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 22…

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 thought the 3D remake of Bionic Commando absolutely failed to capture the magic of the original NES hit. I called it one of my favorite games of all time. If you can track down a copy of the 2.5D "Rearmed" remake I implore you to check it out. Sadly the 3D remake failed in every regard, and pretty much buried the franchise.

My friend was actually in Japan for work, and he asked me if he could pick anything up for me. I said anything from Capcom would be great. He got me a Capcom Girls Calendar that featured some art that I do not think was published in any other artbook. It's certainly one of my treasures.

I also have a collection of Capcom Secret Files. These were previews that were only available for arcade operators in Japan. I don't have all of them (yet) but I do have some gems in my collection.

Are there any rare items from a favorite game studio that you're proud 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 21…

I love fighting games of all kinds, and today I’d like to look at the posters for some of the rarer games. Everyone knows about the versus series between Marvel and Capcom. Arguably a better crossover was between Capcom and SNK. Who knows if those two worlds might come together again, especially now that a few Fatal Fury characters have popped up in Street Fighter 6.

One of the biggest posters I have is for Fighting EX Layer. It took forever to track down this poster. It’s a little rough around the edges but I love it. I think it was only available with the collectors edition of the game in Japan. However it is larger than regular posters, so this might have come from an actual arcade, making it even rarer than I thought.

I don’t want to get a copy of every fighting game poster that was ever made, but I am partial to rare fighting games. That was why I had to track down a copy of the Groove on Fight poster. I had talked about the Noise Factory series on the blog previously, which had art by the amazing Range Murata. I’m eager to see, and share what other rare fighting posters I can find on my searches.

This Rage of the Dragons poster had been on my bucket list for two decades. I've talked about the game before on the blog. I didn’t think I would ever find for less than $100 in any condition, let alone a good condition. This poster popped up on eBay one day with a buy it now price of $15. At first I thought it was one of those replica wall scrolls out of China. But I researched the seller and saw that he was selling off a bunch of old game items so it seemed legit. I bought it, and sure enough it was a genuine poster in great condition that I got for a steal. Now if I can luck out with a low priced Capcom Alien vs Predator poster (which currently goes for around $800) then I’ll be a happy man.

Do you have any posters for rare fighting games, or other games in general? 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!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 20…

It turns out that my fighting game posters are not limited to Capcom. I also want to celebrate their friendly rivals at SNK as well. One of my favorite games is the Samurai Spirits / Showdown series. If you are looking for posters from the SNK franchises then I would suggest tracking down issues of NEO GEO Freak from Japan. They often came with a poster. There are a few issues that I’d like to get still, but if, and when I do I’ll blog about it in the future.

I’ve written about the genius of SNK’s art team on the blog, especially the brush style used by the Samurai Spirits illustrators.

Samurai Showdown II was ranked one of my favorite games of all time. If you’ve never played it then please try to track down a copy in an anthology.

Garou Mark of the Wolves is one of the most underrated fighting games in the history of the genre. Thankfully it is getting a sequel decades later.

I love the SNK posters that I have, and I’d like to add a few more. I’ll never get as many as the Capcom posters I have, but it’s always work trying. Do you have any favorite SNK games or posters? 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!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 15…

As a big fan of theme parks, and animation I have a lot of posters from Disney. Sadly I don’t have any of those massive ride posters from Disneyland, but perhaps someday I might. Some posters were easy gets. Such as being a member of D23, the Disney Fan Community.

Some sketches we got from Disney artists were thanks to the San Diego Comic Con where the company hosted a special event for D23 members.

I still haven’t seen Strange World but the poster is gorgeous.

The missus is a huge fan of Walt Disney World, and specifically the EPCOT Center. I should get this poster restored, and framed for her.

I don’t remember where we got the Walt and El Groupo poster from. It’s a great documentary if you haven’t seen it.

The where’s my Mickey print is on canvas, and was given to press members when they visited the gaming studio. I miss covering those events.

It wasn't the oldest Disney game poster in my collection. That honor would belong to Mickey Mania from 1994. It was funny that the Mad Doctor would turn up again in game form for Epic Mickey 2 in 2012.

Are there any Disney posters, or prints in your collection? 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 11…

Outside of Disney, and video game posters the largest amount of prints in my collection are from comic books. One of my favorite things from collecting comics are the occasional giveaway from a comic book store. For example a diploma from the Charles Xavier institute, or a detention notice for Impulse (a descendant from the Flash), announcing the launch of his comic book series in 1995.

Sometimes my brothers and I would score a poster for a hot cartoon. In the early '90s nothing was hotter than the Batman Animated Series. This long skinny poster belongs to my older brother, but I'm holding onto it for him.

Today I’m going to highlight Bart Sears. He is one of my all-time favorite artists. He drew mainly on Justice League Europe, and DC comics back in the ‘90s. His sense of anatomy was unparalleled among his contemporaries. He studied male, and female bodybuilders extensively so he could draw strong characters much more realistically than anybody else. One of his standout books was Eclipso. Writer Keith Giffen, and Ian Flemming took a minor character, and turned him into a villain with the potential to destroy the entire DC universe. It was great storytelling, with amazing art to carry the plot. I was happy when I got a chance to have Mr. Sears autograph my Eclipso poster.

Similar to the superstar artists that left Marvel to start up Image comics Sears eventually launched his own comic book company as well. Ominous Press has been around for over 25 years. At the San Diego Comic Con I picked up this print celebrating the company. It’s one of my favorite indy studio prints.

Were there any comic book artists that you admired? Did you collect any prints, books, or posters from them? 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!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 10…

The previous entry on this series was about the Namco fighting game that was forgotten by the publisher. Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada said that in the early days of the Tekken, and Soul Calibur series there was a friendly rivalry between the teams. It wasn’t the only arcade-turned-home series that the company forgot about.

Splatterhouse was one of the early arcade horror hits. It got a few sequels on the consoles, and even a decent 3D adventure. Sadly the game is only remembered by die hard arcade fans. This poster from the 2010 game is absolutely massive. The top edge is a little worn, but I’m glad I still have it.

I have a lot of rare Namco things in my collection. Here’s one from the pages of Namco Graffiti magazine. A manga series that they published called Chana of the Labyrinth.

I love the UGSF universe, and consider Starblade one of the greatest arcade games ever made. I’m glad that I have these rare arcade flyers in my collection.

There would be no Starblade without Solvalou, the 3D follow-up to their arcade his Xevious. These are not the rarest Namco things in my collection, but I’ll talk about that in a future entry. Are there any rare Namco games that you wish would get rebooted? 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!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 5…

I have written about Games Workshop a lot on this blog. This includes the game systems for Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and the science fiction series Warhammer 40,000. I have a collection of White Dwarf magazines going back to the mid 1980’s. I know that I have a few posters within some of the issues that I didn’t include in my gallery. That’s okay, I might go through them for another blog.

Most of the posters from the company that I have were freebies from either a store opening, or from the E3. As I said previously, I really miss that show more than any other event I used to attend.

I’m not a big fan of MMOs but I do appreciate the work that goes into them, especially since they rely heavily on the canon of the Warhammer universe.

Are there any fantasy, or sci fi games that you like to play? Do you have any favorites from Games Workshop? 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!