Dad's Den of Pop Culture

Star Wars hit the sweet spot of my childhood, from 5 to 12 - prime toy loving years. Today I look at the old Star Wars toys that survived my childhood, and reminisce a little about the movies and what they meant to me.

Republic's Captain America, the movie serial with everything but ... Captain America?

Can Chuck Dixon write a bodacious, barbaric tale of Conan the Cimmerian?

Eric July has come on strong with Isom 1 and 2, the first books in a new comic book universe. What do these books deliver? Tune in and find out. If you want to buy Isom, head over to www.rippaverse.com

NECA's Ultimate Bride of Frankenstein - out of the box and into my heart

Von Klaus has released a couple of killer (no pun intended) comics - Psycho-Killers Book 01 and Terror in the Trenches Vol 1. Did I like 'em? Tune in and find out. Terror in the Trenches Vol 1 is still in demand! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/terror-in-the-trenches-vol-1/x/808014#/

Join DC's Silver Age Heroes, Gabriel's Lone Ranger, Mego's Batmobile and Fisher-Price's Turbo Hawk on ... The July Toy Haul!

David Lucarelli and Henry Ponciano weave a tale of betrayal, blackmail and murder in 1910's Hollywood.

In this video I chat about my 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons memories, the good and bad of those rules and how WOTC marketing helped turn some nostalgiacs and some lovers of rules-lite games into the Old School Renaissance.

The power of comic books in the bronze age was not just in the epic stories - the key comics all the collectors demand - but also in the smaller, self-contained stories where the focus is more on the hero than the villain. In this video I look at one such comic, Captain America #258 by Claremont and Zeck.

Honey West hit TV screens in 1965 - a female private eye who was just as handy in a fight as she was beautiful. The show had style, but did it have something more?

One of the best things about being a geeky Gen-X dad was the cartoons I got to watch with my daughter. In this video, I chat about five of my favorites.

After 35+ years in a box in my parent's garage, what was left of my collection of wave 1 G.I. Joes is now revealed. Who survived? Who didn't? And what dark secret was hidden away in the back of a Star Wars vehicle? These answers, today, on Dad's Den of Pop Culture.

In this inaugural episode of Killer Serials, I look at Republic's "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941) - the first live-action superhero movie!

The toy haul in June is mostly Marvel, as I compare the 1998 Famous Covers line with the 2006 Legends Signature series of 9" figures. I also show off some other acquisitions for the month, including a Fighting Fury, Mego's Li'l Hulk and a couple "good old boys".

Private American is Mike Baron's new comic telling the story of a patriotic American who can no longer sit idly by while drugs flow into his country. It's a story pitting a brave man and his friends against the wealthy, powerful and corrupt.

Fer-de-Lance was a 1974 TV movie that deals with (so help me) SNAKES ON A SUB! While the premise may seem goofy, it launches a solid disaster story, with the crew using their wits and courage to deal with poisonous snakes on the loose, a crewman out of his mind, and a submarine trapped on an undersea ridge. (Oh, and I apologize for the slight echo on this video - getting used to a new setup)

Hey aficionados of toys, cult movies and just weird cool fun in general - today I'm unboxing and reviewing the new Tura Satana figure from a collaboration between Brian Heiler of Plaid Stallions and White Elephant Toyz, purveyors both of groovy toys. https://plaidstallions.com/reboot/product/tura-satana-officially-licensed-action-figure/ https://www.whiteelephanttoyz.com/product-page/tura-satana-officially-licensed-action-figure-pre-order

When Super 7 announced their new Dungeons & Dragons line and I saw that githyanki figure, I made beeline to pre-order. Now they've arrived - are they any good? https://super7.com/collections/dungeons-dragons

In honor of father's day, I present three classic TV dads, and the lessons in fatherhood you can learn from them.

I present a few tips from a 40-year veteran of running role playing games on how to keep the sessions fun and satisfying - for the DM and the players.

From the men who broke Batman's back comes Joe Frankenstein, a tale of a monster, a boy and a not-so-bashful bride.

While the older editions of Dungeons & Dragons are closest to my heart, Second Edition AD&D got way more play time from me. Tune in for a look at the books I own, some thoughts on the rules and innovations of second edition and a fond memory of a particular game I played with Hulk Hogan (or a reasonable facsimile thereof).

For May, I present four figures from ToyBiz's 1997 Marvel Famous Covers line, Mattel's Space: 1999 Commander Koenig and 12-inch Battlestar Galactica Cylon and Colonial Warrior and Matchbox's 1974 Captain Pegleg of the Fighting Furies. All New, All Different, All Heroes, they are ... the May Toy Haul!

Private detective shows were one of the best things about television in the 1970s and 1980s, masculine fantasies popular with both men and women (can you imagine?). Let's talk about what made those shows tick, and what made them important.