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5 – Art and Advertising

8 Jan 2012

Shinobi-fied merch

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 4 - Collectibles, 5 - Art and Advertising, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

With the 80s craze came a lot of repurposed merchandise – stuff that for the previous decade’s boom had been sold as kung-fu gear now emblazoned with ninja logos. The above looks to have been a Chinese-esque design probably inspired … Continued

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines
18 Dec 2011

Swordgirls of SHINOBI THE WIDE

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising | 1

These beautiful character design illos are from the 2003 video game artbook Shinobi THE WIDE. This sleeve-slinging swordgirl is ‘Ageha.’ I’m digging the flapper sensibilities of her hair and make-up. You can see the rest of this long-out-of-print book here. … Continued

Shinobi, video games
2 Dec 2011

RINGO a GO!!!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

After a well-received debut at this year’s Tribecca, Eddie Mort’s Dead Ringo will see the light of day for what is currently planned as 13 three-minute webisodes TV interstitials. Details on who, where and when to follow, but in the meantime … Continued

DEAD RINGO
30 Sep 2011

80s t-shirt ads

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 4 - Collectibles, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

It was the 1980s, and there wasn’t a cheesy enough piece of Japanese graphics or ninja-related bad illustration we wouldn’t wear on a black t-shirt. And let’s just take a look at the logic of this: It’s a tough read … Continued

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines
30 May 2011

An open letter to the Honda ninja girl…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Dear Cute Ninja Girl in the Honda Civic ad, Your adorable little action-oriented commercial has been around for what, SIX WEEKS or more now? I’ve been glued to my TV, watching for your Akakage-inspired red mask, contemporary urban take on … Continued

Honda Civic ninja girl
20 May 2011

A designer’s rant…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 5

A reader sent me some anime movie poster scans, for which I was grateful, but one of them just struck a nerve – a wrong nerve – and I have to vent. Some day job background first – I pay … Continued

AMERICAN NINJA, CHALLENGE OF THE LADY NINJA, Deadly Silver Ninja, Enter the Ninja, Mafia vs. Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination, Ninja Scroll, The Ninja Dragon
15 May 2011

Ghana Ninja-rama on eBay!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

This amazingness is on eBay right now: Ghana, West Africa – 1980s. Quasi-legal ‘mobile cinemas’ showed exploitation films on VHS around third-world villages, promoted by off-model movie posters painted by local artists. Luckily for the rest of the world, these … Continued

AMERICAN NINJA, Ghana movie posters
2 May 2011

Clip art source found

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 2

In the days before scanners, throwing “clip art” into a print advertisement took some work. You had to find a cool image to start with, then “threshold” it via a stat camera and toxic chemical-laden rapid processor. And what you were … Continued

80s martial arts supply ads, vintage magazines, Warring Clans
20 Apr 2011

Awesome Menko art

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 4 - Collectibles, 5 - Art and Advertising | 0

Love this Menko card portrait of either Kurozukin (The Black Hood) or Kurama Tengu. Artist and date unknown, cardstock and discoloration from age is consistent with other stuff I have from the 50s and 60s.

Kurama Tengu, kurozukin, menko cards
16 Apr 2011

Yep, let’s just throw the term KOGA around…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 5 - Art and Advertising, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 4

Merchandisers love VARIETY of offerings and EXCLUSIVITY of products at the same time. But above all else, they love a healthy PROFIT MARGIN. To those ends, you see ads like this one from the mid 80s a lot. Take the … Continued

80s martial arts supply ads, ninja suits, vintage magazines

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Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja movies from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze and beyond, with a ton of vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

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