as this cover image should look familiar to old-school Avengers fans, it is the "Skrullification" of the cover to Avengers v1 # 221.

ROM was replaced with Jocasta in the modern version.
*SPOILER* Hawkeye and She-Hulk are the winners.

So, to recap, if you put Dr. Strange's left ear on a shirt, I will obviously buy one.

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The next release in 2008 was this black and white jumbo all-over print, showcasing a massive GOOD GUYS -vs- BADDIES confrontation, produced by Mad Engine.
The artwork is the generic computer "inked and airbrushed" works that are ubiquitous in today's license packets for all Marvel licensees to utilize.

Dr. Strange is at the top left-center, flying just under the neck-line of the shirt.



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My last such "TEAM-UP" shirt is another 2008 release by Mad Engine featuring the same artwork as the previous B/W shirt, only rearranged slightly.


Doc is at the middle height, at the far right of the shirt. Here he is shown in detail.


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*UPDATED May-05-2010*
- NEW ENTRY! -


Both of these new shirts are from 2010, also from Mad Engine, which feature mass groupings of Marvel comics' Super-Heroes.

The first is a reproduction of the "famous" cover to the first issue of the very first Marvel mini-series crossover "event" ; Contest Of Champions".

Doctor Strange is seen on the right side
(our right side, not the shirt's right side)
above Hulk and below Human Torch.


And- here's mine - still in baggie.



For the sake of context, this is the cover to the issue from 1982.(drawn by John Romita Jr)

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*UPDATED May-05-2010*
- NEW ENTRY! -

The second is a mash-up of recent comic covers all featuring groupings of teams.


Doctor Strange is seen on the left side
above Iron Man.


And- here's mine - still in baggie.


Doctor Strange is a part of the clandestine "Illuminati" team, and is taken from the cover to
New Avengers : Illuminati # 1 (2007)

(as drawn by Jim Cheung & Mark Morales)


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*UPDATED Jan-09-2011*
- NEW ENTRY! -
 This shirt, a 2010 release from MAD ENGINE reproduces the cover artwork from the
Origins of Marvel Comics 1-shot comic.



Here is mine, still in packaging.


For SOME unknown reason, MAD ENGINE made changes to the artwork for the shirt, by replacing Deadpool and Rogue with obviously out-of-context-and-style poses of The Beast and YellowJacket.

And this is the original comic cover.

  artwork by CHRIS STEVENS

 The Marvel Pyramid, as I call it - with Doctor Strange at the top - as it should be!

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*UPDATED Oct-09-2011*
- NEW ENTRY! -

This shirt is a 2011 release from JUNK FOOD and features "THE MIGHTY MARVEL SUPERHEROES" with a blurb that says "MARVEL'S TV SENSATION!" That is because this shirt features all of the various Marvel heroes who have had their own TV SHOW (or in the case of Doctor Strange... a TV MOVIE - which was really a television PILOT episode for a show that wasn't picked up by the network).


Here's a close-up of the shirt graphic.

 

Hulk (who sported one live-action and one animated series), Spider-Woman (she had a cartoon series), The Thing (the FF have a few animated series under their belts), Doctor Strange (hugging up against Spider-Woman's hip), Captain America (a veteran of several made-for-TV movies/pilots), Invisible Woman (also of the FF shows) and of course, Spider-Man - he of live-action and animated fame.

Since these shirts are manufactured to be "stressed" and pre-faded, it may be hard to see Doctor Strange in there. To help you find him, they used this old John Romita Sr. artwork - just look for this pose:


Notoriously absent are Sub-Mariner, Thor and Iron Man who had their own "animated" series' in the 1960's (although, Iron Man did also have a cartoon in the 1990's).

Since I have only purchased one, and this isn't a design that I would wear around town, I have not removed mine from the packaging, and so here it is.




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*UPDATED Oct-09-2011*
- NEW ENTRY! -

This shirt, a 2011 release from MAD ENGINE reproduces the John Byrne cover artwork from the classic Fantastic Four v1 # 243.


From one of the very best issues of Fantastic Four - evah!

Doctor Strange joins with Avengers and Fantastic Four to battle Galactus!

For the same reasons as the previous shirt, here is mine, still in packaging.


However, I should note that there was one weird little tweak that Mad Engine did to the artwork. They added a figure of Spider-Man on the far right side. While Spidey does make a brief appearance in the comic story (with Daredevil), he does not join the fight against Galactus, nor is he actually on the cover.

This is the original comic cover.
 Doctor Strange kicking out kneecaps since 1963.
Story and artwork by John Byrne.
1000% awesome! (That is NOT a typo.)

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* UPDATED Oct-09-2011*
- NEW ENTRY! -

 The next "Team-Up" shirt is this one - also from MAD ENGINE in 2011 - that features a veritable 'Who's Who' of Marvel's super-heroes.



Allow me to present a close-up shot of the assorted members of the cape and cowl crowd.


 As many may immediately recall, this artwork was originally from the wrap-around cover for the first issue of (and poster for) "House of M" by Olivier Coipel. I present the color version below.

Mad Engine's design crew turned the "landscape" image into a "portrait" image by simply photoshopping the right side of the image to the bottom half on the new pic. They also, for some inexplicable reason, flipped the right side of the image which caused some heroes chest emblems to be seen in reverse (see YellowJacket, Dazzler and most obviously Daredevil). A little extra work and this could have been easily fixed. Truthfully, I'm not a big fan of Mad Engine because most of their designs are slapped together like this, with not quite enough work to make them of truly professional quality.

Still, since Doc is on it, I had to get one. Here's mine.



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* UPDATED May-05-2013*
- NEW ENTRY! -





OK... that was yesterday.
But, to commemorate the event, I'd like to share a certain bit of swag that I got as a result.

Instead, it is probably more "fitting" to showcase a piece of apparel (hence the "fitting" pun) that was the official t-shirt for Marvel's FCBD comic preview of INFINITY!


I'm not likely to take mine out of the plastic wrapper, due to the fact(s) that:

A) Doctor Strange is but a tiny head in the illustration

B) It's a bit too "busy" for me to wear

C) I only got one, since I had to pre-order it sight-unseen - as they had only a blank shirt with some lame question mark/ T.B.D. note on it, and thus had no idea if Dr. Strange would even BE on the shirt or even a part of the FCBD comic (as it was all hush-hush, super-secret, kept-under-wraps a few months back when the pre-order was due).

But, so you can all see what it looks like, I've whipped up my own photoshop mockup.

All current mock-up pics online (even Marvel's official one) are incorrect, having the wrong logos, but this is accurate (you're welcome).

Of course, the artwork, by Jim Cheung is taken from the cover to the FCBD preview issue of INFINITY - the 2013 Summer Event which sees many of writer Jonathan Hickman's various threads from his Avengers / New Avengers stories collide headlong with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos and more!


There have been other shirts and assorted apparel that I've obtained before this one, but I'm ignoring the Obsessive-Compulsive voice screaming in my head, and am skipping them to showcase this one in a timely manner.

But those others will come soon (so, someone tell the voice in my head to chillax).

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There are hundreds of shirt styles presently being produced, by many license holders, and sadly, it is infrequent that any of them feature Dr. Strange.

Still, that's not horrible. There are always other characters who are interesting to show, some who many bear a tie to the magical realms of Doctor Strange, and then, there are also some bootleg, homemade ones as well...

Come back tomorrow for the next installment of this series: