I thought I'd do something a little different for this week's Peel Here column. Though I'm still going to post some stickers, I'm also going to throw out some long lost food memories that sort of tie into the stickers (as well as some others that don't.)

Something that I don't have nearly enough of in my vintage sticker collection is food premiums. If stickers fit the definition of ephemera, that stickers which were only available as prizes or extras with either prepackaged or fast food should (in my mind) be a great example of ultra rare ephemera. I've talked about this before, but the idea that full sheets of stickers from 20-odd years ago are still floating around on the secondary market is just amazing to me considering they were designed to be peeled and stuck to things. For me, the disposability of a sticker premium is just tripled. Not only are these stickers blatant advertising from the product purchased, but also it's not something chosen by the owner.

Who buys a box of cereal just to get some stickers? Okay, as I typed that last sentence I realized that there are actually a lot of kids (and grown-ups) who might do just that, but even so aside from sticking them in a sticker book or on the side of a bureau or shelf, who is keeping these mint on either their original backing or in the cellophane they came wrapped in?

Regardless, sticker premiums seem pretty rare to me, at least in the 'finding them on eBay' department. I only managed to find a couple of sheets, one of which is a horrible scan (I screwed up while messing with the DPI and image size and didn't realize I fuggled it up so bad.) First up we have a sheet of stickers that were originally found in a box of Cap'n Crunch's Choco Crunch (from sometime in the mid-80s.)





Though I have very fond memories of this cereal in general (it, along with the Crunchberries variety, were some of the only good cereals my mom would let me have growing up) I don't remember actually liking the chocolate flavored bits mixed in with the regular Crunch cereal.

Next up we have a sheet of stickers that were originally found in a package of Giggles cookies (again, from sometime in the mid-80s, I'm not sure what year as the stickers weren't dated.)



Though my mom didn't buy sweets on a regular basis (at least not for the whole family – she always had a stash of Milano cookies for herself), we did have our fair share of Oreos, E.L. Fudge, and Giggles cookies in the cupboard (as well as some other exciting cookies I'll get to in a minute…) Though I remember the silly happy face shaped cut into the cookies and the fact that they were basically just Oreos, I'm kind of cloudy on the rest of the details. I seem to remember that they were available in Vanilla, Chocolate, and a mixture with both on one cookie, though I can't back that up. Also, for some odd reason my memories of these cookies are also tied to the short lived Quackers snack crackers (which were a variation on Cheez-Its or Chicken in a Bisket crackers but were flavor blasted with either Ranch, Nacho Cheese, or Sour Cream and Onion powders.)

Last up today I'm going to point outside of Branded to something I stumbled upon a few months ago that left my mouth agape for a minute or two. I recently ran across Jason Liebig's Flickr account and all the wonderfulness contained within including scans of old T-Shirt Iron-Ons, as well as a plethora of stickers, candy packaging scans, and other great bits of ephemera. Included were some amazing scans of some old Return of the Jedi Pepperidge Farm cookie packages that hit me in the gut like a cold fist. (Click on the images to be whisked away to Jason's Flickr gallery)







I remember eating the living heck out of these as a kid and I was so happy to find these images on the internets. In addition to Jason's great Flickr gallery, he also takes part in a fun project preserving old Christmas Wishbook catalogs from the past, so if you're bored and have a few hours to kill you'll find a ton of great stuff to look at.

About a year or so ago I stumbled upon something pretty cool on eBay that I thought would be fun to share on Branded in the 80s, namely an almost complete run of TV Guide Fall Preview issues for the eighties (1981-1990.) I'd still like to locate the issues from 77-80, but instead of putting this off any longer, I thought I'd go ahead and start posting the highlights from these issues.

My family was TV Guide-oholics while I was growing up. First off we didn't have a television with a remote until I was in high school, and we didn't have a remote controlled cable box until a couple years before that. Up until then, all throughout the 80s we had those old cable boxes that had a slide lever that you pushed to the right to get into the higher numbered channels and to the left to get to the lower numbered channels. It was one of those types of boxes that you family's drunk acquaintances would swear could pick up the pay channels for free if you just stuck a playing card between the lever and the receptor inside. Ours were typically connected to the TV by an extra long cord that was always stretched across the living room so that my dad could toggle through the channels while he lay on the couch. Anyway, because channel surfing was a little more archaic and because none of us cared for the one channel that would flash programming for all the other channels (what's become the TV Guide channel oddly enough), we lived by our weekly TV guide digest.

On Satudays my mom would come home with the weekly groceries and I'd always dive into the bags looking for our copy of the guide so that I could flip straight to the 'Movies' section to see what was playing on the pay cable channels. We only ever subscribed to HBO and I was always dying to see what was going to be on that week, not to mention lamenting what I couldn't see on Showtime or Cinemax. Sure, we also received the HBO guide by mail once a month, but my parents usually swiped it up and it would soon disappear never to be found again. I would also roughly plan out my Saturday morning, trying to come up with the best way to navigate through the cartoons on the various channels, though ultimately I would always end up sitting in front of the TV and switching between toons, mid-show. Of course, the best issue only came out once a year, the Fall Preview edition which showcased all of the new programming on the main three networks.

As I mentioned above, the earliest issue in the lot I picked up was the 1981 edition. I was only four at the time, so I doubt I flipped though this particular issue, and with a few exceptions, I don't remember many of the new shows that were offered up. I still can't help but smile while looking though it though. Actually, another interesting aspect of the TV Guide is that it's geared towards local markets, so every week there should be at least 100 to 200 different editions depending on where you live in the country. Though most of the up front and cable material is the same, there are some interesting bits of local flair in the middle. Most of the issues in the stack I purchased were from California, and in the small region that was actually lucky enough to pick up Channel Z (there's a great documentary on Z Channel that gives background on the whole phenomenon), so it's kind of a kick to see what was playing through out part of the 80s.

Anyway, without further to do, here are a bunch of thumbnail that link to larger scans from the issue…

      

I think it's weird that the artist who mocked up the cover chose to put a ring on what I assume is a lady's hand drawing back the right side of the curtains. I don't know why I find it weird, but I do. Though there were plenty of cigarette and liquor ads, the one that caught my eye first which a whopping 6-page Sears spread featuring all sorts of appliances and electronics. From $400 dollar monstrously sized microwave ovens (though they allude could cook a whole turkey, though I wouldn't want to eat it) and surprisingly modern-priced washer and dryer units, to pricey TVs (with Super Chromix picture tubes) and $800 Betamax players. Interesting side note on the Super Chromix picture tubes, I distinctly remember putting my face up so close to the TV glass that I could only see the weird green, blue, red color bars. I always wondered how it could look so good from far away and so simple up close. Ah the wonders of science and technology, and stupid kids smudging their grubby faces on TV screens…

      

I didn't scan in every TV show preview page, but I tried to snag the ones with some recognizable faces, like the above show King's Crossing with a young Linda Hamilton. The one show out of this entire book that I wish I had paid attention to at the time was the show The Powers of Matthew Star. It sounds like an 80s version of Smallville, except the dude had a kickass spear!

      

I also tried to scan in shows that have since become pop culture icons, like Simon and Simon above. Believe it or not, I have never seen a single episode of that show. My wife is ashamed of me.

I also thought it was kind of weird how openly liquor used to be advertised with soda brands. The above Bacardi ad is only one of like three in this issue alone that has major brand sodas in them, advertising the beauty of a mixed drink. Does this ever happen anymore?

Of course I was all over the Saturday Morning cartoon ads in the TV Guides I bought. These make wonderful companion pieces to the ads I've already posted from the various comics books of the 80s. This one above fills in the 1981 ABC gap in my original post. There was also a tiny ad for one of the ABC Weekend Special cartoons which I vaguely remember catching every once in awhile…

      

There was also a nice Solid Gold ad (featuring Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John, who has been a crush of mine every since I saw Xanadu this past year.) For some reason, though no one in my family really seems the type to have watched it, I remember having Solid Gold on in the background on the weekends while we had our big family meals (typically either steak or burgers.)

      

Now there's a show that I have weird memories of, Sha-Na-Na. Actually, my memories are all fragmented and for some odd reason seem to be getting mixed up with both Scott Baio and Hee-Haw of all things. I remember the weird song they'd sing where the one dude was pumping his guns and twisting his wrist and fist outward and inward. Again, why aren't there compilations of stuff like this on DVD. I don't need a season of Sha-Na-Na, just an episode to stir up some more truthful memories. Sigh.

Also, we have another Saturday Morning cartoon ad, ah, excuse me, a Saturdazzle ad. Man, to wake up early on a Saturday morning to catch Fat Albert on Saturdazzle, tizzle my dizzle and the hippity hoppity and junk. Anyway, you can find a different version of this ad from a comic book here.

Above we also have yet another show I'm sorry I missed and is now sadly gone (though I bet there's stuff on youtube), Fridays. Would you look at that young afro-clad Larry David! I wonder what hyjinks Andy Kaufman was getting into that week? Btw, I love love love Mark Blankfield, he was great in the Incredible Shrinking Woman…

        

Above we have some more fun preview pages showcasing the beginnings of the Fall Guy, Gimmie a Break, a running try at a series by Joel Higgins (who would later cement his fame in Silver Spoons), and a last ditch effort by Gabe Kaplan (who should have known better than to try and follow up Welcome Back Kotter with anything.) There are also a few fun ads, including one for Dial soap with some fun illustrations, a very conniving cigarette ad, and some old packaging for Nuti-Grain cereals.



Last but not least, we have a preview for Open All Night starring Bubba Smith (who was making a name for himself acting-wise in the Police Academy movies), and George Dzundza (who I believe was partnered with Chris Noth on the first season of Law & Order.)

Anyway, that basically the highlights from this issue. It was really cool to get a look at the listings even though they weren't my particular local stations growing up. It was cool to see what re-runs were playing at the time as well as all of the cartoons and such. Hopefully I'll be showcasing another issue each week until I've made my way through the rest of the 80s (and I might hit a couple from the 90s just for good measure.)

Wow, times flies around here when I'm not posting on a more regular basis. I'm more or less out of the weeds in terms of being busy (crossing my fingers and toes), so hopefully I'll get back on track with a weekly or twice weekly schedule sometime soon. But no one wants to hear about my time management issues…

In other Branded in the 80s news, if you've been following my Twitter feed at all (in the left-hand menu bar toward the bottom, you've probably guess that I've been working on a site related project for the last month or so. Actually, it's more of an experiment. I've been working on a print edition of the website, a magazine of sorts that I'm going to debut this year at Wizard World Chicago. The first issue is going to be a 20 page pocket-sized magazine containing 4 articles and some other fun stuff. In addition, I'll also have an 8 page Micro Magazine in a similar format to the pocket-sized book, which will contain one article, but will a have a cheaper price point. Basically, the magazine is an experiment to see if I can generate a little bit of money to go towards upkeep on the site (hosting, fees, etc.) as well as generating a little bit of petty cash to put towards vintage content materials (stuff to share on the site.) Both books are currently off to the printers, and if everything goes according to plan (I've drugged B.A. for the flight, registered my artist alley table for Wizard World, packed plenty of excess cats so ALF can having something to snack on during the trip up, etc.) I'll have them in hand within the next few weeks. I'm going to take the initial batch with me to the con, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of copies left over to sell on the site. Again, this is an experiment. If all goes smoothly then I've been thinking of putting out a larger book (both in page count and physical dimensions) quarterly or so. We shall see.

Getting back to Peel Here though, this week I thought I'd throw up something that just barely makes the cutoff in terms of 80s nostalgia. I've always been a firm believer in the idea that a decade isn't defined necessarily by the actual dates (e.g. 1980-1989) but by the pop culture fads and such. When you stop and think about it the first few years of most decades tend to feel more in place with the previous one. When I think about the 60s, I picture hippies, the later Beatles, the Munsters, peace signs and Vietnam, all of which is more or less '65 and up. The initial explosion of the Beatles, the Mods, Kennedy, etc., that all feels more in line with the late 50s to me. Same with the 80s. The arcade explosion, Atari's, knee-high socks, stripped ringer T-shirts with iron-ons, Star Wars, this all feels more like the 70s, while He-Man, G.I. Joe, Nintendo's, the surf and skate craze, Punky Brewster, etc, all feels like the 80s to me.

Going along with this, the first couple of years during the 90s feel a lot like the 80s. The end of hair-metal and pop R&B, Batman Returns, and the Beetlejuice cartoon, this is all residual 80s pop culture in my opinion. I know this seems like I'm going overboard a little on proof-of-concept, but I'm a stickler for details and when I see the '1990' date on the stickers below it puts me off a little. It's like when I hear people mentioning Tiny Tunes, the Animaniacs, and Captain Planet as 80s cartoons, when they are both the 90s and feel like it as well. Beetlejuice on the other hand feels, at least to me, more like the 80s as it debuted in '89 and is tied to the titular film of the same name (which is very 80s.)

Anyway, that's enough of my anal decade squabbling; let's get onto the stickers. These are part of a subset of trading cards that were issue by Dart FlipCards in 1990. Thought he card set was very similar to the standard Topps fare of the 80s, they were a little more in-tune with the 90s card sets in that they were printed on cleaner, nicer cardstock, and the stickers that were included were a little more like the Panini sticker book stickers (they're printed on thin flimsy paper and are a tad smaller than the card set itself.) The big draw of this set is that all of the stickers featured glow-in-the-dark artwork…



Though I haven't seen an episode of the cartoon since 1993 or so, I remember loving it to pieces because of its then new mixture of CGI and traditional animation (something I'm all that keen on anymore, at least not in general.) I also loved the way the series turned the movie's concept on its head by making Lydia and Beetlejuice friends, again something that I probably wouldn’t care as much today. I think this stems from my love of the BJ character and the fact that even though he might seem like the main character in the movie, he's only in like 17 minutes of footage while the rest is taken up primarily by Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones. It was really cool to get a chance to explore the neitherworld and watch Beetlejuice go nuts.

As far as this sticker set goes, I was a little under-whelmed in that it doesn't really feature the cast of characters from the cartoon all that well. There is a lot of miscellaneous imagery on the stickers, which though cool, isn't quite what I'd like. I guess I was hoping for another Lydia sticker or two, or one featuring the Monster Across the Street. Heck there are three skeleton themed stickers on this first bit above, any of those could have been Jacques LaLean



As far as the glow-in-the-dark gimmick, some work better than others. Sticker #9 above is pretty cool in that the blob of 'gitd' at the bottom of the picture is in the outline of two people (no doubt getting the wits scarred out of them by that monster.) On the other hand, in sticker #14 the blob of 'gitd', though obviously a monster, is sort of lost in all the black in the background, and even when glowing is still sort of non-descript.



At the end of the day, after reading about these stickers online I was hoping for more like #20, basic character poses. I did my best to try and scan one of these while it was all charged and glowing, but it didn't quite turn out as I hoped…



…but I think you can sort of get the point.

Hopefully I'll be back this week with something other than a late Peel Here to post, but we shall see…

Well, if anyone is wondering why the posts have slowed down so much lately, there is a reason, and it's far from something bad.  In fact, it's pretty cool, but I don't want to spill the beans completely until I have more solid confirmation (though I haven't been keeping it all that secret...)  Regardless, I thought I'd take a second and throw up a quick edition of Peel Here to keep the fires stoked and burning around here.

This week I'm going to share my last two sets of Colorforms Lazer Blazers hologram stickers that I have in my collection. First up I have one of my Holy Grail items in my quest to find vintage stickers, the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons LB set.  I was pretty hot to get these because they have proven to be the hardest to find, and they do occasionally pop up on eBay, the most expensive Lazer Blazers by far.  I've been in two furious bidding wars, and both times the other guy was willing to pay far more than I could or would, so I sort of stooped to a kind of low to get these.  Actually, I never really purchased the stickers themselves, but instead, I contacted one of the sellers who listed them, and I offered to pay for a decent sized scan instead.  Not one of my finer moments, but I feel justified in that I now at least have them to share…



Like most of the D&D merchandising in the 80s, these have nothing to do with the Saturday morning cartoon, and everything to do with a the actual role playing game (though a couple of these characters do make an appearance in the show.)  I've talked about him before, but I had a weird crush on the Warduke character (who is in the package art as well as on the bottom left sticker) as a kid as I had the toy and I always thought he looked pretty darn evil.

Up next we have one of the three more girl-oriented Lazer Blazer sets, the 1983 Barbie stickers…



For once, the prismatic rainbow color effect of the hologram technology is put to an almost perfect use.

Besides these two packages (and the nine I put up in past columns), I know of at least four more sets and a binder that were produced between 1983 and 1985.  There was a My Little Pony set, which also probably looked pretty good in holo-colors, a Beastman themed Masters of the Universe set, a set of generic (non-branded) unicorns, and a set of rainbows.  Though I've already posted these, here are the rest of the ones in my collection, so that in the future I can refer to this one Lazer Blazers post.  Enjoy!