Comic Book Pick: 5/16/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #82

"Kingdom of Rats," Part 2. Rat King's sinister influence spreads, and New York City's most vulnerable are at risk! The Turtles search out the Rat King's family in a desperate attempt to find a way to stop him!

(W) Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman (A) Brahm Revel (CA) Dave Wachter

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

TMNT Adventures Postcard

One of the first comic books I ever received was an issue of the Archie published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures. I loved that series! It was like we would receive new episodes of the TMNT cartoon every month. The artwork from Ryan Brown and Chris Allan was exceptional and the stories written by Dean Clarrain aka Stephen Murphy were captivating. I gazed at every inch of those issues and finally decided to write in to the Turtle Tracks page at the end of each book. And guess what? I got a reply postcard!!!

I of course told them how much I enjoyed the comic and was wondering where I could purchase some back issues that I was missing. Here was the response...

I was so excited to receive this from the TMNT team, I didn't even care what they had written! I still wonder why this card came postmarked from Northampton, MA and not from NY where Archie Comics headquarters were. Was Mirage handling the letters? If so, I wonder who wrote back to me? Was it one of the people who worked on the book or an office assistant? I will probably never know the answers to these questions, but I do know one thing...this is a prized possession in my Ninja Turtles collection! Still to this day I re-read those early Archie TMNT Adventures comics and it takes me back to a time when the Turtles were on top, to a time when TURTLE POWER ruled the world!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 5/10/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK! These are the jams currently on my trusty Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop and rap from the 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they can get you on your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your Levis jeans, cut your hair in the fresh Baldie style and slip on your Tims as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: Skee-Lo

Song: I Wish

Album: I Wish (Released 1995)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 13

Bonus Fun Fact: Kevin Hart did a remix of this song to promote his movie "Ride Along"! The video features Ice Cube, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul & Andre Iguodala.

Comic Book Pick: 5/9/18

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

VENOM #1

In the wake of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse, an ancient and primordial evil has been awakened beneath the streets of New York, and with it, something equally evil has awakened in that most Wicked of Webslingers - VENOM! Still a Lethal Protector of the innocents in New York, this never-before-seen threat could force Venom to relinquish everything it holds dear - including Eddie Brock! Join two of the hottest creators in comics today, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, for a VENOM adventure a thousand years in the making!

(W) Donny Cates (A/CA) Ryan Stegman

SRP: $4.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Tomorrow is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018!

Saturday, May 5th is Free Comic Book Day! You can go to your local comic shop and choose from a variety of great comics from publishers like Marvel, DC, 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. It's something we look forward to every year. Here are my top five comics for the 2018 FCBD:

FCBD 2018 INVADER ZIM FLOOPSY BLOOPS SHMOOPSY

Remember that funny green alien you used to watch on TV? No, not that one. No, no, the other green alien. Okay, it's ZIM, alright? Invader ZIM! Well, ZIM sometimes watches TV too! And sometimes it's bad TV. Very, very bad TV. So now, you can watch ZIM watching a very bad show called Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy! All 385 seasons! 24/7! Never stopping! Reprints Invader Zim #20.

FCBD 2018 BONGO COMICS FREE-FOR-ALL

Get in line for the foremost Free Comic Book Day four-color giveaway of the year! Bart goes in search of adventure one particularly hot and boring summer day; Milhouse exacts revenge on his bullies; Lisa, of all people, gets her own "...the Clown" show; and Kang and Kodos make an ill-advised alien abduction. It's a fabulous and frenetic funny book for the ages (all of them), and it's all free!

FCBD 2018 NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS ZEROS JOURNEY #0

When Jack Skellington's faithful pet Zero gets lost, the ghost pup must get the help of the residents of Christmas Town to find his way back. With Halloween plans on hold while Jack mounts a search, will they be reunited in time to save both holidays?

FCBD 2018 TICK 2018 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Foretold by Ben Edlund himself, in the now-legendary 1980's Tick trading cards set, comes a tale you never expected to read! Wandering into an ancient village on a one-eyed horse, The Tick must make a stand against dark magic, enemy hordes, incredible beasts and the unknown itself! His reward: ACTION! (And also a mysterious jewel the size of a truck.) From a lost Ben Edlund plot comes a story of swords, sorcery, and... spoons?!

FCBD 2018 INFINITY WATCH AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

New creative teams. New series. New directions. New beginnings. Fans will be able to read the first Amazing Spider-Man story from Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley in the Amazing Spider-Man/Guardians of the Galaxy Free Comic Book Day issue!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 5/3/18

It's that time of the week again here at 20 Years Before 2000...It's time for the Throwback Jam of the Week! These are the jams currently on my Creative ZEN MP3 player and they encompass everything from Motown R&B classics to hip-hop & rap from the 80s & 90s! I would like to share them with you in the hopes that they get you off your feet and bring back some sweet nostalgic memories! So throw on your parachute pants, get your hair cut in the fresh Gumby style and slip on your L.A. Gear kicks as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 Throwback Jam of the week...

Artist: Lucas

Song: Lucas With The Lid Off

Album: Lucacentric (Released 1994)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 29

Bonus Fun Fact: This Danish rapper's music video for this song was nominated for a Grammy Award!

Comic Book Pick: 5/2/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
HARLEY LOVES JOKER #1

Paul Dini returns to the character he co-created to deliver the incredible two-issue wrap-up of the "Harley Loves Joker" flashback tale that ran as a backup in HARLEY QUINN last year! As far as The Joker's concerned, the new headquarters Harley built for them is absolutely perfect...but only she knows the whole place is rigged to come crashing down around them-and she doesn't know how to stop it!
(W) Paul Dini (A) Bret Blevins (CA) Amanda Conner
SRP: $3.99

 Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com