The Thing "Ben Cooper" Halloween Costume, Dustin Tokarski's goalie mask, Kickstarter(s) and more RANDOM NOTES!

It's been a while since we had some random notes here at blog central, and the masses have been clamoring.  I am, of course, but a humble servant, so here we are with more thoughts about a bunch of stuff, most of which is actually comic related.  And also Franks and Beans.  Away we go!

- Ben Cooper was a company that made popular Halloween costumes a few decades back, and for a while they had a licensing agreement with Marvel Comics to produce costumes based on some of their more popular characters.  One of those costumes happened to be of the ever-lovin' Thing, and I managed to land one of my favorite non-pornographic website in the world, eBay, for a great price.

The costume and box have some scuffs to them, but overall these are in nice shape and I'll be happy to wear this costume to every Halloween party until I die and also if I ever decide to start committing crimes.  I have a feeling, though, that if I would ever start to go down that dangerous path, the goodness and rightness of the Thing would pull me back before I was too far gone.

This costume is, of course, hideous (though the mask is surprisingly well done), but this is part of its charm.  Ben Cooper, as I said, made a number of costumes and all of them were embarrassingly simplistic and/or ugly, but this was the style of a kids Halloween costume in the 1960s, '70s and '80s and I love this find.  I appreciate the sticker on the box, as seen above, that tells you just how one is supposed to wear the costume.  Thanks, B.C.

- I've gotten a few pieces of art framed recently at the Wood Street Frame shop in Pittsburgh, and they've done a good job at what I've turned in so far.  The latest item is Jeff Lafferty's original Teddy and the Yeti art, which I'm relieved to say that I've finally got behind glass.  Much of what I have framed tends to be big and therefore a little cumbersome, but this here is small enough that I can close my hand around it, which should make finding a place for it much easier.

- If you're a fan of the NHL, then you're aware the city of Montreal exists in real life.  They have hockey there, and they speak French.  And also the goaltender for the Canadiens has the Tick on his goalie mask.

Dustin "Tic" Tokarski is enough a fan of his nickname and the popular '90s cartoon that he decided to emblazon his helmet with the big blue hero busting out of the side.

This isn't the first time he's done it, even.  He spent last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and put the Tick on that helmet as well.  If I had to choose, I'd say that the Lightning helmet is my favorite of the two, as the blue works better as part of the overall scheme.

Should I...should I send this guy a copy of the Free Comic Book Day issue?  Maybe we'll become fast friends.

- There are a couple new Kickstarter projects going on right now that feature work from friends of the blog.  First, Paul Tucker is teaming up with Tim (Hack/Slash) Seeley and others to work on a project called "Mini Comics Included", which takes its cues from those little comics that would be packaged with action figures most famously in the 1980s (He-Man springs to mind).  There are six tiny comics in all and Paul is drawing two of them!  The've got some great rewards up for grabs so check out the page and back it if you can: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1168046118/mini-comics-included-0

The other Kickstarter project I'm backing is a short film adaptation of FUBAR head honcho Jeff McComsey's "American Terror"!  I inquired about how much I would have to donate to play a role in the short of someone who gets killed, but alas, the film is in post-production and the fundraiser is just to get it over the hump.  Regardless, you can check out the American Terror page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2097901631/american-terror-short-film

Everyone's buddy "Artboy_X" brought this one to my attention from Art Thibert, who might be best known for his work on a whole bunch of X-Men titles.  Thibert is Kickstarting his own title, Chrono Mechanics, about company that specializes in repairing problems in the timeline.  The CM Kickstarter page is here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461073089/chrono-mechanics-potholes-in-the-cosmic-road?ref=home_location

- I bought an early issue of Marvel Team-Up a few months back with Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic teaming up to, I don't know, battle evil or something.  I thought the first page credits were pretty funny - specifically the inking credit.  At first I thought that it was a charming reminder of the "seat of your pants" attitude that must have reigned at Marvel in those early days, but then I remembered that there are still plenty of books out there today that employ four or five (or more) inkers for a single story.

- Lastly, it's been a while since I've posted any new Franks and Beans.  So here's our 58th episode, "A Watched Pot"!  Enjoy!  Or just watch it.  Please.