"The Hab," From Bad Idea is a Must-Read Only Two Issues In

"The Hab," is a new mini-series from Bad Idea. They're the publisher who puts out great books and often does odd gimmicks that vary between cute and annoying. When you ignore the gimmicks, you're still left with superb books, though. "The Hab," is only two issues in, but already has me hooked with its mix of sci-fi and horror. This comic is focused on a billionaire, his family, and a chunk of staff fleeing to a massive underground habitat he had built in the case of some world-ending event. What has happened hasn't been disclosed, and very well may not be, but it was some worst-case scenario as now everyone is in the big ol' Hab. The problem is, as the first issue reveals, something else is there too.

It isn't too big a spoiler to reveal that some strange microscopic organism has found its way into the supposedly purified water of the Hab and is causing everyone to hallucinate, as the resident doctor determines. In a strange twist, the staff appears to be sharing in their hallucinations, with the common theme being that this thing wants them to kill themselves. The claustrophobic environment mixed with some unknown, tiny, dangerous creation after everyone gives the comic a vibe of, "Alien meets The Thing," whilst still being totally unique. A billionaire making sure they are taken care of while shrugging at the fate of 99.9% or so of the rest of the World also is quite topical these days as folks like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Mark Zuckerberg float around in mega yachts or plan safehouses in outer space, whilst the rest of the World's economy seems to teeter on the edge of a collapse daily.

Writer Joshua Dysart has been in comics for years and knows how to craft a superb story. The fact that he has David Lapham and Bill Sienkiewicz providing art makes this an incredible creative team. The feeling of dread just drips from the pages as the cast of characters grapple with the disturbing images brought up to their consciousness by this unknown bacteria/mold/whatever it is. I find it a little funny how Bad Idea has been hyping up the fact that their comic, "Ordained," was optioned to be a movie when I think this comic is begging for some kind adaptation! We're two issues into the planned five, and I am eager to see just how weird things get.

Concluding September With an Excellent ToyMan Show!

As September comes to a close, I attended the ToyMan Show today (in addition to stopping by the GAS Card Show as I blogged about earlier). It was, as always, a great time, and I found some cool things!

The show's first floor as it began.

I started the show off by saying hello to Tim Metzger and the fellow from Tatertot Comics and Collectibles (who have their own show coming up this October 18th). I also had a chance to chat with John from Bigfoot Comics about how he'd been doing. My good friend, Jack, of Fortress Comics was at the show and had a ton of great comics too! I picked up a cool, "Spectacular Spider-Man," issue featuring the first appearance of Tombstone, as can be seen right below:

During the show, I enjoyed browsing a bunch of Hot Wheels one vendor had brought in addition to the latest Pokémon release. I ran into my chum, Spike, and he had some awesome promotional pins from when, "Alien Vs Predator," came out back in 2004. I picked them up to add to my pins on my tote bag I often carry around at shows. Take a look:

As I continued exploring the show, I enjoyed seeing Brian Lan and discussing how I'll see him with other folks representing the Hero Initiative at the upcoming Galaxy Con St Louis. I enjoyed looking at Bruce Reynolds' comics as well and had the chance to say, "Hello," to Tom Milister, too! In the upstairs area, I caught up with author Debbie Manbe Kupfer about her latest book and enjoyed seeing Lindsay Hornsby and hearing about her latest art creations! I enjoyed seeing the latest creations of Cayd from Tri Fox Shoppe, as well! I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff Wise, AKA The Tentacle Monster artist. His creations were very cool! Lastly, I bought the latest book from my friend, Jessica Mathews, and she was kind enough to write a note for Clarkson and Gibson in it! Here it is:

Today's ToyMan Show was a delight, and I am happy to have been able to attend. There is always so much stuff to examine, dig through, and (potentially) purchase! I always say to people, if there is a collectible item you're looking for and you didn't find it at ToyMan, you must not have looked hard enough, as it is most likely there! I am excited for the next show on November 9th and encourage you to put it on your calendar to attend as well--I'll see you there!

Film Friday on a Saturday: “Alien: Romulus,” is a Satisfying Return to Horror for the Franchise

I'm a day later than I intended with this review, but I just saw the flick yesterday and needed a bit to gather my thoughts, but here we go! Anyway, the latest alien movie is an interesting beast for a variety of reasons. It’s both a sequel and a prequel that slots into a specific part of the, "Alien," timeline. The continuity of it takes place smack-dab between the first, "Alien," movie and, "Aliens" with it incorporating some continuity from the prequels that were made more recently such as, "Prometheus," and, "Alien: Covenant," as well. Yeah, it’s a messy timeline. Another fact of note is that this takes the series back to the scary vibe of the original 1979 movie, especially going all-in on the body horror of the Xenomorphs. There is some extremely disturbing imagery that will make you think of vulvas and phalluses--but in a creepy way. Amping up the scary aspects of the Xenomorphs works pretty well, with, "Alien: Romulus,"  being quite an entertaining time.

One thing I have noticed in positive and negative reviews would be agreement that this is an absolutely gorgeous flick. The cinematography is impressive! Early scenes set in a space colony have a barren and wide-open feel that gets countered wonderfully when the action shifts to a cramped, tight spaceship. I also must compliment how this World definitely feels lived-in. Everything has the grime and futuristic yet low-tech feel of the original, "Alien," movie that the prequels weirdly lacked with the clean sheen of the professional spaceships piloted by scientists and investors. The focus here is on miners trying to eke out some form of survival on a rock-covered and sunless planet, with visuals to match.

The plot itself is mostly straightforward with these miners noticing an abandoned Spaceship/base in orbit that they can, "Borrow," enough cryostasis fuel from so as to escape their dreary existence with a flight to a much better planet. Of course, What they encounter on the station turns out to be another example of why you never try to contain or study the Xenomorphs. Speaking of strange things on the ship, if I may go into spoiler territory for a minute I will discuss how there has been some controversy. It stems from the appearance of Ash (now called Rook as it is a different character, kinda) from the original, "Alien," movie. Ash was revealed to actually be a synthetic/robot in the original, "Alien," and was left in pretty bad shape by Ripley and friends. In, "Romulus," this model has had a rather nasty encounter with the Xenomorphs and is mostly wrecked. However, even in damaged condition it still is clearly that character which is complicated by the fact that the man who played him died in 2020.

 Yes, Sir Ian Holm has been dead in real life for nearly half a decade. Director Fede Alvarez has stated Holm's family was enthusiastic about the idea by all accounts (I read somewhere Ridley Scott possibly even suggested the inclusion) and one would assume the aforementioned family received proper financial compensation for the use of Holm's likeness. Still, it has made reviewers and fans uncomfortable to witness this use of technology to bring someone who is truly dead back to life for a movie. I, personally, don’t have a big issue with this as long as everyone involved signs off on it, But this definitely is a bit of a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle when it comes to technology being used in this manner for everything from bringing back dead actors to potential deepfakes in our everyday life. 

Reviews have been mixed for, "Romulus," as I mentioned. While everyone loves the imagery some reviews have complained that Romulus seems more focused on bringing all the various pieces of alien continuity together and engaging in nostalgic throwbacks than it does on telling its own standalone story. I enjoyed it and feel it’s a solid entry to the franchise, but I do see where those more critical are coming from. I would conclude that, "Alien: Romulus," is not as good as the original, "Alien," its sequel, "Aliens," but it is without a doubt better than, "Alien 3," "Alien: Resurrection," and a bit more fun than "Prometheus," or, "Alien: Covenant," thanks to how scary it is--and I'm saying that as someone who really dug, "Covenant," mind you! I had a good time and based on how well it’s done at the box office I’m sure we’ll be getting more even alien movies before too long. Where they will slot into the messy lore will be the big question!

4.5 out of 5 Stars.

Film Friday: "Alien: Romulus," and, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," Are Bringing the Retro Back!

"Alien," was released to theaters in 1979. "Beetlejuice," came out in 1988. The former has had many sequels and tie-ins, the latter has had some random tie-in properties (like an animated children's television show) but never a true sequel. In 2024, they're both bringing the retro back with, "Alien: Romulus," and, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice."

The first, "Alien," movie is without question a horror film that happens to have a space creature instead of the usual monsters. Later flicks moved in a much more action ("Aliens," or science-fiction-heavy direction, but that first, "Alien," is horror through-and-through in a sci-fi setting. There are many opinions out there regarding, "Prometheus," and, "Alien Covenant," which function as prequels to the rest of the franchise--and I like both (especially, "Covenant," to be honest). The upcoming, "Alien: Romulus," takes place between the debut, "Alien," and, "Aliens," with what seems to be a heavy horror vibe, and I'm all for it. Films in the franchise such as, "Alien: Ressurection," showed you could get a little too complex and over the top. Just throw some people in a run-down spaceship with face-huggers/Xenomorphs and let shit go crazy, is what some people would tell you to do, and, "Alien: Romulus," looks like it plans to do just that. Here is the trailer:

Then we've got the late-80's classic, "Beetlejuice. A comedy film with a lot of horrific trappings (I mean, it was a Tim Burton film) it is darkly hilarious with a stellar ensemble including a then very young Winona Ryder, the always amazing Catherine O'Hara, and Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice stealing the show (among other solid cast members). I loved that movie as a kid (a lot of the more raunchy jokes went over my head until I got older) and a sequel seemed to be in development Hell for years. However, Burton is back directing, a lot of the previous cast has returned, and yes, that means Keaton is back. This seems like it won't just be a lazy cash-grab for nostalgia based on all the old talent returning and some new great additions (Jena Ortega, for example). There is a teaser you can see below:

"Alien: Romulus," is due in theaters this August 16th and, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," will be hitting the silver screen come September 5th. What's old is new again, while still managing to be pleasantly retro. Here's hoping both flicks are as fun as it appears they very well could be.