Odd Rods was a group of non-sports trading card/sticker series created by the Donruss company beginning in 1969. [1] The original series, entitled Odd Rods, introduced the theme of the series in 44 stickers: monsters in cars. Done by cartoonist/illustrator/writer B. K. Taylor in a style influenced by the work of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, [2] the series proved very popular with schoolchildren of the time, resulting in a string of sequel series:
A related sticker series put out by Donruss in this era was Silly Cycles (66 stickers) with monsters on motorcycles. Another series was Fiends and Machines (66 stickers) which had a mix-and-match theme: 33 cards with monsters on top, and 33 with cars on the bottom, allowing the collector to put the 33 monsters on any of the 33 cars.
In 1980, Topps made a series similar to Odd Rods titled Weird Wheels.
In 2006, the Odd Rods trademark and artwork was acquired and the mark registered with the U.S. Trademark Office. The official Odd Rods website is now active.
Odd Rods became the subject of an ownership dispute in 2010. [3]
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Garbage Pail Kids is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were popular at the time.
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities. Baseball cards are most often found in the U.S. mainland but are also common in Puerto Rico or countries such as Canada, Cuba and Japan, where top-level leagues are present with a substantial fan base to support them. Some notable baseball card producing companies include Topps, Upper Deck Company, and Panini Group. Previous manufacturers include Fleer, Bowman, and Donruss. Baseball card production peaked in the late 1980s and many collectors left the hobby disenchanted after the 1994-95 MLB strike. However, baseball cards are still one of the most influential collectibles of all time. A T206 Honus Wagner was sold for $6.606 million in 2021.
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards. They will no longer be licensed by MLB to produce baseball cards after the 2025 season.
Wacky Packages are a series of humorous trading cards featuring parodies of consumer products. The cards were produced by Topps beginning in 1967, first in die-cut, then in sticker format. There were 16 series produced between 1973 and 1977, with some reprints and several new series released up to the present day.
Hot Wheels is a brand of die-cast toy cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, former owner of Matchbox.
Donruss was a US-based trading cards manufacturing company founded in 1954 and acquired by the Panini Group in 2009. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the 1960s and 1970s Donruss produced entertainment-themed cards. Its first sports theme cards were produced in 1965, when it created a series of racing cards sponsored by Hot Rod Magazine.
Kojak was an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular Cannon series, it aired on CBS from 1973 to 1978.
The Lancia Fulvia is an automobile produced by Lancia between 1963 and 1976. Named after Via Fulvia, the Roman road leading from Tortona to Turin, it was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 and manufactured in three variants: Berlina 4-door saloon, 2-door Coupé, and Sport, an alternative fastback coupé designed and built by Zagato on the Coupé floorpan.
Ego the Living Planet is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Thor #132 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.
Miriam Allen deFord was an American writer best known for her mysteries and science fiction. During the 1920s, she wrote for a number of left-wing magazines including The Masses, The Liberator, and the Federated Press. Her short story "A Death in the Family" appeared on Night Gallery's second season appearing in Episode Two segment One with Desi Arnez Jr.
Thomas F. Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia. He is best known for his contributions to Marvel Comics and Warren Publishing's line of black-and-white horror-comics magazines, particularly as the first story-artist of the popular character Vampirella.
Star Wars trading card usually refers to a non-sport card themed after a Star Wars movie or television show. However a common colloquial reference to trading card can also include reference to stickers, wrappers, or caps (pog) often produced along the same theme. Usually produced as either promotional or collectible memorabilia relating to Star Wars, the cards can depict anything from screen still imagery to original art. In addition, there have been various companies that have issued promotional Star Wars trading cards that include reference to or information about that corresponding company.
Arthur Saaf was an American comics artist from the Golden Age of Comics who also worked in television. He commonly went by Art or Artie.
The 1991 Daytona 500, the 33rd running of the event, was held on February 17, 1991 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Davey Allison won the pole. In the first Gatorade 125 on Thursday, Richard Petty edged Hut Stricklin for second place, placing Petty third on the grid.
Panini is an Italian company headquartered in Modena, Italy, named after the Panini brothers who founded it in 1961. The company produces books, comics, magazines, stickers, trading cards and other items through its collectibles and publishing subsidiaries. Panini distributes its own products, and products of third party providers. Panini maintains a Licensing Division to buy and resell licences and provide agency for individuals and newspapers seeking to purchase rights and comic licences. Through Panini Digital the company uses voice-activated software to capture football statistics, which is then sold to agents, teams, media outlets and video game manufactures.
B. K. (Bob) Taylor is an American illustrator, cartoonist, writer, production designer, costume designer, puppeteer, and musician known for his work on the Odd Rods collector stickers of the late 1960s, his covers for Sick magazine, his comics in National Lampoon, and for his work as a staff writer on ABC’S popular sit-com, Home Improvement. He lives in Metro Detroit and continues to work as an illustrator and writer, performing occasionally in a local rock band.
Dracula Lives! was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 13 issues and one Super Annual from 1973 to 1975, and starred the Marvel version of the literary vampire Dracula.