The rarest Japanese item in my Wonder Eggs collection...

Hello friends, I hope that you are well. It’s been a few months since my birthday, but I wanted to share something that I got at the end of 2025. As you may remember I was the co-host on the Pink Monorail Podcast. My wife Shelly was a theme park historian, and teacher. On the show we did a deep dive on the parks, technology, and the people that shaped the industry. Her favorite park was E.P.C.O.T. which was Walt Disney’s secret project before he passed away in 1966. It took all of his remaining team members in order to complete it in 1982. Shelly has a collection of rare E.P.C.O.T. items from Walt Disney World over her workspace. She used to have a much larger, and much rarer collection of animation, and theme park items from all around the world. Unfortunately they were stolen by a family member, and sold for drug money. The few things that remained she was very proud of.

By comparison I was a huge fan of Wonder Eggs which was the first video game theme park. I did a multi-part series on it, the links are below. I had a much smaller collection of Wonder Eggs items which I had been slowly acquiring over the past decade. I could literally put everything I collected in a shoebox. One of the things I got for my bday was an old issue of Namco’s magazine NOURS which covered the opening of Tamago Teikoku aka the Egg Empire. This was the sister park built next door to Wonder Eggs.

I can often find Nours magazines from 1998 and later, but issues from 1993-1995 rarely come up on the Japanese auction sites. I got the fifth issue which was from Autumn of 1994. It was filled with photos, and a complete write up of the Egg Empire. It also covered what changes happened with the Wonder Eggs attractions. I was fascinated with how much had changed in the few years since its opening. It was a time capsule of one of the most important eras in theme park history, and sadly not a lot of historians were even aware that it existed.

The most important thing that I was able to score for my birthday was an actual employee badge from Wonder Eggs. It belonged to a person whose name was "Suzuki." Up until that point the only items I had acquired were from visitors. Or could be purchased in the gift shop. Things like plush mascots, tickets, pins, flyers, and even the official park soundtrack on CD. Getting something that was from an employee was astounding. I had never seen one for sale previously, and even when searching through previous auctions none had never come up. I just so happened to be at the right place, at the right time when it appeared.

The name tag wasn’t cheap, however given its rarity it was worth the price to me. It looked great in my collection. There were very few items left on my wish list, but I don’t think I’ll get anything cooler. If you collect anything unique tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit turns 98!

Hello friends, in the previous post I mentioned that the blog hit more than a million views. That milestone actually happened on the same day as my favorite Disney character celebrated a birthday. That’s right, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was now 98-years-old! I had to create an illustration to mark the occasion. Now I have to think about what I’m going to do for the 100th birthday. Maybe have all sorts of classic characters splitting cake with him?

In case you didn’t know I am a huge fan of Oswald. Like a super-huge fan. I’ve been collecting Oswald merch for decades. One of the nicest gifts I received recently was from my sister-in-law. She created an Oswald cross stitch for me. It was a brilliant piece with well over 16,000 stitches in it! Can you imagine the patience it took to make something like this?

She created this piece because she knew I was a huge fan. In case you didn't know how obsessed I was about the character I was interviewed for the I Want that Too podcast on Jim Hill Media. Which you can see below.

   

In case you are not familiar with the character I did a deep dive on him many years ago. The links are below, including snapshots that I talked about in the interview with Jim Hill, and Lauren Hersey. 

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 1... 

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 2…

Warren Spector can't stop looking at my Oswald figure during his Epic Mickey presentation.

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 3… 

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 4…

Warren Spector's Oswald crib toy next to my own.

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 5… 

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 6…

Meeting Disney animator / art director / toy designer Tara Billinger at Oswald's debut in Disney's California Adventure.

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, final part… 

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a list of Taito products featuring the rabbit! 

 

Do you have any favorite classic cartoon characters? What about comic book characters? I’d like to hear about it. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Manifesting a press kit, or how much I love War of the Monsters…

This is the second to last blog of 2024. Thank you all very much for joining me this year. In fact, thank you for inspiring me to have two highly productive years. I cannot guarantee to keep this manic pace into 2025, but I am going to try. If I need to take a break I will let you know. Today I’d like to share a sort of follow-up to my poster series. I have a massive poster that I want to share, but I think the story of how I got it is even better. The poster immediately below is not the one I'm talking about. This double-sided poster is made to look like a classic monster poster on one side, and on the other it looks like the front page of the Global Observer newspaper. This is included with the game itself. How cool is that?!

I am a big fan of the Sony Playstation 2 cult favorite War of the Monsters. In fact on this blog I mentioned that War of the Monsters is one of my favorite games of all time. The game was designed by David Jaffe, and his team at Incognito Entertainment. It was a collection of some of the best game creators ever. They worked on, or released many of the first generation Playstation hits, including Twisted Metal, and Warhawk. On the PS2 they created Twisted Metal Black, Downhill Domination, and a little gem called God of War. Can you imagine how great the world would be if publishers stopped insisting on sequels, and let developers come up with unique experience. But I digress…

I loved the game so much that I collected a copy of the game demo, and even a copy of the Japanese release of the game. I am trying to figure out how to get my hands on a copy of the Korean version of the game. In addition to playing exceptionally well it also celebrated the golden age of the giant monster films circa the 1950's-60's. War of the Monsters captured a moment of American history much better than games with a bigger budget, or even bigger licensed names like King Kong or Godzilla. If you've never played the game here’s part 1 of my deep dive, and part 2 of my deep dive.

I'm such a huge fan of the game that I tracked down everything that I could get my hands on that featured it. Whenever they made the cover of a magazine I would make sure to collect it. I then started searching for items that would have been used in stores. The Playstation 2 games would sometimes have gigantic boxes acting as displays. I got a copy of the War of the Monsters one.

The hardest things to track down were for press releases. One of which was a ViewMaster, you know those red or black toy binoculars that show you a 3D scene? They had one made up of 3D game screens, and it was mentioned in an old 1UP article. I asked the 1UP editors if I could buy their copy, but they had already gifted it to someone else. I searched high, and low but could never get my hands on it. If you are reading this, and happen to have one in your collection you don't want any more please let me know. I can offer you a fair price, but just a reminder I'm raising a family on a teacher's salary. So money is the thing I'm always short on. Just as rare as the ViewMaster was the press kit that Sony sent out with a demo of the game, an extra disk of assets, and a massive poster.

The album-sized press kit looked like a record but with three claw marks scratching through the center of it. It was a recreation of the opening cinematic. We can see some of the monsters peeking through the scratches. When you pull out the sleeve you can see all of the monsters featured in the game. On the back of the insert was information about the game and two discs. One of them had a demo of the game, and the other had screenshots, and graphics for the media to use in their articles. I was so happy to get my hands on this because I’ve always wanted high-quality reproductions of the loading poster art. Unfortunately not every loading poster was in the assets.

The poster in the press kit was HUGE. Also it featured art that was not seen in the game, or in the magazines. Some people were selling the smaller game store versions of the posters for hundreds on eBay, however the one in the press kit was a “two-sheet” in size or about 40-inches by 60-inches. It’s maybe the second or third biggest poster in my collection. My largest poster is an AND 1 ad featuring the work of Kadir Nelson. That poster is six-feet by four-feet. I believe the War of the Monsters press kit landed in my hands thanks to the power of manifestation.

One summer I was walking around the Disneyland Hotel with my kid. The missus was covering some press event, so we were just killing time. We were talking about games we wish we had in our collection. I mentioned that I have most of the rare games I want, but I wished I could find a copy of the WOTM press kit. My kid wished that there was a Psychonauts sequel (this was before the game was announced). Without missing a beat we turned the corner and walking right towards us was Tim Schafer, the founder or Double Fine. I said “hey it’s Tim Schafer!” He was surprised that I recognized him. We said hello, I got a picture of my kid talking to him, I wish I could find it so I could share it here. My wife did however snap a picture the second time we ran across him. 

Tim was very nice, we said our goodbyes and he went on his way. A few days later the press kit that I was talking about to my kid turned up on eBay for a ridiculously low price. About a month later the Kickstarter campaign started for a new Psychonauts game. Ever since that day we believed in the power of manifestation. Speaking of which, I hope to win the Powerball Lottery in 2025. Anyhow, I hope you had a great 2024. I look forward to sharing stories with you in the new year. Take care, and tell me what you are up to for New Years! As always if you like my blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, final part...

I had so many posters in my Capcom collection that I had to break them over several separate blogs. Here's a reminder for any Street Fighter, or fighting game fans in general. If you want to get into collecting the posters then try to track down the game guides from Japan. The gems in my collection came from Gamest. It was the premier arcade magazine through the '90s. When they published guides, which they called MOOKS after Magazine-Book they often included a poster. 

There would even be posters included in US game guides. The one for Street Fighter Zero / Alpha 2 by Versus Books for example was amazing. They printed a fantastic image on both sides, making it impossible to frame unless you had a second copy. 

Some of the posters in my collection I got from events like the E3, the San Diego Comic Con, the Wondercon, and even live events. I cannot remember where I got the massive Super Street Fighter IV poster.

Bengus is, and will always be the GOAT. I was so hyped that he was doing the designs, and poster work for Street Fighter V. My goal before I die is to have an original sketch from the man.

Not all of the rare items in my collection are posters. I am still on the hunt for a Super Muscle Bomber poster by Tetsuo Hara, the man that illustrated Hokuto No Ken / Fist of the North Star. He designed the wrestlers for Capcom, and did the advertising art as well.

Fighting games of every kind mean the world to me. I needed to make sure that I had a Vampire / Darkstalkers poster in my collection. I had no idea that I would get my hands on one for Warzard / Red Earth. This is easily one of the rarest fighting games ever made.

Thank you for joining me on this journey through my poster collection. Many of which I forgot I had. One day I’d like to get most of them framed, and put them on display, even if I have to cycle through them. Were there any you enjoyed? I’d like to read about them in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 25...

Merry Christmas to all my friends, and family. I didn't get too many goodies this year. I'm saving my money for taxes. Thankfully everyone over here had a good holiday season. I had so many posters in my Capcom collection that I had to break them over several separate blogs. Here's a reminder for any Street Fighter, or fighting game fans in general. If you want to get into collecting the posters then try to track down the game guides from Japan. The gems in my collection came from Gamest. It was the premier arcade magazine through the '90s. When they published guides, which they called MOOKS after Magazine-Book they often included a poster.

I have a lot of manhua or comics from Hong Kong. Some of them had gimmick covers, and even came with prizes like Charlie Nash's dog tags, and Chun-Li's spiked bracelet. This was the only poster that I was able to get when buying collections. 

The story behind this autographed poster was so much fun. Read all about it here. 

I can't believe this poster is 16 years old as of 2024. I had no idea if Capcom would ever do another Street Fight Club event. So I swiped two of the posters they had lining the walls on my way out of the event. I was grateful for the community then, and glad I still talk to a few members of the FGC on occasion. 

One of the first Street Fighter prints I ever got was at the San Fiego Comic Con. This illustration by Mark Brooks reminded us why the UDON books were succeeding when other game comics books were failing in the USA.

Thank you for joining me on this journey through my poster collection. Many of which I forgot I had. One day I’d like to get most of them framed, and put them on display, even if I have to cycle through them. Were there any you enjoyed? I’d like to read about them in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeze frame, my poster collection part 23...

I had so many posters in my Capcom collection that I had to break them over several separate blogs. Here's a reminder for any Street Fighter, or fighting game fans in general. If you want to get into collecting the posters then try to track down the game guides from Japan. The gems in my collection came from Gamest. It was the premier arcade magazine through the '90s. When they published guides, which they called MOOKS after Magazine-Book they often included a poster.

My Marvel Super Heroes poster was actually autographed by AKIMAN, the father of Chun-Li. It was at the San Diego Comic Con at the UDON Booth. The booth did not want to honor their commitment to one autograph per person who purchased one of the Capcom hardcovers. I said I didn't want the autograph on the book, but instead the poster. They pushed back until I talked to the managers, then they told the staff that it was okay, in fact that I could get the autograph on my book too for the hassle.

There are two Muscle Bomber posters that I know of. The first is the same as the main art that most people are familiar with. This version I had no idea existed until I saw it pop up in a Japanese auction site. I was super happy with it, and was one of the official drawings by Tetsuo Hara where I could see the details on the CWA belt that I used as reference for the actual belt I commissioned.

I don't believe in wall scrolls since they usually steal licensed art. I bought this Marvel vs Capcom 3 poster under false pretenses, I was told it was an official poster, and was sent a scroll instead. You just can't trust people online.

The Pocket Fighter is too cute, as is this classic illustration of Sakura.

Do you have a favorite game, or character that you wish you had a poster of? I’d like to read about them in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 19…

I may have a lot of posters from cartoons, and comic books, but my biggest collection comes from video games. I have a few from Namco, and tons from Capcom. However I also have a decent collection from Sega.

A couple of the Shinobi, and Sonic silk screen prints I got from the Sega pop up booth during the San Diego Comic Con. The employees printed posters right in front of us, and zapped them with UV lights to get them dried, and rolled them up for us. It was a cool giveaway.

I have a few old posters from US game magazines. These were often the only ways to get some of your favorite games in poster form.

If you have ever played Sonic Adventure then you might remember the fictional Chao in Space movie posters around town. I was so happy to see Sega actually sell them. Now I just need to find some Soap shoes to frame them with.

Speaking of Sonic Adventure I still have a sticker sheet from the fantastic Dreamcast game.

Sonic Mania Plus was one of my favorite games of all-time. It was the only game in the series not made by Sonic Team that I absolutely loved.

Sega also dropped a cool glow in the dark poster celebrating the game. It took a few tries to get a picture of it in the dark. Thankfully I had a UV flashlight that helped me get the glow right.

My kid surprised me for my birthday one year, and got me this wonderful Sonic poster from an artist at a convention. She said keeping it hidden from me was the hardest part until my birthday rolled around. She also got me the Mighty, and Ray Missing posters, but I can't seem to find which box I stored them in. If I do track them down I will update this post.

She also got me the Mighty poster that was based on the same missing poster featured in the game. This was a limited run from the actual Sega store. It's very hard to find any collectables with Ray, and Mighty on them. I love that duo even more than Sonic and Tails.

NiGHTS Journey of Dreams was a tremendous disappointment for me. Especially considering that the original NiGHTS into dreams… was my favorite game of all time. I’ll never stop loving the character, and universe Sonic Team created. I can only hope that there might be a directors cut of the original NiGHTS in time for its 30th Anniversary.

Are there any favorite Sega games, or other studio games that you’ve collected poster for? I’d like to read about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!