Given that the majority of the focus here at TheGlobalCollector.com is on all-things-nostalgic — after all, what is collecting but a mass of things and ideas meant to illicit memories of the past? — Toy Boy got to thinking that what better way to spend our Sundays around here than with a good ol” fashioned Sunday Matinee? In other words, how about a nice cartoon, a short and a feature presentation? Maybe a newsreel thrown in? In other words, full-value for your money (unlike today, when your admission gets you the chance to sit down and see a bunch of overhyped advertisments for cell phones and movie trivia no one cares about). Candy not including (we can”t do everything for ya) but feel free to sneak whatever ya want into the theater — eer — living room, office, bedroom — wherever it is that you enjoy reading our site! Thanks for visiting. And feel free to drop us a line! Register today and join the fun. We very much enjoy the company. Now, dim the lights and get to your seats. The show is about to begin . . .

- Toy Boy

CLICK HERE to REGISTER TODAY to get in on the action! We love the company! It’s easy! We’ll send ya a password and you can comment ’til your heart’s content! It’s easy! JOIN THE FUN — RIGHT NOW!

Check out Doc’s Review of the New Frontier DC Direct Series One Action Figures and the New Frontier Absolute Hardcover!

Read about New Frontier Series Two Action Figures!

A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust
and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver – The Lone Ranger . . .

By Toy Boy
TheGlobalCollector.com
comic books/toys blog

To hear the opening strands of the calvary-charge portion of Gioacchino Rossini’’s William Tell Overture is to hear the very heartbeat of the Lone Ranger. Instantly identifiable with the man in the white hat for generations of boys and girls who grew-up with this legendary character’s radio, television, cartoon or film adventures, The Lone Ranger – and more specifically, the Clayton Moore version – will forever embody one the purest forms of decency, honesty and compassion ever created.

Moving in on the 75th anniversary of the character’s birth at Detroit, MI radio station WXYZ on January 30, 1933, The Lone Ranger (along with his equally-as-famous Native-American companion Tonto) has thankfully spawned a number of way-cool collectibles through the years – a few of which have found their way into the personal collection of your favorite Global Collector, Toy Boy. Not nearly enough, says I, but a few . . . Having grown-up in the era when an ill-guided remake put The Lone Ranger back in everyday consciousness – studio execs foolishly attempted to sever themselves from the past in 1979 by forcing Moore to abandon his trademark mask for pubic appearances. The eventual flick, “The Legend of the Lone Ranger” bombed upon release in 1981, with Moore once again allowed to appear as The Lone Ranger in 1984 – at the very least, all the hoopla surrounding the controversy produced a few more Lone Ranger items. Not that he was ever out of fashion in my family (given the endless stream of black and white reruns that seems to flicker across our television screens each and every week throughout the 70s) but the sympathy the demasking of Moore produced genuinely did create renewed interest in all-things Lone Ranger.

Probably the first Lone Ranger item Toy Boy ever had the pleasure of obtaining was the pictured Whitman Big Little Book, titled “The Lone Ranger Outwits Crazy Cougar”. Notwithstanding the fact that they give away the ending of the story in the title of the book (despite the fact they still attempt to create suspense on the back by asking, “Will Crazy Cougar – sinister medicine man – do away with the Lone Ranger as he promised? Or will good triumph over evil?”) I have owned – and loved — this book since I was six-years-old. In fact, thanks to Toy Boy’s mother knowing her son would one day write for a wildly-successful collectibles blog, she even inscribed on the inside that I won this particular tome at my cousin Jodi’s third birthday party, 1977. While not the hardcover beauties that were produced earlier on in the century (as pictured, right) nonetheless, these softcover gems will always hold a special place in my heart. Big type and big pictures await readers inside, and this Lone Ranger version is but one of a few that survived in my collection through the years: Batman – The Cheetah Caper, and Spider-Man Zaps Mr. Zodiac, being the other two. I can still recall walking into Woolco stores when I was a kid and seeing rows and rows of these books, no doubt inexpensively-priced, spreading literacy and adventure to millions of impressionable young readers. It’s a shame this format isn’t still done today . . . is it? Check out some of the inside pages below. Sheer unbridled Lone Ranger goodness . . .   

  

Throughout the coming months, keep coming back to TheGlobalCollector.com as Toy Boy fires-off even more of his fav Lone Ranger collectibles. Wanna join in on the fun? Register with us by clicking here, or by hitting the link at the top, and get to commentin’! You’ll also be eligible for fantastic free prizes that we will have more details on in the coming weeks! Please, let me assure everyone – registering is simply a way for us to try and deter spammers (not a way to get your email addresses and do nefarious things with them). You register, you get a password, you can start commenting, and you can win free stuff. It’s that simple. Thanks for visitin!

For more on Big Little Books, click here. Hi-Yo Silver, awa-a-a-a-a-a-a-y!

Above photos copyright TheGlobalCollector.com and Toy Boy.
All Rights Reserved.