By the late ‘80s, Freddy Krueger had become so popular and so accepted that it was hard to continue looking at him through a “horror” lens.

As I mentioned on the Elm Street edition of the Purple Stuff Podcast, Freddy started to seem like an edgier version of Pee-wee Herman — not because their acts were similar, but because both were so weird yet so completely embraced by virtually everyone.

It wasn’t surprising that Freddy was a hit with adults, nor was it really surprising that he was a hit with teens. The shock was that Freddy was even popular among children, leading to more kid-targeted merchandise based on an R-rated serial killer than was arguably tasteful.

…and here’s the best proof ever:

Freddy’s Bubble Gum, released by Topps in 1989, was a product of its time in 50 different ways.

You only could’ve gotten away with something like this during the late ‘80s. It wouldn’t have flown before then, and any company that tried to make it fly after then would’ve at least hedged its bets by pretending the gum was some adult-targeted novelty item.

Tl;dr: 1989 was the best year to make bubble gum out of Freddy Krueger. Read More…

Tonight on Dino Drac: Eight great enemy bosses from various NES games.

(Note that they aren’t all final bosses, because sometimes the coolest bad guys aren’t the last ones.)

Super Macho Man
(Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!)

As World Circuit champ and top boxer not named Mike Tyson, there was plenty to love about Super Macho Man. For me, it started with his name, which I of course took to mean that he had something to do with Randy Savage. (He didn’t.)

I loved his ludicrous height. I loved his Spin Punch, and the dumb face he made when you smacked him afterward. I even loved his weirdly suggestive bouncing pecs.

Above all else, I loved his hair. I loved how it was grey on the pre-fight screen and then jet black in the ring. As a kid, I theorized that Super Macho Man was secretly ancient and vainly dyed his hair to hide it. (I’m sure the truth was more incidental, but it’s still a good theory.) Read More…

Welcome to spring, worst of the seasons. May it charm you by being full of pollen and hot enough for bugs.

But the season isn’t all bad. If nothing else, it gave me an excuse to scan several pages from this 1995 Toys “R” Us Spring Catalog, which was so generously donated by my pal, Chris.

Below are my seven favorite items from the catalog, running the gamut from choking monsters to trucks with snakes in them. Yes, 1995 was pretty out there. Remember the end of Batman Forever? Read More…