Happy New Year!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I wish you all the best in 2018. Now it's time to party like it's 1985!!

Comic Book Pick: 12/27/17

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
STAR WARS ADVENTURES #5

With their diplomatic mission turned into a debacle, can Leia and Luke possibly salvage the situation? We hope so because the future of the Rebel Alliance may depend on it! Plus an exciting new Tales of Wildspace!

(W) Landry Quinn Walker (A) Eric Jones (CA) Arianna Florean

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

From everyone at 20 Years Before 2000, we wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! We hope it's full of family, fun and of course presents!

Christmas Traditions

Every family has their own Christmas traditions. Mine was no different than any other. Here are some of the things I remember from growing up that made the holidays so special!

Sibling Gift Exchange

First, I have to say that I grew up with 2 brothers and 2 sisters and each Christmas Eve evening my Mom and Dad would allow us to open one present from a sibling to hold us over until Christmas morning. I always picked the gift from my older brother. We were around the same age and liked the same things, so I was almost guaranteed to get something I liked. Myself on the other hand would buy gifts for my brothers and sisters at the school store. These "gifts" would include large jumbo erasers (Am I the only one who loved the smell of those things?), keychains and pencil sharpeners shaped like historical items.

In all honesty, I thought they were great gifts, I'm not too sure anyone else thought so though?

Opening Christmas Stockings

Every Christmas morning us kids were able to open the gifts that were in our stockings before our parents woke up. Looking back, I can see this as a brilliant idea from my parents. It allowed us kids to wake up early and it gave my parents some extra time to sleep while we played with our new toys that were stuffed in the stockings.

I remember one year getting an Al Toon Starting Lineup figure and some small Transformers that kept me and my brother busy for a while before we got prepped and ready to annoy our parents enough to wake up.

Early Morning Television

This really isn't a tradition in the classical sense, but every Christmas morning when we would wake up the TV would go on. It didn't matter what was on the tube, it was almost like a kid reflex. We only got 7 or 8 channels back in the day and most of the time the local stations just ran pre-recorded news programs.

The one I remember most were the "Shame on You" specials hosted by Arnold Diaz! I always loved watching that guy get kicked out of places after arguing with corrupt store owners. That sound is still the unofficial Christmas Carol of my childhood.

The Making of the Coffee

So after we opened our stocking gifts, but before we annoyed our parents to wake up so we could unwrap gifts, us kids had to make a pot of coffee for my parents. It was one of those things that had to be done so they would get out of bed and we could tear into the goodies under the tree. Finally the parents would be awake and we would go nuts with wrapping paper, ribbons and boxes flying everywhere across the living room. It was so great and I hope my kids have the same fantastic nostalgia of Christmas morning when they grow up. It truly is the best time of the year! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

What are some of your cherished childhood memories or traditions? Let us know in the comment section below and spread some holiday cheer!

Comic Book Pick: 12/20/17

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

BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II #2

The team behind the smash-hit crossover series is back to reunite the Dark Knight and the Heroes in a Half-Shell. When Donatello goes looking for a new mentor to help him improve his fighting skills, he opens a doorway to another reality, hoping to summon the Turtles' one-time ally, Batman. But instead, he gets sent to Gotham City and someone else comes through the open portal-Bane! Suddenly, there's a new gang boss in New York and he's out to unite all the other bad guys under him. Can Donnie get back in time and bring Batman with him to help his brothers before Bane causes irreparable destruction? Co-published with IDW.

(W) James TynionIV (A/CA) Freddie Williams II

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Keepin it Christmas!

There are so many great things about this time of the year. Besides getting gifts there's the music (I'm looking at you WHAM!), movies, books and random items you find at the Dollar Tree. While unpacking our decorations to make our house a festive wonderland, I uncovered a few gems from my collection that make me happy it's Christmas.

I bought this set of Star Wars Christmas themed Galactic Heroes back in the mid 2000s when I worked at Target. I am a sucker for anything Darth Vader and to get the dark lord of the Sith in a Santa hat holding a candy cane saber, a festive Stormtrooper and lit up Bobba Fett, this was a deal that was too good to pass up. The price was right and these guys sat in their plastic tube untouched until my kids became interested in the Galaxy far, far away and I opened them. This trio of evil has been a staple in our home during the holidays ever since! (BTW: This is not a picture of my collection. We lost our Stormtrooper in my son's room somewhere and I found this group shot online.)

This 2007-2008 Glen Davis Rookie card just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. How can you not smile when you see that goofy grin on a 6-9, 250lb NBA power forward dressed in a Santa hat? Upper Deck Trading Card Company created these cards as a bonus to anyone who bought an oversized pack of cards that season. The cool thing was that you could see which bonus card you would get and you could decide on your player of choice. There was no doubt that I had to add this card to my collection.

This is one of my favorite issues of the original Mirage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle run. First of all it features Michaelangelo as the lead, it introduces his cat..Klunk and it's set during Christmas in NY! The gist of the story is that Mikey goes gift shopping, he spots some baddies robbing a toy store and he fights to get the toys back so they can be delivered to some underprivileged orphans. The artwork is vintage Eastman/Laird Turtles and the story is solid. I always had a soft spot for this issue and then a few years ago my sister bought my family this DVD for Christmas...

and it contains a pretty faithful cartoon version of the Michaelangelo Christmas special right down to the "Little Orphan Alien" toys. We watch this every year now as part of our Christmas special viewing rotation! Christmas is coming fast and I still have quite a few things to do before it gets here. So, I wanna join Mikey in saying, Thanks for reading and...

Comic Book Pick: 12/13/17

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

X-MEN BLUE #17

CROSS-TIME CAPERS Part 2: Lost in time, JEAN GREY and her team of X-MEN must survive long enough to fix what is wrong with the timestream...which isn't easy with the teens stranded in the not-too-far future. If only there were a similar group of mutant heroes to help them out.

Oh, wait! There totally is! GUEST-STARRING X-MEN 2099!

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

A look at some MORE ornaments!

Christmas is almost here! It is one of my favorite times of the year! I actually got all my shopping done recently for my kids and my family back home. I am so glad I have no last minute shopping to do...I think? One of the best parts of the season is going out with the kids and picking out a tree for our home. Then my wife puts up the lights! She is so specific about how the lights have to look, that I don't even ask if I can help anymore. After the lights are up then it's time for the best part... the ornaments! Each year we purchase a new ornament to put on the family tree. Here are some of my faves that we have amassed over the years.

 Bart Simpson with Funzo (Kurt Adler, 2005)

 Star Wars: Darth Vader (Hallmark, 2015)

 Thundercats: Lion-o (Hallmark, 2012)

 Glass Robot w/ Helmet (Wondershop at Target, 2016)

Snoopy Candy Topper (Galerie, 2011)

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite Christmas Tree Ornaments. Now, get your tree ready for Santa, enjoy the holidays and open some presents! Merry Christmas! BTW, here are some great Christmas commercials from the 80s for your viewing pleasure!

Check out some highlights from last year's tree by clicking HERE!

Comic Book Pick: 12/6/17

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

ROCKOS MODERN LIFE #1

Ryan Ferrier (Regular Show) and Ian McGinty (Adventure Time) continue BOOM! Studios' partnership with Nickelodeon with all-new stories about everyone's favorite wallaby!

When Rocko faces unemployment, a terrible living situation, and increasingly slim job prospects, he is forced to find out just how far he is willing to go to get a job. Features a backup story by KC Green where Ed Bighead finds himself in the dentist chair of Dr. Hutchison!

(W) Ryan Ferrier (A) Ian McGinty (CA) Jorge Monlongo

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

The Christmas Toy

In 1986 Jim Henson introduced us to Rugby the tiger and his friends in the family holiday special "The Christmas Toy"! I remember when this first aired on TV we recorded it onto VHS and watched it every year. It became one of our favorite Christmas movies. I still remember that it was presented by KRAFT foods and they ran a recipe or holiday related commercial for KRAFT products during every break!

The story revolves around our main character Rugby, who was last year's beloved Christmas toy wanting to be this year's Christmas toy. He is willing to do anything to get under the tree this year, even facing off with the people who live there. You see, if a toy is found out of place they become "frozen" forever, but this matters not to our confident hero, Rugby!

His best friends Mew, the cat toy and Apple, the doll try to do their best to stop him, but the Tiger proves to wily for them to keep in the play room. Rugby eventually makes it to the living room, but finds out that someone else is under the tree! He learns a valuable lesson from his adventure and Christmas cheer is spread throughout the house. I don't want to spoil the ending for you if you haven't seen this special yet, but it's pretty AWESOME!

"The Christmas Toy" still remains one of my favorite holiday specials and I was finally able to pick up a DVD copy of it a few years ago, so I could introduce it to my kids. Guess what? They love it too!

My only beef with the latest release of "The Christmas Toy" is that they completely removed all evidence that Kermit the frog was in this film! I understand that HIT had to do this because Disney owns the Muppets now, but it just didn't seem right to keep the green legend out of this special. I mean, he did the introduction that sets up the whole story! If you would like to see Kermit's intro, you can view it in the video below.

What is your favorite Christmas special/movie? Let us know in the comments below and HAPPY HOLIDAYS from 20 Years Before 2000!

Comic Book Pick: 11/29/17

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

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES/GHOSTBUSTERS II #5

The climactic conclusion as the teams reunite to face their adversaries... and a long lost ally!

(W) Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz (A) Dan Schoening (A/CA) Charles Paul Wilson

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Thanksgiving Memories

Growing up in the 80s & 90s, I always loved Thanksgiving. Yeah it was sandwiched between 2 of the biggest holidays for kids, but Thanksgiving never had any of the pressures of Halloween or Christmas. You didn't have to worry about what costume to wear, if your candy was poisoned or if you forgot to buy your brother a gift. It was that special time of year where you could just eat all day and be lazy!

Every Thanksgiving morning my Mom would turn on the Macy's parade. It was always on in the background at our house. Me and my brothers and sisters never really sat and watched the thing, it was just on for the sake of having the TV on until Thanksgiving 1986 when He-Man, Skeletor and the rest of the Masters of The Universe mad their glorious debut in the parade!

This was something me and my brother had been anticipating since we saw a sneak peak of the float in our Masters of the Universe Magazine! We were not disappointed by their appearance in the parade and we wouldn't reach this level of anticipation until...

Bart Simpson made his debut in 1990! Since then I really haven't sat down to watch the Macy's parade, but I will make damn sure it is on my TV Thanksgiving morning!

The weather was typically nice each Thanksgiving in New Jersey and after we were dressed in our best sweaters and corduroys, we had to make sure to seem like we were busy otherwise Mom would put us to work by either helping her with the cooking or cleaning the house for guests. That's about the time we would go outside and toss around the old...NERF Turbo Football!

Yes, we had the Turbo Screamer Football. Yes, it would almost rip your finger off if you got hit by the hard plastic "Screamer" part and Yes, we did treat this thing like gold! After some outside time, the guests would start arriving and it would be about that time for some turkey!

A lot of people say Turkey is their favorite or maybe the stuffing or cranberry sauce, but for me it was always my Dad's home made baked Mac & Cheese! We only had this dish once a year and it was amazing. My wife still makes it for me each Thanksgiving and it's great. I just wish I was back home in NJ to enjoy it with my family!

After dinner we would settle down and watch some NFL football. There really have been some great games on Turkey-day over the years, but the one that sticks out the most to me is the 1993 Cowboys vs Dolphins game. A day that Leon Lett will never forget. Those are some of my Thanksgiving memories, what are some of yours? From all of us at 20 Years Before 2000...

Comic Book Pick: 11/22/17

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

BETTY AND VERONICA VIXENS #1

NEW ONGOING SERIES! The toughest gang in Riverdale is one you'd least expect: the Vixens, led by Riverdale High's own Betty and Veronica!

(W) Jamie L Rotante (A) Eva Cabrera (CA) Fiona Staples

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Top ten game wants for N64 Mini

The SNES Mini has come and gone. I was one of the lucky few that was able to find one at a retail store and I LOVE IT! In fact, just the other day me and the kids were playing Super Mario World, F-Zero and Street Fighter II: Turbo Edition. I just wish there was a way to add more Super Nintendo games to it? Well, now all the talk and speculation has come to Nintendo releasing a Nintendo 64 Mini! If this happens, I want one! Here's my top ten list of games that I would like to see on an N64 console based on how much I enjoyed them as a kid.

 Conker's Bad Fur Day
(2001, Rare)

Banjo-Kazooie

(1998, Rare)

 Mario Kart 64
(1996, Nintendo)

 Paper Mario
(2000, Nintendo)

 Pokémon Snap
(1999, HAL Laboratory/Nintendo)

 Spider-Man
(2000, Activision)

 Star Wars: Episode I Racer
(1999, LucasArts)

 Super Mario 64
(1996, Nintendo)

 Super SMASH Bros.
(1999, HAL Laboratory/Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
(2000, Nintendo)

Honorable Mentions go to: Killer Instinct Gold, GoldenEye 007, Mario Party, NBA In The Zone '98, Pokémon Stadium and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. I hope you enjoyed the above Nintendo 64 commercials. What games would make it onto your N64 Mini wish list? 

Comic Book Pick: 11/15/17

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

BATMAN #35

"Dream of Me" part three! Has the Caped Crusader passed the point of no return? Turns out he's going to need a little help from his friends, but this help comes with a downside: Batman's true intentions will be exposed.

(W) Tom King (A) Jo?lle Jones (CA) Tony S. Daniel

SRP: $2.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com