Countdown to Halloween Day 2: Body Wars, Spider Wars, Mars Attacks, and More!

So this post is going to sort of serve as a dumping place for a BUNCH of Halloween stuff I've found in previous weeks but wanted to share in October. This was, for the most part, not all bought at the same time, although much of this is probably all from no more than about three different trips to Goodwill total. There's a good mix of toys, spooky books, games, and other junk, so it'll probably be a nice assortment with a little bit of something for everyone. Let's check it out!

I found this "Mars Attacks!" claw-machine refugee for a dollar about a month or so back. He looks great with my stuffed Walking Dead "Well Zombie" sitting around gnashing their teeth at one another.

These guys were a couple of awesome finds in a grab-bag with some other toys (there's Batman, a Gorilla, and a horse I think? Just out of frame here... but these two guys were the Halloween-iest) the fella on the left is a Kaiju by the name of Gigan. I have had a lot of really great luck either finding or being given a bunch of these Trendmaster figures featuring Godzilla monsters. These are exactly the scale I want these in, and since watching even a single Godzilla/Kaiju film is still an item on my bucket list, this level of commitment it perfect for me. I am in LOVE with the character designs, and have a bit of a crush on Mothra if I'm being honest.

Next to Gigan we have Shan Yu, the villain from Disney's Mulan. I'm not really a Mulan fan per se, but I am a fan of this huge, gray, imposing, zombie-looking warlord with a giant buzzard on his shoulder. Shan Yu's eyes in the movie are actually a thousand times more disturbing than they are right here on this toy... but I think if they had accurately reflected the depths of soulessness in Chan Yu's creepy peepers, kids would have been crying into their Happy Meals and defecating uncontrollably (and not just from the McDonald's food). He is currently menacing my Scooby Doo action figures, because honestly he looks like someone from a Scooby Doo episode, right?

"Creatures" is a collection of poetry compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stella Ormai. I have vague memories of this book from when I was a kid, which was why I picked it up, honestly. But it was disappointing. I was expecting more monsters and less gnomes, fairies, and sprites. This book desperately wanted to appear to be a Halloween book (I mean look at that cover!) but unfortunately there are only about 4 or 5 poems in the whole book that fit the bill.

Some Scooby Doo Chapter books! The first one is the novelization of the second movie, which I felt was wholly superior to the first live action movie, although neither of them was truly what I considered to be "good" Scooby Doo. The monsters in Scooby Doo 2 were the really fun part. I've been compiling a collection of chapter books to share with my boys and, as is the case with "The Case of the Glowing Alien," Scooby Doo pretty much always comes home from Goodwill as my kiddos genuinely adore ol' Scoobs.

I brought these two books home together. I plan on giving Bruce Coville's "Book of Monsters" a bit more attention in this very countdown, so let's ignore it today. Instead, I want to talk about "The Haunting of Derek Stone: The Red House" by Tony Abbott. I found a book that collected the first two Derek Stone books together in one volume sometime last year and FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM. This is a great example of me picking up some random book by some random author at Goodwill and discovering a new series of books that I just fall in love with. Derek is facing the threat of an undead ghost army overtaking the land of the living, and even though this is a YA series, it makes your flesh CRAWL. I'm shocked at some of the stuff Abbott gets away with in these books! Great read, highly recommended.

This isn't a horror collection. It's a collection of sci-fi stories about... sci-fi story writers I guess? But the cover is absolutely horrifying. So I'm including it here. Behold and be afraid.

Here's a fun one! Spider Wars by Milton Bradley circa 1988. This is a nice looking game with fun pieces and a really fun looking web-style playing surface/thing. Check out those spiders on the cover, and the awesome spider-figures in the game! This thing screams Halloween in black and neon orange and green. This one came complete with the whole shebang, except for one vital thing:

I really desperately need to get my hands on a copy of the directions! There are some very basic mechanics of the game that don't make sense when we're trying to play. I have in fact play tested this with my 6 year old son and we did have fun, but I feel like there are some rules we are not observing that we probably should have to make this game a little less one-sided?

Twisted Sister, and Dee Snyder specifically, gnawing on his raw meat, scared the CRAP out of me as a kid. This cassette has "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" included, which are great songs.

This is a collection of vampire lore compiled by Daniel Cohen called "Real Vampires," which I have to contest the title of a bit... but check out that cover art!!! Anyone know who this is? I can't find reference to the cover art in the book anywhere. Anyone recognize this work? I want to see more!

No Halloween season would be complete without a couple of cheap Ghost Story collections! We can see Mr. Daniel Cohen hard at work again with "The World's Most Famous Ghosts" and a Watermill Classic collection: "Midnight Fright: A Collection of Ghost Stories" I probably won't be reading either of these before next Halloween, but I've added them to the potential Halloween Read Pile materials.

This was a fun find! From "Those Characters From Cleveland" (The creators of Madballs, My Pet Monster, Popples, Strawberry Shortcake, and many more) an on-again-off-again subsidiary of American Greetings, comes Body Wars!

These were Mighty-Max/Polly Pocket style fold-out mini-playsets, featuring germs and anti-bodies fighting each other for control of various internal organs that folded out into battle stations! Unfortunately this stomach I found didn't come with any of its characters or accessories, but I still found it be be gross and endearing. Had Body Wars come along when I was a bit younger (These came out in '94 when I was about 16 and in highschool so no dice...) I would have been OBSESSED with them. This is exactly the kind of thing I loved as a kid.

I never say no to horror movie novelizations. It kind of irks me looking at this picture that I have the books out of order. Ugh. Who does that? Me I guess. But anyway. I love the original Jaws film, and because my friend Miss M loves the whole franchise with a level of passion bordering on public indecency, I have learned to appreciate the other films as well. This will not be the last time you see a Jaws novelization during this countdown. We're going to need a bigger blog.

And that folks, is where I leave you on this, m second post of the countdown to Halloween! I'm doing this as a part of the official Countdown to Halloween, so be sure to pop over there and look and see who else is participating this year. As always, I will be back with some more Garroting Goodwill Goodies sooner than you'd like... so until then Happy Haunting!!! 

Goodwill Finds: April O'Neil, Snorks, and Freaky Chipmunks

Oh! I'm editing this to add: A of July 17th, 2015 my blog is officially 3 years old! I'm still toddling along, and occasionally pooping myself, but I'm starting to get the hang of this, and as long as I don't pick up some tiny item from the floor and get it lodged in my esophagus, you might all see me turn this thing into something worthwhile... at some point. I'll keep you posted. 

ALSO: this is my 403rd blog entry, which means I breezed past the 400 mark a few posts ago and just never noticed! So yay me! 

- And now back to the regularly scheduled blog! - 

Here's a fun little pile a' stuff from a trip I took to Goodwill awhile back! A handful of REALLY great retro finds here from the days of my youth! 

First up there was a grab-bag. Here are the contents:

With the exception of the Moshi Monster happy meal toy (sorry if you're a fan, but I am not), there weren't any real duds in here! LEt's take a more in depth look.

First up we have a Toonsylvania Burger King Kids' Club toy. This is from an Animaniacs-esque monster-themed cartoon from the very late 90's. Toonsylvania has appeared here on the blog before, although I had never heard of this show before that, and am unfortunately still no more familiar with it than I was, past the fact that I obviously know there are fast food premiums (and a wikipedia page!) based on the property.

Arguably the biggest win in this grab-bag is this lady right here. An April O'Neil from the original TMNT action figure line! If I'm not mistaken I believe this is the figure that became my "default" April because the one I had before was not in this good of a condition. I may have mentioned this before on the blog, but if not... here goes: My April O'Neil had Dazzler's powers when I was a kid because I was obsessed with the X-Men. (She's aiming a photon blast right at your face now)

Next up is this Goofy PVC. I'm not a huge Disney fan myself, in that I don't really care all that much about Mickey or the gang, but occasionally I come across a fun toy that catches my eye and represents one of the iconic characters well. This is a pretty nice figure. I think I may have sent this guy off to someone else in a trade or something, but I'm pretty sure I don't own him any more in any case.

Here's a really fun find! This is a Snork pvc figurine of Allstar from 1983! While I HATED most of the Smurfs-style shows that followed the lives of some strange tribe of creatures living somewhere in an adorable community (Biskits, Paw-Paws, Mon-Chi-Chis, the actual Smurfs) the Snorks got a pass for some reason.

This was one of the best finds in the bag as well, even though I have no idea what it's actually supposed to be. It looks like it might be some sort of cheap, hollow dinosaur, but it gives off way more of a "kaiju" vibe than a dinosaur one. Adversely, it looks more like some sort of tub toy or baby toy than anything else. So... anyone recognize this as anything that's actually something? Or are we looking at a dollar store reject here?

In the cassettes department we have the Danny Elfman score to the '89 Batman film. Back in the days of having to own EVERYTHING Batman because the film was so popular, I did in fact own both the score and the Prince soundtrack, so this find was a real trip down memory lane for me.

What was especially delightful to me was rediscovering the liner photos. I had forgotten these were even in there, although back when I owned this as a kid I pored over these to the point that they started falling apart.

Next up we have this bizarre looking Golden Book from the 1950's. It's bizarre to see them before the more standardized versions of the characters showed up.

Instead of steadfast Dave as the leader of the song, we have the wise Mr. Owl keeping the Chipmunks on track... which is kind of weird if you consider the fact that he'd actually be a natural predator for them.

I almost didn't pick up this Dick Tracy graphic novel. To be honest, the most interesting thing to me about Dick Tracy has always been the freakish villains (mostly in ation figure form), and the movie didn't really age all that well, IMO. BUT I flipped through the artwork in this thing and found:

INSANELY cool Kyle Baker artwork!!! So I snapped it up after all. This thing is just freaking GORGEOUS. I mean look at Flattop! Look at Pruneface! Lips Mannis is insane here! Steve the Tramp looks like a nightmare monster from the black lagoon! I hope I stumble across the other two volumes at some point!

And finally, I thought I'd end on some classic Sesame Street. Can't remember now (without going and finding this book which, let's all fact facts: I'm too lazy to do) but I'm wondering if this was some sort of "Follow That Bird" tie-in? Anyway, Big Bird returns from SOMEWHERE a bit earlier than expected, and instead of finding everyone on Sesame Street moping around ready to slit their wrists over missing him, Big Bird is dismayed to find out no one really cares... and in fact all his friends seem to be celebrating something. If you've already figured out what they're preparing for, then you're smarter than the big yellow bird in this book.

What I especially liked about this one is the fact that Forgetful Jones plays a semi-prominent role. He's the one who has the idea of throwing a party for uh... whoever it is. He's so goldurn forgetful! I don't distinctly remember Jones being portrayed as an actual resident of the Street back when I watched the show. I thought he was always in puppet saloons or out on the range with Buster or Clementine. 

Anyway. 

That's it for tonight kids! I'll be back soon with more Geeky Goodwill Goodies! Until then, Happy Hunting!

Yardsale Bin Pt. 5: The Very Bottom of the Bin

So this is where it ends. 5 posts I managed to wring out of this one Sterilite tote I picked up from a yard sale last September. You can still check out parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you haven't already done so. 

Here is the very last time you will have to look at this thing. Let's take a look as I scrape the bottom, shall we? 

First up, there's this intrepid trio. I had no idea what to make of them at first. Too small to be G.I. Joes... these are more the 3 inch scale rather than 3.75... I guess... eyeballing them? 

Well, turns out these are The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest action figures from 1998! Heeeeeere's Johnny! "X-Treme Action" Johnny, to be exact (which sounds dirtier than it's supposed to... I think). 

Here's "Drop Zone" Race. He still has his gun in his holster!!! So badass. 

Here's "Desert Stealth" Hadji. I thought this was just some sort of generic ninja action figure until I noticed the matching symbol on both Hadji and Race's shirts. I didn't get they were supposed to be the letter Q. 

Next up there was this motley trio. 

I actually had to get some help from a shout-out on Instagram to help me identify this armored fellow, as he didn't fit the profile of any action figure line I was aware of. Turns out though that he's General Hawk from the 90's G.I. Joe Star Brigade line. He's missing a helmet and a giant hot pink machine gun. So sad. 

This is a Tarzan action figure from the Tarzan: The Epic Adventures line. Apparently it was based on a Hercules-style live action adventure show? But from all appearances, the characters in the action figure line are all related to a storyline where Tarzan conquers mars...? Anyway, I researched the figure and found out this guy is severely stripped down, since he has a set of golden armor and a red cape that I think I donated instead to my Brimstone Love action figure from the fourth installment of this little Yardsale Bin exploratory series. 

This is a Conan action figure from yet another failed Hercules-style live-action TV series "Conan the Adventurer". That's not important though. You know what is important? The cod-piece. Look at that thing. The size and shape of it. Next? The pull string in Conan's back that makes his arm jerk sporadically up and down. Look at that arm. It all looks EXACTLY as you might imagine it when set in motion. I am never giving this toy up for ANYTHING. 

On the left and right of this pic we have a couple of cavemen from Playskool's late-eighties toy line "Definitely Dinosaurs". Apparently there was initially some doubt about whether they were dinosaurs or not... but Playskool laid those to rest when they named the line. The guy in the middle I'll talk about a little further down who I lumped in with the cavemen for size reasons. Sometimes themes are hard.

This fellow's name has been lost to history (or at least the history of Playskool as known by Wikipedia) and was originally packed in with the Psittacosaurus of the series. I am pretending that he is "Shipwreck Survivor Tyrion Lannister". 

This guy's name is Brin and he was originally packed in with the Triceratops. I'm not pretending he's anything. He's just Brin. 

This figure used to be another one on my "unknowns" list where I was putting out pleas to see who could help me figure out what line it was from. It looks pretty obviously cheap. Come to find out it is a bootleg wresting figure of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, a WWF wrestler from back in the day. I have to admit... since I'm not a wrestling fan, I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't from some sort of bootleg swords-and-sorcer line. He certainly looks the part. 

Next up are these Power Rangers action figures. I am absolutely in LOVE with the pig-thing guy. I I have featured him once on the site already because I brought one home from the Dreamcatcher Antique Mall in August of 2013. So you won't see him featured below. 

Here is a bendy ranger wearing a niqab. Why I don't know. I suppose it was explained in the movie? This looks a little bit like Jinx from G.I. Joe... but I suspect it's a dude. 

Here is a hybrid shark/huggy-bear monster. His action feature is in fact hugging. Again... No idea why. 

Raven lady? Bendy? Power Rangers movie? 

Plastic monsters lurked in the deepest depths of the bin! They're all pretty fun, but only two of them truly stole my heart:

The two I was most excited about were the Mothra toy from the 1994 Trendmasters line, and this cheap old two-headed dragon. For some reason the perspective of this picture makes him look HUGE. he isn't. See the picture above this one for a more accurate scale. 

This King Kong ornament and Aston Martin Goldfinger display case went on the a better home, with Brian over at Cool and Collected. Yep. These were just... in the bin. 

Next up was this trio of TMNT action figures. We have a General Traag sans left hand, Splinter sans clothes, and Muckman sans his trashcan and Eyeball Joe. We're going to skim right on over armless and naked and take a look at:

Muckman! Even without his accessories and sidekick, this figure looks pretty amazing. He was introduced at the very height of the TMNT action figures-as-Garbage Pail Kids phase of the line. He's even got a clothespin on his nose to answer the age old question of: How do you stop Muckman from smelling? 

There was this night (From empire toys) and his squire (unidentified brand) hiding at the bottom of that bin too!

And a plastic baggie full of kniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiights!!! Not sure what I'm going to do with these guys, but they are most likely not going to live here much longer. 

This horse belongs to Batman. Dark Rider Batman to be exact, from the Legends of Batman line. Instead of being Batman's horse, this guy now stands next to my Headless Horseman action figure and looks pretty awesome. 

As we draw nearer and nearer to the very last bits of plastic in the bottom of the bin, we finally strike some Transformers! I believe both of these are from the Beast Wars line... but I didn't research it deeply, to be honest. I am also 90% sure that they are both missing limbs or other vital body parts. Which is a shame, because the scarab-beetle guy on the right is pretty awesome. The one on the left? He's just insanely complicated and tangled and I have no patience for Transformers and I just don't care and ugh.

And this is it! These are the last four toys to have come from the seemingly BOTTOMLESS yard sale bin I picked up almost an exact year ago. I genuinely didn't mean to drag this thing out over almost an entire year (I picked it up shortly before September 19th of 2013). First we have not one but TWO Tim Murphy action figures from the Jurassic park lines. The first one is from the second series, and the second one is from the first. Weird... I know. What I find hilarious is that they merely swapped the head out for a more movie accurate (IMO) head for the second edition of the figure. I feature my two Tims here because it truly highlights the feeling of mediocrity and buyers remorse I started to feel as I discovered what I had paid 40 dollars for in total. I mean... there was some good stuff in there... but I wasn't feeling so great in the pit of my stomach when I pulled these Double-Mint twins out. And then we have the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves action figures... which... didn't really disappoint me the same way that the Tims did... but finding that Azeem had none of his cloak included in the bin was more than a little disheartening. Azeem, being Morgan Freeman, is my favorite character in that film. Gods how I love that man. And now I have a unitarded Azeem in kinky boots.

So that's the end of the Saga of the Yard Sale Bin. It ends with more of a whimper than a roar... I admit. I hope that's not less than you were expecting... Except... I have a secret to tell. It's true I bought this bin last September... and just as Halloween countdown season began I kind of petered out writing about it after the second installment. THEN in July of this year I finally picked up the strand and started finishing the final three posts. It was shortly after the third Yard Sale bin post went up that something AMAZING happened:

I bought another BIN.

No, not this one. But almost as cool.

I'll tell the whole story soon, but let me suffice it to say: I was approached by the same guy I bought the first bin from. APPROACHED. And by "shortly after" I mean "two days" because that post went up on the 13th and this second bin showed up literally in my front yard on the 15th. I CANNOT WAIT TO START BLOGGING ABOUT IT. But my friend Brian over at Pop Pop! It's Trash Culture reminded me I hadn't even finished blogging about THIS bin. And I was so much less excited about what I had to share about THIS bin than I am about THAT bin!!!

Almost this excited.

So look for posts about that soon. (If I can squeeze it in before October 1st, along with a TON of really cool packages folks have sent me recently, that I NEED to give shout-outs for!)

But for tonight? That's all I've got kids! Goodwill has their Halloween section up! I brought some goodies home that I will be (of course) saving for my countdown. I'll still be back with more Geeky Goodwill Goodies before that starts up! So until I return... Happy Hunting!