Jazzy! 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Ravensburger, Art by Greg Paprocki)

This one instantly went on my wishlist when I saw it last year, and I finally ordered it when Ravensburger had their Black Friday sale. It's been chilling in my "to do" stacks until this afternoon. I love the bold colors and retro art style! It was a quick and fun completion, one I can easily see myself putting together again at some point when the mood strikes me. The pieces are typical Ravensburger quality, with their thick pieces that fit well together, slightly loose fit, and several pounds of dust. 

Rant Review: Masters of the Universe: Surprise Attack 63 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Golden, Art by R.A. Allen, 1983)

Hot off the USPS delivery truck comes this vintage MOTU puzzle from 1983! I'm not sure whether or not this is one I had when I was little; I know the art from my childhood, but I also had this coloring book that used the same art on its cover, so my memories may be from that. The artist is not credited on the box, but I recognize it as the work of R.A. Allen. Allen contributed painted art to a fair few licensed MOTU items, and much of it wound up on puzzles. His painted art is overshadowed by the work of artists such as William George, Earl Norem, and Rudy Obrero, but he contributed solid work that I feel is rather underappreciated by MOTU fandom at large. 

This art has its roots in MOTU as it existed prior to the Filmation cartoon, an era many of us hold near and dear. Signs of this are Teela with blonde hair and wielding her serpent staff, and Skeletor using the power sword, while He-Man is armed only with his axe. These were common elements in MOTU stories before DC Comics and Filmation revamped the lore into what is recognizable to most people to this day. (I'll just add that while I preferred the pre-cartoon version of MOTU, I was always vaguely annoyed by blonde Teela. I preferred her as a redhead!)

The puzzle pieces are thin, and some have a bit of very mild warping. They fit together very loosely, without much interlocking going on.  The pieces are large and easy for small hands to work into place. I have a couple more of these vintage MOTU puzzles on the way, so look for more soon! For now, enjoy a bonus image from that old coloring book, showing my childhood self's solution to not having enough non-white characters in MOTU! 

 

 

Rant Review: "Mayberry" Mount Airy, North Carolina 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Dowdle/Buffalo, Art by Eric Dowdle)

I've been picking up Dowdle puzzles here and there as I've come across them at garage sales and thrift stores, both pre- and post-Buffalo acquisition versions, and this is the first one I've actually gotten around to putting together. As it happens, this is not one of the few I've grabbed over the past year, but a new one I ordered on sale a couple of weeks ago. I've loved The Andy Griffith Show (the black & white seasons, anyway) for as far back as my memory goes, so I had to get it as soon as I saw it! 

I quite like the idea of artist Eric Dowdle trying to capture the soul of a city, though I have not visited Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, I can't say how accurate this is. It makes me want to visit the city very much! The pleasing art style gives the city an appropriate homespun feel, and features several real-life businesses and landmarks. Floyd's barbershop and Wally's are representative of iconic locations from the show, and there's a replica of the courthouse and sheriff's office. Various characters and scenes from the show play out across the art, with likenesses that are off just enough to avoid being sued. 

Scenes I spotted: 
Barney on his motorcycle from the aptly-named Barney gets a Motorcycle
Andy officiating the sham wedding between a disguised Barney and Ernest T. Bass to avoid having Bass wreck the real wedding (Mountain Wedding)
An inebriated Otis riding a cow, thinking it is a horse (The Rehabilitation of Otis)
Andy mediating between the patriarchs of two feuding families who balk at dueling once they're actually put on the spot (A Feud is a Feud)
The Darlings playing music (Multiple episodes)
Mr. McBeevee talking to Opie (Mr. McBeevee)
Andy and Barney with the goat that ate a bunch of dynamite (The Loaded Goat)
Howard Sprague apparently selling newspapers (Not 100% sure what he's doing, as he's a character from the color seasons, which I never really liked, and haven't seen nearly as much.)
Barney dancing with one of the escaped convicts (Convicts at Large)
Gomer dancing with Thelma Lou's cousin Mary Grace (A Date for Gomer)
There are plenty of other characters such as Aunt Bee, Floyd, and Goober, and other scenes that are more generic and not rooted to any specific episode. 

The quality is typical of Buffalo, with thin, mostly sturdy pieces and not a lot of dust. False fits are possible, and easy to miss in certain areas. The trees and sky were the toughest bits, and I left the uppermost edge for last. The poster has a section with information about the various landmarks. One thing I learned is that the nearby city of Mount Pilot on the show was named for the actual Pilot Mountain, seen near the top of the puzzle! A moonshine pie also sounds pretty tasty. I'll have to try one if I ever get to visit!

My top eight Andy Griffith Show episodes (I tried for five, but barely manage to whittle it down this much)

Bargain Day: Some of the most consistent wall-to-wall laughter of the entire series. The sometimes ridiculous lengths Aunt Bee goes to in an attempt to save money remind me of my mom. The scene where she goes down in the middle of the night to sit with the malfunctioning freezer as if it's a sick relative just kills me every time! 

Opie the Birdman: This one usually tops "best of" lists for good reason. The scene at the beginning, with Barney trying to explain how people made slingshots in the olden days ("Where'd David get the inner tube?") has some welcome humor in an episode with more than usual emotional content. 

Opie's Charity: Probably not one of the objectively best episodes, but this one has so many funny lines and scenes, and the twist where we discover why Opie has been so seemingly stingy with his money is a bit of an emotional gut punch.

Mr. McBeevee: Andy and Barney suspect that Opie's new friend is imaginary, which becomes a problem when he starts providing him with gifts. The scene where Andy realizes he trusts his son even though what he's telling him makes no sense to him is powerful. He knows his son is a good child, and he puts his faith in him. That really struck a chord with me when I was little, and still does now.   

Andy on Trial: A wealthy newspaper publisher with a grudge against Andy sends one of his reporters to dig up dirt on the sheriff. She plays on Barney's vanity to manipulate him into giving her enough information to bring a case against him. Barney's impassioned speech at the trial is a great showcase for the character, and shows that Don Knotts was capable of more than just clowning.

Convicts at Large: Barney and Floyd are held captive by a trio of escaped convicts from a women's prison. The scene where Barney dances with the leader to give Andy a chance to capture her is one of the funniest from the entire series!

The Pickle Story: Aunt Bee is a wonderful cook, but pickles are her weakness. Andy, Barney, and Opie trying to cope with her "kerosene cucumbers" is a rollicking good time.

The Song Festers: This is probably a bit of a hot take, but I prefer this one to the more well-known "Barney and the Choir." Barney doesn't come off as so delusional and stupid here, and the resolution just makes more sense. I also love how it shows what a good and selfless person Gomer is, and showcases Jim Nabors' amazing real-life vocal talent.

Rant Review: Great Smoky Mountains National Park 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (True South Puzzle Company, art by Anderson Design Group)

This is the first puzzle I've tackled from that great haul a few weeks ago, and it made for a quick and easy completion. The collection of art is vibrant, and I quite like the art style used. (Though it does make me wonder how in the hell I missed out on virtually all of these things when I visited the park years ago!) This is a rare case of me completing the edges last, as most of the border pieces were made up of mostly-blank light beige. I always enjoy irregular cuts with wonky piece shapes, and this puzzle has quite a few of those, though it stops short of actual whimsy pieces. The image appears to be slightly offset, as the right border is noticeably wider than the left one. 

The pieces are thin but sturdy, and on standard grayish board. The finish is slightly glossy. There was quite a bit of puzzle dust in the bottom of the box, and a fair few pieces that had not been completely cut apart, despite the puzzle having been worked previously. (The original owner didn't pass up those freebies!) The fit is loose, and I couldn't slide even a few connected pieces into position without them falling apart. Not a bad quality level, but unspectacular. Given how much TSPC charges for their puzzles, all this came as a bit of surprise. Since I only paid a dollar for this, however, I was perfectly fine with the piece quality. You just won't catch me dropping $30+ on one of these!

There was a bit of damage, as one piece had been chewed on at some point. It still fit into place just fine, so no real harm done! Despite the apparent presence of a pet, there was no pet hair in the box. The pieces were clean and had no odor, a definite win for a dirt cheap secondhand puzzle! I have five more True South puzzles, so expect to see them pop up throughout the year!

Rant Review: DC Collector's Edition: Superman, 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Ravenburger, artists uncredited)

Okay, let's just get this out of the way right off the bat: I've been reading DC comics pretty much my entire life, so I'll get out into the weeds a fair bit here. If you get a few lines into a paragraph and wonder what in the blue hell I'm going on about, feel free to skip down to the next one.

This is officially the most screwed Superman has ever been. Each of these guys-- Darkseid, Luthor, Henshaw (Cyborg Superman), Solaris, Brainiac, Zod, Bizarro, Mongol, and Doomsday-- has taken him to the brink of destruction multiple times, and one of them actually did kill him at one point! Solaris, the tyrant sun from the distant future, has eradicated many of Superman's descendants. This one feels much more lopsided than the other puzzles in this series! (Also, I just love how Superman is so epic that one of his nemeses is literally an evil star!) I would have liked to have less of a "boys' club" feel to things, though. Superman doesn't have a ton of villains who are women, but surely Silver Banshee or Livewire could have been added to the chaos! Both have great designs that would have livened things up even more. 

Superman is in his second Rebirth-era costume here, used for a brief period before reverting to his classic look. After DC's weird years-long obsession with banishing the red trunks, this was the design that finally achieved the right balance of colors to where he didn't look significantly off without them. So naturally, they ditched the look almost immediately! I was a little annoyed by this at the time, so it's nice to see that design used here, though it does date the puzzle's design a bit. 

I'm also not a fan of how artists continue designing intricate armor for Darkseid, though I do understand that instinct. The problem is that distinctive armor is completely counter to what the character is all about at his core; Jack Kirby created him as a sort of ur-fascist, of whom every tyrant that has ever been is but a pale shade. Darkseid's pursuit of the Anti-Life equation reflects his obsession with eradicating individuality throughout the multiverse, creating a reality where all is one with Darkseid. Kirby dressed him accordingly in very bland, simple clothing. Nearly every redesign has fundamentally missed this crucial aspect of the character, giving him the look of a generic alien conqueror, rather than the immortal enemy of all that lives. Sorry for the rant, this is just one of those things that annoys me every time someone gets it into their head to redesign him. 

Personal preferences about costume choice aside, the art is well done, with nice composition and a sense of energy. The linework is strong, and the colors are an appropriate mix of bright and muted tones that rarely become too dark or murky. Areas such as Darkseid and Doomsday's bodies, where light sources cast highlights that alter the colors from their normal ones, are different enough from one another that it's usually clear which of those areas each piece belongs in. One of the trickiest areas was actually the blue parts of Superman's uniform. The mix of varying shades of blue and black shadowed areas made it less easy that it appears at a glance. The toughest section was Darkseid, by a wide margin. The ambient lighting altering the appearance of every texture, overall darkness of large parts of it, and sheer size of that area led me to leave it for last. Thank Grodd for the Omega Beams bisecting that region of the puzzle, as they served as an anchor point and made that section considerably less tedious than it would have been without it! 

The quality is exactly what you'd expect from Ravensburger in recent years. The pieces feel nice and fit together well, though slightly loose. Tons of dust, with some coming off the pieces even after two rounds of sifting. As with the Flash puzzle I did several months ago, DC or Ravensburger made the unfortunate decision to leave the artist uncredited, and I can't find this information online.

Rant Review: Starry Hattiesburg 80 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Manufacturer and artist uncredited)

I grabbed this at a local business a few months ago, and I had a bit of business downtown this morning that led me to walk past the Saenger. That brought this puzzle to mind, so I decided to tackle it when I got back home. It was sold pre-assembled, so I crumpled it up, mixed the pieces, and had it together again within minutes. The pieces are thin and hard, akin to Galison, but with a hard, glossy finish. Each piece fits with other pieces, but the low piece count and the art made it easy to avoid false fits. It holds together pretty well after assembly, and with the help of the piece of cardboard that came packaged with it, slid back into its wrapping without issue. This art was painted on one of the utility boxes downtown at one point, and this puzzle is a photograph of that. That's the cause of the handle near the center, and the edge and shadow near the top. A bit of artistic license is at play, as there are no mountains in Hattiesburg, unless I'm far less observant than I realized. We do, however, have displays such as this in the night sky if you imbibe the right stuff.

Rant Review: Thriller Movie Classics 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Seesaw, Art by Lewis Johnson)

I always enjoy a good collage, and this one is right up my alley! I've seen all but a few of these movies, many of them courtesy of MST3K. There are some bonafide classics here, and even the schlocky flicks represented here are generally a fun watch. In case anyone is looking over these movies and feeling inspired to watch some, my picks for the five best are The Mummy, The Body Snatcher, The Haunting, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. (King Kong and The Birds get honorable mentions because everyone knows damn well that those are all-timers!) 

I quite like most of the poster art, but I'm not thrilled by the Kong art used here. The actual art is not the issue, but it's odd that this is the only movie represented for which new art was created. Why not use any of the numerous movie posters? Licensing issue, perhaps? The poster used for The Black Cat is for the 1966 version from Hemisphere, not the 1935 all-timer that first teamed Lugosi and Karloff, or even the tepid 1940 version, both of which had far more interesting posters. Just FYI in case anyone is looking at this and wondering why they chose to feature that poster! 

I've had a pair of Seesaws in my pile for a while, and selected this one as my first foray into the brand. The pieces are on the thin side, but sturdy, and have a pretty nice feel. The fit is a bit loose, and while the art generally made it easy to avoid false fits, they were certainly possible. There wasn't a whole lot of dust to deal with. Overall, this is a decent quality puzzle, about in line with what I expect for $12. My other Seesaw is Xmas themed, so I'll (presumably) be tackling it once we've made it to the end of the year.

Rant Review: Votes for Women 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Eeboo, art by Monica Garwood)

I got this on sale last year and saved it to do on International Women's Day, but, in an astonishing plot twist, that was on the 8th, not the 21st. So, here it is in honor of Women's History Month! The pieces have a nice coated feel to them, and are very sturdy. The quality is thankfully much better than the last puzzle I did from this brand. A big fold-out poster is included with bios of each person featured on the puzzle, a very nice bonus! I enjoyed going over this with my little niece, who recognized many people from the set of books about women throughout history that I gave her last year. 

Rant Review: Snake Mountain Family Portrait 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (PuzzleYou, Art by Esteban Maroto)

I had this puzzle custom-made by PuzzleYou a few months ago after doing a bit of research and seeing a good deal of praise for them. I can say that they've lived up to that, as this puzzle's quality is quite good. The feel of the pieces and overall quality are comparable to Ravensburger, though with a bit less dust, and a slightly tighter fit. Some of my earliest memories involve Masters of the Universe, as regular TMR readers know; I have hazy memories of sitting in the buggy in a store and looking at He-Man in that iconic exploding red rocks packaging, then opening it in the car on the way home and marveling at the Alfredo Alcala art in the included minicomic. I don't remember exactly when I first saw this piece of art by Esteban Maroto, but the image has lived in my mind for decades as one of the most iconic pieces of MOTU art. I wanted to get it as a 1,000 piece puzzle, but the image simply wasn't high-resolution enough for that. It was a fun completion, though some of the background elements were enough of a challenge that I'm now a bit relieved that it's only 500 pieces! I doubt I'll be ordering another custom puzzle anytime soon because it costs a good deal more than I like to spend on a single puzzle, but that aside, I wouldn't hesitate to use PuzzleYou's services again. I'm very satisfied with the experience!

Rant Review: 'Twas the Night Before Hogswatch 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Discworld Emporium, Art by David Wyatt)

I didn't get all of my holiday-themed puzzles done before Xmas, but I did at least get started on this one! It took me about a week and a half to complete, owing to a more hectic than usual time of year and the puzzle having some tough areas. Hogfather is among my favorite Discworld novels, and I liked this art enough to finally spring for the international shipping that has kept me from actually ordering anything from the Discworld Emporium in years past. (The tariffs imposed by the pile of rat droppings currently staining chairs in the oval office didn't help, either!) While it meant spending out of my comfort zone for a puzzle, this was a special case, and the Emporium did not disappoint. The package arrived within a single week, which frankly astonished me, and was stamped with in-universe stamps as if it had actually shipped from Ankh-Morpork! There was also a fun note from a member of the Thieves Guild in the package.

 

 

The art is nice and detailed, and there are plenty of easter eggs for devoted Pratchett fans to spot. Aside from the novel's main cast in the sleigh, there are some of the faculty of Unseen University, including the Librarian himself, a tooth fairy hard at work, an escapee from Sybil Vime's dragon sanctuary, and a trio of Auditors, and a few others to pick out among the crowd.  

 

 

 

 The box is sturdy, and has a magnetic closure. It's designed so that it can be shelved vertically alongside your Discworld library, which is a nice touch. The included poster is large enough to actually be useful, and I did find myself referring to it while working on certain sections. The pieces are nice and sturdy, though the fit is a bit on the loose side. The overall quality is about in line with the recent Ravensburgers I've done, only with far less dust. This puzzle is a big-time winner, an excellent way to close out 2025 and kick off 2026! It's also the fiftieth puzzle I've done (not counting minis) since I resumed puzzling regularly back in 2024! I can easily see another order from the Discworld Emporium in my future. I just wish there was a place I could buy these puzzles locally to avoid that international shipping!  

 

 

 

Rant Review: Target Ornament and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Mini Jigsaw Puzzles, 50-100 Pieces

This collection of mini holiday puzzles caught my eye during a shopping trip earlier this month, and they were in my basket nearly before I realized it! The trio of ornament puzzles came from Target, and ran $2 each. The quality was about what you'd expect, with very thin glossy pieces. There are a few shapes, and while false fits were possible with virtually every combination of pieces, the designs made it easy to avoid them. There was no puzzle dust.

The Christmas Vacation puzzle was $5, and the quality was a bit better. The thin, glossy pieces have an almost plastic feel, and the unique piece shapes prevented false fits even in the darker areas. As with the Target trio, there was no dust. 

None of these will set the puzzling world on fire from a quality standpoint, but I picked them up as quick, fun little diversions on a rather hectic Xmas eve, and they served that purpose admirably! 

Winter, Badges, and Hot Cocoa, 50 pieces each (Target, artist uncredited)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 100 pieces (Ceaco, Art by Thomas Kinkade Studios)

Rant Review: Victorian London Christmas 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Ravensburger, art by Dominic Davison)

This one doesn't look tough, but its appearance is deceptive. There are a fair few textures mirrored on each side, and many of the pieces are much darker than they appear. It wasn't difficult on the level of one of the sadistic photomosaic puzzles I've tackled in the past, but it was one of those where I had to fight for every inch of space I filled in. I wound up liking the image a bit less as I worked it, as examining each piece up close made it appear that it's partly an assemblage of clip art. Elements such as the dog and lampposts really stand out when viewed in such detail. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it did sour me on the art just a bit. (It's entirely possible that no clip art was used, and this is simply the artist's style, and I will be happy to be corrected on this point if that is the case!) I still liked the overall image enough that I wanted to complete it. While perusing the MGL licensing site, I see that I have another winter-themed puzzle from the same artist. Hopefully I'll enjoy it a bit more! 

The quality is typical Ravensburger, sporting the slightly looser fit that's become standard for them, and plenty of dust. I still find their pieces among the most satisfying to handle and assemble. I rarely use a poster when working a puzzle, but I would have gladly used one with this one, with all the tiny and dark details I had to contend with! It's a shame that Ravensburger doesn't give its customers that option.