Indie Squid Kid

Safari Ltd., as I have mentioned before, is the leading purveyor of high-quality plastic toy animals. Over the last ten years or so, they have produced three different versions of Architeuthis—the legendary Giant Squid.

The first Giant Squid made by Safari was this tiny guy. It was part of a small assortment of similarly-sized marine animals which were available, if I recall, in the mid-90s (although there is no date printed on the figure). This assortment has been out of production for a while, and I think it was part of the Habitat Authentics line. (Although I haven’t been able to dig up any information on it—thanks for NOTHING Internet!)

The figure itself is not as accurate as Safari’s second Giant Squid sculpt (see below). While it is a perfectly lovely squid, generally, its mantle and tentacles are too short to be an Architeuthis (something we’ve seen before).

Safari’s next version of the Giant Squid really hit the mark. The 1998 Monterey Bay Aquarium Giant Squid is approximately 18″ long, and it remains the best Architeuthis replica to date. It retails for $9.99 and is still available from SafariLtd.com.

Here the Giant Squid is locked in combat with Safari’s Monterey Bay Sperm Whale. As you can see, the scale is a little off…despite a few unverified reports from the 19th century, it’s unlikely that they ever get quite this big.

In 2004, the Wild Safari® Sealife Giant Squid was released. This is the same sculpt as the Monterey Bay squid, only scaled down (approximately 10″ long) for the cheaper Wild Safari line. Buy on SafariLtd.com or look for it at Michael’s, A.C. Moore, or the better sort of museum gift shop.

Here are both squids in a side-by-side comparison. Both versions have wires in the long feeding tentacles, making them the most poseable Safari replica.

Learn more about Architeuthis on Tree of Life.

Previously on ISK: Wild Safari Sealife Octopus

I know, I know. Music Week was last week, but somehow I ended up being too busy over the weekend for my last planned post. So, here is that final straggler—three of my favorite squid album covers.

Brooklyn’s favorite sons (sorry JoCo, but the Johns have this one!) make their second Music Week appearance. (The first being their tentacular collaborations with Hine Mizushima.)

For my money, TMBG’s fourth studio album, Apollo 18 (1992, Elektra Records),  is the mark to beat when it comes to squid-themed album art. What’s more awesome than Architeuthis dux vs Physeter macrocephalus? That same fight…IN SPACE!

The Gourds are a honky-tonkin’ alt-country band from Austin, TX, and their album Noble Creatures (2007, Yep Rock Records/Redeye) could almost be the sequel to Apollo 18—if the cover art is any indication. The Giant Squid, having either defeated or escaped from the Sperm Whale, now faces down a longboat full of lunar whalers! Man, that Space Squid is having a bad day!

Finally, we have To the Bottom of the Sea (2008, Projekt Records) by wacky Goth troubador Voltaire. No Space Squid this time…unless he has followed the whalers back to their ship to exact his final, horrible revenge. The title track mentions a “She-Kraken,” so Voltaire gets points for actually including a cephalopod in his squid-covered album! (Shout out to Kevin Z. at Deep-Sea News for posting this one first.)

leviathans 9, originally uploaded by Ryan Rubino.

Behold the glory that is Lego Sperm Whale vs Lego Giant Squid! I thought about saving this for Flickr Friday, but I just couldn’t wait!

For more photos of these beautiful brick behemoths, visit Ryan’s Flickr set.

We live in awesome times—particularly if you are a T-shirt enthusiast. T-shirt design has long been an art form, but the Internet has revolutionized the craft. There are currently dozens of websites where one can get amazing/hip/ironic/hilarious shirts, and so, logically, T-shirts that feature cephalopods abound. I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I own quite a few of them, but, due to my sedentary lifestyle and a job that requires I be parked in front of computer all day, they stopped being flattering on me right about the time that I started this blog. Until now! I think it must have something to do with having a kid—both because taking care of a baby is a form of exercise, and because we have started being more cognizant of our weekly food budget.

Anyway, starting today, I am going to feature a different cephalopod-themed T-shirt every Tuesday until both my personal collection and the vast inventory of the Internet have been fully cataloged.

Kicking things off, we have “The squid and the whale” by graphic designer Dan McCarthy. In addition to this and other cool shirts, Dan also makes some kick-ass prints and posters!

©Brandon Bird

For the final post of Art Week, here is the Most Awesome Thing Ever.

Sadly, I don’t own this, but DAMN I wish I did! Two different sizes of this print are for sale over at www.brandonbird.com.

And it just so happens my birthday is coming up this month.

I’m just saying…