I'm Going to Have a Table at the Spector Club Comic Show Tomorrow!

Readers of the blog may recall I set up a table back in June of 2022 at the Spector Club Comic Show where I sold a chunk of my dollar-valued comics that I no longer needed (along with other random cool stuff). Well, tomorrow I will be at the Spector Club Comic Show again with a table as I've got more stuff I need to sell to good homes! I'll have a bunch of dollar comics, a shortbox of priced comics, pop-culture t-shirts, some vinyl records, a few toys, and whatever else I think is worth selling and will fit in my designated space. I'd encourage you to check out more information for the show here and I hope if you live in the Saint Louis region or are visiting you'll stop by!

Flashback Friday: The First, "Gorillaz," Album Was Fantastic

A new, "Gorillaz," album has just been released and getting solid reviews. Titled, "Cracker Island," I have not yet checked it out but plan to do so. Before the Gorillaz built up a crazy and complex mythology, however, they were just a zany concept with some cool tunes on their self-titled debut LP. Way back in 2001 Damon Albarn, Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala worked together to give us a surreal sonic blend, and comic creator  Jamie Hewlett brought it all home with his unique illustrations. Since the first LP a wide range of musical collaborators have been involved, books have come out detailing the sprawling story of Gorillaz, multimedia projects made, and movies planned (then canceled)--it is a lot. Travel back to 2001, however, with just that first album, and it still rocks.

"Gorillaz," has a mix of genres from some pop rock to rapping (Clint Eastwood remains a classic), weirdly experimental tracks, and there really isn't a track I skip when I listen as the whole LP is good fun. It was a strange idea Albarn and Hewlett had to make a band that was so commercial and fake that it truly didn't exist, and that lark gifted us something quite special. Even if, "Demon Days," was what really catapulted the Gorillaz into the stratosphere for popularity, the debut holds a special place in my heart.

The Today Show Has Some Turmoil

I love watching The Today Show. It has had ups and downs throughout its existence. Two recent low points would be how Matt Laurer turned out to be a creep, and when Megyn Kelly was given an hour of the program. That was awful and I was pleased when it was put out of its misery. There is a lot of fun and information to be gleaned from The Today Show and it generally lacks too much turmoil. The current crew is great and I along with many others especially enjoy Hoda Kotb and Al Roker. Well, as far as we know Al Roker is doing great after a number of health scares in 2022 but Hoda has been mysteriously absent to the point folks were asking what is up. Oh, and Savannah Guthrie tested positive for COVID-19 while she was on the air and had to leave in the middle of an episode. As the AV Club put it, "Things are getting weird."

Hoda's absence was at least somewhat addressed this morning, with it stated she is dealing with, "A family health matter." Hoda and NBC obviously don't owe us an explanation for her absence, but people worried she had been fired, quit, or so forth--this makes it at least somewhat reassuring that this is a (supposedly) temporary leave of absence. For a show that I watch to have something pleasant and chill in the morning to wake up with there is a lot of drama occurring.

Attention Haters: "The Last of Us," Has Always Had LGBTQ+ Themes

I played and loved the first, "The Last of Us," video-game, and my wife enjoyed watching it. I skipped playing the second game because at the time it was released my life was not in a good place due to a variety of losses (although I may mentally be in a place now to enjoy it). Anyone who played the games is well aware of the fact that they've had plenty of LGBTQ+ themes. Joel's business acquaintance, Bill, was gay. DLC for the first game and the sequel made it clear that Ellie is attracted to women. I've seen people online saying how, "'The Last of Us,' was always loaded with Queer themes," and they are 100% correct. The thing is, a lot of people didn't play the games that the new HBO show draws from. This has resulted in unwarranted and silly backlash.

Complaining that the television version of, "The Last of Us," has added a bunch of, "Woke," elements or is forcing us to see LGBTQ+ characters is absurd because the source material always had that. It is equivalent to whining that the, "Jurassic Park," movie added a bunch of dinosaurs when they adapted the book--the themes were always there as clearly as a T-Rex. I would think the fact LGBTQ+ people exist and find love--whether it is in the real World or a fictional one full of fungus zombies--shouldn't be controversial. Yet that is the World these days.

Happy Sixth Birthday, Clarkson!

I want to wish a happy sixth birthday to my awesome child, Clarkson! He is the best little guy. One funny thing is when he was little he never had a, "Lovey," he wanted to sleep with but now that he's a bit older he likes to hold the Roku television remote when he's getting ready to snooze. The television doesn't even need to be on, but he likes to hold the remote. Clarkson is very sweet and loving--he gives great hugs and always wants to be tickled. I am so pleased with how much progress he has made as he keeps growing and learning. Happy birthday, Clarkson!

If You're Ever in Washington, Missouri You Should Visit These Two Places...

I've been over to Washington, Missouri on a number of occasions as my wife has some family living out that direction. With that in mind, I wanted to write about two places I enjoy stopping at any time we get over to Washington. I now present them alphabetically...

Aces & Eagles Disc Golf, Darts, Bar & Arcade + Comics & Gaming Supplies!

As the name of this location indicates, they've got a ton of fun stuff going on. Aces and Eagles is a store for disc golf and darts. It is an arcade. It has food and drink. There are comic books for sale, people play trading card games there, and basically, if there is something fun to do Aces and Eagles may very well have it for you to engage in! The staff are all incredibly nice so whether you want to play some arcade games, hang out with friends, eat a bit of grub, or do all of that, Aces and Eagles has you covered! Check out their website here.

underGROUNDS Espresso Bar

underGROUNDS actually had one location literally underground but moved to a nearby and more spacious spot which is quite lovely and spacious. They have a ton of cool coffee options here as well as a full menu of delicious hot food plus baked good (the snickerdoodle with some bourbon flavor is legit awesome). If you need a caffeine fix or some yummy breakfast while you're in Washington make sure to stop here. Explore the site for underGROUNDS at this link.

I've Lost a Lot of Enthusiasm in "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," Hearing How It's Basically a Live Service Game

I loved the, "Arkham," games created by Rocksteady. I've been looking forward to, "Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League." However, as some new stuff about the game has been revealed, I have concerns.

The game will require you to always be online even if you're doing single-player mode because it will be a bit of a live service game. It will have updates with loot you can get killing baddies and there will be DLC new characters that--at least--won't cost money to my understanding, but there will be cosmetic upgrades you can purchase (I guess a bit like Fortnite). As Paul Tassi over at Forbes observes, it looks like live service Hell.

As some tweets have observed, it is, "Fun,"  to see Captain Boomerang
with what he is most known for, guns.

Look, I don't need a game I can supposedly play forever with little updates, different gear I collect over the months, and a cosmetic battle pass. I want something I can dive into, enjoy, and have fond memories of when I'm done. I haven't played a big online RPG since, "World of Warcraft," years ago and the last live service games I dabbled in were, the first, "Destiny," and, "Fortnite," although I guess Marvel Snap kind of counts as it has season passes, that's an online virtual card battler though so ehhhh. Live service silliness just is generally not for me.

I am completely open to trying out, "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," and seeing if it is in fact incredibly fun, inventive, compelling, and basically, all the stuff those, "Arkham," games Rocksteady did were. I just feel a lot more reserved and less excited than when the game first was announced and previewed. I guess we'll have a better idea this May.

There Will be American Girl Dolls Themed for 1999 and I'm Clearly Old Now

American Girl Dolls exist to spotlight moments of history. They've had dolls address major periods of time. We've got dolls serving as historical nonfiction of history in living memory like civil rights to dolls featuring other times like immigration in the 1800s. American Girl Dolls feature the past and now we're going to have the first-ever set of twins...from 1999. God, I'm old enough now to have an American Girl Doll set when I was alive. Meet Isabel and Nicki. They're young adults living in 1999 who love the Pizza Hut Book-It program, playing with Tamagotchi toys, using computers, and worrying about Y2K.

It has slowly dawned on me over the years I'm getting old. I was by the comic shop one time and saw a kid with a shirt that read, "Straight out of 2005," hop in a car and drive it. I was startled at the thought they must be too young to be driving, but it was 2022 and if you subtract 2005 from that you've got someone who was 17 and (at least in the state of Missouri) can drive a car. I had a conversation with an employee at a store we frequent about OutKast and how their album, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," came out in 2003. She stated, "Oh yeah, I was three years old then." I'm just saying, I get that I'm old, I just did not realize I was, "American Girl Doll made a book about a time period I lived through," old.

"Something is Killing the Children," Shall Be a Netflix Show

"Something is Killing the Children," has been a major hit comic and is probably the most popular series from BOOM! Studios (although they've had a number of great titles). It would have some news about an option on occasion but little would come from it. Well, Netflix has made it clear they're interested in making a show as, "Netflix has commissioned Baran Bo Adar and Jante Friese, acclaimed creators of Dark and 1899, to develop a TV series adaptation," of SIKTC. The comic's creative team James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera will be co-executive producing. Assuming the show gets made this could be a hit as folks love horror series lately. Whether it can keep going as lots of streamers seem to give shows just a season or two before canceling them will remain to be seen. At least we might get a good 8-13 episodes or so based on the comic, though. That might be fun.

Marvel Announces, "Ultimate Invasion," is Coming this Summer

Ever since Marvel's Ultimate Universe ended during the, 2015 "Secret Wars," event there have been hints of something brewing with its possible return. The Ultimate Universe's Reed Richards (who became an evil fellow named The Maker) popped up in the, "Venom," series while Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman worked on it, and Miles Morales originated in the Ultimate Universe before being folded into the main 616 continuity after, "Secret Wars," with issues arising at times for him due to that (the, "Other Miles," also called Ultimatum). Things are coming to a head, however, with, "Ultimate Invasion."

Writer Jonathan Hickman (who did a chunk of work with the Ultimate Universe when he came to Marvel) and illustrator Bryan Hitch (who was basically involved with the Ultimate Universe from the start back in the 2000s) will be doing, "Ultimate Invasion." It'll have The Maker and Miles Morales heavily involved along with heroes from both Universes seeming to face off with that troublemaking Illuminati that Bendis created in, "New Avengers," and Hickman also wrote having some involvement too --possibly an Ultimate Illuminati? The exact details of the event are scarce, but with a solid creative team and a fun concept, I'm already on board to at least try the event out. I just hope it doesn't have a ton of tie-ins as that gets tiring (although it is often easy to skip a chunk of those if needed). More of, "Ultimate Invasion," will apparently be revealed in a Free Comic Book Day offering from Marvel with the first issue following in June.