Recent TTM Autographs

I know what your thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, geek! Where are the autograph successes. We know you're sending them out still. Put down the Spidey figure, turn off Raw and show them". Well, in my defense, they just haven't been coming in. I have a bunch out there right now and I have only been getting 1 in. Maybe 2. But that really about it. It's frustrating because I watch youtube and I see these guys getting in 7 packages at a time and I only get 1 and that's per week!

Well, I am not giving up! I will continue to send out requests and be happy with the one success a week, dagnabbit!

So, here are the more recent successes:

Not sure if I have shown this one already, but just in case. This is legendary comic book writer/artist Walter Simonson. Notable works include Thor, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, Superman, Star Wars, Batman and Battlestar Galactica. He introduced Beta Ray Bill to the Marvel Universe and turned Thor into a frog for a bit, Walter drew me a quick Thor sketch and signed it in about 2 weeks.

I gotta tell you, I love getting these cards back from the artists. They are so cool when you see them in person. I have about 7 requests still pending. Hope I get them back.

Bobby Shantz was kind enough to sign this photo for me in a few days time. I had originally sent out 2, but I was unaware he had a brother who also played for the Yankees. I did find a pic of him in a Yankee uniform so I will be sending another request out to him soon.

I have always been a Burt Reynolds fan so I was thrilled to get a nice return from Mr. Reynolds. Loved him in movies such as Deliverance, The End, Cannonball Run, Boogie Nights and even Sharkey's Machine. But to me, he will always be the Bandit. I was pleased he signed these 2 photos for me as well.

Those will stay in my collection, I can assure you.

When I heard Steve Garvey was signing through the mail I quickly jumped on the opportunity to send out this photo. As happy as I am that I got it back, I am a bit upset that who ever opened the letter in his end left a long scratch on the photo.

Yes, even the Fonz knows I am powerful!

I was thrilled when Henry Winkler signed my photos. I have been a fan since I was a kid, watching Happy Days and clutching my Fonzie Mego doll. God, I wish I still had that figure. And his Jalopy too. Also loved Night Shift. I can still hear Michael Keaton's obnoxious humming to "Jumping Jack Flash".

I was able to get the Honkey Tonk Man to sign these 2 photos for me. Had to get one of the longest reigning Intercontenental Champion holding the belt and I like how it came out. I miss the days when that title ment something.

Former Knicks guard Richie Guerin signed these 2 photos for me in about a weeks time. Guerin was a star for the Knicks in the 1950's and 60's, becoming a 6 time All Star. and became the first Knick to score 2,000 points in a season when he scored 2,303 in the 60-61 season. He also signed a bookplate for me so I could start my Knicks project.

I was able to add another legend to my collection when Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat signed these 2 photos. I wasn't the biggest Steamboat fan growing up. All my affections were for Roddy Piper. But I always respected "The Dragon". I watched that thrilling match he had with Randy Savage at WrestleMania 3 and was blown away. I think that was the greatest match in wrestling history and it's a shame the WWE doesn't give it the proper respect as such.

I marked out for this guy in the 80's. Ted DiBiase had one of the greatest gimmicks in the business as well as one of the greatest heel laughs of all time. His theme song still cracks me up. Money, Money, Money, Moneyyyyy. The WWE really should have let him be the champion for a little while. Not only was he a great heel, but he was also a great technical wrestler. A match he had against Bret Hart was one of the best and it wasn't even aired on TV. Mr. DiBiase signed these 2 photos sent in care of his ministry.


I have also had my share of failures:

I was thrilled that I got this return from Richard Dreyfuss, until I saw i didn't match up with any certified autographs of his. Upon further investigation, I found out his autos in the mail are secretarial.

This one is up for debate

I have heard that these are phonies while some say that they match up with some in person autos they have seen so who knows. I need to do some further investigating to come up with my own conclusion on if they are real or fakes.

I hope to be able to show off more through the mail successes in the very near future. I have a bunch of requests still pending and I plan to send off a bunch more this weekend. Hopefully, the mail will start picking up shortly and I will have my own 7 return days as well. There is nothing like the thrill of finding one of your self stamped addressed envelopes in your mailbox. Its why I continue to send out requests and I hope you too will experiance it for yourselves. Once you get that first return, you will never stop.

Marvel Select Amazing Spider-Man Movie Figure

After I got off work today, I stopped in at Forbiden Planet, which is a comic shop in Manhattan. I stop in from time to time to check out their selection. I usually shop at Midtown Comics, but sometimes I find a gem or 2 to take home. Today was one of those days.

Originally, I spotted the Marvel Select Iron Man Avengers Movie figure and drooled. I have to admit, Iron Man has grown on me since I saw the first Iron Man movie and I have been wanting to start a small Iron Man collection  for sometime and thought this might be the first addition to start that PC. Then I saw this on a peg

So this was the gem I took home. I'm pretty sure I will be picking up that Iron Man figure next week.

Once I got home, I turned on the Yankee game and saw that Andy Pettitte gave up 5 runs in the 1st inning. I turned to opening the figure to find some joy.

For the 1st shot, I put him on the wall that came with the figure. Is there such a thing as too much articulation? The darned thing won't stand up on its own.

Close up of the head sculpt, which is pretty nice. Just don't like the yellow eyes. Makes Spidey look like he's sickly.

To get this view of his back I had to prop him up against the wall. Couldn't get his body stiff enough to stand on it's own.

On the plus side, he's pretty poseable as long as he's not standing. Pew, pew!

Figure comes with an extra set of hands which is a bitch to change. Not sure why they chose fists. Open hands would have been a good call here. With the articulation this figure has, he could be crouched down in a classic Spidey pose if he had the open hands.

Put em up, put em up!

This will probably be the only figure I pick up from the movie line. I hate what they did to the classic costume and really don't see the need to add any other figures from the line, although if a 8 inch figure is released like were released with Thor, Captain America and The Avengers I might be persuaded to grab that. I knew I was picking this figure up when I saw it in Previews a few months back.

The figure has more articulation than any other figure I've ever seen before. The paint job and sculpt is very well done. I would have liked there to have been a stand at the bottom of the wall with pegs there as well so he could have been posed standing rather than just on the wall. A pair of open hands would have been great as well either with the set of fists or instead of.

It's a well made figure with just a bit too much articulation. Granted, I usually dont have a figure that has a moveable pelvis, so maybe I'm not the best authority on the subject of articulation. Putting aside my strong dislike of the costume, I'll give this figure a thumbs up and say it would be a great addition to any Spider-Man collection.

Things That Made Me Go Whoa!

This week, the League of Extraordinary Bloggers had but one simple mission. Write a blog about the things that made you go whoa. I've seen a lot in my 40 years on this earth and I considered few, like the Tim Burton Batman or the first time I saw Star Wars as a kid in the theaters. But instead, I went with these three that, as Darrell Sheets of Storage Wars would say, had the "Wow" factor for me.

First up for me is the the movie that is still the standard of all Superhero movies, Superman The Movie. While, Supes is not one of my favorite heroes, this movie is definitely one of my all time favorites. The film was well written, wonderfully acted and still stands the test of time. What got me as a kid was seeing Superman fly. It wasn't the George Reeves bounce on a trampoline 195o's style. He actually lifted off the ground. As a kid, seeing this blew me away.

Christopher Reeve's portrayal as Superman/Clark Kent remains the definitive one. He was terrific as the Man of Steel and equally great as Clark Kent, managing to totally separate the two with different styles of acting. Reeves played Superman as the quintessential good guy. The guy who you couldn't corrupt and you believed he really stood for truth, justice and the American way while playing Clark as a dorky, clumsy, reporter. He nailed what mild mannered was supposed to be. Plus, he showed his acting chops when he displayed rage, sadness and love all at once over the death of Lois Lane. The producers initially didn't go with Reeve as Superman because he was too skinny and not a known actor. They tried to get people like Robert Redford, Sly Stallone, Paul Newman, Charles Bronson (Charles Bronson?? Really?? Can you image him as Superman? Hey, scumbag. Drop the cash.). Thankfully, after bulking up a bit, Reeves got the part and the rest is history.

Any kudos to Reeve's performance has to have some left over for Gene Hackman's comedic performance as Lex Luthor. A bit over the top, yes, but it worked. Hackman, played Luthor as an intellectual smartass, but you knew this guy was pure evil. Surrounding himself with the beautiful Miss Tessmacher and the oafish Otis, Luthor set out to destroy California for real estate purposes with the use of nuclear missiles, one was aimed at California and the other was aimed at toward New Jersey. Superman could only save one and Luthor knew that. Luthor also managed to secure a bit of Kryponite to kill Superman. This was not a nice guy. Hackman's Luthor was obviously the basis for Kevin Spacey's Luthor in Superman Returns.

Superman The Movie had my jaw open throughout the whole movie. It was the first Superhero motion picture and in someways, still remains the best ever made.

My next wow moment, and probably my biggest one, came along in late 2001. Anyone who knows me knows Spider-Man is my favorite superhero (Batman being 1B). If you go back in my blogs, you can see the two shelves I have of Spider-Man stuff. So, you all can imagine the excitement I had when I saw this online



I was thrilled, tickled pink, beside myself with excitement and any other word you want to throw out there to describe how I felt that Spidey was finally coming to the big screen. Spider-Man had been trying to get on screen for years. In 1986, Cannon Pictures was supposed to have a Spider-Man movie with Michael Bean playing Spider-man and Tobie Hooper directing it, but never materialized. Then James Cameron had a script ready in the 90's and wanted Leonardo DeCaprio for the part and that was never done. Finally, Sam Rami bought it to the silver screen with Tobey Maguire as Spidey.

Spider-Man is not the greatest movie, I will admit (I think part 2 is a better picture). I never liked Kristen Dunst as Mary Jane nor was I fond of the armor Green Goblin had. He looked like a Power Ranger in this movie. But Wilem Dafoe's chilling performance as Gobby made up for it. Also, James Franco did a great job as Harry Osborne as did Rosemary Harris as Aunt May and J.K. Simmons as J.Jonah Jameson.

I was just happy that Spidey was finally getting a movie. I was at the first showing with my buddy when it opened and I had the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face through out the movie. It was so big it should have been surgically removed to get it off my face However, Spider-man 3 did that for me.

The last thing that made me go whoa happened in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and my New York Yankees. I'm one of the biggest Yankees fans around and have been since I was a five year old. I saw Chris Chambliss send the Yankees into the World Series back in 1976, but was too young to appreciate the magnitude of that moment. I saw Bucky Dent's Home Run in the one game playoff between The Red Sox and Yankees back in 1978, but that only sent the Yankees into the playoffs. Aaron Boone did Chambliss one better.

The Yankees and Red Sox started their ace's for this game. Pedro Martinez for Boston and Roger Clemens for NY. The series was already highly emotional thanks to the bench clearing brawl between the two teams in Game 3 when Pedro first threw at Kariem Garcia and then Manny Ramirez charging the mound when Clemens pitched inside. That was also the game that Pedro tossed Don Zimmer to the ground, earning the wrath of not just Yankee fans, but people all over for tossing a man 40 years his senior to the ground. Heck, even the Fenway grounds crew got in it with the Yankee bullpen later in the game.

Clemens was out of the game by the 4th inning after giving up 4 runs. Mike Mussina relieved him and pitched 3 innings of shutout ball. By the 8th inning, it was 5-2 Boston. Pedro, dispite giving up 2 solo shots to Jason Giambi, was pitching a good game, but was tiring. He gave up a double to Derek Jeter and a single to Bernie Williams. At that point, Boston Manager, Grady Little came out. Dispite having a left handed Alan Embry ready to pitch to Hideki Matsui, he allowed Pedro to convince him he can continue. That move cost Little his job in Boston as Pedro gave up a double to Matsui and a bloop double to Jorge Posada to tie the game at 5. No one else scored until Aaron Boone came up in the bottom of the 11th when Aaron Boone launched the first pitch he saw from Boston pitcher Tim Wakefield into the October night to send the Yankees to the World Series.

I was watching the game at home with my mom and kid sister. After the 9th, my mom went to bed and my kid sister stayed with me to watch the game. I was on the edge of my seat after each half inning when no one scored. When Boone came up, I told my sister it's over. That was something that was said instinctly. I didn't even think about it when I blurted it out. Before my sister could respond, Boone had swung and was going up the first base line with his arms out stretched. I was jumping up and down in my living room like I had just hit the home run myself, much to my sister's amusement. To this day, I'm shocked I didn't wake y mom or the downstairs neighbor didn't bang the their ceiling with a broom to quiet me down. All I know is I was ecstatic that my Yankees were going to the World Series in one of the most dramatic fashions in Yankee history ending one of the most emotionally charged series in baseball history.

As you can see, each one of these events caused a level of excitement that no other event had. I'm sure the rest of the League members have different events that rushed the beat of their hearts like the three events I wrote about and I look forward to reading all about them. If you'd like to check out the other blogs, you can find a list of all the blogs here:http://coolandcollected.com/the-league-of-extraordinary-bloggers/league-members/. Tell them the Sexy Geek sent ya.

League Assignment: Where Are They Now: Back To The Future

Ever wonder what happened to the characters of your favorite movie? I do. I have often wondered what the characters of my favorite movie, Back To The Future, did with themselves after the events of Part III. Unfortunately, due to Michael J. Fox's condition, we may never get a Back To The Future Part 4, but thanks to this weeks assignment from Brian over at Cool and Collected, I can imagine what became of the characters from Hill Valley.

Marty McFly became a successful musician, fronting The Pinheads to worldwide fame. Wrote legendary songs such as "1.21", "I'm Not Chicken" and their CD; "Flux Capacitor" is the all time best selling album in rock history. Is now focusing his energy in producing new artists for his label, "Hoverboard" Records

Doctor Emmit Brown is now a retired scientist, living in Hill Valley with his wife, Clara and their 2 children, Jules and Verne. He is still studying about the most puzzling species in the world, women.

George McFly is still writing Science Fiction novels, but is also now producing his stories for the big screen.

Lorraine McFly is still happily married to George McFly and has started a foundation for alcoholic mothers, who are bored with their lives.

Biff Tannen is still running is auto detailing business. But he actually had possession of his own time machine, which he used to go back in time to steal Marty's music and form his own band; "The Buttheads". Marty, Jules and Verne managed to go back in time to the point where Biff steals Marty's music and prevents it, while destroying Biff's time machine in the process. Biff went back to his business, manure free.

Jennifer married Marty before his music career took off, only to divorce him when he was caught in the company of several women. They briefly reconciled, but Jennifer realized it would be best if they parted friends. Jennifer is currently the CFO of Hoverboard Records and Marty's closest confidant.

Clara Brown has settled into the 20th century just fine as she became a teacher, then the principal over at Hill Valley High School.

Jules and Verne are now grown up and have taken over their father's studies. They now go back in time in the train for Doc's studies. They have gone back to the Prehistoric age, witnessed the birth of Christ and gone to the future to make sure Marty's kids don't grow up to be morons. Verne and Marty's daughter are currently seeing each other.

So many possibilities for more Back To The Future movies could be realized from here. But how? Reboot the franchise? Animation, so that Fox can reprise the role of Marty McFly? What do you guys think?

Couple of Movies/Shows I've Been Watching

So, a couple of my friends lent me some dvd's this past week. I had been looking for something new to watch since I just about ran through everything I own and my buddies did not disapoint.First up, we have the 1966 Filmation cartoon, The New Adventures of Superman. This show captured the essence of the character beautifuly. Everything about this show was terrific. The animation was great for it's time, the voices nailed the characters and the stories were pretty good as well. Most of the episodes revolve around Superman, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen and whomever the villian is. The villians are well represented as Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Toyman and Mr. Mxyzptlk show up as well. Superman's classic trademarks from ripping the shirt off to "Up, Up and Away" are also incorporated into the cartoon. What I loved most is Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander, who did the voices of Superman and Lois Lane in the radio show as well as those awesome Max Fleischer Superman cartoons in the 40's, both return for this series as Superman and Lois Lane respectively.

There are 36 episodes of the show on 2 disks in this collection. There is also some trailers and a documentary called Superman in 1966, which discusses the character's history up to 1966 as well as how Filmation, who never had produced any cartoons up to that point, got the rights to do Superman.

I know some of Filmation's later efforts turned out less than perfect, I think this show turned out real well and I want to see the other Filmation/DC offerings like the Aquaman and Green Lantern cartoons they produced. I'm still waiting on that Adventures of Batman cartoon show
from the 60's on DVD as well. I know the New Adventures of Batman and Robin from 1977 is out on DVD, so I will have to hunt that down.

My only question; after watching this and knowing how well Grantray-Lawrence did the Spider-Man show in 1967, you mean to tell me Grantray-Lawrence couldn't do a better job with The Marvel Super-Heroes show?



Then I got to watch The Spirit. I wasn't expecting much out of this movie, but it was better than I expected. Frank Miller is quickly turning into one of my favorite directors. His use of imagry in this movie should leave no one who seen 300 or Sin City shocked. The writing was pretty good and acting was ok. I thought Sam Jackson's Octopus was a little over the top, but that's to be expected.

I never read a Spirit comic, so I don't know how well this movie holds up to Wil Einser's character, but I enjoyed it and will probably add it to my superhero movie collection. And Eva Mendes, Va Va Voom!

So, if you have some down time, I suggest you give these DVD's a shot. They may not be Sense and Sensibilty, but you will have fun watching them. Pass the popcorn and don't skimp on the butter.