Month: November 2015 (Page 7 of 9)

Harry Potter Coloring Book
Scholastic Inc
ISBN-13: 978-1338029994

The adult coloring craze runs headlong into the Harry Potter phenomenon as Scholastic presents the Harry Potter Coloring Book.

From the heraldry of the four Hogwarts houses to the extravagant wares of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, the world of Harry Potter overflows with radiant color. Filled with intricate illustrations and elaborate designs used in the making of the Harry Potter films, this book invites you to imbue the wizarding world with color in your own explorations of Hogwarts Castle, the Forbidden Forest, and much more.

You will also find pages of magical creatures and iconic scenes from the films, from the Sorting Ceremony in Harry’s first year, to the unforgettable final battle between Harry and Lord Voldemort, as well as some of the marvelous props used in the movies, such as The Quibbler, Quidditch World Cup posters, and the Triwizard Cup. Also includes sixteen pages of full-color art from the movies to inspire you as you draw.

This adult coloring book is actually perfect for Harry Potter fans of all ages. It’s also a brisk seller, so you might want to start hunting for it now. The list price is $15.99, but online booksellers offer it for under ten dollars, when they can keep it in stock. Any local bookstore should be able to order it using the ISBN code listed above.

Your PopCulteer and his wife saw the prototype for this product at the New York International Toy Fair last February, and we were mightily impressed. Designed to inspire boys the way that the American Girl dolls inspire girls, the INVICTA Challenge presents a game, a “choose your own adventure” Graphic Novel and an action figure, all combined into one big package, loaded with play value and educational content.

Released just in time to mark Veteran’s Day, Flash & Thunder tells the true story of a Native American paratrooper on D-Day. Kids take the challenge as Turner Turnbull, a young lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne, in this action-packed game. The player makes the decisions he faced on D-Day-and determines history.

Flash & Thunder includes an operations packet, 2 detailed maps, 108-page graphic novel and collectible paratrooper figure, which all tie in with a free-to-play mobile game.

The game includes: 15 card Operations Packet 2 detailed maps and a 108-page graphic novel “Mission.” The graphic novel Mission is written in a “reader chooses-the-outcome” format, allowing kids to make the decisions that determine the story’s outcome.

A detailed 6-inch paratrooper figure sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios completes the package, and is sure to attract plenty of collector interest.

To play Flash & Thunder: Kids first examine their Operations Packet and maps. Using that information, they then complete the graphic novel Mission, in which they make decisions determining mission failure or success. Next, kids can download the free mobile strategy game. If they’ve read their Operations Packet, maps, and Mission, winning the video game is a snap.

This is an action-packed highly visual and historically accurate gaming experience that can get kids interested in reading and history. Despite the idea of being a male version of American Girl, this is a worthwhile toy for girls with an interest in military history, too. It’s recommended for ages 8 to 14, and can be found online at Amazon and in stores at Barnes and Noble. Just as we went to press, we discovered that you can also find it at The National World War II Museum and other locations.

Tell me, who doesn’t need a 17 Inch Plastic Blow-Molded Gorilla Bank featuring a Classic Retro Design by Fantazia Marketing?

This Fantazia retro-style blow-mold Gorilla Money Bank is proudly made in the USA using the original mid-century molds. The Mighty Ape is made from medium weight black plastic and stands about 17 inches tall with a 1.5 x .2 inch slot that accepts all coins and bills.

‘Fantazia Marketing’ is the maker of the well-loved Giant Crayon banks, Giant Ice Cream banks, and many other iconic banks that have lined the shelves of variety and toy stores for decades. In classic fashion it has no plug, so it’s the perfect bank for encouraging kids to patiently save their dough, or it can be an imposing foe for action figures.

It’s also a lovely conversation piece for any hip, historic, mid-20th-century household. It can be a hat rack, an idol for those who worship the monkey god, or simply a token of intimidation to keep your dog or cat in line while you’re not home.

Appropriate for all ages, this gem is also cheap, available for under nine bucks at Amazon and Victory Buy. Also available for less money in a smaller 11″ size, for those of you with cramped quarters.

The fabulously famous dice game for ages eight and up, introduced almost 60 years ago, continues to delight millions of players. This retro edition has the same styling as the original game with an aluminum-rimmed dice cup, five dice, score pad, and bonus chips.

The object of the game is to score the most points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations. The dice can be rolled up to three times in a turn to try to make one of the 13 possible scoring combinations. A game consists of thirteen rounds during which the player chooses which scoring combination is to be used in that round.

At that point, the winner screams “YAHTZEE” at the top of their lungs in the loser’s face, ocasionally resulting in a drunken brawl. This is a great game for all ages, and the retro styling will have added appeal to collectors, senior citizens and aging hipsters. The list price is $14.50, but it can be found for a bit less online and at almost any retailer that sells board games.If you can’t find it, you can order directly from the manufacturer, Winning Moves.

The Cuisinart Dual-Sandwich Grill is a great little counter-top appliance that is primarily useful for making quick and easy grilled-cheese sandwiches. However, it is a versatile multi-tasker. I picked one up a few weeks ago, and it’s really much easier to use and clean than firing up the stovetop for a quick meal.

In addition to sandwiches, this sandwich grill also makes omelets and French toast and more.  Designed to grill two items at a time, it is perfect for breakfast, lunch or light dinners.  Red and green “ready to bake/ready to eat” indicator lights make it simple to know when your food is done. Nonstick baking plates are a snap to clean. The raised edges seal ingredients inside sandwiches. It has deep pockets, but you won’t need deep pockets to buy it. I picked mine up at Kohl’s using coupons and discounts, and paid eleven bucks. You can find it for under twenty almost everywhere that sells Cuisinart products, including Amazon.

You won’t need a lot of space, either. This sandwich grill takes up less than one square foot of counter space. It’s small, effective and inexpensive. You can’t beat it.

Tomato not included

In addition to sandwiches, omelets and French toast, you can also try different sandwich spreads like Nutella (we found a Jif spread called “Chocolate Cheesecake” that is perfect for this) and flavored breads to make a healthier alternative to Pop Tarts. We do caution that attempting to make cookies in this unit is not advised, but in the event you try, you will be impressed at how easy it is to clean up the horrible mess you’ve made.

This is a great gift for students in a dorm, apartment-dwellers, office-workers or just folks who like a good grilled sammich to stuff in their face. It’s easy to find. There are many other comparable brands on the market, some of them even less expensive than this one, but since your PopCulteer only has first-hand experience with the Cuisinart Sandwich Grill, that’s the one we’re recommending.

The Beatles ‘1’ was originally released in 2000 and quickly became the fastest selling album of all time. Featuring 27 of the band’s most significant singles, all of which reached #1 in the US or UK charts, this brand new 2BluRay/CD set represents the ultimate collector’s edition of The Beatles ‘1’, featuring all 27 tracks on CD, all 27 promo videos on Disc 1, and an additional 23 videos on Disc 2, including alternate versions, as well as rarely seen and newly restored films and videos.

All the videos have been beautifully restored up to 4K resolution by a team of film and video technicians and restoration artists who have undertaken painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, colour-grading, digital enhancement and new edits that took months of dedicated, ’round-the-clock work to accomplish.

This stunning 2BluRay/CD set boasts an expanded 124-page illustrated hardcover book, and also includes exclusive audio commentary and filmed introductions by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr respectively. 1+ also features fantastic new stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround audio mixes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios.

CD/Disc 1 songs and videos include: Love Me Do, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, I Feel Fine, Ticket To Ride, Yesterday, Day Tripper, We Can Work It Out, Paperback Writer, Penny Lane, All You Need Is Love, Hey Jude, Something, Come Together, and more! Disc 2 videos include: Twist & Shout, Please Please Me, Rain, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day In The Life, Hey Bulldog, and Free As A Bird.

Obviously, this collection is a great gift for Beatle fans of all ages (who have a Blu Ray player). The list price is just under sixty dollars, but retailers who carry this product will be sure to discount it heavily as a loss-leader for the holidays. There is also a less expensive DVD edition, and several configurations at lower prices that don’t include the hardcover book or the bonus disc of videos. My take is, if you’re going to go for a Christmas gift, you don’t scrimp on getting the best package.

King of the Comics: One Hundred Years of King Features Syndicate (The Library of American Comics)
by Dean Mullaney, Bruce Canwell,and  Brian Walker
IDW Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1631403736

Krazy Kat! Popeye! Flash Gordon! Beetle Bailey! Blondie! Prince Valiant! Hagar the Horrible! Barney Google and Snuffy Smith! Baby Blues! Mutt & Jeff! Zits! Juliet Jones! Buz Sawyer! Steve Canyon! Bizarro! Hi & Lois! Maggie & Jiggs! Johnny Hazard! There are simply too many to list because King Features has had a more illustrious and long-lasting history than any newspaper syndicate, even as it continues to lead the way into the digital age and beyond. This book is a centennial birthday bash hosted by Dean Mullaney, Bruce Canwell, and Brian Walker, with contributions by Brendan Burford, Lucy Shelton Caswell, Jared Gardner, Ron Goulart, Jeffrey Lindenblatt, Carl Linich, Paul Tumey, and Germund von Wowern. More than just comics, it’s a celebration of the profound impact that King Features has had on popular culture!

This is a lovely, and heavy, coffee table book that gives you a generous sampling of the greatest comic strips published by King Features Syndicate over the last century. A reader can get lost for hours in nearly 300 pages of classic comics and essays about them. You’ll find everything from the favorites of years gone by to obscure treats like the 1940s Wonder Woman comic strip by William Moulton Marsters and H.G. Peters, the comic book heroine’s creators.

This book is a great gift for comic strip fans of all ages. The list price is $49.95, but most bookstores will discount it to under forty bucks. You can order it from any brick-and-mortar bookseller by giving them the ISBN number, or you can go the Amazon route and probably get the best price.

Some rather confused people have accused your PopCulteer of being some sort of fashion trendsetter. While the reasoning behind this assertion escapes me, I feel it is my duty as an annointed cutting edge fashion idol to start yet a new trend in men’s apparel. Hence: the Pith Helmet.

Eagle-eyed viewers of Radio Free Charleston may have noticed the fleeting appearance of a Pith Helmet among your loyal host’s headgear repertoire this past summer. Just as I helped reintroduce the fedora to the West Virginia hipster community a decade ago, I now stand before you covered in Pith.

This durable, hardened canvas chapeau, famous for its appearance on the head of token British comedians in American movies, Adventure Team GI Joes, Bob Hope during his USO tours, and hapless explorers sinking in quicksand in thousands of magazine gag cartoons, is in fact a handy and utilitarian head garment. Not only does it protect your noggin from sleet, snow, UV rays, or hammering hailstorms, it’s also useful in protecting the wearer from damage in those instances where one might find oneself pelted with rocks and garbage.

I maintain that this particular gift is appropriate for all ages and genders, although it may be tricky finding a well made toddler sized Pith Helmet. You can, however, head over to Amazon, where you will find a wide range of Pith Helmets of various styles and colors that will cost you anywhere between fifteen and fifty dollars. It is entirely possible that a local merchant may have a terrific stock of Pith Helmets, but as yet, I have not found any.

So please keep the Pith Helmet in mind as a potential Christmas gift because by this time next year, all the hipsters will be wearing them and if you wait until then, you’ll just look like a poseur.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a modern comedy classic and for those of us who were around when it was originally released, it’s hard to believe that the film is 40 years old.  But it is and to commemorate that, the Pythons have released a specially remastered 40th Anniversary edition, complete with a commentary track, several bonus features from earlier editions, and a brand new sit down discussion between the five surviving Pythons, moderated by John Oliver.

The gimmick that makes this edition a must have item for Python completists is the replica cardboard castle, as occupied by the French Taunter in the film, which comes equipped with what has been described as a flimsy catapult and an assortment of small rubber barnyard animals which can be used to pelt an imaginary King Arthur and his pals or your friends and family, possibly your pets, and, if you have a very accomodating workplace, your co-workers.

This deluxe set can be had for just under 35 bucks at Amazon.com and can probably be found at the big box retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.  You may be able to order it at a higher price from your locally-owned video store, should such animals still exist anywhere in the wild.  If you are not interested in the cardboard castle and rubber animals, you can purchase the anniversary edition with all its bonus content on DVD or Blu Ray for considerably less.

This gift is appropriate for anyone old enough, or young enough, to enjoy the wit, wisdom, and hilarity of Monty Python.  Be warned that the film does contain minor vulgarity and brief tap dancing.

Two cool trucks for the price of one!

Our first Gift Guide selection is a really cool toy that I’ve written about HERE and HERE.  The reason that I am making the Hess Toy Truck our first selection in this year’s Gift Guide is that the folks at the Hess Corporation report that it is selling very quickly and may no longer be in stock if you wait a week or three.

This year’s Hess Toy Truck is a beautiful flatbed fire engine carrying a Fire Rescue SUV.  Both vehicles have really cool lights and sounds and as always with the Hess Truck, Energizer batteries are included.  This is a great toy for all ages.  Younger kids will love the flashing lights and sounds and parents will enjoy the fact that these are very durable, well made toys.  Collectors will also enjoy the craftsmanship, as well as the collectibility of these limited edition collector vehicles.  In addition to that, these would also make a great gift for any current or retired firefighters who appreciate a well crafted souvenir of their work.

Unless you are near one of the select malls in the Northeast, the only way you’re going to get your hands on a Hess Toy Truck this year is to order it directly from their website.  The cost is $30.99 plus tax.  Shipping is included.