Jolly Fats Wehawkin

I love The Middleman. I love the comics, I loved the TV show, and I really wish either of them had caught on with the general public, because, like Usagi Yojimbo,  the Middleman kicks serious ass. If you were one of the 12 people who watched the show, you will no doubt remember that the Middleman's headquarters was disguised as a temp agency, the Jolly Fats Wehawkin Employment Agency. Here's my take on the logo.

The original logo was set in a fake typewriter font with a big drop-shadow. It was only seen on the wall in the front office and on a t -shirt that Wendy Watson wore once in a while. I thought it was perfunctory at best (which was no doubt the intent of the designer), so I decided to take a stab at it.

The typefaces are Bodoni Poster and Copperplate, both reliable old standbys. My thinking here was the logo probably hadn't changed much since about 1978, and it was probably whatever the kid at the sign shop came up with. I went for a gold look, something a little cheesy, but a step up (I think, anyway) from the rather flat original design.