One has only to look at a t-shirt maker's 20+ Alf-inspired options to wonder if they have any internal selection method at all. For a remorselessly discerning line, check out Novem's Spring Line.

Originally a Chi-town graffiti crew, Novem's a 9-member collective that each season creates 40 designs, but only releases those voted to be among the best 9 -- even if that means an artist gets shut out, leaving him to wander the streets disconsolately, questioning his own ill-ness. The artistic techniques range from the photography-based panther of "On The Prowl" to the mostly hand-drawn, mystical/anatomical collage of "Five Senses", whose subtly fading color scheme makes the screen job nearly unnoticeable, even to a young Haley Joel Osment. Whichever you pick, underlying commentary pervades, sometimes delivered with morose dignity ("Business"), sometimes with cracked-out, Disneyesque flair ("Stay Tuned"), and sometimes with comically wanton violence ("The Deer Hunter", depicting a mega-robot igniting a deer's ass with a laser).

Novem's making only 60 of each spring design, but they also offer restockable "Chicago Classics" tees featuring the likes of the El, and "Mayor for Life" Daly -- who, thanks to the discernment of the voting public, will stay in office until he looks like Alf.

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Check the gear and order up at NovemStudios.com