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One of the longest-running series of blog posts on this
Sanctum Sanctorum Comix blog is of my showcase of DOCTOR STRANGE related
apparel (hats, ties, shirts, unmentionables…), and in a recent entry
into that series, a few weeks ago, I showed a Custom-Made Dr. Strange themed
baseball cap (seen [HERE]).
The differing aspect of that article of clothing from the
others is that it was made from other “Ancillary Artifacts”
which were of a Dr. Strange theme – namely; PATCHES.
And at the time I mentioned that that
post also began a new series of posts which will feature assorted Ancillary
Accessorizing Artifacts; patches, buttons and assorted bling.
Well, THIS is the first of those new series’ (sub-series?)
of posts dealing with Accessories of a
Doctor Strange (and “6-Dimensions”) theme.
The best way is to go chronologically, by manufacture – and
broken-down by type (you’ll see, there’ll be a reason for my OCD-stylings).
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First up, 1977 brought us Iron-On patches manufactured by
HOLM PATCHES (Made in the USA).
These were 2” x 3” cloth patches which featured logos of
then-popular Marvel Comics titles embroidered thereupon.
I say “cloth” but they have a plush feel, more like a
quality felt, velour or velvet than a standard fabric.
I have ones for THE DEFENDERS and HOWARD THE DUCK, who many
may forget was a sales and cultural phenomenon in the
mid-to-late 1970’s.
As you can see, the stitching wasn’t bad, and the accuracy
of the logos was spot-on. Simply labeled as “PATCHES”, their packaging and
presentation was set at zero, however, as the patches were affixed to a basic
no-frills card by means of a single staple.
Other such patches were made, I’m sure, but these tend to be
fairly rare and thus, I’ve hardly seen many others.
Strangely enough, there doesn’t seem to have ever been one
for DOCTOR STRANGE made by HOLM.
I would have to imagine that the company requested from
Marvel a list of their top-selling titles, and while Howard the Duck was an
extremely popular (if surprising) seller, and the Defenders – with the roster
which included the HULK as well as many other “not-quite-top-tier” characters
(like Dr. Strange) would have boosted its sales figures, Doctor Strange’s solo
title must not have made the cut.
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That was rectified in 1979, when RAINBOW EMBLEM CO. of
Dallas, Texas (also Made in the USA) produced a series of Marvel Comics patches
with embroidered logos of several comic titles, including one for DOCTOR
STRANGE; Master of the Mystic Arts.
Made of cloth and sized 2.5” x 3.5”, these Sew-On patches seemed to
be more concerned with peg-hook presentation than quality of product. Complete
with a dynamic “SUPER-HERO PATCHES” logo on a blister card, RAINBOW’s packaging
was nicer than that of HOLM products’, but their patches were abysmally sub-standard.
Take a look at the Doctor Strange patch. The “name” part of
the logo isn’t bad at all, but the “Master of the Mystic Arts” sub-header looks
to be the work of Rumplestiltskin on a drunken bender.
The material of the patch is more like a flimsy canvas or
cheap, colored denim.
Similarly poor patches were made for characters like the
HULK and SILVER SURFER (who each actually had a small figure of themselves stitched
thereupon).
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There were some other Marvel-themed patches in 1980, but
since I’ve never seen any that were Doctor Strange related (or any of my
particular “6-Dimensions” preferences) I’ve not needed to acquire any.
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The next time we would see Doctor Strange related, Marvel-themed
sew-on patches was 1984 (and continued for a few years, until 1986 [or 1987])
when Marvel got into it themselves - teamed with TRANSCOLOR Inc.
This time, it wasn’t logos embroidered onto a patch, but
actual artwork from the comics, printed on a fabric base.
“Marvel Super-Heroes TM Patches” were suddenly a thing
perhaps less likely to be sewn onto a jean-jacket and more likely left in the clear
baggie with hang tag which it came in – as a collectible.
The sheer number of these found over the past few decade or
so on sites such as eBay has proven that they were mass-produced, carefully
stored, and featured a plethora of the then-active Marvel characters. (Seriously, they featured just about everyone and anyone. There’s
even one featuring “HEATHER” McDonald-Hudson – wife of Vindicator/Guardian of
the Canadian team; Alpha Flight. She’s not in her “Guardian” suit, which she
would later wear, but simply dressed in civvies, diving into the waters by a pier,
taken from a panel of John Byrne-drawn issue). Before the end of production in
1986 (or 1987?) they had printed nearly any and every Marvel character on one,
using artwork from whatever comics were released during that time-frame.
Most are 4” circular patches, but some are in triangular,
shield or other squared-off shapes.
I have several, and am still in the market for a few more.
Currently, I have:
DOCTOR STRANGE: head-shot.
Made in 1984, this is a head/bust as drawn by Paul Smith (inked
by Joseph Rubenstein) – and taken from Strange’s bio-page in the “Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe” v1 # 3.
I have two (2) of this one.
DOCTOR STRANGE: action pose.
Made in 1985 this was taken from the cover of “DOCTOR
STRANGE: Master of the Mystic Arts” # 69, drawn by Bret Blevens (inked by
Mundelo).
DOCTOR DOOM: Bust
Made in 1984, this pose of the Lord of Latveria was drawn by
John Byrne and taken from the cover to Fantastic Four # 247.
There’s one of the Scarlet Witch, as drawn by Sandy
Plunkett, that I am hoping to make mine one day, but in the meanwhile I DO have
some others, including one featuring the Scarlet Witch.
*UPDATE*
GOT IT!
... and here are those others I mentioned.
VISION & SCARLET WITCH – action pose.
1986 – drawn by George Perez.
S.H.I.E.L.D. – logo.
1985 - ‘nuff said.
CLOAK and DAGGER – action pose.
1985 – drawn by Rick Leonardi / Terry Austin
BLACK KNIGHT – action pose.
1986 – by John Buscema / Tom Palmer
GARGOYLE – action pose.
1985 – drawn by Don Perlin.
This series of patches seems to have been the last gasp of
the “comic character patch” fever. None since then were “officially” produced.
However, as I stated earlier, there are so many of these patches still in
circulation, if you have a favorite character, and if they were active during
1984-1987, there’s a good chance you can find a patch that features them.
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Now, I said “none since then were ‘officially’ produced”,
but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a bunch of “pirate” patches since
then!
With the onset of affordable, personal patch stitching
machinery, almost anyone can become a Patch-Producer from the comfort of their
own home.
I have purchased patches from just such providers…
periodically.
Here are some of the current additions to my collection:
DOCTOR STRANGE – head.
4.5” x 3.5” - Taken from the same Paul Smith illustration as the Marvel Patch shown above, this, like most of my modern patches is from a vendor found online. (This, and the next two patches are the patches shown on my Custom Cap post [HERE].)
DOCTOR STRANGE – TV Movie Logo.
3” circle - Taken from a screen still from the 1978 Made-for-TV movie-pilot, this patch is most likely taken from my own image of
same, uploaded to the internet back in 2008 for this very blog.
DOCTOR STRANGE – EYE of AGAMOTTO
3” circle - Taken from many an online pic, most likely from
Marvel’s own wiki. Drawn by Kevin West (inked by Steve Montano), and taken from
the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY # 32 From 1993. Sadly, there are SO many better
drawn images of the Amulet of Agamotto, that it is a shame that this
patch-maker didn’t seem to locate one of them.
DOCTOR STRANGE – Action pose.
4” x 3” - Taken from artwork from the ULTIMATE MARVEL vs
CAPCOM 3 video game, this patch is taken from one of the variant costumes shown
for Doctor Strange.
This is a different seller than the previous three, and the
quality is poorer.
However, the next one, from the seller of the first 3
bootleg patches knocks it all out of the park.
DOCTOR STRANGE – Full Figure pose.
Measuring a whoppingly, Brobdingnagian 12” high by 5.5” wide, this patch is of
the full image that two other “head” patches have used from Paul Smith’s
illustration from the ‘Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe’. Here, I have
it next to a Paul Smith drawn issue of Doctor Strange – merely for size
comparison.
This patch would be something that you'd sew onto the back of your jacket in lieu of a painting of Winged Icarus from a Led Zeppelin album.
This patch would be something that you'd sew onto the back of your jacket in lieu of a painting of Winged Icarus from a Led Zeppelin album.
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Of course, the fact that Marvel and their official licensing
partners have stopped making patches doesn’t mean that they’ve really stopped
making patches… officially.
In 2012, Upper Deck Trading Cards teamed with Marvel to
produce a sub-division of that year’s “Marvel Premier” series.
Dubbed; “Classic
Corners”, these deluxe trading cards are essentially embroidered patches of
comic book artwork that used to be featured on comic book cover “corner boxes”,
mounted inside an extra-thick casing.
Of course, I had to get at least two of these rare inserts.
Doctor Strange, Namor and the Hulk
And
#CC-34 – which features the corner box artwork for ADVENTURE
INTO FEAR # 10
The first comic issue that featured The MAN-THING (although,
not his first appearance).
I do have a mind to get another of each of these and crack
them out of their clear plastic shells to expose the embroidered patches
within.
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Lastly, I’d like to show something that bridges both the
fabric patch and trading card genres:
Backstage Access Passes for the band: The GRATEFUL DEAD!
Made of fabric (like a patch) with an adhesive backing (so
you could stick them on your jacket – like a patch), and roughly the size of a trading
card, Marvel characters were lithographed onto them to designate for which
particular concert they were to be used. I’ve seen several of these over the
years, all featuring many different characters, and am happy to have been able
to acquire these two…
THE ANCIENT ONE
(artwork by Carl Potts)
Made for the March 29th, 1995 concert at “The
Omni” in Atlanta Georgia.
and
DOCTOR STRANGE
(artwork by Steve Lightle)
Made for the April 4th, 1995 concert at the Jefferson-Birmingham Civic Coliseum) in
Birmingham Alabama.
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Hmmm… this post was an entry that was a follow-up on a post
which in itself was a multi-subject entry (gifts, apparel, patches) and this,
too, is a multi-subject entry (patches, trading cards, access passes, the Grateful Dead), but
those other threads will have to wait for another day (although, I can guarantee the Grateful Dead subject thread will feature some really cool stuff [and it, itself, is yet another multi-subject thread]).
Come back NEXT time for…
ANCILLARY ACCESSORIES: ARTIFACTS of FLAIR – PART 2: BUTTONS
& PINS. [HERE]
I can guarantee some
rarities you’ve never seen before.
And don't forget to check out any you may have missed of the
Posts
