Godzilla BIG TRUMP Playing Cards

If you were a super villain, and you placed a block of radioactive poison in front of me, I would give you a weird look.  However, if you put down one with a cute superdeformed kaiju on it, I would snatch it up in an instant, and you would defeat me.

That said, take a look at these playing cards I just received. They have no date, and I can't discern a manufacturer either.  They are oversized, almost post-card size, nearly six inches tall.  They come in a handy plastic case, which, as I've seen before in other examples, has rather delicate hinges prone to breaking.  The face cards are adorned with cutesy kaiju, which of course is the whole point here.  Check these out:

Blister card - front artwork

Blister card - back artwork

Handy plastic carrying case!

 

 

King Ghidorah Joker (!) and card back artwork

Pretty sweet.  Sets of these rarely come up for sale, but if you see one, you may want to grab it....just in case you ever need them for any Super Evil Plans of World Domination you might be concocting!

Pac-Man & Ms. Pac-Man Tokens (1982)

Here's an awesome oddity I rediscovered while organizing my collection of random coins and tokens--these are Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man tokens from the Video Expo at the 1982 World's Fair, which was in Knoxville, Tennessee.  I was actually there! There was a giant motorized Rubik's Cube, and a robot going around and dispensing promotional pins for Heinz that were shaped like a tiny pickle (still have that too!)

The Artful Legacy of Bill Scott (FILMFAX 45, 1994)

Here is the second excellent article from FILMFAX #45, this one about the man, the myth, the legend, Bill Scott.  In this interview, conducted in 1982, Scott shares many details of his many  jobs, including the post-Clampett Warner Bros. animation department, UPA, writing for the original BEANY & CECIL puppet show (I never knew THAT!) and his work with Jay Ward.  Extremely enjoyable, so enjoy...

The Things That I See

As I go around, I see a lot of things that catch my attention (holding it is another matter entirely); by this I mean things that are so out-of-place as to be interesting.  If you ever glance at something, and then feel compelled to take a second look because something's not right, then you know what I mean. 

Luckily, technology allows me to document them, since there is a camera built in to my cellular phone.  Thirty years ago, I would have had to walk around with a big honking 35mm around my neck, like some sort of foreign tourist...not to mention the week-long wait for the film to be developed...all before I would even have known if I had a usable picture or a blurry close-up of my own thumb. Thanks be to technology!

Here is a sampling of oddities I have observed in the last several weeks:

At first glance, this looks like a page from a Children's book...at second glance, it is clear that the title should read "Doug and Jan Take Their French Exchange Student to Buy Her First Lady Schick."  (Just keep looking...thanks to my wonderful, eagle-eyed girlfriend for spotting this!)

Seen in my local Target store...I wish I could shake the hand of whoever did this.  The Dadaists would be proud.

 

 

Mascot in front of local Mom-and-Pop hamburger restaurant...which appears to have a whale-like blow hole?

This one is the oldest...a logo on a Pumpkin Carving Kit that included plastic tools...maybe they were going for an "Ajax: Stronger Than Dirt" sort of thing, but I think they failed. Aren't most things safer than Kitchen Knives? You could change the caption to "No Slasher Movies" and it would make more sense.

Really, Bert and Ernie? After all the years of rumors swirling around you, did you REALLY think this was a good idea?

Finally, you know those wallet-sized photos of their children that people give out? If you were lucky enough to buy some of those Star Wars bust-like magnets a couple of years ago, it turns out they fit perfectly over those photos...which was a happy accident, as most things are.

GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER Pressbook (Continental, 1964)

This wonder just arrived in the mail.  I have a few of these pressbooks, and they are always enjoyable.  If anything, it makes the reader realize how we have lost the sense of wonder and fun that going to the movies used to provide.  Unfortunately, pressbooks are usually too huge to fit on a scanner, which is the case here, but I have taken some partial images that you simply have to see:

First off, WOW, just WOW.  Do any of these masks still exist?? Maybe there is still a warehouse full of them somewhere?? This is one piece of paper (or probably cardstock) that I have to own, and will probably end up paying way too much for...but I have to find one.

And how much did they cost the theater-owner, in 1964, you ask? The answer below:

What? Ten cents apiece??

I like the suggestion of "teaming up" with your local supermarket...talk about random. "Hm, I need some asparagus......say, why don't we go to the movies?"

Finally, the backs of pressbooks often have a display of different-sized posters and lobby cards that the theater-owner could buy.  I found it interesting that a 24 x 82" banner was offered, and I wonder if any exist anywhere.  The 1-sheet for this great film, which is one of my favorites, hangs in my very bedroom.

"Godzilla's American Cousin" (FILMFAX #45, June/July 1994)

Another gem found while going through my late uncle's piles of magazines.  Written by kaiju scholar Stuart Galbraith IV, so you know it's going to be good.  I think we owe a greater debt to Henry Saperstein than we even know, and some of the most amazing of Toho's output was made in direct cooperation with him (FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD, WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, MONSTER ZERO).  You have to give him credit; this is a guy who, when he wanted to contact Toho about a business proposal, actually went to night school to learn about Japanese culture! He also was involved in the animated GODZILLA series, as well as THE TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA.  Sadly, he passed away in 1998.

Would Godzilla be the icon he is today without Saperstein's input?