Wacky Pack Erasers

As a kid I wasn't into baseball cards like most of my friends. I didn't get into collecting those until I was about 12. But I feel in love with 2 non-sport card series. First there was Garbage Pail Kids. I loved those stickers so much. And had at least 300 when I was younger. The other series was Wacky Packs. At a out of the way Mom and Pop corner store I found an old box of Wacky Packs. I bought as many packs as I could afford. But once all the packs in that box where gone I didn't see anymore Wacky Packs.

Fast forward to 2003.Topps had brought back Garbage Pail Kids. And I was buying the so called Bonus Boxes at Target each payday. And one of them included a few promo cards for the upcoming revival of Wacky Packs. Sadly I never saw the packs of Wacky Packs.

Fast forward again,this time to 2013. I was in Dollar Tree,about to check out when I saw a box of what I assumed was packs of trading cards. I noticed the familiar Topps logo then saw WACKY PACKS!! I looked closer and these were not stickers,they were novelty erasers. I grabbed 10 packs. And once I was in my car opened them up. Each pack had 3 erasers. 3 stickers of the erasers you got in the pack. Plus a tiny guide letting you know the rarity of each eraser.

3 days later I went back to Dollar Tree planning on buying more of them,and they were gone. Oh well. Then last week I was on Dollar Tree,grabbing batteries and seeing what books they had in. When I saw a box of Wacky Pack erasers. These are from a new series. I grabbed the 4 packs they had. And ended up with 10 erasers plus 2 extras. So here are the ones I got.

Yep instead of Pringles this is Prickles. And they are Thorny flavored.

Caveman Wich with sloppy dino sauce.

                                                          Dead Bull no energy drink

 Geek Giant dorky pea-wees. I do wish this had a parody of Lil Sprout on it.

 Sneez-its,A good example of the gross out humor common on Wacky Packs.

                     Zit Kat,a beef coated wafer for Cats. I figured they would go the gross out route here.

Jelly Bully,I really love the art on this one. 

Frosted Snakes,after having a run in with a king snake the other night I agree with Tony the tiger.

Boreo cookies,LOL I have always found Oreos a boring cookie. So this parody works for me.

And I saved the best for last. Just for Wolfman Shampoo-In Scare Color.Had someone tell me they were buying some of this for me. "Cause you are hairy like a wolf and got some grey showing."

So how is the quality? Well I haven't tried erasing anything with them yet. You would have to rip the labels off to do that. The labels are fairly heavy stock coated paper. I have no idea what these Wacky Pack Erasers normally cost. But $1 for 3 erasers and 3 stickers is a good deal to me. I got about 15 more that when I find them I will do a feature on them.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 068 1984

TITLE-1984
AUTHOR-George Orwell
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Nope
PRICE-$1

I will assume that most of yall reading this know what this book is about. So not going to bother with a half ass plot synopsis.

I first became aware of this classic when I was 8. One of my older cousins was in a local production of 1984. We went to see him,and the next day while at the library I checked out the book. Over the course of the next week I read the book. And really enjoyed it.

So years later I had started AP English,which was basically a literature class. And the first book we got assigned was 1984. Ever 3 weeks we got assigned a book. Along with the book the teacher gave you a packet of questions. With a page full of questions for each chapter. Quickly someone in the class discovered the questions were copied word for word out of Cliff's Notes. Wait do Cliff's Notes still exist? Anyway once word got out about how the teacher had stolen the questions out of Cliff's Notes every one ended up buying Cliff's Notes and not bothering to read the book. Since I had already read it before and really liked it I went ahead and re-read the book.

The teacher also had taken the time to not only get a copy of the film adaptation from 1984,but also edited out all the nudity and foul language. Yeah cause you don't want a group of 15 year olds seeing or hearing that vulgar stuff :P We watched it in class and because huge chunks of the film were missing every one else had no clue what was happening.

Well at the end of the 3 weeks we took a test on the book. With a bonus question worth 20 points. The teacher wanted us to convert the Declaration of independence into the new English of the novel. I watched as everyone else in the class spend almost the entire period trying to convert it over. I remembered that in my copy of the novel in the afterword the writer mentioned that the Declaration of Independence would translate into two words "Thought Crime". So while everyone else wrote paragraphs ,I wrote two words and made 120 on the test.

But yeah if you haven't read this book,and I am shocked when I meet people that didn't have to read this in either high school or college,go get a copy. Hell I am pretty sure it is in the public domain,so you should be able to find an e-book copy for free.

1984 gets a 4.86 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 067 Project Superpowers volume 01

TITLE-Project Superpowers volume 1
AUTHOR-Alex Ross and Jim Krueger
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$7.50

I remember first hearing about this mini series in early 2008. I have always liked the Golden Age public domain heroes. With Malibu's Protectors being one of my favorite series. So when I found out Alex Ross was doing a mini series at Dynamite that was reviving lots of PD Golden Age heroes I had to read it.

I managed to grab issues 0 thru 7 out of the cheap bins at the comic shop on the coast I was going to a few times a year. The owner and I ended up chatting about the Black Terror and the Golden Age Daredevil for a long time that day.

Then a few years later the Science Fiction Book Club was having a big sale. I went to see what they had on clearance and they had the trade reprinting the first mini series for cheap. I gave away my copies of the issues. Cause everything in them is reprinted in this trade.

So what is the story? Starting in WWII the Fighting Yank is going around and trapping the various heroes into Pandora's box,which is a urn actually. By doing this he is told it will cause all the evil in the world to also return to the box.

Then in modern day he realizes he was duped. So with help from the Green Lama,he breaks the urn and all the heroes return. But cause of their time in the urn they have changed.

The main thrust of the story is these now free heroes dealing with not only being betrayed by one of their own,but dealing with how different the world is now.And by the end of the mini series they have taken control of New York City.

I ended up re-reading this because finally after a few years of nothing Dynamite has a new Project Superpowers series on the stands. Written by Warren Ellis,and up to it's 3rd issue. I wanted to refresh my memory on this series before starting the new stuff.

Project Superpowers volume 1 gets a 3.99 outta 5.

3 Toys from the Junkbox 6/12/2015 edition

Doing a theme this time. It is all Superhero teams. And everything is from the same toyline. Back in the mid 2000s the Marvel Superhero Squad line of mini figures started. About the size of the Smurf PVCs every kid in the 80s owned,these have a bit of articulation. And were normally sold in packs of two. My local Walmart started putting them all on clearance back in 2008.I bought piles of them.

Fantastic Four (Mr Fantastic,Invisible Woman,Human Torch and The Thing) vs Doctor Doom

It is hard to tell in the photo,but Sue Storm's feet and lower legs are see thru. And Torch is floating on a ball of fire.The sculpting on the four heroes is great. I do wish the Thing figure was a bit taller.Dr Doom ,besides the almost smile,is impressive. The details on his armor are well done. I must own 30 Superhero Squad figures.With only two of them being villains. Dr Doom and Super Skrull,I wish I had put Super Skrull in this pic.

 The Avengers (Ant Man/Hank Pym,Wasp,Captain America/Steve Rogers,Hawkeye and Vision)

This team I didn't start off buying figures to make it. Ant Man came with another figure I needed. Pretty sure Cap and Hawkeye came in the same pack. Grabbed a Avengers boxed set that had Vision in it. That boxed set came with another Captain America. Where his shield is on his back.That version is on the dash of the Newt-mobile.I like how every figure I got in this team are all long time Avengers.

Defenders (Silver Surfer,Dr Strange,Namor and The Hulk)

Yep the original Defenders line up. The Defenders are my favorite Marvel team. And to not only be able to get all the original members,but to get a Namor in the outfit he wore in the early Defenders tales is amazing.Dr Strange was the first Superhero Squad figure I got. Huge fan of him,and he was packed with Ant Man.I am kind of pleasantly surprised and pleased that they used Namor's short lived 70s outfit.Sadly Surfer has no articulation at all. It doesn't matter I got the original Defenders. All I need now is a Valkyrie,Nighthawk and Son of Satan Superhero Squad figures to boost the membership of this team.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 066 Stolen Hearts volume 01

TITLE-Stolen Hearts volume 01
AUTHOR-Miku Sakamoto
FORMAT-Trade paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-$1

I grabbed this in a lot of comics last month. Flipped thru it and saw it is a romantic/comedy aimed at teens. So kind of  put off reading it.

Our lead is the girl on the cover in the red kimono.Who ends up dating the tall guy on the cover. And of course the guy has no clue she has any interest in him. Just like she doesn't realize the same thing.Every trope of romantic comedies is here. Plus way more info than I ever needed on kimonos.

Yeah I get I am not the target audience for this. And while the story didn't appeal to me,the art is decent.

Stolen Hearts volume 01 gets a 1.96 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 065 The Marvel Encyclopedia

TITLE-Marvel Encyclopedia
AUTHOR-Various
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-X-mas Gift

Back almost a decade ago I got this along with the DC Encyclopedia for X-mas. If you remember the old Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series,this is a mass market version of that.

From what I remember,I really haven't read much from Marvel since the late 90s,it seems to be fairly accurate.And most of the time the artwork is pretty good.The selection of heroes is well done. You get all the big names,plus a decent amount of lesser known heroes.

I think there is a newer version out now. So finding this one cheap shouldn't be hard.

The Marvel Encyclopedia gets 4.11 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 064 King of the Ring the Harley Race Story

TITLE-King of the Ring The Harley Race Story
AUTHOR-Harley Race and Gary Tritz
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-$5

Until the mid to late 90s I had seen more of Harley's work in WWF than his NWA stuff. I knew of his legacy. But just hadn't seen lots of his classic matches.

Now after reading this fairly short book,I think it was around 300 pages,I have started tracking down as much of Mr Race's pre-WWF work.

The book follows the standard biography path that Jericho,Foley and yes even Chyna have done before this book.Starting off with Harley being a child. And moving forward.The tales of him working the carnival circuit are my favorites.

What I do wonder is how entertaining would this be for someone that knows next to nothing about Harley and what all he did in pro wrestling? Might end up trying to get my uncle to read this and see what his thoughts are.

King of the Ring The Harley Race Story gets a 4.00 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 063 Mammoth book of Best Horror Comics

TITLE-Mammoth book of Best Horror comics
AUTHOR-Various
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$7.63

This collection of 50 or so horror comics is something I was always seeing at various bookstores. But I wasn't willing to spend cover price for it. Then a few years back was given an Amazon giftcard for my birthday. Was looking around and saw used copies of this were cheap.

Covering from the 1940s to current day,this collection does a good job of selecting some well done stories. Of course there is no EC stuff,nothing from Marvel or DC. And I don't remember anything from the Warren Mags.That really doesn't matter. Cause the editor Peter Normanjon did a good job selecting the best from what was available.

You get a few page essay on the various time periods. The first covering the 40s and 50s aka the pre-code days. A few of the tales in this collection I had read before. Mostly because I have bought many colletions of pre-code horror comics.The 60s and 70s section has a neat sampling of a few code approved tales. Then some fun stories from the non-Warren horror mags.The 80s,90s,modern day stuff is all indy comics. And some really really good stuff in that section.

Really since this is easy to find cheap it is worth grabbing. But there are 2 things that might cause someone to not want it. First off everything is reprinted in b/w. It looks good. But I know some people do not like b/w reprints of color comics. The other is the binding isn't the best. Unless you are careful I could see this trade one day coming apart.

Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics gets a 4.59 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 062 Brody the triumph and tragedy of wrestling's rebel

TITLE-Brody the triumph and tragedy of wrestling's rebel
AUTHOR-Larry Matysik and Barbara Goodish
FORMAT-oversized trade paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-$5

Grabbed this off the gimmick table at the last Powerslam Productions show I was at. Growing up I heard about Brody for years. Mostly thru all the Apter mags. But I rarely got to see him wrestle. Once I got into tape trading the first things I looked for was comps of Brody.

The book takes an interesting way of telling the story. Every other chapter is written by Brody's wife. And honestly the chapters she writes aren't that good. The first few from her are about her life before meeting Brody,and really I had no interest in this part of her life. The later chapters are a bit better. They focus more on Brody outside wrestling.

The chapters written by Larry are great. And gives lots of insight into Brody.Like why he was the way he was. And why he had developed the rep of being a pain in the ass for promoters.

I would have liked more info on his final run in Puerto Rico. And his death. But what little is in the book is stuff I already knew.

The book has made me want to see more Brody matches. So I guess it has accomplished what it should. But I feel with some changes this could have been a much better book.

Brody the triumph and tragedy of wrestling's rebel gets a 3.37 outta 5.

3 Toys from the Junk Box 05/29/2015

Back with more random toys from the infamous junk box.

I loved the Simpsons. But around 2005 I quit watching.Mostly cause it felt like something was missing from the show. But recently thanks to FXX showing hours of the show each day I have been catching up. And one of my favorite side characters is Comic Book Guy.

I have been going to comic shops since I was fairly young. And sadly Comic Book Guy isn't just an creation of the show. I have met many many Comic Book Guys running various comic shops. With David Sincere of Sincere Comics,two stores one in Mobile AL and one in Florida,being the best example of a real life CBG. Many times I watched him insult the customers to their faces.

Back in 2008 I went to a yard sale that covered a huge rich ass suburb of Jackson. Pretty sure it was in Ridgeland. I wandered into one garage. The owner asked what I was looking for. I told him the various things I collect,IE Pez,toys,comics and DVDS. I had on my very old Krusty the clown shirt. "Oh give me a minute I bet I got a toy you will love." he went into his home and came back out with CBG and the Androids Dungeon Playset. And CBG even still had the half eaten hamburger. Which I have lost.

The figure has articulation at the gut,shoulders and neck. And the paint job while basic does the job. The playset is great. It really looks like a miniature version of many comic shops. And it makes sounds. There are 3 buttons. When pressed and there is no figure on the marked spots each button just makes a cash register sound. But if you have a figure on the special spots you get different phrases based on who is on the spot. Now the only Simpsons figure I have is CBG. But one day I plan on grabbing a few more.

For the 10 people that read it the Android Dungeon playset became Lord Fanboy's Funhouse in my Pezzville web comic. Maybe if people ask nicely I might bring that web comic back :P

As a young kid,like most males in the states,I loved Hot Wheels and Matchbox diecast cars.They were the perfect toy when I was 7 and under.They are cheap. Hard to break. And small enough I could put a few in my pocket,lunchbox or book bag. But once I was about 8 or so I stopped getting them. Action figures and video games took over for Hot Wheels.

Then 3 years ago I had gotten a huge amount of pre-record VHS tapes. A friend that collects VHS was wanting a bunch of them. And told me he had some wrestling themed Hot Wheels. So I got him to take pictures.

What he had was 2 of the Racing Champions line of WCW themed hot rods.Back in the mid to late 90s when WCW was blazing hot they signed a deal with Racing Champions. Which is a group  that was just breaking into the diecast toy car market. With most of their stuff being based on legit race cars.

The WCW cars each came with a base that included a cardboard backing that was a picture of the wrestler. I know quite a few of the readers of my blog are wrestling fans. But I bet lots of them do not remember High Voltage. They were a tag team of two guys that got trained at the infamous WCW Power Plant training facility. They were two big muscled up guys who rarely won a match. For some unknown reason I was a big fan of them. And as far as I know this is the only piece of merchandise they got. And this is one of the 4 diecast toy cars I own now.

This is a Tech Deck Star Wars Darth Vader skateboard along with a Vader themed quarter pipe.These tiny fingerboards have always been interesting to me. Not that I could do any tricks on them. Hell I can barely ride a real skateboard without falling off.

As a kid I was a HUGE Star Wars fan.Owning close to all of the original Kenner released action figures. And lots of other Star Wars themed toys. And as a kid I so wanted to learn how to skate. While most kids in my neighborhood wanted to play football,baseball or basketball. I was wanting to go skating. Which was hard to do when every road was either dirt or so poorly paved it felt like you were riding over a washboard.

Back in the start of the year I was making my monthly visit to Dirt Cheap.I had seen this set there before. But they were only giving 50% off the original price of $20. Way more than I wanted to pay. Now it was 80% off the new sticker price of $15. I grabbed it thinking I would hold onto it and give it to my younger cousin for his birthday in June. Then when  a few weeks ago I made a trip down to go visit him and his family I found  out the only toys he wants to play with now is Legos. So once I got home I opened it up and started playing with it.

Sadly my above pictures aren't the best.  The picture of the ramp doesn't show off how good the graphetti style Vader picture looks. It really looks like some one came by with a stencil and a can of red spray paint and tagged the ramp. The skateboard looks even better. You get the old school Star Wars logo at the top. Then the rest of the board has a great full length portrait of Vader.

Well people I hope you enjoyed this trip into the junk box.