Artifacts of the Analog Age: Rocks & Bugs & Things

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Rocks & Bugs & Things

This was another cool toy line from the 80’s that no one remembers.

What made Rock & Bugs & Things cool was that it did not have a “Good vs. Evil” set-up to it like so many other toy lines at the time, it was just a bunch of monsters fighting each other so they could eat the smaller monsters. It was literally an “Eat or Be Eaten” toy line.

Did you know anyone that had even heard of Rocks & Bugs & Things? What do you find more terrifying, Giant Monster Bugs or Giant Monster Rocks? Did you feel sorry for the poor little Mordles?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Remco Toys

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Remco Toys

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Before the 80’s, Remco Toys was one of the Big Name toy companies, but they always made toys that you could always find in the discount toy department at Sears or J.C. Pennys. So when the 80’s came and the other toy companies started making toy lines like He-Man, Transformers, and G.I. Joe, Remco tried to compete with them by making knock-off toys based on comics or their own ideas.

When Mattel Toys made He-Man, Remco made a figure series based on DC Comics Warlord & Marvel Comics Conan.

http://www.action-figures.ca/lost_world_warlord.htm

http://www.action-figures.ca/conan.htm

When Kenner made Super Powers (based on DC Comics Super Friends cartoon series) & Centurions, Remco made a figure series based on The Mighty Crusaders (Archie Comics forgotten Red Circle line of Super Hero comics) and Mantech.

http://www.action-figures.ca/mighty_crusaders.htm

And when Hasbro made G.I. Joe, Remco made a figure series based on DC Comics Sgt. Rock.

http://figure-archive.net/toyline.aspx?toylineID=1198

Now while the figures were cool looking, they were not as good or as well made as the ones made by Hasbro, Kenner, & Mattel. Everyone knew what Remco was trying to do, and no one was falling for it. They were the type of toys you would get if you ask for a He-Man figure, but your parents got you a Warlord figure because it was cheaper and they thought you would not know the difference (but you did).

So, did anyone here ever have any of the Remco figures as a kid? Were you disappointed when you got a Remco figure instead of the figure you wanted for your Birthday or Christmas?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Super Naturals

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Super Naturals

Super Naturals was another toy line that took part in the Hologram craze back in the 80’s.

http://virtualtoychest.com/supernaturals/supernaturals.html

While the figures were cool looking, the holograms stickers on them did not hold-up very well. If you left your figures in the sun too long, the holograms would fade into a bright green or black spot. And the holograms stickers would always peel off if you played with them too much. That’s why I always liked the Visionaries figures, none of that stuff ever happened to them.

So, did any of you ever have any of the Super Naturals figures? And were you ever freaked out by the glowing yellow Lion Headed monster at the start of the TV ad?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Atari Comics

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Atari Comics

Back in the 80’s just about everything came with mini-comics, you could get them Toys, Cereal, and even Atari 2600 video games.

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http://www.atariage.com/comics/index.html

There was a total of 10 Atari comics made (5 issues of Atari Force, 3 issues of Swordquest, 1 issue of Centipede, and 1 for Yar’s Revenge). And all 10 of them were made by DC Comics. In fact, the Atari Force series became such a big it, that DC Comics made it into a full comic series. Now me, I liked the ones that were made for Swordquest & Yar’s Revenge the best.

So, did anyone here get any of the Atari comics when you were a kid? And if so, what were your favorite ones?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Twinkies

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Twinkies

With Hostess closing its doors for good, I thought now would be a good time to talk about the classic snack food they use to make called The Twinkie.

Hostess also made other well known snack foods like Ding Dongs (I think they were later renamed as Hostess Cup Cakes) and Fruit Pies.


I remember eating some of Hostess stuff as a kid, and I must say it was not as good as it was advertised. Other then the Ding Dongs/Cup Cakes, The Twinkies tasted like a plane cake with whip cream stuffed into it.

What were your memories of the Twinkies? Do you feel said that they may be gone for good?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: The Other World

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. The Other World

The Other World was this cool series of bendable figures that no one remembers.

http://www.action-figures.ca/other_world.htm

I remember getting almost all the figures in this series as a kid, they were very cool looking, and they had some great monster figures in the series as well. These were the type of toys you could only find at bargain stores or flea markets.

Anybody, anybody at all ever hear or have Other World figures? Am I the only one?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Crystar

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Crystar

Back in the 80’s both DC & Marvel comics made allot of weird, but cool comics with a toy line based on them, one of these was Crystar.

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http://www.action-figures.ca/crystar.htm

The back story for this series was that the two ruling brothers Crystar and Moltar, decided to ally their people with each of the forces of Order & Chaos. Crystar and the forces of order were made of crystal while Moltar and the forces of Chaos were made of lava.

The one thing I always wonder was what would happen if someone just took a club or bat and hit Grystar with it, thanks to the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken, I now have my answer (warring, this video may not be safe to view at work).

Did anyone here have any of the Crystar comics or figures as a kid? What did you think about the idea of a world full of people made out of crystals?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Clear Pepsi

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Clear Pepsi

While I was too young to remember New Coke, I was not as lucky to miss Clear Pepsi when it came out.

Clear Pepsi (also known as Crystal Pepsi) was made at a time when everyone thought that clear soda was better for you then soda that had color in it. My Dad was a big fan of Pepsi, and my Mom thought it would taste better without color. I for one thought it was going to taste like a mix up of 7up and Pepsi. When it came out, we ended up getting a 12 pack of it, and after all 3 of us tried it, the remaining 9 cans of it sat in the back of the refrigerator for weeks! Yes, it tasted that bad. We did have one friend that did like it, so we gave the rest of it to him.

Did you ever try Clear Pepsi when it came out? And if so, what did you think of it? Do you think color=taste?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Visionaries

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with… Visionaries

Visionaries was a Great toys line and cartoon series that just ever got the same fan far as G.I. Joe & Transformers did.

The figures were made in the same style of the old G.I. Joe figures from the 80’s, but they were a little bigger in size. Each one had a small Hologram in their chest and weapon. They also had some of the coolest looking vehicles I have ever seen.

The real said thing was that they were working on a second set of figures for this line, but they never got made.

So, did anyone else here have any of the Visionaries figures or see the cartoon series? How come hologram technology hasn’t really advanced since then?

Artifacts of the Analog Age: Daylight Savings Time

This is “Analog Agent Benjamin” coming at you this week with…. Daylight Savings Time

I do not know who came up with the idea of Daylight Savings Time, but it was the worst idea ever. When you’re a kid it can get real annoying. You get use to an every day time line (the days are long, and the nights are short), only to have to change everything for the next few months (short days, long nights). The worst part was having to set every clock in the house back or forth every time. My Dad was the one who hated it the most, one time he even wanted to move the whole family to Arizona, since they do not have Daylight Savings Time there. But my Mom talked him out of it.

So, does anyone else here hate Daylight Savings Time as much as me?