Vintage Ben Cooper Marvel Superhero Costumes

Ben Cooper, Inc. Thor Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Thor Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Thor Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Thor Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Iron Man Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Iron Man Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Iron Man Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Iron Man Halloween costume

Ben Cooper, Inc. Iron Man Halloween costume

From yee Wiki:

Ben Cooper, Inc. was a privately held American corporation which primarily manufactured Halloween costumes from the late 1930s to the late 1980s. It was one of the three largest Halloween costume manufacturers in the US. The company's inexpensive plastic masks and vinyl smocks were an iconic American symbol of Halloween from the 1950s to the 1970s, and Cooper has been called the "Halston of Halloween" and the "High Priest" of Halloween.

Founder Ben Cooper was born on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1906. Although his father was a restaurateur, Cooper studied accounting and briefly sought a career as a songwriter before founding a theatrical costume business in 1927. Cooper designed costumes and sets for the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem and several editions of the Ziegfeld Follies.

With live theater becoming rarer in the 1930s due to the Great Depression and Halloween becoming a more popular holiday, Cooper established Ben Cooper, Inc., in Brooklyn, New York, in 1937. The firm assumed control of A.S. Fishbach, Inc. -- which had a license to produce costumes based on characters owned by The Walt Disney Company such as Donald Duck and Snow White -- in 1937 and began selling Disney costumes under Fishbach's Spotlight brand. The two companies formally merged and incorporated as Ben Cooper, Inc., on December 8, 1942. 

By the late 1940s, Ben Cooper, Inc. was one of the largest and most prominent Halloween costume manufacturers in the United States. Its costumes were generally very thin fabric with a silk-screened image on the front that sold for less than $3.00. The company began selling its costumes through large retailers such as J. C. Penney, Sears, Woolworth's, and five-and-dime stores. 

Costumes often sold for $1.25. At the time, the most popular costumes were traditional Halloween figures such as devils, ghosts, skeletons, and witches. In the 1950s, television characters such as Davy Crockett, Superman, and Zorro were more popular. As parents became more concerned about safety in the 1950s, the company responded by creating its "Glitter Glo" costumes, dresses, and jumpsuits with large amounts of blue glitter glued to the front (which would reflect the headlights of oncoming automobiles). The company banked heavily on the popularity of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, but had to destroy thousands of masks after Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Ben Cooper, Inc., was one of the "big three" Halloween costume companies, along with Collegeville and the H. Halpern Company (Halco). The company became known for licensing popular film and television characters and getting their images onto store shelves quickly. For example, it licensed Spider-Man, a virtually unknown character at the time, in 1963. The company also licensed the Batman character in 1964.

Fun with Sixties Super-Heroes

In 1966 with the success of the "Batman" television show and the "Green Hornet" and the "Marvel Super Heroes" show, Button World put out several buttons of both the Marvel and DC characters. These buttons turned out to be highly collectible, even in 1966.  

The collection consists of 20 known buttons. 12 of them are numbered on the front (from #3-#16). Numbers 1, 2, 11, and 12 are missing. Research has uncovered a display card for the actual buttons. (see red display stand above picture). The card only advertises the first 10 Super Hero buttons, but you can clearly see that they included #11 as "Sad Sack" and #12 as "Casper." It may be that the #1 and #2 buttons were the "Superman Club" and the "Batman Society" pins. Button World did not have the rights to make the "Green Hornet" button which was neither a Marvel or DC character. They were sued by ABC TV (who ran the TV show), and that lawsuit put them right out of business. 

Finally, of note, four of the original Marvel buttons (Spider-Man, Thor, Submariner, and Daredevil) were considered to have inferior artwork. They were then revised by Marvel artists and reissued, which is why you have two different ones in this set. In the collecting world these revised buttons are considered more valuable than the original versions. One original button in its original poly bag and header card can sell for as much as $200 on eBay. This gives you an idea of their value.

The display stand is a fan's creation. Needing a way to show them off, he created the artwork for the top of the stand, using button artwork to keep the whole concept consistent. Later he found the artwork for the actual banner. He then used that to head a second stand. Using peg board metal posts, the buttons were hung as shown. Perhaps some sort of rack was originally used, as there were holes in the header cards for such a purpose.

Marvelmania Posters and Stickers

Make Mine The Marvel Super Heroes of the Early Sixties

In the News: John Roach: Iron Man suit could help paraplegics walk

Robert Markowitz / NASA

NASA project engineer Shelley Rea demonstrates the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton for resistive exercise, rehabilitation and mobility augmentation.

A robotic exoskeleton similar to Iron Man’s powered armor suit could help paraplegics walk, according to NASA researchers who designed the device to keep astronauts in shape on flights to Mars.

The 57-pound X1 suit is worn over a person’s body and can be used to either assist or inhibit movement of the leg joints. 

Inhibit mode provides the resistance astronauts need for a workout while idle for months-on-end in a spaceship bound for Mars or doing time on the International Space Station. 

In reverse mode, the exoskeleton works with the wearer, providing stability and movement assistance. This could be used to help paraplegics walk on Earth. 

Other potential applications for the X1 include rehabilitation, gait modification, and offloading weight from the wearer to the exoskeleton.

This isn’t the first exoskeleton built. In fact, this August a British woman paralyzed from the chest down in a horse riding accident took home a robotic exoskeleton that enables her to walk. 

And Raytheon has been working on its Exoskeleton for the military for several years which will help soldiers in the field gain super-human strength. 

The X1, however, is more comfortable, easier to adjust, and easier to put on than other exoskeleton devices, according to preliminary studies on the technology at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. 

The exoskeleton is currently in the research and development stage. Future improvements may include additional joints in the ankle and hip areas for greater movement.

The suit is a spinoff technology from NASA’s Robonaut 2 project, a humanoid robot currently getting its first workout on the International Space Station.

To see the X1 in action, check out the video below.

– via Network World 

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website.

A Bruce McCorkindale Marvel Masterwork: Iron Man vs. Titanium Man

Bruce McCorkindale's re-creations are so faithful to the real deal they thrill me to the bone. This Tales of Suspense #71 (11/65) cover re-creation (after Jack Kirby and Wally Wood) is a slam-bang knockout. Plus, I just saved $30,000. The original cover art may not exist anymore, or if it does, it is very well-hidden.