WOWindows, LLC, manufacturer and exclusive online wholesaler of colored window posters for seasonal and special occasion decorating, has been granted a licensing agreement by Classic Media to expand its WOWindow Posters line with Casper the Friendly Ghost, the “Official Ambassador of Halloween,” and related characters as depicted in the original Harvey comic books. WOWindows, LLC plans to release two new designs in 2012: Casper the Friendly Ghost and Casper and the Ghostly Trio.

Casper the Friendly Ghost has been making friends around the world for generations. The star of thousands of comics (more than 100 million sold), hundreds of cartoon episodes, and a blockbuster Steven Spielberg film, Casper is beloved by audiences of all ages.

KISS and Rubie’s Costume Company today announced a worldwide licensing deal to recreate the iconic style of KISS with costumes, masks, wigs, and accessories for adults and children.

“I’ve always said you may not be able to look like KISS, but you can always feel like KISS. We’ve finally changed that, and I’m jazzed to see all the Starchilds and other KISS members in full uniform this year!” said Paul Stanley of KISS.

“With your new KISS costumes, you will release the Demon within you. You are the God of Thunder!” said Gene Simmons of KISS.

“This line of KISS costumes and accessories offers something for the rock star in all of us,” said Howard Beige, Executive Vice President of Rubie’s. “The catalog will cover a variety of price points and include complete KISS costuming for fans of all ages. It’s a great collection of must-have gear.”

Retailers can preview KISS costumes and accessories now at www.Rubies.com. Orders will be accepted in Summer 2011. Merchandise will be screaming into retail stores everywhere and available at www.KISSonline.com in time for Halloween 2011.

Rubie’s Costume Company received the 2010 Costume Vendor of the Year Award from BuySeasons, an Internet retailer specializing in costumes, accessories, party supplies and seasonal décor.

“We are extremely excited and honored to be selected to receive this distinctive award from the most recognizable and largest Internet retailer in the Halloween Industry,” Executive Vice-President Howard beige said in a statement. “I would like to express my sincere thanks for BuySeasons continued support and patronage and look forward to working with them and helping them grow for many years into the future.”

“We have a great relationship with Rubies,” Daniel Haight, president and CEO, BuySeasons Inc.  said. “They deliver on all of the things you would expect from a partner of the year, great costumes, quality products, and timely delivery. Above all else though, their ability to react and work with us to develop new costumes that reflect the most recent trends in pop culture has been a Halloween game changer.”

Retailers are already gearing up for the 2011 holiday season with several new M&M’s offerings. Candyrific, a company that sells candy and novelty product combinations using popular licensed brands, will offer several new M&M’s treats with Halloween and Christmas themes. New items will include M&M’s Brand Halloween Fans, which feature M&M’s characters on top of candy fans; Halloween Embossed Tins, featuring four different characters; Halloween Sticker Stamp; Halloween Screamers with Sound; and more.

New Christmas items featuring M&M’s characters include an embossed tin, a sticker/stamper, a fan, a coin bank, a nine-inch candy dispenser, and a single chute candy dispenser.

Rubie’s Costume Co., Inc. has signed a deal for Halloween costumes based on the action-adventure series Generator Rex. The upcoming Generator Rex costume line will be for kids and will be based on the most popular characters from the television show, such as Rex and his evil counterpart Van Kleiss. Rubie’s Costume Co. signed the deal with Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE).

As a costume company, having an innovative get-up is great. Winning an award for it is even better. Rubie’s Costume Company Inc. took home the top prize for 2010 Best Breakout License for Lady Gaga, an honor bestowed on the company by Party City. The award recognized creativity and innovative design.

“We are very proud and honored to receive this distinction and thankful to be selected to receive this impressive award from one of the top retailers in the Halloween Industry,” said Rubie’s Executive Vice President Howard Beige.

Additionally, Rubie’s received the 2010 award for the Best Humor Costume for “Mario”, which has been a successful costume in both the children and adult categories.

“We are very grateful and appreciative to be selected to receive this distinctive award from one of the most recognizable retailers in the Halloween Industry,” Beige said.

Editor in Chief Bryan Joiner and I have continued our quest to bring you anything and everything related to Halloween. On our latest outing, we stopped at Ricky’s NYC (375 Broadway, New York; 212-925-5490) and Abracadabra (19 W. 21^st St.; 212-627-7523).

If you want to be a sexy schoolgirl, sexy pirate, sexy monster—basically anything sexy, head to Ricky’s. I found a great pair of Wizard of Oz ruby red slippers, otherwise known as garish glittery red stripper platform pumps, which would be perfect for anyone’s raunchy Dorothy getup.

Also good to know: The two-floor store is open all year and could easily double as your local drugstore if you’re lazy or live in the area—a few Duane Reade-style aisles are stocked with shampoo and the like.

We. Loved. Abracadabra. This place simply rocks. Even if you are one of those people who, dare I say, hate Halloween you will still be amused by this quirky shop. From the get-go we were met by a fabulous life-size ghoulish mannequin vomiting in a bucket. Okay, we’re juvenile but don’t judge, we giggle at that sort of thing. The meat case full of body parts, also near the front of the store, was a nice touch.

If you want a realistic mask, life-size prop or glock, check out Abracadabra. Ok, let me explain the last part: The store also doubles as a place to buy movie props (you need to have credentials to rent any of the realistic weapons).

FYI: You can get costumes, but this isn’t necessarily the place to browse through aisles of sealed packages—the costumes are kept on hangers behind a counter and you should ask an employee for assistance.

Really, if nothing else, go for the vomit. We loved the vomit.

-Mackenzie Allison

To prepare for this year’s edition of The Halloween Insider (send us your product info!), Associate Editor Mackenzie Allison and I trekked out to the Queens headquarters of Rubie’s Costume Co., in Richmond Hill. It wasn’t the first time I’d been there, but it was the first time in seven years, and my first since The Halloween Insider was founded.

The storefront takes up two levels on the train next Jamaica Avenue and is filled with vibrant and popular costumes. Once you enter, the costumes are all behind the counter and hanging above you, with dozens of people ready to help you. There are catalogs on each counter with a different set of getups: there are hundreds upon hundreds of costumes to choose from. The most expensive of these are the Halo and Storm Trooper full-body armor costumes, which run around $800. I asked a salesperson if he sold any of these and he said he had, to people trying to win a radio contest.

I then asked what the most popular costumes of the season were. The first, he said, was Avatar. No surprise there. The second was the surprise, and a tribute to the ingenuity that Halloween brings out. He said people wanted to dress like the bank robbers in The Town (above), with the nun outfits and masks, presumably because they saw it on the poster. Rubie’s didn’t have the masks, but they had the nun outfits, which had been flying off the shelves as people went elsewhere in search of the masks. Interesting stuff.

This isn’t the end of  TLB’s Halloween store-visit adventure. Let us know of any stores/sites to check out as we do research for this year’s Insider. Tough job, we know.

—Bryan Joiner

Rubie’s Costume Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of Halloween costumes and accessories, has partnered with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to produce officially licensed Halloween costumes for children and adults.

These costumes are currently available at WWE.com and at various retailers nationwide including Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart and Party City.  The costumes will feature WWE Superstars and Legends such as John Cena, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rowdy Roddy Piper.  Rubies has implemented muscle chest technology to create realistic costumes that fans of any age can enjoy wearing during the holiday.

“Rubie’s is excited to partner with WWE on this new line of Halloween costumes which utilize our patent technology. We are proud to offer authentic WWE Superstar costumes this season,” said Howard Beige, Executive Vice President of Rubie’s.

In anticipation of the January 14, 2011 release of Sony Pictures’ action film, The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen, Rubie’s Costume Co., Inc. has obtained a license to create products ranging from deluxe costumes of Green Hornet and Kato to hats, gloves, masks, and other costumes.

In The Green Hornet, Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to  maintain a directionless existence on the party scene—until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. To get close to the criminals, they come up with the perfect cover: they’ll pose as criminals themselves. Protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

Watch the trailer here.