Robot Claw

At the con a few weeks back, I became inspired by the comicness of the situation as I wrote postcards. As a result, four ‘comic postcards’ were created and sent.

Here now, for the first time, I will exclusively reveal both editions of the legendary and timely tale ‘Great Phantom & King Nucleon vs Astrogoth‘:

But wait! There’s more!!!

“What were the two other comics”, you ask? Well, they will forever remain editions-of-one in the possession of their recipients, but here you can catch a small glimpse of one of them in this breathtaking example of ‘artist-at-work’ character development concept art (as sketched in our hotel room):

Is that a two-legged Astrogoth, or a rejected character? Where did I find the inspiration for Great Phantom’s design? And (most mysteriously) who the hell is that rabbit in the lower left?!? The mind boggles!

As if you haven’t realized yet, I take my postcards quite seriously 😉

Now Bernard, do I have to beg you to blog the still-mysterious ‘coded series’ of postcards from Florida 2012?

One reason I love postcards is the lack of privacy. Not only do I know anyone could be reading, I expect them to. Indeed, I have occasionally sent postcards for this express purpose, such as a very risqué one from Hawaii on which I simply wrote something like: “Dear postie, I hope this gives you a laugh!”

Several times over the years postcards I have sent have not arrived. I can specifically recall examples sent to Alma, AW, SFL and myself disappearing into nothingness. These were mailed from many places worldwide, over several years, and yet I still wonder exactly where they ended up. What was written on them? Are they still out there, or did they end up in a dead letter office?

Australian readers may recall a column on postal matters that used to run in the Sydney Morning Herald many years back. I used to love reading out the amazing stories of efficiency (such as letters delivered when the address was just a name) and especially those about the dead letter office, where undeliverable mail ended up.

It turns out the name is a bit of a misnomer, because the job of a dead letter office is not just to collect or destroy mail, but to actually try and work out who it is supposed to go to and get it there. They still exist and do this job to this day.

One possible example dates back a few years to when we went to England. As usual I had sent out a bunch of postcards (I average over one per day on vacation now) and I just assumed they all arrived. Imagine my surprise when, six months later during my Australia trip a postcard from England arrived at my parents house. Six months! Why did it take so long?!? Where had it been? Could it have possibly gone via a dead letter office? If it did, there was no clue, since being a postcard it hadn’t been opened and resealed using a nifty (and apparently very collectible) dead letter seal like this one:

I have even sent postcards with the half-hope they got lost; with messages on them not necessarily for the recipient. But I’ve never ever deliberately sent out a postcard to places unknown. Until now this is…

This article about a ‘missing post office’ in Japan really spoke to me. A destination for anonymous postcards only! If anyone on Earth should send a card to them, surely it should be me?

So I have. It’s a silly picture postcard from Queenstown, Tasmania (which of course I’ve never been to, but the question of why such cards appeal to me is a blog entry all of its own). The front of the card hardly matters though. It’s what’s on the back that’s interesting.

Unlike almost every other card I write it’s not a joke, or a sketch, or anything silly at all. It’s a short paragraph; a sad little sentence about the future. I’m not going to repeat it here, but it will soon (I hope) be on public display in this quirky little gallery. I wonder if anyone will read it, and from my words wonder a little about the writer?

There was a very lonely fellow at the con selling trading cards. Needless to say, I perused his selection with some interest and eagerly snapped up a pack of these:

You may recall I watched the entire series over the summer, enjoying it quite a bit. The card set is from the 1979 film, and I recall buying many packs in my youth, treasuring the cards depicting space battles!

Here’s a shot of the back, so you can marvel at the date and the fact the pack remains wax-sealed after 34 years:

An ‘unboxing’ shot of the freshly opened pack:

Here’s the stick of gum. I took a bite, which was a bad idea. Don’t eat gum more than 30 years old!

The best card in the pack, front and back:

I also got a sticker!

And some of my beloved-as-a-kid space battles:

Overall, a great pack with a good selection of cards. Here’s the full selection, and if you need any of these to complete your collection just let me know 🙂

You may wonder what I do with these cards after I open them? Well…

Based on feedback, the shirt I wore to the con Saturday seems to have been a hit 🙂

I originally tweeted the image from Japan; specifically from a KFC in Asakusa. It was the result of using the ‘beauty mode’ of my digital camera on a shot of Bernard. No other effects were used, and the result was hilarious and priceless!

A couple of weeks ago I had the idea of printing it into a shirt and wearing it to the con. I had this done at a shop in the mall. It only took about 15 minutes and cost $25. The image quality is high, but I don’t think it will survive many washes 🙂

The whole shtick was premeditated, including posting the images without referring to the shirt. I told Colin Baker it was my brother on the shirt and he pointed without me asking!

I noticed many. many people glancing at the shirt, both at the con and on the NY streets. It certainly stood out amidst the sea of Star Wars and superhero shirts!

The funniest reaction was from cosplayer Monica Lee (who was on Heroes of Cosplay). When I walked up to her she actually raised her hands and gave a little shriek! “Your shirt!”, she said. When I explained it was my brother, she said it was scary!

All told, a great success and I’m glad I made it.

The shirt is now in storage, and will remain there for the foreseeable future. Will it ever again see the light of day? Time will tell..,