Meeting an animation legend!

While driving to work a few weeks ago, I was scanning through the local radio stations and stopped on a classic hits station because something caught my attention. The hosts were talking about an upcoming animation art display that was coming to a local gallery. This show was dedicated to 50 year animation veteran Ron Campbell and the hosts were talking to him about some of the highlights from his career. If you don't know who Ron Campbell is, here is a brief rundown of some of the iconic cartoons he has worked on during his career: The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Captain Caveman, Heathcliff, Pac-Man...and the list goes on and on!

 Ron Campbell may be remembered most for his work as an animator and director for the Beatles cartoon and their feature length movie, Yellow Submarine. But it was his work on some of my favorite cartoons that really drew me in to see him at the art show.

 Ron was an animator, story director for the 80s Smurf TV series from 1981-1987. He also served as a story board artist for the specials My Smurfy Valentine (1982), The Smurfs Springtime Special (1982) and my favorite Smurfs special of all time The Smurfs Christmas Special (1982). We watched that every year as kids and now I watch it with my kids!

 Ed, Edd & Eddy debuted on the Cartoon Network when I was in my late teens/early twenties, but I had a younger brother who loved it and once I sat down to watch it with him I was hooked! It reminded me of myself and my friends when I was younger. The depth of characters and the inventive ways the Eds would try to scam nickels to buy jawbreakers was genius! Ron Campbell served as a director on the show from 2002-2007.

 Ron created these special gold record plaques for his various shows and it once again presents the bond between himself and the Beatles animated personas beautifully! My youngest daughter is a huge Beatles fan, so it was especially amazing to her to see these hanging on the walls.

 Scooby-Doo! What kid doesn't love Scooby-Doo. My favorite iteration of the character has to be the Pup Named Scooby-Doo cartoon from the 90s. I loved the art style and the humor that was in the show. We need more Red Herring in future Scooby movies! That is one cartoon Ron Campbell didn't work on, but he did serve as a director on The New Scooby-Doo Movies in 1973 and also as a director on the Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour (1982).

 Rugrats was a classic cartoon that came out in the 90s during the golden age of Nicktoons. Guess what? Hold on to your diapys! Ron Campbell was a story board artist for the show from 1993-2001! 

This was my favorite picture of them all! I wish I would have picked this up at the show, but bills and car repairs took priority over this beautiful piece of art work featuring my favorite group of brothers, the green machine, the heroes 4...the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!!! Ron once again took on storyboard duties for the original Fred Wolf version of the TMNT! 

 This guy was seriously talented and was able to make a career out of giving generations joy on the small screen. Seriously, name a cartoon and he probably had a hand in bringing it to our living rooms. Men In Black: The Series, Aaahh!! Real Monsters, Garfield & Friends, Darkwing Duck, Bionic Six and so many more. Check out his IMDB page for more info on his career and tell me this man was not epic! Thanks Ron Campbell for sharing your gifts and for making us happy...and thanks for the autograph!

Comic Book Pick 4/3/19

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

ROCKOS MODERN AFTERLIFE #1

Rocko returns in this new limited series from writer Anthony Burch (Borderlands 2) and Mattia Di Meo (Ben 10: For Science!) for a spooky look at everyone's favorite wallaby! Something is turning the good people of O-Town into mindless zombies and Rocko wants nothing to do with it. He barricades himself and Spunky in their home and is determined to outlast the hoards outside. But desperate times calls for desperate measures when Rocko's best friend Heffer becomes infected, Rocko will have to risk it all to save his friends and his city.

 (W) Anthony Burch (A) Mattia Di Meo (CA) Ian McGinty

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com

Card Pack Collection!

One collecting obsession of mine has been picking up old wax packs of trading cards from the 80s & 90s. Sure, I have a ton of these non-sport cards from when I was a kid, but the artwork and design of the packaging is something I missed. When you would buy one of these packs you would tear it open and throw away the wrapper. Never giving it a second thought. Seeing these again brings back memories of feeling the slick paper in your hands, seeing the simple artwork, the rush of finding a chase card and of course the smell of bubble gum. Let's dive into a few of these packs that I have on display once more!

 AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (Fleer, 1995)

Even though "Rocko's Modern Life" is my all-time favorite Nicktoon, I still have a soft spot for AAAHH!!! Real Monsters. This was a great cartoon in it's own right and most definitely deserves to have been immortalized on cardboard. The set looks nice and the graphics are clean. Along with the 90 card base set, there was also the chance you could score a hologram or pop-up insert card!

 Ghostbusters (Cryptozoic, 2016)

I had been looking for these cards at local shops for years now and never found them. My wife was just recently in Portland for a work training for about a week. She discovered these at calendar store there and bought me a few packs as compensation for watching the kids and taking care of the housework by myself for 6 days. I was hoping for an autograph, sketch card or other sweet subset, but I just got the basic cards. Nonetheless, I was still very happy to receive these as my reward.

Marvel Universe: Series III (Impel, 1992)

The week before my wife left for Portland, I was in Spokane for 4 days on a work retreat. While there I visited a couple local comic shops and these were at the front counter for $1.99 a piece! I am kicking myself that I didn't get more! These were my introduction to the Marvel Universe line of cards and my life was never the same. I still remember pulling that Wolverine hologram card and showing it off to my friends. The artwork is excellent and the stats on the back of every card make this set a must own for any non-sports card collector!

Wacko-Saurs (Zoot, 1987)

Wacko-Saurs...where to begin with these? As a kid we wound up with a few of these in our collection. No one seems to remember where they came from or who even got them. All I know is that these are possibly the greatest non-sports cards in the history of humanity! The crazy card fronts are only to be outdone by the jokes on the back of almost every card. For example, "How can you tell if a Brontosaurus has been on the roof?...Look for his footprints in the BASEMENT!!!!" Ha Ha Ha! That is prehysterical!!

PGA Tour Cards (ProSet, 1991)

Okay, the only reason I added these golf cards to my collection is because back when I was 10 years old one of my friends told me golf cards would be the future of sports card collecting. He bought these very cards while the rest of us were buying Topps Baseball cards and Action Packed Football cards. I guess in some ways my friend was right, because a few years later a Mr. Tiger Woods took the world by storm and every collector wanted one of his cards in their collection. So when I found these at the Dollar Tree and they were 2 for $1, I couldn't resist. Now feel free to watch 16 minutes of a guy opening old golf card packs...and you're welcome!

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

Comic Book Pick: 10/18/17

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

RUGRATS #1

Hang on to your diapies, babies! We're teaming up with Nickelodeon for all-new Rugrats adventures with the most intrepid toddlers to ever bust out of a playpen! Tommy, Chucky, Phil and Lil have noticed something-they are being watched. Somehow their parents can see every little thing that they can do. They're going to have to find a way to have fun while avoiding the electronic eyes of the babycam!

(W) Box Brown (A) Lisa DuBois (CA) Jorge Corona

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Retro Reading Corner: Nickelodeon Magazine

A local book store was having a sidewalk sale. I dug through all the Little Golden Books and bootleg "Twilight" novels and finally found a bin filled with old magazines. I picked up a few old Sports Illustrated issues and this Nickelodeon Magazine from 2000 featuring a hot young talent named Britney Spears! You may have heard of her? Let's take a look inside!

First up is the comics section. This was always a highlight of Nick Magazine. I enjoyed the artwork and the humor that was funny on so many levels! Okay, maybe 1 level, but still good stuff! Why is that guy naked?

This issue was partly dedicated to celebrities and their pets. Spotlighted here are sports stars Kurt Warner, Warren Sapp and Teemu Selanne. Who knew hoops star Grant Hill's Mom wouldn't let him have pets as a kid? Poor guy.

As per Nickelodeon's educational responsibility to the public we have a page dedicated to facts about the elusive Giant Squid! The sidebar includes "Revolting But True" facts about why cockroaches eat panty hose and the drinking habits of the Sweat Bee!

Finally we get to the main feature of this issue of Nick Magazine, the exclusive in depth interview with Britney Spears! These respected and serious journalists dig deep into thought provoking issues with Miss Spears. Hard hitting questions like "Do you still live at home?", "Do you like cats or dogs?" and "What puts you in a bad mood?" are asked and answered. We really get a look into the core of Britney here.

And of course we have some great retro ads including a weird Cow tales one, the Nesquick Bunny and your chance to win an N64 from Kool-Aid! I don't care what the packaging, advertising or anyone says, to me it is still just "Quick" not "Nesquick". Am I the only one still holding onto this one? I tried Cow tales a long time ago and they were disgusting. The chewy outer part was fine, but when you mix it with the cream in the middle...not a good mix for my tatse buds! I wish Kool-Aid would run contests like this today. Maybe then I would own a PS4?

Second Hand Score: Star Wars & A Grab Bag

Scored these bad boys today. Pictured you'll see a Furby Boom (McDonalds 2013), Dino Grabber, Doug's dog Porkchop (McDonalds 1999), DC Universe Infinite Heroes Weather Wizard (2008), Mickey Mouse figurine (Applause 198?), Rugrats DVD Double Feature unopened and a Fox Video release of The Empire Strikes Back! All together these cost under $5.

I just think the artwork on this Star Wars VHS box is superior to anything we have on the shelves today. Also, I haven't seen the non "Special Edition" version of this film in a long time. It will be interesting to see the differences between the two.

I will be adding the Mickey & Porkchop to my collection. The other toys will find a nice home, I'm sure. There is still one more thing that I left out of the picture. This was the highlight of this toy grab bag. Ladies & gentlemen...Introducing...

FREAKIN' MAC TONIGHT!!!! I have never owned anything with this McDonald icon's sun glassed, moon shaped face on it before, but damn I had to add him to the collection. How could you not? I still remember his catchy songs and weird commercials trying to get me to buy a McD.L.T. and Chicken McNuggets as a late night snack to this day. So, I end this post with a spot from McDonalds circa 1986! ENJOY!!!!