The comic book I am most excited to read this week is... STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #20 (W) Greg Pak (A) Raffaele Ienco (CA) Chris Sprouse THE QUEEN'S SHADOW RETURNS! Darth Vader continues his quest to destroy the agents of Crimson Dawn, abetted by an unlikely crew of heroes and assassins. But every twist in the tale gets thrown into question with the shocking return of SABÉ, handmaiden of Padmé Amidala! Who's the hero? Who's the villain? And will they choose chaos or order in the age of Crimson Reign? SRP: $3.99 Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com
I have a fairly big collection of loose figures from the 80s & 90s. I would like to share a few of my faves with you at this time and since it's the Halloween season, I'm gonna make this one an ALL BAD GUYS EDITION! Here we go!
Toon Shredder (Playmates, 1992)
I never had this version of the Shredder as a kid, but always wanted him. He was released around the time I stopped buying toys and hit puberty. This version of Shredder is what we should have got the first time around instead of that purple and dark blue suited imposter that was released in 1988. I just wish he wasn't so damn hard to pose!
Mumm-Ra Mini-Figurine (Kid Works, 1986)
These mini versions of the Thundercats characters were a favorite of me and my brother. They had no articulation, but they were travel size and always made the shopping trips with our Mom all that more epic and exciting!
Kang from Treehouse of Horror XVI (Burger King, 2011)
I have a soft spot for this Treehouse of Horror series from Burger King. They were released around the time my twins were born. Myself and the wife had been stuck at the hospital for a few days and my wife's parents were cool enough to watch our oldest daughter. She was going to become a big sister, but wasn't able to visit the hospital yet so I still wanted to keep her involved and do something special. I picked her up from the house one day and took her to Burger King and we got some Kids Meals that had these toys inside! Good memories.
Target Exclusive Titanium Darth Vader (Kenner, 2010)
I don't have too much to say about this figure except that I picked up this Titanium Darth on clearance while I was working at Target. I'm a big Star Wars fan and Mr. Vader is my favorite character. How could I pass up this toy?
Battle Armor Skeletor (Mattel, 1984)
I absolutely loved this guy as a kid! To this day I still feel giddy every time I roll back his battle damaged chest plate and then punch it to reveal dents and scratches! It really makes me feel like the most powerful man in the universe! This version of Skeletor is great, but he still comes in at a close second to my number one pick, Dragon Blaster Skeletor.
Did you enjoy this post? If you missed the first few parts of the 20 Years Before 2000 "My Faves: Figure Collection" series you can view them at the links below!
In 2009 the magic of Christmas reached a galaxy far, far away and thus Vader Claus was born! Produced by Funko, this amazing Holiday Darth Vader Bobble Head just screams Christmas. Look at him, he is the baddest of bad guys and yet through the magic of the season he is ready to offer you a gift.
Every year when the Christmas decorations come out, this dark lord of the Sith always finds a special spot in our house...and then my wife moves it to the shelf next to the back door. I wonder what kind of gift Vader would give? Is it a do it yourself lightsaber kit? A kowakian monkey-lizard? Maybe a nice hand knitted sweater? The possibilities are endless and baffle my mind!
The art on the back of the box only makes me happier! Look at how happy Han and Luke are to receive gifts from their arch nemesis. I imagine that when they open these boxes that they will explode, sort of like a gift from Jokey Smurf. Oh how silly those Rebels will look with soot all up in their faces!
I really do enjoy this Vader Bobble head. The sculpt is great as usual from Funko and it's a Star Wars decoration for the holidays. What's not to like?
I am a sucker for anything Darth Vader, so when I spotted this Funko Darth Vader Halloween Bobble-Head at Target a few years ago, the debit card came out and he was mine! Target typically has fun things like this Vader around Halloween time. I havn't made it there yet this year, but plan to make a stop soon.
As you can see, this is Darth Vader in Frankenstein form! The sculpting is nice and I applaud the added touches like the gnarled "teeth" in his helmet, the head bolts and creepy eyes. Funko did a great job with this one.
Of course there were others in the series including Chewbacca the Werewolf, Zombie Trooper and a creepy Yoda. All of these would have been nice to own, but Vader is my Star Wars character of choice and I am glad he is with me and my family for another Halloween season!
I have a fairly big collection of loose figures from the 80s & 90s. I would like to share a few of my faves with you at this time. Here we go!
Darth Vader (Kenner, 1978)
Darth Vader was one of my favorite characters and figures growing up. He used to have epic battles with Luke Skywalker in my back yard. In those battles, he managed to loose his cape and light saber. I still have my childhood figure somewhere. The figure that is shown, is one that I purchased while working for a small mom & pop toy store in high school. We would purchase collections from people and once a huge Star Wars lot came through the door. It had Yak Face and Ghost Anakin, but the figure that caught my eye was Darth Vader with cape & light saber. I grabbed this guy up and now he is featured prominently on my shelf of greatness!
Garfield (Applause, 1983)
I think every kid in the 80s had one of these figures or one similar to it. Everyone around this time enjoyed Garfield and his friends. I don't know who bought this figure or when we got it, but I loved it! I used to have another version of this figure where Garfield was wearing a winter hat. Don't know where that one went? My guess, mom's attic?
Gargamel & Azrael (Schleich, 2011)
This is a recent release from Schleich in the classic Smurfs style. I believe it came out around the time of the first Smurfs movie? As a kid, I had a ton of Smurfs. Only a few have survived to be in my collection today. One I never had was Gargamel. So to find a figure of him with Azrael on clearance at Barnes & Noble was a surprise. I did have a Gargamel toy as a kid. But not to this scale. It was a wind up toy, where Gargamel would try to catch a moving Smurf in a box. Anyone remember that one? I may have to track one of those down someday?
Thundercats Miniature Lion-O (Kidworks, 1986)
We had a whole army of these little guys in the mid 80s. Me and my brother had Mumm-ra, Ssslithe, Monkian, Vultureman, Tigra and even a mini motorized Thundertank! These toys were perfect to take in the car. Much smaller than the large LJN toys, but pieces were lost easily. Notice how Lion-o is missing his Sword of Omens. These figurines had no articulation, but that didn't stop us from having epic battles for the fate of 3rd Earth!
Pac-Man (K'nex, 2013)
This figure was from the "Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures" K'nex blind bag assortment. A tie in to the cartoon show. We actually own 2 of these because the first one had a leg break off! The kids do play a little rough, but we love Pac-Man enough to go out and buy a new figure. It also helps that these were on clearance for under $1 about a year ago at Toys R Us.
On a final note, enjoy this commercial from 1984 for delicious Pac-Man Pasta from Chef Boyardee! I still remember how the chicken pasta looked and tasted.
