I am now the proud owner of a sealed bag of TMNT Crunchabungas. I’m not lying!

Though the packages are dated 1990, research suggests that TMNT Pizza Crunchabungas didn’t hit stores until early ‘91. The snacks debuted at the very height of Turtlemania, when our green heroes were basically the sickly reptilian version of the Beatles.

While Hostess’s TMNT Pudding Pies and Ralston’s TMNT Cereal were undoubtedly more famous, I’d call Crunchabungas the Turtles’ tastiest menu option. Most character-branded snacks merely redress something that already exists in one form or another, but Crunchabungas were 100% custom. There had never been anything exactly like them before, and there hasn’t been anything like them since.

The crunchy morsels looked like pieces of Honeycomb, but had rougher textures. Naturally, they were pizza-flavored, and with the possible exception of Keebler Pizzarias, Crunchabungas were the best pizza-flavored ANYTHING EVER. Read More…

Today is my birthday. I’m super old. 900, basically. But it wasn’t always this way.

On February 6th, 1987, I had a birthday party. A bunch of boys from my second grade class came over to do what boys do. One of them gave me Optimus Prime socks.

That’s me, at the party.

Back then, kiddy birthday parties were usually small productions, amounting to little more than “visits with cake.”

(That’s my way to skirt guilt over having apparently spent the bulk of the party holed up in my bedroom, playing Spy Hunter on the Atari 2600. What a host I was!) Read More…

I normally only cover vintage toys on Five Random Action Figures, but this time, let’s try something different. Below are five figures that are still in stores, proving that new stuff can be just as awesome as old stuff, and less grimy to boot.

Macho Michelangelo!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Superstars (2016)

Yes, this is a real thing. Michelangelo dressed as Randy “Macho Man” Savage. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS TEN, MACHO MIKEY?

Mikey is part of a growing series of TMNT/WWE mashups, and for my money, he’s the best of them. Oh, and speaking of money, be prepared to drop $30 or more if you want one of these. I’d say that they cost too much, but you can’t expect Ninja Turtles dressed like WWE superstars if you’re not willing to foot a portion of the licensing fees.

Some fans think that Raphael would’ve been a better fit for Savage, but since Macho Man’s most prolific bandana was pretty orange, I think Mikey was the natural choice.

Macho Mikey is heavy, well-detailed and has enough points of articulation to pull off each and every of Dean Malenko’s 1000 moves. A splurge for sure, but how could anyone resist such an action figure miracle? Read More…