Petr Mrazek has a brilliant mask design for the World Cup that features Peter Griffin, a staple of Mrazek’s masks, as King Kong scaling the CN Tower. It’s going to be hard for any netminder at the World Cup to top Mrazek’s design.
Petr Mrazek may not start every game for the Czech Republic and he may not post the best record or find himself among the leaders for save percentage at the tournament, but there’s little doubt he’ll lay claim to having one of the best masks of all the netminders taking part in the World Cup. Mrazek has had a long-standing tradition of incorporating Peter Griffin into his masks,
which have been produced by DaveArt’s David Gunnarsson. Mrazek’s masks have featured Griffin as RoboCop, Santa Claus and Superman, and Mrazek made sure to bring the Family Guy patriarch along for his mask at the World Cup. However, without any clear tie-in — RoboCop fits with Detroit and Santa Claus was for a holiday mask — Mrazek and Gunnarsson had to get creative. And did they ever. Check out Mrazek’s mask featuring Griffin scaling the CN Tower like a knock-off King Kong:
There’s so much to love about this mask that it’s hard to know where to start. The obvious detail that stands out is the detail on Griffin’s costume, which makes it look hand-stitched, and that he’s got a Czech Republic flag in his hand trying to stake claim to the CN Tower is a nice touch. But while Griffin may be the centerpiece of the mask, the details surround him are what really pulls the mask together nicely. The famous King Kong scene comes when he climbs the Empire State Building only to be attacked by fighter planes. Mrazek’s mask features a similar design with planes attacking Griffin, but the window of each of the jets features a different nation. There’s a Swedish plane, American plane and Finnish plane circling Griffin, and the crown of the mask looks to have a Canadian plane swooping in. The Team Europe, North America and Russia planes are also circling around. On the right panel, the mask also features the Red Wings logo, a sketched version of the Czech coat of arms and a hologram of the World Cup logo is featured on both the right and left panel. Mrazek will have to fight for the starting job at the World Cup against Ondrej Pavelec and Michal Neuvirth, but here’s hoping we get to see this gem of a mask in action at least a few times during the tournament.
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