Listen, wearing masks is important right now.
For one thing, it protects you from everyone else, particularly anyone who might be carrying the COVID-19 virus. Masks also protect other people from you - some people carry COVID-19 without knowing it, and we know that symptoms can take upwards of two weeks to become apparent. If you're social distancing (which we hope you are!) and you genuinely care about everyone around you (which we hope you do!), wearing a mask is mandatory.
And now, thanks to the efforts of former NIN art director Rob Sheridan (most recently seen creating Vertigo's HIGH LEVEL comic series and fleeing a movie theater after attempting to watch CATS on shrooms), you can rock a face mask that's got some personal style to it ... while also helping raise money for charity.
Just take a look at these bad boys.
All of these masks can be picked up through Sheridan's Threadless storefront, including a black-and-white variant version of the (ahem) Swamp Creature mask that'll be available until June 12th. We love what Sheridan's come up with here, so much so that we invited him to stop by and tell us about his latest project.
Here's what he had to say for himself:
We know conclusively that wearing masks DRASTICALLY reduces Coronavirus spread, and if we all wore them this nightmare would be over sooner. So it’s beyond infuriating to me when I go out to grocery stores and STILL see so many people not wearing masks. On top of being irresponsible, it’s massively disrespectful to the front-line workers who are putting themselves at risk every day, for minimum wage, to keep us going. Whatever you might think about your own risks, at least show them you care about THEIR safety.
I don’t really understand the resistance to wearing masks, because it’s fun as hell doing Mortal Kombat cosplay at Trader Joe’s. But some people are still being very stubborn about the idea, so to help promote mask-wearing I wanted to make masks FUN.
My Monster and Skull masks are hand-illustrated specifically for face masks. Drawing inspiration from some of my favorite movie monsters - specifically ones that had iconic mouths - I used a bright, vibrant pop art style inspired by 80s animation, with bold lines and shapes to instantly convey the faces from a distance. You definitely don’t want masks that people have to get close to understand.
Every mask purchase from our shop supports MedShare, bringing vital medical supplies to communities in need. With our help, Threadless has raised almost $300,000 for MedShare, with a pledged goal of $500k. It’s an amazing project to be a part of where we get to support charity, support artists, promote mask use in our communities, and let people have a little fun while staying safe.
Now. Let's take a closer look at these masks (also, Fun Fact: some of these designs were suggested by Team BMD. Bet you'll never guess which ones!).
THE CYBER SKULL
THE CHATTER DEMON
THE ALIEN HUNTER
THE ZOMBIE
THE SWAMP MONSTER (LTD. EDITION B&W VARIANT)
THE SWAMP MONSTER
THE SLASHER
THE CYBER SKULL (RED EDITION)
THE SPACE CREATURE
Pretty great, right? We thought so, too. If you'd like to pick up your own - or simply look over everything on offer in Sheridan's online store - head on over to this Threadless page. Buy a mask for yourself! Buy one for your partner! Hell, buy a few extra. Given the state of things, we might be wearing these fuckers for a long time, and you'll want to have options, especially if you ever plan on color coordinating your pandemic outfits.