Raiders of the Lost Ark Board Game

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It became the year's top-grossing film, and remains one of the highest-grossing films ever made. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. This Raiders of the Lost Ark board game, based on the movie, was released in 1981 by Kenner, an American toy company that also held the rights to produce Star Wars action figures and play sets. In this game, designed for 2-6 players ages 8 and up, players move around a world map collecting cards and try to obtain the Ark, Staff of Ra, and the Map Room. As soon as one collects the Ark, Staff, and Map cards, they move to a designated country to win.

The joy of this game, though, is more than just its play value, and more than just its distinction as being one of the first pieces of Raiders merchandise to hit the shelves. The real joy is the awesome Jim Steranko box art, with an Indy so buff Harrison Ford wishes he ever looked that good - it's classic pulp styling to go along with the classic pulp feel of the movie! Steranko, an American graphic artist, is well known for his innovations in sequential art during the Silver Age of comic books, particularly his infusion of surrealism, op art, and graphic design into the medium. He went on to become a publisher, book cover illustrator, and even created conceptual art and character designs for films, including Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Shipwreck Beetlejuice Action Figure

This action figure is from the Beetlejuice series, produced by Kenner from 1989-1990, and based on the movie of the same name. A 1988 American comedy/horror/fantasy film directed by Tim Burton, the plot of Beetlejuice revolves around a recently deceased young couple who become ghosts haunting their former home and an obnoxious, devious "bio-exorcist" named Betelgeuse from the underworld who tries to scare away the new human inhabitants. This example, Shipwreck Beetlejuice, is still in its unopened original packaging. Unlike some figures from this line, Shipwreck Beetlejuice did not have a removable head. Instead, if you were to squeeze his legs together, his arms would fly up and tentacles would leap from his head!

Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located. Kenner introduced popular toys such as the Easy-Bake Oven in 1963, and the Spirograph drawing toy in 1966. After Kenner acquired the license to produce Star Wars toys when the Mego Corporation rejected it in 1976, Kenner popularized the 3.75 inch action figure that became an industry standard. One of their most highly acclaimed lines was the Super Powers Collection, produced from 1984 to 1986, and based on superheroes of DC Comics. Another popular action figure lines in the late 1980s was Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters, based on the 1986-1991 animated series adaptation of the 1984 feature film.