League of Extraordinary Bloggers: PIRATES!!! Part 3

It's time for my final installment of this weeks League of Extraordinary Blogger's topic: Pirates!

Part 3 is all about the books. And while I know we have more pirate-themed literature kicking around the Goodwill Geek's home, I pared it down to my favorite (or in some cases potentially favorite, but definitely Goodwill-bought) 10 books having to do with pirates. I'm not listing these in any particular order, so this is not a TOP 10, it's just a LIST of 10.

First up is Polly and the Pirates by Ted Naifeh. Any of you pop-culture enthusiasts out there should make yourselves familiar with Naifeh's work if you are not already. His Courtney Crumrin series of graphic novels is incredible, with a leading heroine who could kick Harry Potter's ass and would have worked her way through the 7 years of Hogwarts adventures without breaking a sweat. But we're not here to talk about Courtney. We're here to talk about good-girl-gone bad, Polly. Polly was raised in an all girls home and is one of the best-mannered, well-behaved girls there. Until she discovers a world of piracy and adventure, and a very special legacy. This story is action packed, full of incredible art by Naifeh, and a fun and mystery-laden story that keeps twisting and turning throughout. I didn't buy this one at Goodwill, I actually bought it through my comic shop, back when I still went to a comic shop, years ago. 

I haven't read this one yet, but I am looking forward to it. Part of a series of books set before the events in Peter Pan, Peter and the Starcatchers tells the story of a young boy named peter and a still two-handed pirate who wants to take a chest-full of treasure from him and his friends. I picked this one up from Goodwill for 1.99. 

I've mentioned this one on here before, but I'm bringing it back. I've never read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, but since I found it at Goodwill for .99 cents, I plan on correcting that. I don't know that it's a geek classic... but it is a classic that everyone should be familiar with. I've seen the old 1950's Disney live-action film adaptation, I've seen Disney's Treasure Planet, which I actually enjoyed quite a bit, and of course who hasn't seen Muppet Treasure Island... but I've never read the source material. 

Bourbon Island 1730 is a graphic novel starring anthropomorphic animals, that tells the tale of one last gasp of the pirating phenomena. A pirate captain imprisoned, and the crew that wants to set him free so their old treasure can be unearthed. I have not read this, but I picked it up for .50 cents at salvage/overstock chain store Mardens. I'm a sucker for cheap graphic novels and the stuff at Mardens is already cheap... but this was last-chance clearance cheap. 

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer is the first in a loooong series of books starring the plucky Mary "Jacky" Faber. She is a starving street urchin from England who enlists in the royal navy as a ship's boy, despite the fact that she's a she. These are some of the best written historical fiction young adult books I've ever had the pleasure to read. There are already 10 books in the series, with more to come, but don't let it intimidate you. Jackie is one of the most alive and vibrant characters ever put on paper, and as your narrator you are in good if fire-tempered and low-class hands. I will be the first to admit some of her adventures are slightly... far-fetched, and played at times for an almost Forest Gump kind of history-kitsch (she's met Napoleon and Mike Fink among other historical legends, and is involved in many other historical events besides just the age of piracy) but they work in an Indiana Jones-level of alternate history/adventure, and you won't even mind it. I didn't buy one single book of this series at Goodwill. The author, L.A. Meyer lives here and Maine, and his wife runs an art store in Bar Harbor, ME so I buy all my copies at cover price, signed and in hardcover from their shop. 

Booty: Girl Pirates on the High Seas is a book all about female pirates. I picked it up on clearance at Borders bookstore years ago when that was still something that existed. I didn't pay more than a couple of dollars for it, but I couldn't tell you how much exactly. I picked this up specifically to learn more about Anne Bonny and Mary Read (a bit more on them later) but don't think I've read another part of this book since then. I definitely plan on correcting that in the future. It's a great collection of historical information of pirate ladies. 

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THIS BOOK I just picked up on payday Friday!!! I picked it up after I started my 3-part pirates post, but BEFORE I did the post on pirate books! Weird right? There were some other pirate items I found on payday as well, but I'm not doing another post about pirate toys this week, so I'll just share them with the rest of the payday Friday fun. This book is one of those Idiot's Guides. I picked up one about vampires that I featured during my countdown to Halloween last year. This one's about pirates. I haven't had a chance to really check it out much yet, but I plan on getting all educated and whatnot. I think I paid 1.99 for this one. 

Good Night, Leo is a board book that we picked up for our boys. It's a lot of fun, as each page strips off a piece of pirate costume as Leo gets ready for bed, and puts it on his teddy bear. The book is actually less about piracy and more about sequencing and color recognition, but it's one of my kids' favorite bed-time stories because they think it's all about pirates. Heh. Kids are stupid. I don't remember if this book was a gift or if we bought it ourselves, but it wasn't second-hand, either way. 

I love Jane Yolen. I think she's an incredible poet and a great writer. The Ballad of the Pirate Queens is an incredible book-length poem about the lady pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read (this was the book that inspired the purchase of Booty mentioned above) that we typically only read to our kids around Halloween. I didn't get a chance to share it during my Halloween Kids' book countdown, but it's an amazing book about pirates, so I'm glad I thought to share it now. David Shannon is an illustrator for children's books whose work I enjoy and follow (He's more known for his No David! books than most anything else) and his illustrations in this book are  gorgeous and pitch-perfect throughout. I paid full price for this book when I discovered it and fell in love with it years and years ago. 

Finally, we have Edward and the Pirates which is a cool little story about a little bookworm boy who is menaced by fictional-yet-still-dangerous pirates. It's more about the power of books and the ability to read... but my kids are all like: pirates! So I don't argue. David McPhail is another children's illustrator whose work I follow and enjoy. Picked this one up at Goodwill for .99 cents. 

Well. That's it for me and pirates. I like to think it was quite a wild ride. I have no idea what the League topic will be tomorrow, but I know that a lot of next week's posts will be dedicated to the things I found on this week's Payday Friday. Yes. It was that good. It was almost... epic.

So I will be back very soon with more Goodwill Goodies. Until then, Happy Hunting!

Before I finish up completely though, let's see what even more of the League saying about "Pirates":

- Branded in the 80's explores the concept of pirate nostalgia in childhood pop-culture.

- Doubledumbassonyou.com introduces us to a gas siphoning pirate Dreadnok from the G.I Joe comics.

- The Cavalcade of Awesome shows us just how awesome the Muppet Treasure Island Soundtrack is.

- Yelinna at traveling_pics shows off some pirate toys and possibly the worst pun in League history!

- And the Dork Dimension shows off a truly awesome mini-figure that I would be proud to display on my shelf.

League of Extraordinary Bloggers: PIRATES!!! Part 2

Welcome back to PIRATES!!! courtesy of the League of Extraordinary Bloggers topic of the week. 

This is part two. Admittedly, I think I may have topped out in Part 1 with my fictional history of a group of cheap pirate toys that I worship above all others. Now I feel like parts 2 and 3 are just all sort of sloppy seconds (and... thirds I guess?). Well there's nothing to do but put a bag over its head, grit our teeth, and plow on into it. Let's get this over with. 

I'm opening with a Captain Jack Sparrow PEZ dispenser. Remember when there was only one Pirates of the Caribbean movie in existence and it wasn't a suck-fest? Well, I do. And that is why I was excited to find a PEZ dispenser with Capt. Jack's head on it. Think really hard. In recent years, can you count on more than one hand how many PEZ dispensers have flesh-and-blood characters from live-action movies? And I'm not counting masked characters from Star Wars. Darth Maul counts, and the Emperor... but beyond that, enlighten me. So this PEZ dispenser is a pretty big deal. There's also this ADORABLE little pirate guy on the left that came in a grab-bag from Goodwill, and a hook-handed pirate that I don't remember how I acquired. 

Up next is a set of Scooby-Doo Mystery Mates figures in pirate garb, including not 1 but 2 different versions of Scooby-Doo and not 1 Fred at all. Top center is Redbeard the Pirate. Daphne zazzles it up a bit in a purple pirate get-up, Velma inexplicably throws on some stripes, and Shaggy ties part of his shirt on his head. Redbeard is really the only one that gets much display time in the Cave. But now seeing them all together in a big pirate display is making me fall in love with them more than ever. 

These guys are the Playmobil pirates that came with the giant skull cave you see in the group shot above. I paid 1.99 at Goodwill for the set. The only 2 really adequate pirates in the set are the top 2. I think of them as the Mick and Keith, and the other three are just the other Stones (except for old Bald-top down there... he's just not in the band at all). The set came with a rowboat and some pylons to click into the beach to create and awesome pirate-cove hideout. 

Here's a couple of grinning skeletal pirates with mischief on their minds. The green one on left is from the Pirates of the Caribbean Happy Meal series, and was found this past Halloween season at Goodwill. The one on the right I found at CVS years and years ago in a lame assortment of other Halloween-themed character banks. He stood out as a grinning paragon midst a bunch of cheap looking witches and lame Frankenstein's monsters. He saved me that day. I like to think I took him home... but the truth is he took me home. He's just another generic, cheaply produced Halloween toy (he was full of gumballs, and doubles as a coin bank... that's a fake pirate doubloon in his belly) but he is another fine example of an inspired sculpt in a throw-away seasonal item that was never meant to be special. The tears are streaming down my face as I write this. 

Phew. That wasn't so bad, now was it? All right, next up... there will be books. Part 3 is coming this weekend. So if you're not into books... don't come to the party. 

What are some more of the League saying about Pirates? Let's see:

- Jaime of Shezcrafti did a run-down of some of the most ear-drum destroyingly awesome pirate songs ever sung (sang? sung). 

- Jason over at Rediscover the 80's gives up the who's who of 80's and 90's cartoon pirates. 

- Iok of plaidstallions shows us a set of Matchbox action figures that immediately set me drooling. 

- And Dex over at AEIOU and Sometimes Why introduces us to a Scottish "pirate metal band. You have been warned. 

I'll be back soon with more Goodwill Goodies! Until then, Happy Hunting! 

League of Extraordinary Bloggers: PIRATES!!! PART 1

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers has another single word for this week's topic. So it's time for PIRATES!!! Hoo. I need to get myself under control. This blog post may get a little... extended. In fact, I may have to drop a few... parts all up in here. I'm offically breaking this post into 3 parts. THREE PARTS!!! I'm excited. 

PIRATES!!!

(I may have added my own enthusiasm)

I voted for it! And the Pirates have it!!! So heeeeeere we go!

First up I scoured the Goodwill Geek Cave for any toys pirate in nature. This is what I turned up, although I'm only focusing on a small fraction of the toys pictured here in tonight's post:  

Honestly part of why I was excited to do this post was simply to put the spotlight on these fine fellows:

A set of 6 plastic skeletal undead pirate figures. I've mentioned them in passing before (probably around Halloween. Oh thank goodness this post didn't happen around Halloween... the decorations we have packed away!) but these six figures are six of my most prized possessions. They came out of 2 cheap 3-packs of toys found at a local branch of salvage and overstock stores called Mardens here in Maine. 

They came with the crappiest accessories, including an easily broken treasure chest, a row boat, and some other crap I promptly chucked. Because it was ALL ABOUT THE EFFING UNDEAD PIRATES. Aaaand.. since the last time I might have mentioned them on here... they've developed personalities, back stories, and names. Enjoy. 

Here's Captain Scaggs. He's the leader of this motley crew. He lost his leg to a skeletal ghost shark. He keeps his crew in line with a combination of abuse, liquor, and sheer menace. He also has a collection of pristine-condition left-foot boots and shoes. 

This is Pot-Shot Pete. He can take out a crow's eye from the crow's nest. He is an ascot enthusiast, and often steals left shoes from Captain Scagg's collections. Shhh. Don't tell him. 

This is Fred. No one likes Fred. He's lazy as f--k. Look at him. Can't even hold that flag upright. I'm so sick of Fred. Everyone is. But he's Captain Scagg's nephew. 

Here is Cortez. Here is his Machete. He has empty eye sockets but wears an eyepatch. I suppose he could look like One-Eyed Willy from the Goonies under there, all smooth bone... but everyone is seriously scared of Cortez and no one dares ask him. He's kind of unstable and no one knows how to tell them they're concerned. 

Here's Crowley Loblolly and his hatchet. He's the ship's surgeon and ironically, loblolly boy. He has a crush on the submerged, skeletal remains of a girl named Molly. If they get married, her name will be Molly Loblolly. 

Here's Pint. He likes to party. He's the ship's cook and he likes his beer. He is a child's toy brandishing a frothy mug of beer. He is a dwarf. ALL other toys are invalid. 

Honestly, I love these guys because they are detailed, have nice paint, and personality out the EARS. It's even more amazing when you consider they're just cheap blister-pack toys from a discount bin at a salvage and overstock store. These guys are insanely cool. 

He's hungry for leg.

Here's what some other members of the League are doing with "Pirates":

- Newcomer to the League, Jon B over at the Wombat Corkshop (That doesn't sound right...) literally dug up a buried treasure and turned it into Pirate Gold.

- Rich at Fortune and Glory (Days) reminisces about some of his favorite childhood pirate cinema  and I have to say, I like his choices. (What no Goonies?)

- Grey Endres, yet ANOTHER League newcomer, features a pirates-themed game on his blog, Achievements in Gaming!

This was only part 1 of 3 of my Pirate extravaganza!!! I'll be back very soon with more awesome Pirate Goodness! Until then... AAAR me mateys!