Every collector has one. That one item, that really rare piece that if they could just attain it your collection could almost be complete (almost). It could be something that you’ve only seen in magazines, or an item that was almost within your grasp before it was snatched out from under your nose. Eobard Thawne even has one as you can see above . By the way I’m not encouraging any violence in the pursuit of collectibles, it just seemed like the most appropriate picture. 😀

Back when I really started snatching up pieces around 2006 or so, I came across an auction for something from my childhood that I never dreamed might exist. Now I’m sure quite a few of you remember those old Tiger Handheld games from back in the day. They were huge back when I was a kid. If a movie or cartoon became popular you could bet it was getting a Tiger Handheld. They had ones for all kinds of licensed properties, ranging from movie based games like Home Alone and Jurassic Park to extremely scaled down versions of console hits like Sonic The Hedgehog and Street Fighter as well as a bunch of sports games. The only two I owned were the X-Men and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, both unfortunately lost to the annals of time. I didn’t get a Gameboy of my own until the Color generation so I would play these games practically all the time. I still remember hunting around the house for AA batteries and taping them into my Tiger Handheld after I misplaced the battery covers. The batteries would still constantly pop out but if you were creative and tenacious enough you could make it happen. Thanks to Handheld Museum for the pictures.

Now fast forward years later and imagine my delight when I run across a Flash Tiger Handheld on evilBay. I tried my best to win it but the auction spun out of control and I lost it when it became too much money to keep bidding on. All my research online turned up nothing and I didn’t see another until four years later. Both in the hands of other collectors. Both unwilling to sell. Well that is until very recently. Check it out:

This Tiger Handheld was released in 1991 and was based on The Flash TV Series airing on CBS at around the same time. I caught a few episodes with my dad in between episodes of The Simpsons back when it originally aired. A couple years later I discovered the Forbes Video Store across the street had the pilot on VHS and I begged my sister to rent it for me at least a dozen times. Gotta love nostalgia.  Some more pics of the awesome backer art:

When I finally opened the package on Thursday (it actually had arrived the night before) I was again hunting around the house for AA batteries. Eventually I gave up and went across the street to the grocery store but damn it if it didn’t feel great. And at least this time I don’t have to worry about the batteries popping out. Yep, battery cover is intact.  As expected there isn’t much to the gameplay and really therein lies the beauty of it. As explained in the pics above you control The Flash and you have two d-pads with different features. The left one controls how fast you move, your braking and punching, while the right one is used to pick up food for energy and tie up bad guys. The trick is to maintain your speed while tying up the baddies and avoiding their bullets and punches. Simple yet fun.

Now since I don’t get to post as often as I like I always try to give you guys some bonus items when I do. This time is no exception. In keeping with the theme of the TV show I acquired a few TV Shirts from the Flash TV show a few years ago and I thought someone else might not mind getting a look at them:

This last one is tied with the first one as my favorite. I’m going to praise the art one more time. It is absolutely great.  The only real clue I have to the identity of the artist is The Flash TV Special comic with art by Javier Saltares (and David Williams and Darick Robertson but it looks much closer to Javier’s). If anyone has any idea who this is definitively it would be awesome if you could clue me in. In any case I think it is great stuff.

For more Flash TV Show nostalgia goodness check out my blog post from almost a year ago, Flash Valentine’s Day Cards. You can also check out my previous Recent Acquisitions entries HERE and HERE.

As always thanks for reading and keep it Flashy,

–Devin “Flash” Johnson

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