For Those Days When All You Want Is A Relaxing Game Of Chess

As a kid, I used to love playing Chess. I remember learning the game in elementary school at about 8 years old from one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Chappy. Funny enough, it didn't take me long to learn the game and whenever I wasn't playing sports, reading comics or watching TV, I was playing chess. I loved playing it and beating my friends and cousin on a regular basis.

Nowadays, I'm not the good chess player I was as a lad. I haven't really played a game in several years except for the time I played with my young nephew. I know your supposed to let the kids win, but that's not how I learned to play and I wanted to pass that along to my then 6 year old nephew. Unfortunately, that did not go according to plan. One arm swipe and the game was over. I haven't played a game since.

I never really considered collecting chess pieces at all, but that was before I started watching my good friend, Stew Murray's Superman videos on his YouTube channel. He has some very nice Superman Eaglemoss Superman related chess pieces in his collection. I liked them so much that I decided if Eaglemoss ever made a Spider-Man piece, it would be in my collection at some point.

Look what I found today:

I happened to find this at a comic book shop I shop at in Scarsdale, NY called Alternate Realities. There was a table with a ton of nice stuff and this beauty just happened to have been front and center. Of course, resistance was futile and I snatched this piece up to add to my collection.

The chess piece came with a magazine and a pamphlet, which is shown in the picture above. It pretty much gives you a run down of what pieces Marvel will have to offer at some point as well as gives you a description of what you can expect to see in the magazine.

Although I'm only interested in just the Spider-Man related pieces, there are some nice pieces in the Marvel collection. I'm really digging that Red Skull piece. I bet the detail in that sculpt is incredible.

Here are the pieces that will be released. First, the White Team (The Heroes).

And The Black Team (The Villains)

On the villain side, I will be picking up Venom, Lizard, Electro, Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus for the collection. Those Mandarin and Loki chess pieces look great though.

I am looking forward to reading the magazine. The magazine has a profile about Spidey as well as a poster of the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #40. It also has a section to teach you the game of chess as well as gives you some key phrases used in the game and the meaning behind them. The magazine even lists three key Spider-Man stories as well as strategy on beating Doc Ock.

The fact that the magazine uses the actual art from the comic books is a huge bonus for me. I could look at Spidey drawn by John Romita Sr., Steve Ditko and Todd McFarlane all day long, every day.

And here is the chess piece. I have to say I am quite impressed with it. These pieces are hand sculpted and painted so there is very little room for error when creating these pieces. I have seen some videos where there were some paint issues on them, but I can honestly say there wasn't any flaws on my piece. I was actually pretty worried about that, but was able to breathe a sigh of relief when I opened the package and saw that there was none to be found.

Take a look at that sculpting. I really think Eaglemoss and it's sculptors and painters did a fantastic job with this piece. Maybe they could have painted in the web-lines on his suit, but it's not that much of a big deal to me. Not big enough to detract how awesome a piece this is. The spider symbol on his chest s sculpted on. It's not painted on and I think that's awesome. It shows how much effort was made to make this a pretty quality chess piece.

The piece is made of metallic resin, so there is a bit of weight to him. He's not too heavy, you can easily feel that the weight is on the base of the piece. Still, I would try my best not to drop this piece as I don't know how sturdy it really is.

Here is a back view of Spider-Man. I love the black wash that's in the blue. Little things like that are what I am really digging on with this piece. The spider symbol on the back is not sculpted on. It seems to me that it was painted around, creating the symbol on his back. Am I making sense? Spidey Sense? No? Perhaps?

The base of each piece gives you the symbol of the chess piece it's representing on the chess board. In this case, Spidey will be one of the Knights on the chess board. The other Knight will be Wolverine.

Under, the base is lined with a felt material. This is to give the piece a better grip on whatever surface it's on. Or so I'm guessing. There also a number assigned to each piece. Not sure if the numbering means anything other what number piece you have off the production line. I really have to find out if these pieces are numbered to a certain amount and will cease being in production once it reaches that number.

Once again, I am thrilled to add a new and unique piece to my Spider-Man collection. Maybe if I start playing again, I will get a set just for play. Even if I don't, this piece is going to look insane on my shelf with my other Spider-Man items. I can't wait to hunt down the villains to add as well. Again, I never thought I would want to pick this up, but I'm glad I did. Having an open mind to certain things can really diversify a collection and really make it stand out.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I just downloaded a chess game to play on my tablet and I'm going to kick some computer tail. What, checkmate? Already? Damn!

I May Be Biased, But This Is An Awesome Bobblehead.

Yeah, I may be a bit Spider-Man crazy these days. Everything I've bought has been Spider-Man related. From figures to comics to statues to cups, I have been on the hunt for anything that has the Web Head's face plastered all over it. Must have something to do with the movie that was just released. Yes, I did see it and yes, I loved it. I won't say anything in case anyone who's reading this hasn't seen it. I will say that I strongly feel that this is the best Spider-Man movie period. Was it perfect? No, but the positives far out weigh the negatives. I will be seeing it again.

So, I'm sure by now you guys are wondering what bobblehead I bought. If you guessed it is Spider-Man related, your a winner of a No Prize.

A few months back I showed a preview picture of a Spider-Man bobblehead that NECA was releasing in April. I had seen it in the stores, but always left it behind. This past Friday, I couldn't resist it any longer. Plus, the price was better than I had seen in other stores and finally picked it up.

I love the box the bobblehead comes in. You have a classic John Romita-ish Spider-Man drawing in the upper left hand corner with a huge picture of the bobblehead your getting. This box is not in the greatest shape. Stupid me for not noticing it until I got home. I guess I was just too giddy about picking this up.

Look at how cool this bobblehead is. Classic Spidey pose, low to the ground. His left hand looks like it's getting ready to spin a web. I love how the sculpting looks vintage 1970's Spider-Man. This is just a great looking bobblehead.

The back looks great in the classic red and blue colors of the Wall Crawler. Love that big red spider on the back of his costume. I almost bought a t-shirt in this color blue with the red spider in front on the chest. Very cool shirt. I will pick it up eventually. The base may look dusty, but I'm guessing its from the packaging. This bobblehead is packaged inside styrofoam that covers the bobblehead from both sides. That was one snug bug.

Nothing great on the bottom of the base. Just the Marvel and NECA logos as well as their website addresses. Also, Spidey was made in China.

I think this bobblehead might be one of the best Spider-Man bobbles produced. NECA did a fantastic job with this one. This was not the only one in this line. I have seen Iron Man and Thor on the shelves of my local comic book shops and they also look fantastic. But for my money, and again maybe I am biased, but the Spider-Man bobble is the best of the three and it may be the best looking Spider-Man bobblehead ever made. This one is going to look great on the shelf.

I Don't Only Collect Sports Bobbleheads

Over the past few years, Funko has become one my favorite companies. It's well documented on this blog my love for the Pop Vinyl line. In my opinion, they are one of the funnest lines to collect. But that is not the only line that Funko produces that I have become a huge fan of.

Before there was Pop, there was Wacky Wobblers. These are bobbleheads that, much like POP, are made of just about any character or famous person you can think of. I was introduced to them when my buddy gave me a set of Monkees Wacky Wobblers for my birthday one year. I was floored by the set and I have them on display in my bobblehead 3 shelf bookcase. Although I cherished them and was impressed by the likeness on the bobbles, those were the only Wacky Wobblers I owned for quite a while.

Then a couple of years ago, My buddy, George and I went into a Big Lots store up in Poughkeepsie that we go to every now and then. We went into the toy aisle and I found these bad boys.

I was ecstatic, to say the least. I had wanted to grab some of these when they were first released, but held off on picking any up. Now, I see a whole shelf of them and they were only 5 bucks a piece. I had a hard time deciding and had to leave Wolverine and Vision behind, but I am happy with the ones I did pick up.

Of the four, I definitely would say that Captain America is my favorite. I love that this bobble is sculpted to look like he just came out of the comics. Captain America is in my top 5 favorite heroes, so picking this up was a no brainer for me.

This one is also going to be the one that I may actually keep in it's box. I love the Jack Kirby style art that is all over the box as well as the iconic lettering.  I doubt I will be getting rid of this box anytime soon.

I loved the Incredible Hulk. I loved that Edward Norton tried to capture the style of the 1970's T.V. series, right down to the equipment that Banner used when he was exposed to the gamma rays. It's a shame he and Marvel had a falling out and he didn't do the Avengers. Then again, if Norton is in it then we get no Ruffalo and Ruffalo was awesome as Banner/The Hulk.

The only thing I would have done differently was make The Hulk a lighter shade of green, like in the comic books. He has that Philadelphia Eagles green going and I'm not sure I'm a fan of it.

Of course, I had to get Iron Man when I saw him. These two Wacky Wobblers are from the first movie, so I was pleased that I could get them at such a good price.

I love this Mark I Wacky Wobbler. I snatched this as soon as I saw it on the shelf.

And let's take a look at them out of their boxes.

These maybe made of plastic, but I would say that they are pretty bad ass nonetheless. I think I actually like the Mark I Wobbler a little better than his Mark IV brother. I'm almost sure this is the Mark IV suit.

Nice detailing on the back.

Wow, Cap looks even better out of the box than I thought. I do wish Hulk was a bit bigger, but what are you going to do?

I actually forgot that Cap had a star on his back as well. It almost looks like Cap has got the height advantage over Hulk. Just slightly though.

I had them in their boxes ever since I bought them and they look even better out of the box than I thought. These maybe made of plastic, but Funko didn't skimp on the attention to detail when they made these Wobblers. From the chain mail on Captain America's costume to the screws in the back of the Mark I Iron Man, I think Funko did a heck of a job on these. The paint, which has been an issue with the more recent Funko releases, is flawless on these figures. If I was in charge, I would put these in front of the painters as an example of how to produce a great paint job on Wobblers.

There are a few more Wacky Wobblers I need to pick up. The Spider-Man Wacky Wobbler has been on my must have list for quite a while and I think I will be crossing it off my list sooner than later. What I love about Funko is they give you options of other cool items to add to your collection. Be it bobbleheads or Pop Vinyls or even blind box Mystery Minis, you really can't go wrong when you add a Funko product into your collection.

Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo

About a week ago, I went back to visit my girlfriend who lives in Los Angeles County. It was a trip I was looking forward to because I missed her terribly and I wanted to spend a lot of time with her and her awesome daughter, Mariah. While I was there, I got to meet her family and go Trick or Treating with them, went to see the Last Vegas (very funny movie), watched the Jets game in a Raiders bar, eat like a pig and, oh yeah, attend Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo.

The Expo was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which is right across the street from the Staples Center. I think this was the first Comikaze Expo and I have to tell you, I really enjoyed myself at the show. There was everything you could imagine at this convention. Toys, comics, apparel, artists, actors, musicians, wrestlers, cos players, movie props, games, memorabilia and yes, Stan Lee was there, although the closest I got to Stan The Man was when he took the stage to say hi and I was very far back  and couldn't get a good picture of him.

Why yes, I did take pictures while I was there. Want to see?

I am curious as to why an Octopus was included in the logo for the Expo.

That's Mariah looking at me like, what are you doing?

We arrived around 11 am Saturday morning and the place was packed.

There were some Hollywood cars making appearances.

And I managed to squeeze a pic of me in front of my two favorites

My Marla Hooch shot

R2-D2 was there as well. I asked him for an autograph and he just screamed at me. Arrogant droid.

Actually, some guy made a couple R2's and had them running around the Expo floor. He did a great job on them. Loos like the authentic droid from the movie.

The last thing I saw before passing out from being choked.

While walking around, I passed by a certain Dark Knight who was admiring the swag I was wearing. After arguing who was the real Batman (I'm Batman), we called a truce and posed for a picture.

Marvel Studios had some displays up at the Expo

You know, Chitari's look so much shorter in The Avengers.

Watching this artist create this piece was awesome. Makes me wish I had talent like this. I'd exploit it.

Mattel had some figures on display in it's booth.

Ghostbusters

DC

I'm not sure about these bears. But, if it's Batman, I will usually pick it up.

I lied. This was the closest I got to Stan Lee while I was there.

Rob...Van...Dam!

Weird Al Yankovic

Lou Ferigno was there as well and I was dying to meet him, but I really didn't want to pay the $40.00 he was charging. I am regretting it now. I hope to rectify that mistake one day.

An artist made these figures and had them on display. If you said the Spider-Man was my favorite, you would actually be wrong.

This Gene Simmons was my favorite. God Of Thunder and Rock N Rolllll!

I managed to take some pictures with a couple of displays

I managed to make it out of Comikaze with a couple of goodies

The Batman Bendie figure and the Detective Comics Batman Sketch done by Ivan Fuentes were gifts from my girlfriend. I picked up the Funko Pop Peter Parker Comikaze Exclusive. The 1966 Batman t-shirt was picked up at Target and the Batman watch was grabbed at Journey's, also gifts from my girlfriend. I grabbed the Funko Pop Blackest Night Batman Hot Topic Exclusive. I will do reviews on most of the goodies you see in the pictures.

When I left Comikaze, I came away with a couple of more important things. One, I really need to lose some weight. two, and most important was I was able to take my girlfriend's daughter to her very first comic con and she loved every minute of it.

We saw an adorable little girl dressed as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Mariah had to take a picture with her. I got to spend a lot of time with Mariah on this trip and I discovered that she is such an intelligent young woman who I loved being around. I am just so glad I was able to take her to her first, and hopefully not her last comic con.

That smile is worth more to me than anything I could have bought at the Expo. It's a smile that says she will be back. I think I may have started her on the road to true geekdom. YES!

Plus, I got to go home with these two beautiful ladies