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 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 5/31/21

 Throw on your Sparkly Futuristic Garb and head to the disco ball 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: Kool & The Gang
Song: Fresh
Album: Emergency (1984)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 9
Bonus Fun Fact: This song made it to the #1 spot on the US R&B and Dance charts in 1984. Kroger Supermarkets used this song to help promote their stores in a 2021 campaign of television commercials!

Wax Pack Revolution #6

Over the last few years, I've been collecting old wax & foil 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 and the smell of bubble gum. Let's dive into a few of these packs that I have on display...AGAIN!

FOX KIDS CARDS (Fleer, 1995)

I love this set! I never knew these cards existed back in the mid-90's, but if I had known, I probably would have the entire set! Where else could you get a complete base set of 150 great looking cards that feature Spider-Man, the X-Men, The Tick, Bobby's World and Eek! The Cat? What a great blend of classic after school cartoons! There also was a Fleer Ultra version of this set that included foil stamping on each card and also had some chase cards available like "Power Pop-Ups" and "Suspended Animation" cards!

WildC.A.T.S ANIMATED (Wildstorm, 1995)

I was a fan of the WildC.A.T.S comic when it first hit the stands in 1992. It featured gorgeous art by Jim Lee and the stories were fairly entertaining in a 90's extreme kind of way. My liking for the series had already waned by the time the WildC.A.T.S cartoon hit the air in 1994. These cards are based off of that series and I maybe caught 1 or 2 episodes of it's 13 episode run. Still, pretty nice set.

MUPPETS TAKE THE ICE (Cardz, 1994)

I got a few of these card packs in those 2 comics and 1 card pack combo set that the Dollar Tree used to sell. For $1 you could not go wrong. These cards are officially licensed NHL products and feature the Muppets on the ice in all the NHL teams uniforms and use official logos. There are 80 cards in the set and include such variations as "Team Facts", "Team History" and "Rules" cards. Glad to see Animal representing the NJ Devils here!

VR TROOPERS PUZZLE CARDS (Saban, 1995)

My younger brother was big into the Power Rangers in the early 90's, so when VR Troopers, a sister series to MMPR, hit screens in 1994, he was there to watch it. The premise of the show followed 3 California teenagers who stumble upon experimental VR technology. They use this technology and their martial arts talentsto find their leader's father and also to fight the evil Grimlord alongside their talking dog, Jeb! This pack of cards features cards that are puzzle pieces to a large picture of the canine sidekick. I just found out that the popularity of VR Troopers was close to that of Power Rangers, but the show was cancelled after 2 seasons due to the production staff exhausting all of the Japanese footage they had licensed to make the show! Wow!

1987 TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS

This is my favorite baseball card set of all-time! This was the set that introduced me to card collecting. I love everything about it from the selection of players included to the wood grain borders. It also helps that I could collect the entire 1986 World Series Champions Mets team. I also received my first Bo Jackson card through this set! Now enjoy this hot "Get Metsmerized" jam from 1986 featuring the mad mic skills of Dwight Gooden, Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson and more!

Comic Book Pick 5/26/21

     The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
TMNT: THE LAST RONIN #3

(W) Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz (A) Ben Bishop (A/CA) Kevin Eastman, Esau Escorza, Issac Escorza
Unexpected allies from the past reveal a possible path to salvation! As the Foot Clan sweeps NYC for the rogue Ronin, a final desperate plan in the name of vengeance is made! Spanning decades, this issue's action and intrigue will set up the astounding final issues!
SRP: $8.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 5/24/21

Throw on your untucked button down shirts and head to the roller rink as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Soul For Real
Song: Every Little Thing I Do
Album: Candy Rain (1995)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 17
Bonus Fun Fact: This song was certified gold by the RIAA and the music video includes cameos by R&B group Total, rap group The Lost Boyz and Heavy D!

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 5/19/21

    The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
NIGHTWING #80

(W) Tom Taylor (A) Bruno Redondo
Dick Grayson’s always had a big heart. From protecting those persecuted by bullies in his youth, to combating evil alongside Batman as Robin, to pledging his newly inherited wealth to enriching Blüdhaven as Nightwing-his kindness and generosity have always guided his life. But now a new villain stalks the back alleys of Blüdhaven, removing the hearts of the city’s most vulnerable. Who is this terrifying new menace named Heartless, and will he be able to resist plucking out the biggest heart in all of Blüdhaven? Read this (literally) heart-wrenching issue to find out!
SRP: $3.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com