Hauls: VACATION DISNEYSPLOSION!!

Howdy, guys! Been a little over a month since my last post, so, of course, I've got some hauls to unload!

Toy Story (Blu-ray Combo) (Amazon)

    Toy Story of Terror! (Blu-ray + Digital) (Amazon)

Starting things off with what I scored with the majority of my Birthday cash, I snagged the last of the Toy Story TV specials as well as finally added the first movie to my Blu-ray library. As with all Disney releases, these came with Disney Movie Rewards codes, which helpfully segways into the eponymous "DISNEYSPLOSION" of this post.

Y'see, DMR is changing to "Disney Movie Insiders" a bit later this month, and in the process of the move, has had a TON of sales on their physical rewards. The discounts were INSANE (with rewards that originally cost 1500 points dropping to a mere 450 and so on), so I absolutely couldn't resist blowing quite a few points. (I had also recently come into 2000 bonus points thanks to the Summer of Disney Regal promotion, so I had the means to go a little nuts.)

Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection (Blu-ray Combo)

Muppets Most Wanted (Blu-ray Combo)

These two came in first. While having the sheer variety of Disney's modern theatrical shorts on Blu-ray essentially for free is a great enough value on its own, the REAL gem here is the Movies Anywhere-exclusive digital inclusion of Runaway Brain, a great Mickey short from the 90's that was only previously available on a long-out-of-print DVD set. (Remember Julius, the Secret Boss from Kingdom Hearts 3D? Yeah, he's from that short.) Being able to watch Runaway Brain legally anywhere and any when I want is just fantastic.

As for the other title, ya just can't beat Muppets for a fun, goofy laugh.

The Lion King 1 1/2 (Blu-ray Combo)

Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel (DVD)

Lion King's third (sort of) installment marks the first DTVquel to enter my Blu-ray shelf, and I think it's a pretty solid one. (Weird continuity surrounding Timon and Rafiki knowing each other notwithstanding.)

As far as Phineas and Ferb goes, I'm a pretty casual observer rather than an all-out fan, but I really enjoyed the Mission Marvel special they put out a while ago full of goofy super hero hijnks, so grabbing the DVD from the DMR catalog when it dropped to like 300 points seemed like a no-brainer.

Sugar Rush Online (Ralph Breaks the Internet) Japanese Theatrical Poster

Hey, remember when I said those stickers from a previous haul would probably be my last Ralph Breaks the Internet-related DMR acquisition due to the sequel quickly becoming old news? Well, I didn't count on them both restocking the Japanese poster for the film AND severely discounting it to the point where it was the CHEAPEST poster I've ever redeemed from DMR. (I think I actually managed to grab their last one, too, as it disappeared from the catalog shortly after I got it in.) 

This is probably my favorite get of the entire sale, both because I've had my eye on this particular poster for quite a while (I actually got this in almost exactly a year following that tweet. Funny how things work out sometimes.) and because when a Wreck-It Ralph sequel was announced in the first place, I set a personal goal to save up enough DMR points to redeem an official theatrical poster so I could have a little shrine to show my Ralph love in my room. Well, now I own THREE, including both English and Japanese versions, so I think it's safe to say that I WRECKED dat goal! 

Moving on from all the Disney, I visited my Sis and brother-in-law's place a little bit later and the latter gave me some of the random swag he had lying around the house (Presumably to help clear space for my future nephew), mostly from past Loot Crates:

Not a whole lot I'd actually buy if given the chance, but when someone offers you transforming robot dinosaurs and plastic Xenomorphs for free, YOU TAKE THEM.

Before I get into the next big part of this post, I randomly ordered this a little after I got back:

Ghostbusters: Interdimensional Cross-Rip (Amazon)

I've been casually picking up the Ghostbusters comics from IDW over the years (Mostly the TMNT crossovers and other interesting stuff like the Real Ghostbusters team-up), but getting the first chunk of their ongoing run for Christmas a couple years back combined with all the crazy multiverse stuff they've had going on recently has really made me want to catch up on them full-on. 

This hardcover is the first step in that effort, collecting the Ghostbusters International series (essentially Volume 3 of the ongoing) as well as the previously cited Real Ghostbusters team-up and the 2015 Annual, a story previously uncollected. I WAS going to wait to get it, but after seeing how quickly the Volume 2 hardcover went out-of-print (Just look up "Ghostbusters: Mass Hysteria" on Amazon and watch your jaw drop at the prices), I didn't want to take any chances. 

So, from here on, I'm going to wait on Volume 2 to finish in the softcover "Spectral Shenanigans" trades next year (Probably around the time of the next hardcover) and then get pretty much everything I'm missing in one fell swoop so I can immerse myself in spooky comics. Comic books are kind of a complicated hobby at times.

Moving on, early on in September, me and the fam went on a trip to Florida, during which I scored even more stuff:

Toy Story 2 (Blu-ray Combo) (Walmart)

Toy Story 3 (Blu-ray Combo) (Walmart)

Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl The Complete Season (Walmart)

More Toy Story, finishing off my collection until 4 comes out! Also really looking forward to giving the Diamond and Pearl anime a full watch, as that was when I became a more casual watcher and mostly took in events from screencaps on Serebii.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure (Blu-ray Combo) (Walmart)

$20 Nintendo eShop Card (Walmart)

A Christmas special that I've been meaning to rewatch completes my Frozen home media library until the sequel releases while some extra eShop credit snagged me the Expansion Pass for Ultimate Alliance 3. (Bring on the FF!)

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Beast Morphers Red Ranger (Walgreens)

Stopped by a Walgreens because I had heard that Wave 2 of the Lightning Collection figures were starting to hit there and I NEEDED me dat Magna Defender, but only found Devon here. Still a score nonetheless, with the current, extremely solid season finally getting some representation on my shelves. He stands nicely right next to Tyler, readying themselves for a fun time next year.

Pichu amiibo (Target)

$10 Nintendo eShop Card (Target)

Trident Vibes with CTR Code (Target)

Went to a Target to look for Lightning figures again. Absolutely no luck this time (They only had Cruger, Tyler, and Tommy), but to offset the lack of luck in that particular field, I found the first amiibo display I've seen in an actual store in many months and it was FULL of ONLY Pichu, AKA, the one recent amiibo I kind of wanted for collection purposes, but didn't care enough to pre-order. Now my Pokemon amiibo collection is once again complete! Rounding that Target trip out was more eShop cash and a pack of gum that unlocks an exclusive paint job in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. Yes, really.

My Little Pony The Manga: A Day in the Life of Equestria Volume 1 (Books-A-Million)

Finishing off things in Florida, I also hit up a Books-A-Million and found the first volume of the new MLP manga. Haven't read it yet, but skimming reveals a story where Twilight is a Sailor Moon-esque magical girl chosen one who unites with the rest of the Mane 6 to form a ponified Megazord to battle a Godzilla version of Spike, so looking forward to THAT.

Pikachu's Winter Vacation (DVD) (Amazon)

Destruction Dragon (Amazon)

Ring of Defense (Amazon)

When I got back from my trip, I had this stuff waiting on me. I finally upgraded my old Pikachu's Winter Vacation VHS tapes with a cheap used DVD from Amazon (Works perfectly, though) and also snagged some Kaiba cards I didn't have. (Destruction Dragon isn't from the show, but I kinda love everything relating to the Legendary Dragons, so I kinda needed him.)

Tangled: Before Ever After (DVD) (DMR)

Exodia: The Legendary Defender (Amazon)

DMR had yet ANOTHER sale right before I left for Florida, so I redeemed more swag and it came in after I got back. Still need to pick up the original film on Blu-ray, but adding the TV movie sequel to Tangled that also acts as the pilot for the TV series for only like 300 points seemed like a sound decision. Also, a straggler from the previous card haul: a new Exodia monster with a VERY interesting effect!

Ivysaur amiibo (Best Buy)

Squirtle amiibo (Best Buy)

Snake amiibo (Amazon)

More amiibo pre-orders came in recently, completing the Pokemon Trainer's team as well as Brawl's third-party character roster!

Detective Pikachu (Blu-ray Combo)

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (Blu-ray Combo) (DMR)

More DMR swag in the form of more Mickey, but the Detective Pikachu Blu-ray is noteworthy in that I actually won it in a Loot Crate giveaway that I forgot that I entered. (Actually found out that I won it when I was in Florida!) Add that to my overall 2019 winnings! (For those keeping track, that's a comic, a hardcover art book, a figure, and a Blu-ray so far.)

The Muppets (Blu-ray Combo) 

Finishing things off, we have one last DMR redemption, courtesy of points that I earned off of a copy of Santa Buddies that was just in the condo that my family was renting during vacation. (Yes, really.) Figured since I already scored the Muppets sequel, that I should complete the set, lack of a Movies Anywhere code notwithstanding.

That's the end! Next post probably isn't going to be until like November, but I should have something fun and festive to announce around then, so look forward to it!

28th Birthday Haul

Welp, another Birthday has come and gone and I'm still a bit tired. Spent most of yesterday in town celebrating with Ice Cream and Spider-Man: Far from Home, but it always feels really nice to get home and just lounge for a bit. Anyway, enough preamble, let's get to my Birthday goodies!

Funko Pop! Games Howard the Duck (Contest of Champions)

This first gift's a bit special. Y'see, I actually got this guy back in June when me and my Sister were stocking up for OMGcon. I saw this at Walmart and was, of course, in awe at a Pop figure of Howard the Duck in a mech suit, but also a bit conflicted to spend my con funds on it. My Sister, being as fantastic as she is, decided to grab it for me as an early Birthday gift. (That also saved her from having to worry about getting a gift later.) Now Howard stands as the tallest figure on my Pop shelf. Appropriate.

Super Mario Maker 2

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Nitros Oxide and Pin Bundle (Switch)

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Dashboard Bobble

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Marvel's Spider-Man

Detective Pikachu

This year's crop of games is a good'n, with several that I've already sunk WAY too many hours into. (I may have gotten some things a bit early.) I'm completely addicted to unlocking things in Nitro-Fueled, I've completed MUA3's story (REALLY cool Final Boss, BTW) and am currently grinding Infinity Rifts to unlock Thanos, and I'm so enamored with swinging around and doing all the side stuff in Spidey PS4 that I've barely progressed in the story! (Already have all the Backpacks, Landmarks, Fisk Hideouts, and Towers.) Plus, that's not even getting to Mario Maker and Detective Pikachu, both of which I've barely scratched the surface of. (Well, mostly creation in Mario Maker's case. Already beat the Story Mode.) Heck, just Nitro-Fueled's Grand Prixs alone are going to make sure I'm busy for quite a while.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Blu-ray Combo)

Spider-Geddon

Spider-Geddon: Covert Ops

More Spidey fun straight from the Spider-Verse! Miles finally gets mainstream spotlight in his Academy Award-winning film from last year (still need to watch the Alternate Universe mode) while the Inheritors return to destroy the Web in the sequel to the original comic Spider-Verse. (The latter was an absolute must, considering PS4 Spidey plays a big role in it.) Also included is Covert Ops, a Spider-Geddon tie-in trade that I mostly got because Kaine leads a team in the first series included and I love me some Kaine. 

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II

Bebop and Rocksteady Hit the Road

Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 2: The Fate of Dr. Eggman

Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 3: Battle for Angel Island

Wrapping things up with some books! IDW TMNT representation is a bit lighter this year to fit in the Spidey stuff, but I couldn't resist grabbing the sequel to the absolutely hysterical Bebop and Rocksteady Destroy Everything regardless. Batman/TMNT II was a series I held off on picking up mostly because I heard bad things, but when the animated movie and third series were announced, I figured there wasn't a better time to finally take the plunge. (It's okay. There's a lot less crazy fun crossover stuff, though, so it's pretty dull in comparison to the first series.) More IDW Sonic from my main man Ian Flynn rounds things out! (Lots of Sonic Heroes callbacks in this batch!)

That's all she wrote for this year's Birthday haul, but I'll have a couple things coming soon, so stay tuned to hear all about those!

Pre-Birthday Post of Bowziness, amiibocity, and Many Limbs

Time for another post, but this'll be a quickie! My Birthday is actually this Friday, but I've got a couple things I haven't shared with the blog yet in the meantime, so I decided to go ahead and post about it now so I can focus on strictly Birthday-related matters on Friday. Without further ado, here's more stuff!

Build-a-Bear Bowser (w/Sounds)

I've planned to pick up this guy for quite a while! When Build-a-Bear announced that one of their Super Mario collection plushes would be Bowser, I was interested, but I NEEDED it when it was revealed to be a TALKING one! There's actually a personal reason for this. 

Y'see, the guy on the right in the above photo is the larger-scale talking Bowser plush from Nintendo's old merch line from the 90's that you could order from the Power Supplies Catalog or find at Target/Sears/Babbages back in the day. I've actually had this guy since childhood and he's one of my most prized possessions. (Despite the fact that he no longer talks.) He was even in my 2000 school photo! So, needless to say, the possibility of adding an updated, modern-day talking Bowser plush that can still talk and uses his Kenny James voice clips from more recent games rather than his N64-era stock monster noises to my collection made me very, VERY giddy and I'm quite happy to finally score him. Plus, now I don't have to worry about buying more Build-A-Bear plushes! (Unless they make a Mewtwo. Or a Shadow. Or a Slash. God HELP me if they make an Armored Mewtwo.)

Marvel Legends Doppelganger (Amazon)

I've mentioned my love of Doppelganger in a previous post, so it stood to reason that I HAD to have him in Legends form. (Now I just need to figure out how to work him into my display without him knocking my other Spidey figures over with his superfluous limbs.)

Pokemon Trainer amiibo (Walmart)

King Dedede amiibo (Gamestop)

Wrapping things up with some more amiibo! Pokemon Trainer joins Charizard on my amiibo shelf, waiting for the rest of his team, while King Dedede finally rounds out the Kirby characters in my Smash collection. (Actually missed him the first time around, so I jumped on his reprint's Gamestop pre-order page when it went up.)

Told ya this'd be a quicker one! See ya Friday!

Hauls, OMGcon Fallout, and My Major Award Volume 2019

Been a while, hasn't it? Well, I did say that the next post would probably not be until after OMGcon and I stuck to that! (Y'know, despite the fact that I had acquired quite a few things between the previous post and the con that I could've easily turned into more posts, but hey, blog's called The LAZY Shell, what do you expect?)

Anyhoo, let's get down to business. These hauls comprise late April through June and I'll be grouping some related stuff together despite obtaining them in different months, so please excuse the not-exactly chronological order.

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Duel Power Box (Walmart)

Starting things off with something I bought quickly after finishing the previous post, I picked up the newest "Legendary Collection-esque" Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG collection because those free cards my brother-in-law gifted me last time lit a bit of a fire in the card game part of my brain. A very brief fire, since that want kinda petered back to normal a little after the purchase, but a fire nonetheless. Got some pretty good pulls, too, with the highlights being Card of Demise and Infinite Impermanence.

Ken amiibo (Best Buy)

Daisy amiibo (Gamestop)

More amiibo! Ken adds to my third-party lineup while Daisy completes the Smash Mario roster. (For now, anyway. The final Fighters Pass DLC could be Friendly Floyd for all we know.)

Power Rangers Lightning Collection SPD Shadow Ranger (Amazon)

Definitely had to pre-order THIS guy as soon as he went up, as Doggie is one of my personal favorite Rangers and this figure is siiiiiiiick. Hasbro have done a bang-up job on the Lightning Collection so far and this most likely won't be my last purchase from it. (Especially if what I've been hearing about Magna Defender being a part of Wave 2 is true.)

TMNT 2012 Shellraiser (Goodwill)

Time for something a bit more random! My Mom actually found this at a Goodwill while she was out thrifting and asked if I'd be interested in it. It's missing a few pieces, but I own quite a few 2012 Turtles figures, so I figured adding this to that collection would be a no-brainer. Also can't beat a two-dollar price tag.

Team Sonic Racing (Switch) (Amazon)

This was actually originally a part of my Christmas list last year, but then they delayed it to the next May after it was already pre-ordered and here it is at last. Very fun game that provides more Sumo arcade racing goodness. When this was first announced, I admit that I was a little unsure of the team racing aspect of it and hoped for a traditional racing mode, but honestly, even though there IS one in the game, I NEVER use it because the team mechanics are just so much fun. It really reinvents the literal-and-hypothetical wheel of racing games and actually succeeds with making something super fun and unique among mascot racers. There's a lesson here: Never doubt Sumo Digital when it comes to racing games. 

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Blu-ray Combo) (Best Buy)

This was actually one of this year's Birthday presents that I managed to get early because reasons. It also came like three days before the official release date, so there's a tip: always pre-order your DC animated films from Best Buy. Very fun little movie that adapts the comic while at the same time not making it obsolete by being an exact adaptation. It's also an animated crossover between Batman and the TMNT, so you kinda can't not buy it. (Unless you're a super purist or THAT indifferent to both parties, of course.)

OMGcon Swag

$20 Nintendo eShop Card (Target)

Ralph Breaks the Internet Domez Blind Bag Figure - 8-Bit Felix (Target)

KNEX Super Mario Series 10 Blind Bag Figure (Luigi with Poltergust 5000)

Nintendo Power Volume 6

Nintendo Power Volume 36

KNEX Super Mario Series 9 Blind Bag Figure (Maker/Builder Mario)

Time for the OMGcon stuff! My Sister and I started off our weekend with our traditional Target run to get snacks for our trip. As is usually the case, I found a couple things while we were there.

Seeing a Target toy shopping vlog on YouTube a couple months ago with clearanced Ralph Breaks the Internet stuff in it made my mouth water, so one of my goals was to hopefully find some on this run. No dice, unfortunately, but I DID manage to find a SINGLE Domez blind bag mixed in with all the other similar stuff. Buying it and cracking it open netted me the figure I most wanted of all the ones I didn't already have (8-Bit Felix), so I guess it was fate. Also picked up a $20 eShop card because Duck Game recently released for Switch and I wanted in on that silly party action. (Though, ironically, I've been most addicted to the single-player mode. Spent 10 hours on it!)

Then came the actual con and I also had a particular purchasing goal in mind for it: the Builder Mario and Poltergust Luigi KNEX Mario blind bag figures, mostly because Mario Maker 2 and Luigi's Mansion 3 are on the way and it seemed too perfect a chance to pass up. Took a try or two, but I managed to accomplish said goal and netted both figures from the same dealer that I bought the Bowser Jr. from last year. Luigi's Mansion merch always makes me happy.

Last but certainly not least on my list of purchases is my coolest find: vintage Nintendo Power issues! I NEVER find these in the wild and in such good condition, so to find an entire STAND of them going for five and ten dollars a piece was a dream I simply couldn't pass up. In terms of which issues I picked, I mostly purchased based on the covers since I didn't exactly have a photographic memory of what each issue covered. I think I did pretty well, with the original TMNT NES issue being a highlight. (I NEVER thought I would EVER own one of the first ten issues, let alone the one with the Turtles on it!) The other I got just based on DW being on the cover, but going by its entry on a wiki, it was definitely the weaker of the two. Kinda wish I had went for that Mario Paint issue instead because it covered Turtles in Time, but eh, at least 36 has a cool cover.

To finish off the OMGcon section, another voice actor was a guest this year and very relevant to my interests: Michael Sinterniklaas! (Voice of Mahad/Dark Magician in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Seviper and some bit players in the 4Kids dub of Pokemon, and Leonardo in the 2003 TMNT series!) Naturally, I asked him to sign some things:

Extremely cool guy. Despite the fact that he was a little late to his signing, he chatted it up with everyone who came to see him and shared some fun anecdotes about Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and TMNT with me and Sis. (He was also rather surprised when I brought up his reprisal of Leonardo from a sketch on the CN MAD cartoon.)

To wrap things up, let's talk about an insane bit of luck I've been having with Twitter giveaways in the past month. Y'see, ever since 2010, I've tried and succeeded with winning something from an online giveaway at least once every single year. (How do I do it? Well, it's simple: I just enter every giveaway that has something relevant to my interests up for grabs but requires little to no effort in entering. If you enter EVERYTHING, you've got to win SOMETHING, right?) However, I rarely, if ever win Twitter giveaways due to the usually-high volume of people retweeting to enter. This year changed that when I won THREE different Twitter giveaways within the span of a month. Here's my winnings:

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Dino Charge Red Ranger

First off is another Lightning Collection figure that I won from the lovely folks over at Ranger Command Power Hour. (Check them out!) This allowed me to add a more recent Ranger to my Hasbro shelf and the future Beast Morphers Red in Wave 2 will compliment him nicely what with the recent team-up pics that leaked.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink

Next up is another PR prize with the MMPR Pink Boom mini-series trade courtesy of razzle1337 on Twitter. (Follow him if you're a PR fan. He shares tons of Ranger news and pics and constantly has giveaways. He also packages prizes extremely well.) This was a great thing to win mostly because I could never find an opportunity to fit this into my PR comic purchases because of its weird position as a mini. In my opinion, it's just okay (would've better served as a graphic novel rather than being stretched out to a mini), but it's nice to finally own it.

The Art of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 

Finally is probably the coolest thing I won: the Art of TMNT book from Dark Horse Comics! Ever since this was first announced, I've been interested. The 2012 TMNT had so many unique characters and visuals that an art book was a foregone conclusion and to have Ciro Nieli writing it to give background on each and every aspect of the series is a great bonus. Haven't read it yet, but I've already gleaned some pretty interesting trivia bits. (For instance, did you know that Spike was originally going to be Klunk, Mikey's kitty from other incarnations, but changed because they thought it would just be funnier for a mutant turtle to have a pet turtle? Or that his mutated form as Slash was based on Godzilla and a Koopa, giving him a canonical connection to Bowser and making my brain rocket out of my head in delight? Yeah, it's good stuff.)

That's all she wrote for this post, but I'm expecting a couple of things in the mail next month, so I might make a smaller post before my 28th Birthday the next. Until then!

March/April Hauls: Cards, Crafts, and Kaine!

Another month passes and another haul post appears! (Though, decidedly less packed than the last few.) Here's what I picked up in March/yesterday!

Skullcandy Hesh 2 Wireless Headphones (Amazon)

First off, remember those new wireless headphones I picked up in the last post that had that issue that I hoped I'd either find a solution for or learn to live with? Yeaaaaaaah, those didn't work out, so I sent 'em back to Amazon and got a new pair of the brand I'm used to. Already WAY better, with no audio stuttering whatsoever, the ability to be used via wire even if they're dead which the last ones lacked, and even a nice upgrade from my old Skullcandy pair in the form of a more easily accessed charging jack. If you're looking for wireless headphones, I honestly can't recommend these enough.

Ralph Breaks the Internet Stickers (Disney Movie Rewards)

Had a couple points left after my last DMR splurge, so decided to redeem one last Ralph item before the sequel became old news and all the rewards disappeared. I don't know where I'm gonna stick them, but if I ever feel the need to deck something out in Ralph, I'll have the means.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards (Various)

This was a really fun sort-of surprise! See, back in January, my brother-in-law asked if I'd be interested in some Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that HIS brother was looking to get rid of. I, of course, graciously accepted his offer and then quickly forgot about it. Cut to when I went up to visit my Sister's place in late March and he comes out holding two Legendary Collection boxes filled with cards and game boards. Needless to say, I felt like a kid in a candy store looking through the huge selection I was gifted, which included a ton of more recent stuff than I was expecting! I now own Orgoth the Relentless, a couple of Leon Von Schroeder's fairy tale Monsters, one of those Zexal manga Monsters with the silly names, my first Link Monsters, and enough Dinowrestler cards to build a deck! This also gave me that Yu-Gi-Oh! itch to pick up even MORE cards down the line, so thanks again, Jake!

Yoshi's Crafted World (Amazon)

Had this puppy pre-ordered since 2017, so very happy to have it in my Switch finally! Got the first two Dream Stones and it's very fun and charming so far. Music isn't the best (I'm probably in the minority of people who actually prefer Yoshi's New Island's main theme to this one, instrumentation aside), but just about every level introduces some inventive new gimmick to switch things up and format-wise it's the most unique Yoshi game in a while, which is pretty refreshing after the last couple have largely been following in Island's footsteps. The mini-bosses are also MUCH improved over Woolly World's reused ones and I'm very excited to see what else intends to halt my path when I get back into it.

Marvel Legends Scarlet Spider (Kaine) (Gamestop)

Finally, I ordered this guy from Gamestop a couple days back and got him in yesterday. Kaine is a lot like Doppelganger in that I randomly picked up his original Marvel Legends figure first before I even knew who he was. Unlike Doppelganger, though, he kinda stayed that way as just a random figure on my shelf until I watched Ultimate Spider-Man's final season and got really engrossed in his counterpart from that show. Since then, he's been one of my favorite alternate Spideys and I've even been reading through all of his comic appearances recently on Marvel Unlimited. (That's actually what inspired me to finally pick up this figure.) 

Needless to say, this figure's a VAST improvement on his old one, which had stuck joints, weird proportions, and no stingers. Now all he needs is a Marvel Legends Hummingbird to back him up! (Maybe whenever Aracely's whole demigod thing finally pays off.)

That's all I've got! Barring any unexpected pick-ups, my next haul post should coincide with my yearly OMGcon trip, so see ya'll in June!

Winter Hauls Wrap-Up!

It's been a little while since my last post, so it's time to wrap up some Winter hauls before Spring gets here!

Super Smash Bros. Melee Official Nintendo Player's Guide (Amazon)

Starting things off with my Christmas money pick-ups, the first item in question was pretty much an impulse buy because I was trying to think of cheap stuff to spend the last bit of my holiday cash on that wasn't already being put towards pre-orders of two other items in this post. 

Y'see, in my youth, I was HUUUUGE into the Player's Guides put out by Nintendo Power. Their presentation combined with having basically a roadmap of each game to browse at any time (this WAS before let's plays and video walkthroughs, y'know) made me pick up quite a few of them, regardless of whether or not I owned the game! (I believe it was actually the Double Dash guide that convinced me to make the game the first Mario Kart I ever owned, for example.) 

One of my all-time favorites of those Guides was the one for Super Smash Bros. Melee, as that one not only clued me into secrets that I was not in the know of at the time (like my favorite Pokemon being a secret playable character with an insane-for-a-grade-schooler unlock requirement), but it also just had some awesome little unnecessary touches. (One of the earliest pages has a list of all of Kirby's Melee copy abilities tied into a fun little game, for instance.) I loved that guide so much that I made it a semi-tradition that I'd pick up the official guide for EVERY Smash game, despite the future guides not quite stacking up to a combination of my nostalgia and the wow factor of finding out about new Smash characters before you were on the internet every day.

Anyway, I still own my original copy of that Guide, however the last few pages and the back cover were lost to the ages due to years of improper book storage. (My poor, poor weathered Nintendo Power collection.) Due to the hype of Smash Ultimate, I decided to pick up a used copy of that guide for like six bucks to replace that old damaged one on my bookshelf. It's still a bit weathered, but I can finally read the last page of the Stages section as well as that weird little page at the end for the first time in years, so I'd say it was worth the six bucks.

(Can ya tell I was originally planning to write a full post on these Nintendo Power Guides? I can't think of many other six dollar purchases that made me blab on for THIS long.)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey (Amazon)

My second arrival from the Christmas money purchases was something I was debating on whether to pre-order or wait to get later. Mario & Luigi is one of my favorite game series in general, but the combination of my 3DS gathering dust and the fact that this particular game was a remake of one that I didn't play that long ago had it fluctuating in priority in my mind. 

However, when more stuff about the brand new Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode was revealed, I knew I HAD to experience this on release and I'm SOOOOOO glad that I did. If you're a fan of Bowser and his crew, Bowser Jr.'s Journey was MADE for you. While the gameplay is the same kinda thing as the Minion Quest mode from the last remake, the story is one of my new absolute favorites in a Mario RPG. It has the same hilarious writing you'd expect from one of these games, but with three brand new villains, a surprising number of emotional scenes, and CHARACTER GROWTH. This game somehow made me cry over Morton Koopa Jr., my least favorite Koopaling. It's that good. Don't let this one pass you by if you love this series.

Funko POP! Comics Lord Drakkon Vinyl Figure (Nerdy Collectibles)

This guy I pre-ordered last year from some online toy shop because getting merch of an exclusive character from a particular extension of a franchise always tickles me, despite the fact that the only other PR POP I own is Alpha 5.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Official Nintendo Player's Guide (Ebay)

Yep, another of these guides and MAN OH MAN, do I have a bizarre story to share with you guys!

Alright, so picking up the Melee Guide set the wheels in motion for me to think about doing that previously-alluded-to-but-aborted post all about the Nintendo Guides and Bowser Jr.'s Journey being so freaking good put me on a bit of a Mario RPG nostalgia kick. When those thoughts came together, I started thinking about another excellent Guide full of rare art that I also had back in the day, but didn't survive the trip to the present in any form unlike SSBM. That Guide was the one for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, my favorite game of all time.

After ruminating a bit, I wondered why I never got around to picking THAT Guide back up despite loving both it and the game it was for, so I looked around a couple places for a decent price. After a few looks, I stumbled across an UNBELIEVABLE price on Amazon: like fifteen bucks IN NEW CONDITION from a third-party seller. I couldn't pass it up, but as I was awaiting it, I couldn't help but wonder if it was too good to be true.

It was.

Yep, you're reading that right. Because of THE STRANGEST listing snafu on a website I've ever seen, I was sent, not a $16 Super Mario RPG Player's Guide from '96, but THE CRAPPIEST $7 thoroughly unlicensed Celebrity Big Brother Crossword Puzzle Book, despite still paying the $16. Needless to say, I was equal parts livid and confused.

After I recovered from this oddity, I quickly sent the Crossword Puzzle Book back, got refunded in full, and bought the right Guide for like three times the price on Ebay. Let this be a lesson to ya'll: DON'T TRUST SUSPICIOUSLY CHEAP PRICES FROM AMAZON THIRD-PARTY SELLERS.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 3 (Amazon)

Moving on from bewilderment to just plain disappointment, I had about nine bucks to blow from an Amazon promo code, so I figured, hey, they recently pulled Aqua Teen Hunger Force from Hulu and I don't own any of the DVD sets despite owning all of the Space Ghost and Harvey Birdman ones, so why not start my collection with a cheap set that just so happens to contain some of my favorite ever episodes? Great idea, right? That's what it SEEMED like, as I quickly unwrapped it and started plowing through the discs, but my mood quickly took a sharp turn when I got to the last episode on the disc.

I watched a couple minutes into it, it started stuttering, it froze, and it booted me back to the main menu. It did that every time I retried it on every one of my players. I officially own about 96% of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Volume 3 and that annoys me. However, the saddest thing about it is that this isn't even the first time this exact same crap has happened to me with an ATHF DVD: I got the movie for my Birthday a couple years back directly from Amazon and the exact same thing happens about 3/4ths of the way into the movie! Bonus disc works perfectly, but for whatever reason, the movie itself will NEVER finish playing.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force, I adore your insane little show and your movie makes me howl with laughter every time, but until Warner sees fit to rerelease the entire show and movie on new DVDs or on Blu-ray or something, I am never buying another of your old releases. Either I am ridiculously unlucky with owning this show, I somehow purchased two bootlegs on two separate occasions, or these are the Adult Swim DVDs that received the least quality control of all the sets I've owned that'd have all had zero issues. Even the out-of-print Invader Zim DVDs I picked up used last year worked perfectly! I'm just so, so disappointed. Oh well. At least The Dressing works.

Kingdom Hearts III Deluxe Edition (PS4)

Anyway, on to something that wasn't the least bit disappointing in any way (barring the lack of a Wreck-It Ralph world), it's Kingdom Hearts III! After so many years of waiting, it's FINALLY here and it's a BLAST to play. Already got the Platinum and it lit my fire to play PS4 games again after I was glued to my Switch for so long. I'm finally doing something in Batman Arkham Knight!!

Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage Minimates: Venom and Doppelganger (Luke's Toy Store)

I'm a casual Minimate collector (started a while back when I found the MvC3 set with Deadpool in it at a discount store) and I've always been an admirer of Doppelganger ever since I had his old Toybiz figure back in the day, so when I found out that he was getting the plastic treatment yet again through Minimates, I had to pick him up for my little collection. (Especially since Luke's Toy Store had him for retail!)

Hot Wheels Character Cars - Bowser (Walmart)

Funko POP! Ralph Breaks the Internet Fix-It Felix Vinyl Figure (Walmart)

Picked these up on a grocery run! I picked up the entire first run of Hot Wheels Super Mario cars at the same Walmart a while back just because of the neat box art, but this is a case where I mostly just wanted Bowz because he's mah bro and every die cast car needs a spiky shell.

Also, my first ever Fix-It Felix figure! Now Ralph has a workplace associate who isn't Eggman!

King K. Rool amiibo (Best Buy)

Ice Climbers amiibo (Best Buy)

Piranha Plant amiibo (Best Buy)

Pre-ordered these as soon as they went up, as KING K. ROOL MERCHANDISE is a phrase so beautiful that it only deserves to be rendered in all-caps.

Ralph Breaks the Internet Blu-ray Combo (Amazon)

The last of my Christmas cash pre-orders, which also yielded me THESE thanks to Disney Movie Rewards:

Toy Story That Time Forgot Blu-ray (Disney Movie Rewards)

Ralph Breaks the Internet Final Theatrical Poster

I could deck my room out with another Ralph poster and finally start a Toy Story Blu-ray collection and all I had to do was buy a few movies, enter a few codes, and be the sole person in a theater watching Nutcracker last November. Worth it.

COWIN E7 Wireless Headphones (Amazon)

Finally, got a new pair of wireless headphones in yesterday. Only issue I have is audio stuttering when they're connected via Bluetooth. Hopefully I can figure it out and/or live with it.

That's everything I scored this Winter! Hope you had fun reading my semi-coherent ramblings and stay tuned to The Lazy Shell for whatever post I decide to make next!