January 20, 2012 - 'Cept Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!

"Have I got a bombshell for you tonight, kids! 'aaaaaAAAAAH!!! Ka-Boom!! The Runaway Five!!! Yeah!! 3-- 2-- 1--GO!" That's right, folks - It's a Super-Special BONUS Fangamer Friday! Size: XXL | Fabric: 50% Cotton, 50% Polyester | Made by / in: American Apparel / USA Had Since: 12/25/2011 | Price: FREE | Times Worn: 1 A couple weeks ago I told you I'd be doing a Fangamer Friday once a month - I lied.  After using math (my sister helped me with that part) it was discovered I have enough Fangamer shirts to bring you an extra one every once in a while.  So here we go!  For those of you just joining us, Fangamer is at least the Third Strongest site on the Internet, selling clothing, posters, and handmade treasures based on some of the greatest video games ever created.  This one is based on the outstanding game Earthbound, released in this country on June 5, 1995.  I don't recall when I stumbled into the game the first time, though I do remember reading about it in Nintendo Power magazine at the time of its release.  Brett got the game pretty early on...probably in the first year...and I assume I borrowed it from him (or rented it from one of those...oh, what did the kids call them?  Vi-Deee-Ooo Sto-res?).  The game's charm, humor, awesome musical score, story, characters, visuals, and gameplay - In short, everything about it - had me immediately head-over-heels, and I knew I had found something special in Earthbound.  I don't think any of us really grasped How Special that something was until a little later in life, when the Internet told us that the game didn't sell well and that we were among a kind of gaming minority; part of a die-hard, avid fanbase that longed for sequels to a game that, apparently, not many other people had played (on this side of the Pacific, at least). The good kids over at Fangamer tweeted a while back wanting to see shirts and merch people had received for Christmas - This is one of two of their shirts I was delighted to find under the tree!  And hey - We could be twins, so long as you have the requisite $22 (plus shipping) and extremely good taste in games and clothing!  This shirt is the incomparable Jon Kay's idea of what a concert T-shirt from the game's signature band, The Runaway Five, might look like in real life.  The Runaway Five is a 6-person band in the game (there's that humor) with two frontmen that bare a striking resemblance to a comedic pair of blues singers you may be familiar with.  The main characters in Earthbound help the R5 out of some rather large debts, and in return the band helps you at different times and in hilarious ways - once by letting you ride along on their tour bus through a tunnel filled with ghosts (spoiler alert: Ghosts are afraid of loud music!).  I have several other shirts designed by Jon, including his other Runaway Five shirt (coming sooner or later to a Shirts Make The Guy near YOU), and each one is a work of art.  I'll probably be placing an order in the near future for a few of his designs that I couldn't buy at release; they were on my Christmas List, and buying stuff off the List is, apparently, a no-no.

I wasn't overly concerned with getting an excellent shot of The Shirt for the top of the page, knowing I could give you a better picture down here; I was focused on looking gorgeous (missed it by That much).  I really should use those sunglasses more often.  This shirt is an excellent equipable item, just like Everything the good people of Fangamer have ever done - Ever.  They use American Apparel products (the softest in all the land, but ya better buy a size up, kids!) and print with a magical, ultra-light process they describe as "burning" the image into the garment.  The process leaves a bit of a funky odor, so I always wash 'em before I wear 'em (the second-longest/hardest block of time you will ever live through), but I expect I'll get a Sword of Kings drop in real life looooong before this shirt wears out or falls apart; The graphic is baked in there for the long haul, and the shirt itself is, for my money, the best...my money...can buy.  Money...that's what I want, and what is hot, and what I ain't got.  But like I wrote in 2003:

For those of you playing the home game, the Longest/Hardest block of time you'll ever live through is passing a kidney stone.  I already did that today, though, so I'm feeling pretty lucky.  All I have to fear now is that next grueling wait between Getting a new Fangamer shirt and Wearing a new Fangamer shirt, which I'm excitedly looking forward to.  Keep up the great work, Fangamer, and we'll see you again in a fortnight! Oh, you noticed the R5 poster behind me in the picture?  Yeah, you can score one of those from Fangamer, too!  (Sorry, though - the Skyline poster next to it is sold out.  Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll reprint it for you!) "I didn't make a spectacle of myself, did I?"