Action Figure Review: Rebel Trooper from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

    Back in the summer of 1997 my family took a brief trip back to the suburbs of Chicago, IL where we had lived from the very late 80s until the mid 90s. I remember lots of things about the brief trip but one of the memories that stands out to me the most was that it was during that trip when I found the Power of the Force 2 version of the Rebel Fleet Trooper. The Rebel Fleet Trooper was one of the most anticipated figures the POTF2 line, probably alongside of Slave Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin, and he was the first of those new figures released. He was overly tall and looked a bit stiff but, man, was it cool to have one of those guys finally. I've always loved the costume and, let's be honest, the Imperials have greatly outnumbered the Rebels thus far in the line! I'm super excited to finally have Hasbro Black Series version of the Rebel Fleet Trooper who, oddly enough, is just called the Rebel Trooper here. Of course, this isn't just any old Rebel Fleet Trooper. This is actually Lt. Pello Scrambas, one of the ill-fated troopers aboard the Tantive IV who fights the initial wave of Imperial Stormtroopers. I don't hide my love of this line very much but I don't think I'm overreacting when I say that this is easily one of the best figures Hasbro has released in the Black Series so far. Let's check out everything right about Lt. Pello Scrambas/ the Rebel Fleet Trooper after the break...

Minifigure Review: Muscle Men from Imaginext Collectible Figures Series 11 by Fisher-Price

    Over the past few years one of my favorite toylines to collect has been Fisher-Price's "not-really" blind bagged Imaginext Collectible Figures. The new series 11 is easily the best set since series 7 (although series 9 was quite good though I never reviewed any of them) due to the creative figures (no sports figures! Yeah!) including a few that pay tribute to previous toylines. Just a few days ago I looked at the X-Ray Alien which paid tribute to the 1982 Fisher-Price Adventure People X-Ray Man and now I'm checking out another 1980s tribute: The Muscle Men set! If you can't tell from the pictures or the name, the Muscle Men set pays tribute to Mattel's 1986 M.U.S.C.L.E. minifigure line (based on Bandai's Kinnikuman) and two of its stars: Kinnikuman/ Muscle Man and Buffaloman/ Terri-Bull. Not only are you getting a great M.U.S.C.L.E. homage figure in this set, but you're getting two of them for the price of one! I love M.U.S.C.L.E. and I've been excited to show this one off ever since I got it. Let's check this one out after the break...

Classic Hokey Halloween Horror: Pumpkin Delights by Little Debbie

 This review originally appeared on The Epic Review back in 2013!

   It doesn't matter when or where, but Little Debbie's Pumpkin Delights are always the first Halloween themed food I stumble across every year (typically in late August or early September it seems).  Yes, Little Debbie is the harbinger of the two months of madness and terror that is the Halloween season.  Why does she always make it to shelves first? Well, they seem innocuous enough; they're generic enough to be a general "fall" themed item rather than full blown Halloween.  Just look at the box: regular pumpkins, fall leaves, and a smiling little Debbie.  She's not decked out in a witch costume or being stalked by a serial killer or anything; she's just standing above the pleasant fall scene, peddling these pleasant ginger cookies with a pumpkin filling that I tend to by every year, even though I only ever end up eating one or two. Anyways, let's taste test them, shall we? Join me after the break...

Classic Hokey Halloween Horror: 7 Super Spooky Scary Pogs!

This review originally appeared on The Epic Review back in 2013!


    Remember when pogs were the single biggest hobby in the world?  It happened in the early-mid 1990s and didn't last long, but while they ruled the world pogs were spoken of in reverent tones, sold for outrageous sums of money, and banned in classrooms near and far. In my vast collection of pogs, I have Christmas pogs, Easter pogs, dinosaur pogs, animal pogs, fast food themed pogs, and of course Halloween pogs.  Today I'm going to look at seven awesome pogs from my collection that are sure to get even the most ardent hater of Halloween into the Halloween spirit.  We'll start with the most mundane, but perhaps most classic, Frankenstein's monster as seen above.

#1 Frankenstein's Monster

Yup, that's Franksenstein's monster all right.  It's a classic interpretation of the monster with some particularly cool little lightning bolts sparking off of the bolts in his neck.  

You can read about the rest after the break...

Hokey Halloween Horror: PEZ Glowing Jack O' Lantern with Candy Corn PEZ!

 It's really, really late where I'm at but I just don't think I can go to sleep until I show you my new PEZ dispenser. Ready? It's a Jack O' Lantern and it comes with Candy Corn flavored PEZ. Isn't that just the best? It's like two of my favorite things about Halloween all in one package! Let's check this one out...

Minifigure Review: X-Ray Alien from Imaginext Collectible Figures Series 11 by Fisher-Price

  Today I'm offering up the first review from series 11 of Fisher-Price's Imaginext Collectible Figures Series of blind-bagged mini action figures and to kick things off I'm starting with the X-Ray Alien. While the Imaginext line is primarily aimed at kids, Fisher-Price knows that adult collectors are picking these up too so, over the years, they've sprinkled in all kinds of figures that play homage to various beloved toys of the past and other pop culture characters. The X-Ray Alien here pays tribute to the 1982 X-Ray Man from the Fisher-Price Adventure People toyline. Running from 1975 to 1985, the Adventure People featured simple 1/18th scaled action figures of characters such as paramedics, reporters, explorers, and aliens with various vehicles and accessories. The line definitely seems to be the spiritual predecessor to Imaginext so this is a fitting tribute. I honestly am not terribly familiar with Adventure People although I did own a couple of them. I specifically remember my dad buying me the Deep Sea Diver at Toys 'R Us and I had the Alpha Interceptor spaceship that I either bought at a yard sale or found abandoned in a park. There's a lot of love for this line from the folks who collect these so I imagine this figure has excited Adventure People collectors (who appear to have their own convention now!). Let's check out the X-Ray Alien after the break...

Classic Hokey Halloween Horror: Snickers Peanut Butter Pumpkin

This review originally appeared on The Epic Review on 9/11/2013!

   Technically, this review is out of order.  Yup, I'm not planning on reviewing the regular Snickers Pumpkin until later in the month, thus that review will be a prequel of sorts to this review. I guess you could see this review is in medias res.  Anyways, I'll catch you up on this: Snickers is a candy bar, but since it's Halloween you can buy little Snickers bars shaped like pumpkins.  You can now buy them with peanut butter in them as well.  I bought two of these (one peanut butter and regular) and got a third free at the store.  I was going to give it to my wife, but I instead ate it in the car. Oops.  (*Editor's note:  Thanks.  I was really hungry, too.*) Anyways, this product is fairly low on scares, but high on sugar and deliciousness. More treats after the break...