League of Extraordinary Bloggers - Comic Books!

So for this week's topic we have another vague, yet awesome assignment.....Comic Books!

In the mid to late 80s my obsession for Super Hero related pop culture really blew up. I started collecting comics and trading cards to go along with my action figures. My favorite heroes were Superman, Batman, Wolverine, and the X-Men as a whole. I was in my comic book collecting prime when the Death of Superman happened.

This is the version that includes all the issues that brought us to Superman's death. It's also signed by Brett Breeding (his name in there on the spine). Who visited my comic shop. I was sure to get this signed. I remember being really sad when this happened as Superman was my favorite!

I, of course, was way into the "Reign of the Supermen" and was definitely rooting for the Eradicator.

I was never a fan of the long haired Supes but was psyched when he finally returned.

This is the book where he made his official return to Metropolis.

Here's one I've had for ages. Very cool cover.

I never really liked this but did buy a few.....

Here's a couple first issues from Image comics from back in the early 90s. I still think some of these characters are kind of cool.

I couldn't leave out the X-MEN. I was big time into them in my comic collecting days. 

This issue folded opened to create this awesome scene of the X-MEN going after Magneto....

So that's that for my "Comic Books" post. I honestly haven't collected them for a LONG time. I leaned more towards collectibles like statues and toys in the mid 90s and never really looked back. I do have some really awesome memories attached my old comics and for that, I'll always love them. Even this crusty, nearly 25 year old box I drew all over to show my love for all of the characters....

For more from this extraordinary league check out these links.....

Nerd Rage....

Toyriffic

for all the rest head to Cool and Collected

LEGO Series 10 Bling Bag Minifigures!

The ever popular blind bagged LEGO minifigures have reached their 10th wave and there are certainly some cool characters to commemorate this wave!

The Sad Clown and Bumble Bee Girl are two of my favorites from the wave....

Xena (thats' not really her name) the Warrior Princess and Medusa are two other highlights from this great series of mini figs.

I guess this is a Continental Army soldier. He's pretty cool and carries a nice musket.

I was lucky, I bought 7 packs and didn't get any duplicates. I did, however, get these two. Pretty unexciting if ya ask me. A librarian and a teen age chick with a cell phone and a puppy. These were the "eh" pair from my haul. But I really can't complain. Got all the ones I wanted and no dups!

There is also a rare 17th figure called "Mr. Gold" who is limited to only 5,000. Several are listed on ebay for crazy amounts!

League of Extraordinary Bloggers - Sleep Over

So this week the Leaguers have the opportunity to choose a pop culture crib to spend the night in. Now I'm sure we all know there are loads to pick from including the big ones like Wayne Manor and such. For me two places rose above the rest, both of which were cartoons I loved as a kid in the 80s. These two places were The Ghostbuster's Firehouse and The Muppet Babies' nursery.  In the end The Muppets prevailed!

My brother and I absolutely loved this cartoon. Those Muppet Babies were always having loads of fun and going on awesome adventures....all through the power of imagination. As a kid who had quite the imagination, I think I would totally love an adventure filled night with the Muppet Babies!

I also loved how Nanny would never know about any of it!

And then of course there was the theme song.....

 

I'm sure many of the other members share my fond memories of this great cartoon. They truly don't make em like this anymore!

 

Fore more Pop Culture Slumber Parties check out these links....

I love this pick at the Mos Espa Collection

Rediscover the 80s chose an awesome spot!

I dig it Retro Toy Safari

For the rest head over to Cool and Collected

Iconic Photo Spotlight.....

Love this movie. Big time nostalgia attached to this one!

"Are you the keymaster?"

League of Extraordinary Bloggers - I Hate.....

This week the League's members are spreading the hate....pop culture hate that is....

"What piece of pop culture did you HATE as a kid?"


As a kid I pretty much loved all things your average 80s boy would love. I was a naive, play until you're dirty, sweaty, and thirsty, action figure loving, care free, happy go lucky kid (and I loved every minute of it!). There wasn't much I could think of that I hated. BUT there were the......

I don't know what it was about this show but I HATED it. I hated seeing it on TV, I hated seeing kids playing anything related to it.... I just plain hated it.

Part of my hatred towards this show and its characters lies in the fact that I felt it was a rip off of Voltron, a show I loved in my younger years. As proven in the photo below...

I'm the one in blue.

I mean c'mon....what the hell is this crap???? 

I guess I was about 12 years old when this show first aired, but I don't think my age had anything to do with it. At the time I still loved the X-Men cartoon and Saturday morning cartoons. I just think it was the overall lameness of it and the fact that the live action fights between morons in suits were piss poor at best. The acting sucked, the enemies were corny, I don't even know what to say about that Zordon dude. Bottom line, the 90s really aint got nothin on the 80s!

"It's morphin time!" or "I have the POWER!"????....I'll take the latter...

So there you have it. My hate filled rant has come to a close. And yes, the Nerd Nook is a Morphin free zone!

For more hateful diatribes be sure to check out these posts from around the League of Extraordinary Bloggers!

BubbaShelby hates the lame lasers fired in G.I. Joe

The Geeky Vixen hates My Little Ponies

Henchgirl hates the nerdy chick from Harry Potter

For more info on the League and this week's hate check out Cool and Collected

April Fools Toy Show

 I have been looking forward to April Fools Toy Show since attending the Winter Fever Toy Show back in January.  I was not disappointed.

There were loads of great vintage toys (mostly loose) including: Star Wars, Super Powers, Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, TMNT, Secret Wars, and many other vintage toy lines.

 

There were also many vendors specializing in toy cars and trucks.

I really wanted this Alf....lol.

I really did enjoy browsing the tables and digging for goodies. It was a great show and one I will visit again in the future. 

As for my haul, I went with a goal in mind. I wanted to recapture some childhood memories, I was hoping to return with a loose Secret Wars Dr. Doom, Mumm-Ra, and Skeletor. I got 2/3 of the way there!

I would up with a loose Mumm-Ra complete with working eyes, a mint on card Dr. Doom (for a great price), and a Mego Pocket Heroes Batman. I'm still after that Skeletor.

 

I would certainly recommend a trip to this convention next year. There was a great variety of toys, friendly vendors, and nostalgia as far as the eye could see =)

Nerd Nook Newbies - The Return

Welcome to another addition of Nerd Nook Newbies. It's been a few weeks since I posted an update.  Recently I have been focusing my attention on Super Powers exclusively and haven't added very much "other" stuff. I figured I'd use this opportunity to resurrect Newbies and showcase a few of my newest Super Powers goodies.

Newbie #1 - 3rd Series, 33 Back Super Powers Superman

3rd series Superman is THE rarest US card variation for Superman. Unfortunately 3rd series bubbles were prone to yellowing. Most collectors agree this is due to lesser quality materials being used as the line was wrapping up and cost were being cut. Ironically the fact that cost were being cut is also what resulted in the "cleanest" looking presentation of the figures. 

Above is a photo comparison of the 3rd series, 33 back (left) and 1st series, 12 back (right). You can notice that the fan club and promotional information are not present on the 33 back. The free comic was also eliminated. I believe it allows for the nicest looking cardback.

I psyched to have this! Superman is my favorite character from the line so it was kind of a must have for me!

Newbie #2 - European Tri Lingual Wonder Woman

This is a pretty neat foreign variation. This figure has writing in 3 different languages, it is attached to a much smaller card, and includes a free poster of the character as well as the free comic. A very cool addition to my foreign collection.

Newbie #3 - 12 Back Steppenwolf Offer Joker Cromalin

This is probably the coolest and most exciting recent acquisition of mine. I'm sure you've noticed that no figure exists here. That is because this is a cromalin. Cromalins were used by Kenner to make corrections to the card before it was approved.  These items all come from an ex Kenner employee who held onto them for 20+ years. They are a really awesome piece of Super Powers history and look amazing on display. The colors are very bright and vibrant. For me to score one of my favorite villains (Joker) was incredible!

So that does it for this Newbies update. Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my Super Powers collection.

 

Toy Spotlight - Life Sized E.T. by Neca

E.T. is my all time favorite movies. Oddly enough I don't own very many E.T. Collectibles. This may be one I need to splurge on! It's a nearly 3 feet tall puppet replica of E.T. Himself. I'm gonna have to think long and hard about this one. That price point is a bit much, but what an awesome collectible!

League of Extraordinary Bloggers - Trading Post

So this week from the League the assignment is to dig up some items you'd be willing to trade. I feel like I sort of just missed the boat on this assignment as I have recently sold a bunch of stuff on eBay. I did come up with a few items I'd be willing to trade. If anything happens to float your boat let me know, maybe we can strike a deal!

This represents the only carded Star Wars figure I own. It's graded an 85 which is pretty darn good. I sort of got this by accident. I do really like it, but would be willing to part with it for the right goody/goodies.

Vintage Indy from the early 80s! I do really love this but would consider a trade for something equally cool!

Some duplicate mini figures from past series....

Target exclusive Halloween and Christmas Batman figures....

Burger King Toys from the time Revenge of the Sith was released.

That's it for now. Leave a comment if anything interests you! I am currently channeling my collecting efforts towards my Super Powers collection and would be most interesting in trading for items relating to that.

Check out these other cool offerings from around the League:

Cal has a cool Hunger Games doll

Brian has some sweet 80s offerings!

Stunt Zombie has a pretty neat assortment as well.

Iconic Photo Spotlight

For Easter, for as long as I can remember, I've watched "Ben Hur" with my family. Yesterday was no different. Such an amazing film, even today, in a time filmed with cgi and special effects.

And now for my favorite quote:

"We keep you alive to serve this ship. Row well, and live."