Friday, 3 April 2015

Minging t shirts and more on eBay

I put some stuff on eBay this week. For example...


The years have not been kind to poor old Judge Dredd. And this t shirt is testament to that. Once pristine white, this is a fine and glowing example of the earliest merchandise from 2000AD comic.

Dating back to the mid 1980s, this Mick McMahon Judge Dredd design - "No One Apes The Law" - is a favourite from the comic's heyday. It's quite possible that brand new and freshly-printed versions of this shirt could be obtained.

But would they be as valuable as this original? Glowing is not the word. Perspiring is the word.

Someone, around thirty years ago, perspired their little comic-loving heart out over this t-shirt. And despite repeated washings, this t shirt steadfastly refuses to give up those memories. It would rather lose the pattern off its chest than lose the DNA evidence that has become one with its armpits and, for some reason, the collar area.

It's not inconceivable that clone technology will advance sufficiently in the coming years for scientists to be able to use this t-shirt to grow a whole brand new me. How appropriate would that be, for a Judge Dredd t shirt? Totally appropriate, that's how.

Cos he's a clone. If you've not read a Judge Dredd comic lately. They're all clones of Judge Fargo. Like I needed to tell you.

So, some would call this t shirt minging. Others see a future race of super-cops in the making. The choice is yours.




When They Might Be Giants toured the UK and Europe for the first time, way back in 1990, at the height of the success of Flood and Birdhouse In Your Soul, I saw them live in Cardiff and this was the souvenir t shirt I bought.

Yes I wore it. Yes that was 25 years ago. Yes despite repeated washings it wears some of the signs of aging. But godammit this is a piece of history, a design classic.

Look at those tour dates on the back. Look at that illustration on the front. Look again at the slight yellowing of the basic t shirt itself. How many of these babies do you think survived the 90s? Not many, I'm betting.

This incredibly rare piece of timeless TMBG memorabilia - nay a slice of an epoch in material form - could be yours. But only if you act fast, and shush, don't let too many people know this treasure is here on eBay. Once word gets out and the bidding frenzy begins, you'll be sorry.

Don't let's start, this is the worst part. To believe for all the world that you were my precious little t-shirt...



This classic rare collectible, circa 1990, originally had a thermos which is now gone. The lunchpail / lunchbox is a beautiful bright pink having been kept in a dark cupboard for the last 25 years and looks as good as new, save for a few tiny scuffs as you might expect.

 This lunchbox came out just before Pee Wee Herman was removed from Pee Wee's Playhouse TV show (for reasons that you can Google). All merchandise disappeared pretty much immediately so those of us with these treasures tucked away have looked after them.

Okay, I didn't look after the thermos so well, that's got lost sometime in the last 25 years. But the lunchbox is intact and looks as good as it did when we bought it.

We live in the UK, so this lunchbox has never impressed anyone. In the UK Pee Wee Herman can't get arrested. Unlike in the States, it turns out.
 
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been taking place every year since 1947. This official commemorative t shirt comes from our visit in 1985. We love going to the Edinburgh Fringe and have been almost every year since then.

As a result, this t shirt has been worn quite a bit. It's clean, freshly washed indeed, but the amount it's been worn and reworn is evidenced in the fact that you can no longer read the label.

I'd probably still be wearing it now, but it's a Medium and, for reasons that remain unfathomable, I no longer am.

It bears the Official Edinburgh Fringe logo, which kids today who think the Fringe is some sort of comedy festival probably don't even know exists. But it does. And you can own it.


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