Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Comic Book Pick 7/27/22

 The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #131

(W) Sophie Campbell (A/CA) Pablo Tunica
In the wake of the events of TMNT: The Armageddon Game-Opening Moves, Oroku Saki (the Shredder) has fully revealed himself to the Turtles. In order to counter the newest evil machinations of the Pantheon's trickster god, the Rat King, he seeks an alliance with the sons of his former archenemy, the late Master Splinter. But are the Turtles prepared to join forces with their merciless executioner from a past life? And is the Shredder truly ready to be redeemed? No matter the case, the Armageddon Game is fast approaching, and the only place to find the answers to these burning questions is in Northampton!
SRP: $3.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Monday, July 25, 2022

Throwback Jam of the Week: 7/25/22

 Throw on your headphones, head to the studio and get your hair permed as we take you back to the 80s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Eddie Murphy
Song: Party All The Time
Album: How Could It Be (1985)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 4
Bonus Fun Facts: This song was written and produced by Rick James, who also provides backing vocals! Allegedly this song was created as part of a $100,000 bet Murphy had with fellow comedian Richard Pryor!

Friday, July 22, 2022

My Personal History of Non-Sports Collecting

The year was 1987 and my favorite baseball team, the NY Mets, were fresh off a sensational World Series winning season and my Dad saw my brother and my interest peak in the sport. He decided a good way to get us acquainted with baseball and the players would be to buy us some packs of 1987 Topps cards. 
You know the set, the one one with the fantastic wood grain boarders. Well, little did he know that this decision would kick start my love for collecting cards. Every time we would stop by a convenience store, gas station or drug store, I would ask for a new pack of cards and the majority of the time my Dad would cave. It would be years later when I discovered the joys of collecting basketball cards with the 1990-1991 NBA Hoops set.
This newfound love of basketball kind of pushed baseball to the side and I started playing organized basketball and it became my favorite sport. My team won two championships and lost only 1 game in 3 years, I was even named to the all-tournament team as the best all-around "Power Forward"! Those were great times and even though I was big into sports at the time, another interest started to creep in and it all started in 1992 with the...
DEATH OF SUPERMAN! Yes, I had a few comics scattered around the house and yes, I did have a small collection of Secret Wars action figures, but it wasn't until this momentous occasion that I really saw what impact comic books could have on people and that story really began my comic collecting obsession. I had to read all the Superman books! Superman led to Batman, Batman led to Spider-Man, Spider-Man led to X-Men and not only did these comics lead to discussions on the play ground, but it also brought together kids who had never really hung out before. This was a type of pop culture that it seemed everyone had an opinion on and my mind was blown when during one of those meetings of the minds, one of my buddies whipped out his collection of Marvel Universe trading cards!
Two of my favorite hobbies were now together in one amazing package! They were cards, but they featured stats and bios of some of the greatest superheroes of the time! Just like my Dad when he bought us those 1987 Topps packs, these cards introduced me to so many fantastic creations that I had never heard of before and I wanted to know more which led to a deeper love of the comic genre.
I became a big collector of these cards when Marvel Universe Series 3 cards came out and I tried to collect the whole set. I had some of the holograms and came close, but ended up a few cards short. After series 4 of the Marvel Universe cards was released, my interest in collecting them kind of waned and I would pick up a few packs every now and then, but I wasn't as big of a comic card collector as I had been.
I've picked up a few cards recently, but my main focus is on the actual comics nowadays, but if the price is right I won't hesitate to buy a box of these magnificent relics from the era of the comic boom in the 90's. I've brought some of these boxes home for my kids to enjoy and to share with them that experience of discovering new characters via the art on these mini masterpieces and of course I am always happy to share my knowledge of comic book characters with my children. It's a nice little bonding experience for us that I hope they will remember for years to come.
Collecting these non-sports cards was a fairly big part of my childhood and although I am not into the hobby as much as when I was younger it still feels good to look through a stack of these cardboard wonders and relive that time when these characters were new to me.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Comic Book Pick 7/20/22

  The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
MADBALLS VS. GARBAGE PAIL KIDS #1

(W) Sholly Fisch (A) Jason Crosby (CA) Joe Simko
For the first time ever, the "heavyweights of gross" have combined forces in a massive merchandising blitz that pits the Madballs against the Garbage Pail Kids-winner take all! As part of this blitz, Dynamite presents the comic book crossover of these iconic 1980s brands! For over three decades, Madballs and GPK have both been known as the "grossest of the gross," co-ruling counterculture with their pun-heavy names and subversive humor. This all-new limited series event presents the first time these two delightfully crude forces have ever crossed paths! Written by Sholly Fisch, each issue features three incredible covers by legendary Garbage Pail Kids artist Joe Simko, series artist Jason Crosby, and a special trading card team-up cover created specially for this momentous meeting of the (depraved) minds! 
SRP: $3.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Monday, July 18, 2022

Throwback Jam of the Week: 7/18/22

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

Artist: Salt-N-Pepa
Song: Shoop
Album: Very Necessary (1993)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 4
Bonus Fun Facts: This song features a guest verse by rapper Big Twan and the music video was filmed on Coney Island!

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Comic Book Pick 7/13/22

 The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
TMNT: ARMAGEDDON GAME OPENING MOVES #1

(W) Tom Waltz (A/CA) Fero Peniche
The Rat King is scheming behind the scenes, and it will be up to the Shredder to find a way to stop the trickster god and his new trio of terror-Madame Null, Baxter Stockman, and LeatherKrang! Will the former master of the Foot Clan be able to locate the necessary counter-pieces to foil the Rat King's latest deadly gambit-or will chaos rule the day in NYC and Mutant Town? One thing's for certain: the answers won't be found in only one dimension. Longtime TMNT scribe Tom Waltz returns to the pages of IDWs ongoing canon in this official prequel to the massive TMNT event of 2022, The Armageddon Game!
SRP: $5.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Monday, July 11, 2022

Throwback Jam of the Week: 7/11/22

  Throw on your dopest overalls, and get into my car as we take you back to the 80s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Billy Ocean
Song: Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car
Album: Tear Down These Walls (1988)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 1
Bonus Fun Facts: This song was Ocean's final #1 hit in the U.S. and was featured in the film "License To Drive" which starred Corey Haim & Corey Feldman.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Comic Book Pick 7/6/22

 The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
BATMAN #125

(A) Jorge Jimenez (W) Chip Zdarsky
Superstar writer Chip Zdarsky joins legendary artist Jorge Jimenez to define a new era in Batman! Bruce Wayne is at a turning point, haunted by dreams of a dark future, while Gotham City billionaires are being gruesomely murdered. With the discovery of an archenemy's involvement and a tragedy unfolding, the Dark Knight's nightmares are just beginning. And in the backup, there's chaos in Gotham as the underworld fights over one of its crown jewels…and Selina Kyle is caught in the middle. Can she stop the bloodshed and maybe even make a little money in the process?
SRP: $4.99
Synopsis Provided By: DCcomics.com