Yesterday's Task - Making Buttons For Land of the Dead Actor Eugene Clark

As part of our business we make 2.25 inch pinback buttons. We sell them and lots of other stuff (handcrafted bags, my books, signed merchandise, and more) at the comic cons, and other shows we do. They are a very popular item as we sell them at a low price point of just $3 each, 3 for $8, or 5 for $12. People love them and are happy to spend that small amount while we are surrounded by much pricier items in the show.

After I wrote my first book, 6-13 A Friday the 13th Movie Trivia Book, I started contacting some of the cast members from the film franchise to see if I could send them a free copy of my book. Once I started talking with many of them the conversation grew and now I actually sell their signed merchandise and book some of them into conventions. It is a huge step for someone who started as just a fan of the franchise and the horror genre. I now have the privilege of working with some amazing actors and actresses from some of my favorite films.

Last August we had our booths setup at the Walker Stalker Con here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For those that do not know what that is, it is the touring convention to support the hit TV show The Walking Dead. These shows take place all over the world. They do more than half a dozen shows in various U.S. cities, and then London, Germany, Australia, and even a cruise! The bulk of the special guests are cast members from the show. I think they had 24 cast members at the show here. They also add in some guests not attached to the show, for this one they added in about four cast members from the SyFy original series Z Nation. Also in attendance as a vendor was actor Eugene Clark. Clark is from Canada and has been a part of numerous TV shows up north. He has also done quite a few films, but none bigger than Land of the Dead from famed director George A. Romero. Romero is often credited as the creator of the modern zombie with his Night of the Living Dead and the series of films that followed it, including Land of the Dead.

Land of the Dead starred actors like Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, and acting legend Dennis Hopper. Eugene Clark portrayed Big Daddy in the film. He was formerly a gas station attendant, but now a zombie in anguish over losing all of his friends and family. He takes on a role as a sort of zombie leader with many others following him.

When I met him at the show we talked for a bit introducing myself to him and letting him know what it is I do. In the early moments of the conversation I could tell he was a great guy. Of course he actually dresses in the original coveralls costume from the film and has the eerie contact lenses in for shows, at times even bringing along a makeup artist to do up his entire face for the show. This at times was very distracting while talking to him, and looking him in the eye most of the time! At that point though we hammered out the details to make 75 buttons for him by the end of Sunday, the last day of the show. This way he could take them with him when he left and could have them for his next show.

To give you an idea of how great a guy he is, he wasn't getting them to sell at shows, but instead he had a much better reason. He keeps them in his booth to give out for free in certain situations. Perhaps when a younger fan is there with their parents and they don't want to or can't pay for one of his signed photos or other items. You know that dejected look a child can get when they miss out on a chance to get something like that (or lots of other items). He likes being able to give them a sort of "consolation prize", one of the buttons. This almost always leads to the young fan being overjoyed and instantly lighting up.

Since then we have made a few hundred more buttons for him as they have proven to be pretty popular. Of course I believe he also puts them out for sale now as well, while still giving some out as previously explained. Generally he will let me know when the next show is, how many of each style he wants, and gives me the address of his hotel. I ship direct to his hotel on the day of his arrival, or the day prior. This method is much easier, and also a great money saving method. He lives in Toronto, so to ship them to his home we would have to pay international shipping instead of just priority mail. Then after the show he packs up whatever is left and heads home.

This coming weekend he will be a guest at Days of the Dead - Atlanta. This time we are also adding in some of the buttons on cards for those that might want a signature and a button. So my task was to make 100 buttons, and an additional 50 buttons attached to the cards. I just wanted to share some photos from the making of the buttons and of the finished products.

Once everything is all printed out and cut into strips of three I lay everything out for cutting out the graphic circles.

To cut them out you slide the strips of paper into the punch cutter, line it up, and then push the red handle down. The silver circle you see there is a piston that you push up to get the graphic circle out easily.

When finished you are left with the graphic circles which are the precise size they need to be.

In the above photo, on the left is the front piece or shell of the button, and on the right is the back piece.

Below is the button maker. You take one of the shells, slip in the graphic circle, and then cover it with a clear piece of mylar. Then you rotate the cylinder and pull down the handle to combine those three elements. You load in the pinback piece of the button, rotate the cylinder again, and pull the handle. This crimps it all together and out comes the completed button.

The completed button seen above and below.

Then you repeat another 149 times.

Then sort and package the different styles in their own individual Ziploc bags to keep things nice and neat.

Next up I had to attach the remaining 50 buttons to their cards.

The cards are a standard 4X6 postcard printed with the proper graphics.

Finally this is what they look like when they are finished. All ready for Eugene Clark to sign the black area above the buttons.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the steps and work that goes into making 150 buttons. When we do shows we have over 700 different buttons to choose from. We also do custom buttons on the spot at shows, and here online. If you'd like your art, cosplay or perhaps pics of your kids turned into buttons, magnets, or mirrors let me know. Buy in bulk and I can give you a good deal for sure.