There Are Two Comic Shows This Weekend!

This weekend, there will be two different comic shows/cons occurring. I'll be at one but am missing the other. Let's discuss..

On Sunday, there will be the always-delightful Spector Club show held at 7300 Lansdowne in Shrewsbury (the VFW). The show will have a bunch of the usual vendors and has posted that artist David Zimmermann will be doing commissions. Plus, Exterminator Comics is setting up for the first time in a good while with lots of cheap comics. I am excited to check the show out!

Today, tomorrow, and Sunday, the first-ever 2 Rivers Comic-Con is occurring at the Foundry Arts Center and the Steel Shop Event Center. It has a number of cool guests, but I most likely won't be attending as I'm busy with the kiddos today, have some obligations Saturday (pre-birthday celebrations and such), then will be at the aforementioned Spector club show a chunk of Sunday before tackling other commitments in the afternoon. I imagine my friends who are able to attend 2 Rivers will let me know how the show was, and I may be able to go to a future one. I hope that if you're in the area that you are able to go to one show or both--and that you have fun!

They Went and Killed the U.S. Penny

The United States Treasury unveiled its plans today to commit murder. The victim is over two centuries old, made of copper, and known as the penny. Yes, the Treasury confirmed plans to stop making our one-cent coins and effectively kill the penny. It's been talked about for years, even though we lose more money making nickels than pennies, and has been one of those pet obsessions of Donald Trump. 

The penny won't disappear right away, but eventually, any businesses engaging in cash transactions may need to round down or up. We also need to make nickels cheaper to produce--this has to be implemented, or else this cost-saving measure of getting rid of the penny could be messy because of how that will now be the lowest denomination coin and therefore may be the most-produced as the penny currently is/was. Many people don't use cash that much or put a particular, "Value," on the penny, often leaving them in little change trays at locations. I'm not going to argue that pennies are especially important to our economy and have to still exist, but I will miss them when they do mostly disappear from our currency exchanges in due time. At least ol' Abraham Lincoln still will get to enjoy appearing on the five-dollar bill.

"Heavy Metal Magazine," is Back With it's (Reboot) Debut Issue

"Heavy Metal," the edgy comic magazine, was due to return in 2025. Well, it is 2025, and here it is on newsstands and at comic shops. With the talented Frank Forte as the helm as EIC, I had hopes it would be an enjoyable read. I have good news in that it was a great (and big) magazine of fun!

"Heavy Metal," is known for wild fantasy stories, crazy sci-fi comics, and quite often plenty of boobs. This new iteration has all of that and more. There are some nonfiction pieces looking back at the previous generation of, "Heavy Metal," and all the talent involved. This may be a reboot of sorts, but it acknowledges where it came from. An absurd number of talents are involved in this debut, and it would take too big a chunk of space to name everyone, so I'll just spotlight that Jim Rugg's story of space aliens was my favorite with its retro-kitsch style--nothing was bad, however, so that's encouraging for the future issues as well.

In the old days a lot of comics were too squeaky clean besides the underground comix and magazines like, "Heavy Metal." I wondered if in this new era where plenty of indie comics push the envelope of content if, "Heavy Metal," could still stand out. Well, even if more comics these days have the violence and nudity some adults crave, "Heavy Metal," still provides a nice fantastical edge to everything with its wildly inventive stories, artwork, and all-around envelope-pushing vibe--even if that envelope is now more pushing the boundaries of creativity as opposed to simply shocking folks with nipples in a comic. Give this new iteration of, "Heavy Metal," a chance--I'm quite pleased with it myself.

5 out of 5 Stars.

News, Links, and Other Tidbits for May 2025

May Flowers, Still Getting Showers

We're past the halfway point of May. We got plenty of bad weather this month despite the supposed April showers giving us the May flowers, but so it goes. I feel like March was an utter slog, April did fly by, and May has moved at a relatively speedy clip as well. A number of interesting things have occurred that I would maybe not dedicate a whole article to, but I definitely want to mention. Let's get into it...

Things to Read

Marvel is going to be doing, "Retrovision," variant covers featuring various artists riffing on the Silver Age of comics and before. A number of these look really fun, and I love some faux-nostalgia.

For a title like, 'Mission Impossible," it is funny to think they're on the eighth, "Mission," or so with the newest flick. That said, Tom Cruise is an actor whom I don't like much as a person based on what I've read about him, but I will say the man is great in flicks. He and I also both love popcorn, apparently. The man downs a lot of popcorn, more than a reasonable person or even I would eat.

"The Precinct," is a new game set in the 1980's where you play a police officer with a top-down view reminiscent of the old-school, "Grand Theft Auto," series. Except, as I noted, you're a cop. It's a nice hook, but reviews of the game have been mostly middling. Perhaps I'll rent it for my PS5 or wait for it to come to Game Pass on the Xbox.

NPR ranked all of this season's musical guests on, "Saturday Night Live," as they've been doing for awhile. I mostly agree with the list except I'd move Lady Gaga from the #2 spot to the top and put Lizzo up higher as well, moving Chappel Roan down to where Lizzo was (still decently high). That's just me, though.

Bruce Springsteen is a popular musician and a human being with opinions. He expressed during a performance that he feels Donald Trump is unfit for office (for the record, I agree). Due to the fact Trump is a fascist, he can't stand someone using their freedom of speech to slander him. Hence, Trump is going to investigate Springsteen for...reasons? When a President can sic the government on people in a form of petty revenge for their thoughts, we've moved well into authoritarianism. 

I enjoy visiting Malls and my eldest, Clarkson, adores them as he can't get enough of the escalators and elevators there. Mad Cave Studios is releasing a new original graphic novel titled, "Xero," and it features subterranean and unending Mall that a man named Xero is stuck in looking for his girlfriend. Written by Vaho with art from Felipe Flores, the description mentions, "This haunting dystopian journey blends pop art, manga, and philosophical horror into a searing meditation on late-stage consumerism, false comfort, and the cost of waking up." I'm all here for it, even if this Mall sounds like a place I'd avoid.

Christopher Priest is such a good writer that I will read comics featuring characters I don't normally give a hoot about if he's penning their adventures. With that in mind, I've not read much of, "Red Sonja," but if he is doing the new comic, "Sonja Reborn," you can bet I'm gonna grab a copy!

Lastly, I've been greatly enjoying, "Yes Chef," on NBC/Peacock. It is another cooking competition show but it has some big names as judges (Martha Stewart and José Andrés), plus a clever, vaguely cruel twist where the winning chefs in a competition basically have to choose who gets voted off. It's worth a viewing.

MAX is HBO MAX...Again

You may recall when HBO MAX started just going by, "MAX," but everyone still called it, "HBO MAX." Well, I have, "Good," news, you can continue to ignore the idea of just calling it MAX because Warner Bros. Discovery has officially rebranded it right back to, "HBO MAX," for...reasons? I mean, people know, "HBO," can mean quality, so the streamer wants to come across as not just being trashy reality television--that's the job of the Discovery+ app, God bless it. When the change was announced, it was basically acknowledged people would mock it, with HBO's own John Oliver getting a shout-out; he did indeed go into this subject on his show, joining everyone in ripping HBO MAX for the rebrand-to-an-old-brand.

Sometimes, a rebrand can be the best thing possible for a company. For example, I just recently posted how the good folks behind the Pizza Cupcake were making new products and therefore changed their name to Incredifulls with the Pizza Cupcake as a product--that makes sense! Other times, however, a rebrand just looks stupid. This is one of those times. So, HBO MAX--in the words of music producer and inspirational speaker D.J. Khaled, "Congratulations, you played yourself."

The, "Battle Beast," Comic Blind Bags Were a Hit--Now Will Everyone Poorly Imitate Them?

Battle Beast is a character in the, "Invincible," comic universe. He just got a spin-off comic set in that World, and folks are going wild for it--but not due to the art or story (although it's a fun comic). You see, they did a blind bag promotion for this comic, and it has sold like hotcakes. There were multiple covers that were solicited, including cover C which was a polybag with a mystery cover inside. It could be almost any of the other covers, from a ratio to some kind of surprise. Folks bought these up and have enjoyed seeing some cool rare sketch covers, reprints of other fun comics (including a, "Marvel Team Up," with Invincible and Spider-Man that Marvel approved a new printing of), and these blind bags were only $3.99--making it seem like a pretty cheap buy-in to potentially get a cool and rare cover for less than a Mega Millions Quick Pick (ever since the price went up). I bought one to read and got...the standard cover B. Still, it was fun, but I have a big concern now: Everyone else is going to run this into the ground.

When a gimmick does well, everyone who can copy it will do so as long as there isn't some kind of trademark/copyright/legal issue to stop them. Glow-in-the-dark covers, lenticular covers, die-cut covers, they all became a big thing--it isn't just comics, either. When crafting weapons or food in video-games became popular, suddenly every game had some kind of hunting mechanic. When Marvel made a successful cinematic universe, all these other studios tried (and mostly failed) to do the same. If one idea does well, everybody who can attempt to replicate it will usually do so in some fashion--and most of the time not as well. 

An unexpected surprise option of the blind bags.

The, "Battle Beast," blind bag was a hit for Skybound (an imprint of Image) thanks to a number of factors all happening together. It is a comic featuring a popular character with the, "Invincible," show on Amazon Prime fresh in everyone's mind. This blind bag was cheap (for a comic), as well. Plus, it had some surprise comics nobody expected like the, "Marvel Team-Up," reprinting legit surprising folks.I don't look forward to DC or Marvel trying to do a blind bag variant themselves for a character nobody cares about and asking $9.99 for it, only to be surprised when it flops. 

You all may think I'm overworrying, but if somebody wants to bet me a dollar coffee from Scooters that within the next six months we will have at least six different blind bag promotions solicited (possibly from six different publishers, and maybe even from a single publisher that just goes all-in) I'll take at least one of those bets--where I'm the guy saying six-or-more and I'll feel pretty comfy with that wager. Let's see where the rest of 2025 takes us, I suppose, but I'm pretty sure my George Washington will be safe in my wallet.

I Tried That, "Dubai Chocolate," the Internet Keeps Talking About

The internet/TikTok will sometimes focus on random stuff. The color of a dress or whether 100 men could beat a gorilla in a fight becomes a huge discussion. Lately, "Dubai Chocolate," has been going viral. There are various brands of chocolate that count as Dubai Chocolate, but the basic idea is that it is chocolate with a filling made of kadayif and pistachio. I did not try the original version, but I bought a version sold at the Nuts and Candy store I like visiting. I enjoyed it.

One thing should be made clear: If you hate pistachios, you will in no way, shape, or form like Dubai Chocolate, regardless of the brand. If you enjoy Pisactho, however, it is pretty yummy. The chocolate (which can vary in quality by brand) generally complements the nutiness well. If you're buying the pricey Dubai Chocolate (some expensive iterations are out there) then you may enjoy Dubai Chocolate even more, but my generic version was pretty good too. Basically, if you enjoy the flavor of pisacho, you'll enjoy the pricey or cheap varieties of Dubai Chocolate/knock-off brands. Hell, you can find some at Costco now. I'd eat it again.

A Tornado Hit Parts of Saint Louis Yesterday and Caused Severe Damage

Yesterday showed how unpredictable the weather can be. In Ballwin and Manchester there was a bit of rain and some thunder...but little else. Chesterfield got hail so violent it busted car windshields, however. Then, parts of the city and county had suspected tornado activity that caused a ton of damage to trees, cars, and properties. A number of people died, and it is upsetting to see Saint Louis (or any area) suffer a natural disaster. The devastation is widespread, showcasing how one spot can randomly be fine, and 10 minutes away, a spot got clobbered. My heart goes out to everyone impacted, and I would encourage you to look into how to receive help (if you need it) or give help (If you want to volunteer/donate) at this link or via Googling how to assist, depending on your location.

When Even the, "Price is Right," Audience Groans At Your Product (an Apple Vision Pro) That Says a Lot

"The Price is Right" sometimes does a "The Price is Right at Night" special with significantly more expensive prizes, trips, and so forth. During a segment where everyone guesses the price of an Apple Vision Pro, even the closest bid was under by $2,000 or so, and the audience audibly groaned when they heard how expensive this device is—$3,500. I mean, this is a show where people get more excited over a coffeemaker than you'd think possible (and I'm saying that as someone who values their coffeemaker), so when even an audience on, "The Price is Right," can't get behind your product, that is saying something. Drew Carey even seemed surprised reading off the price tag.

I'm not exactly surprised the bids were low and the crowd was unenthused. I've always been skeptical of these virtual reality headsets and had extremely little excitement when this thing was announced back in 2023. If even Apple can't nail the whole virtual reality headset, "Trend," and they misfire, then perhaps this is a concept we should quit trying to make happen. That's my two cents, which is about how much I'm willing to spend on these VR headsets, as it is.

A New, "The Invisible Man," Comic is on the Way

I've been enjoying the Universal Monsters-themed comics from Image's Skybound imprint. Their sequels/retellings/etc. have been superb among the issues I have had the chance to read. That is why I'm excited for a new, "The Invisible Man," comic written by  James Tynion IV with art by DaNi and colors by Brad Simpson. There are old tales about an invisible man, more modern retellings and takes, and I have been a fan of many iterations. 

This version of the story goes with the solicitation of, "Jack Griffin has always been invisible to the people around him — at least in his own mind. But when an experimental breakthrough presents a path to make his dreams of invisibility a reality, no one — not even the woman he loves — will stand in his way. Witness Griffin’s legendary descent into madness as his humanity fades away and the monster inside is revealed, leaving only… THE INVISIBLE MAN!" Sounds like some scary fun to me; I look forward to the debut issue on August 27th!