Complex Blog » Mr. Cartoon

Best of 2009: Mayor’s Top 10 Sneakers

intern — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:10:20 +0000

As 2009 comes to a close, Complex will be releasing a series of lists recapping the year’s best, from albums to girls. To kick things off, we put together a celebrity panel of sneaker heads to help us determine the best kicks of 2009. We recruited Matt Halfhill (Nicekicks.com), DJ Clark Kent (God’s favorite DJ and sneaker connoisseur), Mayor (AF1 king), Wil Whitney (Founder of Nom de Guerre and Nike 21 Mercer Head Coach), and Chris Vidal (ALIFE manager), along with Complex sneaker experts Bradley Carbone and Joe La Puma. Nothing’s getting by this team.

Before we drop the panel’s official top 10, we’re giving each of our trusted contributors the chance to tell you about their personal favorites. Today we’re taking a look at NYC sneaker kingpin, Mayor’s Top Ten Sneakers of 2009…

#10: Nike Hypermax NFW “Tennis Ball”
MAYOR SAYS: “The buzz that was created around the shoe was phenomenal. The tennis ball aspect was great. The fact that everybody went crazy for that colorway and the other ones stood on the shelves is what made me pick this one. You can get the other ones in outlets now, but the use of the tennis ball was unique, and it created a nice little hype. It’s one of the few times I chose a shoe over hype.”

CLICK NEXT TO SEE MAYOR’S #9 SNEAKER!

VIDEO: Mr. Cartoon Talks MetroPCS Phone Collaboration

Joe — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:56:55 +0000

Sure he has an extensive celebrity clientèle like 50 Cent, Eminem and Marisa Miller, but famed California tattooist Mr. Cartoon is now lending his work to limited edition products like a Samsung r450 mobile phone from MetroPCS. The phone, which has a product run of 30,000, features Cartoon’s artwork in his preferred yellow and black scheme, and also features special pre-loaded wallpapers and ringtones. When Cartoon was in town, we got a chance to build with the legend and talk about his latest project. Watch the video below…

Daily Style & Design News: August 5, 2009

Bradley — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:57:46 +0000

Mr. Cartoon will announce his G-Shock collaboration tonight, part of the new group that includes Redman and skateboarder Todd Jordan. [WWD]

Josh Keyes is showing at Swarm Gallery this weekend, check some of the pieces (cool apocalypto-eco stuff). [Slam x Hype]

The fall Nom de Guerre product is in at Oki-Ni, which means you can also get it at the NYC shop. Why doesn’t this model look more psyched? Stuff is dope! [Oki-Ni]

We’re not the ones who said “back to school”, but our interns are dropping like flies so that must mean something. If that’s where you’re headed, the new ACG backpacks are real nice. [Starcow]

The Nike Sportswear TZ Supreme stuff is faancy. [Hypebeast]

Levi Maestro knows. Interview with Geoff Rowley, and some skateboarding video to check out. [High Snobiety]

Weekly Recap: Happy Birthday America!

intern — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:37:41 +0000

Who does it better than us? We gave you 50 shots of America’s finest women! Happy Independence Day. [LINK]

Check out how you can cop the style from Do The Right Thing in 2009. Them Retro Kids ain’t got nothing on us! [LINK]

Take a look back tattoo O.G. and sneaker kingpin Mr. Cartoon’s sneaker collaborations. [LINK]

Way before Drake’s tittylicious video dropped, Michael Jackson had an arsenal of fine leading females. [LINK]

Mr. Hudson talks auto-tune, Drake video, and Kanye’s LV shoes. [LINK]

AND FROM THE COMPLEX NETWORK:

Sneaker News: Nike Alpholution Supreme-Cobra Commander-G.I. Joe Pack. [LINK]

Nice Kicks: Bread & Butter x Asics GT Lyte II “Salmon & Butter” pack. [LINK]

Das Gamer: New online features for Madden NFL 10 explained by EA Sports. [LINK]

Nah Right: Why don’t we just link ourselves? Drake interview and video are on point. [LINK]

SlamXHype: Interesting interview with artist Mark Allen Miller. [LINK]

Karmaloop TV: Get familiar with KLoop TV’s Daily Drop. [LINK]

On Smash: Maino vs. XXL in a push up contest. [LINK]

A History Of Mr. Cartoon’s Sneaker Collaborations

Bradley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:34:31 +0000

On July 4th, Los Angeles tattoo artist-turned culture icon Mr. Cartoon re-releases his original Nike collaboration Air Force 1 in a special Livestrong colorway. The new Black/Black-Varsity Maize Mr. Cartoon Air Force 1 will be the first time Mr. Cartoon’s “Spider Web” toebox goes on sale to the public. It was first released as a 2005 Hyperstrike version of the Mr. Cartoon AF1 (50 to Cartoon, 50 to UNDFTD), with additional retail outlets selling the still limted, but different tattoo pattern. This Livestrong-ed up colorway joins the other “Greatest Hits” including the soon to be released Futura FLOM Dunk, Hideout Woven, and Busy P. Air Force 1, created to hype Lance’s involvement in the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday, July 4th.

Mr. Cartoon is a sneaker kingpin, and his signature models of both Nike and Vans helped define the earlier years of the newest generation of sneaker heads. Hit the jump for a history of Mr. Cartoon’s collaborations, including the Livestrong AF1, which comes out on Saturday…

RELEASE: Early Spring 2005
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Nike Air Force 1 Hyperstrike
• Cartoon comes on the scene with Eddie Cruz and UNDFTD with both a Hyperstrike and Quickstrike version of the shoe.

RELEASE: Spring 2005
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Nike Air Force 1 Quickstrike
• If you weren’t in the 100 who got gifted (or paid out the ass for) the “Spiderweb” Cartoons, this version was available at premium Nike boutiques in limited quantity.

RELEASE: Spring 2005
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Nike Air Force 1 (Cinco de Mayo)
• The first round of the Air Force 1s went so well, Nike decided to throw a big ‘ol L.A. pre-Cinco de Mayo party. What’s a Nike party without a sneaker, right? Guess when these puppies hit retail.

RELEASE: Fall 2005
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Nike Air Force 1 (Brown Pride)
• Arguably the least hyped of the Mr. Cartoon AF1s, these came out a little later but still kept a following, particularly in the Los Angeles crowd.

RELEASE: Fall 2005
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Vans Syndicate Authentic “S”
• Mr. Cartoon’s Authentics were part of the first Vans Syndicate series, now a name synonymous with style and quality in the sneakerhead set.

RELEASE: Summer 2007
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x The Simpsons x Vans Slip-On and Sk-8 Hi
• To promote the Simpsons movie, Vans teamed up with the franchise and an all-star cast of artists to create sneakers based around the pop-cuture characters.

RELEASE: Fall, 2007
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Vans Syndicate Sk-8 Hi
• Mr. Cartoon kept it classy for his return to the Syndicate series in 2007.

RELEASE DATE: Summer 2009
SNEAKER: Mr. Cartoon x Livestrong x Nike Sportswear “Greatest Hits” Air Force 1
• You should be BBQing and drinking beer on Saturday, but if you can get someone to give you a ride down to UNDFTD or a boutique of similar caliber, you’ll be one of the few to cop these super-limited L.A. tough guy meets Lance super biker x Nike Sportswear. Get there!