New Additions to the TMNT Collection IV

Over the last few months I have succumbed to the addiction that is on-line shopping. Seriously, once you start you find so many other cool things and you just can't stop...that is until your wife reminds you that you have children and bills to pay. This realization led me to be pretty selective of what I've purchased recently and as a huge fan of the Green Machine there are a ton of options. So without wasting anymore time, here is part 4 of the newest additions to my TMNT collection!

TMNT Novels

I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Like kids everywhere, we saw it in theaters, had the VHS tape, reenacted the fight scenes in our backyards and read the official TMNT Movie Novelization! I remember getting the movie novel in mine and my brothers Easter Baskets in 1990. We loved the movie photos inside and the small changes that were in the novel versus the actual finished movie. My brother and myself each also had one of the cartoon novels. They just happened to be "Buried Treasure" & "Six Guns and Shurikens".  When I found all 3 of these books in an ebay lot, I knew it was destiny! I paid the $12 to the seller and once again had these books back in my collection after almost 30 years!

TMNT Mini-Pinball Game

This was another gift from my wife. This time it was for my birthday. She really gets me. For it's size, it's actually a really fun game and me & the kids are constantly trying to beat each other's high score. Not to brag, but I currently own the high score with 6,853,050 points! My only complaint is that it is a little clunky trying to hold the game and hit the flipper buttons. There really isn't a truly comfortable way for me to do this with my man hands. Still, very fun game though!

TMNT Snapz

Not too much to say about these. I had seen them multiple times at Target near the trading card section, but never bought them due to the price point. These 2 guys ended up in my Christmas stocking thanks to Santa and I scored the ultra rare Sensei Splinter figure! Overall these are pretty cool looking and the suction action feature does stick, but I don't think I will be hunting down the other 3 turtles to complete the set.

TMNT: The Last Ronin Comics

This is the story TMNT fans have been waiting decades for! The original concept for this book was put together by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird during the early success of the TMNT back in the 80's. Allegedly, due to the rise of popularity in the TMNT, Eastman & Laird ditched the project to focus on the business end of the license and the idea was dropped...until 2020 when "The Last Ronin" #1 was released. It's a good story so far and the first issue has set up the 5 issue series nicely with a few twists. Can't wait to read the rest of this series when it is released bi-monthly from IDW.

NECA: Musical Mutagen Tour Box

I love this stuff! I was a big fan of the "Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour" back in the 90's and I was really amazed to see it make a comeback in the form of the Musical Mutagen Tour in 2020. The Turtles sport their on-stage looks and the NECA box includes some great items for around $20. Here is what was inside!

You got a Musical Mutagen Tour tote bag, All Access Lanyard, 4 guitar picks in the Turtles classic colors, a show ticket and....

This AMAZING T-shirt! I was kind of worried when I was only able to find the set in an XL size. I'm usually a L man, but I'm glad I picked this one up. The sizes for the shirt seem to run small and this shirt fit me as well as any of my other shirts. The graphics are neat and include the Musical Mutagen Tour artwork on the front with some tour info on the back. Great set from one of the most memorable and weird moments in TMNT history! I am still looking to score the figures from this set at a decent price, but that's wishful thinking.

Thanks for bearing with me and checking out some of the latest additions to my TMNT collection. I gotta say, I'm running out of room and may have to expand my basement collection area because I'm sure there is more to come for this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fanatic! COWABUNGA!!!!

Comic Book Pick 2/24/21

   The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...

MARVEL VOICES LEGACY #1

(W) Ho Che Anderson, Danny Lore, More (A) Sean Hill, Valentine De Landro, More (CA) Taurin Clarke

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN MIGHTY MARVEL STYLE!

Black Panther. Storm. Blade. Falcon. Ironheart. Luke Cage. Spectrum. And so many more. Marvel's incredible legacy of black heroes gets the star treatment in this action-packed special! New and established creators take on their favorite heroes in a dizzying array of stories designed to inspire and uplift! The Marvel's Voices program is your #1 stop for "the world outside your window" - don't sleep on this one!

SRP: $4.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 2/22/21

  Throw on your baggy jeans, and head to Chi-town as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Common
Song: I Used to Love H.E.R.
Album: Resurrection (1994)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: H.E.R. is an acronym meaning "Hip-Hop in it's Essence is Real". This song discusses the downturn of rap as it started leaning towards the main stream gangsta rap of the 90's and ingnited a feud between Common and Ice Cube.

New Additions to the TMNT Collection III

Over the last few months I have succumbed to the addiction that is on-line shopping. Seriously, once you start you find so many other cool things and you just can't stop...that is until your wife reminds you that you have children and bills to pay. This realization led me to be pretty selective of what I've purchased recently and as a huge fan of the Green Machine there are a ton of options. So without wasting anymore time, here is part 3 of the newest additions to my TMNT collection!

TMNT: The Incredible Shrinking Turtles Book

I had some of these books as a kid, but never this one. This book came as a gift in a package from the ultra-cool Hoju Koolander! If you want to check out some of his radical retro flavored articles or videos you can check them out at RetroDaze.org or on the WIZARDS! Podcast on Youtube.

TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze VHS Tape

I have extremely fond memories of owning this VHS tape as a youngster. Me and my brother would watch this movie daily. This copy is a special one though. It comes from the Mirage Studios Archives and was in the collection of TMNT Co-Creator Peter Laird! Don't believe me?

I bought it off the Mirage Studios website and it came with this sweet Certificate of Authenticity! It only cost me about $10 and I love it! If you would like to own a piece from Mirage Studios, they typically hold weekly ebay auctions. You can view the items available by clicking HERE.

TMNT Party Wagon: Hot Wheels

I kept seeing this mini version of the Turtles' Party Wagon pop up in my Twitter feed. People were finding it everywhere. I searched my local Walmarts, Targets and Dollar Tree stores, but had no success. Instead of continuing the trend of disappointment, I decided to buy this off ebay for $5. After I made that purchase, I began finding these all over the place. I picked up a few extras and gave my son one, Ieven sent one to a collector in Canada who was having trouble locking one down. I really like the details and for $1 or less, you can't beat the usual Hot Wheels quality of this toy!

Funko Pops!

My wife scored me the Target exclusive Metalhead figure for Christmas. This was a big surprise for me and she was really proud of herself for tracking him down. She's a keeper. The Casey Jones, I found in a clearance section at Walmart. This was odd to me since they had just recently came out. I didn't have a Casey in my Pop! collection yet, so I took advantage of the possibly mislabeled figure and now he stands proud next to my Turtles on the shelf in the basement!

TMNT Valentines

I found the vintage looking TMNT Valentines on clearance for around $1 and my wife found the other 2 boxes for me. Of course the kids wanted to use some of these for my friends and I let them go to town. I remember what a thrill it was to receive a Ninja Turtles Valentine. I received a card featuring something I loved on the biggest love day of them all and it was AWESOME! Who am I to keep another child from experiencing that same thrill?

Thanks for bearing with me and checking out some of the latest additions to my TMNT collection. I gotta say, I'm running out of room and may have to expand my basement collection area because I'm sure there is more to come for this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fanatic! COWABUNGA!!!!

Comic Book Pick 2/17/21

  The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
TMNT: THE LAST RONIN #2

(W) Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz (A) Kevin Eastman (A/CA) Esau Escorza, Issac Escorza

Secrets are revealed as we begin to discover what happened in the past to lead to this nightmarish future.  The Ronin meets an unexpected new ally but the Foot Clan begins an exhaustive sweep of the Bottom to find the vengeful mutant. And what role does Baxter Stockman play?

SRP: $8.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 2/15/21

  Throw on your Backwards Snap-Back, and head to the club as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Technotronic feat. Ya Kid K

Song: Get Up (Before The Night Is Over)
Album: Pump Up The Jam: The Album (1990)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 7
Bonus Fun Fact: This song not only reached the top 10 in America, but also Australia, Canada, Belgium, Finland, Spain & Switzerland!

Valentine 2021

Valentine's Day never really has been anywhere close to one of my favorite holidays. I get it, it's fun to receive Valentines cards from your friends and eat candy hearts, but it just never clicked with me. That being said, I always try to make a big deal of it since my wife likes it. I buy the flowers and get the card and some years I will make her dinner or take her out to a favorite restaurant. This year though, with COVID and the -20 temperatures, we will probably be staying in. I'm sure we'll find something to do. It won't be the same, just different. At least we will be together and my family has stayed healthy, so I am thankful for that. Hope you guys have a great weekend and share the love with someone close to you. Could be a spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend even family members and pets need to know they are loved! Have fun, stay safe & have an enchanted evening!

Comic Book Pick 2/10/21

 The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
BLACK PANTHER: KING IN BLACK #1

(W) Geoffrey Thorne (A) German Peralta (CA) Leinil Francis Yu

SYMBIOTES INVADE THE UNCONQUERABLE COUNTRY OF WAKANDA!
T'Challa's most treasured allies are lost in a storm of Knull's making in this wild one-shot! Critically acclaimed writer, actor and producer Geoffrey Thorne explores a Wakanda gone dark - invaded by Knull's massive symbiote army. Wakanda needs its king. It needs the Black Panther. But once again, the hero must choose between his role as an Avenger, his role as a king... and the yearnings of his heart.

SRP: $4.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 2/8/21

   Throw on your ball cap, and head to Cleveland, Ohio as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: M.C. Brains
Song: Pump Ya Fist
Album: East Coast Family: Volume 1 (1992)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: M.C. Brains only released one album on Michael Bivens' record label BIV 10. This was his debut album "Loverslane" that was released in 1992.

Kenner Real Ghostbusters Re-Issues

Last year, when I heard that Hasbro would be re-releasing their classic "The Real Ghostbusters" action figures, I knew I had to have them and I knew it wouldn't be easy! I have some amazing memories of busting ghosts with my older brother. This was one of those lines that we both agreed was cool and we collected them voraciously! Even though I have AMAZING memories of these guys, I also have one standout memory from the Christmas of 1986 that didn't make me feel good. I won't rehash the pain in this post, but if you want to find out more you can read the old post by clicking HERE. Anyway, the first figures I was able to find were the ghosts...

The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man

and The Green Ghost aka Slimer (My favorite of the original figures). These figures were the only ones I had ever seen on the shelves at Walmart and the cards were a little banged up, but I didn't care. I just wanted to own that special piece of my childhood again and I wasn't going to be picky. I had never seen the actual Ghostbusters in store and had given up hope that I ever would...until I started seeing photos pop up on Twitter of collectors spotting these figures at their local Walmart stores. I ran over to my store and found no Ghostbusters, but I saw this...

The Real Ghostbusters "GhostPopper"! I didn't even know this was being made! I snatched up the only one on the shelf and went home happy. I never had this toy as a child, so this is a brand new acquisition for me and I must say the artwork on the back of the box is GLORIOUS!

I am so glad Hasbro decided to make these toys affordable. The figures will run you around $15 and the GhostPopper was $20. With a little glimmer of hope, I returned to Walmart and finally found these 2 guys hanging on the pegs...

Ray Stantz

and Winston Zeddemore. Winston has always been my favorite buster. He was the "Everyman" of the group and someone the average person could relate too. Streetwise and ready to bust some heads...in a spiritual sense of course! I couldn't stop gushing about the artwork on these packages that were recreated almost exactly as the were when the toys were released in the mid 80's. I never thought I would own these again. The wave of nostalgia was great, but I was still missing a piece to the puzzle. On my next trip, I was able to secure...

Egon Spengler! Still Peter had eluded me. My wife gave me permission to buy one off ebay for $30, but I don't like paying inflated prices, so the hunt continued. A few days later a co-worker helped me out a found the missing piece to this Real Ghosbusters puzzle...

Peter Venkman was introduced to the rest of the team and we were finally whole again! The Ghostbusters is definitely in my top 5 collections (Masters of The Universe, Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bo Jackson are the others) so I am elated with the return of these classic toys from my youth. Thank you Hasbro for re-releasing these. I feel like a wrong from 1986 has finally been rectified and now I can collect in peace! I wonder if they will continue this line? Maybe give us an Ecto-1? Anyway, enjoy a classic commercial from the original 80's release below! IT'S MILLER TIME!

Comic Book Pick 2/3/21

The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
BLACK KNIGHT: KING IN BLACK #1

(W) Simon Spurrier (A) Jesus Saiz (CA) Dan Mora
THE BLACK KNIGHT DUELS THE KING IN BLACK!
KNULL's ferocious assault upon earth has begun and Dane Whitman - Avenger, hero, and wielder of the mighty Ebony Blade as the BLACK KNIGHT - takes up sword and shield to defend against the unstoppable onslaught. Though the blade grants Dane incredible power so too does it consume him with a lust for violence and destruction. As the endless horde of symbiote dragons darken the skies of Shanghai, will the Black Knight overcome the growing evil within himself and join AERO and SWORD MASTER in saving the city?! And what secrets will the battle against Knull reveal about Dane's past?
SRP: $4.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 2/1/21

  Throw on your Biggest Earrings, and head to the podium as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Snap!
Song: The Power
Album: World Power (1990)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 2
Bonus Fun Fact: This song reached #1 on the Billboard US Hot Dance Club Play & Hot Rap Charts, but remained at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to the success of Mariah Carey's song "Vision Of Love".