Wacky Packages are stickers (peel and punch-out) that were released by the Topps Chewing Gum company from 1967 to the most recent series in 2004. They parodied common household products and were extremely popular among children in the 1970’s.
Between 1997 and 2004, with the help of the internet, Wackys experienced a great resurgence of popularity as more and more people in their 30’s and 40’s, recall this childhood craze and desire to re-collect them.
In 2004 Topps brought Wacky Packages back and they did so with considerable success.The definitive website regarding Wacky Packs is www.wackypackages.org which has an exhaustive collection of art, articles and check lists. I recommend you take a moment to check out our childhood’s first exposure to parody and stiff stale gum.
Heavy, rustic figures do battle on the chess field, conjured by Armando Ramírez’s limitless imagination. Combining art and function, Ramirez sculpts each piece from automobile parts — even the heads of the bishops are made of NGK and AC DELCO spark plugs! One of the most creative chess sets on Novica, this work is perfect for the chess lover that likes a rustic finish. It is important to note that the finish is rustic, as intended by the artist. The interior of the chess board makes a clanging sound from the moving of welded materials, and each of the pieces exhibits its own unique nature and finishing, depending on the auto part used. The knight, queen and king are particular favorites, finely tuned and sculpted, and the pawns made of heavy bolts and sprockets have a small and sturdy presence.The set can be ordered for $207.95here.See Armando Ramírez’s other sculptures here.
The Nike Hyperdunks (inspired by the movie Back to the Future II) will be made available by the end of July. The shoes will not include the awesome air-pressurized auto-lacing mechanism from the film. Instead, the shoes will include ‘Flywire technology,’ which is really PR-speak for the latest and greatest of ultra light materials. They sport the same high-ankle boot style of the original movie and Kobe Bryant will be the main spokesman for the sneakers.
Marvel Comics has provided Newsarama with a peek inside this week’s The Stand Sketchbook, featuring art and thoughts about the coming project from Mike Perkins and more. Issue #1 of the first series, Captain Tripps, is slated to hit stores in September. The sketchbook carries no cover price.
MGM and Columbia Pictures have revealed the new Quantum of Solace trailer! Opening November 7, 2008, the Marc Forster-directed 22nd James Bond adventure stars Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen and Joaquin Cosio.
With less than three weeks remaining till “The Dark Knight” opens on July 18, at 12:01 a.m., Fandango, the nation’s leading moviegoer destination, is finding that dozens of showtimes for the film are already sold out.”The Dark Knight” tickets have been a hot commodity since they first went on sale on Friday, June 20 at Fandango.com. As of this morning, the film is outpacing “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, “Iron Man” and “Sex and the City” as Fandango’s fastest ticket-seller of this summer.”We are currently seeing a surge in advance ticket sales for ‘The Dark Knight’,” says Ted Hong, vice president of marketing for Fandango. “It makes sense that there’s a rush for tickets, as it’s the perfect movie to see on the big screen, as supported by our strong ticket sales for both traditional screens and the larger format in IMAX. We believe the film is appealing to both comic book and action fans, as well as casual moviegoers.”The late Heath Ledger’s potentially Oscar-worthy performance as The Joker in “The Dark Knight” was cited as top reason for seeing the movie, according to 53% of respondents to Fandango’s online survey of moviegoers in June.
Paramount has announced The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Collection which includes fully restored editions of Godfather Part I and II and a newly remastered version of The Godfather Part III. The 5-disc collection will include all of the features of the previously released collection, along with a 5th disc of bonus material. This will include multiple featurettes (Godfather World, The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t, …when the shooting stopped, Emulsional Rescue Revealing The Godfather, The Godfather on the Red Carpet), and four short films on The Godfather (The Godfather vs. The Godfather, Part II, Cannoli, Riffing on the Riffing, Clemenza). Retail will be $72.99. Titles will also be available individually for $19.99. The collection is due on September 23, 2008.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently posted a fun gallery of retro cereal boxes. This nostalgic flashback highlights the kooky packaging and crazy cereal ideas of our childhood.Please click here for the slideshow link.
Posted by larryfire 
Posted by larryfire 
Posted by larryfire 
