Indie Squid Kid

Dan Beard, 1887

Via Cephalolove (via finegarten)

We went to the NC State Fair today, so no “normal” ISK post tonight. Obviously it was Kid Indie Squid Kid’s first trip the Fair, but it was also my first time…and I’ve been a North Carolina resident for 25 years!

Here are some of the highlights…

chocolate-covered bacon!

all things are better deep fried

space angel

cryptids on the midway

requisite cephalopod!

design by Alvaro Arteaga

Sometimes you just can’t win.

Sometimes you have to let the monsters eat your boat.

Buy it from Threadless (Currently sold out!)

Also, this reminds me of something…

Here is the contents of yesterday’s mystery package—a specimen of the seldom seen terrestrial cephalopod commonly known as the Tufted Cuddlestache. Natalie Metzger is the world’s leading expert on Cuddlestache biology and natural history, and the following account is from her website, The Fuzzy Slug (where you can also see one of the only known photographs of a Tufted Cuddlestache in the wild):

Extremely rare and elusive, the Tufted Cuddlestache is native to the dense temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.  It was believed that they were hunted to extinction for their luxurious mustaches, which were used in the making of novelty stick-on mustaches and eyebrow replacements. However, while searching for Sasquatch in the remote backwoods of Washington state, field scientist, Dr. Crumpen Von Ludwig,  stumbled upon a small surviving population of the Tufted Cuddlestaches. Little was known about them as the last known living specimen died in 1910. He discovered that they were quite friendly and unafraid of man. Whether that was from isolation, or natural behavioral traits, studies so far have been inconclusive.  Since this great discovery, a  breeding program has been established by Washington State University in order to help restore wild population numbers and to gain valuable knowledge about the behavior and biology of these wonderful creatures. Currently, wild numbers are still very low (estimates are somewhere around 20 breeding pairs) and the Tufted Cuddlestache is listed as critical on the endangered species list.

In addition to being a reknowed cuddlestache-ologist, Natalie is also an artist, cartoonist, and photographer. She designed the Indie Squid Kid logo, and the famous “Bourbon Drinking Squid.”

…arrived today with a mysterious package.

More information to follow.

Mattel’s Matchbox Monsters was a 2006 toy line that paired diecast vehicles with plastic cryptids (well, sorta). There was a snow plow with a yeti, a pickup truck with a giant bear, a van with a reptoid/swamp monster, a Jeep with a “T-rex bone monster,” and the best of all, a hovercraft with a Kraken. (You can see photos of the entire set here.)

Now it has been well established that hovercraft are awesome. This one claims to be a “Nautical Research Vessel”, yet it has a massive harpoon cannon on the foredeck. That’s pretty awesome, I guess, but it begs the question, what kind of research requires a harpoon? (Other than “What can we harpoon today?”) I suppose it could be used to defend their hovercraft from the deadly Kraken…

This particular Kraken (which seems to be officially called the “Black Kraken Monster”) resembles a cross between an octopus and a squid. Its head and tentacles are arrayed in a very octopus-like pose, but it’s head extends into a long squid-like mantle. It appears to have only seven arms, and each ends in pointy club. The mantle ends in a similar arrowhead point, so it almost seems as though it might have been intended to be an eighth tentacle. It has malevolent red and yellow eyes, purple spots OF PURE EVIL.

More recently, the Kraken figure has shown up in the Matchbox Hitch ‘N Haul series, specifically the Wild Water™  set. The Kraken is now being called a Giant Squid, and it is joined by a shark and scuba diver. The hovercraft has been replaced with an (infinitely less interesting) SUV pulling a jet ski on a trailer. The squid has been repainted a sort of purpley-blue and, in case you were wondering, the SUV is a Chevy Suburban.

There is also this variant version with a powder blue squid, shark, and diver, a red jet ski, and a Land Rover Freelander.

design by Ross Zietz

This is the first of many cephalopod designs from Threadless that will be featured on T-shirt Tuesday. I also think this was the first Threadless shirt I ever saw. I don’t own it because either a) I’m afraid the color doesn’t quite look right on me, or b) it’s never in stock when I decide the buy it anyway. One of these days it shall be mine!

Buy it from Threadless

Also available as a print!

Note: At the time of this writing, both the shirt (in adult sizes) and the print are sold out. However, it has been reprinted several times over the years, so keep trying…I know I will!

UPDATE: Threadless has reprinted this design, as of 8/17/2009. Get yours while supplies last!