Another Weekend Antique Excursion!: Part II!

A few weeks ago I met up with a friend as we went on the hunt for retro treasure at one of our local antique malls. I enjoy going to these kinds of stores, because you'll never know what you're going to find. Most of the time the cool stuff that I like is way over priced, but it's cool to know it's out there if I really want it. There were a ton of booths to go through. Some of them did have some great stuff, but nothing that I really collected. Below are some of the items we found this time around...AGAIN!

Marvel Comics Wolverine #75: $2

This issue was a big one back in 1993! Wolverine's Adamantium was ripped out of his body by Magneto and the X-Men were trying to save him. Things turned out well for the Canadian mutant and he had "Bone" claws for a while, but in true comic book fashion, he got his Adamantium back a few issues later and all was right in the world. This book written by G.I. Joe legend, Larry Hama and drawn by Adam Kubert sported an amazing cover that was made all the more better by the inclusion of a freakin' hologram! Take a closer look at this one and you'll notice the hologram is upside down! You better believe this came home with me! At $2 how could it not?

Matchbox Pee-Wee Herman Talking Doll: $25

This doll was released by Matchbox in 1987 and I have some pretty vivid memories of it. I had a friend named George who owned this doll and after the whole "Adult Theater" event happened in 1991, he came to despise the character. One day while at his house, he decided to give the doll a burial at sea and launched Pee-Wee directly into the retention pond behind his housing complex. I never owned this doll or any Pee-Wee merchandise, but I must say that I did enjoy the Pee-Wee's Playhouse show from time to time on Saturday mornings. 

Spuds MacKenzie Plush Toy: $20

Everybody loved Spuds MacKenzie back in the 80's (1987-1989)! He was the lovable "Original Party Animal" who promoted beer. That's where things went wrong. When people started to realize that kids were loving this character as much as the alcohol drinking adults, Budweiser pulled the plug on Spuds after a ton of pushback by parent groups and senators. I can't go to any antique mall without spotting at least one Spuds item. From old beer signs, to plush stuffed animals to t-shirts, Spuds was everywhere. His life as a marketing icon was short, but damn was it successful!

Playmates TMNT Leatherhead Action Figure: $75

This figure was released in 1989 as part of the extremely successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of toys by Playmates. My brother got this toy when it came out and it was one of our favorites. Who wouldn't love an evil mutant alligator? Leatherhead has been a part of the TMNT universe since his first comic book appearance in the Mirage published "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6". Although his appearance and origins have varied from series to series, Leatherhead has always been a staple in TMNT lore.

Kellog's Corn Flakes Batman Box: $20

Who doesn't love gimmicky cereal boxes? This one has it all. The lenticular photo of Batman transitioning to Bruce Wayne is worth the price alone. This box that was found still includes the original Corn Flakes! I honestly don't remember seeing this on the cereal isle shelves back in 1997, but I wish I had!  

Pepsi Jacksons World Tour '84 Can: $10

I love this can! I should have picked it up. I was all of 4 years old back in 1984, but I already knew what a big deal Michael Jackson was. My sister's played Michael's "Thriller" album non-stop on their record players during that time and every track was a classic. This tour brought Michael back into the mix with his brothers after his massive solo success. Many believe Michael did this to help his brothers out financially. The tour itself was a smash success, but tensions between the brothers led the cancellation of the European and Australian parts of the tour in 1985. This was the only time all 6 Jackson brothers performed together and it was also the last. The hype for the tour was big and the names connected to it were as impressive, featuring Paula Abdul as choreographer and Don King as the promoter. This can symbolizes that brief moment in time where the entire Jackson family was back on top of the world. Like I said, it was brief, but it gave us this kick-ass Pepsi commercial that shows off the dancing skills of a young Alfonso Ribeiro! ENJOY!!!

Kool-Aid & Mutants!

 
A few weeks ago I was placing an online order at the Midtown Comics website and decided to search for some Kool-Aid Man comics. The search came up empty for Kool-Aid Man, but something did pop up. It was an X-Men comic that had the subtitle "w/ Kool-Aid". At first I wasn't sure what that meant, but then I remembered that back in the 90's Marvel comics did a promotion with Kool-Aid where packets of the flavorful sugary drink were included in select Marvel titles. This must have been one of them! I put it in my shopping cart and about a week later the comics arrived!

Inside the X-Men book was this Kool-Aid ad for their new Island Twists drinks. Flavors in this new line-up included Kickin' Kiwi Lime, Man-O-Mango Berry, Oh Yeah! Orange Pineapple and Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade.

The flavor I received was Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi! I can honestly say that I don't ever remember tasting this twisted flavor back in the 90's, but the packaging alone takes me back to those hot summer days riding bikes with a water bottle full of Kool-Aid! Great stuff that I stumbled upon by chance. There were some other great ads included in this X-Men issue that I would like to share with you below. Scroll down and take a quick trip back to 1995!

Cereal ads, candy craziness, a Marvel house ad featuring Domino and of course The Simpsons. This truly is a time capsule of the era. Even the cover of the X-Men book includes an M.C. Hammer "Can't Touch This" pun! I hope you enjoyed checking out some old ads, below you can view the vintage commercial promoting Kool-Aid's new Island Twist flavors. ENJOY!

Comic Book Pick 3/3/21

  The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
X-MEN: DEMON DAYS #1

(W) Peach Momoko (A/CA) Peach Momoko

From STORMBREAKER PEACH MOMOKO comes a Marvel story unlike any you've ever seen before! A wandering swordswoman with a psychic blade arrives at village that's being targeted by demons. One demon is black and white with a terrifying red tongue and another may be the strongest demon there is! In the stunning kick-off issue of this prestige quarterly story, you'll see a revolutionary reimagination of the Marvel Universe that could only come from Peach Momoko. Ready your katana and enter a mysterious world of demons, monsters, mutants, and magic! Book ONE of FIVE of the DEMON DAYS saga!

SRP: $4.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Free Comic Book Summer 2020!

This year due to COVID-19 Free Comic Book Day has evolved to FREE COMIC BOOK SUMMER! From July 15th through September 9th you can go to your local comic shop and choose from a variety of great comics from publishers like Marvel, DC, IDW, Darkhorse and more! If you want more info or need to know what shops are participating, check out the Free Comic Book Day website. Every year I take my kids out and make this day an event, unfortunately that is not happening this year, but hopefully it's something we can look forward to in 2021. Here are my top five comics for the 2020 FCBS:

FCBD 2020 X-MEN #1

FCBD is headlined by a brand new X-Men story by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz that will lead into a game-changing summer for all of X!  Plus: a secret second story foreshadowing an upcoming epic tale by Tom Taylor and Iban Coello. Stay tuned in the months to come for exciting announcements about Marvel's Gold title on freecomicbookday.com!

FCBD 2020 SPIDER-MAN/VENOM #1

Marvel's Silver-level FCBD title provides two exciting tales connected to the coming major storylines in Venom, Amazing Spider-Man and Black Cat from top creators Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, Jed MacKay, Patrick Gleason and more!

FCBD 2020 THE TICK

The Tick is back for his 11th Free Comic Book Day featuring an all-new story by Jeff McClelland and Ian Nichols! The Tick has always been one of the most popular FCBD comics. This year's exciting tale is easily summarized: THE TICK IS POSSESSED BY AN ALIEN PARASITE! How will Arthur, Caped Cod and the other heroes rescue their friend when his Tickly powers are controlled by a CREATURE FROM BEYOND THIS EARTH!?! Don't miss out on this exciting new chapter of one of the longest running independent comic books. SPOOOOOON!

FCBD 2020 USAGI YOJIMBO

Join Usagi on an exciting adventure as he meets his most unusual traveling companion yet... Chibi Usagi! The two worlds of Usagi Yojimbo meld for a hilarious story that's perfect for kids and long-time fans of Usagi alike!

FCBD 2020 MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC

A new era of My Little Pony begins! Join Twilight Sparkle and friends as they adjust to new responsibilities, new friendships and new dangers! This is where IDW's "Season 10" of My Little Pony comics begins, officially picking up where the recently concluded and long-running My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic television finale leaves off!

It Came From The Closet! PART III

Green Apple Spider-Man 3 Soda

While stuck home during quarantine, one of the things my wife asked me to do is to clean out the back basement closet. When we had our kids a lot of my things were packed up and stored in this closet to make room for their stuff. I gotta say, even though cleaning sucks, it was fun to uncover some of these items that I haven't seen in years. One such item was this box of Spider-Man 3 Green Apple Soda! Spider-Man 3 soda came in 3 flavors: Orange, Blue Raspberry & Green Apple. Each box contained 12 - 8oz cans. I actually remember liking these when I drank them back in 2007. The cans have all been emptied of their contents, but the memories will last forever!

 Schylling Tin Robot

I am a sucker for these types of wind up tin robots. I love the look, I love the simplicity and the price was pretty damn good on this one. I think I paid around $2 on clearance at our local Cracker Barrel Restaurant Country Store. 

 Retro Star Wars Plastic Cups

This purchase I remember vividly as it was my second to last trip to Toys R Us. Everything was being liquidated and the stock was picked over pretty good. But somehow these cups were still on the shelves. They feature images from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in a border that resembles the old Topps cards. The cups take me back to being a kid and drinking out of cups that had all sorts of popular characters on them from He-Man to X-Men. Of course the 90% off discount didn't hurt either.

X-Men Page Proof

I bought this on e-bay when I was in my original art phase back in the early 2000's. Yes, I know this is not original art, but it is a proof used by marvel comics to produce an issue of X-Men Unlimited in 1999. Also, it featured a shot of Wolverine. That was the clincher for me. Not sure what it's worth, but I'm glad it's part of my comic memorabilia collection. Who doesn't love 90s X-Men?

If you would like to see what was found in "It Came From The Closet! Part I" click HERE. How about Part II? Click HERE for that!

Comic Book Pick 7/31/19

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

POWERS OF X #1 (OF 6)

FEAR THE FUTURE! Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (INFINTY, NEW AVENGERS, FF) continues his revolutionary new direction for the X-Men. Intertwining with HOUSE OF X, POWERS OF X reveals the secret past, present  and  future of mutantkind, changing the way you look at every X-Men story before and after. You do not want to miss the next seminal moment in the history of the X-Men!

(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) R. B. Silva (CA) Mark Brooks

SRP: $5.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Comic Book Pick 11/14/18

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

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

THE CHILDREN OF THE ATOM ARE BACK!

New ongoing series kicking off with a 10-part weekly epic, the flagship X-Men series that started it all is back and better than ever! Starting with a mysterious and tragic disappearance, the X-Men are drawn into what might be...their final adventure?! X-Fan favorite writers Ed Brisson (EXTERMINATION), Matthew Rosenberg (PHOENIX RESURRECTION) and Kelly Thompson (MR. & MRS. X) and all-star artists Mahmud Asrar (X-MEN RED), R.B. Silva (X-MEN BLUE), Yildiray Cinar (WEAPON X) and Pere Pérez (ROGUE AND GAMBIT) join forces to bring you...X-MEN DISASSEMBLED?!

(W) Kelly Thompson, Matthew Rosenberg, Ed Brisson (A) Mahmud A. Asrar (CA) Rob Liefeld

 SRP: $7.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com

Comic Book Pick: 2/14/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
X-MEN BLUE #21

POISON X PART 2
•  SYMBIOTE SPACE PIRATES!
•  THE X-MEN and VENOM have been asking the wrong questions in the wrong seedy spaceport cantina!
•  Vicious SPACE PIRATES are bad enough...but they're even worse when they're using ALIEN SYMBIOTES as weapons!

(W) Cullen Bunn (A) Jacopo Camagni (CA) Arthur Adams

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

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

Comic Book Pick: 4/12/17

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
WEAPON X #1

Decades ago, the Weapon X program produced the deadliest mutant killers on the planet. Now, with more research, more funding and more Adamantium at its disposal, the Weapon X program is creating new killers for old targets: Old Man Logan. Sabretooth. Lady Deathstrike. Weapon X isn't just experimenting on mutants anymore...it's eradicating them. All of them.

Plus: Deadlier and more shadowy than ever, you won't believe who's taken the job as Director of Weapon X! Reuniting X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong creative team GREG PAK (World War Hulk) and GREG LAND (Uncanny X-Men)!

       (W) Greg Pak (A/CA) Greg Land     

SRP: $3.99  

Going to the Antique store: Part 1

 

This past weekend was amazingly beautiful. The weather was in the 60s, the sun was out and the wind was minimal. Since the winter has been so harsh, me and my family decided to take advantage of this glorious day, walk around and visit the shops downtown. One of the kids' favorites was a store called Yesteryear's Antiques. Here are a few of my fave items we spotted.

Battle Action Mega-Armor Wolverine: $15

Back in the early to mid 90s every young boy was into the X-Men thanks to the Fox Kids cartoon show and Marvel comics. Toy-Biz made a ton of toys based on this franchise from the awesome to the ridiculous. This toy falls somewhere in between for me. It is awesome because who wouldn't want their favorite hero wrapped in an impenetrable suit of armor. On the other hand, why would Wolvie need a suit of armor?

Beer Signs and Memorabilia: $25 - $250

I just love looking at these old Beer advertising signs. They had everything from mirrors, neon and light up signs to advertise every brand from Bud to Schlitts. I just look at these old signs and wonder where they hung before making it to the antique store. A pool hall, seedy bar, biker club or a basement? All I know is I want one!

Chilly Willy Glass: $9

I loved Chilly Willy the penguin growing up. I had a stuffed Chilly Willy doll that I carried around with me everywhere. I really wanted this glass, but I felt the price was a little to high. But, when will I ever see one again? Dammit! Now I feel like I need to go back and grab this!

Batman Cereal Bank: $7

Another item I really wanted to pick up. It was in great shape, but I just couldn't justify the price. If it was still shrink wrapped to a box of Batman Cereal as it was originally produced in 1989, then hell yes I would have picked it up. I never owned this as a kid, but still have fond memories of seeing it in the cereal aisle next to Cap'N Crunch and the Trix Bunny.

Strawberry Shortcake Dolls: $25 - $55

I never played with Strawberry Shortcake Dolls, I don't plan on collecting them, but it was cool to see them on the shelves of this store in their original packaging. I wonder if they still smell like berries?

Woody Woodpecker Film Reel: $6.95

You always find crazy things at the Antique store and this was one of them. If I had an old projector, just maybe then I would have picked this up. An old Walter Lantz Cartoon on reel, AWESOME!

Disneyland Coca-Cola Cans: $1

This is an item I never knew existed. I never knew Coca-Cola made special cans that were sold only at Disney Theme Parks. The possibilities here are endless! I liked these cans simply for the fact that they featured Roger Rabbit on them. I was a big fan of the movie when it came out in 1988 and it is always nice to see Mr. Rabbit get his due on any Disney Merchandise. Now take some time off and enjoy the Roger Rabbit short "Tummy Trouble" featuring Baby Herman!

Comic Book Pick: 2/8/17

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
TRUE BELIEVERS WOLVERINE WEAPON X #1

Reprinting material from MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) #72-74.

SRP: $1.00

5 Random Trading Cards: Vol. 1

Today I'll be taking you back to the days of cardboard cards, stale chunks of pink chewing gum and wax wrappers. Today we will be looking at 5 old trading cards! I loved collecting cards as a kid. Baseball, Ninja Turtles, Superheroes it didn't matter. I just loved opening a pack and smelling the gum and seeing if you had opened a pack with new cards or more doubles! The stickers were always the premium pieces, but having a few extras to trade never hurt. Let's open this pack of awesomeness and take a look at 5 random cards from the 80s & 90s:

 Baby (Topps, 1985)

I never collected these cards as a kid. Mostly because I never knew they existed until I found them thrown in with some other collectables I purchased a while back. I remember seeing this movie in theaters at the age of 5 with my family. This was one of the few movies my mom went to with us. As a 5 year old I was blown away by the "lifelike" dinosaurs in the film. To me it was Jurassic Park before Jurassic Park. Looking back now, the movie and effects are horribly outdated, but it's the memories that give me a fondness for this film and it's card set.

 Gremlins (Topps, 1984)

This is another movie I saw in the theaters at the age of 4! I thought it was AMAZING but the Gremlins still scarred the hell out of me. The part where the Gremlin gets sliced up by the blender always stuck with me. When we got home from seeing this movie at the theater, my dad went into the house and the lights would not turn on. Of course he joked that "The Gremlins must be in our house!" Of course it was just a blown fuse, but still I WAS 4 AT THE TIME...thanks for the trauma dad! I did collect these cards as a kid with my brother and sisters along with Gremlins toys, candy and books!

 The Rocketeer (Topps, 1991)

I always thought this looked like a cool movie. It was very retro, but still modern and stylized. Oh, it also had 90s Jennifer Connelly in it! I remember watching it as a rental as a kid and enjoying it. I tried watching it recently on Netflix but fell asleep pretty quick. I'll have to give it another watch soon and see if it still stands up. BTW did not collect these cards back in the day.

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Series 1 (Topps/O-Pee-Chee, 1989)

Who did not collect these cards? I had the entire set of cards and stickers from this set plus the movie cards and stickers, then I kinda slacked when the second series came out. I had a few of the cards, but definitely not as many as the first. I'm not sure why? Maybe my collecting tastes changed at that point? The card pictured here was the Canadian O-Pee-Chee version of the card. It seems to be a bit more on the high end side. The colors are brighter and the card stock is more slick and less brown/cardboard textured. These are like a premium version of the Topps cards we got in the US. Damn you cheap Topps company!

X-Men: '94 Fleer Ultra (Fleer, 1994)

Ah the X-men. One could say that the merry mutants along with the Death of Superman were the reason for the comics boom & bust in the 90s. I enjoyed the cartoon so much, but the comics became a little confusing around this time with all the crossovers going on. If you missed one issue, you were lost for years! Who is that new guy? Who killed him? What future is this guy from? All questions that became all too familiar to X-Men readers in the Bronze Age. The cards that spun off from this popularity though were amazing! These were probably the most traded cards on the school yard and why not? They had great art, cool info on the back and were laminated with gold foil stamping! These guys were huge in the 90s!

Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters

Discovered this 80s style promotional video for the new X-Men movie Apocalypse hosted by fan favorite mutant Jubilee! It is done so well in the style of 1980s infomercials that I could believe it came off someone's old VHS tape of shows they recorded off air! This commercial would fit perfectly between episodes of Head of the Class and Misfits of Science.

At the end a number for the school appears on screen. If you call the number, you get a recorded message from Stan "The Man" Lee pimping the new movie in theaters. EXCELSIOR!

I was a big fan of X-Men: Days of Future Past and I can't wait to see Apocalypse...hopefully soon?