hookin' up

[davemerrill]

New Let's Anime all about those Hook-Ups stickers that you saw everywhere in the 90s. I remember them well as being these vague fan-art-ish approximations of 'the anime style', close but obviously not The Real Thing. As it turns out some of their artwork was so close to The Real Thing that it actually WAS The Real Thing.

These are a few extra images that didn't make the cut:

Comments

[warpig1979.livejournal.com]

There's a much longer tale that could be told about the history of skate-industry swiping in general. Recall a number of American indies seeing their work wind up on decks and stickers back in the 90s -- Jhonen Vasquez was a big one.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I don't really have any respect at all for the whole extreme sports, skater culture thing, and the Let's Anime post, as short as it was, had to go through a couple of revisions before I could work all the contempt out. Not surprised they would rip off guys like Vasquez. Once you start stealing, it's hard to stop.

[ferricide.livejournal.com]

i had a hook-ups belldandy T-shirt circa 1997. i knew it was a ripoff, but i liked the picture too much to not buy it. especially because back then getting an anime Tshirt was non-trivial. the only other one i had, i think, was the ol' NEO TOKYO IS ABOUT TO E-X-P-L-O-D-E.

[torfindra.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it was a Hook-Ups brand or not, but in 1998 I found a Vampire Miyu t-shirt, with some of the colours changed.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I think there is a Miyu Hook-Ups image actually. I had an embarrassment of Hook-Ups Rip-Offs to use with the column and a bunch didn't make the cut, and I think one of them was a Miyu.