Comic Book Pick 2/9/22

  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 

A Peek at Christmas 2021: Part II

This year Christmas is returning to a little bit of normalcy after last year's restrictions. Either way, nothing has stood in the way of my family taking part in some of our favorite Christmas traditions like watching Christmas Specials, decorating the tree and just enjoying the season together. Below may seem like another random dump of photos, but it is a peek into what the season is like in my household. I hope you and yours have an amazing holiday season. No matter how you celebrate or what you celebrate, appreciate those around you and just remember the good times. Feel free to let me know about your family's favorite traditions in the comment section below and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Our Elf on The Shelf, Buddy, has been surprising our kids for years. He shows up the day after Thanksgiving and he usually brings my kids donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast on his arrival. After that, we never know what type of shenanigans he will get into. Here he is during his audition for "Into The Spider-Verse".

The Smurfs are a must watch every year. I remember having the original 80's cartoon on VHS back in the day. We have recently upgraded to DVD. The other Smurfs special is a more recent addition to the rotation and is a pretty good take on the characters.

Every year, my family visits Hallmark and gets an ornament for our tree. This year, we all agreed on getting this Mini-Pufts version, but when we got to the store...they were sold out! I went back a few days later and the kind lady behind the counter informed me that they would be getting 4 more of these cute & delicious ornaments in and she put me on the wait list for purchase. A few days later, I got the call and finally I GOT ONE!

The kids and I watched "We Wish You A Turtle Christmas" this year. It was a first time viewing for my family and my kids really enjoyed the crude absurdity of the special. They are still singing about "4 Manhole Covers"!

Speaking of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, IDW did not disappoint with this years festive covers. These are always a welcome treat and addition to my ever growing TMNT comic collection. 

A few other Christmas specials we knocked off the list this year were Heathcliff's Christmas and "A Wish For Wings That Work". These are not the typical upper tier of Christmas Specials, but they do hold a place in my 80's loving heart and now my kids are able to enjoy them also.

Last year my family chowed don on the Elf on The Shelf "Sugar Cookie" flavored cereal. This year we decided to try the "Hot Cocoa" flavor and I can honestly say, I don't know how it tastes because my kids ate it all before I could get a bowlful! 

It wouldn't be Christmas without a visit from Vader Claus. Also featured is the Star Wars Christmas Caroling sign my wife picked up on clearance last year from Hobby Lobby.

Lastly, just wanted to share this Turtly Magnificent Christmas light set up that the wife and I took the kids to see this year. AMAZING! I hope your holiday is full of cheer and good times. From all of us at 20 Years Before 2000...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

My Faves: Figure Collection #12

I have a fairly big collection of loose figures from the 80s & 90s. The collection keeps expanding so right now, I would like to share a few of my faves with you at this time. Here we go!

She-Ra Princess of Power: Bow (Mattel, 1984)
This is figure was on my want list for a long time. I eventually got him for a few bucks off ebay. I remember my neighbor had this figure back in the 80's and I kind of thought the "Heart Pumping" action feature on Bow was pretty cool, but his lack of mustache always killed me! Why didn't any of the He-Man or She-Ra figures have facial hair like their cartoon counterparts?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Hot Spot (Playmates, 1993)
I bought this figure off the shelf in the early 90's and honestly had no interest in opening him up. You see, I was on the verge of my teens, so I didn't really play with toys anymore, but I still loved and collected TMNT stuff. He sat sealed in his packaging for a few years before my younger brother convinced me to open him up so he could play with him. I played the part of awesome older brother and opened Hot Spot. Years later I would find out that he is one of the rarest TMNT figures around. DANG! At least my brother and I had fun playing with him and he is still in my collection.

Star Wars: Nien Nunb (Kenner, 1983)
I was very young when this figure was released, but I remember loving Star Wars, I loved playing Star Wars with my older brother and I loved this Nien Nunb action figure. I remember riding in the back of my Mom's station wagon and playing with this figure while the song "Owner of A Lonely Heart" by Yes played over the car's speakers. I lost Nien Nunb's gun in the back of that station wagon, but that did not make this plasticized version of Lando's first mate any less cool. Still my favorite figure from this line!

Ghostbusters: Muncher (Hasbro, 2021)
I really like this new "Fright Feature" action figure of Muncher from the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie. I bought it for my son for his birthday in September along with the 4 Ghostbusters and Ecto-1. We have had many spooky adventures since then and Muncher has been the antagonist for most of those. The figure has a stretchy plastic belly that flexes out to reveal a STOP sign and fire hydrant when you push the buttons on his back. Also, when you raise his arms the objects in his mouth move forward. Can't wait to see this guy on the big screen in a few days!

Ghostbusters FunEdibles: Pizza Venkman
This little fella is a strange addition to my Ghostbusters collection. It's Peter Venkman...if he was a slice of za! There were 2 other GB figures in this line that included a Jell-O mold Slimer and a Marshmallow man shaped like a marshmallow. I fell in love with this guy when I saw him on the shelf at our local calendar store, but I was unwilling to pay the $25 price tag on him. After Christmas last year Pizza Venkman went on CLEARANCE for around $5 and I quickly grabbed him up. Still gives me a smile when I look at this absurd vinyl tribute to one of my favorite Ghostbusters mixed with one of my favorite foods! Wonder when this movie will come out?

Comic Book Pick 6/2/21

     The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS #1

(W) Charles Soule (A) Luke Ross (CA) Steve McNiven
AT WAR FOR THE GREATEST PRIZE OF ALL: HAN SOLO!
THE HUNT BEGINS! Nobody. Steals. From BOBA FETT! The notorious bounty hunter will not stop until he gets what's rightfully his. For the thief, no corner of the galaxy is safe. Good thing for them that the REBEL ALLIANCE, THE EMPIRE and every bounty hunter in the galaxy is standing in Boba's way. With a last-page reveal that will blow this Death Star-sized story wide open, Issue #1 is just the beginning. The biggest crossover in STAR WARS history will continue raging through the pages of the WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS event miniseries and tie-in to STAR WARS, DOCTOR APHRA, DARTH VADER and BOUNTY HUNTERS through October. Only one hunter will be left standing, and the STAR WARS galaxy will never be the same!
SRP: $4.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Christmas Decorating 2020

This past weekend, my family and I went out and got ourself a Christmas Tree. For weeks now, my wife has been slowly decorating our house in all sorts of festive garb. Wreaths, lights, garland, stuffed characters and more have been placed around our house in anticipation of Christmas night when Santa will come down our chimney and bring gifts to all the good girls & boys. The final touch to our decorating though, was the tree. We bought it Saturday and the wife got the lights strung (after years of asking, I have just realized to let her do this on her own). Then on Sunday we got out the boxes of ornaments and got this baby dressed for the jolly occasion! You can see the finished product above, but I would also like to share a few shots of the other decor around the house with you. This Christmas is going to be great!!!

Our Elf on The Shelf named Buddy

My daughter's collection of Grinch Funko Pops

Stuffed Reindeer Snoopy cuddling next to a Snowman pillow

Wind up Nutcracker

Three cool little elves chillin' next to some scented pinecones

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree next to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" book

Pooping Reindeer toy next to a Funko bobble head Darth Vader

Rudolph characters next to a handmade Christmas train

Stockings (Mine is the Spider-Man one on the bottom!

I love this time of year and I am thankful my family has stayed healthy enough this year to decorate and celebrate our yearly Christmas traditions. I hope your season is off to a good start and I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Every Ad In Muppet Babies #7

Recently I have been organizing my entire comic book collection that I currently have at my home. Of course while bagging & boarding I have been flipping through some of my favorites. A lot of the favorites were put out by Marvel under their STAR Comics imprint. These were some of the best comics put out in the 80s and featured many of our favorite cartoon characters including Thundercats, Silverhawks, Heathcliff and of course Muppet Babies. The stories are fun and nostalgic, but if you really want a blast of memories past you need to check out the ads within these thin paper pages of gold! I have decided to share every ad in this issue from May 1986 since all of them are great! I guess that's enough jibber-jabber...on with the ads!!! ENJOY!!!

My Faves: Figure Collection #11

I have a fairly big collection of loose figures from the 80s & 90s. The collection keeps expanding so right now, I would like to share a few of my faves with you at this time. Here we go!

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Bebop (Playmates, 1988)

This is actually the Bebop action figure my brother got on a shopping trip to K-Mart back in 1988! My Mom bought us almost the entire original TMNT line on that trip. I remember they were on such a good sale, my Mom couldn't pass it up. I got Leonardo, Rocksteady and the Foot Soldier. My brother got Michelangelo, Bebop, Shredder & Splinter. It's not like my Mom to spoil us like that, so they must have been damn cheap! 

 Care Bears: Funshine Bear (Play Along, ?)

I got this Funshine Bear in a grab bag from my local Goodwill Store. I think the bag was about $2 and I am always a sucker for anything Care Bears. I have been down with these happy characters since the 80s when I got my first plush Bedtime Bear!

 Star Wars: IG-88 (Kenner, 1980)

Growing up I was a Star Wars nut! Between myself, my brother and our friends, we probably had every action figure created by Kenner! IG-88 was not one that I had in my collection, but our friend Ron did and he was so cool! A bounty hunting robot...YES PLEASE! The details on this figure are outstanding for being from 1980. The folks at Kenner really did an excellent job in providing so much care in their sculpts that it made you feel like you were creating your own movies set in a galaxy far, far away when it was playtime!

 California Raisins: Singing Raisn ( Calrab,1987)

I have written before about my love of the California Raisins in the 80s. I collected the trading cards and even had one of their cassette tapes. They were so cool and the figures are pretty inexpensive when you can find them and when I do find them, I add them to my collection!

Thundercats: Vultureman (Kidworks, 1987)

I had a good collection of these miniature Thundercats figures back in the late 80s. I loved taking them on road trips or to the park. The only issue I ever had with these guys, is that I would loose the tiny weapons pretty quickly. But that's okay because one does not need weapons to continue the battle between Mumm-Ra's Mutants and the Thundercats. Fists of fury will fly! And they did in epic fashion in the back of my Mom's station wagon. Below is a video with a great collection of Thundercats toy commercials for you to enjoy!

Movie Memories: Star Wars The Special Edition

Not that long ago on the planet Earth the year was 1997 and I was 17 years old. Star Wars was celebrating it's 20th anniversary and George Lucas was re-releasing his masterpiece to theaters with upgrades to special effects, new CGI characters and extended scenes. I was excited and so were my older brother and some of our friends. We had grown up playing with Star Wars figures, collected TOPPS Star Wars Cards and watched the Star Wars movies! Here is a picture of us in our early 80s glory days...on a tractor like gangstas!

It was February and we had our tickets to see Star Wars: the Special Edition at the Rockaway Town square Mall in NJ. We had plenty of time to kill, so we hit up our usual money dropping stores like...

Babbage's for our video game needs...

 KB Toys for our collecting and toys/cards needs (Mostly, this was just me that wanted to go here)...

 Modell's for our sporting goods and favorite team apparel needs (Mets, Jets, Nets & Devils!)...

This weird sculpture that had been in the mall for years in the 80s was now outside for all to admire. Have no idea what it is or what it is supposed to be, but it brings back memories and looks cool...

and of course Sam Goody for our music needs! But on this trip we made an unexpected detour to a store we usually don't shop at and that was JC Penny!

We were there because allegedly a buddy of mine had spread a rumor that it was really easy to shoplift jerseys from this store and one of my friends, who will remain nameless, got the idea that he would partake in this crime. He spotted his target, grabbed it and tried to make a break for the exit, but was stopped by Mall Security. The jersey he was after...

New York Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell! Anyway, my friend was detained in the mall offices for a while and since my brother was over 18, he was able to bail my friend out. In the time that it took to get him out though, we had missed the movie! I never did get the chance to experience Star Wars in the theater and I still have the movie ticket somewhere in a forgotten box of memories. I will never let my friend forget about the time he made us miss Star Wars! On a side note, he did have to do community service for his infraction and while doing this service he met a girl who became his live in girlfriend for a few years. So. I guess that worked out. Here is the trailer for the movie that brings back these painful memories...Star Wars: The Special Edition!