Even More Glasses with Character

Way way back in 2011 and 2012, I wrote about some Pepsi character glasses I'd found.  Back then, I was paying a quarter a piece.  Those days are long gone.  I actually don't see the character glasses too often at sales and when I do, it's only one or two priced at $10 each.

Last month, I hit the motherlode of Pepsi character glasses at an estate sale.  I wish I'd gotten a photo of the glasses as they were staged at the sale as they were stacked up to 5 glasses high with duplicates. I almost went into catatonic shock.

While they were priced at $7/glass (which is still less than you pay in antique malls), there were some bargains (and one downright steal) in the mix.

I ended up with these.

I almost missed the rarest glass.  My daughter spied it.  Unfortunately, there was only 1.

"Slowpoke" Rodriguez was "Speedy" Gonzalez's cousin and counterpart. Billed as "the slowest mouse in all of Mexico" (pronounced Meh-hee-co, of course).  He only appeared in two cartoons, "Mexicali Schmoes" and "Mexican Boarders".  Despite this, he somehow ranked his own Pepsi glass.  They are quite rare and sell for $100 on eBay.

And they did also have a "Speedy Gonzalez" glass.

Speaking of Mexican stereotypes, I didn't recognize this character at all.

This is "Poncho Brockway", a mascot for Pancho's Mexican Buffet.  Pancho's is a chain of Mexican restaurants founded in Texas in 1958. They were never big, reaching 40 locations in the south/southwest.  There are now only 4 remaining in Texas.  No explanation why the restaurant is "Pancho's" and he's "Poncho".  I guess his belly ponch?

This Tasmanian Devil glass is one I don't see too often.

Another desirable glass I picked up is the Hanna Barbera Scooby Doo glass.

Shaggy's on it too, but we all know Scooby is the star.  I mean his name is in the title of the show.

This glass sells for $40 on eBay.

Next up are a couple glasses celebrating my favorite cartoon at the age of 4: "Underdog".

Underdog, of course, was a pure ripoff of "Superman", although rather than a mild-mannered reporter, his alter ego was "Shoeshine Boy" whose occupation was...well..a shoeshine boy.

Underdog's "Lois Lane" was "Sweet Polly Purebred"

These next 2 glasses came from Arby's and are shorter than a standard Pepsi character glass.  They feature Jay Ward characters Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris and Natasha and, interestingly, Underdog who was *not* a Jay Ward creation, in patriotic scenes celebrating the Bicentennial.

While we're on the subject of Jay Ward (not really, but you know what I mean), here's another short glass of Dudley Do-Right, though it's not part of the above Arby's series.  Curiously, he's sporting black hair rather than blonde.

Next we have the larger glasses of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

That should really be a "W" on Bullwinkle's sweatshirt as we all know he attended Wassamatta U.

An interesting choice for a character glass in 1977 is this combination "Perils of Penelope Pitstop" and "Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines", both cartoons from 1969.  I do remember them in syndication, so they may have been playing off that.  The internet also just blew my mind because I learned "Muttley" and "Mumbly" were NOT the same dog!

Apparently, this is "Mumbly".  Oh, and I just learned, according to this site, they're cousins!

That's "The Hooded Claw" voiced by Paul Lynde.  You can hear it, can't you?

And while we're on Hanna-Barbera, let's talk about one of the greatest superheroes created specifically for Saturday morning cartoons: The Blue Falcon (I picked up 2 of these).

Blue Falcon was "assisted" by "Dynomutt, the Dog Wonder", a robotic dog that consistently foils Blue Falcon's efforts with his malfunctioning gadgets. That's right, BF!

From the DC comic universe, we have these two variations of "The Flash"

As well as two variations of "Shazam" or "Captain Marvel".

Here's Robin (unfortunately no Batman glass to go with him) and everyone's favorite water breather Aquaman (sorry, Submariner)

And finally, we have Root Beer, the A&W mascot.  I've had one of these before, but it was broken over the years.

These glasses were handed out with the purchase of a large drink at various restaurants in the 1970's including Pizza Hut, Burger Chef, Burger King, Taco Bell and Arby's, depending on what part of the country you were in.

I struggle with the decision to sit these on the shelf or use them as everyday drinking glasses.  I can tell you from experience, they don't hold up more than a few years of daily drinking (at least not in my house).  The images wear off (the dishwasher is your enemy) or they get broken accidentally.  I'll definitely shelve the more rare and expensive ones, but may end up using the others.