This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
POWERS OF X #1 (OF 6)
FEAR THE FUTURE! Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (INFINTY, NEW AVENGERS, FF) continues his revolutionary new direction for the X-Men. Intertwining with HOUSE OF X, POWERS OF X reveals the secret past, present and future of mutantkind, changing the way you look at every X-Men story before and after. You do not want to miss the next seminal moment in the history of the X-Men!
(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) R. B. Silva (CA) Mark Brooks
Throw on your big gold chains and head to Strong Island aswe take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Eric B. & Rakim
Song: Don't Sweat The Technique Album: Don't Sweat The Technique (1992)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A Bonus Fun Fact: This song never charted on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did reach #1 on the Hot Rap Songs Chart in 1992.
A few weekends ago, myself and my family went downtown and visited a few antique stores. I enjoy going to these kinds of stores, because you'll never know what you're going to find. Most of the time the cool stuff that I like is way over priced, but it's cool to know it's out there if I really want it. below are some of the items we found this time around.
The Dukes of Hazard Personal Radio: $14.95
I was never a huge fan of The Dukes of Hazard television program. My sisters loved it though and that's where my introduction to the series happened. We never had this specific radio in our home, but my sisters had a very similar one with the Charlie's Angels logo emblazoned on it and that's where the nostalgia kicked in for me. I remember sitting in my sisters room and playing with the tuner on that radio hoping we could actually get a signal from the local radio station. Good times!
Smurfs Lunch Box: $29.99
As I've said many times before, I love old lunch boxes! This Smurfs one was actually complete with the Thermos which is pretty rare. That's why I had no problem with the asking price of almost $30. It's a fair price, but I passed. I loved the Smurfs as a kid and had a big collection of the figures, but I never toted my PB&J sandwiches around in this box. I am still on the lookout for a complete Thundercats, Ghostbusters or Super Mario Bros. box. Those are the ones that really bring back the memories for me.
Mattel Electronics Star Strike game for Intellivision: $10
It's always cool to see old games still in the box at these antique stores. The Intellivision was a little bit before my time. The first system we owned in my house was the Nintendo Entertainment System. If I saw any of those original NES games in box for $10, you better believe I'd be all over that!
Parker Brothers Star Wars Board Game: $25
I've seen similar games go for way more money than this. So why the lower price? There were a bunch of pieces missing and the box had some minor wear. With all that considered the box art alone is worth the $25 asking price.
Batman Forever The Riddler Action Figure: $14.95
I actually liked Batman Forever. Of course the movie doesn't hold up when compared to the Tim Burton masterpieces that came before it, but it actually was a fun movie. I enjoyed Jim Carry's portrayal of the Riddler. He added some of his own personality into the character and that's what I like to see. I don't want a carbon copy of how someone else played the character. All that said, I never collected nor played with this series of figures, so it was a pass for me!
The Simpsons Colorforms Set: $9.99
This was the item I would take home! I love the early look of The Simpsons cartoons. They are classic. I remember watching the Simpsons Christmas Special when it aired on FOX on December, 17th, 1989. One watch of this episode and I was hooked! 30 years later and I am still a big fan of the Simpson family. A sealed Colorforms set from the early 90s for $9.99! Yes, please!!! Below you can enjoy an early episode from The Simpsons run on the Tracey Ullman show in the late 80s.
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
TMNT RISE OF TMNT SOUND OFF #1 (OF 3)
A new batch of mutant villains are in town and they've mastered the art of noiseless theft! The TMNT are powerless to stop them until they realize someone close to them shares a history with the bad guys: April O'Neil! Will she be able to overcome a case of stage fright and save the day? An exciting and hilarious adventure with an important message about learning to be comfortable speaking up!
Throw on your shades & shiny suits and head to the closest Godzilla evacuation center aswe take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Puff Daddy feat. Jimmy Page
Song: Come With Me Album: Godzilla: The Album (1998)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 4 Bonus Fun Fact: This song was produced by Rage Against The Machine member Tom Morello. This song used to be played as New York Yankee shortstop and MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter took the plate. It is also used as the theme song for the final round of an Italian game show titled "Avanti un Altro!"
Almost a year ago the television station that I work for celebrated it's 60th anniversary. Part of my job as Promotions & Marketing manager was to help promote the milestone. We had an entire floor of the local historical museum dedicated to the history of television and I produced a 5 minute video showing our past and how we are moving towards the future. In preparation for these projects I had to dig up some historical documents, old props & equipment and search through our old photos to find the things that told the story of the station. I found some great stuff, but some of it didn't exactly fit what I was looking for like this great shot above of the kid in the Coors Light "SilverBullet" car. Here are a few more great pics that I found!
This picture is from a telethon held at the station in the late 70s/early 80s. The caption said something like "TVs Tracey Gold joined us for this fundraising event". Wow! Tracey Gold that was big time back in the day. I'd be happy if she stopped by for one of fund raisers today!
This kid with the Boglin was pretty lucky. I always wanted one, but never got it. I had to live out my Boglin dreams with my friends toy! The guy looking on was our longtime graphic artist. He worked at the station for over 30 years and went from creating chalk drawings for newscasts to creating graphics using Photoshop and After Effects. He retired a few years back, but was a great guy to work with and learn from. Kind of the Yoda of the station.
Here is a picture of some of the staff back in the 90s at the local theater premiere of Dick Tracy! I haven't seen that movie in years. Thinking I should give it a watch sometime soon. It would be cool if the station hosted movie premieres again. Maybe I'll have to get on that?
Here are pictures from another station hosted movie premiere event in 1990 for DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp the Movie! I loved this film, but never got to see it in theaters. Maybe Disney should re-release it for it's 30th anniversary in 2020? If you have not seen this movie, you need to! It's got action, adventure, peril, a genie, Mrs. Beakly and Christopher Lloyd as the main bad guy. If that doesn't sell you, maybe this commercial will?
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
VAMPIRELLA #1 1969 REPLICA ED
Dynamite Superstar Vampirella got her start in 1969 as a Horror comic 'hostess,' and she's gone through 50 years of story evolution since to become the iconic character that we all know and love! While we're celebrating her illustrious career, we're also taking a look back at where this blood-sucking babe got her start! This Limited Replica Edition of Vampirella #1 is exactly what it says on the tin, a magazine-sized, 66-Page celebration of the Daugher of Draculon's first time in print! This special reprint includes every story and even advertisements exactly as they looked half a century ago! Warren's sharp-eyed editors assembled the best talents across the world to write and draw timeless stories. This first issue features a diverse range of masters, including Neal Adams (Batman, Green Lantern), Reed Crandall (Blackhawk, EC Comics), longtime Jack Kirby inker Mike Royer, and other greats such as Tom Sutton, Ernie Colon and Tony Tallarico. All under an unforgettable cover by Frank Frazetta.
(W) Forrest J. Ackerman, Don Glut, Nicola Cuti (A) Various (CA) Frank Frazetta
Throw on your codpiece and head to the hippest club around aswe take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Cameo
Song: Word Up Album: Word Up! (1986)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 6 Bonus Fun Fact: The music video features a cameo by LeVar Burton as a police officer trying to arrest the band! This song has been covered many times over the past 30 years by bands like Korn, Little Mix and Mel B of the Spice Girls! This song was reworked for a Cherry Coke ad in 1987! You can view that video below.
While driving to work a few weeks ago, I was scanning through the local radio stations and stopped on a classic hits station because something caught my attention. The hosts were talking about an upcoming animation art display that was coming to a local gallery. This show was dedicated to 50 year animation veteran Ron Campbell and the hosts were talking to him about some of the highlights from his career. If you don't know who Ron Campbell is, here is a brief rundown of some of the iconic cartoons he has worked on during his career: The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Captain Caveman, Heathcliff, Pac-Man...and the list goes on and on!
Ron Campbell may be remembered most for his work as an animator and director for the Beatles cartoon and their feature length movie, Yellow Submarine. But it was his work on some of my favorite cartoons that really drew me in to see him at the art show.
Ron was an animator, story director for the 80s Smurf TV series from 1981-1987. He also served as a story board artist for the specials My Smurfy Valentine (1982), The Smurfs Springtime Special (1982) and my favorite Smurfs special of all time The Smurfs Christmas Special (1982). We watched that every year as kids and now I watch it with my kids!
Ed, Edd & Eddy debuted on the Cartoon Network when I was in my late teens/early twenties, but I had a younger brother who loved it and once I sat down to watch it with him I was hooked! It reminded me of myself and my friends when I was younger. The depth of characters and the inventive ways the Eds would try to scam nickels to buy jawbreakers was genius! Ron Campbell served as a director on the show from 2002-2007.
Ron created these special gold record plaques for his various shows and it once again presents the bond between himself and the Beatles animated personas beautifully! My youngest daughter is a huge Beatles fan, so it was especially amazing to her to see these hanging on the walls.
Scooby-Doo! What kid doesn't love Scooby-Doo. My favorite iteration of the character has to be the Pup Named Scooby-Doo cartoon from the 90s. I loved the art style and the humor that was in the show. We need more Red Herring in future Scooby movies! That is one cartoon Ron Campbell didn't work on, but he did serve as a director on The New Scooby-Doo Movies in 1973 and also as a director on the Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour (1982).
Rugrats was a classic cartoon that came out in the 90s during the golden age of Nicktoons. Guess what? Hold on to your diapys! Ron Campbell was a story board artist for the show from 1993-2001!
This was my favorite picture of them all! I wish I would have picked this up at the show, but bills and car repairs took priority over this beautiful piece of art work featuring my favorite group of brothers, the green machine, the heroes 4...the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!!! Ron once again took on storyboard duties for the original Fred Wolf version of the TMNT!
This guy was seriously talented and was able to make a career out of giving generations joy on the small screen. Seriously, name a cartoon and he probably had a hand in bringing it to our living rooms. Men In Black: The Series, Aaahh!! Real Monsters, Garfield & Friends, Darkwing Duck, Bionic Six and so many more. Check out his IMDB page for more info on his career and tell me this man was not epic! Thanks Ron Campbell for sharing your gifts and for making us happy...and thanks for the autograph!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
GIANT SIZE X-STATIX #1
They're back and more alive than ever for this special one-shot! But what new threat is so grave that only the most famous mutant celebrities can fight it? And who is the new U-Go-Girl? Only the original X-Statix creative team Peter Milligan, Michael Allred and Laura Allred know for sure!
Throw on your Oversized Jacket and head to the streets we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Janet Jackson
Song: What Have You Done For Me Lately
Album: Control (1986)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 4 Bonus Fun Fact: This song was produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and was written to reflect Jackson's feelings after her divorce from James DeBarge. The dance sequences in the music video were choreographed by Paula Abdul.
Enjoy your Independence Day America! Do some grillin', play some backyard baseball games, hit the pool and see some fireworks. Just have fun and celebrate the greatest country in the world!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
HARLEY QUINN #63
The final trials of Harley Quinn have begun...and the stakes have never been higher! Will Harley succeed in becoming the Angel of Retribution? Or will she fall short, only to suffer the same fate as all those before her? Plus, a mysterious new comic by M. Clatterbuck appears...in which Lex Luthor makes Harley an exciting offer!
Throw on your Zulu Nation Costume and head to Outer Space as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force
Song: Planet Rock
Album: Planet Rock: The Album (1982)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 48 Bonus Fun Fact: This song was ranked #3 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs Of All-Time". The Washington Squares sing the "Rock It, Don't Stop It" portion of the song. This was done so production could move faster and the Squares could begin their recording session. Breakbeats were created on a Roland TR-808 drum machine.
