Cool As Ice

Here's another gem I got reacquainted with during the stay-at-home order we're currently under here in Michigan.

Here's a little admission, I was a huge H-U-G-E Vanilla Ice fan back in the day.  I remember getting the To The Extreme cassette tape in December of 1990.  I bought it for myself while Christmas shopping for others.  Not only did I know every word to every song I also know how those songs sounded when the batteries to my Walkman were about to die, which usually happened to and from school on the bus.  I had posters up and I even read his, what I know was highly fabricated, biography from a book I got from the Scholastic book order.  Easy to say I was the perfect demographic mark for the Ice Man.

Here's some nice things I'll say about Cool As Ice.  It does a pretty good job of encapsulating some totally early 90's fashions.  Let's see, it features Michael Gross (dad from Family Ties) and Kristin Minter (older cousin from Home Alone).  It's quotable.  There's three nice things for ya.

But, this is a bad movie.  I like bad movies though, so I do legitimately like Cool As Ice.  It's overtly obvious that this movie was simply thrown together to cash in on Vanilla Ice's rocket ship like ascension to the top of popular music --  To the Extreme spent 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, and sold 15 million copies worldwide.  But, the movie made zero sense to the point it's comical.  It cost $6 million to make but only had a box office gross of $1.2 million.  Ironically, after being on top of the world a year prior, Vanilla's run was pretty much over by this time as a paradigm shift to grunge music took the place of Ice's sequined and airbrushed pop-rap.  It's kind of a shame too because Vanilla is a pretty charismatic guy (as evidenced by all the reality TV he's been a part of over the years).  As good as the timing was for his music career, this movie's timing was equally as bad for his acting career.  I would be genuinely interested in seeing him in a movie role where he wasn't just playing a caricature of his rap caricature.

As for the card, this is of course inspired by ProSet's 1991 Yo! MTV Raps card set.  I think, like Cool As Ice, these cards are an example of the cash in on the card boom of the early '90s, or, as it's come to known as, the "junk wax era".

ProSet's 1991 Yo! MTV Raps

I've done a number of cards in cards in the past.  They all, sans the B-Rabbit card, have fun with the gentrification of rap music.  This card is obviously not an exception.  What does set this one apart though is that I've gone little deeper into the design, giving the card a little more flava with a full bleed card back complete with a Johnny Van Owen Yo! Fact!

Doughboy

Here is the second card birthed out of my quarantine watch list.

I remember as an eleven year old kid the impactfulness of Boyz n the Hood.  This around a time where urban culture was really gaining steam in becoming popular culture.  Up until that point most of it was fun Kid 'n Play type stuff, but director John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood was a more raw look into gang culture.  It certainly wasn't the first movie to venture there, but it is, in my mind, the best and most significant.

I popped in this VHS and watched this movie for the first time in a long time.  The movie has held up and still worthy of all the praise it gets.  It's not just for the story the movie tells, but the cinematic excellence for which it was told.  Boyz n the Hood has a masterful aesthetic appeal and the acting put names like Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lawrence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Nia Long on the map.

While watching I couldn't ignore the Old English D on "Doughboy's" Tigers' cap that Cube wore throughout the movie.  I'm sure I noticed it as a kid from the metro Detroit area, but it has a new significance now that I've been channeling my creative angst into retro inspired trading cards.  Now it's like of course there needs to be a Darrin "Doughboy" Baker Detroit Tigers baseball card!

In 1991 when Boyz n the Hood came out there was a must have baseball card that would be sure to make you a rich man in the future... the '91 Score Chipper Jones #1 Draft Pick card.  Like I've stated in the past about the 1991 Score set, it's a pretty forgettable looking base card, but the subsets are some of the best ever in my opinion.  I remembering pulling the Chipper Jones from a pack and really liking the looking of the card.  The sunset looking orange-to-yellow gradient fade gives the card a sweltering look, perfect for a "hot" rookie card.

1991 Score

As a side note, if you're familiar with the '91 score set the "Rifleman" or "Master Blaster" subsets might come to mind as a missed opportunity for this card.  But, I went with #1 Draft Pick inspired template for two reasons; for one, because of the Chipper Jones card it's just way more iconic and two there wasn't really any great images of Doughboy with his piece to complete the tongue-in-cheek reference the card would be making.

Private School

Suffice to say the quarantine sees me with extra time to watch movies.  With that being said I'll be rolling out some cards I've made from movies on my 'quarantine watch list'.

First up is this card from 1983's Private School.  Sex comedies from the 1980's are pure gold, and this one is no exception.  This was actually a first time watch for me.  This movie has a classic 80's cast.  Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, Matthew Modine and Ray Walston are among those starring in this one.  

While I wanted to make cards of the movie I could really see a mini-set coming out of it.  I mainly want to make cards of Phoebe Cates and get a Betsy Russell card into the PCb. catalog.  I don't know this for a fact but I'd be willing to say that this movie was a vehicle for Phoebe Cates, being it comes out on the heels of Fast Times,  but, for me at least, Betsy Russell hijacked this one.  While Phoebe was her adorable self it was Betsy Russell's presence that commanded the most attention.

I decided on 1983 Topps baseball for a design inspiration.  While originally I thought about a card each for Phoebe and Betsy I decided to instead have them share a card in a recreation of the '83 set's team leader cards.

.

Cindy Crawford (Yet Again)

The Super Bowl is viewed just as much for commercials as the actual game.  Let's be honest, most times the commercials are more entertaining anyways.  When thinking about the most memorable commercials over the years there'll always be one that rockets to the forefront of my mind ... Cindy Crawford's 1992 Pepsi commercial.

I vividly remember 12-year-old me being stopped in my tracks upon seeing Cindy climbing out of that red Lamborghini.  I pretty much had the same reaction as the two young boys in the commercial, but for me it had nothing to do with the look of Pepsi's new can.  Even today if I go on YouTube and watch it I'd still have the starry eyed "Wowww" look on my face.  Cindy Crawford is all-time, I tell ya. All. Time.

I've been on an early Upper Deck kick as of late, so I decided to go right back to that well and use the 1991 football inspired design that I repurposed for my Britney Spears halftime card.  Why not 1992 you ask?  I'm just not big on it.  Although I always try to whenever possible match the year of the card design to the year of the card subject I just thought the 1991 design looked better for what I was using it for.  Plus, I could add more cards to the the two I've made already and it could turn into something like a "Super Bowl Memories" mini-set.  We'll see.

Lzzy Hale (Yet Again)

Lzzy Hale is someone I only need half a reason to make  custom card of,  not even a whole reason, just half of one.  Ever since seeing her and Halestorm open for Shinedown years back, she melted my face off and has been on the list of my favorite things ever since.

1990-91 UD hockey

My half a reason this time was the picture of Lzzy holding up the custom jersey the Syracuse Crunch presented to her when she sang the National Anthem for them a couple of years ago.  It reminded my of rookie hockey card where the draftee is holding up his new team's sweater.

Some of my favorite cards I've made recently are the ones modeled after early Upper Deck designs so I wanted to do another of those.  I love the distinctive clean early UD look. 

I ended up choosing the 1990-91 Upper Deck design, UD's first hockey set.  I used the color scheme from the Toronto Maple Leaf's as it most closely resembled the Syracuse Crunch.

Fletch (Yet Again)

With all the craziness that is the world we're currently all living in I just haven't been able to focus on my custom trading card making hobby.  That's a shame because at the start of the new year I had 1,001 ideas for cards and different things for the PCb. brand, but ... here we are.

Most of my ideas are on the back burner save for this one that came via email from a collector of the cards I make.  It was one I just really didn't want to put off.  Unbeknownst to me there were some sports themed scenes from Fletch that didn't make the final film.  One of those was of Fletch posing as a relief pitcher for the Dodgers.  I thought eventually I'd be doing another card or two starring Chevy Chase but I thought I didn't think it'd be another I.M. Fletcher card.  But... there could be one last Fletch card yet to be made.  There's also a deleted scene of Fletch as a goalie for the L.A. Kings and if a decent quality picture of it ever surfaces I'll be all over it.

The card is in the style of Topps' 1985 baseball design.  

Hopefully we, as a world community, collectively kick some coronavirus ass so we can all resume our normal lives.

Britney Spears

Right before Super Bowl LIV I was listening to podcast and they made a reference to an article that ranked the best halftime performances of all-time for the big game.  Ranked pretty high on that list was the 2001 show with Aersomith, Britney Spears, N' Sync, et al.  I remember that well because of how smoking hot Britney was during that performance.  Never the biggest Britney guy, but I can't deny I took notice of her at least for that show.

This card is done in the style of the 1991 Upper Deck football set, which was UD's inaugural pigskin offering.

1991 Upper Deck football