Throw on your Jean Jacket and head to the DJ booth as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!!
Artist: Chaka Khan Song: I Feel For You Album: I Feel For You (1984) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 3 Bonus Fun Fact: This song features rapping by "Furious Five" member Melle Mel. It also features samples from Stevie Wonder's song "Fingertips" and was originally written by Prince for his 1979 album titled "Prince". This version won Prince a Grammy in 1985 for "Best R&B Song" as the writer of the song!
Because of COVID I have not been hitting up the local thrift stores as I once did, but recently I decided to make a trip to the local Goodwill store...and I am glad I did! I searched through the wall of toy grab bags and found one that had some vintage action figures in it for only $1.99! Let's check out the highlights!!!
1989 Spinhead Beetlejuice by Kenner
I have not seen a Beetlejuice action figure in years! I remember owning a few of these figures back in the late 80's, but not this one. We had Shish Kebob Beetlejuice, Harry the Haunted and Otho The Obnoxious. I vividly remember picking these up at a toy store and having to make the tough decision of Beetlejuice toys or The Simpsons action figures. Beetlejuice won out. These figures were a bit strange because they were based off the movie by Tim Burton and not the animated Beetlejuice series that was more aimed at kids. This figure actually has a fairly good Michael Keaton likeness to it and recreates BJ's look from one of the iconic "Waiting Room" scenes from the movie. You can even pop off his head to reveal the shrunken version underneath!
1986 Screaming Heroes Ray Stantz
Just like most kid in the 80's, I was obsessed with The Real Ghostbusters. I remember owning this toy as a kid and it's probably still somewhere at my Mom's house. Who could say no to any RGB toy? This Ray has a wind up feature that makes his hands raise and head spin once a trigger is pushed on his front. Ray also came with a companion ghost called Vermoan that when attached to Ray's back would make a sound that sort of resembled screaming. This toy line was filled with all kinds of gimmicks and this one was one of my favorites!
1992 McDonald's Super Looney Tunes Petunia Pig
In 1992 McDonald's released a line of Super Looney Tunes figures in their Happy Meals. There were 4 figures in all: Super Bugs (Bugs Bunny/Superman), Bat Duck (Daffy Duck/Batman), Taz Flash (Tasmanian Devil/The Flash) and the figure I recently pickup Wonder Pig (Petunia Pig/Wonder Woman). These figures featured Looney Tunes characters in normal attire, but then you could snap on their super hero outfits for some zany hijinks! The only figure I ever remember owning was Taz Flash, but honestly, I could see myself searching out the rest of the set. These are pretty cool Happy Meal Toys!
1990 Pizza Hut Batly Puppet & 101 Dalmatians Pongo Figure
These items were cool, but not really anything I collected back in the early 90's. Eureka's Castle was a show that ran on Nick Jr. from 1989-1991. These puppets are cool and remind me of the ones Pizza Hut had sold for "The Land Before Time". The Pongo figure has no date or manufacturer on it, but I assume it was made available around the time of the 1991 re-release of "101 Dalmatians".
Some pretty cool stuff in that $1.99 grab bag. I should start getting back into the swing of things and hopefully when I do, I'll be able to show off some more cool finds from the local thrift stores!
The comic book I am most excited to read this week is... FANTASTIC FOUR #32 (W) Dan Slott (A) R. B. Silva, Javier Rodriguez (CA) Ron Lim THE BRIDE OF DOOM! Part 1: "Betrothal" The HUMAN TORCH's love life is changed forever when he must choose between his soulmate and his ex-wife...And is Johnny Storm's first heartbreak, CRYSTAL, back in the book?! This is all too much! Fortunately, there is also a lot of punching, hitting and clobbering going on! All this and an ominous decree by DOCTOR DOOM! PLUS: A second tale in which Reed Richards duels Doctor Doom for the strangest prize imaginable! SRP: $4.99 Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com
Throw on your Ruffled Shirt and head to Paisley Park as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!!
Artist: Prince & The Revolution Song: Kiss Album: Parade (1986) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 1 Bonus Fun Fact: This song was originally written for funk band Mazarati, but Prince decided to make a few changes and finish the song himself. This song earned Prince a Grammy for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" and the video features Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin.
Over the years I have collected certain Funko POPs figures, but mostly just of characters I really enjoy. These have included the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Stranger Things, Spider-Man and Street Fighter. I had seen the Dorbz figures, also released by Funko, at stores before, but never really wanted to pick them up. That is until our local Hastings store was closing and I was able to grab some for around $3 each.
The figures in question were these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I was able to pick up Leo, Raph & Donnie for the $3 price tag, but there were no Mikey's available. I waited until I was able to find one on ebay for a good price. I think I paid around $5 for him and was able to complete the set!
A few years later I spotted these Ghosbusters Dorbz figures on clearance at Gamestop. Once again they were around $3 each and I was able to add Peter, Ray & Winston to my collection. It wasn't until about a month ago that I was able to add Egon to the team. I paid around $7 for him and I am glad the crew is back together to bust some heads...in a spiritual sense of course!
The Funko Dorbz line was just as vast as their POPs line with characters from Marvel to DC to horror icons like Jason to cartoon favorites like He-Man. There was a Dorbz out there for everyone. They just never caught on like the POPs and were recently discontinued. I wasn't a huge fan in the beginning, but these figures have grown on me for their cute faces and really affordable price point. I suggest you pick some up to add to your collection and enjoy! They are pretty awesome!!
The comic book I am most excited to read this week is... HEROES REBORN #1 (W) Jason Aaron (A) Ed McGuinness (CA) Mark Bagley A WORLD WITHOUT AVENGERS! Welcome to a world where Tony Stark never built an Iron Man armor. Where Thor is a hard-drinking atheist who despises hammers. Where Wakanda is dismissed as a myth. And where Captain America was never found in the ice because there were no Avengers to find him. Instead this world has always been protected by Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Squadron Supreme of America. And now the Squadron faces an attack from some of their fiercest enemies, like Dr. Juggernaut, the Black Skull, the Silver Witch and Thanos with his Infinity Rings. But why is the Daywalker Blade the one man alive who seems to remember that the entire world has somehow been...reborn? SRP: $5.99 Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com
Throw on your Darkest Shades and head to Epping Forrest as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!!
Artist: Soul II Soul Song: Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) Album: Club Calssics Vol. One (1989) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 4 Bonus Fun Fact: The original album version of this song was done a cappella. It was later remixed and issued as a single with backing vocals and a music track.
