Marvelous Monday! Friendly Neighborhood Edition

I'm really liking this Marvel monday thing, I usually feel like I do not have enough of a certain subject on the blog and with scheduling Marvel stuff on Mondays it really takes some of the pressure off of making sure I have enough stuff of any one subject posted.

This Marvelous Monday is some left over shots from Toy Biz's first Spider-Man figure, ala 1990. I originally shot these for Reis at Geek Orthodox to use at his About.com gig and thought eventually I would find a home for them here on Eclectorama.

I have heard numerous times how people loath these Toy Biz figures. I agree they are not the best of figures, but at the time these things were a sight for sore eyes in my book. I remember seeing these in store for the first time and made away with the Silver Surfer, Captain America and this Spider-Man. These figures along with the first series of X-Men figures were probably my gateway into collecting action figures outright. I really started with Ninja Turtles, but these opened up whole new doors for me in the Marvel Universe.

I also want to address the issue of playability while talking about this line. See while I was buying these to collect, I was also picking these up for my son to play with. I had already bought a ton of Batman and DC related Heroes for him to throw around, so seeing these Marvels in stores I new it was time to have a Batman / Captain America team up against the Green Goblin and the Joker. See kids do not care about how well these were sculpted as long as they didn't break and we went through very few of these. I think we ended up breaking a Iron Man and a Spider-Man, that was it. Also this felt so much like the old days of Mego to me with DC and Marvels mixing it up. Also what a great way to explain the different Universes to a young one. So, I have a soft spot for these figures and as fugly as they may be will always love them.

Spider-Man at first wasn't all that much my favorite because of the suction cup gimmick, but it did grow on me. Spidey was great for taking along for rides in the car as he would cling onto the windshield. He could be found climbing up the bathroom mirror or raiding the ice box. I am sort of glad now that Toy Biz lead with this feature, I think if they had started with just a normal figure we would have never seen this done. Plus it did in a way make you wish for more Spider-Man without the suction cups. Again, kids didn't care one way or the other.

I also was digging the subscription coupon on the back of the card. I actually filled a couple of these out. My son and I loved getting the latest Captain America in the mail, it was always a fun time reading the latest issue and having battles with the figures. I think I like this mail away better than just a comic pack in. 

Look out! It's the Joker!

These were part of my score for January and I must say I loves these little Batman the Brave and the Bold figurines. I have a few sets and am really surprised I have not placed them up on the blog before. The price for these at retail is about the 7 to 8 dollar range. Kinda steep, but you do get two pretty cool little dudes for that. So I don't feel all too bad for picking up a set here and there. I wish they were less expensive and that probably has kept me from buying them all.


The Joker part of my collection increased in size a little with this set. I love the homage to Kenner's Superpowers Collection with the green mallet.

"Not so fast Joker!"


"It's the Batman!"

POW! "Take that you vile fiend!"

"Victorious!"

Like there was any doubt that Batman wouldn't win. I have a few more of these I need to put up here, so stay tuned for some more tiny, funky Bat goodness.

The List: February Report

I did a little better with my list in the month of February, though 99 % of my purchases were not on the list so I guess I should say my budget was a little better the list was not.

Here's what I picked up:

1) I started with a Star Wars Legends Sandtrooper, the clean version. I love Sandtroopers and I really, really needed this one. My wife had to ask "How many Sandtroopers do you need?", to which I reply ALL OF THEM!

2) Firestorm, another moment of weakness, but come on it's Firestorm, 3-3/4" scale.

3) The Mighty Mugs Wampa is on the list, check it. Plus I found this one online on sale, though shipping ruined it for me.

4) Okay I don't consider these next two little guys toys, I used to have a 914 Porsche, so anytime they make a die cast representation of that car I'm going to buy one, this case I picked up two, they were like 97 cents.

5) I did get this guy on eBay...

Okay I needed him, I really did, besides I used it in a post for another blog. That's right I finally did a post on the Batman The Animated Toys Blog. I usually do not try and buy stuff just to post, but I made and exception cause I got this one at such a low, low price something like 6 or 7 bucks with shipping, that was less than when they were sold in 1992.

6) This one I do not know if I should count, I found this figure for Mario at A Year of Toys, so I thought I would help a fellow collector and pick it up, I'm not counting it on my list.

So, okay I went off the list some, but I didn't spend at all what I spent last month and so far March is starting out to be a good month, plus I'll celebrate a birthday so with luck I will not have to buy my own toys this month!

Another Award!

So, not too long ago I received this award a few times.  I then awarded it to a list of blogs in groups of seven, since I received it four times that was a whopping 28 award floating out there.

Well my buddy James at A Piece of the Action re-awarded me so now I can send it to seven more blogs I enjoy. Thanks James for the award! This time I'm just going for pure enjoyment.

1) What My Dad Saw - What a great name for a blog, Brain B is the other half of Under the Giant Penny, but his main blog takes vintage photos from his Dad's camera and posts them for all to see. I guess it's a little bit voyeuristic, but even looking at these wonderful photos can spark your own memories.

2) My Star Trek Scrapbook - I know I've said this before but what a wonderful site. Whenever I need a look at some classic Star Trek nostalgia I head for the Scrapbook. I have never saved that much in the way of articles and ads from things I like, but I'm glad Frederick has, I could spend more time there than I should at lunch break.

3) Once Upon a Geek - Holy cow this is like a geek convention, there is so much different geek things to see here that it should be a convention. Another great place to kill your lunch hour.

4) Adventures in Nerdliness - Another nice selection of pop culture and general nerdy type stuff, plus he just had a contest where he gave away his Blue Snaggletooth. How freaking cool is that!

5) A Sampler of Things - Vintage everything and Mr. Toast, nuff said.

6) Springfield Punx - Sweet, sweet Simpsons goodness... Gaaaaaaaahhhhhh...

7) Cavalcade of Awesome - I just love the name of this blog, plus it doesn't hurt that it is full of awesome and ninjas and cool toys and, and...

Well, that's it congratulations and thanks for blogging on your bloggy blogs!

Lunch Time Fun

I miss having a comic shop close to work and buddies that want to go to comic shops at lunch time. Even if I was the only one buying comics it was still fun to talk superheroes at lunch time. Oh well.