Author Topic: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging  (Read 640469 times)

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Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2415 on: November 01, 2020, 04:59:40 PM »
This is where Wackys jumped the shark  :P
I wouldn’t say that at all.  An odd product choice is just that, nothing more.  I could use the same argument to say that Wackys jumped the shark in 1967 with Fearstone, or the fake toothpaste Decay in the 11th.

Maybe you’re just kidding, not sure.  But I’ve always felt the last few series are just as strong as the earlier ones in terms of art quality and overall eye appeal.  The only negatives are the higher frequency of odd products and maybe the magazines which I know are comparatively unpopular.

Offline mikecho

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2416 on: November 01, 2020, 05:25:46 PM »

I have to, respectfully, disagree with  the comment that the book was virtually unknown before the movie. The book JAWS was a really big deal before it was a movie. It was on The New York Times bestseller list for 44 weeks  and in it's first year of publication JAWS sold 5.5 million copies (that's more books than there are people in Finland). Most of my friends had read the book before the movie was announced.  I remember The Godfather being a similar scenario.
Yes, and the 15th Series would've also had The Clodfather if it hadn't been pulled.

According to lostwackys.com, it was pulled because of outrage from the Italian-Americans over Run Tony from the 2nd Series and also because of concern that kids weren't familiar with the book version of The Godfather. But, from what I've been told about Rusty's site from some of you, this should be taken with a whole mine of salt. Anyway, it's all there in the site's Lost Wackys section under Original Series Lost Wackys if anyone wants to look.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2020, 07:34:19 AM by mikecho »

Offline bigtomi

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2417 on: November 04, 2020, 10:13:07 AM »
Maybe you’re just kidding, not sure.
Of course, he's making a pun. How could someone who loves Wackys not have a sense of humor? (Now, I'm kidding, just so you're sure!)

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2418 on: November 04, 2020, 10:23:28 AM »
Gasp View-Monster and Gaf View-Master...



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2419 on: November 04, 2020, 10:47:52 AM »
Of course, he's making a pun. How could someone who loves Wackys not have a sense of humor? (Now, I'm kidding, just so you're sure!)
I thought he was kidding based on the emoji, but I have to admit the pun went right over my head.  I use that expression a lot myself (on TV shows mainly, for which it was created), so the coincidence didn’t strike me as it should have.  Also, a cynic might say that about Gums and really mean it!

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2420 on: November 04, 2020, 10:57:08 AM »
Gasp View-Monster and Gaf View-Master...


A bizarre Wacky for sure but one I always liked, based on an affinity I had at the time for View Master.  Yet another childhood possession that disappeared without explanation.

Years ago I found a small piece of this title (part of the wheel of slides) stuck to something or other, which meant that I probably tried at some point to unpeel and preserve the sticker, though I have no recollection of it.  Must have been not long after 1975.  In some such attempts the sticker would fully unpeel, and in others it would shred into 100 little pieces, impossible to ‘restore.’  Depended on the surface material it was stuck to.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2421 on: November 07, 2020, 07:42:17 AM »
Mare compared to More cigarettes



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2422 on: November 07, 2020, 06:25:06 PM »
Mare compared to More cigarettes



I would imagine this one ranks as only average among most collectors, but it’s a personal favorite of mine from this series.  The tall slender box of the More brand makes for a unique look among the various cigarette parodies, and the little horses poking their heads out of the box is a nice touch.  A fairly simple concept but great eye appeal IMO.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2423 on: November 19, 2020, 05:26:01 AM »
Hamel and Camel cigarettes...



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2424 on: November 19, 2020, 01:15:21 PM »
This title never did much for me.  The camel is such an odd-looking animal that any parody that gets away from portraying the camel in a comical way is probably not going to work as well, and for me using a pig that isn’t even cartoonishly funny-looking falls a bit flat.

Of course I’m somewhat biased by 1st Series Camals.  Some of those early titles are so iconic that any attempt at a second parody of the same product almost feels like sacrilege, though of course some that were done were worthy entries into the Wacky anthology.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2425 on: November 30, 2020, 08:36:13 PM »
Famous Mobsters compared to Famous Monsters. I think the 2nd real magazine cover below is where the Frankenstein image was used for inspiration.



Offline mikecho

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2426 on: November 30, 2020, 09:25:47 PM »
Famous Mobsters compared to Famous Monsters. I think the 2nd real magazine cover below is where the Frankenstein image was used for inspiration.


There's a mistake on it. It should be "the Great Tana Leaf Heist!".

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2427 on: December 01, 2020, 04:48:33 PM »
Famous Mobsters compared to Famous Monsters. I think the 2nd real magazine cover below is where the Frankenstein image was used for inspiration.



I wonder if there is any significance to the issue number, 1103876, or if it was simply randomly selected. Some short Google searching didn’t yield anything that seemed associated.
aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2428 on: December 01, 2020, 07:23:56 PM »
Famous Mobsters compared to Famous Monsters. I think the 2nd real magazine cover below is where the Frankenstein image was used for inspiration.


I’m not sure if I was familiar with the Warren magazines as far back as 1975, but because I had never seen Sleepy (11th) or Umbrella (13th), I had no idea this magazine was part of the 15th.  The checklist only reads “Famous Mobster’s”, with no “Magazine” or “Mag.”, so I had no idea what it was until I saw a Reissue reprint stuck to a wall behind a newsstand counter 5 years later.  Blew my mind when I saw it.

Love all three of the Warren parodies, giving both Umbrella and Famous a slight edge over Sleepy.  There is so much great imagery and variety in the cover art over the life of the FM series that the title could be parodied dozens of times without ever getting boring.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2429 on: December 03, 2020, 10:29:33 AM »
Blurine and Murine. Another extremely hard to find matching real product image. It's the missing link between the two images show below.



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2430 on: December 04, 2020, 05:58:20 PM »
Weird one.  Never heard of the product, never saw the Wacky back in the day.  I’m well familiar with Visine eye drops going back many years, but never knew there was another brand.  Packaging makes it look like something from the 1940’s.  Not much else to say about this one.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2431 on: December 12, 2020, 02:06:53 PM »
Slam Jim and Slim Jim...



Offline freetoes

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2432 on: December 12, 2020, 05:47:16 PM »
This has to be one of the best original product matches in the entire run. Definitely a familiar product for kids. A so-so gag, but an animated version would be fun.

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2433 on: December 12, 2020, 10:20:04 PM »
Slam Jim and Slim Jim...


Always liked this one.  Nice cartoony characters, and what’s more absurd than beef jerky sticks duking it out?  Add a highly familiar product to kids, and you’ve got a winner. 

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2434 on: December 13, 2020, 12:57:23 AM »
Slam Jim is a fantastic Wacky!  I wouldn't change a thing!

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2435 on: December 13, 2020, 06:55:11 AM »
Slam Jim is a fantastic Wacky!  I wouldn't change a thing!

I agree! It's so iconic Dave Gross uses it for his avatar too. Want to give a shout out to Jason Leibig for his real product image used in the comparison.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2436 on: December 16, 2020, 12:04:32 PM »
Smell Ecch-100 compared to Shell X100 Motor Oil...



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2437 on: December 16, 2020, 06:46:20 PM »
I remember seeing the title “Smell Motor Oil” on the checklist and thinking that must be an awesome title, but once I finally saw it some 22 years later, I was disappointed based on the packaging design used, which lacks the eye appeal I was imagining.  The stark orange banding and “Ecch-100” dominate the art too much.  I was hoping for a more prominent shell logo and the classic red and yellow colors (something like that pictured below)but apparently the “X-100” grade is common to most of their vintage oil cans, so I guess they just went with what was current and prominent at the time.  Oh well, maybe vintage Mobil with the flying horse logo would have worked better.




Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2438 on: December 17, 2020, 04:45:02 AM »
I remember seeing the title “Smell Motor Oil” on the checklist and thinking that must be an awesome title, but once I finally saw it some 22 years later, I was disappointed based on the packaging design used, which lacks the eye appeal I was imagining.  The stark orange banding and “Ecch-100” dominate the art too much.  I was hoping for a more prominent shell logo and the classic red and yellow colors (something like that pictured below)but apparently the “X-100” grade is common to most of their vintage oil cans, so I guess they just went with what was current and prominent at the time.  Oh well, maybe vintage Mobil with the flying horse logo would have worked better.




I agree. So many more better oil can designs to choose from at the time. Maybe Moobil with a winged cow instead of a pegasus?

Offline mikecho

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2439 on: December 17, 2020, 07:43:18 AM »
I agree. So many more better oil can designs to choose from at the time. Maybe Moobil with a winged cow instead of a pegasus?
If you go to the Lost Wackys section of lostwackys.com, you'll see a black and white rough for Moobiloil (Mobiloil).

Jay Lynch did this rough. He also did two similar roughs in color called Onion 76 (Union 76) and Porkers 666 Slop-Artic (Phillips 66 Trop-Artic).
« Last Edit: July 15, 2021, 12:37:08 AM by mikecho »

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2440 on: December 17, 2020, 07:52:25 AM »
If you go to the Lost Wackys section of lostwackys.com, you'll see a rough for Moobiloil (Mobiloil).

That would cool to see that rough in a finished painting! There was a Nobull spoof in crazy labels and a Mobil oil bottle spoof in the ANS series.

Offline BustedFinger

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2441 on: December 17, 2020, 09:18:40 AM »
If you go to the Lost Wackys section of lostwackys.com, you'll see a rough for Moobiloil (Mobiloil).
What is going on with lostwackys.com ?  I think Dave C. (Plastered) also mentioned that the site is only display a tiny "123" in the top left corner.
Giving "The Hobby" the finger since 1999!

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2442 on: December 17, 2020, 09:49:58 AM »
What is going on with lostwackys.com ?  I think Dave C. (Plastered) also mentioned that the site is only display a tiny "123" in the top left corner.
It’s only the main page that’s lost - kind of apropos, actually
Go to any sub page and it’s fine

Offline bigtomi

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2443 on: December 17, 2020, 11:46:41 AM »
It’s only the main page that’s lost - kind of apropos, actually
Go to any sub page and it’s fine
As I've mentioned in a couple of other posts lately, try http://lostwackys.com/lostwackys.htm for the main page. For whatever reason, the index.html file was changed to just have the "123"...

Offline BustedFinger

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2444 on: December 17, 2020, 02:27:23 PM »
As I've mentioned in a couple of other posts lately, try http://lostwackys.com/lostwackys.htm for the main page. For whatever reason, the index.html file was changed to just have the "123"...
Thanks!  I have updated my link!
Giving "The Hobby" the finger since 1999!

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2445 on: December 18, 2020, 08:20:14 AM »
Ultra Sheep and Ultra Sheen...



Offline Gurgle

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2446 on: December 18, 2020, 06:18:35 PM »
I much prefer Flunk to Flopp for both art and gag. Flopp reminds me of Cram.

Fluff started in Massachusetts so was pretty popular around here when I was a kid. I ate plenty of Fluffernutters, but it was hard to spread!


Flunk compared to Fluff, along with the original parody Flopp from series 7...



Offline Gurgle

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2447 on: December 18, 2020, 06:21:12 PM »
Ah, thanks. I certainly never knew what the Ecch was supposed to be parodying!

Smell Ecch-100 compared to Shell X100 Motor Oil...



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2448 on: December 18, 2020, 07:55:26 PM »
I much prefer Flunk to Flopp for both art and gag. Flopp reminds me of Cram.

Fluff started in Massachusetts so was pretty popular around here when I was a kid. I ate plenty of Fluffernutters, but it was hard to spread!
Not exactly a splash reaction to Ultra Sheep - you’ve gone back a whole series!  ;D

As for Ultra Sheep, another “meh” reaction.  Never saw the product, never even saw any shampoo packaged in a jar-shaped bottle like that, nothing especially appealing about the parody, etc.  Well-rendered though; nice shading on the jar and lid.  Does look like something you’d find in one of those utility/sundry stores back in the day. 
« Last Edit: December 18, 2020, 07:59:18 PM by MoldRush »

Offline Gurgle

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2449 on: December 21, 2020, 05:55:27 PM »
Only through these posts do i truly realize how many times i did not know what the original product was...

Ultra Sheep and Ultra Sheen...



 

anything