They May Have Sadly Finally Stopped Making Games for Wii

 

The Nintendo Wii launched in November of 2012. It had a very unsuccessful follow-up, the Wii U, which after that had the extremely successful Nintendo Switch enter the scene. A rollercoaster of success-failure-success, frankly. Meanwhile, however, everyone kept making games for the Wii. Just less and less. Then the only big-release game left for it was, "Just Dance 2020," which came out in November 2019. In 2020 there has been a special release of, "Retro City Rampage," and, "Shakedown: Hawaii," for the Wii, but they were region-locked to European consoles as North American production of Wii games had basically stopped. Hence, it was tragic but expected to hear that, "Just Dance 2021," is most likely not getting a Wii edition. 

"Just Dance 2021,"  will be the first-ever, "Just Dance," game not also available on the Wii and the fandom of the game which owns Wii consoles and likes being able to play the year's hottest tunes on it is upset. Like, upset enough there is a petition for the publisher, Ubisoft, to find some way to release the game for the Wii. I understand to a certain degree--old tech is old tech and it can be more expensive to make things for outdated technology than newer stuff with less of a monetary return--essentially planned obsolescence making itself known. Even if I understand it is kind of a bummer though, as we enjoy playing all the, "Just Dance," games on our Wii.

Goodbye, RBG/Republicans Have No Shame

Ruther Bader Ginsburg was an amazing justice. Plenty of obits on the web break that down. I am sad she has passed. The Republican party, however, licking its chops, and less than 24 hours after her death Trump was tweeting about filling the Supreme Court vacancy. This is disgusting, and the hypocrisy is hilarious as Republicans said Obama couldn't fill a vacant seat as it was an election year when he had 200-ish days until an election. 

Meanwhile, Trump's hopefully impending defeat is approaching this November and people like the horrendous Mitch McConnel want to jam someone into that Supreme Court seat before (I pray) losing their control of the Nation. Instead of being able to simply mourn this incredible woman, we have to fight against all kinds of nefarious forces. Republicans have no shame, they've lacked it ever since the big orange moron took power. Goodbye, RBG, you will be missed. We will try our hardest to honor you.

"The Hero Trade," #1 Review

 

I wrote the other day about how, "The Hero Trade," has been getting a ton of buzz thanks to being a surprise release from Bad Idea, a new comic company with some unique ideas on the distribution and selling of comics. It was sent to stores that are on Bad Idea's partner list as if it was a random indie comic by some unknown creators, but then Bad Idea revealed the writer was Matt Kindt and the artist was David Lapham--not just someone with a strong Lapham influence on their art. This has led to a ton of interest in the comic with people wanting to acquire a copy. What about the actual, you know, comic though? Is it interesting and worth the fuss? Well, I was able to actually read the black and white ashcan comic and have got to say...it's pretty good.

I mean, it isn't surprising that this sampler is a quality read. Matt Kindt is a great writer and David Lapham has been a stellar illustrator (and writer) for decades too. What is, "The Hero Trade," actually about, however? It's fascinatingly disturbing. A seemingly normal man named Bob who apparently often has hustles going on has something unique for sale in the trunk of his car. He's been piecing it out for big chunks of money while driving all around the city. That special cargo? The body of superhero Captain Fab. Yes, this is a comic about a man selling body parts of a seemingly invulnerable and all-powerful hero. Why is he doing it? He refuses to say. How is he doing it? I imagine further issues will reveal more. 

As it is now, this is a darkly hilarious comic that seems to be riffing on how we treat heroes as commodities and things we buy and sell by having a comic literally make that subject. In a world where heroes are now big business for companies and seem to represent capitalism more than truth and justice, it's fitting to have a book where the subject matter itself is a man chopping-up and selling a hero piece by piece in the same manner conglomerates squeeze every possible profit out of their hero movies/comics/shows/etc. The meta elements aside, the comic itself is engaging and with someone like Lapham on art is there any doubt it looks incredible? 

Should you be able to find a copy I'd recommend giving, "The Hero Trade," a read for sure, or seeing as this is kind of a promotional ashcan, I imagine a more full release will occur in the future that'll be easier to scrounge-up a copy of. It's definitely a series that'll be worth following.

5 out of 5 stars.

The New Gaming Consoles Are Going to Be Physically Massive

There was talk about how the upcoming Xbox Series X was really big, while its discount version, the Series S was pretty small. Well, now the PlayStation 5 has had its specs revealed. It is what the internet might call, "Chonky," or, "A big ol' Chonker." The new generation of consoles are gonna be massive, Nintendo and its eventual Switch successor that will probably be the same size as before aside. 

It makes a certain degree of sense this is happening. With all the tech being jammed in these consoles they will need to be bigger, and the ventilation to keep all that tech running hard cool will take up a lot of space. Still, these things are gonna need a good chunk of space on your entertainment console. Oh, and they will weigh around 10 pounds, so don't think they're somehow light, they are chonky in every sense of the word.

I'm not upset these new consoles are going to be so massive, it just is interesting that as some tech keeps getting smaller, the consoles are getting quite big. The last thing I would want is for one to overheat so if being a chonker keeps the air flowing safely then I'm all for a big console, if I ever get around to buying one of these newer generations after they've been out for some time. I'm not in any rush seeing as how I don't play my PS4 that much right now as it is.

A Surprise Release of, "The Hero Trade," #1 from Bad Idea

I continue to follow new comic publisher Bad Idea with great interest as they advertise their upcoming books and how they are being directly shipped to comic markets in the near future. But wait, they surprise-released a comic already? Yes, "The Hero Trade," by Matt Kindt and David Lapham was sent to stores that will be distributing Bad Idea comics with a random note about how it was an ashcan of an indie comic (the creators weren't named and there was zero indication it related to Bad Idea as well) and more could be ordered of the little ashcan that was sent by September 13th. Then, after that date, Bad Idea revealed this random mailed comic was actually a surprise drop from Bad Idea.

This surprise release has gotten the comic a lot of buzz. Some people are saying it was a very clever way to build some hype, others are saying not revealing the truth until it was too late for stores to order more copies created artificial demand and was a...well, they said it was a bad idea, something the company probably loves hearing as that is their name and they're doing some crazy stuff. I continue to watch them with great interest.

Television Tuesday: Love Island's 2nd Season is Deliciously Dramatic

Let's be honest. As much as I enjoyed the first season of Love Island, it was pretty mellow. I called it, "Deliciously chill." There wasn't a ton of drama and it lacked a good deal of raunchiness you'd expect a show with a title like, "Love Island," to sport. Yes, the American version of the show was always going to be tamer than the original UK version seeing as Americans are a lot testier about sexy subjects. Still, things were quite PG. Season 2 started out a little slowly, but once they introduced a, "Casa Amour," twist (more on that later) things quickly got deliciously dramatic as well as quite hot-and-heavy in regards to the show's focus on good ol' fashioned making-out.

For those unaware of what, "Love Island," is all about. Basically, a bunch of singles come to an island, are coupled up, and from there sparks fly (metaphorically) between zany challenges. Due to COVID-19 there isn't an island this season so much as a rooftop in Vegas (which the show outright says, "Don't get too hung up on the island part,") and a bunch of singles who had to sit in quarantine for some time and don't go on dates too far away so much as within other levels of the hotel they're at (like a nice dessert bar). COVID-19 has resulted in some limitations, clearly, but we've still got horny singles and hilarious announcer Matt Hoffman so let's just call a rooftop an island and enjoy ourselves!

Speaking of enjoyment, things were slow at first. Everyone was kinda feeling the scene out, taking it slow, and besides one guy who was really toxic and went home fast, things were bland. Then we had the Casa Amour twist. The girls stayed at the one, "Island," villa and the guys were sent to another villa atop the roof of a different hotel. Then a bunch of new ladies came and met the men at their temporary home and a chunk of dudes came and introduced themselves to the women still at the villa. That's when lots of crazy kissing and dry-humping occurred, with the guys and gals both feeling, "Some type of way," when they returned to the villa with new matches or wanted to resume their relationships but had to confess to a lot of smooching and grinding with other people. Yes, this show is a just a bunch of amorous 20-somethings getting all upset their boyfriend/girlfriend of a week is now with somebody else after a day or two, but its lovely trash, and this season has ramped-up everything fantastically.

More of a rooftop than an island, but just roll with it.

The American version of, "Love Island," isn't as saucy as some other versions, but it still is a good time. It isn't a literal island this season either, but I'm having fun, the, "Islanders," are having fun, and announcer Matt Hoffman is having a grand time making fun of all the crazy events too. It is on almost every night of the week too so its like a nice relaxingly-dumb way to end the day. In the garbage fire that is 2020 I'll take what I can get, even if it is a show called, "Love Island," that isn't on an actual island.

A Review of "Bloodshot," #8

Let's do a simple good old fashioned review of a comic, I haven't done one for a smidgen, after all! I like the comics that Valiant puts out, but I sometimes fall behind on them. I was reading, "Bloodshot," but it has been a bit since I checked it out. We're into issue #8 of the latest series starring him and when I got a press email showing off a beautiful Clayton Crain cover (as seen above) it caught my attention and made me want to dip into this issue and see how lost I would be or if I could follow along. The good news is I was able to keep up pretty well. The bad news is...well, there isn't any bad news! A recap at the opening of the comic explains how Bloodshot has broken free of the evil group that was controlling him back when I read the series more regularly, but now he's set a whole bunch of other dangerous weapons loose and has to track them down. This leads to the issue I read.

"Bloodshot," #8 has a good chunk of action and intrigue, with it clear some nefarious forces are pulling the strings of all the weaponized people Bloodshot is after whilst he saves some negotiating political groups from one of these old dangers. Tim Seely is the writer, and I'm a fan of his, so I should've known I'd have a good time reading this issue. It had some humor, great action illustrated by artist Marc Laming, and the mysteries that are bubbling up caught my attention too. I was entertained, so I'm pleased. This issue will be for sale this Wednesday, September 16th, so look for that awesome cover in a couple days and then enjoy the stellar issue inside!
5 out of 5 stars.

Mini-Run Review: Wolverine #1-#5

The, "Original," Wolverine has had a number of series. He also was dead for awhile with an old man version of himself from another dimension running about as well as his clone, X-23 and son, Daken, getting up to adventures. The latest thing with the X-Men though is that they are basically immortal, able to be resurrected at any time and never truly die--something Wolverine relates to a bit now that he's back and witnessing all the other mutants dealing with this newfound way of kinda-sorta healing from any wound. That is one idea covered in the latest, "Wolverine," ongoing, but writer Benjamin Percy actually simultaneously juggles a lot of plotlines quite well and interestingly with artist Viktor Bogdanovic illustrating it all wonderfully too.

In the first five issues of, "Wolverine," we've had different storylines come to the forefront, retreat a bit, and then return. We've got Dracula taking an interest in Wolverine and using the infamous mutant Omega Red as a way to get to Wolverine, we had black market drug dealers stealing mutant meds that were meant to go to Nations that recognized the sovereignty of the Mutant nation of Krakoa whom Wolverine teamed-up with a regular human to take down. Those two storylines kind of weaved around one another in the first three issues, then it seemed in issue #4 we were getting a bit of a break with Wolverine retreating to a bar in the middle of nowhere near the Alaskan-Canada border where he had been going to clear his mind. Instead, things got really twisty.

This bar had a bartender who remembered Wolverine wronging him. He used the internet to recruit other people who hated mutants--Wolverine especially--and they all tried to drug him (which Bogdanovic illustrates well as things get woozy and weird) and bury him in ice as he heals from any wounds as they know...only for Omega Red to kill them all and Wolverine's frozen body making a great keg for some vampires who use his blood to walk in the daylight as they turn others and use them to try and build a vampire nation in areas mostly abandoned due to economic hardship. It has been interesting witnessing Benjamin Percy careful dip in and out of assorted storylines, having them all play a part off-and-on as Wolverine just tries to come to grip with this new normal of mutants thinking they are immortal but not realizing other immortals--like vampires--maybe have an issue with others thinking they can take over their scene. Plus, one could argue if mutants were able to force themselves into having a Nation, why not vampires too? 

As Wolverine points out in issue #5, getting a lot of money can make good people better and bad people worse, with the same going for immortality. He worries some of his mutants will become evil and twisted now. It is an interesting consideration I don't recall any other X-book touching upon too much yet. Between Percy's writing and Bogdanovic's artwork, I've been really digging this latest, "Wolverine," ongoing comic. I worry with so many mutant-focused books coming out right now some might end-up being lost in the shuffle--after all, people may be going, "Eh, I don't need another book with Wolverine when he's in a bunch of others," but the quirky fun and crazy plotlines of, "Wolverine," make it worth a read.

5 out of 5 stars (for all the issues overall).

Chuck Austen Returns to Comics

Chuck Austen is a comic creator whose work is often hated on. I'd say some of his stuff was actually pretty good, like his first, "U.S. War Machine," Marvel Max series, but I'd also admit he made some straight-up garage. He quit comics more than a decade ago, working on various television shows and I'd assume doing other hobbies that didn't get him constantly mocked by comic fans. Well, he's decided to return!

Yes, Chuck Austen is going to have a creator-owned series on ComiXology titled, "Edgeworld," which he'll be doing with illustrator Patrick Olliffe. Olliffe is someone whom Austen met back in his Marvel days and they'd had this idea for a bit, it seems. Austen admits in the press release for the comic he'd outright left comics, but he and Olliffe decided, "Why don’t we create a comic for ourselves? Just for fun?’ One rocket-sled ride later, and here we are. We never created this to sell to a publisher. We created it to create and that was very freeing.” Austen is basically saying off the bat to save your criticism because he's heard it all and this is just something he did to have a swell time. I say good for him. 

An underrated series Austen worked on.

The comic itself is about a character named Killian Jess, a former intergalactic soldier turned magistrate who works to protect the planet Pala with one of its native beings, Cheela--so it's like a police procedural, kinda? As someone who has actually been fond of some of Austen's writing, I wish him the best with this new project and hope it both does well and is--you know--good.

Funko Friday: I Am Intrigued by These, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Funko Pops

I am a big fan of the television show, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," from when it is hilariously funny in an inappropriate manner almost all the time to those extremely rare sweet moments. I also like to collect Funko Pops of certain things I like. These two things I am fond of are now colliding as we're going to be getting Funko Pops of the gang from that amazing episode with the production of, "The Nightman Cometh." I hope these sell well so we get other hilarious potential episodes in Pop form. All I know is this set is rad and I think I need to get one of each for sure.