Hey, guys. Been a while since my last post. (Just over seven months!) As usual, over the course of all that not posting that I've been doing, I've acquired quite a treasure trove of extremely nerdy things. Let's take a gander at it all and FINALLY bring the blog into 2026, shall we?
TMNT: Turtles in Time Slash Enamel Pin (Mercari)
Kicking things off with something that I actually purchased back in December, while randomly browsing Mercari for potential new additions to my pin collection, I hit paydirt and found THIS guy! I don't know if this is an official product or just a custom made by the seller, but I absolutely COULD NOT pass up the opportunity to add Slash's sprite from Turtles in Time to my little banner. My favorite TMNT character AND the version that I was introduced to him through? It's like this thing was MADE for me! It's a great quality pin, too. It's big, the colors are nice and vibrant, and it came with multiple rubber covers for the back. Very happy to be able to add yet more Slash ephemera to my growing collection.
Pokémon Masters EX Master Sync Pair Pin Set
Speaking of pins, I actually won this little set in a giveaway last year via the Pokémon Masters EX mobile game's Twitter account. Included in it are itsy bitsy pin representations of Steven from Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, N from Pokémon Black & White, and Lillie from Pokémon Sun & Moon, plus a pin version of the smartphone game's "Hearts United" medal. It's certainly a unique way to add Pokémon representation to my little banner, but getting this kinda unique promotional merch that you can't normally buy for free will always be cool.
Marvel Legends Retro Cardback Spider-Man 2099 Figure (Amazon)
Already had a Miggy for my Marvel Legends shelf, but when Hasbro revealed this new Spider-Man 2099 figure during one of their livestreams, I couldn't help but pre-order it. It's a great improvement on the 2021 version, with a better web cape and more comic accurate body proportions. Now they need to hurry up and make a new figure of his second suit!
DC X Sonic Shadow/Batman 5-Inch Figure (Target)
When toys based on the DC X Sonic crossover were announced, I had only ONE thought: "I NEED me a Batman Shadow." Thus, when Wave 2 of the 5-inch figures went up on Target's site, I GOT me that Batman Shadow. It's a great, well-articulated figure of an absolutely wicked mash-up design. Highly recommended if you're a fan of Sonic, DC, the comic or just really cool things.
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 2 (Amazon)
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 4 (With Number 47: Nightmare Shark Promo Card) (Amazon)
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 7 (With Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld Promo Card) (Amazon)
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 9 (With Gagaga Head Promo Card) (Amazon)
This has been a long time coming! Y'see, as I mentioned in a previous post, the ZEXAL manga was the only Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off manga that I didn't own in its entirety. (I only owned the first volume for the longest time.) It wasn't because I disliked it or anything. (I read it all digitally and really enjoyed it.) It's just that it was pretty hard to get around to purchasing eight whole volumes of a manga at $9.99 a pop while other things kept taking priority. (It didn't help that I never ran into the series in the wild again after the ARC-V manga came around.)
Earlier this year, however, an opportunity arose. To celebrate their half-year anniversary, the Persona 5 The Phantom X mobile game gave away $5000 worth of Amazon gift codes through a Twitter campaign over 16 days. Most of the winnings were only in $5 and $10 increments, but you could enter every day that the campaign was active and if you were lucky, that free Amazon cash would stack up fast. Needless to say, I was lucky. I ended up winning 35 bucks of Amazon gift codes and, combined with MORE Amazon codes that I scored from my favorite survey rewards app (Prime Opinion), I was quickly able to complete my ZEXAL manga (and Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off manga) collection while spending less than $20 of actual money. Not too shabby!
Volumes 2, 4, 7, and 9 were my first purchases, the first pre-owned and the other three new. Given that the final volume of the ZEXAL manga is almost a decade old, I was legit surprised to see that the grand majority of the new volumes that I purchased still had their promo cards included. (I was especially jazzed that my Volume 4 included Nightmare Shark, given that Shark is my favorite ZEXAL character.)
Gargoyles Omnibus Volume 2: Clan Building (Paperback) (Kickstarter)
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 3 (With Number 22: Zombiestein Promo Card) (InstockTrades)
Next ZEXAL volume is a unique one in that it was the only one that I didn't buy on Amazon. I opted for InstockTrades instead because they were the only ones still selling it new. Thanks to that, I was able to add the Zombiestein card to my collection.
As for the Gargles, I finally got my replacement Volume 2 in from Dynamite's Kickstarter. (If you'll recall from one of my previous hauls, Volume 2 in particular had an annoying misprint that repeated a page, causing another essential story page to be left out. This fixes that.) The funny thing is that I actually have TWO replacements now. My copy took so long getting to me that I complained about it on Dynamite's Kickstarter page, which caused them to quickly send me a replacement for my replacement. Weeeeeellll, then the original replacement finally showed up, causing my total number of Gargoyles Omnibus Volume 2s to rise to a whopping three. (One misprinted and two corrected.) Silly, right? Whatever the case, I can finally start reading the Gargoyles comics now. (Y'know, whenever I get to them in my titanic reading pile.)
Number 50: Blackship of Corn (eBay)
Number S39: Utopia the Lightning (Mercari)
Crystron Quan (eBay)
Despin Comedy (eBay)
Vampire Sorcerer (eBay)
Edge Imp Chain (eBay)
Since I was able to score most of the ZEXAL manga's promo cards through the books themselves, I decided to go ahead and hit up eBay and Mercari for the remaining two to complete my set. Blackship of Corn even came with four bonus cards!
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 5 (With Number 72: Shogi Rook Promo Card) (Amazon)
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 6 (With Number 52: Diamond Crab King Promo Card) (Amazon)
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Volume 8 (Amazon)
Finishing up my little ZEXAL tangent are the last three volumes. Feels really nice to finally have them all on my shelf.
$75 Amazon Gift Card
Pokémon Battle Ready Battle Figure Multi-Pack
Some family friends stopped by in February bearing some late Christmas gifts. Not only did I get SEVENTY-FIVE BUCKS of Amazon cash, but also a neat little set of Pokémon figures. (Can't say that I ever expected to own a figure of Galarian Darumaka, but that just makes the set even neater.)
Sonic Prime: The Complete Series (Amazon)
Back to the Future: The Complete Animated Series (Amazon)
My first purchases courtesy of that very generous Amazon card are a couple of shows that I've been looking to add to my shelf for a while. Sonic Prime completes my Sonic animation Blu-ray collection for the time being (FIGURE OUT THOSE OVA RIGHTS, SEGA!!) while the Back to the Future animated series slots in nicely next to my old DVD set of the films. (I originally wanted to get the "Complete Adventures" Blu-ray so I could finally upgrade my copies of the movies AND grab the cartoon in one go, but I waited too long and it went out of print. Just as well, though, since the animated series by itself was only around ten bucks and now I can upgrade the trilogy straight to 4K.)
Danny Phantom: A Glitch in Time (Amazon)
Danny Phantom: Fair Game (Amazon)
Spent the rest of my Amazon cash on these recent Danny Phantom graphic novels. I actually got around to reading these, and I've gotta say, I was SUPER impressed by them. If you're a fan of the show, THESE ARE FOR YOU. They feel JUST like the show while also not being afraid to move the story forward in interesting new ways. Combine that with a faithful, vibrant, and expressive artstyle, and they're essentially a hypothetical "Season 4" in comic form. (They even go as far as to address certain fans' issues with the third season!) Needless to say, these ended up being WAY cooler than I expected modern graphic novels based on a 2000s Nickelodeon show to be. The writer is 100% a fan, and it absolutely shows. REALLY hoping that they eventually continue these. (Fair Game ended with the tease of a friggin' GHOST WAR, for God's sake! YOU CAN'T JUST PEACE OUT ON THAT!)
$35 Nintendo eShop Card
Another late Christmas gift from February courtesy of my favorite cousin, this eShop card allowed me to finally secure my Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Season Pass, adding Sonic Prime, Pac-Man, Mega Man, TMNT, and even SPONGEBOB characters to my roster. Excited to see what crazy crossover surprises await in Year 2! (Besides the already announced Godzilla and Evangelion, of course.)
Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Unite Volume 3: Allied Forces (eBay)
Speaking of Sonic crossovers, both his little reunion with the Blue Bomber in CrossWorlds AND the impending return of Archie's Mega Man comic to print inspired me to finally put some (literally) unfinished business to rest. Y'see, when Archie still held the comic license to both Sonic AND Mega Man, they crossed over their books not just once, but twice. These crossover events were known as Worlds Collide and Worlds Unite, 12-issue epics that ran through multiple books and were brimming with SEGA and Capcom fanservice. However, when the time came for Archie to collect both in trade form, only one was completed. While Worlds Collide enjoyed both a three-volume AND complete omnibus-esque release, Worlds Unite was only able to get out two of its three solicited volumes before Archie lost the Sonic license, killing all previous plans. For years, those two volumes have been sitting on my shelf, taunting me with their incompleteness. Plus, if I ever wanted to reread Worlds Unite, I'd have to awkwardly switch to my single issues for the third act.
However, little did I know that things would eventually change. Not through official means, as Udon's current reprint plans for Archie Mega Man don't include the crossovers (likely because of SEGA), but through enterprising fellow fans. Enter Mobius Ring, an eBay seller working to compile Archie's previously-uncollected Sonic and Mega Man material into new trade paperback and omnibus collections. This includes Worlds Unite's last chunk, which they've assembled into the long-awaited Volume 3. While the book isn't perfect (it uses matte paper rather than the glossy material from Archie's books, and some of the included material is of lower image quality compared to the majority) and the price is pretty steep, it's still VERY impressive for a fan printing. All in all, though, I'm just incredibly happy to finally have both official Sonic/Mega Man crossover stories collected in full on my bookshelf.
Sobble Plush
My Mom found this guy for me while she was out thrifting! With Snivy, Froakie, and now Sobble, that's three of my personal starter Pokémon choices that I have in plush form! (Now I need to find a Totodile or Fuecoco.)
McDonald's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Yoshi Toy
My Sis gave me this little guy because her kids already had him. Didn't really pay much attention to the McDonald's Super Mario Galaxy Movie toys when they were out, but I'll never say no to a complimentary plastic Yoshi. (Especially my first of the Donald Glover variety.)
Transformers: Age of the Primes Voyager Class Sideways (Walmart)
I only pick up Transformers once in a blue moon (especially VEHICLE mode Transformers), but I HAD to grab this guy! Sideways was my favorite character from Transformers Armada (I loved his whole playing-both-sides gimmick and his design is SICK) and I've been WAITING for Hasbro to finally put out a modern toy of him. It's a pretty great figure, too, with all his prerequisite gimmicks retained, including his different faction modes and twin combining Mini-Cons. My only nitpick is that I wish the Decepticon head had a bit more color variation to bring it a little closer to screen accuracy. Using flat light gray for the entire head just doesn't make him look as cool as he should. Still, it's awesome to see another of my personal favorite Transformers characters get the modern figure treatment! Welcome to the shelf, Sideways. (You'll be the only thing on it with wheels.)
Super7 TMNT Ultimates Leatherhead (Big Bad Toy Store)
Despite him being one of my personal favorite TMNT characters, I initially passed on Super7's Ultimates Leatherhead. I just wasn't huge on the head sculpt (mainly the buck teeth), regardless of Playmates accuracy. However, when BBTS had him down to ELEVEN BUCKS back in April, I just couldn't resist. As per the norm with Super7's TMNT Ultimates, he's a really great modern take on the original Playmates toy, with a treasure trove of accessories. Though, his leg joints are weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak. They can barely keep his massive gator bulk upright.
Ratchet & Clank (Blu-ray Combo) (eBay)
The Mario Galaxy Movie put me in a video game movie kinda mood, so I decided to finally add the 2016 Ratchet & Clank movie to my collection. (I scored it on eBay WITH the original foil slipcover for eleven bucks!) It's not a perfect movie, but I think it's a fun time if you love the games. (If anything, it gets major points just for having the main voice cast from the games reprise their characters. That's so rare.)
Super Mario RPG Mario Head Pin (eBay)
Super Mario RPG Mallow Head Pin (eBay)
Super Mario RPG Geno Head Pin (eBay)
Super Mario RPG Bowser Head Pin (eBay)
Super Mario RPG Peach Head Pin (eBay)
Certainly lucked out on this one! As mentioned two posts ago, a while back I happened upon two Super Mario RPG pins (Geno and Mario) from a Europe-exclusive set for an amazing deal on Mercari. Ever since I scored those, I've been scouring both Mercari AND eBay in search of a good enough deal on the remaining three pins in the set. However, no matter how many listings I found, they were either ridiculously expensive or from international sellers, meaning that tarrifs and duties would likely get involved. Eventually, I stumbled upon an eBay listing for all five for around 80 bucks. That might sound ridiculous for such tiny pins, but considering that other sellers were charging around that much for ONE of them, it was pretty reasonable by comparison. However, it was still more than I wanted to pay to complete the set, so I decided to put the listing on my watch list and hope for a discount. Said discount DID eventually come in the form of an offer directly from the seller! He was able to knock $20 off the price, which put it precisely in the sweet spot I was looking for! I accepted his offer and now I have the entire party from my favorite game ever represented on my little pin banner! (As well as extra Mario and Geno pins for good measure.)
Super Mario RPG Geno Keyring (eBay)
ANOTHER Europe-exclusive Super Mario RPG promo item! I was originally going to pass on this one since I have limited use for a keyring in general, but I found it for a good price on eBay and figured that I might as well snag it. (Especially since I already have the pins and acrylic standee released alongside it. Now the set is truly complete!)
KFC Supergirl Figurine Bag Clip - Ruthye
KFC Supergirl Figurine Bag Clip - Supergirl
Indulged in KFC's tie-in meal for the recent Supergirl movie and grew a couple of figural bag clips richer. Not my ideal choices for characters (I wanted Krypto and Lobo), but I'm at least glad that I got Supergirl. Pretty nice little premiums. I hope KFC does more of this kinda stuff in the future. (An exclusive drink, themed sauces, AND free toys? Say less.)
OMGcon 2026 Swag
Mega Man: The Complete Series (SDBD)
Darkstalkers: The Animated Series (SDBD)
Knuckles (4K)
Sonic X: Chaos Emerald Chaos DVDouble Shot
Super Mario RPG Acrylic Keychain
Cloud Strife Pin
After skipping out last year to go on a Florida trip with the family, me and my sister returned to OMGcon this year for another fun weekend of shooting the breeze, watching Digimon, ordering takeout, and buying a lot of candy and nerd stuff that we really don't need. As far as my haul goes, besides two neat FFVII pins and a rad Super Mario RPG keychain that I scored from an artist, I mostly bought Blu-rays. Not only did I add Discotek's recent feature-packed SDBD releases of the delightfully cheesy Mega Man, Street Fighter, and Darkstalkers cartoons to my shelf, but I was also finally able to bring my Sonic movie universe collection up to date with the Knuckles show on 4K. (The seller I bought all this from also threw in a Sonic X DVD for free!)
Just one last bit from OMGcon before we move on, and I can't possibly think of a more fitting transition than...
"HEY, BIG GUY!"
Yep, I got to meet Jon St. John, the original voice of Big the Cat and E-123 Omega! (Also Duke Nukem, for those of you less Sonic-brained.) Really cool guy. Chatted with everyone in his (decently-sized) line for a good bit and was overall pleasant and accommodating. I had him sign some games, but I really wish the con had made it clear beforehand that he was charging for that kind of stuff. Given that every other VA I met at OMGcon did it for free, it really caught me off guard.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Knockoff Knockout 2-Pack - Leo & Nardo (Amazon)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Knockoff Knockout 2-Pack - Raph & Ralph (Amazon)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Knockoff Knockout 2-Pack - Mikey & Mark (Amazon)
After getting Donnie's Knockoff Knockout pack last Christmas, I was itching to complete the set. However, the line never restocked on Target's website after the initial pre-orders, so I assumed the ship had sailed on that. (Since the packs were originally Target-exclusive.) Luckily, though, all four packs recently hit Amazon for retail, so I quickly ordered Leo, Raph, and Mikey to complete the quartet. Now I have a new set of Turtles in holiday attire to decorate with AND a constant wallbound patrol of my room by the one-and-only Tubular Tortoise Karate Warriors! Horse-a-bunga!
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Monster Mutanimals Bundle (Tokka, Rahzar, Scale Tail, and Antrax) (Amazon)
Speaking of Turtles, with Playmates losing their master toy license next year (end of an era), I HAD to make sure that I got their new Tales of the TMNT Tokka and Rahzar figures while I could. (Not only do I just love the new takes on the characters from the show, but the OG Tokka and Rahzar are also some of the first basic TMNT figures that I can remember getting. So, in a way, I'm bringing my Playmates toy collecting full circle.) The two eventually went up for pre-order in a four-pack alongside fellow "Monster Mutanimals" Scale Tail and Antrax. I was originally only interested in Tokka and Rahzar and wanted to wait for their individual releases, but I figured that with time running out for Playmates' license, said individual releases might never actually come. Thus, I ordered the four-pack and now have a mostly-complete (they never made Wyrm) team of Monster Mutanimals in my collection. They're all really fun figures, too, with cartoon-accurate designs and accessories inspired by their vintage toys. (Tokka even has a head-popping action feature to simulate all the biting he does in the show!) Certainly a rad note for Playmates' era of TMNT toys to go out on.
DC X Sonic Rouge/Catwoman 5-Inch Figure (Big Bad Toy Store)
Since I already picked up Batman Shadow, you KNOW that I couldn't resist a 5-inch Catwoman Rouge to go with him! Not only is Rouge as Catwoman just a perfect combo, but her figure is actually even cooler than Shadow's, mainly because our favorite jewel thief rarely ever gets the 5-inch treatment. (In fact, this might actually be her first figure of this particular scale.) Now all we need is an Omega to complete this DC Team Dark! (Who would his DC counterpart be? Red Tornado?)
Skeledirge Epic Battle Figure (Target)
Went to see Toy Story 5 with my parents, niece, and nephew (Great film, BTW. Enjoyed it WAY more than 4.) and found this lovely lad at Target. Never in my life did I EVER expect (mah boi) SKELEDIRGE to receive such a cool figure! Not only is he HUGE, but he actually has a fair bit of articulation! (Granted, a lot of it isn't used for much, given his design, but still.) My only gripe is that he's hard to stand up with his tiny legs and large, flat body. He really could've used a stand or something. Still, this EXCEEDED my expectations for a Skeledirge figure from a kids line, and I'm very happy to finally have my favorite skele-croc in plastic form!
Jakks Pacific Donkey Kong Jungle Adventure Diorama Set (Target)
Wrapping things up, I ordered this Donkey Kong figure set off of Target's site. I don't usually bother with Jakks' 2.5-inch lines, but I HAD to own this one for ONE reason: Rambi. I've ALWAYS wanted toys of the Kongs' animal buddies, but they've been mostly neglected in previous lines, so it's fantastic to finally see the most famous one get his due. It's a great figure representation of him, too. He looks like he popped right out of the original DKC and, despite his scale, looks pretty good with my old Toybiz Diddy figure on his back! (The Jakks 4-inch Diddy is a little big, though.) I might actually keep Toybiz Diddy saddled up on my shelf. Aside from Rambi, this pack also includes 2.5-inch figures of DK and Diddy in their updated Bananza designs, which is a great little bonus. I'm super excited to see what Jakks has planned for the future of their DK line. I really hope they make more animal buddies. (As well as Kremlings.)
That's the last of it! I'll see you all next week for my 35th Birthday haul!
