Comics Corner: Marvel Fanfare 2

   

Title: Marvel Fanfare
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: May 1982

Highlights

  • Al Milgrom returns in a single page story to continue discussing the all-new Marvel Fanfare series
  • Both Angel and Spider-Man are turned into horrible creatures
  • Karl Lykos absorbs the mutant transformations done to Spider-Man, Angel, and Tanya Anderssen (not a typo), transforming him again into Sauron
  • Back-up story featuring Fantastic Four
Low Points
  • There's no happy ending to the story arc which began in issue 1 - Karl wasn't rescued by Tanya, instead, he once again became a villain
  • Savage Land stories are never all that good
  • Marvel Fanfare is not a series that intrigues me enough to get further invested
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Freur - Doot-Doot


So, yeah, I decided to take a brief hiatus from Kiss, switching gears to the obscure Freur.

Karl Hyde, Rick Smith, and Alfie Thomas, formed the group in the early 80's. After adding John Warwicker and Bryn Burrows to the lineup, they were able to secure a recording deal with CBS Records. Though their band name was initially a squiggly symbol, the label insisted they adopt a formal name, and thus Freur was born.

They released their debut album, 1983's Doot-Doot, which would garner one and only hit out of the title track. The song would peak in Italy and New Zealand at number 17, 24 in Germany, 36 in Netherlands, and 59 in the UK. While they would release five additional singles between 1983 and 1985, none of them would chart. As a result, Freur fell into obscurity, becoming a lost one hit wonder of the era.

Let's pause there to take a dive into the album, and see just what it has to offer.

Frankly, if you're looking for some good early synth pop of the early 80's, you're going to want to listen to this one. Doot-Doot, the album, has some hidden gems tucked in it. After hearing it, I'm honestly surprised that they didn't make any form of impact in the USA. It's on par with the likes of A Flock Of Seagulls, Depeche Mode, Berlin, and other such notable acts of the time. Perhaps it just got lost in the shuffle of the abundance that was available.

There's some good stuff tucked in here. For my shuffle purposes, I walked away with the title track, Doot-Doot, Riders In The Night, Theme From The Film Of The Same Name, and Matters Of The Heart. It does tapper off just over the halfway mark, with most of the second half of the album feeling like filler.

However, overall, it intrigued me enough to track down their one and only follow up, 1986's Get Us Out Of Here. That to me is always a plus. Nothing wrong with more 80's music. Well, I guess I can't say that was their one and only follow up. Technically, they created all the music for the 1985 Clive Barker film, Underworld (AKA Transmutations). However, it doesn't appear that soundtrack was ever released.

We'll leave the boys of Freur here for now, and pick up with Get Us Out Of Here tomorrow.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 5, 1980
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 5, 1986


Comics Corner: Marvel Fanfare 1

   

Title: Marvel Fanfare
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: March 1982

Highlights

  • First appearance of Vertigo
  • Powerhouse Marvel team of Jim Novak (letterer), Michael Golden (pencil, inks and coloring), Chris Claremont (writer), Al Milgrom (editor), and Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief)
  • Reference is made to X-Men 60, 61, 63, 64, 94, 113 through 116, and Amazing Spider-Man 103, and 104
  • Michael Golden animates Spider-Man's eyes / lenses to help tell the story
  • A one-page story, starring Al Milgrom, with special appearance by Jim Shooter, tells readers all about the all-new Marvel Fanfare title
  • Holiday back-up story featuring Daredevil and Santa Claus - well, not really, but a guy dressed as Santa
  • I already have this signed by Michael Golden and Jim Shooter - I should get it signed by Al Milgrom and Chris Claremont at Baltimore Comic Con 2025
Low Points
  • Despite the comic being 32 pages, the story ends on page 17 with a "to be continued" cliffhanger
  • Savage Land stories have never been among my favorites, and this one is along those lines
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Kiss - Lick It Up

 

We have to play a little leap frog, and spring over 1982's Creatures Of The Night, because I've already done a Retro Spin on that album. We'll bounce right into 1983's Lick It Up instead. This era of Kiss is what we'll call part of the brief Vinnie Vincent period, which began with the aforementioned Creatures album.

It's sad that the coming of Vincent led to Kiss focusing on the hard rock because this is style prior core member Ace Frehley all but begged Stanley and Simmons to adopt. What could have been had the two actually acquiesced? Instead, Vinnie Vincent took the helm of lead guitarist, and worked closely with Paul, co-writing the majority of the material for what would become Lick It Up. 

Unfortunately for Vincent, things with Kiss were relatively short lived. He never signed a contract with the band, allegedly from disputes over profit sharing, and was never offered full membership into the group. Additionally, he caused a rift with the remaining founding members when he made claims that he was solely responsible for the resurgence in popularity of Kiss. I mean, music quality wise, he may not be wrong in that claim. Regardless, he either left the band, or was fired, depending on who you ask.

Considering he was asked to return for the Lick It Up Tour, I'd say it was probably of his own volition that he left. Though this too would be short lived. Further fighting would ensure when he extended his on stage solos, without notice or permission, infuriating his bandmates. Whether he left of his own accord, or was once again fired, again, depending on who you ask, Vincent's last show with Kiss was on March 17, 1984.

Man, that's a whole lot of drama, and we haven't even gotten to talk about one song from the record. So, let's shift gears to do just that.

Lick It Up, the album, delivers a hard rock extravaganza, which would please most vintage Kiss fans, as well as draw in new ones...because it did. However, for me, what it lacks is hits. Beyond the title track, and A Million To One, I didn't really hear anything that necessarily appealed, or made me want to hear again.

What I will give it credit for is its straight forward hard rock, solid guitar work, and raw energy. I say again, if this were the Kiss album made when Frehley was around, he might not have left.

The conundrum here is that for as much as I praise Lick It Up, the album, for its raw rock, and sound, I also find it too loud. It's just an intense wall of sound that is unrelenting to my ears. Maybe I'm getting old, and that doesn't work for me anymore.

Considering I've listened to six albums back to back today from various artists, what I may simply need is a break from music to give my ears and senses a rest. While I still have a couple Kiss albums to get through for the 80's, I may also take a break from the band for a bit. I don't know. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 4, 1981
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 4, 1987


Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 219

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 219
Release Date: August 1981

Highlights

  • First appearance of Armand DuBroth
  • Jim Novak does some really unique lettering on the "credits" splash - It's not often the letterer stands out
  • Reference is made to Daredevil 73, and The Amazing Spider-Man 213
  • Peter dawns his old faded costume he ruined with his homemade detergent
  • Peter also utilizes his original web shooters he used in high school
Low Points
  • Peter Parker breaks into a prison to take photos, and hopefully get photos of a break out in progress - Which he does, and then gets caught and arrested
  • The whole story is a complete 180 of who Peter Parker is
  • After retrieving his costume and web shooters, Spider-Man tosses his faded outfit and old web shooters into the ocean
  • Story just abruptly wraps up and ends, and it doesn't even conclude with Peter being proven innocent, but instead just implied he will be
  • Story was so bad that I wished I had created a 1/2 Stan rating option
Oddities
  • Editor's Day Off: DuBroth's name is changed incorrectly mid story to DuBroil
  • Editor's Continued Day Off: A few panels later, DuBroth is incorrectly refered to as DuBrow
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Kiss - Music From The Elder


"Oh boy."  - Sam Beckett

Following the missteps of Unmasked (1980), declining sales, and waning interest, Kiss, and their creative manager felt the band needed to return to its hard rock roots. However, in doing so, they also collectively felt that simply doing that wouldn't provide a big enough impact to reinvigorate fans. Producer Bob Ezrin, co-producer of Pink Floyd's The Wall, was brought in to bring together an epic production.

Based on a concept from Gene Simmons, Music From The Elder was conceived as a soundtrack to a movie which didn't exist. To add an additional layer of over the top, Michael Kamen, St. Robert's Choir, and the American Symphony Orchestra were brought in to provide an additional layer. At the time, all work was created in secrecy, with only the producer, and Kiss being involved. The album would also be the first for new drummer, but not a formal Kiss member, Eric Carr.

When Music From The Elder was unveiled to their management and record label, all parties were confused, and resented the work submitted. Business manager Howard Marks was so upset that he demanded his companies name be removed from the liner notes. Fan reaction upon its release was equally critical.

If that weren't enough, Ace Frehley was so perturbed with the band at this point that he would quit after recording the album. He felt Kiss should have stuck to their initial promise, and returned with a straight forward rock album. Worst of all, every time he voiced this, or suggested changes, he would promptly be outvoted 2 to 1 by Stanley and Simmons, leaving him feeling like his opinion no longer mattered.

That's a whole lot to take in just on one album. Is Music From The Elder really that bad? Is it the worst Kiss album ever produced? An ill fated attempt at grasping for too much, and delivering too little? Or is it a hidden gem that people simply didn't understand?

Perhaps it's a bit of all of that.

Music From The Elder is unique. It has that hard rocking Kiss sound that one would expect, but also features a concept story woven in, that perhaps its greatest downfall is that people simply didn't understand. But, isn't that how it usually goes, particularly with concept albums? I mean, do people really understand the story being told? A lot of critics hated The Who's Tommy when it was first released. Look at it now. It's considered a classic.

The point being, the album isn't the dumpster fire which critics, their management, and label initially thought it was. At least, not from my perspective. What I will say is that it also isn't particularly memorable, or hit friendly. Of the twelve tracks, I only remember Dark Light, and A World Without Heroes.

I think the problem boils down to this; Elders is the album (some of the members of) Kiss wanted to make, but not the album fans, their label, and managers wanted. It kind of reminds me of The Phantom Menace. Word of mouth spreads, "Oh, a new X is coming out!" X would of course equate to movie, album, etc. From there, expectations get built up, people's own speculation create false narratives, and when it's all said and done, the end result can't please everyone.

Music From The Elder isn't a bad album, it's just unique. That uniqueness is either its greatest strength, or its worse adversary, depending on who you ask. Does it have radio friendly top twenty hits? No, but I also don't think it's supposed to. It wasn't designed, in essence to be individual songs, but a story told from start to finish across forty-three minutes. Perhaps in this regard it also suffers from not having the visual aspect that other concept albums have been granted to accompany it.

It would be like taking Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2, from Pink Floyd, and playing it separately. Yes, you have a stand alone track that's good in its own right, but it's a very small piece of a much larger puzzle, that must be heard as a whole with prior and following tracks to truly fit into place. Approach Music From The Elder like this, and perhaps naysayers may come away with a better appreciation.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 3, 1982

 

Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual 15

 

Before we even start, I have to say a heartfelt rest in peace to Jim Shooter. Jim passed away at the age of 73 on June 30, 2025. It's incredibly sad news to hear.

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual
Issue Number: 15
Release Date: October 1981

Highlights

  • First appearance of the random characters, Harry, Turhan, and Eddie
  • Death of Turhan
  • Punisher shoots both of Spider-Man's web shooters with precise aim
  • Punisher is arrested
Low Points
  • Just okay for a king size annual
Oddities
  • I was appalled by how bad the artwork on the first few pages was, and then shocked to discover it was Frank Miller
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)





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Retro Spins: Kiss - Unmasked


I'm no Kiss aficionado, and won't profess to have the inside scoop on the band's storied career. I know bits and pieces of it from what I've heard over the years, but couldn't do any sort of deep dive. As such, I'll try to keep things limited in terms of what I profess here about the band's history, all while utilizing Wikipedia for (what are hopefully) facts about the specific album in question.

I've listened to a handful of Kiss albums, but have yet to really make a dent in their entire discography, which I own. Over these next few days, I'm going to focus on their 80's era, barring those I've already listened to and posted a Retro Spin for. First up would be 1980's Unmasked.

It's no mystery that the band has had its troubles with members Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss, which ultimately led to both members departures. I mention this because while Criss is noted in the liner notes on the album, he apparently was not involved with any of the recording process. His participation in the Unmasked tour, and appearance in the music video for Shandi would apparently also be his last before being fired.

As for the album, things started out pretty bleak in my listening session. Openers Is That You? and Shandi were pretty boring, at best. Then came Talk To Me.

Oh, Ace Frehley, how you always upstage Paul and Gene with your minimal tracks they allow you to contribute to. He's the only band member that seems to provide consistency in solid music. It's as if the other two knew this, and intentionally kept him in the background, lest they be upstaged, which they are, every time.

There were decent tracks on the album, as a whole, but nothing really that I would call memorable, beyond Frehley's contributions, Talk To Me, Two Sides Of The Coin, and Torpedo Girl, as well as Gene Simmons' Naked City. Everything else is just kind of blah. It's as if the hard rockers hailed as the greatest rock band, forgot how to play rock. Instead, they were coming off an ill advised disco era of Dynasty, into a new wave pop era, and didn't know how to adjust to that.

Critics alike panned the album, and even Gene Simmons bluntly stated it's, "A sh***y album." So, at least I'm not alone in my assessment. He would elaborate by saying he had taken his, "Eye off the ball and started to trust producers." I suppose that means he let others dictate how Kiss should make music, resulting in a very poor sounding final product.

I mean, it is what it is. You can't cry in your mascara all day long. Instead, we'll just move onto their next album tomorrow.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 2, 1983
 
THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 2, 1988


Comics Corner: The Incredible Hulk Annual 11

   

Title: The Incredible Hulk Annual
Issue Number: 11
Release Date: January 1981

Highlights

  • Spider-Man chronological reading tie in story
  • The story opens with Bruce Banner actively trying to transform into the Hulk, and it's touted as the first time he's tried to willingly do so
  • The story is noted as taking place prior to Hulk gaining the intelect of Bruce Banner, as seen in current issues of The Incredible Hulk
  • First appearance of Dr. Rikky Keegan
  • All kinds of guest appearances show up in this book - Spider-Man, Thor, Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, Yellow Jacket, Wasp, Jocasta, Vision, and Wonder Man
  • New York is plagued with an epidemic of "green flu", and even Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, and other heroes have caught it, or at minimum been exposed
  • Leader has poisoned the city's water to turn everyone into variations of Hulk, including the woman he wants at his side, Dr. Keegan
Low Points
  • None
Oddities
  • None
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)



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Retro Spins: Eric Clapton - Journeyman


Hey, we made it to July 1 with a Retro Spin every single day so far. That's half a year wrapped up with daily Retro Spins!

For his final 80's studio album, Eric Clapton moved away from his prior two collaborations with Phil Collins, and instead utilized producer Russ Titelman exclusively. I do like me some Phil Collins, and I think his heavy influence on 1985's Behind The Sun, and 1986's August were major contributors to my enjoyment of those albums. Would this fare well for the artists 1989 released Journeyman? Well, there's one way to find out.

One thing I will say, is that I'm both shocked and surprised that the opening tracks for his past few albums have featured an opener that I had completely forgotten about from the 80's. I think my jaded prior opinion of Clapton worked against me to block out his contributions to that era, and this resulted in me really missing out. I'm glad, at this point, that I opted that one day at the used CD shop to grab his 80's discography. Though I saw it as a waste of money at the time, it has definitely panned out as worth it.

Forgotten gems included Pretending, and Bad Love. However, that's about all that this one had to offer me. The sound, overall, was very slow ballad driven, or pure rhythm and blues. Both are not my preferred style.

As such, Journeyman, or rather, my review of it, can be relatively short. I grabbed two tunes from it, and am passing on the rest. With that, my Eric Clapton comes to an end. It started out drab (Another Ticket), shifted course slightly (Money And Cigarettes) built up momentum (Behind The Sun) before peaking (August), then fizzled out (Journeyman).

Overall, it was worth it. Like I said above, I'm glad I opted that one day at the used CD shop to grab his 80's discography. I discovered some forgotten hits, and even picked a few more on the way. I can't hate on that.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 1, 1989

 

New House, New Rooms


This post has been a long time coming, but then again, this post has been a long time in the works. For those of you who may remember, I moved at the end of December 2024 to my girl and I's first home. Yup. We're homeowners now...Well, sort of. I suppose the bank owns the home for now.

I tell you, there's nothing like packing all your stuff up and physically moving it to really put into perspective just how much stuff one person can own. It's kind of sickening when you get down to the root of it. Don't get me wrong, I like my stuff as much as the next person likes theirs, but dang...When your "toys" alone take up an entire twenty foot U-Haul, it may be time to consider downsizing...Which I did...and almost went through with, but things fell through literally at the last minute. That's a story unto itself.

But, you're not here for the drama. If you're still reading at this point, presumably, it's because you want to see (as the title says) new house, new rooms. Come with me now as we enter The Music and Toy Den! Walk through the archway portal to a world of fun and excitement. A room you can walk through a hundred times, and each time see something you didn't see before.


I wanted to set my massive CD collection up to look like a library. One where you could pursue the shelf in front of you, but with a simple turn, have hundreds of more options to thumb through. A place where you could sit on the floor, and just comb through each piece of album artwork and their accompanying liner notes.


To tie this all together, I wanted rugs which represented music of the 80's. After searching and searching, I finally came across the website rughere. After going through page after page, I found their synthwave series, and immediately knew this is what I had been searching for. There were so many to choose from, but three were the winners in my book.

Madonna rug

Though the bread and butter of my music collection is 80's music, I had several totes full of 70's and prior, and 90's and beyond albums. I forced myself to go through these, and determine what I really needed and wanted to keep. Basically, I gave myself an ultimatum. If it wasn't good enough to put on the shelves, it didn't stay.

Michael Jackson rug

As you can see from the photos, the remaining shelf space is extremely limited, which means my CD buying either has to slow down considerably, or I need to reevaluate what's there, and make a decision as to what's more important. If it can't go on the shelf, it doesn't stay.

I do unfortunately lose about a foot in total of space on each shelf of the shelves along the wall for the sake of creating the "L" shape. In general, working within the confines of this space was difficult. I think I moved furniture around three or four times before finally settling on the current configuration.

Freddie Mercury rug

Butted up against the CD cases are my two shelves of G.I. Joe figures. About three or four years ago I purged myself of all vehicles and playsets from the line out of necessitation. We were moving from a rented townhouse to the rented house we were in prior to buying, and I just couldn't see disassembling and packing up the massive USS Flagg, Terrordrome, and Defiant Shuttle Complex, risking breaking them in the process. Instead, selling them ultimately funded in whole the moving process. The moral of the story being that at this point I only had the figures to contend with.





These figure stands used to have adhesive Velcro circles on them to stick them in place on the glass shelves and tiered stands. However, I quickly found that the adhesive on these had deteriorated greatly over the five+ years they were attached. With figures leaning or falling over, and / or dots coming off left and right, I opted to glue the stands down to the tiers. This ended up working perfectly. As you can see from the photos, each figure is still standing. Mind you, the figures aren't glued down. Just the stands.




Across from this section is my desk and computer, as well as my remaining shelves. To the right of the desk are my Star Wars and Batman (1989) cabinets, as well as my Crosley record / CD / tape / radio stereo.


Yeah, I get it, Crosley is a cheap player, sold primarily in Targets, and its selling point is the old time aesthetics finish. And, yes, I also understand audiophiles insist the record player damages records from its cheap needles. However, I like mine. It serves its purpose.


Gluing down the Joe stands worked so well that I decided to do this with the Star Wars figures as well.





Even before moving, I've never been happy with my Batman (1989) shelves. I just can't get them to look good. There are so many vehicles, and they're all bulky. They just don't leave enough room to appropriately set up the figures around them.





On top of the shelves are the few "larger" Star Wars items I've kept in my collection, Much like my Joe vehicles, I opted to part with my Star Wars ones. They simply took up too much space. The creatures, on the other hand, I consider to be very much a part of the line. Still need that Dewback.


To the left of my desk is my Masters Of The Universe collection. (not so) Fun fact. While setting these up, I bumped the shelf, knocking Dragstor from it. This is where I found out the figure was hollow, as it crashed to the ground, and erupted into a thousand shards of plastic. Fortunately, I caught the other figure which also fell, Rotaro. In hindsight, if one of them had to be replaced, I'd rather it be the ten dollar Dragstor than the three hundred dollar Rotaro. As of this writing, I've replaced him.








Also tucked on these shelves are my Remco Karate Kid figures, McDonald's Changeables, and Knight 2000 Kitt with Michael Knight.




At the top of the shelves sits my Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, 40th Anniversary He-Man, and select autographed baseball items from my boss's son, Bryce Eldridge. He was one of the top prospect for the New York Giants in 2024. Another fun fact, my bosses dad was the Ben Eldridge from the bluegrass band The Seldom Scene.


Spread across the tops of the CD shelves are a ton of goodies to pursue through. These include the fantastic Marvel Universe Peg People created by George of G.I. Jigsaw.


I realized after taking this photo that Electro was going rogue, and Kraven was starting to follow suit.






On the shelves across from it are the only Classified figures I've kept, the three Cobra Commander with custom hoods that I got from my girl one year for my birthday. Also here are my autographed comic audio CD's, and Marvel Comic Book Collector's Gift. To its right is my autographed Marvel Try-Out Book, which will soon be in a frame.


The walls are adorned with my collection of autographed prints, commission pieces, autographed memorabilia, and a selection of favorite records.










For those of you who read my prior series of posts, you saw me compiling a list of albums to contend for a spot on the wall. The list was whittled down to:

Prince - 1999 (1982)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983)
Ghostbuster (1984)
The Cars - Heartbeat City (1984)
Jacksons - Victory (1984)
"Weird Al" Yankovic - In 3-D (1984)
Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (1985)
USA For Africa - We Are The World (1985)
Prince And The Revolution - Around The World In A Day (1985)
Falco - Falco 3 (1985)
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare To Be Stupid (1985)
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
Europe - The Final Countdown (1986)
Top Gun (1986)
Michael Jackson - Bad (1988)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)
Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation (1987)
Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
Prince - Sign 'O' The Times (1987)
Roxette - Look Sharp (1988)
Bon Jovi - New Jersey (1988)
Aerosmith - Pump (1989)
Prince - Batman (1989)
Alice Cooper - Trash (1989)
Janet Jackson - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)

It was grueling, it was painful, it was disappointing that there wasn't room for all of them, but here are the winners. I also threw in an audible by adding Michael Jackson's Off The Wall, the only 70's album which will be bestowed that honor.

The Winners

Prince's 1999, Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day,
Sign 'O' The Times, and Batman,
Michael Jackson's Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, Jacksons' Victory,
Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, and New Jersey

I am considering adding a second row of ten, much to the chagrin of my girl who says it would be overkill. Alternatively, I may just grab some other albums, and rotate things out periodically...Ah, who am I kidding. I'm not going to do the latter. There's more of a chance of me adding a second row then taking the time to rotate stuff around.

There were six albums that I really, REALLY, wanted to add to the wall, but dang it...Space...These were Def Leppard's Hysteria, Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction, Europe's The Final Countdown, Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual, Aerosmith's Pump, and Alice Cooper's Trash. I also really considered adding all of "Weird Al" Yankovic's 80's albums to the wall, but that decision came down to price. They were far more money than I wanted to spend.

Still, it turned out nice. Not a bad hanging job...if I do say so myself.

The Winners

Michael Jackson's Thriller, Bad, Jacksons' Victory,
Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, and New Jersey,
Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation, Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party,
"Weird Al" Yankovic's In 3-D, and Dare To Be Stupid,
Falco's Falco 3, and USA For Africa's We Are The World

Drapped over my chair is the MTV blanket my girl gave me when we moved in to the new place. She knew the motif for the room would be music, and wanted to contribute something special. She certainly did.


But, it wouldn't be my desk without a new stack of CD's ready to be incorporated into the shelf fold.


Last, but not least, are my overflow comic boxes, and small cabinet with Burger King Star Wars glasses. I had all of my comics in this area at first, but ended up moving them to open up the area with my CD's more, and also because the cases were sitting on my new Freddie Mercury rug, which I didn't like. If you scroll back up, you can see the indentations of them still on the right side of the rug. Hopefully they go away over time.



Tucked next to the cabinet are the few remaining prints I haven't hung up yet. Mainly because I don't know where I want to put them.

From here, we head out of the room, and around the corner to the Cartoons and Comics Lounge...AKA, the bedroom, where I had a shelf built specially for my vast collection of cartoons on DVD. Meanwhile, the doorway to the room is utilized to hang my 80's themed signed prints, and select cartoon related albums.








As soon as I took these photos, I added the above noted albums, as well as some DVD's that came in the mail. This resulted in my taking all new photos, only for another DVD to come in the next day. I didn't bother reshooting everything for a third time.





Much like the above music related rugs, I knew when I came across this Spider-Man one on ebay that it was the one I needed. I mean, come on, it's based on the cover for McFarlane's Spider-Man issue 1! I own like a hundred+ copies of that issue alone. It transitions into my cases of Spider-Man comics perfectly, and ties the room together.




Tucked in the closet nook are my Nintendo cartridges, or as my mom used to call them, my Nintendo tapes.


Adorning the top of the shelf is my in box Nintendo and Advantage, as well as my Super Mario Bros. Movie figures. Hanging out on the shelves below are a variety of cartoon related figures, and a few select other pieces, including my autographed DVD's.


Next to the bed is my Stan Lee signed Amazing Fantasy 15 print, and a classic three disc CD player, which works great for when I want to play music while reading some comics.


A room that remains in progress is the kitchen. I had always wanted a kitchen with a Bethesda Fallout motif. By that, I mean red appliances, dishes, and fun Fallout related decorations placed around. Like I said, it's a work in progress, but it's shaping up nicely.



At some point we'll redo these counters. You know...when we win the lottery or something...


It's funny how we spent money on a new set of red dishes, just to prefer eating off paper plates with plastic utensils. We hate doing dishes.


My girl's granddaughter was nice enough to set up all of my Fallout stuff on both the countertop...


...and on top of the refrigerator. At this point, I was on iteration two of my music and toy room, and was really over decorating. She did a great job.


Last up, is our DVD collection. These used to be on (different) shelves in the bedroom where the Spider-Man comics and Nintendo games are now located. We did away with all streaming services midway through 2024, and went back to physical media for a multitude of reasons, and mainly as a result of them being so cheap, quickly amassed this collection essentially overnight.

Personally, I like the fact that these are now out in the living room for us both to enjoy, but dislike that the shelves are two rows deep. I told my girl we needed at least one more shelf to fit them all, but she is adamantly against that. What I'll end up doing is finding something to boost up the back row so that you can at least see what is back there without having to remove everything in front. Frankly, I did a lot of impulsive buying with these, and there are probably several that I could live without.


From there, you have the rest of the house, which isn't worth showing...because it is boring. But, for what it's worth, this is our new digs, and my new areas to play in. Stop by one day. Hang out. Listen to some music, play some Nintendo, and watch some cartoons with me. We'll make some food, and have a blast.

My place also got a shout out on Channel 33 RPM's Vinyl Dens back in April. Frank's channel has been on my sidebar links for a while, so you may have already checked it out, but if not, I totally suggest you do.

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