POLL: Henchman T-shirts

Do those of us who already have Henchnumbers - say, from the facebook group - get to have those?

Sure! (If you buy one.) :)

Can I be henchmen number pi please?

I've been thinking about how to do the numbers. See, I'm wondering if people would be upset over seeing someone else with the same number.

So, I have two choices. Start a "Henchman Registry" and try to organize all the numbers... or assign the numbers arbitrarily.

Or maybe we should handle specific number requests the same way I handle Artist Edition books. Say and extra $10 to designate a specific number.

Any thoughts there?

I'd honestly pay ten dollars if I could pick the any number. The thing is that it has to be any number.:)

You just want to select 58008 ;)

Im an engineering student. I want to pick e, i, j, or pi. And before you think Im insane type the letter e into a Google search. J also gets interchanged with I a lot. You didn't say the number had to be real or rational.

I was about to say auction off / sell the numbers in the registry, but I'd hate to be lucky enough to get Henchman#1 only to meet Henchmen #2,3 & 4 at a con and they be ticked about being out bid.

But for the collectible aspect I'd pay for my number, yes, I'd pay dearly....

or, as I just thought, maybe "52" in reference to the DC comics event. or even "616" in reference to the Marvel Universe.

Great idea.

It could use a little pizzaz - work a generic burglar mask in with the Evil Inc.

Are you thinking about filling in the number block like this?

#666
Stan

May I also suggest using stenciled numbers and letters - I think filled in block stenciled letters would look cooler than a thin sharpie line.

As far as the registered number / any number debate.

I think the question for you would be which will sell the most t-shirts with the least amount of hassle.

This probably means any number and any nickname.

Which means I don't have to worry about someone else getting my number! Wooot!

Guy30082

Hey Brad.

What do you think about tying the Henchman numbers in with the Evil Inc Forums?

Like have the Henchman number be given out when you register and display below your name.

You could go either of two or more ways with this. You could divvy out the Henchman number based on the order in which you registered on these forums like the first person gets #1 and the hundredth gets #100 and so on. Or you could allow people to pick there number to be added to the forum database so the system would allow each person to pick any number they want that hasn't already been picked. Much like picking an e-mail address or forum name.

Either way I'd love to see the Henchman name displayed below the forum name. Then we could identify each other by our Henchman name.

I've got a couple good ideas for this -- including an official henchman registration. It would complete with some sort of certificate or ID card.

As for the forum... I'll look into making it an option, but in the meantime, you might consider making it part of your forum sig. That would do the trick as well. In fact, I could build a template.

Can I just say that I love the poop out of this?

I agree with the use of the stenciled numbers. Even though you'd be producing these by hand, the stencil would, ironically, convey that mass-produced "You are a number, you are not a free man." attitude that most supervillains have towards their expendable henchmen.

As for the individualized numbers, I'm open regarding the specifics of the logistics, but I do know that if I have to pay extra, then it's worth it to get one of the following:

First Choice = Henchman #23
Second Choice = Henchman #42
Third Choice = Henchman #27
Fourth Choice = Henchman #13
Fifth Choice = Henchman #1013
Sixth Choice = Henchman #1701-E

If all of those are taken, then I'll take whatever gag number you like best (i.e., 33 1/3, infinity -1, square root of -1, Pi*r squared, 44DD, etc.).

I think that using a sharpie is a poor idea. Speaking as someone whose office uses these things all the time, and gets them on her clothes, I will admit that it can be hard to get them out.

However, they fade. And then the white background is going to crack some via the wash, because they always do. And then it'll look junky.

My suggestion would be to print up a run of xxx number of shirts with some funny henchnumbers on them. And when those sell out, print up a new batch with a different funny henchnumber on it.

The T-shirts that held up the longest for me have always been silk-screened - they tend to fade rather than crack like the heat transfer plastic.

I used to order 30 to 40 silk screened T-shirts at around $15.00 each for my son's Cub Scout Pack in various youth and adult sizes. Admittedly this was a single design on all the shirts. The question is - can the personalization be done at a reasonable cost?

I would think a two part silk screen process would be doable.

One silk screen for the fixed portion - "Henchman" and "Property of".

The number area would be a silk screen stencil. Instead of a white block with black ink on top, stencil the numbers in white on the black T-shirt. If you just did numbers 0 thru 9 and the number sign you would just need 11 separate silk screen stencils.

To personalize a shirt you would screen the "#" then "6" and "6" and "6".

Obviously, opening this up to letters, punctuation and special symbols would mean more stencils - but if the print run was long enough it might possible to amortize the setup cost.

If you "distressed" the fixed silk screen, then any minor smudges and alignment errors in the number area would look intentional.

Hey, if the process is prone to errors, it's better to leverage them as a "meant to" rather than cut your profits shooting for perfection.

Just one guys opinion,

Guy30082

What about that acrylic fabric paint I mentioned to you at WWPhilly? It's easily obtained in Michaels or A.C. Moore craft stores, and for a pocket-change outlay ($1 or $ 2 per bottle) you'd have more than enough to do plenty of shirts. Just apply with an ordinary paintbrush through the stencil and hey presto. I made a number of ballcaps using them, and they've held up for years of weathering.

"I've got a couple good ideas for this -- including an official henchman registration."

Registration never leads to any good. Just think about all the trouble the Mutant Registration Acts caused, and don't get me started on the Superhero Registration Act of 2006!

But then again, since heroes react badly to registration, perhaps we henchmen will react positively? But do you want to risk another civil war Brad?

I created a graphic in Inkscape to mockup the Stencil idea and I added a henchman mask to the "Property of" line.

 Click on the link below to view it at Flicker.com
Henchmen by Guy30082 [flickr.com]

 Just some guy,

Guy30082

I don't think the 'property of' line needs a mask on it. Kinda makes it look a lil' cluttered.

I love this idea! I also like the idea of printing up the blank ones and then stenciling in #s and registering the henchmen. It’s good for accounting purposes at least, so you can figure out how many you use each year.

Although I do agree with tovias…the registration could lead to some unexpected results.