I Tried Lily's Toaster Grills and Loved Them!

Grilled cheese you cook in a toaster. It sound insane, but Lily's Toaster Grills are exactly that and they are delicious. They are incredibly easy to prepare as you simply pop them out of the box and their plastic packaging, microwave them 30 seconds, put them in the toaster with it at medium-high, and then enjoy. They are as tasty as they are an ease to make and I was surprised how buttery and rich they were. I also was concerned about cheese leaking out of these into the toaster, but that did not happen at all (thankfully)!

I've only tried the grilled American cheese, but there are many other varieties. They've got ones with ham, turkey, other kinds of cheeses, and more! I also like that Lily's Toaster Grills donates a portion of all sandwiches made to those in need via their nonprofit, LuvFromLily. That's awesome too. I plan to try some more Lily's Toaster Grills in the near future as these were a delight.

Note: As I always add to assure people I wasn't asked to do paid content, this is a pure opinion post. I wrote this as I really loved Lily's Toaster Grills. I bought them at the store and found them to be a treat, I was not contacted by anyone to write a post or such. Of course, if Lily's wants to send me some coupons I wouldn't say no, however!

The Saint Charles Quad Con Today was a Blast!

I had a blast today at the Saint Charles Quad Con. The Olympia event center in which it was held had a ton of space for the crowd that started out a little quiet at first and really grew once the afternoon hit. Here are some pics before it got a chunk more busy:

I started the show saying hi to some of the big guests of the con. I chatted with the talented Rags Morales, whose artwork on, "Action Comics," during the New 52 relaunch with Grant Morrison really wowed me. I also met Pixel Dan who had some awesome toys and a book about all the classic He-Man toys which was big and beautiful. Here's Dan:

I saw friend of the blog, acclaimed wrestler and actor Bishop Stevens as well. He was his usual friendly and fun self. We talked about how he had been doing since I'd last seen him pre-pandemic:

There were an immense number of vendors and creators too. When I entered the show I ran into my old friend Drew of CoMo comics. I bought a snazzy copy of the first issue of Spawn from his booth:

I chatted with my chum Spike of Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles, then had the chance to sell some things to as well as buy some items from John of Bigfoot Comics and Collectibles:

I met the acquaintance of Matt Cargal whose comic book about a stand-up comedian that gains superpowers, "The Comic," will be running a Kickstarter campaign for its latest issue soon: 

Author Cathy Jackson was the next person I had the pleasure of meeting. She creates what she described as, "Uplifting and encouraging romance." She had a great assortment of books in various sub-genres of romance and shared how it was actually the loss of her mother that inspired her to start writing more as a way to unpack her feelings and process everything. Her husband who helped to design much of her book, Matthew Jackson of Mad Celt Designs was at the show too! They were both great to speak with. Here is Cathy:

Justin Mosley of Wayne Kent Comics was at the show--on his birthday no less--cutting his usual stellar deals. I also so my buddy Bruce Reynolds who was kind enough to pose for a pic:

My friend Jack of Trade Up Comics was selling all kinds of cool books too:

James Doe of Cabal Books had a number of cool books. I bought some from him as you can see with this pic of him and some of his, "Wall books," as they are called:

I met Cosmic Comics for the first time and they were awesome! They let me snap a pic of one of their cool shirts and I have a picture of some of the snazzy books I got from them:

MWS Comics was new to me as well and they chatted with me about how they also clean and press comics:

I saw some really cool comics created by Biff! Bam! Boom! Comics. He was showing off a super-hero book that was a bit like the Justice League, a sci-fi one, and a title geared towards younger readers with a Teen Titans-vibe as he described it. I ran into Christa from Hearts Adorned Designs as well. She is very talented at creating costumes and cosplay with custom clothing alterations being something she specializes in too:

Larry of Bug's Comics and Games was present, and we discussed how I continue to be excited for the grand opening of his new store at the end of October--expect me to be there and report on it! Royalcomic had a bunch of cool comics too and I bought this snazzy, "Marvel Knights Wave 2, "comic with an early appearance of Yelena Belova:

I had a fantastic time at the Saint Charles Quad con today! There were tons of awesome comics for sale (and some I had the pleasure of buying, as I showed), stellar guests, impressive creators, and it was a stupendous day! I can't wait for the next show and will be sure to keep everyone informed of future events!

DC Announced Assorted Things at its Fandome Today

Even though in-person comic conventions are coming back it is still popular to do virtual ones (which I think is good as they help those who can't always afford or physically access in-person cons). DC held its latest Fandome today and a whole lot of interesting things were revealed to the in-person and digital crowd. 

In terms of movies and streaming, there was a new trailer for the oft-delayed but now arriving in March 2022, "The Batman," movie. A teaser was released for that standalone, "The Flash," flick which will feature Micheal Keaton's return as Batman. "Peacemaker," got a hilarious trailer for its HBO MAX show. Dwayne Johnson showed off, "Black Adam," footage. Season 3 of the, "Harley Quinn," cartoon is being made with the animators hard at work too.

With comics it was revealed Superman will now say how he stands for, "Truth, justice, and a better tomorrow," as opposed to that last one being, "The American way," so expect pointless controversy over that. More Milestone titles are coming, and a Wonder Woman event, "Trial of the Amazons," will be released too. More than those things were discussed, but that is what caught my eye.

The Main Event in Chesterfield is Immense Fun!

My wife and I were able to visit a really cool location today. Known as the Main Event, they are located all around the United States and are incredibly fun. The one here in Chesterfield was a massive building full of over 150 arcade games, laser tag, bowling, a restaurant with a bar, billiards, gravity ropes, and more! Whether you're there by yourself, with your family, or booking a school event (or corporate gathering), the Main Event is really cool. 

We tried out a number of the arcade games and won enough tickets to get some baby shark plushes as well as a mug (shoutout to Shelly in the redemption area, she was really cool). Here we are in front of a crane game:

We did not eat at Main Event today, but we did try their speciality Shirley Temples (they've got alcohol as well but we weren't hankering for any booze). Served with ginger ale, grenadine, a piece of candy, and a blue sugar rim, it was as tasty to drink as it was fun to look at. Observe:

After playing some more arcade games we headed out, but we had a ton of fun at Main Event. Samii remarked how enjoyable it was and I agreed with her. The assortment of arcade games, activities, and menu loaded with delicious foods (which we will try in the future) shows just how great a time you can have at Main Event! Check them out online and if you live in this area or have another location near you I'd recommend you visit Main Event in the near future!

For Everyone Confused, Superman's Son, Jon, is Bi and not Clark Kent

It was announced by DC that in an upcoming issue of, "Superman: Son of Kal-El," that Superman's son will come out as bisexual. People do not realize that Superman and Lois Lane have a son, that his name is Jon, and that he shares the title of Superman with his father. This led to countless confused new articles written in a clickbait-y manner about the Clark Kent Superman being gay. The general populace is confused, so as I clarified, this is the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and he is bisexual, and that's perfectly normal and fine so quit whining online, or if you're going to pointlessly complain at least get the character you're bitching about right. Thank you and that is all.

October 2021 Links, News, and Stuff Like That

October Has Been Going Well

I don't know about you, but October has been going pretty well for me. After a slog of a September I'm enjoying being in this lovely month. I thought I'd share some interesting news and link with you all as I occasionally do. Here we go...

Links For You

In its earliest days, Adult Swim seemed like this weird secret that few talked about. It was quite a trip. I remember the first time I witnessed shows like, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," and it blew my mind.

Before James Mangold worked with Hugh Jackman on one good Wolverine movie ("The Wolverine,") and one amazing one ("Logan,") they first worked together on the decent romantic comedy, "Kate & Leopold." I did not realize Mangold directed that movie so this article about it was interesting.

The Comic's Journal has a good article breaking down some of the legalese and drama surrounding the latest copyright wars between creators' families and Marvel/Disney.

I loved OutKast when it was putting out music. One half of the duo, Big Boi, is still out there rapping a lot. He appears on the new song, "Garden Party," and delivers a lovely (as well as saucy) verse. He's still got it!

While we're on the subject of music, I loved Kacey Musgrave's new album, "Star-Crossed," but observed it didn't sound too country in genre. I still thought it would count as a country album, however. The Grammys (which suck, but whatever) disagree. They are going to call it a pop album, I guess.

New York Comic-Con happened last weekend and it had winners and losers according to Comics Beat. Sounds like it was a fun show and they tried to keep everyone masked & safe.

That's it, go enjoy the Fall!

I don't have much news and links to share as other times, but quality over quantity, right? Get out there and enjoy the Fall weather, which lately seems to mean its abnormally hot or cold, but whatever.

"Hob's Lane," #1 is a Striking and Dread-Filled Debut Issue

Blue Fox Publishing/Comics consistently puts out great indie comics, many with a horror-bent. Their latest upcoming title which will be running a Kickstarter campaign in the near future is the first issue of, "Hob's Lane." Written by Martin Hayes, with art plus colors by RHStewart, and letters by Paul McLaren, I found this initial issue to be instilled with a great deal of fear, dread, and those kinds of things you'd want from a horror comic! 

A mysterious murder in a neighborhood causes London cop, Doug Kendal, to run into an old friend who lives near the scene of said crime, John Tate. Tate's wife was murdered three years ago in a mugging and since then he's fallen apart--metaphorically and as the comic goes on it seems somewhat literally. Things start a bit of a slow burn but then towards the end of the issue, the body horror really ramps up and gets fascinatingly disgusting. As this is just the first issue a lot of questions are raised with answers probably to come later.

"Hob's Lane," is a great first issue for a horror comic. It's scary, suspenseful, and has some nice gross moments to really jar the reader. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to the Kickstarter campaign!

5 out of 5 stars. 

The Fry Sauce from Freddy's is Amazing

Up until recently, I had never enjoyed Freddy's restaurant. They seem to be expanding into the Saint Louis region, however, as a number of them are opening up around us and a brand new location just started serving grub a few weeks ago. Having heard it was good, I picked some up for Samii, Clarkson, and myself. The fries are almost like a shoestring fry and very crisp, Samii liked her burger, and I found the chicken sandwich to be lovely too. What really caught my attention, however, was Freddy's fry sauce. I'm not sure what's in it, but that stuff is amazing.

Honestly, I'm not even much of a sauce person. I usually am not into the texture of something wet on my food. I didn't even start sometimes dipping my fries into ketchup until I was in my 20s. That said, something about fry sauce just sets my taste buds alight with joy. It's a bit like ketchup but has a creamy tanginess to it that grabs your attention. It isn't overpowering and instead compliments whatever you're eating expertly. They sell bottles of fry sauce for you to take home at Freddy's and I plan to buy one soon and put it on an assortment of foods that would benefit from the yummy taste of fry sauce.

Note: This is an opinion post. I was not paid by Freddy's for writing about how amazing their fry sauce is, but if they want to send me some for free I would gladly accept it!

Thanks to Everyone Who Tuned in for my First Whatnot Show!

I just want to thank everyone who had a chance to check out my show on Whatnot today. It had a great number of viewers and I made some sweet deals with everyone! I hope to do more shows in the future with cool comics so if you have Whatnot keep your eyes peeled for the next time I schedule going live (I'll alert people on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook too, of course).

I'll be at the Saint Charles Quad Con a Week from Today!

Next Sunday is the Saint Charles Quad Con and I'm excited to attend. I'll be there at the Olympia Event Centre located at 49 Lawrence Street in Saint Charles, Missouri  63301. It'll run from 10AM-4PM with a $5 entry fee (it is free after 2:30 PM plus kids 10 and under are free along with active military). There will be video0games, sci-fi items, role-playing games, board games, vintage magazines, posters, and of course comics upon comics! 

Also, Quad Con raises money for the Helping Hannah's Heart Foundation with a live auction at every con that takes place before the costume parade at 1:30 PM. With an assortment of vendors, there are pop culture collectibles from 1900 to today priced from $1 to rare and pricey stuff! Plus, I'm excited to report that comic artist Rags Morales is going to be at the show!  Rags will be signing, sketching, and giving a panel discussion with a quick Q&A around 11:00 AM. The show is sure to be a lot of fun and I am eager to go and report on it!