Vintage Castle Grayskull: Restored & Customized

Priced at $19.99, Castle Grayskull was released as the flagship playset of the original Masters of the Universe line in 1982 and was marketed as being "The Fortress of Mystery and Power for He-Man and his Foes."

Yes, you read that right. The castle, as originally envisioned, could be occupied by either side. It most certainly was not the good guys' clubhouse. Heck, even the original box art features an assault by the good guys on a castle controlled by Skeletor! Not the mention, Beast Man is over there helping the heroes...

Hey!! Kids Comics: Superman Annual 9 (1983)

DC comics released the Superman Annual No. 9 in 1983, the first annual for Superman published since 1964! This also the first Superman Annual to feature original content instead of reprints of older stories. With a cover, by Gil Kane, this issue has a feature story and back up story.

1. "Villain! Villain! Who's Got the Villain?"

Written by Elliot S! Maggin, penciled by Alex Toth, inked by Terry Austin, colored by Tom Ziuko and lettered by Gaspar

2. "I Flew with Superman!"

Written, penciled and inked by Curt Swan, colored by Anthony Tollin, lettered by John Costanza, plotted by Cary Bates and copied by Elliot S! Maggin.

Kenner Super Powers Cyborg

Card design by http://polymerphelia.blogspot.com/

THE STEEL SENTINEL
While visiting his parents at S.T.A.R. Labs, Victor Stone witnessed an experiment conducted by his mother and father go horribly wrong! With Vic's mother dead, and much of Vic's own body destroyed, Vic's father Silas, crippled with guilt about what had happened, saved his nearly dead son by replacing Vic's damaged body parts with cybernetic replacements.. These replacements left most of his body, including half his face, encased in molybdenum steel. Cybernetic parts were grafted to Vic’s organs, and computerized synthetic nerve bases were attached to his spinal column. Upon recovery, Vic, horrified at what he had become, blamed his father for not allowing him to simply die. Unable to pursue his sports dreams and having lost most of his old friends, Vic lived a lonely existence until joining the Teen Titans. Now he has a new purpose in life, fighting crime as the super heroic Cyborg!

Kenner Super Powers Shazam

Card design by http://polymerphelia.blogspot.com/

THE WORLD'S MIGHTIEST MORTAL
Chosen for being pure of heart by the powerful wizard Shazam, young Billy Batson gains incredible powers whenever he speaks the wizard's name. Billy works as an idealistic news reporter for WHIZ radio, but whenever he speaks the name "SHAZAM" magical lighting transforms him into an adult champion for good, Captain Marvel. The powers he has been granted include S for the wisdom of Solomon, H for the strength of Hercules, A for the stamina of Atlas, Z for the power of Zeus, A for the courage of Achilles, and M for the speed of Mercury.

Hardee's California Raisins Promotional Figurines

In 1986 a commercial appeared on television for the California Raisin Advisory Board in which a group of singing, dancing, anthropomorphized raisins sang and danced to the 1968 Marvin Gaye song, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”

These little guys later went on to launch a sensational career for themselves! Combined with more TV ads, and even a music album, The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs, the Raisins’ images were everywhere, and a cultural phenomenon was born.

Kenner Super Powers Tyr

Card design by http://polymerphelia.blogspot.com/

THE MERCILESS MERCENARY
Tyr, one of the greatest of the warlords of the planet Tyrraz, is one the Legion of Superheroes' most vicious adversaries. Besides his enhanced strength and cunning, Tyr also boasts a cybernetic, semi-sentient gun-arm with the ability to function and move independently, firing incredible energy blasts, strong enough to stagger even the strongest of his enemies. Tyr's gun-arm also has the ability to open spatial-warps stargates. After his many defeats in the 30th Century at the hands of the Legion of Superheroes, Tyr has traveled back in time to become a gun for hire, hunting down heroes for anyone, for the right price!

Kenner Super Powers Mantis

Card design by http://polymerphelia.blogspot.com/

THE ENERGY VAMPIRE
Mantis began his life as a member the humanoid insect people of New Genesis. Dissatisfied with his life on New Genesis, Mantis migrated to the planet Apokolips. Darkseid has granted Mantis immense powers, second only to his own, in return Mantis pledged his undying allegiance to Darkseid!

In addition to his own immense power, Mantis is an energy vampire with the ability to absorb energy from other sources. However, once all of his power has been depleted, Mantis must immediately retreat to his power pod in order to recharge. Spending the majority of his time in his power pod, Mantis only emerges when he has a task to perform. Unlike Darkseid's other lackeys, Mantis does not revel in plotting and violence, therefore serving as the perfect soldier for Darkseid. This makes him a particularly dangerous opponent to any who oppose him!

Super Powers: Apokolips Diorama

Apokolips is the homeworld of Darkseid. From there, Darkseid plots the conquest of the universe through the acquisition of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid is considered to be not only the ruler of his people but also a god! He is perpetually opposed by the warriors of New Genesis. Despite this he has conquered a number of planets, creating an empire with Apokolips as the throne world.

Hey!! Kids Comics: Batman 321 (1980)

Batman, Vol. 24, No. 321

Cover date: March, 1980

Cover artists: José Luis García-López and Tatjana Wood

"Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker... !"

Writer: Len Wein
Penciller: Walt Simonson
Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorsist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: Ben Oda

Plot: It's The Joker's birthday - and he's celebrating by rounding up his enemies from all around town, including Robin, James Gordon, and Alfred Pennyworth in this classic issue from 1980!

Part of this Complete Quarantine Breakfast!

Trapped at home watching cartoons all day, it's time for some breakfast so I have decided to eat the Saturday morning breakfast of choice from my Gen-X youth... Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries! Part of this nutritious complete breakfast of toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, cheese, pancakes, fruit, vegetables, orange juice, and of course milk!

You know how all the cereal ads say, "a good part of this nutritious -or complete -breakfast?" This phrase is so prominent that we need no other references. Every cereal ad spouted that phrase over a huge heaping bowl of the product along with 2 slices of buttered toast and a glass of orange juice. Some scenes even include a glass of milk [more milk!] or other breakfast foods like eggs and bacon, sausage or ham! Generation X was so inundated with cereal commercials during Saturday morning cartoons that if we needed a secret pass code to identify each other, “Part of this nutritious breakfast” would be it.

Kenner Real Ghostbusters Ecto-2 Action Vehicle

Ecto-2 Action Vehicle

The Real Ghostbusters Heroes can take to the skies or the streets in the Ecto-2 which changes from a road to a flying vehicle.

The Ecto-2 (also known as the ecto-copter) is a small ultra-light helicopter capable of converting into a small road vehicle when the wings are folded up. It is the second vehicle used by the Ghostbusters in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters originally seen the episode titled Ghosts 'R Us. Capable of carrying 1 passenger and the pilot, it has 2 folding wings and a winch and cable. It was also shown to be capable of fitting in the back of the Ecto-1 when folded into driving mode.

The Real Ghostbusters: Ghostbuster Janine Custom Action Figure

Back in the spring I made a custom action figure of Janine in her Ghostbuster gear. Thought I'd share some photos... I really meant to post this a while back but life distracted me a big way and I just never got around to it.

The figure base is a Real Ghostbusters Janine Melnitz Kenner Racin Wringer figure. Basically all that needed to be done was a repaint. The jumpsuit was painted pink with purple/gray trim, boots, and belt. The Ghostbuster emblem is actually the emblem from the base figure, I just carefully painted around it! The elbow pad was painted light gray. Her glasses were painted green and the lenses painted white. I also painted on some light blue eye shadow. She was given an old purple proton pack from a fright figure to round her out.

Leaf Comicbook Candy Secret Origins Mini-Comics

Sometime around 1981 or so when I was about 10 years old I headed down to the local drugstore with some change burning a hole in my pocket... Our local drugstore had a full comics rack, lots of candy, cheap toys, and a soda fountain. But there was something new among the candy selections on this day!

It was Leaf Comicbook Candy! The 6 x 8 x 7 ¼" cardboard counter top display contained 36 mini comics, each 2 ¾ x 4 ¼" featuring the secret origins of eight different DC Comics characters including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Hawkman, and the Justice League of America. Each box contained at least two of each title as well as several assorted duplicates. The comics came sealed in original bags with "Leaf Comic Book Candy Tart N' Tangy" candies that

Kenner Real Ghostbusters Fire House Headquarters Playset

If you were a fan of the Real Ghostbusters cartoon show in the late 1980s, and were collecting the action figures produced by Kenner, then this playset was a must-have item!

This thing is massive! Three floors tall, the Fire House Headquarters has a "Ghost Pursuit" firepole, "goop grates" with 5 oz. can of Ecto-Plazm play gel, a "ghost containment" unit for storing ghosts, and opening and closing fire house doors! Yes, even the doors were considered an accessory back then! Action figures sold separately...

New on Netflix: He-Man Documentary "Power of Grayskull"

On Netflix – Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the latest in FauxPop Media’s Definitive Film series, digs into the rich history of what has become one of the most beloved and enduring pop culture icons for millions of fans worldwide.

The documentary is a comprehensive & intricate look behind the scenes on He-Man & all things related to it, and covers a lot of ground over its running time. The documentary is the brainchild of Isaac Elliott-Fisher, Randall Lobb, Mark Hussey & Rob McCallum.

The History of Saturday Morning Cartoons & Why They Disappeared

The Toys That made Us Returns To Netflix May 25th!

https://www.facebook.com/thetoysthatmadeus/

The eagerly awaited second half of the first season of The Toys Than Made Us is set to air on Netflix on the May 25th with episodes featuring Transformers, LEGO, Hello Kitty, and Star Trek.

Saturday Morning Flashback: Claws in the Lease

Originally a Merrie Melodies cartoon released by Warner Bros. in 1963 and directed by Robert McKimson, Claws in the Lease opens with Sylvester the cat and his son Junior living in the city dump eating garbage. Junior has had enough, so off he goes in search of a real home, something easy enough for a cute little kitten, but not so easy for mangy old Sylvester...

Review: Ready Player One

In the year 2045, much of humanity attempts to escape the desolation of the real world by escaping into the the virtual reality world of OASIS.

When the creator of OASIS, James Halliday (Mark Rylance, looking a lot like Garth from Wayne's World!) died he promised his fortune and control of OASIS to whoever could complete his hidden game within the program, thus began the great hunt for Halliday’s Easter Egg a.k.a. the Anorak's Quest! Those on the Quest are known as "gunters."

After becoming the first player to complete the initial challenge, gunter Wade Watts (Tye Sharidan) is joined by several allies trying to complete the game before the indentured players working for IOI, an evil villainous corporation run by an evil villain named Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), can do so.

Super Powers Bio-Cards

Hasbro started it all by printing file cards on the backs of G.I. Joe action figure blister cards. Kids were expected to cut them out and save them along with the figures. The figure collector cases even featured compartments to keep the file cards in.

This allowed kids to have a better idea about who was who in the collection, who the good guys were , who were the bad guys, and what their powers were. Kenner definitely paid attention to this when they designed the packaging for the Super Powers collection.