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.

The Cuties of King Kirby: The Enchantress

  

From yee Wiki:

Unlike many of Marvel's Asgardians, Amora, the Enchantress, is not based on a Goddess from Norse mythology. However, the Enchantress is said to have been referred to by many names throughout history including Freyja, Gefn, and Iduna, and is linked to many of the myths associated with these goddesses, such as The Keeper of the Golden Apples.

Powers and abilities

The Enchantress is an Asgardian, and as such possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability. but she prefers to avoid physical conflicts.

Amora possesses an innate capacity to manipulate ambient magical energy, honed through practice for a variety of effects, including projecting magical power bolts, interdimensional teleportation of multiple Asgardians and non-Asgardians, protective energy shields, illusions, levitation, conjuring, transmutation, telekinesis, time-disruption, mind switching, and mind control.

Amora has used her sorcery to enhance her natural beauty and allure, and to enchant her lips so that by kissing virtually any man she can make him her slave for about a week, unless she renews the treatment. She can also use her magic to heal any of her injuries rapidly, and possesses limited mystical senses. A prolonged absence from Asgard tends to diminish her powers although they never fade completely.

The Enchantress has been described as one of the most powerful sorceresses in Asgard, second only to Karnilla, although their every direct confrontation has ended in a stalemate.

The Enchantress has a gifted intellect, and possesses extensive knowledge of Asgardian mystic and amatory arts. On occasion, the Enchantress employs various mystical artifacts, potions, and power objects -- such the potion she used to increase her hypnotic power over Thor.

The Enchantress is unable to cast her spells when her hands are bound and her mouth is gagged.

Marvelmaniac: Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta's Mangog

Mangog debuted in a multi-issue storyline in the title Thor, and is depicted as being the sum total of the hatred of "a billion billion beings" that were once killed by Odin, the ruler of Asgard and the Norse gods. 

Imprisoned beneath Asgard, Mangog is accidentally freed by the rock troll Ulik, who sees a warning on the prison door not to release the occupant, and does so hoping they will make a useful ally against Asgard.

When Mangog is released, he easily defeats Ulik then storms Asgard intent on drawing the Odinsword from its scabbard which will end the universe. 

Odin's son Thor battles Mangog to a standstill until Odin defeats Mangog by restoring the race he slew to life which reduces the creature to a diminutive size.

Marvelmania Posters and Stickers

Make Mine The Marvel Super Heroes of the Early Sixties

Bruce McCorkindale Re-Creation of Jack Kirby and Vince Coletta's Thor #145 Cover

Based on Thor #145, October 1967. I always loved this issue.

Grand Comics Database story synopsis: "Odin defeats Forsung and demands all Asgardians return. Thor refuses and his powers are removed (except his Asgardian Strength). The Ringmaster hypnotizes Thor into joining the Circus of Crime."

Bruce McCorkindale's Thor #177

Here is Bruce's latest commission for me, a spot-on re-creation of Thor #177 (6/70), originally drawn by Jack Kirby and John Verpoorten. In this issue, Surtur and Loki attack in "To End in Flames."