84-86
Showcasing Kent’s affinity for Dungeons and Dragons as well as the wildly popular album "Out of the Cellar" by RATT, the "hurling wedge" (as it was known) was quite indicative of Anvil’s birth and three most formative years. The wedge is still emblazoned on the exterior wall of Anvil’s satellite office in Amsterdam, South Dakota, where Anvil staffers still field no less than three blacksmith requests a day.

87-90
Teamed with the tag line, "Hurt Me…Please," this proved to be Anvil’s most popular logo for reasons completely unknown to us. Drafted by Kent’s 10 year-old nephew, Ephraim Kershaw, this logo can still be found on the hot pink Polo shirts often worn by staff. In fact, the logo was so popular among geek circles, it was later used to market the wildly popular video game, Grandma’s Gold Teeth.

91-93
Capitalizing on the popularity of computer animation at the time, the 3D Anvil received a good deal of comment, mostly from our younger readers. The general reception toward the logo is best encapsulated in the following comment from Doug Lutz, Tonopah, NV, age 11: "So, is that a Transformer or GoBot or something? What the Hell?" The logo and associated branding lasted a surprising three years, mostly due to the costs associated with reapplying Anvil graphics to Kent’s 1972 Chevy Nova.

94-96
Showcasing an edgier, harder-hitting publication that highlighted the era’s heightened cynicism, Anvil adopted the "hard hammer" logo from critically acclaimed designer, Ricki Gun. The logo was pulled two years after Ricki’s attorneys actually got around to reading an issue of the increasingly popular publication.

97-98
With Anvil attempting to gain greater respect in the marketing industry, Kent employed the services of Schwartz, Johnson and Kershaw (no relation to Kent’s nephew) to build a more respectable brand. Readership among the "professional community" steadily declined until the logo was removed in February 1998. Oddly enough, the logo was recently sold to a Japanese law firm.

98-99
Minimizing the publication’s design while broadening its reach, Anvil adopted the 2D grayscale, which was accompanied by a major relaunch of the publication. The site went to a grayscale format, putting a happy buzz in 56k modems around the world. At the advice of Kent’s mentor and Banana Republic VP of marketing, Kyle Marks, the logo was dropped for a more, "slim, trim and downright righteous impression."

99-00
Known throughout the office as Kent’s "black period," the last of Anvil’s marketing-centric days reached their high-water mark with the switch to an all B&W format, featuring the stark black anvil. General Motors purchased the logo in August 2000 to be used for an as-yet-unreleased off-road golf cart known as the Silver Anvil. Kent was recently spotted sporting the Silver Anvil prototype’s hood ornament on a "phat" silver chain. He claims to have "picked it up" while attending a meeting at the Detroit Auto Show in 2001.

00-Present
Here we are today, I think it speaks for itself.