Original art alert! Naked Man at the Edge of Time, FUBAR, FF color guides and more!

I landed a few items of original art recently, so I might as well share 'em with the world.  And you, faithful reader.

First on the docket we have a few pages of pencil work from The Naked Man at the Edge of Time, our soon (for real) from...me.  These pages were drawn by Kurt Belcher, and they turned out really nice.  I picked a couple pages from the issue, notably this one, featuring...

...pants.  What a great word.

Kurt sent over some preliminary art as well as the final pencils.  The above page is an early version, in which the background was eventually replaced by what's below:

This artwork is on 8.5x11 inch paper...which means if I choose to frame it, it'll be a cinch.

Next up is art I own...of me.  Hooray for narcissism!  This piece by Steve Becker was drawn as a FUBAR Kickstarter reward a while back.  I finally got a chance to get the original art when I visited Jeff McComsey to pick up some books to take to Comic-Con.

A striking resemblance...minus the beard.  I'm thinking of hanging this in my office or something, just to confuse people.

Lastly, I got in a few more color guides that I enjoy so much (apparently).  I stuck, of course, with the Fantastic Four, but I branched out into some other books that (ah hem) featured members of the FF.  The cream of the crop is undoubtedly this one:

It's actually a page from an issue of Peter Parker: Spider-Man from the mid-2000s.  I remember reading the issue this came from and being a bit surprised, because the Thing wasn't in the book at all until the last page, and he didn't really serve to move the story along at all.  Spider-Man finishes his adventure and then HEY!  There's the Thing.  What I'm trying to say is, all books should end in this manner.

The next color guide comes from Fantastic Four #362, the second page I've got from this issue.  It's got that little guy from the Innerverse (or whatever) and three quarters of the FF.

The last one I bought is a page from The Avengers, from the time that Reed and Sue took some time away from the Fantastic Four and ended up with the Avengers for a few issues.  This page also has some decent images of Thor, Captain America and, hanging uncomfortably upside down, Firelord.

Okay, one more.  This isn't art, but it's close.  I got a Mego Thing in really nice shape.  It goes into the permanent collection, which includes everything I've ever bought.  It's not a very exclusive club.

Visit the newly remodeled Pop! Culture Connection in Greensburg, PA!

Pop! Culture Connection, located in Greensburg, PA, is one of the best all-around stores for vintage toys, and I've enjoyed watching it grow over the last three years.  The store recently underwent a fancy remodeling that impressed the heck out of me; it was always a really cool place to browse and gawk, but now it's become a high-end toy shop with a selection that always astounds me.  Seriously, I'm even in awe of the stuff that I have absolutely no interest in.

Since it's been a while since I first wrote about the shop, I decided to take some pictures during a recent trip to document the changes.

The merchandise on display never stays on the shelves for too long, but the store always has a host of impressive memorabilia.  Recently, the owner invested in some high-end display cases that line the walls.  Not only does this better protect and showcase the items on display, but it serves to organize things in a way that wasn't possible with the previous layout.

LEGOs might be more popular than ever, and Pop! Culture has more than its share.

This wall display - which doesn't show any of the game cartridges - is entirely devoted to Nintendo (with a few Pac Man items thrown in for good measure).

This windup Popeye toy is, I think, from the 1930s.  Think about that!  What a find this is.  It's got the key and everything - it looks to be in great shape for an 80-year-old toy.

The store has items from most decades of collecting, thought the '70s and '80s might be the most well represented.  Here's a vintage Thundercats line.

The number of box sets at the store is impressive.  Boxes are, of course, the hardest to find when it comes to old toys.

The Ninja Turtles display here is really impressive.  The Technodrome!  UGH!

And what's the Technodrome without Krang's robot body?  Unbelievable.  That Gizmo figure is pretty neat as well.

The store has some new items as well, such as this Back to the Future Hover Board!

Lookit all of these Megos.  They are so ugly.  But I love them.

There's plenty of comic related items in stock.  I'm told that the owner has an impressive comic collection as well, but very few books make it to the shelves.  Maybe one day I'll come across a Fantastic Four #1, and convince the owner to give it to me out of the kindness of his own heart.

So much weird, cool stuff here.  That Batmobile model is outrageous, as is the Superman guitar.  I've got my eye on one that Fantastic Four lunch box up at the top.

Movie monsters are well represented at the store.  Not pictured is some cool Munsters items.

What's the story with this rip-off toy?  It's obvious that it's Spider-Man, but perhaps it's *just* legally distinct enough to pass.  Also pictured are fake Captain America, fake Wolverine, fake Cyclops and fake Batman.  Perhaps they are the Fake Avengers.

Most of the store is redone and set up in working order.  The front still needs some work.  But look at that pinball machine!  Awesome.

In this picture, Larry apparently is measuring something.

The store has a few nice sports items as well, mostly (AS IT SHOULD BE) from the Pittsburgh area.  To the right of the picture, next to the Roethlisberger autographed football, is a program from the 1961 Pirates season...the year after they won the World Series.  A great piece to be sure.

If you are anywhere near the Pittsburgh area and enjoy seeing vintage toys and the like, do yourself a favor and visit Pop! Culture Connection.  It's like a museum of pop culture merchandise and it's well worth the trip.  Suffice it to say, I could easily go broke on any given day, but it's worth it just to see all of the items in stock.  The owner really takes great care of the inventory and it's quite a nostalgia trip.

Here's the (incredibly Google-able) address and other information:

Pop! Culture Connection
105 East Pittsburgh St.
Greensburg, PA 15601

Hours: 11:00-6:00 Tuesday-Saturday

Phone: 724-691-0179

Click here for their Facebook page

Click here for their eBay store