"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.

Missouri Cut Funding for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, A Program That Helps Children Learn to Read

In a move that would make even a despicable movie super-villain gasp and say, "Wow, that's just evil," the state of Missouri and its many idiotic legislators (not all, but many) have a new budget that cuts a lot of things that help people. I guess when you need to spend so much time trying to re-outlaw abortion, you only have a moment to consider how Dolly Parton's Imagination Library should be safe from budget cuts.

In an email that is worded in a manner much more politely than I'd have written to folks, "In 2023, the State of Missouri and The Dollywood Foundation formed a partnership to fully fund the Imagination Library statewide, so that every eligible child in Missouri could receive free books at home. That partnership grew quickly. Today, nearly 170,000 Missouri children receive a book from Dolly each month. The current state budget includes a significant reduction in funding for this program, driven by decisions made at the state legislature and the governor's office. Because of that reduction, the program will close to new enrollments on July 1, 2026. If your child is already enrolled, books will continue arriving until the funds run out. We expect that to happen within 4 to 6 months." I would have tweaked the last sentence to go, "We expect that to happen within 4 to 6 months because these jokers in the Missouri Senate and House would rather cut funding for students and drive us off a budget cliff with a moronic scheme to eliminate income tax (thereby leading to jacked-up sales taxes) than invest in programs people agree are good."

Seriously, teaching children to read isn't controversial. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library works with state governments to send a book to children every month that they can read and treasure. Some households can't afford to buy books, and even getting transportation (or having the time) to go to a local library can be difficult. Something everyone likes is going to be cut in the name of things almost nobody wants, like the usual tax cuts for rich folks, or hours that could be spent legislating being wasted on creating new amendments designed to wreck our citizen-led initiative petition voting process (for real, this August's Amendment 4 sucks). I know some things are controversial when it comes to getting them funded, but helping children achieve literacy shouldn't be sacrificed in the name of other pork barrel politics.

"Absolute Batman," Has So Many Variant Covers These Days

"Absolute Batman," is a massive hit of a comic. Oftentimes, popular books will have many variant covers made to increase sales in various ways, such as ratio variants and store/retailer exclusive covers. I will sometimes buy a ratio cover if it isn't too expensive and looks really cool, but I have never really bought many store variants. I don't have an issue with a big store/chain getting the rights to release an official variant cover with unique art, I just imagine it would be maddening to try and collect all of a particular issue's covers if it were a, "Hot," series. With the fact that, "Absolute Batman," is so popular in mind, it both makes sense and is wild to see how the upcoming 21st issue currently has (let me check my notes) eighty-one covers planned and counting.

Is this a good sign that the comic-book market is strong, or is this a warning about an approaching bubble in the market that could burst at any second from overproduction? To quote Abe Simpson, "A little from Column A, a little from Column B." In all seriousness, I would be amazed if anybody out there is trying to acquire all of these covers. I bet there are people who follow a specific artist or just dig some artwork who will pick up a retailer-exclusive variant or two. That said, I usually am happy just grabbing the standard, "A," cover of whatever book I'm reading unless something utterly wows me--so I guess you never know!

Music Mondays: Olivia Dean's Songs Sound Like a Hollow Imitation of the Past

The first time I heard of or saw Olivia Dean was on, "Saturday Night Live." Her song, "Man I Need," sounded like something straight out of the 1970's but weirdly soulless. It evoked the past while failing to give us anything particularly new. Her voice was good, but she sounded like a mediocre impression of music from the past without any unique spin. I figured I should give her a chance, but her other big hit, "So Easy," makes me think of Minnie Riperton without the vocal range or lyrical depth. I've listened to other tunes and find that there is no substance to Dean's music. Her songs ring more hollow than when someone signs, "Best wishes, we'll miss you," on the going-away card for a co-worker everyone actually finds (somehow) simultaneously dull and annoying. When I listen to an assortment of songs by Dean, I feel indifference and irritation.

I know Olivia Dean has many fans, and I am not setting out to, "Yuck," anyone's, "Yum." I debated even writing this article as I didn't want to come across as writing a mean-spirited, "Hit piece." That said, the fact that every time a song by Dean comes on the radio, I'll change the station to anything else as quickly as I can deserves discussion. I just wish she'd use her unquestionably great voice to make better music. Alex G. Frank once wrote for Medium, "There’s too much 'retro' pop in the world now — Olivia Dean could be an antidote." I'm afraid I only half-agree. Dean isn't an antidote; she's just another dose of auditory poison.

Finishing May 2026 with a Delightful Spector Show!

I had the pleasure of attending the Spector Show today. It was a lovely way to close out the month, and I greatly enjoyed seeing a variety of awesome folks there! This was the second show at the new location, 4690 Lansdowne Avenue, in the American-Czech Educational Center. It's a nice, spacious area and allows a good deal of stellar vendors to all fit in a big room. As always, a lot of thanks is owed to Dave of All-American Collectibles and Spike of Lost in Space Toys and Collectibles for being two superb showrunners! I proceeded to enjoy speaking with Jeff of Magnitude 10 Comics--he brought a ton of great stuff I was excited to dig through! My good friend John of Bigfoot Comic and Collectibles had some cool newer and vintage comics on offer--it was fun catching up with him. Wayne was selling some delicious baked goods that I had the pleasure of eating. Many had a fun theme, like the skeleton ones and the Doctor Who-related chocolates. Here's a picture of his display:

Tatertot Comics' display was packed with an immense number of books; I discussed with their crew how I was excited for their, "Junior," convention this coming June 14th. Callisto Comics had a large number of comics for great prices, and Bruce was present at the show with some definitely impressive comics for sale as well! Geoff had a mix of cool comics, including some incredibly old newspaper comic strips that were over a century old! Dan sold me a really cool old, "Alien Worlds," comic with gorgeous Dave Stevens' artwork. Observe:

The creative team from, "Crypt of Heroes," had their rad work for sale, and Tom had a nice assortment of comics for sale. CoMo Comics brought a truckload of great reads that they were selling as well. A good number of other vendors were present too, and I was pleased with the mix of comics, whether someone was more of a Modern Age collector (such as myself) or seeking out everything from the Bronze Age, to Silver, back to the Golden Age! I always have such a lovely time at the Spector Show thanks to the sheer volume of fantastic comics and comic-related items for sale! I look forward to the next one on July 26th and would encourage anyone able to attend to make sure and stop by! 

"John of the Night," is an Amazing Graphic Novel With a New Kickstarter Campaign!

I had a chance to read a digital copy of, "John of the Night," from Avery Hill Publishing, and absolutely loved it! A mix of sci-fi, a hint of superheroics, and a good dash of snarky humor results in a superb original graphic novel that I was a big fan of. The story is centered on a far-future scientist named John, who, along with his daughter, Ayshea, need to save the entire universe. As for the threat, it includes demi-gods, legendary creatures, and others who would destroy everything flawed in the name of achieving a skewed view of, "Perfection."

Written and illustrated by Darryl Cunningham, there is currently a Kickstarter campaign for those who have an interest in the book to get themselves a copy. I'd definitely advise anyone who likes quirky sci-fi tales to check it out, with the vaguely minimalist art style lending everything a superb vibe, whether we're floating in space or learning the story of an assassin from a vaguely medieval era who possesses the ability to see through all of time (I told you, it's a wild read)! I was a fan of Cunningham's nonfiction works he's put out over the years, but I really adored this awesome story! I wish the Kickstarter campaign success and look forward to when everyone can get their hands on this fantastic read!

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.

"Midgardr," Looks Like a Clever Genre-Mixing Game

Carolina Ronchi of the indie game development team Holy Radish recently reached out to me (as folks sometimes do to share about a project they're working on). She wanted to tell me about how they had an upcoming game called, "Midgardr," that I might be interested in. With a demo launching on June 3rd, this game is, "a solo, turn-based city builder and card game played directly on a [virtual] board, where the player rules as a medieval administrator. From reading up on the game and looking at clips, it intrigues me as someone who has enjoyed city-building games, card games, and the like. I always love when creation takes different genres and finds clever ways to mash them up--just look at my recent review of, "Drop Duchy," and its blend of Tetris and wargaming for one example.

"Midgardr," has a storyline, political intrigue, and moral choices, along with the expected stuff like resource management and fiddling with your city's setup to make it function as productively as you can. Set for release during this year, I hope it is as good as it looks and successful enough to be ported to various consoles (my computer is far too old/lacking in fancy equipment for any games). The reaction of folks to the launch of the demo on June 3rd will be exciting to see!

Bringing, "Back," Stan Lee or Anyone Else With a Creepy AI Raises Many Concerns

Stan Lee is dead. Unlike comic-book characters, he died and is not coming back. Many articles painted his last years before his passing in 2018 as pretty dismal in terms of his quality of life and everyone around him, from family to employees, bleeding him dry--at times literally. Once you're dead I imagine you don't care what happens with your name or likeness (unless there is some way to check in from whatever afterlife might/might not exist), but your estate can protest and profit. Those who own your likeness might be okay with the idea of you dancing with a vacuum cleaner (to be fair, some of Fred Astaire's family was displeased) via doctoring old movie footage. They may even hear that AI can create the illusion that you're alive to think, talk, and tell jokes. ElevenLabs sold Stan Lee Universe, the joint venture between Genius Brands International and POW! Entertainment on this idea as now they can, "...add the late Marvel Comics writer’s voice and likeness to the ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace, its collection of celebrity personality voices and likenesses that companies can license for commercial use."

This is the tech equivalent of taking a celebrity and attaching a bunch of strings to their corpse so you can make them dance around like a puppet. Stan Lee was a complicated and controversial figure, but I doubt anyone would argue against him being a master showman. That is, "Showman," as in, "Human," however. An AI does not truly have Stan's charisma, personality, or anything beyond people believing it was, "Trained," to mimic him and then be programmed to sell us a Marvel-branded juicer or some other junk. While Lee was alive, he did basically attach his name/likeness to anything, and everything from a cartoon about a stripper superhero to a reality show focused on being a real-life superhero. Lee was, in fact, alive and able to agree to these things, however. 

No. Nope. Absolutely Not.

An, "AI Stan Lee," can't ink a business agreement. It can't truly be okay with spouting off an endorsement for, "Marvel brand condoms, keep your genitals more secure than Iron Man's armor!" Even if the real Stan Lee would've been cool with this in some fashion, the whole thing is just ghoulish. What's next? We bring back AI versions of loved ones so we pretend they never really died? That's a whole mess of psychological trauma right there that I worry a lot of psychiatrists/psychologists will be dealing with soon. We're not just approaching Uncanny Valley anymore, we're living in it. Our virtual graverobbing will probably just be the tip of a scary iceberg.

Happy 38th Birthday, to Me!

I'm officially 38 today, even if my maturity level lags years behind--fart jokes will never cease being funny! It is wild to think how people in their late teens or early 20's look at me as an old fogey and my Gen-X friends in their late 40s think I'm still a young'un. It goes to show, in some ways, our experience of time is quite relative--especially when I'll talk about something I remember watching/reading like it was yesterday, and it turns out to be over a decade old. I'm overjoyed to have my wonderful family to spend this birthday, and I want to thank all you blog readers for sticking with me, however many days/weeks/months/years you've been checking the site out!