Kickstarter Walks Back its Adult Content Ban, Leaves Vague Warnings

I previously discussed how Kickstarter was beginning to target anything it considered overly sexual/adult in nature due to concerns that its payment processor, Stripe, would be an issue. Well, after a lot of outcry, it was announced by Kickstarter that they would only be working to ban/shut down anything outright illegal, or that was, "Pornography." Basically, reverting things back to normal, right? Well, not exactly. 

Buried in all this is Kickstarter pointing out that they won't necessarily shut down your campaign, but Stripe could still object to something. Then you're S.O.L. when it comes time to actually collect any funds from your successful Kickstarter campaign that happens to have something spicy enough to enrage Stripe (perhaps a nipple or acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people and how they enjoy having sex too, as Queer content always faces a lot more scrutiny). Kickstarter has apologized and acknowledged they could have expressed concerns about adult content and payment processing in a better fashion. Still, the damage is done, and a lot of people probably have a good deal less trust in Kickstarter or interest in utilizing it for their projects (comics or otherwise) as different options make themselves apparent--friend of the blog, Mike Wolfer, and other creators have discussed their future utilization of Dooz for comics with any content they worry could anger Kickstarter/Stripe. A reputation Kickstarter built over many years became tarnished in a matter of days; quite a shame.

Flashback Friday: "Small Favors," Remains the Cutest and Silliest Smut You'll Ever Read

Colleen Coover is an insanely talented comic creator who has worked on superhero stuff like the Power Pack and X-Men to doing her own stuff like, "Banana Sunday." One of my favorite creations by her, however, remains the cult hit queer erotica series, "Small Favors." Usually you don't see the words, "Cute," and, "Silly," used to describe titillating comics, but, "Small Favors," is surreally fun, sex-positive, and an oh-so-raunchy piece of Sapphic-focused porn.

The general, "Plot," involves a young woman named Annie who is extremely aroused all the time and engages in self-pleasure so much a manifestation of her conscience named Nibbil has been assigned to monitor Annie and ensure she no longer engages in touching herself, as she's used up her maximum amount of times she's allowed to ever do such a thing again (the universe apparently sets a limit). Thankfully, Nibbil is as horned-up as Annie and capable of shrinking to be basically pocket-sized or make herself normal-sized. This results in a wide range of hilarious and sexy scenarios as Annie, Nibbil, and various friends they make along the way get into mischief and get each other off in the meantime.

I've interviewed Ms. Coover before about, "Small Favors," and her other works, and spotlighted it some time ago in a post as well. The hardcover collection of, "Small Favors," has gone out of print, but there is good news in that a brand-new softcover edition has been published this year, full of all eight original issues and tons of extra artwork. It truly is--as the subheading says--"The Definitive Girly Porno Collection," of an erotic masterpiece. If you love comics that are happy, sexy, and don't mind things getting really spicy, I'd encourage you to acquire the latest printing of, "Small Favors." Just, maybe, read it at home lest you offend any overly-sensitive passerby who peeks over your shoulder!

"Playboy," Magazine is Surprisingly Back With an Annual Edition

I was surprised a couple days ago when I was at Barnes and Noble and saw on the shelves a new issue of, "Playboy." Publication of new issues had stopped five or so years ago and Playboy had become more of a clothing/lifestyle brand with a pay-cable channel than anything else. The magazine of, "Playboy," had been edgy and controversial when it first hit the scene in 1953. Over time, however, it changed into something quite tame compared to other magazines and the internet. With much more spicy adult content available elsewhere it became quite true that most folk still reading, "Playboy," actually were doing so for the shockingly good articles full of insightful journalism, great short fiction, interviews, and the like. Between print being a difficult business and COVID-19 complications, the last print issue of, "Playboy," ended up being the Spring 2020 issue...until now.

Against all odds, "Playboy," is back in 2025 with plans to publish an annual print edition. That is by no means as wild as coming out every month, every other month, or even quarterly, but it is something. I remarked back in 2022 how it was surprising to note that, "Penthouse," was still being published with content a bit edgier than, "Playboy," had (lots of zoomed-in spread-eagle poses) but still a lot tamer than much of the World Wide Web or the few competitors in the field like, "Hustler." Interestingly enough, "Penthouse," suddenly stopped publishing after a Summer 2023 issue. I've seen claims via the Penthouse website when I checked that news about print issues would come about in 2024...but now we're in 2025 with nary an update. When it comes to print erotica you've basically got the artsy option of, "StripLV," the raunchy choice of, "Hustler," and now a yearly, "Playboy," rising from the grave like zombie Jesus (a, "Futurama," joke for ya'll there)--it just took five years instead of three days. Is it any good, however?

The latest, "Playboy," magazine is a return to form! It has--to just name some of the content--an entertaining segment with comedian J.B. Smoove answering relationship questions, a piece examining the rise of the, "Beta Male," a piece about Nashville being a bachelorette party trip hotspot, an article on how technology has made cheating on a partner a lot more complex than the old days (hence, it is better to just be open and honest), interviews with Nikki Glazer and Lori Harvey (they stay clothed), plus pictorials with Gillian Nation (Playmate of the year, she is unclothed) and other women in case you were concerned some nipples and pubic hair wouldn't be on display--this isn't like that brief weird era where, "Playboy," dropped the nudity, after all. 

There are tasteful pictures, solid writing, and it is a nice mix of modern topics with a nostalgic feeling to have a print erotica publication like, "Playboy," attempting newsprint again in 2025. As the cover declares proudly, "We're Back," and even if it is simply an annual thing, that is still an accomplishment in this day and age. I applaud, "Playboy," for putting forth this effort and hope we do indeed get an issue in 2026 and beyond--as long as this does well it will prove there is a place for, "Playboy," to some degree all these years later.

Apple Announced the Vision Pro and I (As Always) Have Thoughts

I've never been that interested in Virtual Reality headsets. If we could make VR work like the Holodeck in Star Trek, I'd be down for that--although everyone would be annoying to listen too as they remarked, "Hey, this is just the Holodeck!" This resulted in me not caring about Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation Vr, or Cyberview Express. I made that last one up, but if you're as disinterested in VR as I am, you probably didn't even realize it. This long-winded intro leads me to discuss how Apple announced the Vision Pro today, and I gave a disinterested sigh to all of it.

Apple makes great products, there is no question about that. I am sure their, "Facial computer," which costs a whopping $3,500 will be of the highest quality and work spectacularly. It sounds like it will have lots of bells and whistles. I just don't care and never have been big on the idea of strapping a headset to my nogging even if it lets me be further immersed in virtual worlds, bring up data sheets, or whatever. I've changed my mind on stuff before--I used to "Not get," the Nintendo Switch before digging it. That said, I just had to give the Switch a chance to learn to love it. I've sampled VR and never found it especially appealing. The technology has its proponents, but lots of folk seem unsure about it. The comment section on Kotaku had folks remarking the fact this is an Apple product means it probably won't be able to do any PC games and it'll be walled in for just Apple games, products, and so forth. Some other people said the quiet part out loud about how this might really appeal to viewers of pornography--but that's always been a hush-hush aspect of VR--the big companies prefer it not be openly discussed even though I'd imagine that has at times helped spur a number of sales.

I imagine people with deep pockets who adore Apple and its products will eat this up. Massive corporations might give it a try to see how it helps optimize productivity (or other buzzwords). Will this have mainstream, appeal, however? I honestly cannot say as who knew the iPhone would become as massive as it did? Then again, the iPhone now can be had with various deals you cut via your phone provider for a more reasonable price. Apple's Watch is pretty popular too and I was unsure how it would do. Basically, I'm saying I know better than to ever bet against Apple (rare flop like Newton aside) and if anyone is going to finally crack the VR space it'll be them. That said, I'm just as hesitant to bet on Apple in this case too. Once this thing is for sale in 2024 or so and regular folks--well, regular folks with money to burn--can try it out that'll be the real test.

This AI Stuff is Rapidly Getting out of Hand

I love technology. I would not have met my wife via online dating without the Internet. I also wouldn't have a blog, just probably a weird paper zine I printed and threw at people who got close to me at the corner store. Medical tech is advancing in ways that helps people in astounding ways, video-games are cooler-looking than ever, and so forth. That said, this AI stuff is getting out of hand and advancing at a rate much faster than I think we as a populace are ready to handle. It is like that scene in, "Jurassic Park," where it is pointed out everyone wondered if they could do something and didn't ask if they should.

I'm not only talking about the AI programs that can write essays to help students cheat or such. I'm concerned about how people already believe totally fake stuff they read online, and now you're going to show them a picture of a bomb seeming to go off by the Pentagon and expect them to realize it's fake? That, or what about a situation where hackers will clone the voice of a loved one and pretend to call as if they are holding that person hostage with them, "Yelling," in the background whilst a ransom is demanded? Oh, how about a celebrity known for streaming video games and having an Onlyfans named Amouranth creating an AI Chatbot fans can, "Date," in the ultimate parasocial relationship? Seriously, how long until one of those fans with a loose grip on reality tries to track her down because they are convinced this chatbot is really her in some fashion (I really hope she ups her security with this going on)? 

Taking parasocial relationships to a whole new level.

I'm not saying this is going to end in the AI becoming self-aware and wiping us out like we are living in a, 'Terminator," movie, but if the wrong person falls for something a bad actor created with AI we'll just wipe ourselves out, probably. Will we be surprised when someone fakes a relationship suffering from cheating and an innocent party who is framed for that gets hurt? What if AI makes it look like a company is in economic trouble and all the stocks suddenly get sold under false pretenses? How long until someone makes it sound like an authority figure is demanding a missile be launched somewhere and the right/wrong circumstances make it happen? I know I escalated all that quickly, but AI is itself growing at a wild rate with the original Chat GPT struggling to do something like pass a Bar Exam and the latest iteration a few months later impressing everyone with its legalese.

AI won't replace us. Even if you try to have it create a picture, write a story, or something else it is not actually making anything so much as it is collating data to manufacture something seemingly new out of things humans made. Still, people will try to use the capabilities of AI to scam others, hurt others, or otherwise make reality even less believable than it already is with so much fakery already in the World. We are arguably at a tipping point. I just hope society doesn't fall into a black hole of self-destruction.

They Still Publish, "Penthouse," in 2022?--An Essay on Print Magazines, the Internet, and the Evolution of Titillation

Before we embark on this big essay I want to clarify I am not a doctor or professional anthropologist/sociologist. I simply have a Master's Degree in Public Health and worked in various positions including one focused on sexual health before I left the workforce to be a stay-at-home parent. I continue to be fascinated by how the media impacts our lives and sexuality, so I created this big article. Now then, here we go...

Playboy magazine quietly stopped existing as a printed publication in the Spring of 2020. It released its last issue with little fanfare and now exists more as a brand of the bunny rabbit logo on merchandise than anything else. I mean, there is an online archive of articles and pictorials people can subscribe to so they can look back on the glory days, but for all intents and purposes, "Playboy," is a shadow of what it once was. The Comics Journal's R.C. Harvey did a retrospective on, "Playboy," and Hugh Hefner himself that wasn't overly critical or fawning of the complex legacy the man and magazine left behind for better or worse. It wasn't just Playboy that existed, however. It had competitors in the form of the much more raunchy and edgy, "Hustler," and the somewhat tamer, "Penthouse." What happened to them, though?

"Hustler," still puts out some magazines (like the niche-style, "Taboo," and, "Barely Legal,") that are pretty much just pictorials of hardcover pornography with DVDs sometimes included because I guess it helps promote their internet sites although the company itself admits that soon its print iterations will be kaput. "Penthouse," must surely be dead or not putting out anything especially, "New," beyond best-of pictorial compilations, right? Nope, much to my surprise when I Googled it, "Penthouse," releases new issues.

I didn't realize, "Playboy," stopped much how R.C. Harvey was surprised to learn it after the fact. Hence, when I wondered about the fate of, "Penthouse," I was utterly shocked it still is putting out issues every other month or so. Back in 2016 it was rumored it would cease releasing a print magazine, but that was denied by the company and here it still is, against all odds. Perhaps it gets enough advertisers that the magazine can be released and offer cheap subscriptions. Maybe the website with more explicit content helps pay for the magazine potentially operating at a loss. I honestly do not know. 

The final issue of, "Playboy."

It is no secret that, "Playboy," had some amazing articles, comics, and short fiction. I honestly would sometimes read the magazine for its great writing, as nerdy as that sounds (I was eventually able to get one of the later issues that featured a Simon Hansenlmann comic I was after when I posted about the struggle that turned out to be). "Penthouse," never was really known for its articles. As for how raunchy it could be, I checked Wikipedia and from 1998 to 2005 it could be pretty, "Hardcore," but then softened itself back up and became a bit tamer like, "Playboy," again. This leads to the question of if, "Penthouse," is any good, still?

I picked up the May/June 2022 issue on eBay (eBay banned most adult material a while ago but allows tame magazines) as I didn't immediately see it at my local Barnes and Noble. It arrived in the mail and I opened it up. There are some little mini-articles with news tidbits, a feature on that Canadian trucker shitshow that happened, an article about billionaire Mark Cuban, and a number of softcore pictorials. The articles are fine but not fantastic like the literature, "Playboy," put out and the images are, well, half-naked to mostly-naked women posing. If you caught your teenage son or daughter reading this in their bedroom you wouldn't be shocked so much as you'd look at them quizzically and say, "You do realize stuff 100X raunchier than this can be found with a quick search on your phone, right?" I mean, unlike with the departed, "Playboy," you aren't reading this for the articles. To answer my question of if, "Penthouse," is any good still, I have to ask if it was ever that great?

Arguably what, "Penthouse," is most known for.

"Penthouse," lacked the insightful journalism, short stories, comics, and so forth of, "Playboy." It didn't have the lowbrow rabble-rouser vibe of mischief that Larry Flynt brought with, "Hustler," along with some really edgy content. "Penthouse," just always kind of existed and if it was known for anything it was perhaps the supposedly real letters they received full of outrageously impossible sexual encounters, Still, somehow in 2022 it still exists. It maybe wasn't better than, "Playboy," but it's still here, so I guess it wins by default when compared to its closest competitor in terms of content. There are plenty of other adult magazines, but they are just pictorials full of explicit sex--with, "Hustler," being the most well-known. The vibe (no pun intended) of, "Penthouse," is one of, "We're naked and will talk about sex, but we also want to be classy." That's perfectly fine, even if when I ask who this magazine could be for I can only reason it appeals to folks who want to see naked women without using a computer or buying anything too raunchy. As I doubt, "Penthouse," will provide me their exact circulation numbers I am unsure how many people like that exist, but enough for it to give us six-or-so issues a year.

The concept of titillation has evolved. You can watch everything from moderately tame sex to really extreme and over-the-top pornography for free now with the stroke of a keyboard (that time I intended the pun). We as a society like to act like we have modesty, but the sex genie is out of the bottle, and few people beyond the most extremely religious/prudish/etc. would find much offense to a printed magazine with some breasts and a little bit of vulva compared to the hot trending video of the day on a popular adult streaming site. "Playboy," used to shock and arouse people, bringing with it the concept of a lifestyle of someone who reads insightful articles, short fiction, and likes sex. Now it isn't a lifestyle so much as selling a crazy erotic fantasy for a few minutes at a time on a website--with some fantasies being quite far out there. This leads us to the biggest thing that has changed our idea of arousal and sex in recent history--in my opinion. Yes, I'm talking about Onlyfans and other sites of its ilk.

If you're an adult and have a decent internet connection you can now be a small-time or big-time porn star. You don't need to fly out to a big city and pose for some pictures or film an adult movie for a studio. You can just create an account, film yourself doing whatever you're comfortable with, and potentially make money. With a good enough, "Hook," and some social media savvy you can get a solid following and make money. Are sites like Onlyfans at this point basically saturated with men and women who probably only get enough followers to afford some weekly groceries compared to a small percentage who make a ton of money? I say, "Probably?" Still, if you can appeal to the right kink or niche, you can do pretty well, as plenty of articles about these sites discuss. People don't really want to buy a generic adult magazine if they have something really specific they are into. If you're a furry, want to watch people stomp on food, or anything else that is out-there but legal, I'm sure an Onlyfans/Clips4Sale/whatever exists to turn you on.

 Titillation has evolved thanks to the internet and society becoming more open about sex in general (not all parts of society, but enough for there to be a seismic change). Many of us shrug at the idea that our friend is showing their genitals online to get some extra cash whereas even just 20 years ago learning someone you knew had created adult content would most certainly register a reaction. We get horny for something specific and the internet supplies it, "Why would we read a magazine to get turned on now?" people say. Yes, "Penthouse," exists, somehow, but it is more of an exception standing against a relentless tide trying to knock it over than anything else. This metaphorical tide is bringing in all the camgirls and camguys the World could ever handle, and it is changing the landscape of how we view arousal and get aroused for the foreseeable future. Again, the sex genie is out of the bottle, and they are clearly sticking around.

I'm an extremely progressive and open-minded person. As long as what turns you on doesn't hurt anyone and is purely consensual between adults I support your kink. I have zero problems with people making an Onlyfans as a job or working as a server in a restaurant if they'd rather do that, they're both work. I merely am astounded at how the way we view sex and sexuality has changed some much in the past couple of decades. Titillation has evolved, and what the future holds for our views on sex and arousal is bound to be quite interesting.

The Hardcover Collection of, "Squeak The Mouse," is a Fascinatingly Strange (and Very Extreme) Read

Back in the 1980s, an author by the name of Massimo Mattioli created, "Squeak the Mouse." Mattioli created all kinds of amazing works and was a huge figure in Italian comics. I read a review-of-sorts of his work, "Squeak the Mouse," on The Comics Journal, however, and after seeing what Sean McTiernan had to say about it, wanted to check the hardcover collection of the series out myself. It starts out a bit like an extreme version of, "Tom and Jerry," and arguably could be seen as the inspiration for, "The Simpson's," well-known Itchy and Scratchy. However, after just a short number of pages, the cat kills the mouse, and the one-note joke ends...but the comic doesn't. Oh boy, it does not.

The remaining pages of the first issue/volume of, "Squeak the Mouse," feature him repeatedly coming back from attempts to kill him like some sort of slasher monster. It gives the book a fun horror vibe. Then in the later issues collected in this big hardcover, the joke of the cat and mouse seems to kick off before morphing into something else strange and weird, be it the mouse killing the cat and then living large, or the cat and mouse having a crazy space battle. The thing that made, "Squeak the Mouse," most controversial was not actually the violence. The comic--as like many underground comics/comix in the past--has some really raunchy moments. 

You see, whenever the cat and mouse aren't fighting each other the odds are good they'll be engaging in some quite explicitly rendered sex with other cats/mice that look a little like animals but have very human-style breasts and genitals. These anthropomorphic x-rated moments in each issue had the comic seized in the 80s when it was flown into the United States and accused of being obscene. It was quickly ruled that the comic was protected by the first amendment even if it was quite saucy, but being able to claim the issues faced any trouble definitely boosted sales at the time.

"Squeak the Mouse," features some fantastically illustrated vignettes be they as simple as a cat and mouse fighting, riffing on horror movies, mirroring sci-fi pulp books, or morphing for some segments into really detailed pornographic scenes. Underground comic/comix are an acquired taste for those who don't mind sometimes explicit violence or sex intermingling with surreal and often quite clever stories. Should you not be easily offended and enjoy trippy and gorgeously drawn comics, "Squeak the Mouse," might just be right up your alley.

5 out of 5 stars.

eBay Keeps Doing Dumb Stuff This Week

This week eBay has been really batting a thousand, or however that expression goes (I don't follow baseball). First, they changed the way comics are listed and sorted by doing away with a lot of subcategories in a manner that makes finding comic listings a lot less intuitive and more tedious. Many listings that were already up found themselves changed in ways that made it hard to get any eyes on the posts. It was pretty bad. Oh, and then eBay announced today it will be doing away with adult-only listings for no logical reason. It'll be gone by the end of the Summer. I doubt any minors are getting on eBay and using it to buy porn when they have, you know, the entire internet. 

Don't expect to find the old raunchy underground comics on eBay as easily.

No, eBay's adult section has been handy for people like me when it comes to finding weird old underground comics (which could at times be quite sexual) or selling modern comics with the really risque covers that people love (folk like boobs on their comic covers for sure). People like my friend Robin Bougie (who wrote Cinema Sewer) have used eBay to find old and vintage erotica, stuff like that. eBay is getting rid of adult listings though and the only possible reason seems to be it isn't compatible with their stupid new managed payments and they want to put everything under that umbrella sooner than later

eBay has changed the way we find a comic listing in a manner that is confusing and stupid. eBay also plans to get rid of adult listings which a move that is purely stupid and puritanical. It has been quite a week for eBay and if it keeps being idiotic like this I may start shifting away from eBay to other selling sites that are a lot less of a pain. It's all so dumb.

December 2020 Links, News, and so Forth

 Near the Year's End

It's the last month of this rotten year. Let's see it out with some quality news content, shall we?

My Present to You--Links!

Joe Biden has been our President-elect for a while now, despite protests otherwise. On Monday, the Electoral College made it official and hopefully Trump can just go away now.

Getting banned for life from a show like, "Saturday Night Live," is quite a feat and only some have pulled it off. The punk band, "Fear," was able to do so, however, with quite the set when they guested at the recommendation of John Belushi. Oh, and in another SNL-related bit of news, former castmember Jay Pharaoh spoke with Conan O'Brien and it was really fun.

In an effort to avoid criticism for questionable content (like anything illegal), Pornhub has purged a ton of its content, only allowed, "Verified," users to post anything. This link about the purge goes to the AV Club and is safe-for-work, just in case you were worried about clicking.

"Cyberpunk 2077," has had an extremely rocky launch, with the bugs on the PS4 and Xbox One being atrocious in many people's opinions. I've played it for the PS4 and have had fun, but yes, it is really glitchy and has issues. The game's developer, CD Projekt Red, has been doing their best to perform damage control. They're struggling, badly--it is really awful. They made serious bank though, so in the end they can be happy, I guess?

Speaking of the controversy game companies face, the last generation of games clearly illustrated that no company is perfect/without flaws or controversies.

I was very intrigued by this article studying the career of Christopher Priest before his seminal run on, "Black Panther." It is a good read.

Have a Happy Holiday Season

I hope Hanukkah has been good for everyone and that you all have a great Christmas along with any other holidays my readers may be celebrating!

I Can't Easily Get a New Simon Hanselmann Cartoon Due to Kylie Jenner

I saw this tweet from the amazingly talented Simon Hanselmann, whose work I of course adore and always try to buy copies of. He has a six-page strip in the latest issue of, "Playboy," the Fall 2019, "Pleasure," themed issue. Upon seeing this today I figured it would not be too hard to get a copy, right? "Playboy," has spoken publicly before about how they sell less copies due to the fact the internet has made it incredibly easier to see nudity (or outright sex/crazy fetishes/etc.) and now the people who still read, "Playboy," honestly do so for the quality articles or in this case, comics. I went to the Playboy webstore to order a copy and found it was sold-out. I found this odd, figured it was maybe a glitch or temporary and decided to check eBay where copies were selling for double cover-price or more. At this point I was confused and did some Googling. Upon doing so I learned from news websites that this issue is really popular because it features none other than Kylie Jenner posing nude with boyfriend and Father of their child, Travi$/Travis Scott.

Because Kylie Jenner has droves of fans who follow her on social media, buy her products, or otherwise adore her they apparently were eager to buy-up the issue of, "Playboy," with her featured as anything with Kylie Jenner involved (regardless how dressed or undressed) is going to be a big seller for all the men and women who are her big fans. This means that Kylie Jenner has made it really hard to me to buy a comic from Simon Hanselmann. I guess my next step to acquire this issue of, "Playboy," for a decent price is to actually go to a physical location that sells magazines and politely ask if they have the latest issue of, "Playboy," which is embarrassing--not because I care if people see me buying an adult magazine (I'm too sex-positive to care about that) but because the people selling me the magazine will probably think I want it due to being a fan of Kylie Jenner. That is mortifying as the only Jenner or Kardashian I can stand in the least is maybe Kourtney. Anyways, to summarize all this I can't buy a normally unpopular softcore nudie magazine with a comic I want to read due to Kylie Jenner. That is a sentence I did not expect to type this week.

News, Links, and General Nonsense for Mid-July

Sweltering and Storming

It's the middle of July and when it isn't raining here in Saint Louis it is hot as Hell. I suggest we try to take our mind off the downpours alternating with heat via some quality news and links.

Stuff to Absorb Into Your Mind

I was so excited for the new season of, "Big Brother," and then we got a cast full of absolutely awful people who are borderline-racists (or outright racists) bullies, and otherwise terrible. It is bad, everyone, really bad.

Speaking of racists who engage in bullying, Donald Trump is at it again, saying women who are members of minorities should, "Go back where they came from," which he can do because as Anne Branigin of The Root observes, "Because He Means It and Because He Knows He Can Win on It."

I'm always a sucker for alternate-Universe comic stories that imagine changes to popular characters or events ("What If," and, "Elseworlds," are my jam). Therefore, this new, "Dark Multiverse," line of comics from DC that introduces depressing results to assorted notable moments in history sounds fun (in a dreary way, at least).

A comic book about porn about that isn't porn but which features sci-fi astronauts having sex with space-aliens and filming it in order to fund their research? It has Tim Seeley as a co-scripter (I love a lot of his work) and is titled, "Money Shot," too? Okay, I'm all-in on this for sure.

Rob Zombie's films can vary widely in quality, and while I was mostly indifferent to, "House of 1000 Corpses," I found, "The Devil's Rejects," to be excellent in its surreal Quentin Tarantino-meets-Tobe Hooper vibe. How good the final movie of the trilogy, "3 From Hell," will be on that spectrum remains to be seen, but at least any scenes with Sid Haig are bound to be good.

As this article makes it clear, be very wary of men who claim to love, "Logic," or only think with logic. They tend to actually be highly emotional and irrational alt-right idiots who refuse to actually listen to reason.

Rock Paper Shotgun has a piece exploring why so many old games are coming back with sequels or remakes, delving into the power of nostalgia, something I've often talked about here on the blog too.

I'm a fan of Trevor Von Eeden's artwork and enjoy being friends with him on Facebook where he often muses on everything from the process of creating comics, to politics and everything else. This interview he did with The Comics Journal is a good read.

Lastly, Comic-Con International/San Diego Comic-Con is this week, so there will be lots of news, exclusive goodies for sale, and general increased buzz in the realm of popular-culture. If anyone is going there do please have a fun (and safe) time!

Stay Cool/Dry and Motivated

As the rest of July wears on I encourage everyone to try and stay cool as well as dry between the heat-waves and rainstorms. Also, remember that no matter what the World throws at you just remember you've come this far in life already, so you've got the rest of this month, year, and general upcoming future!

Literally Selling Sex in Advertising--A Porn Company Has Fashion Products Now

I learned the other day via people discussing it on Twitter that a porn company known as Brazzers (that link is not safe for work in any way, shape, or form) is selling expensive clothing. I have to say this feels like the inevitable climax (no pun intended) of a whole bunch of concepts in communications and media melding together. Let's take a step back so I can explain all this.

I took a large number of courses in the span of my undergraduate and graduate degrees that involved health, communications, sociology, and anthropology. They all would extensively discuss the media and advertising. One thing in advertising that is obvious regardless of if you have a bunch of book-learning or didn't even finish high school would be this: Sex sells. Whether you are selling the idea that buying a product will make a person seem sexy/desirable, will attract a partner, or that not purchasing something makes you lack in the sex-appeal department, a good deal of advertising is based upon playing our desire to be sexy. Hell, even just associating the pleasurable feelings of arousal with a random concept or thing is a big point of ads. This seems to especially apply in the realm of fashion.

When you are selling clothes/shoes/etc. you are literally selling sex. You are telling someone, "Wear this and you will be attractive." Almost any clothing is designed to appeal to the male gaze (sometimes the female gaze) or to encourage the women being advertised towards to themselves appeal to the male gaze (as much of advertising is still of course very heteronormative in design). In this era of an increasing digitization of sex as well one finds how things that used to be taboo are now literally just a keystroke away, and more and more individuals feel comfortable openly discussing their kinks and/or fetishes. One element of all this is also how pornography makes more and more money these days, because people like sex, and the internet makes getting dirty videos a lot easier than in the old days when people had to drive to an adult store or theater to gain access to X-rated materials.

Our world becomes even more money-and-power focused these days as we potentially reach late-stage capitalism now, when even our raunchy stuff is sometimes tailored to appeal to people desperately wanting to look wealthy. In other words, we've got sex, money, fashion all on everyone's mind, and we are all talking about it on the internet--because even if folk hate the 1% a lot of individuals maybe secretly wouldn't mind being in that demographic. Folk may say, "Eat the rich," but also wonder what it would be like if they could spend money as if there was no tomorrow and have sex like the night were endless...or something. This brings us to the porn company Brazzers and their $250 pair of shoes.

If you aren't aware of it (or just want to pretend you have never heard of the company to seem innocent), Brazzers is one of the biggest and most popular internet porn companies around, according to sites like Wikipedia and from the minimal tax info that can be gleamed from assorted sources. They get mainstream press sometimes for doing outlandish things like creating pornographic spoofs of popular mainstream movies (basically any super-hero flick has a Brazzers parody) along with adult parodies of video-game subjects. They have won all kinds of adult content awards and have millions of subscribers. They also now sell extremely pricey clothing.

In their official store (that link is safe for work) one can find $40 t-shirts with the Brazzers logo plus  $120 sweatpants and $130 sweatshirts that have cheeky little, "X-Rated," faux-rating symbols on them are for sale as well. Oh, and the $250 shoes I mentioned. This apparel isn't shy about its namesake either, as even the shoes are emblazoned with the Brazzers name, so that anyone wearing this stuff can proudly state, "I love sex/porn and expensive shit."

Selling fashion often means selling sex, and seeing as Brazzers literally sells sex it actually all makes perfect sense in some twisted logic. The only other occasion I can think of something vaguely like this occurring was when a now-defunct French clothing company got headlines over a decade ago for shooting short porn movies featuring its actors and actresses wearing their clothes briefly before disrobing in order to have sex. The company is long since out of business, but now here we are so maybe they were just ahead of their time/the world hadn't gotten weird enough yet. I'm not sure if Brazzers' gambit of selling pricey clothing is going to pay off, but they have enough capital from their main business (selling videos of people fucking) to for sure give it a try.

I may be knowledgeable about health and human sexuality thanks to my schoolin' and be heavily enmeshed in media-topics as a part of writing a popular-culture blog for 8 years now, but I have minimal fashion sense and the only brand-name stuff I wear I got on clearance. Therefore, while we all know that sex sells all kinds of products, who knows if sex itself can sell something...if that clumsy statement makes any lick of sense--I surely don't have the fashion-knowledge to tell you what will happen. Time will tell what success or failure Brazzers will have with this endeavor, but there is no doubt it seems like the logical conclusion of the intersection of sex and commercialism that a porn company starts selling expensive apparel. Once Victoria's Secret quits pussy-footing around and just starts selling hardcore videos of models in their underwear we'll know we truly have reached an apex in regards to all this.

Tumblr to Ban All Adult Content, Shoot Self Squarely in Foot

When it comes to social media networks, Tumblr is one that has been around for a bit. Present since 2007 it is a visual-focused social media network, letting people put up bits of text, but more known for its posting of videos, images, memes, and so forth. It also has a lot of adult content. Whereas sites such as Facebook never allowed NSFW stuff from the start, Tumblr was a bit of a Wild West, with all kinds of sexual-stuff being posted. This brought with it troubles too, with a degree of underage sex-content at times being on the site before eventually getting taken-down. Still, when it comes to a social network people use for porn, Tumblr is the first one to spring to mind. That is arguably its bread-and-butter besides memes. Therefore, hearing that as of December 17th Tumblr will ban all adult content is akin to hearing that come December 17th a steakhouse is only going to serve vegetarian meals.

Yes, Tumblr had issues with sex-spambots and some people trying to get underage porn on there. It would make sense to address that as opposed to outright banning anything adult, however. There were already some safeguards in place for minors, but this is like using a sledgehammer to squash a fly. Plus, the rules are very odd. For example, showing people outright having sex is obviously banned, and you can have most of the female breast shown in images, but don't you dare show a nipple. Why exactly America is perfectly fine with a whole lotta boob being shown as long as the nipple is hidden continues to be a mystery, but that is the the rule.

I found this meme about Tumblr on Twitter.
Thanks to @Soul_Slappy for making it!

One demographic already concerned are LGTBTQ individuals who in recent years had found Tumblr to be a space they felt safe discussing their sexuality and how that--obviously--at times meant discussions or images of sex. It is telling that even completely appropriate posts which happen to have LGBTQ content are already being reported or auto-flagged for the upcoming shutting-down of anything adult on December 17th. There is a vibe that if you post a picture of you kissing your opposite-sex partner that'll be fine, yet mysteriously an innocent same-sex kiss will be given a marking of pornography--quite possibly from hateful people. Oh, and speaking of hateful people, while Tumblr is exercising its rights to control what gets posted on its website by banning porn, it meanwhile is oddly silent on Nazis, Alt-Righters, and other posters of hate-speech. Apparently a nipple is more offensive than someone declaring how they want to kill minorities.

Tumblr has every right to control what is put on it, this is not a violation of free speech. When you have a website you let other people use you are allowed to control what is posted, and if people dislike it there can go somewhere else online. It is a violation of logic however, as once Tumblr bans all adult content it will most likely wither and die along with other social-media sites we've mostly forgotten. Many Tumblr-users have already planned an exodus, be it to to other somewhat-similar social networks that are smaller but allow adult material, their own website, or the like. Unless this massively negative reaction causes Tumblr to change course, come December 17th you most likely don't want to visit Tumblr if you're looking for anything raunchy to enjoy. I myself never found Tumblr that useful for promoting the blog and basically just kind of clumsy for posting anything, adult or age-appropriate, so I have no, "Dog in this fight." I do offer sympathy to the Tumblr-users who are now being told their content is not wanted, however, as that must be stressful and discouraging.

"Lookers: Ember," #11 Review

The 11th and final issue of "Lookers: Ember," ends as it began--having just the right mixture of self-awareness and self-indulgence to be a fun read. Published by the more cheesecake-focused imprint of Avatar Press, Boundless Comics, this series mashed-up two entites who had previously appeared in their own one-shots (Ember and the Lookers) into one surreal and interesting story. The Lookers are private investigators who specialize in helping women at risk of having private photos or videos leaked by vengeful ex-boyfriends/husbands, and Ember is a super-powered celebrity who can manipulate fire and utilizes that to achieve movie-stardom.

The focus of the series itself is how Ember has a sex-tape stolen of her and and a U.S. congressman, which results in a myriad of interested parties trying to acquire it from drug-lords hoping to blackmail the politician to so-called, "Men's Rights Activists," hoping to smear the name of Ember. Also, lots of graphically illustrated sex occurs between men and women, women and women, and so forth because this series had enough plot to apparently not have it be in the, "Adult," section of Previews magazine (besides some really risque covers) for people ordering it, but boy-howdy this book can be pretty raunchy. The weird thing about the mini-series, "Lookers: Ember," as well as the one-shots that preceded it that made me love it enough to consider it one of my favorite mini-series/maxi-series of 2017, is that it can at times be kind of genius despite at least half the audience probably just buying it for the T&A (which is admittedly very well-illustrated along with all the other story-elements thanks to the artwork by Gabriel Andrade and back-up story by Christian Zanier).

Every issue has been loaded with observations about internet culture/the digitization of of sex, sexism (the MRA group and their twisted logic are soundly mocked), and the idea is heavily explored how it is depressing to even think we would need people to be hired to help women suffering from threats of revenge-porn. It is becoming a more and more common news story these days as jilted exes purposely put private pictures and videos of women who trusted a partner enough to send private such imagery online for all to see in hopes of basically slut-shaming a woman for the, "Crime," of being a sexual being. Besides exploring a lot of concepts the book did interesting things with its storytelling too, jumping around in time enough that it wasn't annoying but instead set-up interesting plot twists. Plus, fun and weird characters were introduced like one finally taken down in this concluding issue, "Cobra," a sex-obsessed drug-lord who becomes absurdly violent after having his--ahem--member shot off by the Lookers--he then finds his only pleasure in life that makes him feel manly now is hurting others (a lot of psychological concepts to unpack there for sure). Much appreciation is due to writer Patrick Shand for such a well-written series.

"Lookers: Ember," has its characters often having sex, but it never treats the idea as something dirty, instead trying to shame the haters. It is a book that says being monogamous, poly, or any other configuration of a relationship one wants is fine, and if you say otherwise or are a jerk the Lookers will beat -up and/or Ember will quite literally burn you. There is just enough self-aware winking at the reader weaved into the series that you don't feel like you're reading some silly dirty comic so much as a cleverly sarcastic mixture of action, social commentary, and saucy romance. This final issue does all this and sets up the possibility of future storylines that has my interest piqued as well. This last issue of, "Lookers: Ember," is just as great as the first and the lead-in one-shots. I ecstatically rate it...
5 out of 5 stars.

The People I Saw--Wizard World Saint Louis 2018

Always Cool People
Anytime I go to Wizard World I see all kinds of neat vendors, artists, and general snazzy folk. I wanted to share about the individuals I especially enjoyed chatting with and shall present them in alphabetical order by either their company name, or last name.

The List

Ryan Callahan
Chef Ryan Callahan was at the show with his award-winning book, "Chef Ryan's How-To-Cook Handbook," that is a combination of a comic, cookbook, and coloring book! It is designed to appeal to kids but has information useful to adult who is only so-so at cooking like myself. Readers can draw themselves into the book, learn all about cooking, and make various recipes. I looked through the book at the show and found it really neat! You can learn more about Chef Ryan and his book here.

Caesar Crawford
I'd actually met Caesar at a previous comic-con a long time ago when he worked for a magazine, but since then he has gone on to become a comic-creator with all kinds of stellar work coming out from his imprint, Revil Comics. He's a great artist and super guy as well. His site is here.

Scott Drummond
Mr. Drummond was at Wizard World promoting the two volumes that have come out so far for his comic series, "Nightsmoke." It sounded look a cool read with its story of a young boy and girl who acquire powers (he can relax his molecules and turn to air, she can focus her molecules and be rock-solid) and have to deal with all the havoc that causes. You can learn more about, "Nighsmoke," here.

Chris Ehnot
I enjoyed chatting with Chris Ehnot about his work creating cover illustrations for everyone from Zenescope to Coffin Comics. As we are both nerds for things like the kind of paper-stock used on business cards or prints we spent a good chunk of time talking about the printing process for the prints he makes of his work and how he keeps them looking glossy without it wearing off. Anyone who walked by us having this conversation probably thought we were either weird, crazy, or boring. I swear after speaking with Chris I'm sure we are just weird and crazy. You can visit his website and see his work here.

Comic-Con Store
I had a great time talking with Joseph of the, "Comic-Con Store," at Wizard World. He had a bunch of awesome collectibles and Funko Pops. You can visit his site here.

End Zone Collectibles
I had a great time chatting with End Zone Collectibles as its founder and I both have lived in (or in his case, currently live in) the state of New York. He had a variety of stellar toys and action figures for sale and you can view many of his wares on their website.

Fearless Readers
Bill Thade of, "Fearless Readers," was at the show with a ton of awesome comics for sale, and a sizable collection of cool indie and underground books. If you ever want to contact bill about his wide-range of titles email him here.

Fine Comic Collectibles
There were a number of people selling products to store your comics, Funko Pops, and so forth at the show, but I was most impressed with Fine Comic Collectibles. The retailer at the booth was a super nice guy named Russel whom I talked with about comics, anime, and all kinds of geeky subjects. I did not feel pressured at all to buy stuff, with him saying how he isn't someone to do a, "Hard-sell," as he feels his prices speak for themselves--and he had some stellar prices. You can visit Fine Comic Collectibles on the internet here.

François le Foutre
Mr. Foutre was at the show in full pirate regalia with his boks that are a part of, "The Seaman Sexology," or as he put it, "Gay pirate romance adventures." The books are very funny, clearly erotic, and I was impressed with how Mr. Foutre's table had a bunch of old-timey pirate stuff and even more impressed with how he managed to make almost everything he said a hilarious and dirty pun. You can learn more about his books here.

Gateway Superfriends
The Gateway Superfriends are a popular Saint Louis cosplay group dedicated to charity work. Whether it is visiting kids in hospitals, assisting with big fundraising events, or anything else. They are a great group of people who really care a lot. You can find their Facebook page here.

Happy Fun Books/Dan Killeen
Dan Killeen of Happy Fun Books was at Wizard World, and I of course always enjoy his books. He was there with his latest publication, "Robert and the Robots," which I eagerly bought and am excited to read to my son, Clarkson. Check-out Happy Fun Books here!

Keith on Da Beat
I chatted with the folk at the booth for local radio station, 104.9, and greatly enjoyed my conversation with Keith, or Keith on Da Beat, if one is referring to his DJ persona. He was great to chat with and can be found on twitter here.

Kingdom Comics
Brian C. I. Bradley of, "Kingdom Comics," was at the show selling copies of his ongoing series, "The Anointed 7," a religion-themed series. It is up to issue #25, which is an impressively high number for an indie book! You can learn more about, "Kingdom Comics," and their books here.

Jai Nitz
I am a big fan of a variety of Mr. Nitz's comics and he was kind enough to sign a number of them for me! He is known for a wide assortment of works, including El Diablo. You can say hello to him on Twitter here.

Online Starlets
I saw a booth with some cosplayers handing out cards, which isn't abnormal for professional cosplayers. I also saw they had prints for sale of them in various outifts, which again is common. The more surprising thing was they were handing out cards for a website that appears to specialize in softcore-ish cosplay-themed pornography. I don't have anything against porn, and it is fascinating to think how geek culture has grown so much in popularity there are now whole websites dedicated not just to women in various states of undress, but getting naked while dressed as assorted super-heroes. Their site is here, and obviously not safe-for-work.

 Shorething Collectables
The folk from Shorething had so, so many Funko Pops at the show. It was amazing to look at the wide variety and they had almost anything I asked about in stock. Visit their website here!

Spike
"Spike," is the name of the man also known as, "That Lost in Space Guy," who sells classic toys and comics. He was fantastic to chat with and had some good books for sale at the show! His website is here.

Kyle Starks
Mr. Starks is behind a number of stellar comics, such as, "Sexcastle," "Rock Candy Mountain," and he is currently writing (and sometimes illustrating), the massively-popular, "Rick and Morty," comic. He was a hoot to talk with at the show and kind enough to let me commission him to draw me a stellar Moon Knight picture, which I'll share in my later post about the cool stuff I got at the show. Kyle Starks' website is located here.

Swamp Dragon Hot Sauce
I was intrigued when I heard about Swamp Dragon as their hot sauce does not use vinegar as a preservative, which can give hot sauce a, "Meh," taste. Instead they use trace amounts of alcohol which gives the sauce a nice smooth flavor. They have four flavors, Tequlia, Rum, Bourbon, and Vodka. I got the four-pack of all the flavors as they all were stellar. You can order some for yourself online here.

Jamie Tyndall
Jamie Tyndall makes awesome-looking comic covers with his neat faux-magazine style. I always enjoy seeing him at shows and chatting. His stuff can be found online here.

Wayne Kent Comics
My good chum Justin of Wayne Kent comics was at Wizard World with a smorgasbord of books. He also had an old, "Captain America," title a friend who I explored the show with Friday wanted so they were able to cut a deal! Wayne Kent comics is on Facebook here.

Wild Bill's Soda
The old-fashioned soda of Wild Bill is always tasty!

So Many Awesome Folk!
I got to either meet or see again a number of cool people. It was fantastic chatting with everyone and my next post will cover the cool stuff I got at the show!