Serial Killer

The Serial Killer Inc. streetwear story is a familiar tale unironically as old as the court system, where a unique and creative idea brought to market runs afoul against the United States legal system. Personally, the brand is one of several inspirations for CPX.ART. Started in 1997 by a couple dudes in El Segundo California (where Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest left his wallet), their idea was simple but brilliant; appropriate a still image of famous movie scene(s) or person(s), cultural icon, or has-been, maybe manipulate the image a bit with a photo editing program, and add no more than a few words for humor and/or lampoon. Their artistic creations were printed on tees, hats, beanies, hoodies, stickers, and skateboard decks, and the brand was popular among teens and young adults (and upset a lot of older ones) in the late 90’s and early 00’s. The same idea today is essentially an Internet meme.

Not only was Serial Killer the first to do this genre, but because fair use of copyrighted material has always been subjective to whichever judge is deciding it, and because the legal process is a stressful and costly burden to take on, it takes balls to take a risk and put your mark on this type of artistic creation and sell it as merchandise; but unfortunately those types of lawsuits led to the fall from the company’s pinnacle of success. Not because it was a bad idea or what they were making was not marketable or popular, far from it in fact, but instead because of the unfair copyright laws of the United States, a few plaintiffs that can’t take a joke, and lawyers – what a shame. The creations that Serial Killer produced without permission or consent was a disruption to the system and a middle finger to the establishment, and many of the tangible goods that remain out there as proof of that would not be otherwise had they not taken the guerilla approach that they did.

I am an enthusiast and collector of the Serial Killer art and the purpose of this post is to show some of that art from scans of my collection of stickers and prints. Shamelessly, it’s also an opportunity for me to solicit pieces for my collection that I do not already have. So, if you have any unpeeled, original (not a reprint) stickers or print advertising from Serial Killer or their old copycat’s (American Psycho, nc17, Killer Life, and non-branded) that you do not see in the image slider below, and that you would be willing to part with, please direct message me on Twitter (@CPXART) and I’ll gladly pay a fair price. Also, if you enjoyed this post, and if it’s worth it to you, feel free to donate a couple bucks to me, which will undoubtedly go towards purchase of more art prints to share and write about.

I’d also like to point out that the Serial Killer brand has seen a reboot in the past few years in the skateboarding space and that you should visit and support https://www.serialkillerbrand.com/ and or follow them on Instagram (@serialkillerbrand). I do not receive a commission from nor am I affiliated with them. I just think they’re awesome and respect the guerilla bravado they have to bring their ideas to reality, and I am glad to see they’re still around.

– CPX

WARNING: Contains explicit content

Serial Killer

Here is a PDF I made from a scanned Serial Killer catalog with some more art for you to look at, and a few advertisements [1, 2, 3] I scanned from late 90’s Pop Smear magazine.