One of the really cool aspects of the 80s/90s era nostalgia boom is getting a chance to see certain aspects and pop culture fads of the past re-embraced. Sure, it’s cool when popular brands make a comeback, like all of the 80s cartoons and toy lines, but what I get a little more excited about is when more general (yet specific) aspects of these properties are revived. Like when the 25th anniversary G.I. Joe figures were released by Hasbro and they brought back the painted package art for the figures or when some recent horror movies had special VHS edition releases or packaging. Granted, there are usually good reasons why companies have moved on from some of these things (better technology, cheaper production, etc), but it’s always fun when they or the community gives a nod back to what came before. One of the really cool things that’s been making a resurgence over the last five years or so has been wax wrapper packaging for trading cards. Though the major card companies aren’t embracing this per-se, I’ve seen a lot of third-parties embracing it. Whether it’s the super awesome dust covers on the Abrams Topps books (like the Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, or Mars Attacks volumes) or the interest in using vintage wax packs as either bonus swag shipped with orders (very common when you order from nostalgia-minded companies like 8-Bit Zombie.) Heck, there are also folks selling these as the main product itself, like my good friend Tommy’s rad Boxsome (where you can build your own gift bag of vintage trading card packs.)
What’s been really exciting is watching as this has evolved from a nostalgic look backwards into an integration in all new art, which is what the talented Brandon Braswell is doing which is new project 9 to 5 Warriors!
Taking his inspiration from 80s/90s era cartoons, trading cards and minifigures, Brandon has created his own story about the epic struggle between good and evil and he’s utilizing vintage merchandising and packaging to get that story across. So what’s the story? I’ll let Brandon spell it out…
“A warm cup of joe isn’t the only thing brewing inside the cubicles of McMillians Plastic Co, underneath the desks is a full scale war between the Water Cooler Commandos (W.C.C.) and the Break Room Bandits. During regular business hours, these 9 to 5 Warriors move in the shadows but when it’s quitting time, the real work begins. It all started when a can of Jinsei, a potent foreign energy drink, is accidentally spilled onto a surge protector that sparks life into a trash can full of discarded supplies and food. Soon after coming into existence, the group of 10 split into 2 factions of 5.
Led by the battle-hardened Major Eraser, a supply known to fix any mistake, The W.C.C. puts in the overtime to thwart the evil mastermind of the Bandits, Colonel Custard. This ‘Mad Dough’ is hell bent on total office domination after realizing the power of ‘Jinsei’. Now he and his rotten goons search the office for every last drop, creating new and loyal soldiers along the way. Will the Commandos sweep the office free of leftover trash, or will the Bandits reign supreme and retire the supplies for good? Only time will tell…
When you punch out, they come punching in. They’re the 9 to 5 Warriors!”
The first product to launch are the vintage-style trading cards complete with awesomely authentic wax wrappers…
I love the attention to detail Brandon has put into these trading cards from the coffee cup numbering to the stylized character borders on the cardbacks.
The coup de grâce are the way the trading cards were shipped out complete with pencil shavings, misc. office supplies, sugar packets and sticky notes!
These trading card packs are seriously awesome and I love that there’s a who new story to experience collecting one card at a time. Opening these up I was getting flashbacks of what it was like getting into Garbage Pail Kids and Zero Heroes as a kid. I love the homages to toys like the Food Fighters, movies like Small Soldiers, and the off the wall action humor that reminds me so much of cartoons like The Tick and Freakazoid! You can really see that in the animated cartoon intro that Brandon created as well…
That theme song is totally stuck in my head. I’m really stoked to see where Brandon and company are going to take the 9 to 5 Warriors, in particular the mini figure line that’s planned. I can also imagine this making for a great series of 5 minute cartoon shorts as well. So head on over and like their facebook page, check out the site and more importantly pick up some of the trading cards and start collecting the 9 to 5 Warriors!
Did I mention that all of the wax packs are sorted and sealed by hand!