Throw on your oversized plaid shirt, and ride in your Jeep as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: Nine
Song: Whutcha Want
Album: Nine Livez (1994)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 50
Bonus Fun Fact: This song was Nine's highest charting of his career. It samples "The Dock of the Bay" by The Staple Singers, "Spinning Wheel" by Lonnie Smith, "Catch A Groove" by Juice and "Best of My Love" by The Emotions.
This Thanksgiving will look very different from years past. Myself, my wife and our 3 kids will be staying home this year, but just as she does with everything else, my wife is going big with the Turkey Day feast. She is making us a feast consisting of turkey, macaroni & cheese, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, seafood salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, pecan cheese cake, cookies and pumpkin pie! It is going to be amazing! I am truly thankful for my wife and the rest of my family. This year would really suck without them around. I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving full of food, family (probably via Zoom) and football! If you have the time I've posted some festive retro Thanksgiving commercials and specials below for you to enjoy.
This week, the comic book I am most excited to read is...
USAGI YOJIMBO: WANDERERS ROAD #1
(W) Stan Sakai (A) Stan Sakai (CA) Peach Momoko
The next chapter of classic Usagi stories begins, newly colored! Usagi begins his adventures in earnest with the quintessential tale "The Tower" wherein Usagi gets himself into a very precarious predicament all thanks to a mischievous lizard!
Throw on your sweet suit, and dig on me as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: After 7
Song: Can't Stop
Album: After 7 (1990)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 6
Bonus Fun Fact: After 7 was comprised of Melvin & Kevon Edmonds (older brothers of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds) and Keith Mitchell. This was their 4th single off the album "After 7" and became a #1 R&B charts hit.
I have seen these LOOTCRATE boxes at Walmart & Target stores before, but have passed on them time after time. Sometimes they would have some cool stuff in them, but never anything that would make me drop $30-$40. Then on a recent trip to Walmart, I saw this "Best of the 80's" box on clearance for $14.95! This time the price was low enough that I felt I could endulge myself! Here's what was inside.
Ghostbusters Drawstring Backpack
I really like the Proton Pack print on this pack, but to be honest...it's kind of flimsy and just never feels right on my shoulders. I may never use it, but it did come in handy this past Halloween as my wife used it as part of her Abby Yates GB costume!
Back To The Future II Replica Hoverboard
This piece was AWESOME! The hoverboard looks like it came straight from the movie, even without the "Mattel" branding. It came in it's own padded box and also included a certificate of authenticity. My only issue with this, is that the board itself can't be removed from the mirrored base. I know it's supposed to be a presentation piece, but it would have been cool to use as an accessory for some of my action figures.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Magnets
I like the "old school" design on these. The TMNT look like they just lept from my TV during a cartoon filled Saturday morning! I don't really have a need for more magnets right now, so these guys will stay in their package until the call of duty arises and the Green Teens are needed to hold my kids artwork on the fridge!
Golden Girls Mug
This cup alone was worth the $14.95 price tag! The girls look stunning and it always brings a smile to my face to see these sassy ladies on any item. I don't drink coffee, so I may pass this item on to my wife. She always appreciates a good mug and it's a simple way for me to say "Thank you for being a friend".
Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York Comic
This has to be my favorite item from this box. I had actually wanted to pick up this comic back when it was released back in 2016, but when I got to my comic shop, they were sold out. Eventually I forgot about the book until I saw this LOOTCRATE Exclusive version included in the box. Big Trouble is one of my favorite 80's action flicks and I can't wait to read this book!
Well, there it is. 5 solid items ripped from the 80's for only $14.95! If I see some more of these boxes for that price, I just may have to pick them up. Do you own any of these boxes? What are your thoughts on Lootcrate? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading.
This week, the comic book that I am most excited to read is...
SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN KING IN BLACK #1
(W) Peter David (A/CA) Greg Land
Knull, the KING IN BLACK, has set his sights on Earth - but as avid Marvelites already know, his hand has been at work at the edge of the Marvel Universe for years! IN THIS SERIES, witness one of Knull's earliest attempts at birthing life from the darkness of non-creation! From superstar creators PETER DAVID and GREG LAND comes a titanic tie-in tale to this year's winter epic KING IN BLACK!
Throw on your Swatch Watch, and move to the jacuzzi as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: Bel Biv Devoe
Song: Do Me
Album: Poison (1990)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 3
Bonus Fun Fact: This song was the second single from the multi-platinum selling album "Poison". It was on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 22 weeks! This song was covered by Weird Al on his album "Polka Your Eyes Out" in 1992!
A few months ago, I entered a contest to win a Series 1 Masters of the Universe Eternia Mini figure. I ended up winning and a few weeks later I received my prize from Infinity Toyz OKC! I loved the Masters of the Universe line back when I was a kid in the 80's and I was excited to see which figure I would receive.
This may be old news to most of you, but each Eternia Mini figure from series one is housed in this really detailed Castle Grayskull capsule. Yes, these are "blind bag" toys and I usually don't go for these kinds of toys, but come on..it's MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!!!
I cracked open the secrets of Castle Grayskull and was very pleased to find the most powerful man in the universe staring back at me! Yes, I got He-Man!!! I actually like the "deformed" sculpting of this figure. If you can get past the short legs on this guy, the sculpt is really very good. The details in the armor, belt and wrist braclets are extremely similar to the original 80's Mattel release.
You can also mount your figures to the top of Castle Grayskull for some cool posing opportunities. Series 2 figures come packaged in a Snake Mountain capsule. I definitely need to get one of those to put on the shelf next to this little guy!
The Sword Of Power easily slips in and out of He-Man's mighty grip and once again the amount of detail in the accessory is excellent!
There are a total of 8 figures in series one of the Eternia Minis and I will be on the hunt for some of these guys. Skeletor is a must, but I also would really like to add Buzz-Off too. He was one of the first Masters of the Universe figures I owned back in the day and I have fond memories of playing with him with my brother in the back of my Mom's station wagon. Thanks for this great prize Infinity Toyz OKC!!!!
Update: After posting this article, Infinity Toyz OKC came through in the clutch again and sent me the fantastic BuzzOff and Skeletor Eternia Minis! Love these guys! Thanks again!
This week, the comic book I am most excited to read is...
PUNCHLINE SPECIAL #1
written by JAMES TYNION IV and SAM JOHNS art by MIRKA ANDOLFO cover by YASMINE PUTRI variant cover by FRANK CHO
Spinning out of the pages of “The Joker War” comes the first solo book starring the blockbuster new character Punchline. As she faces the consequences for her role in “The Joker War,” the story of how Alexis Kaye became Punchline will take Leslie Thompkins, Harper Row, and Cullen Row on a harrowing journey that reveals a fringe teenager’s radicalization to the ideology of a madman. It’s a terrifying tale so big it demanded an oversize special issue!
Throw on your Reeboks, and grab some Taco Bell as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: Shaquille O'Neal
Song: Shoot, Pass, Slam
Album: Shaq Diesel (1993)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: This song did not make the Billboard charts, but was part of the platinum selling album "Shaq Diesel" and was produced by Erik Sermon from the rap group EPMD!
2020 has been a year unlike any I've ever lived through before. In spite of this and all the restrictions, myself and my wife (mostly my wife) wanted to make this Halloween a great one, full of awesome memories for our kids. Of course the day started off with a nutricious breakfast of monster cereals. I decided to mix all 3 together in my own version of a delicious Monster Mash!
After breakfast and watching some spooky themed Power Puff Girls, Unikitty, Teen Titans and Adventure Time cartoons, it was time to suit up! The whole family decided to dress up as Ghostbusters! My girls were Erin Gilbert & Jillian Holtzmann and my wife was Abby Yates. I was Ray Stantz and my son was Peter Venkman. It was a beautiful day outside, so we went outside and the kids chased me around the yard with their proton packs on their backs!
Even our dog, Wicket got dressed up for the occasion!
The kids were tired from running around catching ghosts, so we went inside where my wife had set up a scavenger hunt for the kids! She hid clues all around the house and after they found each clue they were able to grab some candy and put it in their buckets.
The wife went a little overboard with the candy buying this year, but she wanted to make sure we had all the kids favorite chocolate treats. These included Hershey's Bars, Almond Joy, Snickers and Reese's Peanut Butter Bats. But that's not all...
She also got all their favorite fruity candies like Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Pixie Stix, Air Heads, Blow Pops and Skittles. She did not know though, that the Skittles she picked up were the Zombie Skittles that randomly included "Zombie Flesh" flavored pieces. Me and the kids had a good time with these and let me tell you, if you have not tried them, the Zombie Flesh taste stays in your mouth for a long time!
While my wife was crafting lunch, the kids did some Halloween word searches, puzzles and word scrambles to stay busy. When lunch was served, the kids were ecstatic to see that my wife had made some Mummuy Dogs for them! These were hot dogs cut in the shape of mummies and then carefully wrapped in crescent roll wrappings. DELICIOUS!
We ate more candy and then went back outside to bust open the Halloween pinata I picked up. The kids destroyed that thing and my son broke the rope twice while utilizing his pattented "Spin Move". Eventually the candy hit the ground and so did the kids!
Hyped up on sugar, I would have thought these kids would have never slowed down, but we all went inside and played the "Spooky Hallow" level in Pac-Man Party on the Wii. Now we were ready for some real food and the wife knocked it out of the park again with these jack-o-lantern shaped chicken quesadillas!
To wind down the night we went Trick-or-treaing at my sister in law's house, put out the jack-o-lanterns (my son made Kirby, my oldest daughter carved Sally from "The Nightmare Before Christmas", my youngest daughter carved Scraps from "The Corpse Bride" and me and the wife made Witches Shoes and a Bat cave), checked out the blue moon and watched "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" & "Ichabod and Mr.Toad" with the kids before getting them to bed.
To close out our night, myself and the wife watched "Trick r' Treat" and eventually fell asleep! All things considered, it was a pretty great Halloween. I hope you had a fantastic Halloween also. Can't wait until next year!
This week, the comic book I am most excited to read is...
CROSSOVER #1
(W) Donny Cates (A) Dee Cunniffe (CA) Dave Stuart (A/CA) Geoff Shaw
The creative powerhouses behind the bestselling, critically acclaimed GOD COUNTRY, Thanos Wins, and REDNECK returns for the biggest launch of the year. Imagine everything you thought was fantasy...was real. And now join us, in a world where reality is dead...and anything is possible...
Throw on your flyest kicks, and flip the dough as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!
Artist: John Forte feat. Wyclef, Pras & Jenny Fujita
Song: Ninty Nine (Flash The Message)
Album: Poly Sci (1998)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: John Forte wrote several songs for the Fugees album "The Score" and was nominated for a Grammy due to his work on the album. Roomed with Talib Kweli at NYU in the 90s!
