DC Comics Super Heroes Ultimate Sticker Collection

Check this out! It's a new DC Super Heroes sticker book from DK, and it features a generous helping of characters from the Aqua- Family! Behold:

Aquaman stickers by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Paul Pelletier? What more do you want? Pick up a copy today and cover your Trapper Keeper in orange and green!

(h/t: F.O.A.M.er Ilke Hincer)

Does Hallmark Hate Aquaman?

F.O.A.M.er extraordinaire Russell Burbage had this series of experiences and came to a few conclusions about Aquaman and merchandising. Take it away, Russell!

I went by a Hallmark store today to buy a card for a buddy's wedding. While I was there I noticed that their Itty Bitty stuffed toys were well represented by DC: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and...the Flash. Hmph. Their Christmas ornaments were likewise Wonder Woman and Batman (again?). If they ever make a Keepsake ornament of Aquaman I would be all over that like white on rice. Oh, well.

Then they had some illustrated story-books that featured...Batman. Although I have found a Super Friends book there before and actually bought it for my friend's son, it's no longer available. Hmmph. Birthday cards feature Batman, Superman, the Flash, and Green Lantern for the boys, and Wonder Woman was there for the ladies. Hmmph.

As I was walking out, my eagle-eyes spotted the great orange & green uniform...! I grabbed up the attached sticker pad, and then thumbed through it. Although Aquaman is clearly on the cover...he is not one of the stickers. Instead, his place is taken by--Shazam!?! Green Arrow!?! (okay, he's on TV, so I'll give him a pass). Firestorm!?! Martian Manhunter!!??!!

The second page features some bad guys, including...Black Manta!?! What the what...?!? Aquaman isn't featured, but his arch enemy is!?! Did Disney make this?!? Aquaman is featured on the Connect-the-dots page, in the exact same pose as on the cover. Lord have mercy.

Super Amigos Sticker Album

Check out this nifty sticker album cover from Venezuela, circa 1982. Clearly based upon the work of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (PBHN), but whoever was doing the tracing went a little afield here and there. Still, pretty nifty!


(h/t: WonderWomanCollectors.com)

Superman: The Man of Steel Sticker Book

Since there are so few bookstores anymore, items like this aren't on my radar much anymore. Luckily F.O.A.M.er Ilke Hincer is on the job, alerting me to this DK sticker book (published last year) that was of course tied into the Man of Steel movie, but also found space to feature Aquaman!
Back when they first starting out on Aquaman, I suggested that the work of Reis/Prado/Reis was so iconic that it wouldn't be long before it started showing up on merch. And here you go, the Aquaman from issue #0 right there among all the Superman stuff.

But something else occurs to me: since this book is mostly Superman, what, exactly, is Aquaman doing here at all? Does it have something to do with the internet rumor concerning the "sabotaged oil rig" scene in Man of Steel? Could Zack Snyder and his team have been this hands on in setting up Aquaman to appear in Dawn of Justice? I guess we'll all know soon enough...

Thanks Ilke!

Peruvian Sticker Album

F.O.A.M.er Kyall Coulton sent me a link to these pics of a 1982 Peruvian sticker album featuring the Super Amigos! Now, the thing I'm curious about is, where did that Aquaman pose come from? The shots of Superman, Batman, and Robin I've seen a million times before, but that Aquaman looks custom. ¡Me encanta!

Thanks Kyall!

Super Hero Puffi-Stickers - 1981

A couple of weeks ago the Shrine posted some Super Hero Puffy Sticker packs that featured the stickers you see above, but with a tag that didn't quite match the characters.

A week or so ago, a blogger named Captain Blog left a comment with a link to an eBay auction featuring these sticker packs, that feature a more...appropriate header tag. In fact, it's nice that Aquaman and Captain Marvel are both represented, a rarity on stuff like this!

On the back of the sticker cards come these handy dandy origins stories and some (to me) mostly unrecognizable stock art:

I love solving little mysteries like this, and a big thanks to Captain Blog for the detective work. Due to an obscure provision of Maritime Law, we cannot award a F.O.A.M. membership to a pseudonym, so Captain, if you want to send the Shrine your name we can award you the certificate you so richly deserve!

 

Super Heroes Puffy Stickers

This piece of merch is a real head scratcher. Clearly, the stickers are, or were at some point, officially licensed merchandise--the stock art shots are recognizable (a Kurt Schaffenberger Aquaman, a Neal Adams Green Arrow, and...is that a Jim Aparo Green Lantern?!?), as are the logos.

But the hang tag is where things get weird. Not only does it look like it was drawn by a child, but it features all Marvel characters! What the what?!?

I love stuff like this.


(h/t: F.O.A.M.er Joe Mello)

Brave and the Bold Stickers

Yet another brick in the Great Wall of China-sized edifice that is the Batman: Brave and the Bold merchandising campaign. All the usual suspects are accounted for: Batman, Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, and...Aquaman!

If I had had these a kid, I would have peppered my notebooks with Aquaman stickers...thereby guaranteeing another round of beatings for being a nerd. So...maybe its better I didn't have them.

F.O.A.M.er Shag Matthews saw these on sale and immediately snapped the two pics and emailed them to me. I love the idea of F.O.A.M.ers being kind of spy-like, snapping pics of objects the average person doesn't even notice and sending them to Shrine Central. Like a very nerdy John le Carre novel.

Thanks Shag!

Argentinian Super Amigos Stickers

These are some Argentinian "Super Amigos" stickers that came as part of a sticker album set during the line's heyday of the mid-1980s.

This was in the era just before stock art guides became the standard; which is why you sometimes saw such varied, even wild, looking items such as these. Sure, some of them are a little goofy, but that black and white Aquaman with the colored background looks really funky to me!

It seems that with all the "distressed" stuff around, we're kind of coming back around to a less iron gloved approach when it comes to DC and its merchandising; which I think is great: it allows some real creativity on the part of the designers.

Super-Hero Stick-Ons - 1974

As a follow-up to Tuesday's post on the Super-Hero Stick-Ons ad, F.O.A.M.er Jon Helfenstein sent me these big, close-up pics of the stickers themselves, still minty-fresh in their plastic sleeves!

Interesting(?) that the ad calls these "Super-Hero" stick-ons, but they are actually labeled as "Super-Friend" stick-ons. Heck, if you paid for it, might as well use it.

Jon is quite the fan of stickers of all sorts, which you can see over at his blog The Fleer Sticker Project. In fact, if you click here, you can see some shots of the stick-ons in action. Thanks Jon!

Super-Hero Stick-Ons Ad - 1974

This is the second of two Super-Hero Stick-On ads that ran in many, many DC comics in the the mid-70s. The other ad was full-page; this one was half that, but it still gets the point across: this is the perfect gift for a sad, lonely child, who preferred putting superhero stickers all over his parents' living room wall instead of going outside and playing with other kids.

That said, man do I wish I had these at the time! They are so cool. I never get tired of that classic Aquaman stock art pose...

Batman/Super Heroes Stickers

This pic of a Batman/Super Heroes sticker set (date unknown, presumably the 1970s) is from the collection of F.O.A.M.er Jon Knutson, who sent me a ton of stuff way back and I'm still going through all of it here.

Obviously this manufacturer thought Batman was the big star, since he, Robin, Batgirl, and some of the Rogues Gallery take up the bulk of the sticky, puffy real estate. But they did throw a bone to Superman and Aquaman (but not Wonder Woman, oddly enough) by including some stickers of them and even jamming them into the hastily thrown-together header card.

Considering how massively popular Batman was in the 60s, 70s, and then in the late 80s/early 90s, I really am surprised we never got treated to a "Batman and His Amazing Friends" cartoon show, complete with Aunt Harriet and a distaff Ms. Lion.

Cool stuff, thanks Jon!

DC Superheroes Stickers - 1982

Very rarely does someone send me a piece of Aqua-Merch that I have never seen before, but F.O.A.M.er David Kelly pulled it off when he sent me a scan of these DC superhero stickers, copyrighted 1982.

Obviously meant as an inspirational tool to the young student of your choice, I would have loved to have gotten a sticker like this on the rare occasion I got an "A" on a test:

...I don't recognize the art style on Aquaman, but the rest of them look very Ross Andru to me, so I'm betting Andru did the honors on the Sea King, too.

Very cool, thanks David!

Heroes of the DC Universe Sticker Book - 2007

DK Publishing put out a whole bunch of sticker books featuring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, so I guess it was only natural all the other heroes of the DCU got a chance at sticker glory!

Alas, Aquaman only gets one sticker out of the whole book, but at least he's in there:

The caption reads: "Aquaman: The great ruler of the sea was raised by dolphins. His left hand is made of enchanted water, a gift from The Lady of the Lake."

These books are a real amalgam of art styles from various eras of DC publishing--the Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary shots are fairly recent, while the Hourman and Air Wave poses are from Who's Who!

Our Way Catalog, Part 3

Other stickers sell. These fly!

The last of three ads produced by Our Way Studios, this time pushing sets of puffy stickers starring DC and Marvel heroes. You can see Aquaman in all his puffy, sticky glory, on the sticker set furthest to the right (he is also pictured on the package).

I have yet to get a hold of these stickers myself...Rob want!

I love Our Ways' aggressive tagline on the left: "Picture everything in full blazing color...Because it is!" Ok, enough already! Calm down!


Like the previous two Our Way ads, this is courtesy F.O.A.M.er Brian Heiler, who did a whole post on the Our Way Studios catalog over on his blog Plaid Stallions. Thanks Brian!

Our Way Catalog, Part 2

Superdumps!

This is another awwwwwesome ad from the catalog of Our Way Studios, who produced oodles of stationary and stickers emblazoned with DC and Marvel Comics' stars in the 1970s.

On the left is a DC Super-Stickers set that features Aquaman prominently. And as you can see, little Dick and Jane have already ruined Mom's kitchen table by covering it in garish, hard-to-peel-off superhero stickers. That must be a young Meryl Streep, since that girl is doing a great job pretending she's interested in superheroes.

On the right are those way cool, almost-life-size "Jointed Heroes" figures. Sadly, it was pretty much current or former TV stars only, so no Aquaman.


Like the previous one we saw last week, this ad is courtesy F.O.A.M.er Brian Heiler, who did a whole post on the Our Way Studios catalog over on his blog Plaid Stallions. Thanks Brian!

Aquaman Redondas!

This is another one of those items I have in my Shrine folder, and I have no memory of how I got it--some generous F.O.A.M. member must have sent it to me, but I am apparently getting very forgetful in my old age.

Click the image to see the full sequence--its a series of nine panels, where Aquaman has a very truncated adventure. Hey, I've never seen Aquaman riding a walrus before!

Chilean Super Friends Stamp Album, Part 3 - 1982

The last page from the Super Friends sticker/stamp album sent to me by F.O.A.M. member Ramiro, featuring even more nice Jose Luis Garcia Lopez painted over by Chilean artist Themo Lobos.

As nice as the Aquaman images are (and they are very nice, especially the Aquaman/Mera one), I think my favorite is that shot of Green Arrow--he looks really striking in that pose, as he reaches into his quiver. Superb.

Thanks again to Ramiro for the scans, and to AquaFan Sergio who gave us more info on these sticker sheets during the first week. Thanks guys!
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It's been weeks since I started up another blog, so...

But this time I'm not alone--along with my pal and F.O.A.M. member Charles Howell, we've started up JLU Club, which is devoted to a mutual obsession of ours, Mattel's Justice League Unlimited toy line.

So far Charles and I are the only members, but its open enrollment season for all fellow JLU lovers. So please head on over there and give it a look!
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Speaking of new blogs, there's another one that has just started up, and, for once, I had nothing to do with it!

My friend Luke has started up Being Carter Hall, all about DC's Winged Wonder.

I believe every DC hero should have his own blog (since they all are inevitably someone's favorite character), so I'm glad that Carter is finally receiving his due. Go check it out, as well!

Chilean Super Friends Stamp Album, Part 2 - 1982

This is another page from the Super Friends sticker/stamp album sent to me by F.O.A.M. member Ramiro. When I posted the first page last week, I had misplaced who had sent it to me; luckily Ramiro came forth to take credit. Thanks Ramiro!

This page is complete (always nice) and features a series of unusual, rarely-seen combos--Wonder Woman and Green Arrow, Superman, Krypto, and Robin, and Batman and Supergirl (not to mention a very sexy Catwoman)! Aquaman remains stoicly alone atop his seahorse.

But, hands down, my favorite part of this page is the recessed image:

Great Neptune, this is what I think of when I think of the DC Universe I knew as a kid--everybody's happy to be with one another, nobody had blown up a city, or been murdered by the Anti-Monitor, or been shot and crippled by The Joker.

Hasta pronto, amigos!

Chilean Super Friends Stamp Album, Part 1 - 1982

This is one page (of a few) of a Super Friends sticker/stamp album sent to me by a F.O.A.M. member whose name I've misplaced (I'm a little embarrassed by that; I've since come up with a better way of keeping track of such things, so if you're the one who sent these to me, clue me in so I can give you proper credit!).

These stickers use much softer, more painterly coloring, which I think gives them a nice, unusual look.

In addition, this page features Aquaman, Aqualad, and Mera (sadly not stickered in place), so it's a very Aqua-centric page!

Anybody know who or what "Los Gemelos Fantasticos" is?


Update: Darlin' Tracy, who knows a little Spanish, figured it out for me--"Wonder Twins."

Update 2: Based on a comment left by a reader named Sergio, I have corrected my original post. These stickers were Super Friends-based, not Super Powers toy line-based, as I had originally said. Thanks Sergio for setting me straight!
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Thanks to F.O.A.M.er John Lijewski III, here are some more photos of the Aquaman Brave and the Bold figures, including Black Manta and an Aquaman variant:

...between the Brave and the Bold, DC Universe, DC Universe Classics, and DC Super Friends toy lines, Aquaman is going to have a huge presence in toy aisles in 2009.

Thanks John!