Mail Day From Cool And Collected.

It would have been so cool if Spidey had delivered my package. Cool and appropriate.

Ever since I've been out of work, I had to pick and choose what I really wanted to collect. When I was working, I was picking up Batman, Iron Man, Luke Skywalker, KISS, Beatles and anything else I was into. But not having that much spending money has caused me to step back and figure out what I really want to collect. Out went KISS. Bye bye, Iron Man. I still pick up Batman and Luke Skywalker, but that too has slowed down considerably. I've really been concentrating on Spider-Man related items and I haven't looked back. I may have added more Spider-Man stuff to my collection than when I was working.

Brian over at coolandcollected.com was looking to clear out some of his collection. I picked out some affordable Spider-Man related items and we made the deal. The package arrived the other day and when I opened it I was astonished at what was inside.

Wow. The deal was originally for the black suited Spider-Man, Electro, Doc Ock and the Spidey mask, but Brian, generously, added a bunch of Spider-Man related goodies to the package.

Brian added these Venom and Hobgoblin vehicles that were part of the McDonald's Spider-Man Happy Meals in the 90's that coincided with the T.V. show. I think I had Venom at one point, but never Hobgoblin. I am very glad to have both in the collection.

Brian also added a Spider-Man Pez dispenser that I didn't have already, as well as two items I've never really seen before. I'm guessing the disc might have been part of a game. Venom is awesome. He maybe tiny, but I wouldn't mess with him too much. He is going to go great in my Venom part of the Spider-Man collection.

The Electro and Doc Ock figures were part of the deal with Brian, but he also threw in the Spider-Man Green Goblin figure. Electro has holes in his hands for bolts of electricity, I'm guessing. Doc Ock is from the fantastic Spectacular Spider-Man TV show. That show should have had a longer run, but Sony pulled it for the current Ultimate Spider-Man show. I enjoy it, but not as much as I did Spectacular.

Not familiar with these two Spider-Man figures. I do know that the figure on the left was on a motorcycle at some point. The one one the right, no clue, but I like it a lot.

I grabbed the mask because I wanted to pair it with my vintage Ben Cooper Spider-Man mask. At some point, I'd like to have a collection of different Spider-Man masks.

I even got a copy of the Cool and Collected magazine. This was a treat as I really wanted to read this. I had issues with my downloaded copy and was unable to read it. Now I have the magazine and I cannot wait to open this up and enjoy the articles inside.

I really hope there will be a second issue. A magazine like this one is something the hobby sorely needs.

Finally, there's this guy. I actually thought this was a 6 inch figure and I was afraid I had it already. Then I took it out the package and realized I did not have this. This is the 12 inch black suit Spider-Man from te Spider-Man Classics line. I have been looking for this figure for a long time for a decent price and now, thanks to Brian, I can add it to my Spider-Man collection. Now, I need to find the red and blue suit Spidey.

I love the sculpt and paint job on this figure. A wonderful pick up, if I do say so myself.

Now that I am starting a new job and I'll have some disposable income, I don't think I will be changing things. I think I will continue to build my Spider-Man collection. Sure, I will still pick up a Batman item here (especially 1966 Batman), a Luke Skywalker there, but it's just mainly going Spider-Man for me going forward.

What will I do with some of the non Spider-Man items I have? I'm not sure just yet. I may post pictures up here and sell them or trade them for more Spider-Man related stuff. I'll post pictures if I decide to to that. Either way, Spider-Man will be front and center in my collecting universe from here on end. I can't wait to hunt for more pieces.

Thank you Brian. Go and check out coolandcollected.com if you haven't already done so. Go, go now!

Spidey, You Can Drive My Car...

Yes, I threw in some Beatles for the title of this blog, with a bit of a change of the lyrics to "Drive My Car", which was off the magnificent album, "Rubber Soul". Maybe I should have added the Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah to it.

Yes, even Spider-Man had a car. It was the idea of Corona Motors who had built a non polluting car engine. They hired an advertising firm to convince Spider-Man to build a Spider-Mobile. At first, Spidey turned down the idea, but needing money for rent and food, agreed to driving it around, even though he doesn't have a drivers license. So, Spider-Man and Johnny Storm built the Spider-Mobile and Spider-Man used it to capture Hammerhead's thugs with it. But soon after, he was tricked into driving it into the river by Mysterio. But Corona Motors wanted the car back, but Spider-Man couldn't find the car in the river. It resurfaced soon after, modified by the Tinkerer, going after Spider-Man. Spidey was able to subdue the car and return it to the advertising firm, in less than perfect shape.

Now, I am not a car person. I do have my drivers license, but I have never owned a vehicle. I don't know a muffler from a transmission or a Ford from a Chrysler. I never actively collected Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars. As a kid, I had a few, but they became contestants in my daily smash em' up derby. I do have a few Batmobiles, a couple of Monkeemobiles and Deloreans but that's about the extent of my car collecting.

Yesterday, my buddy George and I were hanging out in Fishkill, NY and wandered in to the Walmart. I was looking for a Spider-Man tank top that I had seen earlier in the year and cannot find in my size anymore (Note to self: When you see something you like, BUY IT!). Well, I couldn't find the tank top in my size, but I did find these.

Again, I really don't buy cars, but when I saw these, I knew I had to have them. Why? For starters, the art on the cards are fantastic and the 97 cents price point was the deal maker for me. There were six different cars on the pegs, but I chose these four for my Spider-Man collection.

Cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 is a must pick up.

One of my all time favorite Amazing Spider-Man covers, the John Romita drawn Amazing Spider-Man #39.

I may be in the minority, but I love the Iron Spider costume. I think that is a bad ass look for Spider-Man.

Who doesn't love Venom? I do.

I bought these more for the art on the cards than the for the cars themselves, so I want to try to keep the cards in as mint condition as I can. Then, when I finally have my Spider-Man display up, I will have to figure out how to display them on the shelf. Maybe I will buy those cases that car enthusiasts put their on card Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars in.

This set has 8 cars in it, so the next time I am in Walmart or Target, I will be looking to pick up the other 4 cars. I never thought I would be wanting to add cars to my Spider-Man collection, but here I am. Now, if someone could only make a comic accurate Spider-Mobile, that would be appreciated. I think.

Here Are Some Things I'd Like To See In Amazing Spider-Man 3

OK, we have gotten to see some real cool things in both Spider-Man movie franchises. I mean, first and foremost, we got to see Spider-Man on the big screen after being in development hell since the 1980's when first Cannon bought the rights and did nothing with them (and if you knew what they were planning, you would be glad we never got to see it.) and then James Cameron was going to make a Spider-Man movie with Leonardo DeCaprio and that never got made either. By the way, if you hated the organic web shooters from the Rami pictures, blame Cameron. It was his idea. Then again, this is the same man who unleased Titanic onto the world.

So, as much as I throw crap at Sam Rami for the God awful Spider-Man 3, I have to also give him credit for the first 2 movies, which I thought were great. We finally got to see characters like Peter Parker, Aunt May, Green Goblin (Mighty Morphin Goblin, actually), Doc Ock, Harry Osborne and Mary Jane, among other characters from the  Spider-Man universe which made Sony a ton of money and the new Marc Webb Amazing Spider-Man movies have done the same. Plus, we finally get a great Spider-Man (sorry, Andrew Garfield is a much better Peter Parker/Spider-Man than Toby McGuire) with web shooters, we get to see Gwen Stacy, Lizard,  Rhino and Shocker which we haven't seen on the big screen before.

Now, while we have seen all these awesome characters and story lines, there are a few things we haven't see just yet and I am hoping we see these sometime in future movies, maybe even as soon as the third movie.

Spider Tracers

Wayyyyy back in issue 11 of the Amazing Spider-Man, Peter developed these small electronic tracers to keep tabs on Doctor Octopus after he escapes from prison. These tracers were made to look like a spider and were small enough to remain unnoticed by whomever Peter or Spider-Man placed it on. Sometimes he will place it on them by hand, other times he uses a launching device in his web shooters for longer range and accuracy. He also used to use a tracker to locate the tracer, but now the tracer's signal is strong enough that Peter can follow it by using his Spider Sense.  

This is something I would love to see in Amazing Spider-man 3. It would showcase Peter's brilliance a bit more and I just think it would be pretty cool to see on the big screen.

Hey, it made an appearance on the 1970's TV series. It needs to be in a movie.

Why Hasn't Spider-Man Run Out Of Web Fluid?

I remember finding myself defending the organic web shooters from the Sam Rami movies. At the time, Spider-Man was evolving in the comics, doing more spider like things and I thought it made all the sense in the world that he would one day actually be able to shoot webs from his wrists. So, it wasn't a huge problem for me when he didn't have web shooters in the Rami movies.

But, I loved that the web shooters made it's triumphant return in the Amazing Spider-Man and I absolutely loved how they handled the making of them as well as how they look. Great job in bringing them to life.

So why haven't we seen what would happen if Spidey ran out of web fluid? I mean, in the course of the 2 movies, we have seen them not work under water, Lizard destroy them and a couple of other things happen in Amazing Spider-Man 2 that I don't want to give away. But he has yet to be in a situation where Spider-Man is in dire need of them, but runs out at the worst possible moment. Yeah, they touched on it in Spider-Man 2, but I am talking about during a fight scene or something like that. Let's take the plunge Marvel and put Spidey in that situation.

Spider Utility Belt

Yes, Batman has a utility belt that is much cooler than Spider-Man's, but I still want to see it in the movies. He can carry extra web fluid capsules on it as well as a miniature camera for pictures, just like in the comic books. And hey, just for 1960's kitsch, why not bring in the Spider Signal which he used to make a dramatic appearance with as well. I think that would be awesome.

How About More Characters?

One of the coolest things about Spider-Man that sets him apart from other superheroes, is his supporting cast and rouges gallery of villains. The Amazing Spider-Man movies has touched upon some of the cast of characters in the Spider-Man universe. If all indications are correct, we may finally get to see the Vulture in the third movie. But, there are some other villains who I think would be great in a movie, either as a main villain or even as a supporting character.

How cool would it be to see Spider-Man battle The Shocker? Maybe we get to see him tangle with Kraven The Hunter. Or maybe see him throw down with Mysterio? Hobgoblin? Carnage? Kingpin? How about we get a more accurate portrayal of Venom? I also would love to see Morbius in a movie as well.

How about some characters who aren't out for Spider-Man's head? How about appearances by Jean DeWolfe, Elias Wertham,  Glory Grant, Ned Leeds, Robbie Robertson? I'm still waiting for J. Jonah Jameson to appear in this series. There are so many characters they could use and I'm hoping to see as many of them as they can cram in.

Honestly, these are just some minor things I would like to see the writers and producers of the Amazing Spider-Man movies use. The Spider-Man universe and mythos is so vast and they have only just touched a small part of it. The movies are so good and I think some additions here and there could make the movies even better. As a long time Spider-Man fan, I would love these suggestions added or maybe some I haven't yet. I cannot wait to see what the writers have in store in Amazing Spider-Man 3.

Hey, at least I didn't suggest the Spider Buggy.

(shivers)

Mighty Muggs Adds

With New York Comic Con 2011 a few days away, I am trying my best not to spend any money so I can blow it all at the convention. That said, A week ago, I was on shopgoodwill.com, browsing. I wasn't planning on buying anything until I saw a post that had these three Mighty Muggs. A Black Suit Spidey, a Venom and a Human Torch. I wanted to try and put together the Spidey set of Mighty Muggs as I already have the red suited one, still in the box. The auction was starting at 5.00, with 5.00 shipping. I placed a bid for 5.50, not really expecting to win. Heck, on ebay, Venom is usually a 25.00 figure. I thought what the heck.

I got an email from Goodwill a couple of days later informing me of the win. I expected to pay only 10.50, but to my surprise the total was 19.95. Apparently, there are taxes and fees placed on the winning bid. Never having bought anything from Goodwill before, I was a bit stunned. I just chalked it up to my money going to help the less fortunate, paid my bill and waited for the package which arrived today. I gotta tell you, the figures, not coming in their original boxes, were packaged great and look great in person.

Of all the Spidey villians, Venom shares the top spot with the Green Goblin. Hated the incarnation we saw in Spiderman 3, I perfer to think fondly of the Todd McFarlane version who tormented Peter Parker, wanting to eat Spider-Man's brains. As much as I like Venom, I don't have any Venon collectables...until now. I really try not to collect the villians due to space, but this Venom figure is awesome. Love that the tounge is not painted on this figure, which gives this Mugg a more demonic look.

Had to have this Spidey figure. This will look great on my Spidey shelf next to the red suit Spidey I bought a couple years ago from Toys R Us. All I need to complete the Spidey collection is the half Parker/half Spider-Man and the 2011 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive with the removeable mask. I'm hoping I can grab those at New York Comic Con. If not, there's always ebay.

Johnny Storm may be dead, but he looks pretty cool in Mugg form. This was the "throw-in" of the bunch. Not collecting anyone but Spider-Man and Batman, I'm probably going to trade this guy, although I am tempted to keep him. Again, love that the flames on his head are actually molded plastic and painted to look like he just Flamed On! Might have to think about holding on to this one...

Dispite the added costs, I'm very pleased with this purchase and would probably order through shopgoodwill.com again. I'm sorry they stopped producing these. Would have loved to have had a DC Line with a Batman made. I might actually put together the Avengers Set later on and might have done a Justice League had DC given up a licence to have them made.

Oh well, I will just enjoy the ones I have and continue on my search for the other 2 Spider-Men Mighty Muggs.

See you at New York Comic Con!