The Mostly-Complete Dino Drac Archives.

TMNT Pork Rinds from 1990?!

I spent $100 on Ninja Turtles pork rinds. Actually, with shipping, I spent $104. Distributed by Rolets in 1990, the pork rinds were meant to promote the first Ninja Turtles movie. (First and still the best, IMO.) While something pizza-related was obviously a more natural fit — and t

Horror Movie Newspaper Ads from the ’80s!

I recently bought a former film buff’s collection of 1980s newspaper clippings, not knowing quite what to expect. Just one of those things you grab on the off-chance that it’s going to be better than your brain tells you. Well, the gods favored me on this deal, because the collecti

Purple Stuff Podcast: He-Man Memories!

I’ve been on a real Masters of the Universe kick lately, thanks in large part to a couple of books I got for Christmas that detailed pretty much everything about the franchise, from the toys to the toons to the comics. I admit that I haven’t been so great about keeping up with

Comic Book Ads, Yet Again!

Hey! Remember when I went to that comic convention and bought a giant pile of cheap books? Well, it’s finally time to dissect them! Down below: Six more ancient comic book ads from Dino Drac’s growing library, covering everything from cereal to Sea-Monkeys. Alliteration! Star Comics!

Arco’s Creepy-Crawly Things!

The name “ARCO” is most synonymous with a chain of cheap gas stations, but you’ve probably owned some of their toys, too. Though the company managed to score some big licenses (everything from Disney to The Chipmunks), it was arguably more famous for its fantasy and sci-fi t

More Old Junk Food, Revisited.

Here’s another bunch of old junk food from my always-growing collection. At this point, our apartment stocks more old food than new food. It’s like the world’s most misleading pick for a emergency fallout shelter. WWF Superstars of Wrestling Bars! More commonly known as WWF Ice Crea

Purple Stuff Podcast: All About 1986!

Well, it’s my friggin’ birthday. I’m 37, folks. THIRTY. SEVEN. I’m not sure that I even could get away with saying that I’m in my mid-thirties anymore. Gross. It feels strange. Like, have I moved past physical growth? Am I now at the point where everything just slowly rots? Will

Dino Drac’s February Funpack is here!

If you like Smurfs, Star Wars and swamp monsters, good news! Dino Drac’s February 2016 Funpack has all three! If you haven’t been paying attention, I sell monthly Funpacks. Without them, there’d be no Dino Drac! (The modest ads you see on this site do not at all cover ev

Saturday Night’s Main Event from 1989.

For wrestling fans in the ‘80s, it didn’t get any better than Saturday Night’s Main Event. Run as late night specials on NBC with no set schedule, the WWF famously took over Saturday Night Live’s time slot, which both legitimized the product and gave kids the excuse to treat midni

Comic Book Show at a NJ Holiday Inn.

On Sunday morning, me and Jay visited yet another comic book show, this time in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Honestly, the big draw for me was that the show was staged from a Holiday Inn. I am all about random hobbyist conventions taking place at minor hotels. Those are the types of show

Junk Food of the Gods, Part 4!

The Junk Food of the Gods series was last seen in July, before taking an extended break for the holidays. Now it’s back and it’s tanned and it can handle anything you want to throw at it. Below: Five of the most interesting junk foods currently on the market. Most of them will only

Five Retro TV Commercials, Part 3!

The previous edition of Five Retro TV Commercials was an all ‘80s affair, and given the responses, I may have gone back a bit too far. Way to make me feel old, people. Like it’s my fault you were too lazy to get born before Good Humor retired Colossal Fossil ice pops. Anyway, here’s

Interesting He-Man finds from eBay!

Below are five of the most interesting Masters of the Universe collectibles currently on eBay. I can afford none of them. Argentinian Modulok Figure! Asking Price: $1200 The Argentinian version of the Masters of the Universe line — produced by Top Toys but still officially licensed &

The Purple Stuff Podcast: Episode 19!

Wow, they weren’t kidding about that blizzard! I can’t remember the last time we got so much snow. To be honest, I didn’t mind it. Being snowed in kinda rules. It’s the perfect excuse to dress like a mummy, act like a slug and eat like a Hutt. Of course, it’

The best McDonald’s collectibles on eBay.

Below: A sampling of the greatest McDonald’s collectibles currently on eBay. Deciding on a mere six items was no easy task. When you hear “McDonald’s collectibles,” you probably just think of Happy Meal toys. Those are on eBay, of course, but they’re joined by everything from sev

Five Retro TV Commercials, Part 2!

It’s time for the second edition of Five Retro TV Commercials, the series that I actually spent negative seconds coming up with a name for. All five commercials in this round are from the mid ‘80s, when I was just the right age to see them 20000 times. Every frame you’re about to see

Remembering Cloverfield’s hype train.

If you missed the shocking news, 10 Cloverfield Lane — which will apparently have something to do with the original Cloverfield — debuts this March. Oh. My. God. The first film — in particular the marketing of it — captured me in a way that few things do, to the poi

Five Retro TV Commercials, Part 1!

Welcome to Dino Drac’s latest series, Five Retro TV Commercials! I thought it was silly to limit my “commercial posts” to the holidays, especially since so many of my favorite TV commercials have zero to do with Halloween or Christmas. So here we are. I expected more fanfare. Each e

Five Random Action Figures, Part 24!

It’s time for the 24th (!!!) edition of Five Random Action Figures, the series in which I write too many words about chunks of old plastic. This time, I’m covering a red monkey, a red dragon, a grey robot, a man who is also a horse, and the guy from A Clockwork Orange. Read that

Purple Stuff Podcast: Pop Culture Mascots!

I’m a sucker for brand and product mascots, no matter if they’re promoting toys, vacation destinations or goddamned fabric softener. So long as they’re cute and so long as they seem like good company for a lazy Sunday spent watching bad movies on the couch, I’m so in. …and th