32nd Birthday Haul

Another August 2nd means another Birthday post! Much like last year, I already did my celebrating this past weekend (since Wednesday is generally an inconvenient day for get-togethers), so I'm just taking it easy today. Still got some sweet Birthday swag to share, though, so let's get cracking!

Sonic Origins Plus (Switch)

Metroid Prime Remastered

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (Switch)

Pac-Man World Re-Pac (Switch)

Psychonauts 2 (PS4)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (4K Combo)

This year's game selection is largely ports and enhanced remakes. These include both games that I've played before as well as ones that I've never actually experienced. (Looking forward to finally checking out MegaMan.EXE's RPG adventures and Pac-Man's first foray into 3D platforming!) Rounding things out are a sequel to a fan-favorite game that I completed recently (and loved) and Mario's big (American) animated movie debut! Peaches Peaches Peaches. (Would you believe that TWO of the items listed above involve Jack Black?)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 14

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 15

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Saturday Morning Adventures Volume 1

Moving on to my usual batch of reading material, with a hot new movie hitting today (ON MY FREAKING BIRTHDAY), I, of course, had to give some love to my favorite Turtles. The two hardcovers start off Sophie Campbell's run on the main book (as well as introduce Tokka and Rahzar, which I'm jazzed about) while Erik Burnham's Saturday Morning Adventures series kicks things back to the universe of the 1987 cartoon. With these and Mutant Mayhem, I'll have three different flavors of TMNT to enjoy this month!

Pokémon Adventures XY Volume 3

Pokémon Adventures XY Volume 4

Pokémon Adventures XY Volume 5

Spider-Man: Fake Red

Manga time! Pokémon Adventures brings more Kalos (MEGA) fun while the Spider-Man: Fake Red series shows what would happen if some regular Joe got ahold of one of Spidey's suits while the real deal is MIA. The latter will make a fun little appetizer before Pete's next big video game adventure. (Especially since Venom is also in Fake Red.)

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus Volume 2: Deadtime Stories for Boos & Ghouls

More Springfield spookiness! Since I pretty much go into full-on Halloween anticipation mode after my Birthday, this second Treehouse of Horror Omnibus will be the perfect way to kick things off! Looking forward to diving into another 400 pages of horror-adjacent humor! (Including the FIRST time that the Simpsons parodied Death Note!)

Diddy Kong Racing Japanese Version

Yoshi's Story Japanese Version

Paper Mario (Mario Story) Japanese Version

My Dad surprised me with these! While Paper Mario is just the cartridge, DKR and Yoshi's Story include the boxes, manuals, and everything in decent condition, so they should make killer display pieces for my retro game collection! (Check out those awesome alternate covers compared to the US versions, too!)

Power Rangers Birthday Card w/$50 Amazon Gift Card

Marvel Comics Three-Pack (Murderworld: Moon Knight #1, Captain America: Symbol of Truth #2, and Spider-Men: Double Trouble #1)

My Sis and her family got me a Power Rangers Birthday Card (a SUPER MEGAFORCE one at that, meaning it had to have been backstock from almost a decade ago) that held Amazon cash within, which I quickly used to pre-order something I'll talk about in the next post as well as to add to my Playstation Store wallet. (Used said added cash to grab the Final Fantasy VII Remake Yuffie DLC. Gotta get ready for Rebirth!) Not wanting to just get me a gift card, though, they also threw in a three-pack of Marvel comics in a swank TMNT gift bag. While two of the comics in the pack were hidden from view in a blind bag sort of way, I lucked out in that they featured Spider-Man and Deadpool, two of my favorite Marvel characters. Those particular two comics also came with free digital copies, which is a great bonus.

Wrapping things up, my Grandma gave me fifty bucks that I used to pre-order SOMETHING ELSE that I'll detail in the next post.

That officially rolls credits on my 32nd Birthday! See you guys this Fall for my next post!

Hauls: Space Frogs and Cowardly Dogs

You know the drill by now: Playing haul catch-up again before any bells start jingling and we're hit with another year change. Let's skip any additional preamble and get to some nerd ephemera!

Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

This one was unexpected! See, my Mom was thrifting and came across a random box of gaming-related goods. After a bit of badgering from my Dad (he loves fiddling with retro gaming tech), she decided to buy it. After she brought it home, I was surprised to find THIS gem nestled in said box. The original Bear/Bird adventure! Needless to say, I wasted no time in re-adding it to the small N64 collection that I've been rebuilding ever since my original console and carts fell to the cruel mistress of being sold during the Gamecube era. Still works perfectly, too! (After a bit of cleaning.) Feels super nice to have this original cart again after the duo's big comeback in Smash.

Pokémon Adventures Black 2 and White 2 Volume 4

This one was actually a stray Birthday present that was delayed past the actual day after it was already pre-ordered. This volume (finally) brings the B2W2 arc of the manga to an end. Excited to finally head to Kalos in 2022!

The Disney Afternoon Adventures Volume 1: Just Us Justice Ducks and Other Stories (Amazon)

Invader Zim Volume 4 Deluxe Edition (Amazon)

This batch of books is courtesy of a rather nice Amazon deal from a while back where you could get 15 bucks off an item priced at $25 or more TWICE IN A ROW. Thanks to that, I was able to score both for less than the full price of just one! 

Now I'm only one hardcover short of owning all of Oni Press' Invader Zim Deluxe Editions and I've finally dipped my toe into the ocean of Fantagraphics' Disney comic collections! When I heard that not only were they collecting the strips based on the Disney Afternoon shows that ran in Disney Adventures magazine back in the day in nice hardcover collections, but also that they were STARTING with the multi-part Legend of the Chaos God crossover, I knew that I HAD to score this! (Not sure why they buried the Chaos God inclusion behind adaptations of a Darkwing Duck episode and A Goofy Movie in the marketing, but hey, I don't know the ins and outs of selling hardcover Duck books.)

Michelangelo Plush

This guy was another of my Mom's thrift finds! His mask has a hard time actually covering his eyes, but he makes a nice companion to my IDW TMNT collection on my bookshelf. (Which is also flanked by a Raphael bobblehead.)

Wreck-It Ralph: Ultimate Collector's Edition (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code) (Disney Movie Insiders)

I already own Wreck-It Ralph on Blu-ray and don't yet have the means to play 4K discs, but being able to finally add my favorite movie to my digital collection (my old copy was just a BD/DVD combo pack) while at the same time future proofing it for my physical shelf all for the best price of free courtesy of DMI? Yeah, that's amazing. Now I can watch it anywhere and the sequel doesn't have to look so lonely alongside my other digital copies!

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (DVD) (Amazon)

STUPID DOG(S)!! I don't really pick up Scooby-Doo films that often, but I'm a sucker for crossovers, so any time they throw an unexpected mash-up into their future projects, my interest becomes piqued. (Like when they resurrected Batman: The Brave and the Bold for a team-up back in 2018.) This year's mix is one that A LOT of people would probably be surprised that they haven't done earlier (barring a few Cartoon Network promos): Scooby-Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog. Despite it being almost two decades since the series ended, the Courage characters are still as charming/twisted as ever and they mix well with the Mystery Inc. gang despite the disparate art styles. It's a really fun little nostalgia trip of a movie filled with a lot of what you'd expect from both sides and a TON of fanservice. I'd recommend it if you grew up watching either or both of these dogs' escapades on the tube. Just a fun, wacky little cartoon crossover film.

Jakks Pacific Mighty and Mecha Sonic Figures (Amazon)

Hadn't picked up any of Jakks Pacific's new Sonic the Hedgehog figures, but the second that they announced that MIGHTY THE ARMADILLO would be one of the first Classic characters added to the line, I KNEW that would have to change. The fact that they also decided to release MECHA SONIC (the semi-final boss from Sonic 2 not to be confused with his more well-known brother from Sonic CD) for the 30th Anniversary made getting into them EVEN MORE irresistible. These aren't always the easiest to score online for a decent price, but thanks to Amazon, I was able to get them both for retail! (Ten bucks a pop!) They're both SUPER cool (though Mecha's a little small compared to the other Classic characters and Mighty has trouble standing with his huge head and weaker legs) and I'm always pumped to add more characters without previous figure representation to my collection! (Here's hoping Fang and the Hooligans aren't far behind.)

Hot Wheels Mario Kart Blind Box Vehicle (Got Monty Mole!)

My Mom bought this for me. My chasers were the Cow and Trophy, but Monty certainly isn't a bad score.

Sgt. Frog: The Complete First Season (SD Blu-ray) (Rightstuf Anime)

Ohhhhhhhhhh man, this is a big one. Haven't really brought it up around these parts, but I'm a HUGE Sgt. Frog fan and there's always been a little gap in my heart ever since Funimation abandoned releasing the anime on DVD after 2011. Well, earlier this year, that hole was at last filled! Discotek announced that they had acquired EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of the show and had plans to release it on Blu-ray! The long-dormant Keronian sympathizer within me burst forth like an explosion and started obsessing over Space Frogs once again! I eagerly awaited every bit of information on their first release while finally reading through the manga. Now, at last, the start of a new era for the show has arrived.

While it's a Blu-ray, Sgt. Frog (mostly) isn't an HD show, so that means they could squeeze all 51 episodes of the show's first season on to just two discs and STILL have room for extras! (That's the equivalent of EIGHT DVDs from Funimation's previous release.) Speaking of extras, there's a nice selection of neat ones! There's, of course, the prerequisite clean opening and endings, but also promos for the show's original airing in Japan, the test episode of Funimation's dub that was originally up on YouTube and featured some differing voices and localized names ("Pekopon" became "Planet Wuss" and "Natsumi" became "Natalie," etc.), and even the trailer for ADV's aborted dub! Throw in a bunch of super nice touches like improved English subtitles for both the original Japanese and Funimation English dub, full English credits for every episode at the end of each disc, and the use of different art for both the slip and inside covers of the case and you've got a release that I was just THOROUGHLY impressed by. Needless to say, I can't freaking wait for the other six seasons. (Especially to finally experience all of those previously-unreleased-in-the-states episodes!)

Marvel Legends Retro Collection Spider-Man 2099 Figure (Big Bad Toy Store)

Capping things off with another addition to the Marvel Legends collection! Miguel O'Hara, AKA, Spider-Man 2099, is one of my personal favorite Spider-Men, but I missed out on his previous Marvel Legends figures when they were new and they quickly soared in price. Lucky for me, then, that they finally announced a rerelease (in 90's Spider-Man TAS-style packaging) a short while ago. Feels great to finally have a Miggy on my shelf! (Though, now I want them to rerelease his later suit. I actually REALLY like it.)

That'll do! I might post again before Christmas depending on if a certain item comes in around then, but we'll just see how things shake out. Either way, I hope ya'll enjoy the upcoming holiday season to its utmost! 🦃🎄