Exhibit features creator of T&C mascots

The artist behind some of Town & Country Surf Designs’ most popular T-shirt characters from the 1980s returns to Oahu this month to introduce his work to a new generation of fans.

Thrilla Gorilla, Joe Cool, the Primal Urges Caveman and Cool Cat helped propel T&C from a regional brand to a national player in the surf apparel industry. They were so popular at the time, video game developer Nintendo released two titles based on the characters for its Nintendo Entertainment System game console.

“Those characters and the T&C brand in general have always been real dear to the people of Hawaii,” said Steve Nazar, 58, a California-based cartoonist and illustrator. “It took off pretty quickly and just kept building. It got to the point where I’d walk into a major department store or surf and skate shop in California and see my stuff.”

By the time the mid-’90s rolled around, however, Nazar’s characters were out of circulation.

“It didn’t really surprise me that much because I had been working in the garment industry for years before T&C, and that’s just how it goes,” he explained by phone from his studio in Riverside, Calif., last week. “If you have a seven-year run like I did, that’s pretty good.”

Although Nazar didn’t produce designs for T&C again, he’s maintained a special bond with the characters he created and continued to turn out new original works over the years. He’s back in Honolulu this week for the debut of “Kick and Rip: Soccer, Surf and Aloha,” an art exhibit and pop-up store collaboration among Nazar, lifestyle blog Kicks to the Pitch and local retailers In4mation and Paradise Soccer Club.

Nazar created an exclusive run of graphic T-shirts, socks, prints, pin sets, stickers and skateboard decks featuring cartoon versions of soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He will be at In4mation’s Nuuanu location for the opening reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday to introduce those new products and show about a dozen paintings of the classic T&C characters he created for the exhibit, which runs through Feb. 29.

The event features entertainment and giveaways by premium shoe care brand Jason Markk. The collection will also be available at Paradise Soccer Club, 131 Hekili St. No. 111, Kailua; all In4mation stores in Hawaii; and in the retailers’ online storefronts starting Feb. 12.

“I have all these emotional attachments to the characters, and I’ve painted them fairly consistently all along,” Nazar said. “Due to the nostalgic nature of people, I think it’s going to come back in a big way.

“I am also very serious about getting my work into galleries. That’s really where I want to end up doing originals and prints of the characters. This is a really good first step.”