House of Secrets #114: Night Game
Gr-r-r-r-reetings dear readers. Today, on this sssppooooooky Punk Junk blog post, we look at a darker piece of hockey nostalgia! Continue reading “Murder! Revenge! And…Hockey?”
Collectibles
Puck Culture: Five Todd McFarlane / Hockey Crossovers
Comic book creator and artist Todd McFarlane is a legend in his industry, having worked for many years on The Amazing Spider-Man and Spawn. But he’s also a huge hockey fan and has been involved with the sport in one way or another over the past 30 years.
1. Spawn-Themed Hockey Merchandise
McFarlane’s Spawn comic character appeared on some hockey-related merchandise in the 1990s. Spawn, dressed up as a hockey player, was pictured on a trading card that was given away with a sports magazine in 1994. Then, in 1998, the Spawn logo was emblazoned on a pair of 1:45-scale die-cast Olympia ice resurfacers sold in stores, as well as a puck given away at OHL Plymouth Whalers games on “Spawn Night.”
1994 New York Rangers Stanley Cup Championship Replica Ring
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the New York Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup Championship. Earlier this season, the Rangers gave away a replica Stanley Cup ring to fans who attended the February 8, 2019 game vs. the Carolina Hurricanes — and it is awesome!
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Interview: “Kicking Ice” Creators Stephanie Phillips & Jamie Jones
The sport of professional hockey has long been a male-dominated venture. That started to change with the establishment of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2007, and more recently the National Women’s Hockey League in 2015. This bold new initiative inspired author Stephanie Phillips to create the graphic novel, “Kicking Ice,” which tells the story two young girls who play hockey and grow up to play in the NWHL. The book is intended to inspire girls of all ages to discover the joys of hockey along with the possibility that now one day they too could play as professionals.
I recently spoke to Phillips and artist Jamie Jones.
Kyle Scully: Stephanie, what inspired you to write this graphic novel?
Stephanie Phillips: I’ve always been a hockey fan, I grew up playing hockey, first roller hockey and later in High School I made the switch to ice. I remember just kind of following the start of the NWHL and with the Olympic year approaching, my initial idea was just to do kind of a web-comic about girls and women in sports. It became very centered around what I know the best and kind of spiraled from there, but my own personal love for the league and the sport itself.
KS: What was the pitch process like with the NWHL?
SP: When I first spoke with Ominous Press, my initial concept was an ongoing web comic about women in sports. Ominous was quickly asked, what if we do a graphic novel? I thought, I do have some contact with the NWHL and it might be really cool since they’re still in their infancy to give them a way to have their own superheroes of a kind, Continue reading “Interview: “Kicking Ice” Creators Stephanie Phillips & Jamie Jones”
Fruits of their Labor: Cam Ward and Tim Gleason’s Vineyard 36
Bonjour, Puck-Heads! Today we’re classying up the joint and looking at some hockey-related wines. Coming from the hands of 300-game-winning goalie Cam Ward and Olympic Silver Medalist defenseman Tim Gleason, Vinyard 36 is more than just an indulgent hobby, it’s a passion. Both Ward and Gleason get their hands dirty and are hands-on in the production of this very fine juice. (I have no evidence that they stomp on the grapes with their own bare feet, but I don’t have any evidence against it, either.)
On a lovely Saturday in early March, I was invited to a wine tasting hosted by Mr. Gleason here in Raleigh for a rare chance to try the literal fruits of his labor, ask some questions and get a better understanding of his post-hockey passion. Finding a bottle can also be difficult, since it’s a rather small operation. It’s no Paul Masson, but they don’t need Orson Wells shilling their wares anyway.
So where does one go to try a rare and unique vintage? Why, at a gas station, of course! Continue reading “Fruits of their Labor: Cam Ward and Tim Gleason’s Vineyard 36”
Upper Deck Releases New Hockey Coins
Upper Deck has released a new hockey collectible that will cost some serious…coin. On Monday evening at the Hockey Hall of Fame, the trading card company announced the launch of the Grandeur Hockey Coin Collection, a series of limited-edition coins minted in silver and gold. The coins are available for purchase starting on April 5 and sell for $100 to $500.
“I look at this as a game-changing product line, similar to what we did in 1989 with trading cards,” said Jason Masherah, president of Upper Deck, in an interview with Puck Junk. “Nobody has ever blind-packed precious metal coins before.”
1992 Los Angeles Kings Holiday Card
The Los Angeles King gave a collectible holiday greeting card to their season ticket holders in December of 1992. How do we know that it is collectible? Because it has the Upper Deck logo and a serial number. In your face, Hallmark!
By the way, I should start serial-numbering all of the Christmas cards that I send out so that people save them for future collectibility and/or investment value. Of course, that would mean that I would have to actually send out Christmas cards in the first place.
Anyway, the front of the card shows a group of Kings celebrating a win at the old Great Western Forum. Robb Stauber (#35) looks eager to mess up fellow goalie Kelly Hrudey’s hair some more, as if that was possible. But the other side of the card is way better. It has a detailed illustration of Continue reading “1992 Los Angeles Kings Holiday Card”
Three Spooky Hockey Stories
Hockey can work very well as the basis for a scary story. The game is played on ice — a cold, unforgiving environment that seems so alien when compared to a green baseball field. Hockey players wield sticks, wear masks, hit each other and fight. It is a violent, sometimes bloody sport; even more so 40 years ago. So it is not surprising that hockey found its way into the pages of several horror-genre comic books in the 1970s. Just in time for Halloween, here are three spooky hockey tales pulled from the pages of vintage comic books.
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Hockey and Superheroes: A Bizarre Team-Up
“Captain America: Civil War,” the new Marvel movie comes out today, and oh man, am I excited. The movie features Captain America, who was my favorite comic book hero growing up. (Yes, I self-identify as “lawful good.” Deal with it!) It’s got Iron Man and Spider-Man and all the other superheroes we love.
My first-ever job was working in a comic book store, as a dorky, flannel-wearing teenager who spent his $4 an hour on comics and hockey cards almost faster than he could earn it. (Well, it wasn’t like I had many dates back then.) Today, I still collect hockey cards, and while I’ve cooled my heels on comic collecting, I still enjoy a good superhero flick.
Hockey fans who also like superheroes — or comic book fans who are at least tolerant of hockey — will be interested to know that there have been several notable crossovers between superheroes and hockey. Like ketchup on ice cream, hockey and superheroes is a strange combination that always had ridiculous results.
Here are six examples of hockey and superhero crossovers.
Continue reading “Hockey and Superheroes: A Bizarre Team-Up”
The Tampa Bay Lightning: A Championship in Newspapers
Editor’s Note: Zach Bare is a new writer for Puck Junk. Please give him a warm welcome — even if you’re not a Lightning fan 🙂
One of my favorite ways to remember a historical event of the Tampa Bay Lightning is to save the newspaper from the morning after. That all started back in 2004, after the Lightning eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers and won the Eastern Conference en route to their first Stanley Cup appearance. It was only by chance though, that I ended up getting my hands on and then keeping these historic headlines.
Continue reading “The Tampa Bay Lightning: A Championship in Newspapers”