Happy Star Wars Day!

Comic Book Pick: 5/3/17

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES FUNKO UNIVERSE #1

The Funko craze comes to TMNT! Funko-style TMNT get wind of a new Shredder-inspired cereal and go to the source to investigate the bad-guy based breakfast! An absurd and hilarious adventure awaits!

•   Inspired by the Funko toys based off the original TMNT cartoon!
•   Part of this month's big FUNKO UNIVERSE event!

        (W) Caleb Goellner (A/CA) Nico Pena 

SRP: $4.99

Austin Powers turns 20!

It's hard to believe but 20 years ago today the world got a little randier as the International man of Mystery himself, Mr. Austin Powers was unfrozen and unleashed on an unsuspecting America...and I was there!

I was a big fan of Mike Meyers and enjoyed him on SNL and his movies from "Wayne's World" to "So I Married An Axe Murderer." So when I saw the trailer for this movie, I had to go see it! The scene that made me laugh the most in the trailer was Austin attempting to turn around his vehicle in a tight space. To this day if I ever have to make a tight 65-point turn like that I still refer to it as making an "Austin Powers".

When the movie hit theaters on May 2nd, 1997 me and some friends bought our tickets to laugh! Even though one of my friends walked out saying it was stupid, the rest of us enjoyed the movie and recited the lines non-stop in school and some of us, who will not be named, even went so far as to learn the words to the "BBC" song performed by Ming Tea at the end of the film.

YEAH BABY! Who would have thought that this movie that was made for little more than 16 million dollars...

would turn into a worldwide phenomenon with millions of fans, made tons of money, spawned 2 sequels and created countless action figures, key chains and apparel!

This really is a funny movie and if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! I know I am pulling out my Austin Powers VHS and watching the crap out of this movie tonight! What will you do to celebrate 20 years of shagadelic craziness?

FUN FACT: Mike Myers originally wanted Jim Carrey to play Dr. Evil, but Carrey eventually passed due to scheduling conflicts with Liar Liar (1997). Myers then took the iconic role himself!

Feeling upscale with 5th Avenue

A while ago I had talked about visiting a little mom & pop candy store in a tourist town where I found Whatchamacallit candy bars, well we returned to the same town for some more family fun and while there I saw another candy bar that had been off my radar since the 90s...5th Avenue!

I immediately thought of this commercial from 1992 and kept singing the lyrics, "5th Avenue. Big Peanut Butter Crunch!" in my head until I finally got the chance to chow down on this chocolate bar from years past. I really enjoy this commercial. It is crazy and has a mix of different styles, but in my opinion it's still a notch below the Whatchamacallit campaign.

I did some research online and found that according to 5th Avenue's official Wikipedia page, the 5th Avenue candy bar was created in 1936 by William H. Luden (the cough drop guy). The Luden's brand was bought by Hershey in 1986 and they continue to make the bar, but in limited quantities.

I never really was a huge fan of the bar and never really sought it out as a kid. When there are options like Snickers, Kit Kats and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups out there, it's hard to compete. From my limited taste experiences with 5th Avenue, I recalled that it tasted a little like a Butterfinger Bar.

After taking my first bites, I was kind of right. It's consistency is definitely like a Butterfinger with it's flaky peanut butter layers covered in chocolate, but to me the taste of peanut butter was subtle and not very strong. The taste of the chocolate was what really took over my tastes buds. Was it good? Yes. Would I buy it again? Maybe, I'll have to check my options on the shelf first.

Comic Book Pick: 4/26/17

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
FLASH #21

"THE BUTTON" part two! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party-and it's not who anyone suspects! It's a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!
(W) Joshua Williamson (A) Howard Porter (CA) Jason Fabok
SRP: $3.99

Bionic Bo

If you were a sports fan back in the early 90s there were 3 names that were on the tip of every kids tongue...Ken Griffey Jr., Michael Jordan and BO JACKSON!

From the start of Bo's career in Kansas City in 1986, I was a fan. He was larger than life and like nothing I had ever seen before on the baseball diamond. He was built like a tank, fast as a cheetah and had an arm like a cannon. As a card collector, I had to have anything and everything with Bo on it! But my favorite card I own of his has to be the 1991 Fleer "ProVision" card #5.

It isn't worth a heck of a lot (you can find them on eBay for around $1), but this is how I envisioned Bo when I was a kid. He was more than human, he was an icon who pulled off such great feats that he had to be robotic! I loved this card so much that for my 10th birthday I asked for a t-shirt with this image on it! My dad went to a screen printer at the local mall and my birthday wish came true! I wore the shirt maybe twice because I didn't want it to get dirty, but it hung on my wall for years!

Then in 1987 Jackson was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders! Now Bo was building his legacy on the gridiron by running over giants, scoring touchdowns and embarrassing defenses in his spare time away from Baseball.

Then during an NFL Playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 13, 1991 the impossible happened. My sports hero was taken down. His hip was dislocated and fractured ending his NFL career and leading the KC Royals to drop him from their roster. 10 year old me was crushed to see this happen.

Then an amazing thing occurred, BO PLANNED TO RETURN TO BASEBALL WITH AN ARTIFICIAL HIP! He was back in the gym rehabbing for his come back and as Dennis Leary once said "It Ain't over till a hip socket sings."

Bo came back and in his first at bat since his hip surgery in true Herculean fashion he smashed a home-run. It was glorious! Bo played until 1994 ending his career with the California Angels. It was only an 8 year career, but damn was it spectacular! I will always remember him as "Bionic Bo". If you haven't seen the ESPN 30 for 30 film "You Don't Know Bo: The Legend of Bo Jackson", you need to check it out. It goes beyond the sports he played and shows how he became the American Icon he was in the late 80s & early 90s. You can view a preview below.

Bigfoot: Akklaim Handheld Game

I received this Bigfoot Handheld Game as a gift recently and the memories came flooding back! Bigfoot was huge back in the day! He was in everything from trading card sets, to toys to starring in the "Power Team" Cartoon with Johnny Arcade! I remember seeing the Monster Truck "Winter Nationals" commercials on our local channels. I wanted to go, just to see Bigfoot. I never did get to see him though. I'll have to add this to my bucket list.

This game was released by Akklaim in 1989 and man does it suck! All you do is drive Bigfoot around the same LCD screen track in an attempt to avoid other Monster Trucks! There is no end, you just keep driving. These type of games were almost always given as gifts to kids who asked for a Gameboy. They were cheap and used licensed characters that were in at the time like Batman, The Simpsons and the Terminator. The one great thing that came from these games were the ads!

I mean look at these babies! Who wouldn't want to be the crazy, lunatic, cool kid floating through space on a surf board with video games flying around you? The one with the professor, that guy's mind was blown from the new Akklaim Super Play Plus Series! Although most of these games were based on Akklaim games that were released for the NES, the gameplay was much different. Obviously the limitations of an LCD video game were what caused this. Even though the NES games were an upgrade, Akklaim just could not make the most of their licensed properties. Take a look at the Bigfoot NES game below and judge for yourself.