"Bear & Breakfast," Sounds Like a Lovely Videogame

One of my weirder (non-sexual) fantasies is wanting to run a Bed and Breakfast. It is a strange desire as I lack the business acumen to do so, can't cook well, and generally hate the idea of strangers sleeping in my house. Still, a surreal desire is there, so hearing a game with be coming to the Nintendo Switch and PC titled, "Bear & Breakfast," where you play a bear who runs a B&B sounds absolutely delightful. A game where I play a bear who decorates a cute house and makes meals for visitors while exploring the mysteries of the forest my B&B is located in? Yes, please!

"Bear and Breakfast," isn't due to be released until 2021, so I'll need to wait for a while. In the meantime, I'll just imagine creating perfectly themed rooms for tourists while I do quests in the woods for additional fun. Just knowing someday soon I can fulfill my weird dream of running a bed and breakfast is filling me with joy for sure.

Big Names, Bigger Kickstaters, Massive Controversy?

Way back in...let me check my notes, 2015, I made a post evaluating the idea of Kickstarter and having it compete with or compliment retail. The main idea was looking at how appropriate or inappropriate it is to run a Kickstarter if you're also releasing your comic for retail--e.g. in comic stores. My overall conclusion was I was pretty much okay with bigger name creators making a comic, putting it on Kickstarter, and having special versions of that comic be exclusive to Kickstarter. I reasoned it was a way to test the waters for a comic idea so you could see if it was viable. It is now...let me check my notes again, 2020, the worst year so far in recent memory, and I still feel that way. A new Kickstarter by Scott Snyder and Tony Daniel has the opinions of others split, however.

Scott Snyder is a big name who has done some great comics for Image and some mega-books for DC. Tony Daniel is a longtime comic artist who appears on a number of notable books. They are established, successful guys and are teaming-up for, "Nocternal." It is a sci-fi comic about Earth being stuck in permanent darkness and how people react to that kind of situation. There is a deluxe edition that will be available solely through Kickstarter, but "Nocternal," is also going to have a conventional release from Image. Again, I'm okay with this, but some are not. There are folk out there saying big names like Snyder and Daniel don't really need Kickstarter--just mill around Twitter for some choice words. Then again, some would argue with how volatile comic-books have become, this is the new way to have some sense of stability in a very unstable business.

It stands to reason as the comic-book industry only gets rockier we will see even more, "Established," creators turning to methods like Kickstarter or a surge of self-publishing again. How the fanbase of these creators will respond to such a thing--with enthusiasm or trepidation/outright anger remains to be seen and will be a big factor in the success of these increasingly popular alternative methods of selling comics and making a living.

Television Tuesday: There Can Never Be Enough, "90 Day Fiance," Content

"90 Day Fiance," is a show on TLC about couples with a unique dating situation. Namely, one is coming to America to be with their partner and they'll have 90 days to decide if they want to get married, or the foreign partner has to leave. This is how the K-1 Visa the show is centered on works. It sounds simple, but it has resulted in some very dramatic T.V. It also led to a ton of spin-offs.

There are now programs following past couples title, "What Now?" shows about people going, "The other way," where an American moves, shows where we watch past participants watch an episode of the program and riff on it, and other random spin-offs focused on the most interesting/messy people the show has ever had. Oh, and a short series that checked-in how everyone was doing in quarantine. I also realize now I forgot, "Before the 90 Days," where Americans go to meet their possible future spouse they want to bring over for the first time in-person if they've communicated solely online or such. I'm probably forgetting another version of the show too, but I'll stop for the sake of your sanity if you're bewildered by all this.

Darcey Silva and her many failed relationships with foreign men has resulted in hours of programming.

All these, "90 Day Fiance," programs may sound excessive, but Samii and I can't get enough. They are like nice relaxing junk food for your brain to unwind with, and after all the stress this year has held for us that is something to seek-out and savor. The countless, "90 Day Fiance," programs are a treat for people who love trashy reality television, and hope to maybe learn something too (they are on, "The Learning Channel, after all). It's good stuff.

The Return of Milestone Is (This Time) Imminent

Milestone was a line of comics full of diverse and cool characters such as Static Shock, Icon, and many more. It was acquired by DC years ago, kind of put into its Universe, forgotten, got stuck in lawsuits, etc. Well, after some false starts, it supposedly is due to return--for real this time--with an announcement coming at DC's Fandome digital event this weekend. Now, DC is of course in a massive flux right now, so some good news about the company would be encouraging. Right now DC has one of their few remaining executives, Jim Lee, trying to encourage us with phrases like, "Hey, I promise we still publish some comics, for real, sure," so let's get something encouraging out there besides a fun-sounding, "Suicide Squad," game--which is neat but not a comic. Anyways, Milestone will be back, that's snazzy.

Forget Everyone, I Like Imagine Dragons

There are two bands that people seem to relentlessly love to hate on. One is Nickleback--who is admittedly awful. The other is Imagine Dragons, who is a group that I actually kinda like. I'm a fan of some of their hit songs and they have a great cover of, "Blank Space," that segues into, "Stand by Me," expertly. I don't know their whole discography that well, but whatever I've heard I have managed to enjoy. I'm not exactly certain why the band is mocked so much, but it is. I think they are quite alright, however. Ignore the haters, Imagine Dragons, you're cool by me.

"Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout," is a Hoot

"Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout," or as most people simply call it, "Fall Guys," is an absolute hoot of a game. It is bright, colorful, and competitive in a manner that is more joyous than stressful. Plus, my son loves watching it on the television (it makes him laugh a lot). "Fall Guys," is kind of like those battle royale games that have taken over in that you start with 60 players and it is whittled down to one winner. That's about where the comparisons end, however.

"Fall Guys," takes your wobbly and colorful avatars and puts them in various rounds (sometimes in small teams, sometimes as a free-for-all). Within these rounds, a certain number of players need to make it through a course to qualify for the next round, knock beachballs around, or avoid falling into slime before enough people have lost that you're golden. It is super fun.

When I put on, "Fall Guys," it got Clarkson's attention with its peppy music, bright colors, and hilarious ways all the little fall guys trip over each other and obstacles as they race about. Seeing him giggle at the cartoonish graphics and funny action made Samii and I all warm and fuzzy for sure. Clearly, whether you're an adult or a young child it is easy to see how, "Fall Guys," is stellar.

I played,"Fall Guys," on my PlayStation 4 but you can also give it a whirl on STEAM. Now, it does have some dreaded in-game currency, but that is only for buying, "Kudos," to customize your character. You can also earn kudos in-game and they don't give you any sort of advantage when playing beyond looking snazzy. That slight gripe aside, "Fall Guys," is adorable, exciting, and worth trying out.
5 out of 5 stars.

Film Friday: I'll Probably Watch, "Project Power."

I'm a fan of both Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I also like somewhat unique takes on superheroes and superpowers. I also am mostly immobile besides walking to the kitchen or outside to check the mail. For these three reasons, I'll probably watch the new Netflix release, "Project Power," at some point. It follows two guys--Foxx and Levitt--investigating a new drug that gives people a short-term burst of superpowers. The problem is for everyone who can run fast or do something cool other folks catch fire or simply blow-up. It is getting everywhere from average to quite positive reviews, so it seems like a fine way to pass a bit under two hours.

I Like a Biden-Harris Presidential Ticket

Joe Biden was not my first choice for a Presidential candidate. I will not deny he is pretty cenrist and I'm a lot more left-leaning. Elizabeth Warren matched-up with a lot of my opinions and went a lot farther on issues than Biden did. That said, he is the Presidential nominee and I support any Democrat who wants to remove the trash fire that is Trump. Biden can be a bit wacky/off-kilter at times however, so his choice of Kamala Harris for Vice President is smart. She excels at debate, is cool-headed, and basically balances out Biden's tendency to say the first thing that comes to his mind. I think it is a solid ticket, and I sincerely hope we can get Trump and Pence out of power this November before they manage to run this country any worse.

The New Issue of, "LAAB," Has Launched its Kickstarter

Beehive Books is a smaller publisher that has created a number of cool things. They did that unique take on, "Dracula," last year and have been running a comic-focused newspaper that's been getting a lot of buzz  called, "LAAB." It's third annual issue (which is issue #2 as there was a zero issue) has launched its Kickstarter and you can check it out now. This issue's theme concerns food, waste, soil, and sustainability. It has a who's who of creators such as Paul Pope, Michael DeForge, Olivia Fields, and more.

There are comics, articles, and you can back it for digital copies of past and present issues as well as physical copies. Beehive Books always makes good stuff and, "LAAB," has gotten tons of critical acclaim. I look forward to this latest issue being funded (I assume) and entertaining everyone! Here's the link to it again should you want to take a look and possibly back it!

I Take a Day for Surgery and a Comic Company Implodes

I can't even with this planet. I take a day off from the internet/being updated on the going-on's of everything so that I can have some surgery and a major comic company has a, "Bloodbath," of layoffs. Everything went well and I was recovering from my hernia surgery in the, "Get your bearings," room. I had messaged some friends I was okay. One mentions, "So did you hear about DC?" and I wonder what they are talking about. Well, during the 90 minutes I was being operated on, all this mayhem occurs. I can't even take 90 minutes after a bunch of days of zero interesting news for something crazy to happen when I'm passed-out for less than the running time of most movies. And boy, did the shit go down.

DC is having major layoffs, seems to be cutting back on collected editions (trades and hardcovers), eliminating the department for collectibles such as statues, and might be trimming a large number of their monthly releases. Exclusivity contracts with big-name creators are going to expire, it is crazy. I take a day off and DC comics as we know it collapses. What a World. Now then, I'm incredibly sore so I'm going to end this whine-fest and go back to relaxing with trashy reality television whilst I make sure not to bend or lift anything heavy.