Sit. Make a cup of coffee. Wrap yourself one of those $10 throw blankets, because I know they’re your vice. This one’s gonna take a while. Below are nine finds from the 1993 JCPenney Christmas catalog, a 600+ page behemoth filled with toys and video games and lime green lingerie. I wou
The Mostly-Complete Dino Drac Archives.
You have some reading to do!
Below are most of the Dino Drac blog archives. Certain categories may be excluded to keep things tidier. If you notice any typos, pretend you didn’t.
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Toys from the 1993 JCPenney Catalog!
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2016’s Hottest Holiday Junk Food, Part 1!
The Christmas/holiday season never beats Halloween on the candy front, but you still get plenty of reasons to jump for junk food joy and gain forty pounds. Judging by what I’ve seen so far, the 2016 season brings an unusually robust assortment, with all manner of chips and chocolates com
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Dino Drac’s November Funpack!
If you could use a pick-me-up this holiday season, gimme your money! (UNITED STATES ONLY. LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE!) Dino Drac’s November 2016 Funpack is available now! For the few newbies: I sell monthly Funpacks. Without them, there would be no Dino Drac! In return for your patrona
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“Animation Wars,” from December of 1990.
In December of 1990, I borrowed my brother-in-law’s camcorder to film Animation Wars and Animation Wars: Part II. Now there’s an opener you didn’t expect. Watch ‘em both, down below: I was already dabbling with stop-motion shorts before then, but after learning that my brother-in-l
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Five Random Action Figures, Part 34!
Since we’re in the thick of Dino Drac’s 2016 holiday celebration, I’m adding a special theme to this edition of Five Random Action Figures. In this batch, every figure has something to do with ice or snow. This despite the fact that it still won’t be winter even a month from now. R
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Toys from the 1991 JCPenney Catalog!
Ahhh, can you feel it? That crisp morning chill! Those extra thick retail catalogs! This divisive election that threatens to split the world in half like a coconut! Yes indeed, CHRISTMAS is in the air! Okay, maybe it’s a little early, but I’ll tell you this: As a kid, it was always at
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Classic Creepy Commercials, Volume 15!
Happy Halloween, everyone! Course, by the time most of you read this, it’ll be November. Hell, it might technically be November even by the time this gets posted. Oh well. I like November, too. Stove Top and Sunday circulars. I hope you had a tremendous season, and I hope Dino Drac playe
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My Pet Monster!
I did it. I took the plunge. I am now the proud owner of a vintage My Pet Monster doll, complete with break-apart handcuffs. He’s two feet of adorable terror, with stoner eyes, shark teeth and an alien dick nose. I love him. I’ve hugged him. Released by American Greetings in 1986, My P
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Five Random Action Figures, Part 33!
I wanted to do another edition of Five Random Action Figures before Halloween, lest I waste the excuse to take pictures of plastic monsters out in the freezing rain. So here we are, hours later, with me sneezing and my phone’s touchscreen on the fritz. I suffer for you. Rancor Monster St
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The Wickedest Witch 1989 Halloween Special!
We need talk about The Wickedest Witch. Starring Rue McClanahan as an exiled she-devil (seriously), the NBC special premiered on October 30th, 1989. It aired only that one time and has never been released on VHS or DVD. Even taped-off-television copies are incredibly hard to find. Life isn
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My ALF Halloween Costume Story.
I have a story for you. It’s pretty long, so sit down and for God’s sake close your other tabs. It’s about ALF. Gordon Motherfuckin’ Shumway. I haven’t written much about ALF on Dino Drac, but make no mistake, he was my main dude. ALF was my hero and my muse, and his TV show<
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Dino Drac’s Halloween 2016 Funpack!
Look dudes, you’re too old to go trick-or-treating. This Halloween, you’re gonna have to treat yourself. And I have just the thing! ($25 MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION BOX. UNITED STATES ONLY!) Dino Drac’s Halloween 2016 Funpack is finally here, and baby, it’s loaded. There are around a doze
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Real Ghostbusters Shrinky Dinks!
Shrinky Dinks were invented in the early ‘70s, but it wasn’t until the ‘80s that their popularity exploded. That’s when the color-and-bake sheets of polystyrene plastic caught the attention of major toy companies, leading to dedicated Shrinky Dinks sets for He-Man, Rainbow Brite an
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2016’s Best Halloween Junk Food, Part 3!
I’ll say one thing about this year’s crop of Halloween junk food: It sure is big. Sooo many brands are only now taking their first swings at Halloween or autumnal releases, and good luck trying to sample it all by October 31st. The 2016 season hasn’t had many shout-from-the-rooftop s
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Dino Drac’s Envelope of Evil III!
If you like to spend the Halloween season making frivolous purchases, this should be up your alley: ($20 SHIPPED VIA PRIORITY MAIL! UNITED STATES ONLY!) Yes, it’s the return of Dino Drac’s Envelope of Evil! The third edition is stuffed with strange reading material and goofy goodies,
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Vicious Videocassette Boxes, Volume VI!
Welcome back to Vicious Videocassette Boxes, an ongoing series of tributes to… vicious videocassette boxes. There are many who collect old tapes out of sincere affinity for the format, but I’ll come out and admit that I treat videocassettes more as decorations. They’re like little
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The 2016 Halloween Mood Table!
Ah, finally! It’s Mood Table time! I invented the Halloween Mood Table back in 2007. That year, I was all out of sorts over various personal issues, and completely lost my Halloween spirit. The Mood Table was how I got it back. I’ve made one every year since, and along the way, hundred
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Madd Matt’s CVS Shopping Spree.
It’s October! I know you’re all waiting for my Halloween Mood Table (Coming tomorrow!), but I wanted to celebrate the arrival of MONTH #10 with a special bonus weekend update. So here’s me, dressed like a vampire, reviewing 50 bucks’ worth of Halloween garbage. (CLICK HERE TO SEE
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Classic Creepy Commercials, Volume 14!
Guess it’s lame to do another Classic Creepy Commercials post so soon, but I have a lot of great ads to get to this year. I’m worried there won’t be time for them all! (God knows your Halloween season won’t be complete until you watch a promo for a 1994 TV movie about Roseanne.) De
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Not Your Average Scares!
We’re ridiculously close to October, which is great and maybe also a little bit terrible. Remember to make the most of the Halloween season! DO SPOOKY STUFF! …even if it’s just listening to scary podcasts for an hour. Hey, speaking of which! Yup, we’re finally ready to drop the