Monster Mania: Godzilla in Mario Land

Here's a funny video I got a kick out of - if you love Godzilla & Mario Brothers, what better way to enjoy them than both at the same time!

My Marvel Legends Collection: Wave 2

When the second wave of Marvel Legends action figures first came out I wasn't as excited by the selection as I was the first series. I bought Namor the Sub-Mariner because he was an Avenger. My wife actually bought me The Thing (but I bet she doesn't remember that). And I had to get Dr. Doom because, well, the Avengers fought him a couple times. Ya see, at first, all I cared about were figures that dealt with the Avengers. It wasn't until later on in the series (when I realized how huge and cool the whole mess was) that I started getting most of them. It wasn't until much later when I bought the Human Torch, loose, off of eBay.

Flea Market Finds: Bionic Bigfoot

Every once in a while, I get super lucky finding treasures at garage sales or flea markets. One time, Kimm & I were at the Croswell Flea Market, looking through the junk. There was a guy with all kinds of toys spread out on a blanket on the ground. I immediately spied the Bionic Bigfoot, from the Six Million Dollar Man TV series. I had a Steve Austin and Maskatron figures when I was young but never Bigfoot. I didn't know for sure how much he was worth but I was amazing to see he had $1.00 written on a piece of masking tape, stuck to his chest! I took him over to the guy who seemed equally surprised. But he took my dollar and I got my very first Bionic Bigfoot action figure. Thirty some years late!

Geekin' 'bout Comics: Mockingbird

I’m so excited that Marvel has finally brought back to life one of my favorite characters – Mockingbird. I first discovered Bobbi Morse’s super heroine in Marvel Team-Up #96 (I didn’t know about her stories with Ka-Zar in Astonishing Tales until later). From just that one appearance, I liked her so much I included her in my own Marvel superhero team (fan fiction in my mind, lol). I don’t remember what the name of the group was but it consisted of Moon Knight, Adam Warlock, Tigra, Deathlok and Mockingbird (funny how three of them went on to become members of the West Coast Avengers, eh?)
Just imagine how happy little Markie was when writer Mark Gruenwald teamed Mockingbird up with another of my favorite Marvel characters – Hawkeye – in the first Hawkeye limited series. She soon followed him to the West Coast Avengers series. They loved, they fought, they got back together, kinda. Until that @#$% Mephisto killed her in AWC #100. Fortunately, I wasn’t reading the book at the time (just buying it and putting it away). But I was still very disappointed.
But now we learn in Secret Invasion, it wasn’t her after all and that she was replaced by a Skrull! She’s now a member of the New Avengers and starring in the New Avengers: The Reunion limited series with Hawkeye/Ronin. I couldn’t be happier. Unless they make a Marvel Legend action figure out of her!

Action Figure Palooza: DC Infinite Heroes - Gotham City Patrol

It seems like I'm the guy who never finds any good action figures at the store. I pop in to Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart and mid-West grocey/department store Meijer, searching for the latest Marvel Legends or DC Universe Classics. I feel like I get there right after some jerk buys all the good stuff, lol. Well, I got extremely lucky recently. I was patching & painting at my in-laws and ran into TRU on my way home. I found a bunch of the Toys R Us exclusive DC Universe Infinite Heroes - Gotham City Patrol gift sets. I thought, cool, and I bought one, hoping to sell most of the figures loose and keep a good one or two for myself. I went home and check my favorite auction website and saw they were going for big bucks. So, back in the car & back to TRU! However, I didn't buy them all, I was nice enough to leave some for the next guy. Hopefully, he'll return to favor some day :-P I'm not going to brag but my auctions did way better than I expected and I got to keep Catwoman and Killer Croc - guilt free! Here's a pic I took of Batman (old style) taking on Killer Croc!

Comic Book Spotlight: Justice Society of America

I’ve been a Marvel Comics fan since about 1974. However, I’ve never cared much for DC. That’s why I feel a bit like a traitor making my first Comic Book Spotlight blog about a DC comic. But I am soo diggin’ The Justice Society of America right now! I know writer Geoff Johns has been with DC for years but I’m only familiar with his work at Marvel, namely (and I believe exclusively) The Avengers and The Vision limited series. I felt his work on The Avengers was uneven – I didn’t like his multi-part stories but I think his stand-alone issues were very good (especially #62). But his current assignment on JSA is just blowing me away!
I never read the original Kingdom Come limited series, so Gog and Magog and all that is very new to me. I was able to read most of the issues back to back, instead of waiting each month. Some of the issues might have been a bit of a let down having waited 30 days for it to come out, but when you read it as one big story (like in a trade paperback) it is extremely enjoyable. I liked how the religious overtones of Gog divided the team. Pretty powerful stuff.
I’m disappointed Johns is leaving the book soon. I hope his successor will be able to match Johns’ creativity. JSA made a DC fan out of me!

A Brief History of My Comic Book Collection

Like a lot of children of the 70s, comic books were a huge part of life for me. I started out getting Casper, Spooky, Richie Rich, Bugs Bunny and various Disney comics (Super Goof was an early favorite), then worked my way up to Archie comics (& MAD magazine), and finally, super-hero comics. The Incredible Hulk really appealed to me at first, so I got a bunch of Hulk & Defenders comics (plus Avengers #118 which guest-starred the Defenders). In fact, Marvel Comics appealed to me much more than DC. At first, I would simple buy the latest issues off the spinny rack at the local drug store – very hit & miss. But once, when my family & I were going to visit our cousins, we passed by a store called Comic Kingdom in Detroit, and I became an official “comic book collector.”
Some of the earliest series I collected were Nova, Ms. Marvel, The Human Fly, & Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man. But I soon discovered what would become my favorite book – The Avengers! I had a couple coverless copies of Avengers #s 94 & 95 – the height of the Kree-Skrull War! #118 was the first issue I bought on purpose (as opposed to whatever came in the coverless, multi pack). Again, it was hit & miss for the next couple years – I really dug Steve Englehart’s Celestial Madonna storyline. Kang kicked butt! However, it wasn’t until Avengers #154, 155 & 156 that I officially started collecting The Avengers. After that, I was hooked! Avengers Assemble!

Musical Discovery of the Month: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

If you like old timey music, these three teen siblings from the UK are a true breath of fresh air. Their song "Going Up the Country" should get you in the mood for summer time. You can buy their songs from iTunes or from their record label's website www.sundaybest.net.