Funko Quietly Gave Up on NFTs

Funko as a brand, is struggling. They've tried various gimmicks, with some working out well and others falling flat on their face. A number of years ago, a lot of people were into NFTs and the idea of owning digital tokens of art, or whatever. It was a thankfully short-lived fad, but Funko did dabble in it with the admittedly fun fact that when you opened their NFT, "Packs," you had the chance to get a token you could redeem for a real (physical) Funko Pop to be shipped to your house. For some time, little had been happening, with many stating the program was most likely dead. About a month ago, Funko made it official with a little press release that received minimal fanfare (although props to the streamers known as Gastlecast for, "Calling it," months in advance that Funko NFTs were dead). No more Funko NFTs, and they're shutting down the digital market, Droppp, that was utilized for the Funko NFTs, so at least folks were given a warning to take their money out as opposed to this being a, "Rug pull," situation.

I have always been critical of NFTs and cryptocurrency (Bitcoin or any others) in general. I don't like it, trust it, or use it. I am always interested in new and cutting-edge technology, but crypto always seemed more like a scammer's dream than that of an inventor. I'm frankly surprised it took Funko this long to give up on NFTs, and even though I buy their products a lot less these days, I do still find their stuff fun and charming enough that I hope the company manages to keep existing. I won't miss the NFTs, though.

Comic Publisher Valiant Worryingly Seems to Have Plans With Heavy AI Involvement

Valiant was a big comic publisher decades ago. They went bankrupt and disappeared, but in 2012, new folks got the licenses and relaunched the brand with some really good comics. In 2018, many of the people associated with Valiant left when it was bought out by DMG, and it has been mostly downhill since. From weird NFT schemes to an attempt at a cinematic universe that flopped, to nearly stopping putting out any comics before getting assistance from IDW so as to at least put out something, it has been a series of mishaps. It just got worse.

Valiant has been putting posters online discussing some new project with taglines including, "Hint: It's not a comic book," and all these images really look like AI was used. One would think comic publishers/makers/etc. would be extremely against using AI, "Art," as its soulless slop made out of digital bits and bobs through stealing real work. Could Valiant have some weird animated AI show coming, as I would guess? We don't yet know, but longtime fans are enraged at the prospect of Valiant pulling this B.S. It has been quite the fall from grace for Valiant. Everyone's extra mad at them, and we don't even know what this new so-called product will be. Such a mess.

NFTs are Good For One Thing--They Taught Me What a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Balloon Costs

NFTs have always been a terrible idea as they take one awful concept--cryptocurrency--and elaborate on it in even worse ways. NFTs were at one point seemingly, "Worth," money but a large number have been cratering and plenty have a value of maybe zero dollars now, according to new research. It's not all horrific news, however! There is going to be an NFT themed for a, "Cool Cat," this Thanksgiving, so yah?

"Cool Cats," are supposedly popular with the poor suckers who buy into NFTs and people could vote via a Macy's sponsored blockchain or some nonsense on the best one to have a balloon. It won and Comicsbeat's Heidi MacDonald wrote about how these balloons can cost $120,000-$300,00 and that's before the costs like costumes, helium, and manpower. Apparently, the amount of helium used for these massive balloons can cost $500,00 so to have a balloon in the Macy's Day parade will easily run you $750,00 to a million bucks. I didn't realize a balloon could cost so much and have NFTs to at least thank for learning something new. Plus, a Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloon is an actual tangible object, unlike an NFT. I suppose the looks of confusion on everyone's face when this balloon goes by will be worth every penny?

NFTs Are Cratering. We All Predicted This

Remember when those pieces of digital art people claimed they could, "Own," via the blockchain were popular with a number of gullible rubes? They were called NFTs and they combined the worst aspects of cryptocurrency with the art World. The whole market fell apart, but one saving grace was at least artists would make some money from their NFTs getting bought, sold, and traded, right? Apparently not, with the idea of giving artists royalties fragmenting the so-called NFT market even more and leading to a bunch of lawsuits. 

You've got NFTs that have lost 95% of their so-called value, artists getting nothing for their work, and the one NFT line that seems to be selling is Donald Trump-related. I guess scamming suckers is pretty on-brand for him. Everyone with some sense warned against cryptocurrency and really raised red flags about NFTs. Seeing they are faltering reminds me of that one Loki meme I shall now share:

I mean, really, it is sad folks have lost money, but they should've known better than to invest in something so foolish. Some people made a lot of money on cryptocurrency and NFTs, but those same people seem to have quickly gotten out of the market before it crashed. Everyone left, "Holding the bag," discovered their sack full of gold was actually pyrite (fool's gold) and that's the best metaphor I can offer for crypto and NFTs.

"Heavy Metal," Magazine Seems to Have Ended

"Heavy Metal," magazine started being published in 1977 and as of 2023 seems to be dead. The long-running publication drew inspiration from a foreign publication, "Métal Hurlant," and contained all kinds of cool and edgy stories geared toward adults. It wasn't outright pornographic like underground comix could at times be, it was instead alternative, strange, and thoughtful...with some nudity thrown in for good measure. Issue 320 was going to be the final entry of volume 1 (it came out in April 2023) but then a relaunch was due to happen with Whatnot's publishing division. That plan fell apart and we've arrived at--as RM Rhodes' put it on Comicsbeat--"The Uncertain Death of Heavy Metal Magazine." It's been a strange road indeed.

"Heavy Metal," as a publication has had a lot of ups and downs. The last era one could consider, "Good," would probably be when Grant Morrison served as Editor-in-Chief for twelve glorious issues between 2016 and 2018. Things were rough at times before that, but after their reign, it all went downhill fast due to poor management and horrible business moves (NFTs, lack of order fulfillment, and more). The reason I and everyone else are pointing out this end isn't for sure would be that, "Heavy Metal," itself has not confirmed it is dead. Without a new publishing partner, it would appear the magazine has concluded, but the company remains silent. Barring some unforeseen rising from the ashes of failure like a mythical phoenix I would say, "Heavy Metal," is done.

247 Comics Could Be an Cool New Publisher Except it has an Interest in NFTs

Cryptocurrency is a stupid idea, as I've repeated on this site many times regardless of whether it is supposedly going up or engaging in an inevitable crash. NFTs are a horrible idea as well, serving as a piece of code that you have showing you, "Own," a picture/comic/dumb digital asset. When I heard about a new comic publisher called 247 Comics that would have some cool talent I was intrigued...until I saw those dreaded three letters in a row, NFT. Creators will be able to make more money from their works via the blockchain--somehow. Plus the people reading the comics will be vital (I mean, obviously) as they are apparently thinking about, "...collectors, who can directly participate in the growth and expansion of each franchise, as well 247’s impact on the overall world of entertainment in all its forms from the blockchain to the bookshelf." Apparently, buying-up big pieces of the blockchain for a comic will show it is popular. How inventive and not at all just like how if people buy a bunch of issues of a comic it does well and more volumes get made.

The whole press release that Comicsbeat presents with surprisingly little criticism in their article just reads like the usual, "Web 3.0," bluster of catchphrases and inventing things that already exist. When you throw out empty sentences like calling blockchain, "...a paradigm shift towards decentralization and democratization of entertainment and commerce," my eyes just glaze over. I mean, you've got Justin Jordan of, "Luther Strode," fame among other stuff, talented creator Priscilla Petraites (she was amazing on the, "Chariot," mini-series), and plenty of other cool folks at your new publisher and you want to talk to me about, "...a decentralized community ownership model made possible by emerging technology," when you could be selling me on comics? 

Cryptocurrency and NFTs are quite possibly the dumbest inventions of this century (and we're early in this century which I doubt I'll live to see the end of, but I'm pretty sure by 2100 the history books will discuss how awful Crytpo-anything was). You can check 247 Comics out online, and while I might read their actual comics, I won't touch any of the blockchain junk they're so eager to dabble in.

Apparently GameStop Wants to Wiretap Customers

You know how when you call customer service or talk over chat you're informed a conversation might be recorded, but it is just for employee training purposes (or in case you're a jerk and they need to show why they hung up on you/closed the chat). It is understood a company won't sell data from a talk to a third-party company for any reason because that would be unethical and illegal, right? Well, Gamestop hears your concerns and isn't just selling used video-games and NFTs, they're also selling conversations with customers! Yes, wiretapping is the latest innovation from GameStop, how lovely.

Data is valuable. If you could know that a bunch of people who play a specific video-game also like a certain brand of soda, that random fact could benefit a company thinking about cross-promotions or such, to give a single example. That said, you can't just harvest data from people without permission. When someone gets a loyalty card with a grocery store that tracks their purchases they agreed for that data to be used (and at least made anonymous). Gamestop apparently didn't choose to inform folks the personal information they disclose in customer service chats might be recorded (and then sold), so that's a problem. I'm sure it was all a big misunderstanding as GameStop is such a lovely company to work for or shop with, right? Right?

Okay, Now Valiant is Having Financial Trouble?

Oni Press/Lion Forge is struggling, HBO Max Discovery is a huge mess, and now the publisher known as Valiant sounds like it is in rumors started with the tabloidy-but-sometimes-accurate Bleeding Coola World of financial trouble. The rumors started with the tabloidy-but-sometimes-accurate Bleeding Cool and then other websites corroborated much of what was initially reported. It sounds like there are tons of layoffs, less and less comic output, and Valiant's whole foray into NFTs (yuck) has gone nowhere too. It is all very worrisome. I'd imagine more will become clear in the coming weeks.

A, "Web 3.0," Console Sounds Sufficiently Scammy and Dystopic

In news that had Kotaku absolutely cracking up at how obvious a scam it is, a supposed new console has been announced that will be focused on Cryptocurrency, NFTs, and otherwise is fake and stupid. Called the Polium One, it has no announced games, zero detailed specs, and is supposedly coming as soon as 2023 or as late as 2024 for an unclear amount of money/digital imaginary dollars. The logo also looks like they ripped off the Gamecube logo. My opinions on Crytpo/NFTs are well-known whether they are doing, "Well," or outright crashing. A video-game console designed with that grift in mind that is itself a scam is a bit of a perfect metaphor for all of this.

Bits of News, Links, and Other Junk for June 2022

The Long Days of June!

I think it has been a bit since I did a post where I gathered up interesting bits of news and shared them with you, my dear readers. Let's rectify that now and enjoy some links as we prepare to kick off Summer this upcoming June 21st (or if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you start Winter).

News and Things to Learn About

Christopher Priest is a fantastic writer who has created a ton of great stuff over the decades. A recent superb run of his was on, "Deathstroke," and he's currently doing a bunch of, "Vampirella," related comics that made me interested in the character for the first time ever. He'll be writing a new, "Black Adam," comic coming out very soon in addition to a surreal-sounding comic titled, "Entropy," published by Heavy Metal. It takes place in the Heavy Metal comic universe of, "Taarna," and features the origin of a new villain, but I'm just excited because I enjoy almost anything Priest creates.

"Jurassic World: Dominion," received lukewarm-to-awful reviews, but it still is a movie with dinosaurs so it is raking in the cash. I'll see it with my brother-in-law sometime soon and as long as it's moderately entertaining I'll be happy.

Ever since Marvel aligned itself with Penguin Random House as the main distributor of its comics there have been concerns over the packaging. Apparently, changes are being made to help keep the comics a bit safer. I mean, less ruined comics would be good.

Cryptocurrency/NFTs are faltering, but influencer/lifestyle guru Gary Vaynerchuk’s NFT should succeed thanks to it involving him, as he tells it. I'd never heard of him, but apparently, he has quite the fanbase that might make any project he does fruitful, even (*shudder*) Crytpo.

In movie news that involves a video-game, the creative team behind, "Cobra Kai," are making a, "Duke Nukem," movie. I could see this actually working if it is really self-aware and meta as Duke Nukem's character is...well, not so much a character as a stereotype of a sexist jerk who says random movie quotes he stole.

In video-game news that draws from a movie, "The Thing," was a fantastic movie with a game that tried to be great but just couldn't achieve it's lofty goals. Patrick Klepek, of Vice, wrote about the game on its 20th anniversary (and the movie is now 40 years old, which is just wild).

Let's Have a Great Summer!

I hope everyone can have a great Summer season (or, again, if they're in the Southern part of the World they have a great Winter)! Now get out there and have some Summer fun!

Bill Jemas Founds, "Be Good Studios," and Leaves AWA

I was just talking about Joe Quesada leaving Marvel and now it is time to discuss good ol' Bill Jemas. He's always up to something. Whether he's working at Marvel, attempting to launch a storytelling universe for Double Take out of an old zombie flick (those honestly weren't bad comics), or creating AWA with another former Marvel employee, Axel Alonso. It seems Jemas is ready to move on again, leaving AWA to found Be Good Studios. This break may not be as cordial as Quesada's with Marvel, as Jemas seems to throw some shade at AWA in a press statement about how Be Good Studios will be an, "...entertainment business owned and operated by the artists, writers, and artisans who show and tell the stories and work for the business." 

Apparently, this new business will involve NFTs  (everyone knows I am not fond of those) and Web 3--whatever that actually is. Seeing Jemas get involved with these buzzword concepts gives me pause, but when Bill Jemas is doing something it is bound to make waves even if I'm not the target audience for it. I've previously said, "Bill Jemas is a man who seems to either achieve incredible success or astounding failure. No matter how things go they are always interesting, and he always has plans." This latest news further illustrates that and I wish Jemas the best in his newest venture.

Crypto is Crashing, I'm Not Shocked

Back in December of 2017, I advised people to stay away from Bitcoin. In January of 2021, I still said Cryptocurrency was not a risk I'd take. In April of last year, I said how NFTs just befuddled me. Simply put, I've never trusted the idea of Crypto because the only thing giving it value was people believing it somehow had value. As James Surowiecki of The Atlantic discusses, that means it could all evaporate without warning, which it currently is doing. Stocks are suffering and we may be entering a recession, but what is happening in the stock market is nothing compared to the immense loss of, "Value," that Crytpo has had. Every single version of Crytpo seems to be melting down. 

Yes, even if you bought things cheap years ago you still have made a, "Profit," but tons of folks seem to have invested a lot of money that's now simply evaporated. I am not surprised Crytpo is crashing, but I do feel bad for those who were convinced by others it was a smart investment when it clearly was not. Will Cryptocurrencies recover at some point and this is just the market stabilizing, correcting, or whatever? Maybe, but at this rate I could see the whole thing going down in flames. NFTs really need to end too, that is something I would douse in gasoline to help the fire go even faster.

Archie Comics is Doing NFTs and Nope, Just Nope!

It was announced that Archie comics (with the help of an agency known as Palm NFT) will be bringing us an Archieverse in the form of NFTs. Folks will be able to buy one of 66,666 tokens for $66.66 each and then will get to play games and contribute story ideas for new Archie horror comics. If your ideas or artwork get chosen you get some royalties and story credit. In other words, people will have the ability to buy the right to pitch Archie comic ideas. It's quite the clever scheme if by clever you mean stupid. Individuals are expected to pay to enter some community with little alternate reality games and to get to try to break into the comic industry--the industry should be paying you, friends, not the other way around. It goes without saying that a lot of Archie fans (young or old) don't like this. 

This is a shame as Archie has put out some damn good comics in the modern era, with some of the horror ones being fantastic before they were horrifically delayed (to the point I doubt they'll ever actually conclude). We all know NFTs are a scam. The biggest supposed success story from them is a game that is basically digital feudalism and suffered a massive hack of the supposed super-secure currency. It is one big hustle, all of it. Alas, until NFTs come crashing down the grift will continue.

Kickstarter Wants to do Stuff with Crypto/Blockchain for...Reasons?

Blockchain/ Cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin) is stupid. NFTs are even more stupid. When you ask a lover of these pyramid schemes for an actual valid reason why they are a good idea they offer reasons. Not good reasons, but reasons nonetheless that involve empty catchphrases like, "Web 3.0," and, "Metaverse." The only honest answer is its a scam to make money (before the scheme collapses under its own weight), but other empty reasons are given too. Some game companies have CEOs getting into NFTs and Crypto and to the disappointment of many it seems that the biggest crowdfunding platform around, Kickstarter, is getting in on the grift too.

Lots of folks don't want Kickstarter to mess around with the Blockchain, they are against it. Kickstarter heard their statements and has said, "Too bad, shut up because we are doing this." Kickstarter has made it clear they don't care what people think because they believe there's a way to turn a profit before this whole house of cards comes crashing down. It is all so idiotic.

Oh No, Peter Molyneux is Getting Into NFTs and That Kind of Makes Perfect Sense

This is weird. On Saturday I randomly had the thought, "I wonder what Peter Molyneux is up to? I hope he's happy and not doing anything stupid like he has in the past." By that thought, I was referring to how he would often overpromise wild things with his games and horrifically underdeliver. Then, on Sunday I saw his current game studio is making a game that involves NFTs--the definition of an overpromise that delivers basically nothing and continues to confuse me. Yes, Peter Molyneux's next game is a blockchain-based business simulator and goodness no that sounds awful. I wish those who take part in this the best and that they don't get fleeced by this NFT madness, but we shall see.

Marvel is Doing NFTs Now and the Whole Concept Still Confuses Me

I made a post in late April about how NFTs really confuse me. I mentioned how the NFT market was becoming less active in a post full of links earlier this month. Therefore, now that the NFT ship has maybe sailed it, of course, makes sense for big corporations to come in and just muddy things up even more. Marvel is collaborating with a company called VeVe to sell NFTs and other digital goods because NFTs in theory have value (they really do not). 

People will be able to have virtual showrooms, use something called, "Gems," for their buying and selling of NFTs that can be cashed out and it has those virtual reality things so you can make it look like your virtual statue is sitting in your room if you look at on your phone, I guess? It all sounds weird and I continue to have no intention of putting any of my money into NFTs, ever. Good luck and Godspeed to those of you who do.

June 2021 News and Links

 Hot as Summer...but not Quite Summer

It isn't officially Summer in terms of the laws of science until June 21st. That said, it has been as hot as Summer here in Saint Louis after a May that started cool and warmed up with gusto. Now we've got some heat and while you're hopefully kicking back someplace cool you can enjoy these links.

News, Links, You Know the Drill

Penguin Random House is really working at appealing to comic shops as the go-to resource for Marvel publications--and more! They'll be selling comic-book supplies such as bags and boards (with no shipping costs, unlike Diamond). Considering how mediocre a discount Diamond will offer stores on Marvel products who buy wholesale from them it just makes sense to go with PRH in most cases.

This article about how, "Sinead O'Connor Remembers Things Differently," points out how we maybe should've listened to her more in the past as she was right about a lot of stuff--remember when she spoke out against the Catholic church for sexual abuse before that became a big story? Now she's basically living in isolation and just enjoying a quiet life between working on music--although she plans to retire from that soon too--I'm glad she is happy.

NFTs always seemed dumb, and the market has collapsed compared to other months. Is anyone surprised?

I've always enjoyed our local Chesterfield Mall, but it has been struggling and is going to be heavily retooled in the near future, as this article discusses. This story could apply to many malls in America.

In other Saint Louis regional news, native of the area Ellie Kemper didn't win a KKK beauty pageant at age 19 before entering acting, but she did win a contest our city holds for only wealthy elites (most of whom are white) that I never even knew existed as I'm not a wealthy elite. It's called the, "Veiled Prophet Ball," and it sounds bonkers.

Wait, Netflix spent 200 million on that, "Jupiter's Legacy," show that everyone said was awful and looked cheap? I mean, the main draw of the first series for me was Frank Quitely's artwork and as live action show obviously lacks that. Mark Millar just often doesn't write very good stuff but his adaptations tend to better than his actual comics. That didn't happen this time, but maybe with the next Netflix endeavor based on his work, "Supercrooks." Maybe.

Record Store Day this year is actually two days--June 12th and July 17th. As someone who has an affection for music in a physical format (love me some vinyl, cassettes, and CDs) I would encourage you to support your local record store on these days--or any day, really!

"Cancel culture!" is often a cry hollered by those mad about being held accountable for their actions/statements. Comedian Katt Williams is a man known for being outrageous and confrontational in his humor and he especially for loves to get a rise out of others. He was asked for his thoughts on the subject of, "Cancel Culture," and before you worry he said something tone-deaf he gave an extremely thoughtful and reasonable response. It shows how you can be edgy or controversial without being a jerk.

Finally, I must admit that the, "Cruella," movie did not utterly bomb as I thought it might. It did decently in theaters and as a Disney+ extra-cost rental. That said, it took a great villain who didn't need a complex origin or to be redeemed and still tried to do so for reasons that seem more like a cash-grab than anything else.

Enjoy Summer Once it Officially Starts!

Soon it will truly be Summer and I hope we all have a good one!

Confession: NFTs Just Confuse Me

I've written posts critical of cryptocurrency before. People have made a lot of money from it, but I still worry it will turn into a house of cards that comes crumbling down at some point (I could be wrong and just look like an out-of-touch old fogey, but so is life). To complicate things further there are now NFTS (Non-fungible tokens), which are basically digital pieces of art that utilize blockchain technology (like crypto uses) to make a piece of art that has unique data making it valuable because...well, just because. This article by Mitchell Clark helps explain things a little bit but don't worry if you're still bewildered, I am too. It's basically jpegs worth thousands or sometimes millions of dollars because they contain unique coding, as I understand it. 

Blockchain mining is of course pretty bad for the environment and some think NFTs just sound like a big scam, but a lot of artists have found it helpful to them when it comes to making some money. Corporations, of course, are interested now too, be they a video-game studio such as Sega, make Magic cards like Hasbro, or comic companies thinking about making NFTs. The whole thing just confuses me even as I try to learn about it. I won't be, "Investing," in NFTs, but more power to those who do.