The Weekend Hauls

This weekend, my buddy George and I went to Poughkeepsie, NY to go see Man Of Steel and to see if we can add to our collections. George is just as much a collector as I am. I learned a lot from George so anytime I get the opportunity to go on a hunt, I will jump at the chance every time.

The first place we stopped was the Goodwill store. I usually find something worth my money here and today was no exception.

This was a DVD I had wanted for a while. The Scooby-Doo Meets Batman DVD has the 2 episodes of "The Scooby-Doo Movies" which Batman and Robin appeared on. The episodes, The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair and The Caped Crusader Caper, aired on September 15th and December 15th 1972, respectively. I remember watching the episodes in reruns on WPIX-TV and enjoying them. It's a nice addition to my Batman DVD collection and at 2.99, one deal I couldn't pass up.

The next stop we made was at Big Lots where I always find some stuff to take home with me. On this day, I was able to take home three pretty cool items.

I grabbed this great looking 3 inch Batman figure from the Dark Knight Rises line. I grabbed this figure because I thought it looked like the New 52 Batman. I have to admit, in the next movie, I would like to see Batman wear an outfit similar to this one rather than the all black outfit.

Last week, I posted a whole blog about starting up a Superman collection, so I grabbed this 3 inch Superman from the Man Of Steel line. I don't think I will be grabbing too much of the Man Of Steel stuff except the Movie Master figure, but at 5 bucks, I figured it wouldn't hurt the collection to have it. I would be paying a few bucks extra at Target for the same figure. By the way, my thoughts on Man Of Steel, I liked it, but I didn't love it.

I also grabbed this Star Wars Poster Puzzle set for my Luke Skywalker collection. I am not really sure what I am going to do with this. I could put the puzzle together, frame it and hang it up next to my collection when I have a shelf up or I could just leave it in the pouch and put it on the shelf. For 2 bucks, I couldn't pass it up.

The last stop on my shopping spree was at Dragon's Den, which is a comic book shop in Poughkeepsie. There used to be a Dragon's Den in Yonkers that was practically next door to the Barnes N Noble where George and I used to work. It was the first comic store I would buy my books at and I really wish they left it where it was. The owners moved it to an outdoor shopping mall named Cross County, then closed it. This store, I think, is the last in the chain. I usually never find anything to pick up, but I was able to find one comic to take home with me:

I have been reading Dark Horse's Star Wars run since the first issue and love it. It's one of the few books I have been picking up each month. I actually missed this issue when it came out and when I found it at Dragon's Den, I grabbed it. I need to find Issue 6 now and read it with this issue.

Overall, I did pretty good. I added some pretty cool stuff to my various collections and didn't even break the bank doing it. But even more, I got to hang out and celebrate my buddy George's birthday with him. It was an honor to hang out with my long time buddy and see Man Of Steel, have some great food and go toy hunting. Happy Birthday buddy. I leave you with this:

Stay Sexy My Friends.

If I Was To Start A Superman Collection, What Would I Buy?

Despite the fact that I have almost next to nothing when it comes to Krypton's favorite sun, I do consider myself a Superman fan. O.K., maybe I am not a fanatical fan like my buddy George is, but I grew up watching the cartoons, reading the books and watching the movies. I went to see the movie during it's first run, I watched the Super Friends and read The Death Of Superman. I have an appreciation for the Man Of Steel.

So, why do I own only maybe 3 Superman pieces? Well, to be honest, I have been concentrating on my other favorites, trying to build up those collections. I would always buy Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Luke Skywalker before I bought anything Superman, thus I passed up some sweet pieces I could have added to the House Of Swag. For shame Mikey, for shame.

With the new movie coming out this week, I have been building up anticipation within myself by watching All Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and the Superman movie Serials; Superman and Atom Man VS Superman. Before the week is out, I plan to watch Superman The Movie and some of the Fleischer Superman Cartoons. I will be Superman crazy by the time I see Man Of Steel on Saturday.

So with all this Superman entertainment, it got me thinking about my measly Supes collection. I always wanted to build a Superman collection. Not a big one like my Batman and Spider-Man collections, but a respectable one where I could have a shelf devoted solely to Superman. So, if I was to start a collection, what 5 pieces would I want to start with?  Yes, I have put some time thinking about this. Of course, I will always start vintage.

1-Superman The Movie Lunchbox

I have documented in past blogs my love for Superman The Movie. Maybe it's because when I saw it as a 7 year old it captured my imagination like Star Wars did prior. After seeing the movie, I remember throwing on a red towel and "flying" around my room. I was a hyper kid, so my mom had to keep an eye on me so that I didn't entertain the thought of flying right out of my 6th floor window. Another reason why I love this movie is because simply put, for 33 years it was the best superhero movie ever made. In that time, the only movie that I felt gave it a run for it's money was The Dark Knight. To me, it's Avengers, Superman and Dark Knight as the greatest superhero movies ever made. But that's another blog for another time.

I would love to add this lunch box to my budding Superman collection. The artist did an outstanding job nailing the actor's likenesses.

If that isn't a dead ringer for Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper and Marc McClure, then I'm freaking blind. Also love how the colors jump out at you.

Of course, I would love it if the thermos came with it, but it's not a deal breaker.

I have always has a fascination with lunch boxes as a kid. I never owned one, brown bagging it to school despite my feeble attempts to get my mom to buy me a lunch box. As an adult, I own a few modern ones, but no vintage lunch boxes. To pop my vintage lunch box cherry with this piece would be pretty sweet.

2-Mego 12 Inch Superman

As an absolute Mego head, not having this figure in my future Superman collection would be a crime against nature. Plus, he looks like Chris Reeve. I love this figure and it would look great next to my regular 8 inch Superman Mego figure. This is another figure I begged my mom for, but never got. Getting this would fill the hole in my soul my mom left years ago. Now, if I could only find one without the dreaded "ghost face" that I have seen a lot of Mego 12 inch figures develop. Those scare me more than a Justin Bieber concert.

3-Superman Colorforms

As a kid, I used to love playing with Colorforms. I had several different sets and used to play with them for hours. I had Batman, Tricky Mickey Mouse Super Colorforms, Battlestar Galactica and Spider-Man. God, I wish I still had them. But to add this piece from 1964 would be a great addition to my growing Superman Collection, which resides somewhere in the depths of my brain. Plus, it would look great on a shelf. Look at that artwork. Awesome.

4- Mattel's Christopher Reeve 12 inch Superman Figure

I cannot tell you how many times I almost bought this figure since it came out in 2010. I have seen it go for as high as $100.00 and as low as $50.00 and somewhere in between. The few times I almost bought it, it was in the $50.00 range. At that price, it's cheaper than a DC Direct Superman and a heck of a lot cheaper than the Hot Toys Christopher Reeve Superman figure. Since I can't afford the Hot Toys figure, I would buy the Mattel one everyday, twice on Sunday. I think it's just as cool as the Hot Toys one and it came in a line with General Zod and Lex Luthor. I think of all the Superman stuff I have shown so far, this would be my first purchase.

5-DC Direct Fleischer Studios Superman Statue

One of my absolute favorite Superman cartoons (favorite cartoons, period!) is the 1940's Fleischer Studios Superman Cartoons. The 10 minute shorts were produced first by Fleischer Studios, then by Famous Studios from 1941-1943. Max and Dave Fleischer had done Gulliver's Travels when they were approached by Paramount Pictures to do the Superman cartoons. The Fleischer Brothers were hesitant to commit to the shorts, so they threw a then outlandish figure of $100,000.00 per short. Paramount negotiated the figure down to $50,00.00 and off they went, producing some of the most ground breaking cartoons of it's time. There was 17 shorts produced and the first short was even nominated for an Academy Award, losing out to Disney's Lend A Paw cartoon.

The statue is awesome. It looks like it jumped right out of a Fleischer cartoon. I'm not a huge statue collector due to the price of them, but if I could ever add this statue to my Superman collection, I would jump at the chance. I heard a rumor that they were negotiating to do a series of Batman cartoons. Imagine how cool that show would have been. I guess Batman The Animated Series is as close as we will get to it.

One of these days, I hope I am able to add these awesome Superman collectibles to what I hope to be a pretty sweet collection. While putting this list together, I realized there were other Superman items I would love to add like the 1960's Superman Soakie bottle, the Mego Fortress Of Solitude play set and The Super Powers Superman figure. Those, plus what I already listed would look great on a Superman shelf. If the Man Of Steel is as good as I think it might be, I might be ready to go Superman shopping. Kryptonite optional.

Bring It Back: The Green Hornet

Yes, I know, I know. A movie was made about the adventures of The Green Hornet and his trusty partner, Kato back in 2011. Now as a fan of the character, I did not hate the movie. I took it for what it was. A different interpretation of the hero. Not the Green Hornet movie I would have done, but it's Seth Rogen. What did you expect?

They had the right idea with doing an origin movie. One that establishes the character because, let's face it, unless your a hardcore comic guy or a fan of the original series, like I was, chances are you didn't know much, if anything about The Hornet. The comedy should have been kept minimal and a serious movie should have been made instead with someone other than Seth Rogen playing the role. So, you can see why I would want a total reboot of the character done, like yesterday.

So, what should I think be done with it? How about return it to television, for starters. I think an updated version would would very well for T.V. I would keep the show separate from the film and start all over again. Retell the origin story and spend the 1st season learning to be the Green Hornet. Kind of like a Batman Year One story. Let him make mistakes, get caught, beat up. Heck, I wouldn't even have Kato join up with Britt Reid or show the Black Beauty right away. Let all that happen over the course of a few episodes. I'd make this show a Smallville or Arrow type show.

Now, who would play the characters? To be quite honest, there is one actor I would have in mind for the Green Hornet.

I think Wes Bentley, who has done American Beauty and The Hunger Games, would be perfect to play Britt Reid as he starts his career as the Green Hornet. I can actually see Bentley wearing the mask and fedora. I doubt he would do it, but I think he would be great in this role.

When I did my research of actors who could possibly play Kato, one name kept coming up as one of the top young Japanese actors, Kenichi Matsuyama. I read he has won the Japanese version of an Oscar for his roles in Detroit Metal City and Death Note. As a serious actor, I doubt he would come to the states to do television, let alone play Kato. Plus, who knows if he can do martial arts. He looks the part, but if he turned the role down, I would probably go with an unknown.

As a fan of the 1966 T.V. Series starring Van Johnson and Bruce Lee, I would love to use an updated version of the Al Hirt theme. Black Beauty also be a big part of the show when it makes it's first appearance. Perhaps use a crude version of the car and have Reid and Kato build up the car until we see a finished Beauty at some point.

I think a Green Hornet show on say, The CW Network, has the potential to be a big hit, if done right. I realize that the Green Hornet hasn't really been a viable money maker in years. But, the comic books still sell well for Dynamite Entertainment and the movie grossed over 200 million. So, I think the time is right for the Green Hornet to make his long awaited return to TV.

And with that, we cue the music

See what the other members of The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers want to see back:

http://coolandcollected.com/its-time-to-bring-back-buck-rogers/

http://www.randomnerdness.blogspot.com/2013/06/this-weeks-league-assignment-bring-it.html

http://blog.paxholley.net/2013/06/07/rebooting-the-six-million-dollar-man-to-make-it-better-stronger-faster/

Make Mine Sexy!

Happy 4th Birthday To The House Of Swag...Well, Belated.

Mmmmmmmm, Chocolate...

On Tuesday, I decided to look up the states for both the House of Swag and The Sports Room. I'm not an egomaniac or anything. I just like to see if anyone is reading the blogs and if so, how many people are reading them at any given time. I'm very pleased with the amount of followers and readers The House Of Swag has. The Sports Room needs some love, so I need to think of ways to drum up readership who want to read about my sports collections (Do you? Head over to www.thesexygeekssportsroom/blogspot.com). Before I closed out the stats page, I decided to take a look at the very first blog I posted on The House Of Swag. When I read it, I got a bit of a surprise.

The House Of Swag had turned 4 years old this past Monday.

I was totally oblivious to the fact that my blog had turned the big 4. In blog years, that's a pretty big deal. I have seen good bloggers call it quits for one reason or another, but not I. I either love what I do or maybe I am an egomaniac. Either way, I was quite pleased to see that after 4 years, I still have a blog that has followers and has some great readers who keep it going.

One of the great things about this blog is the friends I have made who not only have their own blogs or run websites that take the time to regularly read my blog. To those, I say thank you so much for the kid words you have left me over the years. You guys have been so good to me, I can't thank you enough for the support.

I would like to give a special thanks to the following:

One of my closest friends, Jose Betencourt, who runs Talking About Games site, for the invaluable words of encouragement and support. Thanks so much. Check out his awesome site here:http://talkingaboutgames.com/

Brian Adams (no, not the 1980's Canadian singer), who runs and writes Cool And Collected. I want to thank you for all the words of advice you have offered.You have always made time to answer my emails and questions on how I can make The House Of Swag better as well as allowing me to be a member of The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers. Thanks for all that you do for all of us geeks and for me personally. Drool over his Batman, King King and Spacemen collections here: http://coolandcollected.com/

A big thanks to my buddy John over at The Batcave Toy Room. John is my geeky brother from another mother. We both, as well as Brian, collect the same things and John always has great Batman and Star Wars toys that I drool over when he posts them up on his blog. John, I want to thank you for the friendship you have given me as well as some awesome advice. You always have been great and it's much appreciated. Check out the batcave here: http://www.batcavetoyroom.com/

Also a huge thank you goes out to my buddy, Josh, better known as Dodger Bobble. He was one of my very first readers when the House Of Swag was a sports only blog. Josh has been a great friend to me and we always chat baseball, autographs and bobbleheads. I recently got to hang out with Josh when I was out n L.A. at the Dodgers game and he was a terrific host. Thanks for the friendship Josh. Your a great man. Read about his bobbleheads and autographs here: http://www.dodgerbobble.com/

Some of the others who have been a part of the blog just by reading and leaving comments are Hobgoblin, jboypacman, William West and San Jose Fuji. Thanks for the support guys. Check out their blogs here:

http://revengefromthecosmicark.blogspot.com/

http://monstercafesaltillo.blogspot.com/

http://www.williambrucewest.com/

http://sanjosefuji.blogspot.com/

Also, a big thanks to my three team collector buddies, Chris Donati, Chris Goodell and Mark Scaramuzzi for always reading and supporting the site. Thanks so much guys.

If I forgot to mention you, drop me a line and I will correct that post haste.

Finally, I have 2 more people to thank that are a huge part of my personal life.

First, to my buddy, George. He is the geeky Ying to my Yang, He is the one who introduced me to conventions and flea markets. Proved that you can rock a Barnabas Collins t shirt and still be super cool. Knows more about pop culture than I will probably ever know in 10 lifetimes. I thank you for all the encouragement and support you have shown this blog and to me personally over the 23 years we have been buds. Thanks for being the original Sexy Geek.

And I want to thank my Gina. Your encouraging words mean so much to me, especially when I begin to doubt my abilities. You always make sure you are the first one to read the blog and I absolutely appreciate the critique you give me afterward. Just knowing that you appreciate the geeky side of me and encourage me to express it means more than I can ever express in words. Every Sexy Geek needs a Hot Lady by his side and I am thankful that I have you. I love you for letting me be me.

These 4 years writing The House Of Swag has gone by pretty quick. I like to believe that this blog has gotten better over the years and I would love for it to continue to grow. I do have ideas on what I would like to do with it and hope that maybe some of them may actually come to light.

Stick around. The next 4 years should be just as cool as the last 4 were. I promise you, I will continue to be be sexy and geeky like I have been. Now, where's my damned cake? What do you mean there is no milk??

Yet Another Addition To My Luke Skywalker Collection

Man, I cannot wait until I have the room to put up shelves. I will have a Luke Skywalker shelf and I already have some nice things to display. In about a years time, I have been able to pick up some cool Skywalker items. From vintage toys to more contemporary toys. Books, a vintage shampoo bottle, even a Valentine's Day cardboard Star Wars heart will be added to the shelf. Today, my newest piece arrived and it's been one I have been wanting for a long time.

I was finally able to pick up the Unleashed Luke Skywalker Return Of The Jedi figure that I have been eyeballing ever since I had decided to start a Skywalker collection. When I first say this figure in Kay Bee Toys I wasn't collecting Luke or toys in general, thus I never picked it up. Now, thanks to the magic of eBay, I now have this figure in my collection.

Let's take a closer look at this figure:

This figure depicts the final lightsaber dual between Luke and Darth Vader on the second Death Star while Emperor Palpatine sat and watched. The figure, I'm guessing, is showing Luke in "rage" mode as he slashed wildly after Vader mentioned turning Leia to the dark side if Luke wouldn't. It's the closest we see Luke losing it and coming close to joining the dark side by losing his cool.

From behind, you can still see how nice this figure is. I love the waves of green that surround this figure, representing the lightsaber being swung wildly, hair whipped back like a bad Willow Smith song.

The face sculpt is actually not too bad. It's not a dead on likeness of Mark Hamill, but it's close enough to where you can go say eh, I can see it. Luke looks really pissed off here, It's not like the generic painted on faces that Kenner made on their figures. You can see the rage in Luke's face as as swung his lightsaber (which, BTW, is the coolest lightsaber in the Star Wars Universe. Don't give me Darth Maul's dual bladed saber. I'll take Luke's Jedi saber any day).

When I get my shelf up, I will put this figure up right next to the other Unleashed Luke figure I got off eBay in   March. But I don't plan to stop there. There are still a few Luke pieces that I would like to add to my collection. I have been wanting to add a vintage X-Wing Fighter, vintage Land Speeder, a vintage coloring book I saw on eBay from Return Of The Jedi with Luke on  the cover and some of the vintage Kenner figures I am missing. Some of the more contemporary items I want to buy is a green light saber I have seen in Toys R Us, some of the Gentle Giant statues and some of the larger figures from Gentle Giant, Kenner, Hot Toys and Kotobukiya. Maybe I'll do a Luke Skywalker wish list blog post one day. That way, I can have a visual list of what I want and go and get what I need.

For now though, I am content to just enjoy the stuff I have in my Skywalker collection. One day soon, I will be able to display everything, Anyone who comes to see the collection will know that the Force is strong with this one.