Tag Archives: The 80s

Acid Free Gallery Booth @ Wizard World Philadelphia

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Acid Free Gallery Booth #555

Acid Free Gallery Booth #555

One of my first stops at Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con was at the Acid Free Gallery (Booth #555) to check out their exclusive prints as well as some of their catalog pieces.

The undoubted star of the show was their Soundwave print by Laurent Deriux, which they were fully expecting to sell through during the course of the show.  However my personal favorite was Tom Whalen’s Voltron,  I’ve long been a fan of Whalen’s style and own several prints as well as some sketches.  And this is an excellent piece to grab that is indicative of his style and love of 1980s pop culture.

If you weren’t at Wizard World Philadelphia, you will have a chance to purchase all of their exclusive prints today, June 4th at 12:30pm when they go up on Acid Free Gallery’s website.

 

Toy Hunting At Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con

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I enjoy the obscure vintage toy line as much as the next guy; but I saw lots of Megos, vintage Masters of the Universe, and GI Joe going for prices WAY above market value.  This valuation is driven by two factors: 1) paying off the insane booth rental fees at the Con and 2) Travel Channel’s hit shot Toy Hunter.

During my wanderings I documented some of my favorite finds that I most definitely could not afford or risk bringing home and having to explain said purchase to my wife.

Vintage GI Joe

Vintage GI Joe Sky Raven — Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con 2013

A sealed GI Joe Sky Raven, which was going for $400 at the Con. A repaint of the very popular Cobra Night Raven, but the savvy eBayer can pick one of these up for around $250.00

Kenner's Sherwood Forrest Playset

Kenner’s Sherwood Forrest Playset

I thoroughly respect anyone who has had this Sherwood Forrest playset sitting in their garage since the release of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  I’m sure someone walked away with this for $75 at the end of the show on Sunday.  

Remants of the much maligned Street Fighter ... err GI Joe Street Fighter line from Hasbro

Remants of the much maligned Street Fighter … err GI Joe Street Fighter line from Hasbro

 This dealer wanted $40 a piece for these figures which is a complete non-starter.  He also had a slew of vehicles from the Street Fighter line as well.  I remember getting some of these for a steal at KB Toys.

Tally Hawk!

Tally Hawk!f

This Silverhawks electric toothbrush holder/electronic figurine was quite simply the greatest thing I saw all weekend.  I never even knew this thing existed, and those are the finds I enjoy the most.  

MIB Playmates' Starship Enterprise-D

MIB Playmates’ Starship Enterprise-D

Despite the lurid instructions to PRESS HERE, this dealer was not having it.  When asked if I could test the electronics (because I wanted to make an offer) he removed it from the table.  Ass clown.

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Another dealer had a bin full of broken GI Joe vehicles from anywhere from $12-$15 a piece.  Very dirty, but some really great vintage items in that Rubbermaid tote of despair.  

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And what did I walk away with you ask? Two very cool figures … a carded Nightfighter Robocop from the Kenner Robocop and the Ultra Police line and a Star Trek Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Chief Medical Officer Raphael.  Look for reviews on both coming up shortly.

 

Buckaroo Who? This Fox Ad Executive From 1984 Should Have Been Fired

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I thoroughly enjoy the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, however I find this piece of marketing from 1984 to be incredibly awful. The movie is hard enough to explain nearly thirty years later, how would a kid reading Power Man & Iron Fist #110 even begin to fathom what in the actual hell the movie was all about?

Everyone ready to follow along? I’ll meet you at the bottom …

buckaroobanzaiAD

Still with me? Great.  Now to make up for what I just subjected you too here’s the greatest end credits scene ever to be filmed.

Zorcom Spaceship The Dynamic Space Adventure No Kid Wanted

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Mail order advertisements from old comic books are the gifts that keep on giving. Today’s spotlight is for the Zorcom Spaceship which is billed as a “dynamic new space adventure kids can really get into!”.

zorcom

In reality it was a cardboard box with “astonishing graphics” that could be used in a variety of configurations (read standing up or on its side).

For only $12.95 plus shipping & handling you could join Zorcom in his spaceship or steal Zorcom’s spaceship … I’m not really sure what or who Zorcom is specifically.  Is it a person? A corporate entity? A fleet?  If only I had a time machine that could take me back to 1983 to get all the answers I desperately need!!!!

 

Fire Up Your Atari 2600 for “Masters of The Universe: The Power of He-Man”

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In combing through my pile of comic books from the 1980s I came across this ridiculously awesome advertisement for Masters of The Universe – The Power of He-Man video game for the Atari 2600.  I have a feeling that the artwork was far more exciting than the actual gameplay.  I can’t say I ever fired this up on Intellivision, anyone have any positive things to say about this one?

heman-vintageAtari

And looks like my assertion was correct this gameplay looked pretty rough, even by 1983 standards …

 

So That Captain Power Reboot Is Actually Happening

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Last year, an announcement came out of nowhere that there would be a reboot of the 1980s live action/CGI hybrid show Captain Power and the Soldiers of The Future. Not much was known, other than the new title Phoenix Rising and that the original creative team was on board.

Recently, some pictures from the Phoenix Rising writing room hit Twitter courtesy of Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Not only do they cleverly show off some concept art, but confirmed that development on a new action figures line has begun.

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Image via @ReevesStevens

As someone who proudly carried a Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future lunchbox to school, I’m very excited to see how this new take on the franchise will play out.

via Toyark

A Tribute To SilverHawk Colonel Bluegrass, The Original Space Cowboy

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This week’s assignment for the League was pretty straightforward, the topic was “cowboys” and I’m pretty sure that I’ve taken a pretty circuitous route this time around.

As a child of the 1980s, I spent an inordinate amount of time watching these long from toy commercials that were often referred to as “cartoons”.  One such program was SilverHawks a Rankin/Bass production that shared a lot of creative forces behind Thundercats and the criminally short-lived TigerSharks (I’m thinking there’s a pattern there).

  • There was a lot about the SilverHawks that didn’t make much sense at all:
  • Were they half human/half bird creatures or were they just cyborgs with wings?
  • How is it they were able to exposed to the vacuum of space without any significant impairment?
  • And why is there a bluegrass singing cowboy flying a spaceship?

Col. Bluegrass?!?Yes, Col. Bluegrass (voiced by Larry Kenney of Lion-O fame) didn’t have the abilities of his fellow SilverHawks, but he utilized his epic guitar skills to do … stuff.  I’m not really sure what exactly this cowboy is doing in space, but it didn’t stop me from watching every single weekend.

Here’s a fun and embarrassing bit of trivia.  When I was about 3 1/2 years old my dad took me to see Thundercats LIVE! at the Philadelphia Civic Center.  It was some kind of ridiculous variety show that somehow had the Thundercats interacting with Gumby & Pokey, the SilverHawks, and a smattering of forgettable characters.  It took some digging, but I actually found an archived article from the Philadelphia Inquirer dated September 25, 1987 in which a professional reporter was tasked to REVIEW a kid’s traveling variety show.

And From Elsewhere Around the League ….

Dear Internet, Please Stop Talking About Ghostbusters 3

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There are few movies that I consider damn near perfect, and I could Ghostbusters among them.  At twenty eight years old, Ghostbusters is still endearing despite the countless basic cable viewings I have made my family endure.  In the ten years we have been together, she has stopped fighting it and even come to enjoy it.  However, she does love to point out how dated some of the affects are (… especially with the demon dogs).  And even for its faults, I enjoy Ghostbusters II, if only for Vigo and the Statue of Liberty powered by an NES Advantage Controller.

The powers that be have been trying to get Ghostbuster 3 going for years now.  It’s been well documented that Bill Murray has been the major roadblock.  In a recent interview with WGN in Chicago, Murray said that “it’s a possibility” that he may be involved with the newest entry into the franchise.  Once again, the Internet overreacted, retweeting and Facebooking the hell out of the story.

As much as I would like to see Ghostbusters 3 come to fruition, I think at this point its best just to leave sleeping things lie.  So if everyone on the Internet … especially those neck bearded basement dwellers.   Please stop posting comments and speculative plot & casting, and your fan-fiction about this “sequel”, I would greatly appreciate it.

Credit: [/Film] 

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers: Where Are They Now?

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Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to participate in the second assignment set forth for The League.  This week, Brian from Cool & Collected challenged members with the following

The 80′s and 90′s were filled with kids and teens in the movies. Which movie would you like to see a sequel made in 2012 with the original cast members, who have aged the same as you and me.

 

I think for many of my generation, the obvious choice would be The Goonies.  While I have a certain affinity for that flick, it pales in comparison to The Monster Squad.  To this day, I still think it has the best ‘modern’ interpretation of the Universal monsters.  What makes The Monster Squad so appealing is that a movie which prominently features kids cursing, bullying, smoking, talking about tits, and firing guns would never get a PG-13 rating in 2012 … let alone released. Weren’t the 1980s a beautiful thing?

I’d have to imagine that The Monster Squad 2: Monster Harder (just a working title) would show a group of late twenty somethings whose greatest accomplishment was fighting the forces of darkness before they reached high school.  Much like Olympic Gymnasts, their best years are behind them.  Horace can only get so many free meals on his epic take down of Gill Man.

Let’s be honest, just because you sent Dracula into a vortex doesn’t mean that he’s gone.  I can definitely envision a story where the kids (now adults) have to sharpen their stakes and melt down their good silverware once more to finally end the threat of the living dead claiming their world.  All I really want, is a new version of my favorite montage of any film put out during the 1980s.

 

Seriously, how can you beat that montage?  And with that, feel free to check out other members of the League and their musings on this week’s topic:

The Breakfast Club: Where Are They Now?  – [Cool & Collected]

KIDS: Where Are They Now? – [Sideshow Cinema]

The Last Starfighter – [Lair of The Dork Lord]

 

Of Big Trouble, Autobots, and Saviors of The Universe: My Ideal Saturday Matinee

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The League of Extraordinary Bloggers is a group of like-minded individuals organized by Brian from Cool & Collected.  Each member contributes a post on the weekly assignment, which is shared and cross posted across the group.  The first assignment:

What movie is, or was, your “go to” Saturday matinee — the comfort movie you always popped into the VCR on a rainy Saturday afternoon, the movie you watched over and over again, driving your parents crazy while you recited the lines along with the characters on the screen?

Most people can point to a movie as being their go to childhood flick.  You know the one I’m talking about, it’s the one that your parents would begrudgingly pop into the VCR every weekend.  Over time the sound would pop or the picture would jump because it had been rewound far too many times.

I never had just a movie.  I had three movies, which I know refer to as my Trifecta of 80′s Awesomeness: Big Trouble in Little China, Transformers: The Movie, and Flash Gordon. And you want to know why it was so awesome? They were on just one VCR tape. My dad had a knack for making *ahem* duplicates of VHS tapes through an elaborate system of VHS decks.  With love and dedication, my dad worked it out to get all three movies on to one VHS tape, guaranteeing close to 5 1/2 hours of uninterrupted TV time.

To this day I still have a deep and profound love for those movies.  Partly due to the dedication from my dad to ensure that I had uninterrupted flow of 80s cheese pipelined directly into my cerebral cortex. To this day I can listen to the score from Transformers: The Movie and articulate the scenes in which each movement occurs.  I can go line for line with Jack Burton, and the Flash Gordon soundtrack is among my most played on my iPod.  To this day, I never grow tired of any of these movies. And I may argue that these three movies could be tied for the greatest 80s movie theme songs (Footloose can suck it!)

I have a primal compulsion to watch them every time they pop up, much to the chagrin of my wife.  Of the three, I think she prefers Big Trouble in Little China … but she will never admit to that.

More From The League:

Good Ol’ Saturday Matinee Weirdness via GeekChunks

Boys, Avenge Me, AVENGE ME! via Branded in the 80s