Monday, October 6, 2014

Gerard Way's Hesitant Alien Merch Unboxing!

Boy, last week was rough. Between the health scares, feeling ill, missing my art class, and car and family drama, it was just all around suckfest. However, on Thursday I received a package of pure H-A-P-P-Y  in the mail that made everything better. Gerard Way's long awaited, first ever solo album was finally released September 30th, and the pre-order c.d. bundles were mailed. Check it out:




The pre-order bundle consisted of  a t-shirt, a very special copy of a zine, handmade by Gerard himself, the c.d., (and yes, I'm still one of those people that HAS to have a c.d. I've always loved the liner notes, and besides, I can only play c.d.'s in my car!), and if you were one of the first 50 or so to place an order, (like I was!), you also got a bonus pack of pins!




The zine itself is SO cool. Like, I can't even stand it! If you don't know what a zine is, it's basically a self-published mini magazine that you put together yourself by writing/drawing/collaging literally whatever you want onto a bunch of pages, xeroxing them, and binding them all into  little booklets by yourself, that you can then either give away or sell. It was something that was big in the 1980's and 90's. In a way, I guess it's also like a physical or manual form of blogging! As a teen, I remember trying my hand at making a zine, myself... I believe I called it 'Cupcakes and Crossbones', but I only managed to put out two measly issues.

But I digress!

If you're not familiar with Gerard Way, he is (first of all) known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band My Chemical Romance, (which I blogged about Friday!), and he is also an accomplished artist and writer of comic books.


excuse the chipped nail polish job!




My favorite pages in the zine are the ones with his little doodles, the one where he talks about the research and planning involved in his newest "look", (second photo), and I didn't picture this one, but there is also a page of collaged photographs that he took of his work space.  I love love love getting a look at artists' work spaces, so I'm so glad he chose to include it! He has shelves full of books and comics, toys, coffee cups, and there is even a child sized desk set up right next to his own drafting table for his five year old daughter to sit at, and make some art right next to him... SO amazing.

I am also completely obsessed with the clean graphics he's been using on everything. A big letter 'G' ! Especially because my OWN name starts with 'G'!!! :)



I can't wait to put these pins on my backpack!



This last photo is the pull out liner notes, with a poster on the back! One of the things us fans have been trying to figure out is WHO exactly is this fuzzy pink character named "Lola" that has been following him around everywhere... Needless to say, that poster really throws me off because he claims he himself isn't Lola!! Yet there he is in the costume! How very interesting, indeed!

(He did also make Lola's face/mask by himself, too. I remember seeing the photo on Twitter earlier this summer and I can't get enough of it).

So yes. I'm so thrilled with all of this. I always appreciate when bands/music artists put out such unique and special merchandise. (I also happen to own a VERY unique piece of merchandise from another band, but I'll talk about that another time!)

I haven't decided if I'm going to wear the tshirt as is, or cut it up/modify it somehow. OH DUH, and the music itself is amazing.  Such a radical change from what MCR fans are used to, but it just feels so right.

I'm very proud of this guy for all he's accomplished, and continues to accomplish. He's definitely my hero and biggest inspiration. You can just feel all the love and thought that goes into making these things, right down to the artwork/packaging and everything in between.

I can't wait for more from my Hesitant Alien!


How about you? What's your favorite piece of merchandise you've ever bought from a singer (or movie, or anything) that you admire?

Until next time,

G.



2 comments:

  1. That's so cool. I'm with you on cds, I prefer to have a physical copy almost as a keepsake

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! A lot of planning and design goes into the packaging, so they are such a nice thing to have!

      Delete

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