One of a kind...

My daughter crocheted this Donatello doll for me as a Father's Day Gift! I have to find the right way to display it now.

Ninja Turtle Ice Pops!

This past week I organized the second of four Cookouts that my job puts on as a fundraiser for our local American Cancer Society. Each year we raise approximately $5,000 for the cause, but this year I was looking for a way to earn some extra donations when my wife stumbled onto the Facebook page of a local woman who runs an ice cream truck! I checked out her page and saw she had done some previous ACS events and looked at her pictures. I saw this...

She had Ninja Turtles, Sonic The Hedgehog, Batman and Minions ice cream pops available! I immediately messaged her and we were able to have the ice cream truck show up for the latest Cookout and she agreed to donate a portion of what she made to the American Cancer Society!

I was so excited to indulge in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ice cream bar! I had not had one of these in decades! Mikey was cherry flavored sherbet with gumball eyes. Holding this really took me back to when I was a kid and my Dad would let us get some ice cream at the local general store. It was the same general store that was used as a filming location in the original Friday The 13th film!

More often than not myself and my brother would choose a Good Humor Fat Frog bar.

These things were amazing! They were made of green colored vanilla ice cream with candy eyes. I'm pretty sure they disappeared from freezers in the mid to late 80s. After that I would enjoy a Choco Taco, Bubble O'Bill, Flintstones Push Up or Strawberry Shortcake bar from the local ice cream truck.

So finally I was happy to have that feeling again of being a little kid in the summer holding an ice pop shaped like one of my favorite cartoon characters. On a side note the ice cream truck owner donated half of what she made to the American Cancer Society! Very generous of her! Now in honor of ice cream peddlers everywhere, let's take a look at a classic commercial! 

My Faves: Figure Collection #8

I have a fairly big collection of loose figures from the 80s & 90s. I would like to share a few of my faves with you at this time. These are a few of the toys I re-discovered while cleaning out my basement closet this past weekend. Here we go!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Slash (Playmates, 1990)

Ask almost any kid from the 90s who their favorite bad guy was from the TMNT Playmates line and you'll most likely get the answer SLASH! He was so cool, like a mix of the Turtles and their arch nemesis the Shredder. When me and my brother played, Slash was stronger than the Turtles, but not as smart. He was brainwashed by the Shredder to do his bidding and when the mighty TMNT had to face this powerful foe, they had to use more than brawn...they had to use their brains. This led to many great battles and traps set up on our bedroom floor. Man I miss those days!

Comic Book Pick: 5/23/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
TMNT URBAN LEGENDS #1

This is it, fans! You demanded it, and IDW Publishing listened! The entire Image Comics TMNT run (a.k.a TMNT Volume 3) reproduced for the first time ever in full, four-color glory! Join creators Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco as they take the Heroes in a Half-Shell on some of their most amazing and dangerous and bizarre adventures ever... culminating in three brand-new issues (#24-26), written and drawn by original creators Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco, completing this long-beloved storyline at last! In this premiere issue, the TMNT and Master Splinter are attacked in their lair by a of group of cyborgs led by the female ninja called Pimiko. Before the attack is over, one family member will fall... and one will be lost! Don't miss your chance to get in on the ground floor of the entire TMNT Image experience! Colors by IDW TMNT veteran Adam Guzowski (TMNT Color Classics)! Featuring new cover art by Frank Fosco and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman!

(W) Gary Carlson (A/CA) Frank Fosco

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

Comic Book Pick: 5/16/18

This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #82

"Kingdom of Rats," Part 2. Rat King's sinister influence spreads, and New York City's most vulnerable are at risk! The Turtles search out the Rat King's family in a desperate attempt to find a way to stop him!

(W) Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman (A) Brahm Revel (CA) Dave Wachter

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis provided by PreviewsWorld.com

TMNT Adventures Postcard

One of the first comic books I ever received was an issue of the Archie published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures. I loved that series! It was like we would receive new episodes of the TMNT cartoon every month. The artwork from Ryan Brown and Chris Allan was exceptional and the stories written by Dean Clarrain aka Stephen Murphy were captivating. I gazed at every inch of those issues and finally decided to write in to the Turtle Tracks page at the end of each book. And guess what? I got a reply postcard!!!

I of course told them how much I enjoyed the comic and was wondering where I could purchase some back issues that I was missing. Here was the response...

I was so excited to receive this from the TMNT team, I didn't even care what they had written! I still wonder why this card came postmarked from Northampton, MA and not from NY where Archie Comics headquarters were. Was Mirage handling the letters? If so, I wonder who wrote back to me? Was it one of the people who worked on the book or an office assistant? I will probably never know the answers to these questions, but I do know one thing...this is a prized possession in my Ninja Turtles collection! Still to this day I re-read those early Archie TMNT Adventures comics and it takes me back to a time when the Turtles were on top, to a time when TURTLE POWER ruled the world!

Retro Reading Corner: TMNT ABC's for a Better Planet

Since this Sunday is Earth Day, I figured that I would bust out this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book from 1991 and give you guys a few pointers on how to help make the Earth a better place.

This book is chock full of great tips and ideas from the greenest guys I know on how to be a responsible inhabitant of our planet. Below are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

F is for Fast Food

I is for Ivory

L is for Litter

P is for Pesticides

R is for Remember to Recycle Rubbish

Hopefully these lessons will help you have an eventful Earth Day this year. Now get out there, plant a tree, enjoy the nice weather and always remember the lesson Ya Kid K taught us to be green and keep it clean!