Rat Fink is one of several

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

characters created by American artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, one of the originators of

Kustom Kulture Kustom Kulture is the artworks, vehicles, hairstyles, and fashions of those who have driven and built custom cars and motorcycles in the United States of America from the 1950s through today. It was born out of the hot rod culture of Southern C ...

of automobile enthusiasts. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

. Rat Fink is usually portrayed as either green or gray, comically grotesque and depraved-looking with bulging, bloodshot eyes, an oversized mouth with sharp, narrow teeth, and wearing red overalls with the initials "R.F." on them. He is often seen driving cars or motorcycles. Roth began airbrushing and selling "weirdo" T-shirts at car shows and in the pages of hot rod publications such as ''

Car Craft ''Car Craft'' was a magazine devoted to automobiles, hot rodding, and drag racing. It was published by the Motor Trend Group. It was established in 1953. The magazine published articles directed at inexperienced and expert car mechanics, such a ...

'' in the late 1950s. By the August 1959 issue of ''Car Craft'', "weirdo shirts" had become a craze, with Ed Roth at the forefront of the movement. His T-shirt designs inspired an industry. Rat Fink was advertised for the first time in the July 1963 issue of ''

''. The ad called it "The rage in California". Also in 1963, the

Revell Revell GmbH is an American-origin manufacturer of plastic model, plastic scale models, currently based in Bünde, Germany. The original Revell company merged with Monogram (company), Monogram in 1986, becoming "Revell-Monogram". The business op ...

Model Company issued a plastic model kit of the character. The initial run of the kit was from 1963 to 1965, but the Rat Fink kit, along with Roth's other creations, has been re-issued by Revell over the years. Rat Fink continues to be a popular item to this day in hot rod and Kustom Kulture circles in the form of T-shirts, key chains, wallets, toys, decals, etc. Other artists associated with Roth also drew the character, including ''Rat Fink Comix'' artist R. K. Sloane and Steve Fiorilla, who illustrated Roth's catalogs. Rat Fink and Roth are featured in

Ron Mann Ronald Mann (born June 13, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian documentary film film director, director. His work includes the films ''Imagine the Sound'' (1981); ''Comic Book Confidential'' (1988); ''Grass (1999 film), Grass'' (1999) and ''Go Furt ...

's documentary film ''Tales of the Rat Fink'' (2006). Jeannette Catsoulis reviewed in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': A Rat Fink revival in the late 1980s and the 1990s centered on the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

movements, both in the U.S. West Coast and in Australia (Roth drew Rat Fink artwork for the album ''

Junk Yard A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard ( Irish, British and New Zealand English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brou ...

'' by the Australian band The Birthday Party). The band White Zombie produced a song titled "Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks, and Cannibal Girls". The song was featured in the film ''

Beavis and Butthead Do America ''Beavis and Butt-Head Do America'' is a 1996 American adult animated comedy road film based on the MTV animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head''. The film was co-written and directed by series creator Mike Judge, who also reprises h ...

'', along with an animated sequence reminiscent of Ed Roth's artistic style.

References

External links

Rat Fink Official SiteOfficial Ed "Big Daddy" Roth WebsiteRat Fink MuseumPrevious Official Site
{{Kustom kulture Anthropomorphic mice and rats Kustom Kulture Ed Roth Male characters in literature Fictional motorcyclists Counterculture of the 1950s Counterculture of the 1960s Literary characters introduced in 1963