It arrived today! I was sooooooo excited. I asked my wife to document the unboxing with the camera. First things first, need to make sure I'm dressed for the occasion...

All right! Now here's the box with all that super awesome goodness waiting inside!!!!

Once the box was open, I saw the poster first. A little squished by our friends at UPS, but still so great!

Next I found the press kit! :D     So happy! (n_n)

I saw the edge of the shirt next. Now, when I found out I won in the contest I was amazed and honored. I knew, however, that I had an "Honorary Mention". usually this means an awesome prize, but not the same as the Grand Prize winners get. So I guessed I would probably have a shirt, but I figured it wouldn't be the same as the one in the blog photo. The shirt in the box was grey. I knew it was not the same shirt, and I figured it probably wasn't signed. After all, I didn't win per se, I was an Honorary mention. I could NEVER have been prepared for what I found...

Now, I need to point out that aside from an autograph, I have always DREAMED of having a sketch of MegaMan drawn by Inafune-San himself. When I unfolded this shirt, all I saw was the back with the 20th anniversary logo. My wife said "There's a sketch of MegaMan on it!"

I turned the shirt around, stared, and almost passed out! This is more than I could ever have hoped for! I had tears in my eyes and my heart felt like it was going to burst!

Happy SPAZ!  

Thank you Shawn (Snow), and all the Community staff! I can never express to you how much this means to me! It will be the greatest treasure I will ever own! (Even as I'm typing this, I'm getting a little choked up again)

I figured something this momentus calls for a special drink...

Yes, the coveted E-Tank. If ever there was an appropriate time to open one and toast all of my friends in the community, it was now!

Crystal clear, and served in a martini glass, Thats some fancy E-Tank action!

Here's to all of you in the Community, and everyone who ever worked on a MegaMan game, and most especially, here's to you Inafune-San! Kampai!

A delicious sweet taste with just a hint of citrus. For those who know Japanese drinks, it tastes kind of like Pocari Sweat. Very tasty!

And Cheers from the Missus! <3

I'm going to get the shirt professionally Shadow-box framed with the press kit, and frame the poster to hang next to it. I'll post more pics when it's all done. Thank you so much for giving me the greatest gift I could ever receive!

Yours Truly,

Rob_Man

My friend John over at Happy Console Gamer has been busy putting together a little Hallowe'en Episode. Check it out, It's guest starring yours truly :D.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR15O1qbPqQ

Wow! I just don't know what to say. I'm completely floored. Thank you So much for making me a 4th winner in the contest!

It was an amazing surprise, especially since I didn't even think I was even a contender. I've been working some looooong hours lately (as some of my friends in the community know) doing overnight shifts installing air conditioners in an office tower. My usual routine has been to come home, check email, then hop straight onto the community and catch up with all my Blue Bomber Buddies. It's the one part of the day lately that's been great, talking to all you folks out there, sharing laughs and hardships, and our universal love of MegaMan.

So I got home on Friday night / Saturday morning and sat down to check my messages. I hadn't even been to the main blog page yet. I had a couple of PM's saying "Congratulations". I scratched my head and thought, "Ok, for what?".  Then I saw the message from Snow. I opened it up and my heart exploded in my chest!

"You've won the Ultimate Mega Man Fan contest! Actually, your prizes are already on their way! =D"

After a week from hell, and an especially long night, this was the most amazing news to come home to. I had to take a moment to let it sink in. I cracked a cold one and stared at the screen. I sipped my drink, blinked, then lost it. My wife came in and asked what the fuss was all about. I pointed at the screen and she looked at it owlishly. She read it. She blinked. She took a sip of my drink, and lost it!

We celebrated well into the wee hours. I couldn't stop dancing around saying "Oh my God, Oh my God, I can't believe it!".

I will never be able to express my gratitude for the incredible honor you have bestowed upon me! It is a priviledge to have been selected as an Ultimate MegaMan Fan. As soon as the box arrives, the contents will be framed and put in a place of honor in my home! 

Thank you Snow, John D, S-Kill and everyone at Capcom for loving us fans as much as we love you!

Thanks and Congratulations to MegaPhilX, Marcus and Joey.

And thanks to all the MegaFans out there. Time and again in the community we all prove that our souls burn Blue! :D

---Rob_Man

So, I'm back again with another look at one of Capcom's amazing art books. This time I'll be looking at Street Fighter, Eternal Challenge. Released here in North America by Udon (purveyors of AWESOME comics based on Capcom properties), this is more than just a lot of nice pictures. Eternal challenge is the compendium of all things Street Fighter.

It starts with a list of every game (except 4 which wasn't announced at the time of publication) and the release dates of same.

There is a great section of character specific art in many different styles that shows just how many different ways these iconic characters have been conceptualized:

I especially like this pic of Ibuki done in traditional Japanese style.

You'll also find an amazing collection of all the promotional artwork and cabinet graphics from the arcade era.

The sections on the individual characters are fantastic, with lots of pics of each one.

There's also a fantasic concept art / sketch book chapter. It's a great chance to see some of the rough concept works and early (pre cleanup) stuff that we normally don't. I personally have always liked the rough sketch type art, it's very visceral and raw.

Now we get into the meat and potatoes of the book. The complete history of the Street Fighter series, game by game. This section obviously has less art and more text, but is amazingly well researched and put together. For any serious fan who ever wanted to know everything about the series, from the first arcade game of "Street Fighter" that had the pressure sensitive buttons (the harder you hit the button, the harder you hit the other player) to the many incarnations of Street Fighter EX, Alpha, Turbo and all the rest.

We of course can't have a book like this without seeing a section of Swag! :D

Much drool worthy goodies to be coveted and dreamed about.

There it is in a nutshell. A fantastic book and an absolute MUST have for serious fans of Street Fighter. It's even available in the Capcom store. :D

My friend John over at Happy Console Gamer (on youtube) Just posted his video "review" of the press kit. His co-star may seem a little familiar......   

Check it out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkixeNutAtY