The Evolution of Linus

As a wrap up to this weeks group of cereal posts, I thought I could show the initial evolution of Linus the Lionhearted. It all starts with rough ideas which are then refined. Big teeth and wavy mouths are tried but the final mouth turns out to be a big smile with a tongue sticking out. The pose might have been Linus tied to stake or carrying a gun, instead he is ready to dig in with his trusty spoon. All these little things coalesce into the final drawing which was then given to the painter who would make the final Linus that appears on the box. Thus another cereal icon is born for the ages.

Meet the Flintstones

As a kid, I ate a lot of Frankenberry and Freakies but as a collector I have come to really love the Post Pebbles cereal boxes. They are some of the nicest 1970's cereal boxes because there is no big bowl of cereal obscuring the character on the front. Also after the first few boxes Fred began to interact with the premiums. In addition the backs are equally stunning with great design and art. Of course as time went by the boxes became less interesting but those early years were astounding.

Post Cereal & Warner Brothers

In the early to mid 1960's, Post cereal hooked up with Warner Brothers and sponsered the Bugs Bunny Show. Only Bugs Bunny ever got on the front of the box but a number of great cut outs and activitys appeared on the backs. Perhaps my favorites were a series of cut out puppets which used the snack pack boxes to form them. Eventually Bugs and friends gave way to Linus and his pals but it was fun while it lasted.

Anatomy of a Promotion

The connection between Hanna Barbera and Kelloggs started with Ruff and Ready but it really took off with the Yogi Bear show. This incredible 1962 promtional folder shows the effort that was put into promoting Kelloggs cereals and the show. They created ad art, in store displays and the cut out premium art. Then showcased it all in this incredible folder to get grocer excited about the promotion and hopefully give it extra space at the grocery store.

Peanuts - part 2

Well I dug through my stuff and pulled out a few more Peanuts items. First up is a great Rival dog food can label with Snoopy from 1974. Also a nice big group of Sunday comic page ads, including one picturing some amazing Star & Stripes cupcakes boxes. I would love to find one of those.

Sealtest Circus buttons

The End is Near

Shopping Centers

I just ran across these two photos while putting away some postcards I had bought this weekend. It got me thinking about all the things that went on in the parking lots of shopping centers in the past like pony rides. These photos are from 1967 and really transport be back to my childhood. I remember all the hours spent looking at the toys and junk and the Gilbert Five and Dime and going to the Rancho market to buy comics for 20 cents.

Good Grief

With the great project of Fantagraphics reprinting all the Peanuts strips, I thought I would pull out some of my Peanuts items. My favorite Peanuts item is the Fort Worth Press newspaper carriers bag. I have a friend who had one hanging in his garage for years and I always coveted it. So when one showed up in an auction I could not resist buying it.

A couple years earlier, I had bought a couple of newsstand signs with Linus on them. I love the great image of Linus holding the flower and he was the character I always related to as a kid.

Next up are a series of signs for Dolly Madison and some wrappers from various Peanuts baked products. Schultz did not license out the characters a whole lot so finding vintage Peanuts product items is not an easy task. I am still looking for that cello Razzys package with Lucy on it. Someday....

The Street Art Debate

In one of many endless debates about what makes good art, I have found that some old school Graffiti artists are calling into question the validity of the new breed of Urban Sticker/Stencil artists.

"90% of the stickers we see are pointless (and no, thatÂ’s not a good enough point.). Most of the time, they look like ads." say the pundits at streetartblows.com. So they have a campaign of stickers (notice the irony in that) proclaiming "Keep your art to yourself next time."

On their website they talk about how "street art has become the annoying little brother to graffiti" and how "designing a poster or a sticker with your image on (sic), having 500 made and putting them up is not a challenge......quit stepping on graffitiÂ’s toes, there are new challenges and new directions you can to go in."

It all seems like a lot of over analyzation of a bunch of kids bucking the system and doing things to have fun (although illegal). Graffiti didn't start out as an artform and to try to regulate good and bad on the street seems a little silly.

Countdown to Comic Con

Just a little over 2 weeks until the Comic Con International in San Diego. As a kid my dad would drive me down there so I could buy comics, now I have my own booth with my Mr Toast comics & stuff. It feels like things have come full circle. Still have some stuff to finish up including a bit more touch up on this banner I made over the weekend.

Sticky