Send More Muppets: Fright-Rags Exclusive

Matt Boiselle

The creative masterminds at the horror t-shirt company Fright Rags have done it again. In conjunction with the 27th anniversary of the zombie horror-comedy classic, The Return of the Living Dead, a limited-edition series of t-shirts & hoodies have been emblazoned with a design that is sure to send chills (and some laughs) down your spine.

 While numerous ROTLD shirts have been spit out with drab graphics over the years by many other t-shirt makers, only Fright Rags could provide a design that can capture the essence of the movie that surely launched MANY fans into intently viewing other undead projects on the big (and little) screen for years after. Oh yeah, and did we mention.....the cast of the movie has been replaced by The Muppets ?? That's right ! - Those goofy little multi-colored showmen that infected movie and TV screens for many of us during our youth, have taken over key roles on this shirt ( and does it EVER look cool !)

    The focal point of the shirt centered across a graveyard is The Tarman himself, flanked by both Bert & Ernie playing from the movie.....well, Bert & Ernie. Other main characters like Suicide, Trash & Freddy are also depicted in full color and let me tell you, this little beauty will be sure to sell out quickly ! Pre-orders are being accepted on www.fright-rags.com right now for both mens and womens sizes s-5xl - and hoodies are also available, but be warned - this pre-order is only going to be offered until this Sunday, July 8th at 11:59 pm SO HURRY UP !!!!

New Fright Rags Contest!

Fright Rags is back with another T-shirt contest! This month, one lucky winner will receive a size Larg "Ol Chief Woodenhead" shirt. To enter, all you need to do is email your name and address to frightrags@zombiesandtoys.com.

Make sure to check out the Fright Rags site for more classic horror images you can wear. Make sure to sign up for their newsletter and take 10% off your first order! What's even better is your not polluted with useless emails. Only the occasional Their shirts are comfortable and the images are unique.

Speaking of contests, we have several lucky folks who will be taking home some awesome zombie shooting targets thanks to Zombie Ammo!  One willer will also receive a vocher for the shirt of their choice from Zombie Ammo!

Help me say "thanks" to Zombie Ammo by heading over there to see what the different targets they offer.  Besides their selection of cool shirts, they also have some new zombie targets!  So congrats to:

Tabitha B. from Franklin, WI

Haydn M. from Portland, OR

Jessica S. from Las Vegas, NV

Fright Rags - contest and update

I know I've mentioned Fright Rags here before and I hope you have taken the time to visit their store via the link in the margin. For the record, I do not get paid for any clicks or purchases. Aside from having a nice selection of horror-themed shirts (more on that in a minute), they go out of their way to make you feel like part of the team. They offer exclusive discounts, merchandise, and updates to those who subscribe to their newsletter and even give you the opportunity to vote on new designs.

The primary reason for mentioning Fright Rags is to share with you that they have brought two shirt prints back from the dead! Oh, yeah, Fright Rags generally only produces shirts in limited quantities and once they're gone, they're gone.

Anyway, two classic scenes are now available once again: Zombie vs Shark and Zombi 2 Eye Gauge. Follow the links to check them out!

This announcement also reminded me that I have a few Fright Rags shirts to give away thanks to their generosity! While not zombie related, you can take home this size XL vampire shirt by emailing your name and address to frightrags@zombiesandtoys.com. One winner will be selected August 6th.

Update

Just another "update" post to let everyone know what's in store in the coming months here at Zombies & Toys...

As I have said in the past, my lack of updates definitely does not translate to a lack of work. The Undead Bazaar has been taking up the majority of my time this month. I have been slightly overwhelmed and have some new participants. Therefore, The Undead Bazaar is going to extend into June. We still have plenty of artists to cover and great items to give away! Speaking of, our first contest will have a winner chosen this weekend so don't forget to enter now!

We have been steadily stocking new items in the Zombie Toy Store. We have added several new art collectible toys, movie figures, and some vintage zombie toys. We do not ask for donations to keep the blog running and never will. But we will soon have "swag bag" items in the toy store. These swag bags will vary in content and price containing stickers, buttons, key chains, shirts, mouse pads, and other items to show your support for Zombies & Toys.

Speaking of showing your support, we are "toying" with the idea of recruiting for a street team. Specifics have not been worked out, but if you would like to help our community grow by displaying postcard fliers, stickers, buttons, and other items please contact Jason at zombiesandtoys@gmail.com with your suggestions of how you can help.

There will be plenty of great contests throughout the summer and beyond! Sourpuss Clothing will be back with some zombie accessories. Fright Rags has some great shirts to give away. Zombie Ammo has sent us some zombie target sets to help you prepare for the apocalypse. FearWerx will be back with some more of their great zombie items. Horror Signs has more sweet signs, stickers, and magnets to give away. Zombie Blood will be awarding 3 lucky readers 4-packs of their Zombie Blood energy drink (exclusive contest for facebook fans).

Zombies & Toys will also be sponsoring a contest with our good friends over at Toy Break. For those not in the know, Toy Break is a weekly show about... well... toys. It's a show I look forward to every week. We have sent them an exclusive Zombies & Toys zombie bust hand sculpted and painted by Philip Hynes!

Don't forget to join the discussions on the Zombies & Toys facebook page and be updated with news posts by following us on Twitter. There are often exclusive contests and bonus entries to those who take part. Finally, if you have zombie news you would like to announce or have any comments, contact me at zombiesandtoys@gmail.com.

Limited Edition Tarman Shirts

It's a good thing you can only read what I am writing and not the curse words spewing out of my mouth right now...

Fright Rags has on sale beginning today a limited edition Tarman T-Shirt and signed and numbered print. The bad news? As of this writing, the print is sold out and only women's size shirts and size small are left. No, I didn't get on this in time either.

Because misery loves company, I thought I'd share with you the gem we missed out on:

Here's the tale of this image's creation from Fright Rags:

Very few individual zombie characters stand out as much as Tarman from Return of the Living Dead, released in 1985. Perhaps it was the gooey, dripping make-up, or Alan Trautman’s skeletal figure and creepy performance, or even the fact that he uttered the now infamous line synonymous with all zombies “BRAAAIIINNS!”. No matter what, Tarman is truly an icon of zombie cinema.

And he wouldn’t be that way if it weren’t for the brilliant visual style of William Stout, who helmed the production design for the film. Already a renowned artist having worked on other features such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Conan the Barbarian, and First Blood, this was his first job as production designer, making him the youngest one in film history. Working with director Dan O’Bannon, Stout drew his inspiration from the Mummies of Guanajuato, EC Comics, and actual corpse photos to make his zombies look as real as possible. Among the select few “principal corpses” used in the film, Tarman quickly stole the show the second he appeared on screen.

Since Return of the Living Dead is one of my personal favorite movies, I have always wanted to do a Tarman shirt. And while I’ve seen other Tarman shirts on the market, I never felt they captured the spirit and essence of the character. Over a year ago, I finally started the design...but it never seemed to look right. I had other artists try their hand at the type of look I was going for, but nothing evr seemed quite right. However, when discussing this idea with Diane O’Bannon (the wife of the late director Dan O’Bannon), she suggested I talk to William Stout. In all honesty, that thought had never crossed my mind. So based on her suggestion, I contact him.

To my surprise, William was not only interested in working together, he asked if he could do a completely original drawing for this design...and who better to visualize the infamous Tarman but the creator of the character himself! The result is a truly unique and original look for the iconic zombie. All of the hallmarks of the character are there – the bug-eyes, skeletal structure, goopy drips – and all presented in a highly-stylized illustration, referencing the EC Comics-style Stout used as inspiration for his original design. For the colors, I chose the talented Ray Frenden to bring Stout's drawing to life in full vivid color. Never before has Tarman looked so striking…

And as a part of our artist series, we are also selling this design as a limited edition print, signed and numbered by William Stout himself!