LOEB - Hey, i'sn't that...

So yeah...I've pretty much lived along the East Coast my entire life and celebrity run-ins have been few and far between. Sure there have been a few. I once ran into Billy Dee Williams and caught a passing glimpse of Bill Murray....but beyond that my celebrity elbow bumping has been slim to none. So, with that said, I figured I'd stick to what I know....

"Hey, isn't that Green Lantern dressed up like The Riddler!"

Super Powers Spotlight - Steppenwolf

In today's spotlight I'll be taking a look at one of my favorite Super Powers villains: Steppenwolf! Anyone familiar with the line knows that Steppenwolf was initially offered as a mail away exclusive on specially marked "Steppenwolf offer" 12 back figures. His first carded release came with the second series in 1985. Steppenwolf included a mini comic and had one of my all time favorite card backs from the entire line!

Steppenwolf would have two 2nd series variations. The initial release had the "fan club offer" band on the bottom right hand side. 

The other second series variation had the  "Free Clark Kent Offer" which came in the from of a sticker applied to the front of the card.

The final carded offering for the character Steppenwolf came in the 3rd and final series for the Super Powers Collection. As you can see (after comparing the cards) the third series card is significantly different. With the line coming to a close Kenner cut out the free comics as well as any fan club offers. These changes resulted in what most collectors agree to be the most visually appealing card backs. Even with the improvement in card appearance, the second series releases for Steppenwolf are the rarer versions and, in most cases, the more valuable.

The final variation I wanted to share could have come at the very start. This is an example of a cromalin proof that shows what could have been. Cromalins were used internally by Kenners to make changes and identify mistakes  to the card back's design before going forward with the card back production. This cromalin shows that Steppenwolf was initially designed to have blue accents to his gloves, trunks, and chest strap. This ultimately was changed to the red seen on the production cardbacks, making this cromalin a really cool variation!

 A really awesome custom done by a friend and fellow collector next to a loose/production Steppenwolf.

So that does it for this Steppenwolf spot light. A truly classic and awesome villain! Love to hear your thoughts on the character or the line itself! If you'd like to pick this guy up, hit up eBay! There are loads of loose, minty examples to be had!

The Return of the Nerd Nook Newbies!

I am trying to get back in the swing of blogging more regularly! With the exception of League assignments, I've sort of put it on the back burner as I focused my attention on my YouTube channel. I've decided that I want to get blogging again and resurrect Nerd Nook Newbies! I'll be honest, weekly updates will probably not occur.....probably bi-weekly will be more feasible!

So with that said, lets have a look at some of my most recent Newbies!



Today I'll be showing you all a few new additions to my Super Powers Collection. First up is a 12 back Wonder Woman. I've been after a nice version of her for quite some time! She is slightly tough to find on a 12 back (first release from 1984) and even tougher in nice condition. Excited to have scored this one! Considering having it graded by the Action Figure Authority. Thoughts?

Next up is a Super Powers 12 back Penguin. Yet another tough one to find on a clean 12 back. He's far more common on a 23 back and being a rather portly character, Kenner had to use a very deep bubble to house him. These huge bubbles were prone to getting crushed, dinged, and otherwise damaged...making this one a really good score!

For today's final newbie I have another tough 12 back, Hawkman. He is another character who is known for having damaged bubbles for the same reason as penguin....the size! With his wings on his back he sticks out even further than Penguin! It kinda sucks he has that sticker rip because it is otherwise in excellent condition.

So that'll do it for my return to Newbies. With these additions I'm only two figures away from completing my 12 back Fan Club offer collection. Hopefully in an upcoming "Newbies" I'll be showcasing Aquaman and Brainiac!

Super Powers Spotlight - Joker!

Hey there Super Powers Fans! I've been wanting to get back in the swing of blogging more regularly and figured a Super Powers spotlight could be just the thing to get myself going. In case you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of the toy line! I grew up playing with these toys and am enjoying them just as much now as an adult collector.

So with that out of the way, let's take a look at this Joker cromalin. For starters, a cromalin is a type of packaging proof that was used to test the layout and make corrections. If you look closely you can see some marked changes on this example of a 12 back Joker card back with the free Steppenwolf figure offer. This particular example also has a sign off sheet on the back side that was used internally by Kenner employees.

Being such a mega fan, I enjoy adding prototype and pre-production items to my collection whenever I can. With Joker being arguable the coolest first series villain (and Batman's arch enemy) I'm thrilled to have this in my collection!

A shot of the cromalin before I had it framed with the metallic purple accent in the top photo  =)
I really dig how it turned out!

League of Extraordinary Bloggers - Feeling Blue!

So this week the League is "feeling blue!"

I decided this League assignment was the perfect opportunity to show off my Kenner Super Powers Batman Collection! Now anyone who's checked out this blog knows that I'm a huge fan of Kenner's iconic DC Super Hero Line and that I've got a pretty sizable collection. What you might not know is that Batman is my "character focus" and I've set out to collect as many variations of him as I can! I've got him on 1984, 85, and 86 US cards and even a few international cards from both north and south of the border. There's all sorts of variations and even a first shot (pre production piece) amidst the chaos! Still got a few tough ones to track down....in the mean time Superman is next ;)

Be sure to check out these other blue bloggers....

Boo Bobby

The Goodwill Geek

AEIOU and Sometimes Why

League of Extraordinay Bloggers - Bootlegs - Super Powers Style!

The League has spoken:

"Bootlegs, knockoffs, and third-party products."

It's sort of funny that in the world of collecting bootleg isn't such a bad word. In fact, often times, bootlegs are worth massive amounts of money....sometimes even more than the real deal. Collectors seem to view bootlegs as an opportunity to expand their collection and add some wow factor. Being a huge fan of the Kenner Super Powers Collection I decided to highlight some of the many foreign companies to produce their own versions of the iconic characters Kenner masterfully sculpted and beautifully presented.

The Super Powers Collection ran from 1984-1986. Three seperate waves of figures were released resulting in a total of 33 unique action figures. A fourth series was planned and many figures reached the prototyping stage before the line was ultimately cancelled.

A piece of concept art in my collection which depicts Kenner's idea for what a Batmobile toy would look like. This was drawn in August of 1982 to be used to present to DC in order to procure the license to make DC action figures.

Production Batmobile (not too far off from the concept created 2 years prior to the release of this toy)

This cover is attached to the concept art....DC & Kenner mean SUPERTOYS (Kenner really wanted that license!)

Well ultimately Kenner got that license. As I said they went on to produce arguably the most popular line of vintage Super Hero toys.

Now that the back story is out of the way onto the bootlegs!

Like I said, the line wrapped up in 1986. Not long after Kenner granted several foreign companies the license to produce toys using the sculpts and artwork featured on the Kenner toys. These companies included Estrela (Brazil), Gulliver (Columbia), and Playful/Pacipa (Argentina) to name a few. Each of these companies produced figures with varying degrees of quality....however the lack of quality doesn't deter die hard fans of Kenner's line from seeking out and collecting these toys.

Gulliver Juguetes (Brazil)

Gulliver's versions of the Super Powers line are known for poor quality.  They were carded using very flimsy cardboard, low quality plastic, and cheap glue. All of these factors contribute to the rarity of carded Gulliver figures. Especially ones in nice condition.

Unlike their Kenner counterparts, the Gulliver toys lacked articulated knees, free mini comics, and clothe capes. They instead came with free posters and vinyl capes.

Another very interesting addition to Super Powers collecting was provided by the Gulliver Toy company. They are responsible for creating the character El Capitan Rayo or Captain Ray.  Captain Ray was made using a re-purposed Superman body with an Aquaman head. Due to him being totally made up, they used Super "Heroes" rather than "Powers" on his cardback. Regardless of this change he remains one of the rarest, most valuable, and most sought after figures for Super Powers collectors. A holy grail as they say....

Pacipa and Playful (Argentina)

The Argentinian companies Pacipa and Playful each produced super hero toys under the name "Super Amigos".  These figures, like Gulliver, were relatively poor in quality when compared with those of Kenner. 

No free comic or poster

 

Pacipa (left), Kenner (right)

Playful (left), Kenner (right)

 Pacipa (left), Kenner (right)

A few of the characters were given different character art on the card backs for their foreign release. Green Arrow or Fleche Verde was one of them.

Playful and Pacipa (like Gulliver) are responsible for releasing another unique character. Rather then make up their own character, the Argentinian companies took a Green Lantern mold and reused it to create The Riddler or El Acertijo.

The Riddler represents another rare and highly sought after figure among Super Powers collectors. I personally love the character art of The Riddler and am happy to have him in my collection.

Estrela (Brazil)

The Estrela toy company from Brazil is widely regarded as being responsible for making the highest quality figures of the South American toy companies.  They used clothe capes, higher quality packaging materials, and included free mini comics (even for a few characters who never had them for their US release).

Estrela, like the previously mentioned toy companies, is responsible for creating another Super Powers rarity. As you can see in the above photo, one of the Batman figures is wearing an all black suit. Leading up to the release of Tim Burton's Batman, Estrela reused the Super Powers Batman mold to sell Black Suit Batman figures. This was short lived, adding another fun, and fairly rare figure for Super Powers collectors to hunt.

So there you have it. A bit of information on the many Super Powers knockoffs. Don't let the inferior level of quality fool you! Many of the figures from these lines have some serious price tags and are treasured by die hard collectors...trust me...I'm one of em!

"Will this be the end for our heroes in the Batmobile?!?! YOU DECIDE!!!"

More League Knockoffs and Bootlegs to come! Until then check out Cool and Collected!

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 - Super Powers Batmobile

This awesome toy was released in the first wave of the Super Powers Collection by Kenner in 1984.

It was a great looking toy that certainly took some inspiration from the 1966 Batmobile. I especially like how they made the car itself resemble Batman. 

Like all the figures in the line, this toy had power actions. As seen in the photo above it had a battering ram in the front and villain catcher in the back that could be engaged using a switches in the cockpit. 

This is most certainly one of my favorite toys from childhood. Excited to finally have it in my collection!

"He took the car........the OTHER car.......!"

League of Extraordinary Bloggers - Shopping Spree

So the League has spoken. This week it's:

"You have very deep pockets but your shelves are bare. Go on a shopping spree at Hake’s to make your place a little more awesome."

Normally this would be great, carefree fun. Going on an imaginary shopping spree, adding cool vintage items with loads of money to spend....except for one thing....Hake's currently has one of the Super Powers line's HOLIEST of  Holy Grails up for auction. A prototype of Darkseid's head from the unproduced Tower of Darkness play-set. This represents one of the rarest and coolest pieces for most Super Powers collectors.

This is one of the few Towers out there. A truly incredible playset that most Super Powers fans wish made it to production.

This is the prototype mold of Darkseid's head up for auction at Hake's. Totally amazing and unique. I would absolutely love to have this in my collection. Needless to say this would be one of my purchases from the recent auctions if I had loads of cash to sling around!

Hake's didn't stop there with the Super Powers pre-production goodness. Above is a prototype of the second series villain Kaibak. He isn't a very well known character.Kalibak is often overlooked in the line. That being said, pre production stuff is rare and unique and I'd love it in my collection.

For the final purchase with my deep pockets, I'd add (you guessed it) another Super Powers item. This is a wax master sculpt of another second series villain, the Parademon. Another rare and certainly unique piece of Super Power's history.

I'm gonna go ahead and cut my shopping spree off there. I don't think I can torture myself any more with these awesome pieces that I know will never grace my shelves. I do really love my collection though and appreciate how many cool and rare pieces I do have. In this hobby you have to learn to be satisfied with what you have or you'll be flat broke, FAST!

On the subject of being happy with what I have, I do have some pre production Super Powers stuff...

Superman and Batman unpainted first shot heads in non production colors.

First series "Free Poster Offer" back of the card cromalin. These were used to make changes to the card before they were produced. Anyway, I'm thrilled to have these in my collection.

For more League drooling be sure to scope out these other posts.....

Reis is eying an interesting item over at The Lair of the Dork Horde

Shawn over at Branded in the 80s is also after some neat pre-production stuff.

The Robot's Pajamas picked one of my grails from childhood that I never had.....the Dino Riders T'Rex (so freakin awesome!)

For the rest of the posts to come head to Cool and Collected