Toronto company, Retrokid, has dropped a new Inspector Gadget apparel and merch collection as a nod to the series. SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne takes a closer look.
If you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, you probably watched Inspector Gadget―a cartoon about a bumbling and accident prone detective who, with the help of his gadgets and, unbeknownst to him, his niece, Penny, and dog, Brain, fights crime while eluding the latest schemes of MAD’s Dr. Claw. Every episode ended with that menacing voice, “I’ll get you next time, Gadget. Next time!”
Retrokid, a Toronto company founded to help you celebrate “your fondest childhood memories”, recently surprised Gadget fans everywhere with a brand new collection dedicated to the animated series. Founded by Scarborough natives Steve Gaskin and 5x Emmy nominated voice actor Eric Bauza, Retrokid has built a name for itself in recent years by creating collections with nods to iconic film and TV franchises like Mr. Dressup, Racoons, Bloodsport, Electric Circus, and now Inspector Gadget.
The new collection includes a blue Penny & Brain hoodie with each of the characters on the front and bank, a more simple and classic white Go Go Gadgetmobile t-shirt with his signature car on the front and the trench coat wearing detective on the back, the black Better Call Brain t-shirt with scenes of Penny calling her K-9 friend, and a black Dr. Claw mug.
Perhaps the dopest pieces in the collection are the black Dr. Claw hoodie with the MAD logo on the chest and the MAD watermark on the sleeve, and the black Dr. Claw t-shirt featuring his arm (the only part of Claw we ever see) with his signature gold bracelet and ring. Serious boss vibes.
Gaskin took to Instagram to share his favourite design―the black Dr. Claw t-shirt―with the post captioned:
“As a kid, and even to this day, I selfishly always wanted to see Gadget fail…The be annihilated…To lose and be crushed by Dr. Claw. Sadly it never happened. Not a scratch, not a bruise, not a scrape. Gadget always survived.”
To check out the collection visit Retrokid.ca.
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