Zippo lights up Band of Brothers

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By Robert Scally<br><br>

Talk about movie memorabilia! Dark Horse Comics (Portland, Ore.) with HBO Properties (New York) have created two Band of Brothers Zippo lighters (Bradbury, Pa.) based on the TV mini-series, that improves on history.

The goal of the project was to make an authentic WW II era Zippo lighter. But the plan had to be altered.

"When we did the research what we found was that in World War II they were cutting back," Christopher Beeson, product development manger, Dark Horse Comics, tells License!. "Lighters back then were made out of plain tin or maybe were painted with black paint that scraped off easily."

Dark Horse has produced dozens of lighters based on comics and TV shows, and was determined to make two based on the movie adapted from historian Stephen Ambrose's nonfiction book about a U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division unit during WW II.

The first lighter (SRP $39.95), has a matte black finish with the Brand of Brothers logo in olive drab and will be shipped in military-inspired printed tin and slipcase. The second lighter is aimed at the serious collector. Priced at $100, this limited edition deluxe lighter - just 750 produced - has the Band of Brothers logo engraved in polished chrome and finished with gold inlay. These lighters come in a walnut box and are engraved with an issue number