"Snelson: Comedy is Dying," #1 and #2 Offer a Creative Examination of the Art of Stand-Up Comedy

Comedy is hard. Professional comedians will tell you this. Hell, I used to do stand-up comedy at open mic nights and the number of times I bombed well outnumber the times I killed, so I'll tell you comedy is hard. In the past number of years, there has been the added element that people have found some comedy not so much funny as just offensive and unpleasant--or the comedians who tell the jokes have sometimes been revealed to be quite unpleasant people in their private lives or outright monsters. This had led to cries of, "Cancel culture," and complaints that comedians are getting, "Canceled," by overly-sensitive and, "Woke," mobs that can't take a joke. All of these concepts coalesce in the first two issues of, "Snelson: Comedy is Dying," in a thoughtful and quite entertaining manner.

In this new mini-series published by Ahoy Comics, Melville Snelson is a minimally successful stand-up comic. He is nowhere near the career-heights he achieved in the '90s when he had a massive following and almost got a sitcom. He blames people for being too sensitive but the real problem might be some of his stuff just isn't funny. The first issue is mostly set up for a much more interesting second issue where after getting some medical news Snelson turns into a crusader against, "Cancel culture," thanks to his new podcast that allows him to rail against how people won't let comedians say what they want to say for fear of repercussions. This attracts some reprehensible people to Snelson's platform but he's finally getting attention again so he doesn't really care.

"Snelson: Comedy is Dying," amazingly manages to not make Snelson an outright villain. Paul Constant writes him extremely well. He is more a figure of pity for readers. He's washed-up, desperate for viewers/listeners, and figures if he falls into the mold of being an alt-right celeb against, "Woke," culture at least he can be infamous if he's not famous. Those who favor, "Free speech no matter what," do have their argument presented in the form of some characters, but the ones who point out how, "Cancel culture," just isn't necessarily a true thing come off a lot more reasonably and realistically.

I've not touched much yet upon Fred Harper's artwork and I apologize for that as it is utterly fantastic. For a comic where much of the time has characters standing on a stage or sitting behind a microphone in a living room, Harper kills it. He adds these hilarious little abstract touches to moments that really sell the absurdity of what we're reading, such as when Snelson realizes his latest podcast episode's big guest has canceled but he just keeps smiling bigger and bigger in a surrealist manner lest someone reporting on his podcast see how bad things are getting while Snelson whispers to his producer about how they're screwed.

I found the first two issue of, "Snelson: Comedy is Dying," to be great reads thanks to Paul Constant's careful navigating of choppy political waters while at the same time being funny as well as Fred Harper's amazing art. The first issue is a bit slow to get things moving but by this second issue all the cylinders are firing. Check it out, I'd say.

Issue 1: 4 out of 5 stars.

Issue 2: 5 out of 5 stars.

Read My Review of, "The Lab," over at Forces of Geek!

I've contributed another review over at Forces of Geek. This time, I offered my opinion on a very strange graphic novel with an unassuming name in the form of, "The Lab." It is best described as historical fiction with a dash of sci-fi as it imagines a French tech company trying to invent its own computing devices back in the era where Windows and Apple rose to power. Check out my thoughts over there!

Happy Labor Day. Again, Thank Unions!

It is Labor Day again and last year I pointed out that without unions a lot of the, "Luxuries," workers enjoy wouldn't exist. I put, "Luxuries," in quotation marks because you wouldn't think something like having a weekend, a lunch break, or being respected as a human being would be a luxury, but compared to what past workers were treated like, they are. Unions are inextricably linked to Labor Day and we should celebrate them both today.

Everyone, You Do NOT Force Andre 3000 to Comment on Your Petty Rap Feuds

Andre 3000 is half of my favorite music group ever, OutKast. OutKast released their last album as a group in 2006, but both Big Boi and Andre 3000 have gone on to be involved in a variety of other projects. Sometimes Andre 3000 is so kind as to provide a stellar guest-verse or two on someone's song. It seems he was going to do that for Kanye West's latest LP, "Donda," but for various reasons, it was decided not to use his rap. That sounds simple, but because Kanye West and the person he is currently feuding with--Drake--can't help but act like children, Andre 3000 inadvertently has been drawn into the whole mess.

I basically avoid talking about Kanye on my blog now and kind of pretend the Kanye I knew and loved the music of disappeared after, "The Life of Pablo," because in many ways, he kind of did. The utterly egomaniacal mess of a man West has turned into is unrecognizable from the one who gave us, "The College Dropout," and one thing this new Kanye seems to need to basically survive is to be in a conflict with someone else. Right now, that, "Someone else," is Drake. I've written about my concerns with Drake a number of times and have never been an especially big fan, so when it comes to these two men slinging insults at each other I don't give a rat's ass who, "Wins." That said, these two trifling fools had to involve a man I do still respect and adore the music of, and that is some bullshit.

Drake was on a satellite radio show and played a clip of a Kanye song that had Andre 3000's verse. It was kind of a, "Look how crazy Kanye is, he cut Andre 3000 from a song!" kind of flex. I understand Drake being mad as his private info was doxxed by Kanye--again, this whole feud between the two is dumb. Andre 3000 getting dragged into this mess prompted him to release a short and sweet statement that can be seen above. Yep, Andre 3000 acts like the only adult in the room and says he's happy to make music with any and all of the artists he respects. Andre 300 sees this dumb fight and wants no part of it, thanks. Andre 3000 is far too talented, respected, and mature for this shit, leave him out of it, you two.

"Dark Ages," #1 is a Dull Start to a Promising Mini-Series

You ever read the initial chapter of a book, watch the debut episode of a television show, or read the first issue of a comic and see how it has a lot of potential but just starts out kind of shaky/weak? That's how I felt with, "Dark Ages." The whole first issue basically sets up the plot that's been advertised of a Marvel Universe that lacks any electrical power. This issue introduces a new big-bad named the Unmaker, promptly has them defeated (maybe to return), and discusses how due to that defeat the Marvel U was hit by an unending EMP that shut off any and all electricity and devices that relied upon electric power. I guess I should say, "Spoiler alert," but this whole series was advertised as being about that, so I ain't spoiling much.

"Dark Ages," starts off in a near-present-day-but-a-few-years-ahead-maybe Marvel Universe with some tweaks in the form of Peter Parker and Mary Jane having a toddler named May, and the Fantastic Four's daughter Valeria is clearly a bit older too. As this is an alternate universe some characters die quickly to prove just how high the stakes are (a common trope). Thanks to some, "shocking," sacrifices, the Unmaker is defeated and we jump ahead 7 years to the actual start of the story, where the remnants of humanity are apparently at war with Apocalypse (the well-known mutant baddie). With that, the comic ends right as things get going.

The Unmaker is really hyped-up as a new threat...and is promptly defeated.

Did I expect too much as Tom Taylor is writing this and he is a fantastic writer of comics--especially alternate-universe tales as his work on the, "Injustice," comic shows? I mean, the artist, Iban Coello, does a fantastic job with all of this so no blame lies at his feet for me being bored. His Unmaker is a massive and imposing machine full of disturbing green energy and sharp edges. His drawings of various parts of the World nearly getting destroyed by the Unmaker are kinetic and scary. All the various heroes look like their popular selves. "Dark Ages," is a pretty comic, in other words. The story just doesn't grab me or seem especially interesting until right as the issue stops, however. 

There is a promising foundation put in place by this first issue, so I think as this mini-series continues things are bound to get a lot more intriguing. As it is now though, this is a weak kick-off to what I hope grows into something much cooler. At least the whole thing is going to look good with Coello on the artwork duties.

2 out of 5 stars.

"Brick by Brick," is a Fantastic and Hilarious Comic About Bricks, of All Things

Dave Craig is a comic creator who reached out to me and inquired if I'd like to review his latest comic publication, "Brick by Brick." The comics are all about bricks, believe it or not. My interest was piqued so I said I would indeed love to read his comic. Having now checked-out, "Brick by Brick," I can say it is extremely clever and often hilarious thanks to all the creative concepts Craig puts his bricks through.

"Brick by Brick," features an assortment of one-page strips as well as some that are a little more in-depth and use multiple pages to get the story across. You wouldn't think so many clever puns or stories could be told with bricks, but Craig is extremely innovative in the strips he crafts. Whether it is a brick hitching a ride to, "Work," in a wheelbarrow or making its own creative pumpkin carving, each strip is clever and will most likely put a smile on your face or make you outright laugh.

One reason everything works so well would be Craig's stellar artwork. His bricks look like real bricks that just happen to have some appendages, and this results in a mental, "Conflict," of sorts where these normal appearing bricks do all kinds of outlandish things, with the dichotomy between realistic and cartoonish being a big reason the comic catches a reader's eye. With the delightful storytelling and superb artwork, "Brick by Brick," is just plain fun to read!

I am so happy that Dave Craig reached out to me about reviewing his comic and would encourage you to check out his website, Instagram, and Twitter to see his works. "Brick by Brick," can be bought at his website as well should you want a copy. I can't wait to see what kinds of adventures Craig's bricks go on next in future works!

5 out of 5 stars.

Marvel Announced a Lot of New Comics Yesterday

Yesterday was a big day if you like reading comic-books from Marvel. They announced a bunch of new titles and events. There is going to be a Kingpin-focused event called, "Devil's Reign," with the creative team of, "Daredevil," Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto.  We're also getting more, "Avengers," comics from Jason Aaron (yah?) in the form of, "Avengers Forever," with Aaron Kuder on art. There shall be a Kang-centric event titled, "Timeless," which a writer who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine writing it, Jed MacKay (multiple artists are involved). More, "Wolverine," comics would bore me except they are being written by Benjamin Percy and he's been doing a good job on the current, "Wolverine," comic so, "X Lives of Wolverine," and, "X Deaths of Wolverine," might be decent with his scripts and art by Joushua Cassara as well as Federico Vicentini. 

I'm not a huge She-Hulk fan, but I did adore Rainbow Rowell's work on the most recent, "Runaways," so seeing she's writing and Roge Antonio is on art has me pretty excited. The, "Reckoning War," Dan Slott has teased in multiple comics for over a decade will be occurring with multiple artists and a currently unannounced team will be bringing, "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur," back in February of 2022 when (I assume) the animated show premieres too. Some of these comics are sooner and some are later as the graph shows, but they all sound at least like they'd be entertaining. I don't see anything listed here and go, "Ugh, really? Do we need that?" These are all just creative teams we're seeing though (or not even that in the case of, "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,") so it will remain to be seen how this all turns out. As it is, I'm just glad nothing is a an obviously recycled event like, "Secret Invasion II," or such.

Television Tuesday: "Bachelor in Paradise," is the Trashy Programming I Crave

I love trashy television. I find it to be a spectacular way to unwind. There is little t.v. as trashy as, "Bachelor in Paradise." If the, "Bachelor/Bachelorette," put on airs about being about people finding true love through a game-show format then, "Bachelor in Paradise," is the franchise when it drops any pretense. "Bachelor in Paradise," is the show going, "Let's just take any single fan-favorites or villains and throw them on a beach with encouragement to go at it," and go it they sure do. 

With the whole stress of impressing just that one bachelor/bachelorette gone anyone can couple up with anyone else (the show did finally have a same-sex romance previously, but generally it's all heterosexual couplings) and this leads to tons of hooking-up and immense conflicts. We get to witness everyone making out with each other and then getting mad about it if someone they like gets pawed at by another person. Even the location where people can have sex has a more blunt name. It isn't a, "Fantasy Suite," it is simply the, "Boom Boom Room." It just is like a comforting blanket of audiovisual junk food as all these people we recall from past seasons (and love or hate) get hot-and-heavy or argue with each other.

A rare moment free of anyone kissing or arguing.

This season has been a lot like past ones minus Chris Harrison (because, yeah). Instead, we've been treated to an assortment of guest hosts. David Spade kicked things off, then Lance Bass showed up, and apparently, Lil' Jon is going to be there too, because why not? Everyone's favorite bartender and Sarah Hyland's husband, Wells, is still there though, making drinks and trying not to crack up at how absurd this whole enterprise is. The absence of Harrison has actually shown how little he mattered to this franchise, the real star has always been the drama.

"Bachelor in Paradise," has lately been on Mondays and Tuesdays this season, so I got to enjoy an episode last night and will be tuning in today too. I watch educational things too, but sometimes you just need to give in to your craving for trashy tv, and boy is this a treat.

This Save a Lot Ad with Rapping is Actually...Really Good?

You know what is often extremely cringey? When big brands try to do something, "Hip," or popular. Sometimes it inadvertently works (see Wendy's Twitter account) but oftentimes the whole endeavor is awful. Having people rapping about a grocery store sounds like it should be atrocious, but against all odds, the rap is straight fire. Yes, Save a Lot made an ad of people rhyming about their grocery stores, and it's somehow good. The song is titled, "Like, A Lot a Lot," and while the whole ad has been chopped into 30-second segments for television the entire thing can be seen online. Observe:

Dear God, that deli lady's dubbed-over speed-rap is loaded with clever bits and I'm still astounded this ad isn't terrible. As I'm always doing way deeper dives into stuff than any human needs to, I read some grocery store business websites (yes, there are entire websites dedicated to the trade practice of grocery stores), and the secret to this ad not sucking is actual talented folks were hired. The music video was shot by veteran director Drew Kirsch, who has a Video Music Award under his belt for directing the video for Taylor Swift's song, "You Need to Calm Down." As for the rapping/singing talent, "The spot features emerging singers like Leon Evans, Sarai, and Tamara Bubble, who also has a song featured on Disney’s, 'Raya and the Last Dragon.'” 

I guess when you hire someone who knows how to shoot a music video and give gigs to folks who actually can craft a verse the result is a shockingly fun and catchy ad. The beat is hot, the rhythmic rapping catches my ear, and as I said, the lyrics are solid. Plus, there is a sense of humor to the ad, a bit of a cheekiness that it's acknowledging how silly this whole endeavor is. A little self-awareness always goes a long way.

A PR website with a big article about the ad (I told you I research random stuff way too much) describes how this advertisement is designed to, "...modernize the brand and deepen its relationships with customers." I assume, "Modernize," is a coded way of saying, "We need more young people to shop here too." I'll be honest, when I saw this ad it occurred to me I hadn't gone to a Save a Lot in a while and did recall some geat deals being there. I maybe need to swing by one sometime. Mission accomplished, Save a Lot, you got me.

The Latest ToyMan Show Was a Delight!

I was overjoyed the ToyMan show returned last month, so you know I showed up to the latest show today eager to find more awesome stuff and make some deals. Anytime I go to a ToyMan show I see such a wide variety of stuff it astounds me. Vintage toys, new toys, diecast cars, Funko Pops, Legos, posters, DVDs, and more are always at the show. As a comic person I focus in on the comic dealers, but I'm always intrigued by how much I see. While I was at ToyMan I ran into a lot of my vendor-chums such as Brian Lan, Spike from Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles, and I chatted with Tom from Alliance Toys, Comics, and Games. I bought a really crisp copy from one vendor of, "Amazing Spider-Man," #299, which features the first appearance of Venom (yes, some call it cameo, I don't want to get in a big fight about it though). Check it out:

After doing a lot of browsing and chatting with various folks at booths I went upstairs and saw a bunch of awesome people I always enjoy running into. I talked with my friends Jessica Mathews and Jennifer Stolzer, who were telling me about how they were already discussing plans for a new book they'd be collaborating on! I also saw the fantastic folks from Perryville's Heroes for Kids and chatted about how enthusiastic I was for the next upcoming con in 2022 after loving the last one. As I was looking around the show I actually ran into a friend of mine named Mark and we showed each other some of the comics we had brought to the show in hopes of trading/selling. He was kind enough to sell me a copy of, "Wolverine #88, which features the first meeting of Wolverine and Deadpool! Here it is:

There are always so many awesome sellers and creators at ToyMan that it has become one of my favorite shows to visit anytime it is held. The next show will be on September 26th and you can find out everything needed to know about attending via this digital flyer. Should you be in the Saint Louis region around then I'd recommend visiting the show as it is always great.