Rainbow Brite -- Incarnated Evil, Child Abandonment, Murder Via Rainbow
If you were around in the '80s, you remember the enormously popular Rainbow Brite doll. Here's a video of that kid from Poltergeist trying to sell one to you:
For the most part, the Rainbow Brite cartoon series could not have been more innocuous -- even the "villains" Murky and Lurky were really just a couple of inept caricatures. Really the only objectionable thing about the series was the fact that it seemed to be produced by a bunch of grown-up hippies. But then we have the two-part special, "The Beginning of Rainbowland." That's where we get Rainbow Brite's terrifying origin story.
It turns out Rainbow Brite started out as Wisp, a human toddler who was transported to an unnamed planet and given a quest to save it. Wisp must discover a way to bring color to the desolate landscape. To do this, she must find the Sphere of Light, which is held captive in a castle by a being known as the Evil One. It turns out that Murky and Lurky were just the henchmen for the Evil One, who is determined to keep the land in darkness. There are frequent lightning strikes, rivers of lava and evil creatures who are constantly trying to capture or kill little Wisp.
These guys, for instance.
As she travels, Wisp encounters a field full of statues, which on further inspection turn out to be the frozen corpses of others who've tried to reach the castle. Wisp continues on, gathering new friends with her, until she comes to ...
Wisp then discovers an abandoned baby lying on the rocks and crying. Despite her friends' annoyed protests, Wisp decides that she must help the baby.
Seriously, how the fuck did it get there?
The bad guys decide they need to capture Wisp to steal the source of her rainbow powers. They accomplish this by kidnapping the baby as a way to lure Wisp into a trap. Wisp confronts the Evil One, who brandishes the baby in one huge fist and demands Wisp's Rainbow Belt.
The Evil One, about to beat a toddler to death with an infant.
Now it's time for Wisp to embrace her destiny as the One and bend reality to her will. A beam of rainbow shoots out from her stomach ...
... and wraps around the Evil One like a goddamned boa constrictor ...
... and crushes him until nothing but his empty cloak remains.
Wisp takes her place as Rainbow Brite and restores color to Rainbowland, where she hopefully receives treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. You may think this episode was some kind of an intentionally edgy, gritty reboot of the character maybe meant for girls in their early teens ... then you realize that "The Beginning of Rainbowland" is recommended for kids as young as 3 years old.
Like Johnny Storm before him, tomorrow looks like it could be the day for Ultimate Peter Parker to snuff it. The final part of the Death of Spider-Man series ends tomorrow with Ultimate Spider-Man #160, and USA Today is all over it.
Except they're sort of not.
There's an image of what looks like Mary Jane holding the body of Peter Parker while Aunt May screams, "Please no!" But that doesn't necessarily look all that dead. In fact, Bendis said about the panel, "I am completely leaving that up to interpretation," and "there's a lot of finality to the issue, so I'm going to leave that one open."
So, he might be dead, or he might not be. Following this issue, Bendis and Mark Bagley will release Ultimate Comics Fallout, a mini-series dealing with his death, and an eventual new Spider-Man.
Personally, I'm torn. I've been enjoying this title thoroughly for a decade. It never dipped. It was always entertaining, and it sure felt like there were plenty of Peter stories to tell, so I'll be upset if we don't get to continue on his journey. It feels like a bit of a waste. On the other hand, in traditional superhero comics, things just go on forever, without consequence, so I have to respect breaking that mold, and if you're going to do it, you should do it when it has maximum impact, and when you least expect it, and I would say that it's very likely that is now. Still, the current status quo was so interesting and felt largely unexplored. Peter was living with Iceman and Human Torch, and getting trained by S.H.I.E.L.D., and it has been a ton of fun. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens along with everyone else.
UPDATE! Marvel just sent along this image, which is a Joe Quesada variant cover. Ouch.
MORE UPDATED! The New York Post pretty much runs the whole thing down, and had this page:
And he was never heard from again! Or maybe he was. We don't know yet.
I think this has to be #1 on my list of dream houses. I'm not sure if I could live without a kitchen and a bathroom, but give me a deep clawfooted tub and some vanilla bubble bath and i'm set.... Here's the re-blog:
Tiny Victorian Cottage
Tiny Victorian Cottage [via The New York Times "Home&Garden"]
The most adorable little victorian cottage ever. Sandra Foster turned a Catskills hunting cabin into the romantic Victorian cottage she had always wanted, using vintage columns, flooring and wavy glass windows, and doing the carpentry herself. This cottage is only accessible via a stone crossing over a stream.
This article in The New York Times features how Sandra Foster and her husband made the cottage from a dream into a reality. Although the cottage lacks a kitchen and a bathroom, I would say that Ms. Foster has managed to make the cottage a perfect little "woman cave" of her own.
.... well, not "great" exactly. And by that I mean it was quite small. But here it is....
The Second Saturday Steampunk Art Stroll
For those of you who know me and those of you who don't, I have been wanting, very badly for the last few years or so, to don my steampunk garb and go to a society meetup. But alas work and other obligations have prevented me. Yesterday though, after planning for months, I have achieved my goal of fluffing my bustle and making my man put suspenders on. Thus, none-too-shabbily, we strolled down the boulevard. Here is a design of my costume and the costume itself, put into action...
Costumes...
For Curtis, I managed to find a tweed vest and suspenders at a garage sale. He wore his khaki pants and ordinary work shoes plus a belt. The hat is a thrift store fedora and the glasses are vintage raybans I had in the house. Thats really all it took for him.
Mine was a little more difficult. The most money I spent was for the corset, which I purchased for $50 on import from canal boat in England. Everything else was second hand, or pieces I already had. The Comb in my hair is a 1930's original piece, the fan and parasol are both vintage and the boots, as you can see in the above full length picture, are vintage Justin brand 1970's cowboy boots. The Bodice I found years ago at the thrift store, the skirt was a regular tiered maxi skirt, and the 3 buckle belt is forever 21. The brass octopus, I bought at a consignment shop. A very simple costume with much of the desired effect I wished for.
The Story... Just for kicks, I thought I should extrapolate a fiction for us.
A strange couple, we two, a soiled dove caught up in her wonton ways and, what appeared to be an upright school teacher in his tweed vest and tinted glasses. He, presumably, arrived in california to seek his fortune, and when the rush for gold faded, found his profession teaching modern mathematics to the youth of the area proved far more profitable than the bracers down in Coloma. Sacramento is a quiet town, and thusly, he settled down quite nicely. She was aloof, and congenial, but the spark was there. How could it possibly come to fruition?
But... then again... he's dashing, and she, charming. And so they take each other's company despite held differences. Isn't that how it goes? From opposites breed attraction?
I thought it was a nice story for a little role playing. Cheesy, but aren't we all? Here's the two of us, living happily ever after:
The Contest...
Lastly, I wanted to follow up on Gail Carriger's Heartless contest. I've been bidden to take a picture of myself with one of her books in an effort to hopefully win a signed copy of any one of them. Wish me luck... and hail the victorious parasol!
Have you seen this? I was watching the Indy 500 (yes. I was watching Indy car racing. I do every year in hopes that Danica will win) and Mattel and Izod has this great spot for Hot Wheels. Here's a reblog of the article from action figure times:
Giant Toys for Attracting Much Older Boys By STUART ELLIOTT
AN unusual promotion planned for the Indianapolis 500 is based on the saying that the only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys.
Mattel and Izod plan to have stunt drivers jump off a ramp like this rendering, modeled after a Hot Wheels toy track, at the Indianapolis 500 in May.
Mattel is joining forces with an IndyCar sponsor, the Izod apparel brand owned by the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, for a promotion to be centered on a life-size version of the V-Drop track set, sold as part of the Mattel Hot Wheel line of die-cast toys. A member of Team Hot Wheels — a crew of stunt drivers — will try on May 29 to break the current world record for a distance jump in a four-wheeled vehicle (302 feet) by speeding in a life-sized yellow race car down a ramp that resembles the track included with the set.
And just as the V-Drop track set is meant to be hung from a child’s bedroom door, a door 10 stories high, or 100 feet tall, will be built in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The promotion — formally called Izod Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500 — is an example of what is known as experiential marketing, which seeks to bring brands to life in tangible ways. The goal is to discover new methods to disseminate product pitches because consumers are more able than ever to avoid traditional types of advertising.
This strategy is underlined by the unofficial theme of the promotion, “Hot Wheels for Real,” which is also the name of a sweepstakes that will give away prizes like a trip to the Indianapolis 500.
Among other examples of experiential marketing are temporary retail outlets, called pop-up stores; stage shows presented by Good Housekeeping magazine, under the title “Shine On,” that benefit the National Women’s History Museum; and the recruitment of consumers as brand ambassadors, evangelizing for favorite products.
In this instance, Mattel is seeking to expand the market for Hot Wheels by stimulating interest among men ages 18 to 34. Currently, the toys are aimed at boys ages 3 to 8; men in their 30s or older often rediscover the toys when they have children or develop an interest in collectibles.
“It’s an audience that once had a great connection with Hot Wheels,” said Simon Waldron, vice president of marketing for Hot Wheels at Mattel in El Segundo, Calif.
Until now, “we haven’t served up a good enough reason for them to re-engage with the brand,” he added.
“It’s all about evolving Hot Wheels,” Mr. Waldron said, both for the toys along with expanding into areas that would interest the intended target audience, like clothing, video games and online gaming.
The promotion will be accompanied by a presence in social media like the Hot Wheels and Izod Facebook pages; content on the Hot Wheels Web site; and the appearance of Hot Wheels in an advertorial for Izod in magazines like GQ.
There are also plans for a 30-minute Hot Wheels television show, to appear after the ABC coverage of the Indianapolis 500, that would offer viewers a chance to watch the stunt along with other experiential versions of Hot Wheels. There will be a tie-in with GetGlue, a site that lets users “check in” with TV shows to share what they watch with friends.
“What Mattel wants is for Hot Wheels to be relevant to boys of all ages,” said Damien Eley, a partner and creative director at Mistress who at his previous agency, Mother, worked on experiential initiatives for Coca-Cola and Unilever.
One way to achieve that, he added, is to “offer a connection with action sports and car culture.”
“When you pick up a Hot Wheels car, there’s a combination of imagination and reality,” Mr. Eley said, that is conveyed through the stories told by those who play with them.
And because Hot Wheels cars are built on a 1:64 scale, “in theory, they could be made for real,” he added, which led to the idea of “imagining everything on a life-size scale.”
Izod’s involvement came through its status as the title sponsor of the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500.
“We both go after a common target audience of young men, next-gen males, as we refer to them,” said Mike Kelly, executive vice president for the marketing group at Phillips-Van Heusen in New York. “As kids, we all played with Hot Wheels,” he added, so bringing up the brand to a teenager or 20-something “takes you back to happy moments as a kid.”
The attempt by Hot Wheels to “reach kids from 5 to 55,” as Mr. Kelly put it, may not be so difficult to achieve. The brand has wide appeal, he said, pointing to “hundreds of videos” on YouTube of V-Drop track sets in action.
The budget for the promotion is not being disclosed. Mattel spent $10.1 million to advertise Hot Wheels last year, according to Kantar Media, a unit of WPP, up from $8.9 million in 2009 but down from $12.3 million in 2008 and $13.3 million in 2007.
Do the creators of the promotion have a Plan B in case something goes amiss?
“There are contingency plans in place,” Mr. Eley of Mistress said, adding, “With an event of this scale, in a place like Indy, you have to have contingencies.”
This all being said, I'd like to provide you with some excellent spots from the show, its... unforgettable...
I really and honestly wish that the other spots were on you tube, because there is literally a bunch of computer enhanced hotwheels tracks with real cars racing on them. Talk about new innovations in advertising. This was totally worth the hour I spent watching cars go around in a circle....
